Some versions of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? have adopted a high-risk format, which disables the second fixed milestone in favour of, depending on the version, either:
- An adjustable milestone that the contestant can set anywhere between question 6 and question 14, or
- An extra lifeline, such as Ask One of the Audience or Double Dip.
Regardless of which option a certain version of Millionaire uses for its gameplay, the first fixed milestone at question 5 is still retained.
The German and Austrian versions of the show first used the high-risk format in each version's ninth season on September 3rd, 2007, with the UK version adopting the high-risk format for its 20th Anniversary celebration in 2018. If the contestant answers a question incorrectly prior to reaching their selected second milestone (if it even existed in the version that they are playing in), they drop all the way back down to the prize value for question 5.
In addition, a few versions of the show have adopted an extra-high-risk format, which disables both fixed milestones, and allows the contestant to select only one adjustable milestone (or none at all in a few rare cases), and if they answer incorrectly prior to reaching their selected milestone, they leave with nothing at all.
Mechanics[]
With adjustable milestone[]
Before the mechanics of the high-risk format can be explained, the Money Tree must be shown first, in order to put it into perspective. The money tree shown below is the original UK version, which was used for the 2018 revival, which adopted the high-risk format. Guaranteed milestones at shown in bold.
| Question No. |
Correct Answer Value |
Walk Away Value |
Miss Answer Value |
Amount Lost for a Wrong Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | £100 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| 2 | £200 | £100 | £100 | |
| 3 | £300 | £200 | £200 | |
| 4 | £500 | £300 | £300 | |
| 5 | £1,000 | £500 | £500 | |
| 6 | £2,000 | £1,000 | £1,000 | £0 |
| 7 | £4,000 | £2,000 | depends on the second safety net | |
| 8 | £8,000 | £4,000 | ||
| 9 | £16,000 | £8,000 | ||
| 10 | £32,000 | £16,000 | ||
| 11 | £64,000 | £32,000 | ||
| 12 | £125,000 | £64,000 | ||
| 13 | £250,000 | £125,000 | ||
| 14 | £500,000 | £250,000 | ||
| 15 | £1,000,000 | £500,000 | ||
Normally, question 10, worth £32,000, would be a fixed milestone, as it was originally in the old format, but in the new high-risk format, the contestant can now adjust the second milestone anywhere they want, from as low as question 6, worth £2,000, up to as high as question 14, worth £500,000. For example, if they set the milestone at £250,000 and they flunk out on their £250,000 question, they will lose £124,000.
Some versions of the show, such as the Spanish version, force the contestant to set their safety net after answering the fifth question correctly, so they cannot do so when it is suitable for them. The problem is that it is a blind guess when the contestant will actually need the second safety net, so many contestants have simply set it at the tenth question as it always used to be.
In the UK version, the £32,000 win cue and the £64,000 lights cue have been used when the contestant reaches the second safety net, irrespective of where on the money tree the second safety net is set. Therefore, an extra music cue was made by Matthew Strachan for reaching the £32,000 level and an extra £64,000 lights down cue for when the second safety net is not set at £32,000.
Without adjustable milestone[]
In other versions with the high-risk format, such as the German, Austrian, Hungarian, and Filipino versions, the second milestone is removed completely and is replaced with an extra lifeline. With these versions, the high-risk format is almost always presented as an option, with the classic format still available; the decision to switch to the high-risk format must be made before the game starts, and it cannot be changed during the game.
Millionaire Hot Seat[]
Millionaire Hot Seat also uses the high-risk format, however, its implementation of such is not its main difference from the original Millionaire format. See its page for more information.
Advantages and disadvantages[]
With adjustable milestone[]
If the contestant sets the second milestone too low or too high, answering incorrectly may be much more costly than normal. On one hand, in the very unlikely scenario that the contestant sets the second milestone too low, at only £2,000, and answers the million-pound question incorrectly, they lose £498,000, which is £30,000 more than the £468,000 they would normally lose if the second milestone was set at its traditional level of £32,000. On the other hand, if the contestant sets the second milestone too high, at £500,000, and answers the million-pound question incorrectly, they won't lose anything, but if they answer the £500,000 question itself incorrectly (or any other question prior to their selected milestone), they will drop all the way back down to just £1,000; if their milestone question is set to the £500,000 question, and they answer their £500,000 question incorrectly, they will lose £249,000, which is £31,000 more than the £218,000 they would normally lose if the second milestone was set at its traditional level of £32,000.
A strategy has been developed on the UK version where contestants set the second safety net if they have used one or two of their lifelines. The advantage of this is that one can guarantee leaving with a good amount of money, yet they could set it too low.
Without adjustable milestone[]
While the idea of an extra lifeline is tempting, it depends on the power of said lifeline. If the contestant chooses this variant of the high-risk format, they must tread carefully during gameplay, as there is more money to lose should they flunk out at higher questions with nothing to save them.
Extra-high-risk format[]
If both fixed milestones at questions 5 and 10 are disabled, the format is called an extra-high-risk format, which allows the player to select only one adjustable milestone, and if they answer incorrectly before they reach that milestone, they lose absolutely everything, and leave with nothing at all. This is the format was used most famously on the Russian version (2010-2011 season - 2021-2022 season), where a number of celebrity contestants have ended up leaving empty-handed due to answering incorrectly prior to reaching their selected milestone. Italy also used this format between 2010 and 2011, but then downgraded to the high-risk format the next season. The Japanese version's Super Millionaire tournament also used this format, albeit without any milestones whatsoever. Kaun Banega Crorepati (Season 5 To Season 6, 13 Question Format, with the Clock Format) and Man sa yarbah al malyoon (2010 season, 12 Question Format) also had this format, with both fixed milestones at questions 2 and 7 disabled due to the shorter money tree in use.
In some of these versions, the lifelines were increased to four or five to balance the game's difficulty.
See Category:Empty-handed due to extra-high-risk format for a list of contestants who left with nothing due to playing on an extra-high-risk format.