Postcodeloterij Guldenjacht, better known as simply Miljoenenjacht (which roughly translates to Hunt for Millions in English), is the first ever version of Deal or No Deal worldwide. It is notorious for taking breaks that take up to six months, airing six episodes while it can before taking another break. For its first five years, the show aired on Nederland 2 thanks to the TROS. In 2005, it moved to Tien, the channel of John de Mol, who created the show. In 2007, it moved to RTL 4, where it is still broadcast to this day after Tien was sold to RTL Group and is therefore defunct. While it is famous for being the beginning of DOND's international success, it didn't always have the format we all know and love.
Format[]
The format of the show has been changed many times, mostly the preliminary rounds.
Preliminary rounds[]
A studio audience of 500 is divided into two 250-man sections, one being a blue section, one being a red. The host, Linda de Mol, starts the game by asking three multiple-choice questions. All 500 answer the questions using their keypads, and they have ten-second points is eliminated. The remaining section is now divided into five 50-man sections. These sections have numbers from 1 to 5 in the red section, and 6 to 10 in the blue. These sections now answer three more multiple-choice questions, with the same rules as the first round. Four of these sections are eliminated, and now the only remaining selection is divided in two again, the top 25 are labeled A, while the bottom 25 are B. Once again, the same rules are in place. The remaining 25 audience members now progress to the next round. Originally, round four had the 25 winning audience members, and a random eliminated audience member from the 475, stand on platforms and answer ten multiple-choice questions: The first three have only two possible answers, the next three have three possible answers, and the four remaining have four possible answers. The contestants answer using their keypads once again. Contestants that answered correctly get a point for the other 25 that answered incorrectly. The two highest scorers move on to the next round. In 2005, this was changed to having the five audience members who correctly answered most frequently of the 25-man section, as well as a randomly selected audience member, must stand at one of six podiums, as Linda gives clues on a specific noun. An incorrect answer from a contestant will eliminate them from the game. If a contestant is correct, they can hit one of five buzzers to eliminate a contestant. A contestant that believes that the correct contestant will eliminate them can hit their own buzzer. Doing so will eliminate themselves from the game, however, they can pick a coloured briefcase, to which whatever is inside, they keep (they hold up to €22,000). This continues until two contestants remain. In 2007, the clues about nouns were changed to various questions that always have a numerical answer. This was slightly changed in 2008 when the coloured briefcases were no longer used, and the contestants furthest away from the answer are eliminated, but win money, which starts at €1,000 for the first eliminated contestant and goes up €1,000 for each eliminated, which gives €4,000 for the fourth. Since 2009, the format now use answers based on audience polls, to which Linda asks either the 494 audience members or certain parts of it (e.g. Married women) a yes-or-no question, and they answer using their keypads, once this is done, Linda asks the six how many said yes to the question, and the same rules since 2008 are used. In the next round, the two remaining contestants stand at a podium with two respective buzzers. Linda asks one question with three possible answers. If a player buzzes in and is correct, they move on. If they are wrong, the other contestant picks from the two remaining answers and if they are correct, that contestant moves on. If that contestant answers incorrectly, the first contestant to buzz in moves on. Originally, there was a briefcase where if a contestant decides to quit before the question, they win the prize inside. In 2008, this was changed to an amount of money to which there was a maximum inside the case. The money started at €1,000 and kept going up until it reached the maximum. If someone buzzes in, they win the amount they buzzed in for and the maximum in the case was revealed. If nobody buzzes in to claim the money before the maximum strikes, the question would be played.
ƒ10,000,000 quiz round[]
Prior to 2002, the winning contestant would go on to sit in a chair that is placed high in the air. They will get at least ƒ1, but they could turn it into ƒ10,000,000. To do so, they must answer seven multiple-choice questions consisting of seven answers correctly. For each answer that is correct, they will have a 0 added to their winnings, but the questions are asked back-to-back. After a commercial break, the contestants are told the number of questions they got correct and their total winnings. Here are the amounts that could be won:
| Questions correct | Winnings |
| 0 | ƒ1 |
| 1 | ƒ10 |
| 2 | ƒ100 |
| 3 | ƒ1,000 |
| 4 | ƒ10,000 |
| 5 | ƒ100,000 |
| 6 | ƒ1,000,000 |
| 7 | ƒ10,000,000 |
€5,000,000 briefcase round MILJOENENJACHT[]
The models of Miljoenenjacht.
On the 22nd December 2002, the show debuted the famous 26-case game, most likely due to the abandon of the guilder earlier in the year. While the core gameplay of this round is the same to international variations of Deal or No Deal, some aspects of it are different. The winning contestant is presented to 26 models (who, prior to 19/11/06, wore wigs and white dresses, the best and well known NL Rozema and others were cast by Lucia), holding 26 numbered cases, one of which holds €5,000,000, to which the rest hold amounts that go all the way down to €0.01, to which the contestant must choose one to keep. The game board has only been modified once in nearly eight years. Here is the original game board, used from 2002 to 2006:
| £0.01 | £10 |
| £0.20 | £20 |
| £0.50 | £30 |
| £1 | £40 |
| £2 | £50 |
| £3 | £75 |
| £4 | £100 |
| £5 | £500 |
The current game board.
