Two married couples, sequestered in isolation booths, must solve three Big Money Puzzles in the main game. The winner with the most money after the third puzzle goes on to the Pulse Round end game, where they will meet the previous day's winning couple for a chance at .
The emcee starts each round with a free clue, which is ALWAYS the category of the Big Money Puzzle. Then other clues start appearing, one at a time. Couples will have the opportunity to buzz in after the second letter of the clue is revealed. When a couple buzzes in, the other isolation booth becomes "intimate"--and a response must be given immediately. Failure to supply a correct answer results in the couple's isolation booth becoming intimate and the other one becoming open, in which the emcee will continue revealing the clue until the opposing couple knows the answer.
If neither couple answers a clue correctly, the emcee has both isolation booths intimate while he reveals the answer to the studio audience. (Couples will see the solutions to the Big Money Puzzle later, when the round is completed.) Then the emcee has both booths open for the next clue.
Once a couple correctly solves a clue, they get three letter guesses at the Big Money Puzzle, using the computer keyboard. All the letters in the puzzle are used, as are five letters that don't belong--known as "Stoppers". Each incorrect letter guess earns a strike, with three of them resulting in default of the round to the opposing couple. (Punctuation marks are accented by an * symbol and are never "stoppers".) After the couple gets at least one out of three correct letters, they will have five seconds to solve the Big Money Puzzle. If it is not solved correctly, the game will continue.
After four clues to the Big Money Puzzle have been revealed, either couple can stop the round by daring the other to solve the puzzle. If the darees have not garnered a clue, the darers will forfeit the last one accumulated, plus the emcee will give the darees three free letters. If the darees answer incorrectly, the darers win the round. However, if a correct answer is given, the darers LOSE the match, plus the darees win the money from all rounds not played.
The dollar values and intellectual content for each Big Money Puzzle will intensify with each passing round. The first puzzle is worth ,000 and may deal with popular culture; the second puzzle is ,000 and may deal with subjects such as business and American history; the last puzzle is ,000 and will usually feature one of these categories--Science & Technology, Literature, World History, Foreign Languages or other similar topics.
The couple having won the main game advances to the Pulse Round, where they will meet the previous day's champions. Each couple will be given four-clue puzzles; they must identify what the clues have in common. Four of these puzzles must be solved in the fastest time possible without getting three strikes. The current champions, known as the Challengers, will NOT be sequestered and will be stationed at the emcee's lectern, facing the projection screen; the previous day's champs, the Defenders, will be sequestered in an isolation booth located near center stage and will not know the Pulse Round Puzzles being given to the Challengers during their portion of the game.
After the Challengers set the established time, the Defenders must beat it and get equal or fewer strikes. The fastest time wins ,000--with five Pulse Rounds resulting in . The Pulse Round Champions can elect to take the money they have won in the end game or continue--knowing that, if they are beaten, they lose all money won excepting the main three-round game. In the event there is no Defender couple, the Pulse Round will feature both couples from the main game, with the losers getting a shot at redemption and assuming the role of the Challengers. Once having advanced to the Pulse Round, the couple does NOT return to the main game, except in the Tournament of Champions. After the end game is completed, the emcee starts a new match with two new married couples, while the Pulse Round Champions, once having decided to continue, go to the front row of the studio audience and await the winners.
In the Tournament of Champions, ten of the year's biggest winning couples will play the main three round game as before; the winners from each day's taping is sequestered in the center stage isolation booth and must solve four Pulse Round puzzles without getting three strikes; the fastest time gathered from the five earns a Ultimate Grand Prize Jackpot plus a second honeymoon.
