Apex of Game Show rules

APEX OF GAME SHOW RULES

==Setup==
The three players will be sorted by randomization or a game at the discretion of the host in such a way that no player has any conceived advantage over any other. Examples include rolling a die and being the closest to a number. The player going first (henceforth referred to as Player 1) will choose four numbers between 1 and 12 to determine which questions they will receive in the trivia round. The player going second (Player 2) will then choose any four of the remaining eight numbers, and the player going third (Player 3) will select the last four in the order of their choice.

==Trivia Round==
After receiving the dossier and instructions from the host, Player 1 will be asked an open-ended trivia question.  Approximately four of the twelve questions will be related to the game's theme as outlined in the dossier. If Player 1 answers the question correctly, they will receive three picks from the board. If they are incorrect, Player 2 will have the opportunity to answer, and if they do so correctly, they will receive two picks from the board. If Player 2 is incorrect, Player 3 will have the opportunity to answer, and if they do so correctly, they will receive one pick from the board. If all three players answer the question incorrectly, the question is out of play and no players receive any picks for that question. Regardless of the outcome of the question, Player 2 will receive the next question, with play cycling in the order selected in the setup. (For Player 2's question, Player 3 would have the opportunity for 2 picks and Player 1 would have the opportunity for 1 pick; for Player 3's question, Player 1 would have the opportunity for 2 picks and Player 2 would have the opportunity for 1 pick.) Each player will be given at least 15 seconds at the sole discretion of the host; if the player's time expires, the player will have been considered to answer the question incorrectly. The board will have 36 spaces, containing either a fixed number of points or one of the special spaces outlined in Appendix A. This round will proceed until all twelve questions have been asked.

==Lightning Round==
Each player will have the option of selecting one of the spaces on the board or "freezing", forfeiting all future picks in the Lightning Round (i.e. in order to avoid losing any points). The player in the lead at the end of the Trivia Round will pick first, followed by the player in second and the player in third in that order. Even if players pass each other in the Lightning Round, this order will be maintained for the duration of the round. This round concludes when either every space has been picked or all three players are frozen.

==Saigo no Chance==
(Note: "Saigo no Chance" is Japanese for "Last Chance".)
The players will be presented with a question/prompt with 30 to 50 correct answers (for example, "Name the 50 US States"). Each correct answer is worth two points. The player in last place at the end of the Lightning Round will provide as many answers as they can until they are within one point of the second-place player, at which point they may provide an answer. These two will alternate until the second-place player is within one point of the first-place player, at which point the first-place player will answer followed by the second-place player and the third-place player in that order. Once a player provides an incorrect answer, they are eliminated from Saigo no Chance and cannot provide any more answers. Should all other players be eliminated before a player is able to answer, the player will immediately begin their turn. This round continues until either all three players have been eliminated or until the answers to the question/prompt have been exhausted.
Should a player receive a Lifeline in the Trivia Round or Lightning Round, they may use it during any of their turns so long as they have not been eliminated from Saigo no Chance. By using the Lifeline, the player will receive two points for their turn without needing to provide an answer and play will pass to the next player (or back to themselves should they require two consecutive turns).
**IMPORTANT:** The player in last place at the end of this round is eliminated ("deleted") from the game and does not advance to the Showcase Round. Should there be a tie for last place, all three contestants will advance to the Showcase Round.

==Showcase Round==
The two remaining players will be presented with a Showcase in three sections. Each section will contain at least one physical item or experience with a monetary value. Players will then privately submit their bids for each section (in American dollars) to the host. The Showcase may contain foreign currency or some other form of currency not exceeding a total of $1,000 per section at the time of taping. The player whose bid is closest to the Actual Retail Price of all of the prizes in the section will win the points for that section. Section 1 is worth 5 points, Section 2 is worth 10 points, and Section 3 is worth 15 points. Should both players overbid, no points will be awarded for that section. Should the winning bid be within $500 of the Actual Retail Price of the section without going over, the player will receive double points for that section. The player with the most points at the end of the Showcase Round is the winner of the game.

==Tiebreaker==
Should there be a tie after the Showcase Round, the host may proceed in one of two ways in order to break the tie:
1. Ask the tied players for the price of one item in the Showcase, with the player that is closest without going over winning the game.
2. Ask the tied players a question with a numerical answer, with the player that is closest (high or low) winning the game.
The host may proceed using either option until there is a sole winner.

==Appendix A: Games and Special Spaces==
Not all of these spaces are required to show up in each game.
2X NEXT PICK: The next pick will be worth double points. Some spaces may have special rules for when they are doubled.
ACCELERATOR: Initially worth 2 points. Each subsequent accelerator that the player picks will be worth double the previous Accelerator; thus, the player's second Accelerator will be worth 4 points, then 8, 16, and 32. This is based on the number of Accelerators that the player has picked, not the total number of Accelerators chosen; hence, if the player picks the fourth Accelerator in the game but it is the player's first, they will only receive 2 points. In the event that an Accelerator is selected after 2X Next Pick, the player will receive double points but future Accelerators will proceed as if the pick had not been doubled (for instance, if a player's second Accelerator is doubled, they will receive 8 points but their third Accelerator will still be worth 8 points.)
-----TL;DR: Worth 2^A points, where A is the number of Accelerators the player has chosen including the one just chosen.
ADD A QUARTER: The player will have their score increased by 25%, rounded up.
BOMB: The contestant player half of their score, with their score rounded up to the nearest one after the effect of a bomb. In the event that this pick is doubled, the player will lose all of their score. This can take affect on negative scores, thus increasing the contestant's score. (For instance, if a contestant has -7 points, their score would be "halved" to -3.5 points, rounded up to -3 points.) This space may be named after something relevant to the game's theme.
COIN FLIP: The player will wager at least one and at most as many points as they currently have on a coin flip at 1 to 1 odds. Should the player have no points or negative points, Coin Flip will be skipped.
DRAMATIC READING: The host will read a passage relating to the game's theme, and the player will then answer two open-ended questions about the passage. Each correct answer is worth five points.
FAB FIVE: The player will be presented with a category (for example, "Pieces in the game Battleship") and ten possible items in that category, five of which actually belong in the category. The player will select up to five items that they believe are members of the category. After their selection, they will be told the correct items in the category. Should each of their selections be members of the category, they will receive two points for each correct selection, but should they fail, their opponents will each receive one point per selection.
LIFELINE: During Saigo no Chance, the player may use their lifeline on their turn, receiving two points without needing to require an answer, and play passes to the next player (or back to themselves should they require two consecutive turns). In the event that this pick is doubled, the contestant will receive two lifelines.
I MADE IT UP: The player is presented with a category (for example, "NFL teams") and must determine if each of the seven items are real members of the category or if they were made up by the host. (This will be entirely fictional, so in the case of "NFL teams", "Houston Astros" would not be presented as an item.) Each correct answer is worth one point. Should the player correctly guess four of the seven, they will be presented with one final item and may opt to risk their points or pass and keep what they have. Should they attempt the question and succeed, their points for I Made It Up will be doubled, but should they fail, they will receive no points for I Made It Up.
ROLL THE DICE: The player will have the option of rolling one, two, or three dice, receiving the number of points shown on the dice. Should any two dice show the same number, the entire sum will be subtracted from the contestant's score with the possibility of having negative points at the end of the turn.
ROUND UP: The player's score will be rounded up to the nearest ten.
SECRET QUIZ: The player will be presented with a question with three answer choices. A correct answer is worth one point. They will then be presented with the three answer choices for the next question and may choose to attempt the question or keep the points that they have. Should they choose to attempt the next question, they must answer. This proceeds for questions worth 3, 9, and 27 points. Any incorrect answer results in the player earning no points for Secret Quiz. Each question in Secret Quiz will relate to the game's theme.
The host may choose to add new spaces prior to the game without warning but must fully explain the function of the space upon its selection.
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: The host will present three statements related to the game's theme with one of the statements being wholly inaccurate. (For instance, "Neil Armstrong landed on the moon in 1970" would technically be inaccurate since Armstrong landed on the moon in 1969, but this is not considered "wholly inaccurate" as Neil Armstrong did land on the moon, so this would not be presented as one of the statements.) The player chooses one statement, and if it is the wholly inaccurate statement, they receive five points. If it is a truthful statement, they receive no points.

==Appendix B: Explanation of Saigo no Chance's "within one point" rule==
The purpose of Saigo no Chance is to allow all three players the opportunity to catch up based on the randomness of the first two rounds but give a distinct advantage to the players in first and second. For this reason, if a player is one point ahead of another player, they will answer ahead of the player behind them.
Let's say that Player 1 has 15 points and Player 2 has 28 points. Player 1 would go first in Saigo no Chance, and let's say that they correctly guess six of the answers. Player 1 then has 27 points. If the "within one point" rule was not in place, Player 1 would select next, and Player 2's first selection would not only be more difficult (seven answers off the board instead of six) but place him at the disadvantage of being behind Player 1 such that an incorrect answer would eliminate him from the game. The "within one point" rule ensures Player 2 of having an advantage over Player 1 while allowing both players to remain in the game, which is what Saigo no Chance was designed to do.