On the 19th November 2006, the €7,500 was removed and a €750,000 space was added. The board also had its graphics updated. Here is the current board used from 2006 until spring 2012:
| €0.01 | €10,000 |
| €0.20 | €25,000 |
| €0.50 | €50,000 |
| €1 | €75,000 |
| €5 | €100,000 |
| €10 | €200,000 |
| €20 | €300,000 |
| €50 | €400,000 |
| €100 | €500,000 |
| €500 | €750,000 |
| €1,000 | €1,000,000 |
| €2,500 | €2,500,000 |
| €5,000 | €5,000,000 |
In the fall of 2012, the board has changed yet again. The amounts: €25,000, €75,000, €200,000, €300,000, €400,000 were dropped in favour of the board below. The most notable difference is the fourth seven-digit amount: €2,000,000. This board lasted until fall 2016.
| €0.01 | €10,000 |
| €0.20 | €20,000 |
| €0.50 | €30,000 |
| €1 | €40,000 |
| €5 | €50,000 |
| €10 | €100,000 |
| €20 | €250,000 |
| €50 | €500,000 |
| €100 | €750,000 |
| €500 | €1,000,000 |
| €1,000 | €2,000,000 |
| €2,500 | €2,500,000 |
| €5,000 | €5,000,000 |
In spring 2017, the board has changed again. It went back to its' 2006-2012 form, with few differences. The amounts €25,000 and €75,000 (from the 2012-2016 board) were dropped in favour of €600,000 and €2,000,000. It lasted only one season.
| £0.01 | £10 |
| £0.20 | £20 |
| £0.50 | £30 |
| £1 | £40 |
| £2 | £50 |
| £3 | £75 |
| £4 | £100 |
| £5 | £500 |
In fall 2017, the board has changed for the final time (for the time being). €600,000 was dropped in favour of €25,000.
| €0.01 | €10,000 |
| €0.20 | €25,000 |
| €0.50 | €50,000 |
| €1 | €100,000 |
| €5 | €200,000 |
| €10 | €300,000 |
| €20 | €400,000 |
| €50 | €500,000 |
| €100 | €750,000 |
| €500 | €1,000,000 |
| €1,000 | €2,000,000 |
| €2,500 | €2,500,000 |
| €5,000 | €5,000,000 |
After a commercial break, the 25 remaining eliminated contestants are shown on a gallery with the briefcases and open them during the game. The contestants at the briefcases are important to the gameplay, as they can win bonus money. To do so, they state what amount they believe is in their case, and if they're correct, the contestant playing wins €1,000 for every unopened case on the gallery. For example, if the first contestant gets the amount in their case correct, they win €26,000 and get to keep it. If the next one guesses correctly, that contestant wins €25,000, and so on. If every contestant is correct, up to €350,000 in bonus money can be given to the gallery contestants. Here are the number of briefcases opened per round:
| Round | Cases to open |
| 1st Round | 6 cases to open |
| 2nd Round | 5 cases to open |
| 3rd Round | 4 cases to open |
| 4th Round | 3 cases to open |
| 5th Round | 2 cases to open |
| 6th-9th Round | 1 case to open |
After each round, the contestant receives an offer from The Banker, who, after an alarm goes off, displays an offer on a screen. The contestant must think about the offer and either say deal, meaning they leave the game with that amount of money, or no deal, to which they can continue in the game for a chance at more. Originally, they had to do this verbally, but on the 16th November 2008, a button with a plastic case was added to the podium, which is a nod to the USA, the first country to pick up this trend, and other international versions. The contestant must either press the button if they want to take the deal or place the plastic case downward if they wanted to say no deal. One of the most major differences in this version of Deal or No Deal is that once a contestant turns down every offer, the remaining case on the gallery is opened first, while the contestant's case, which they go home with, is opened second. This is also done when the game is played out after a contestant says deal. This is done for the bonus money mentioned above, and very few countries have picked this up. The most noticeable one to do so is Australia, which was done for the same reasons.
Trivia[]
- One contestant won ƒ10,000,000 in the original format. The contestant's name was Arno Woesthoff, and the episode was a special edition that aired on the 2nd September 2001. He also won ƒ1,000,000 in a previous episode. This translates to about £3,030,000, thus making him the biggest game show winner worldwide.
- The biggest winner in the Deal or No Deal format is Helma. She took the deal of €1,495,000 in 2005, making her the biggest Deal or No Deal winner worldwide.
Helma, the biggest Deal or No Deal winner worldwide.
- The €5,000,000 case has only been selected twice in eight years. The first time occurred on the 1st June 2008, where a contestant took the deal of €1,050,000, but discovered that his case #3 held the top prize. The second time occurred on the 4th April 2010, where a contestant took the deal of €1,000,000, but discovered that her case #4 held the top prize, and the remaining case that would have been in her game held €0.01.
- The lowest win on the show is €10.
- In nearly ten years, there have only been four millionaires, all mentioned above.
- The 25/8/08 episode of Deal or No Deal USA made a reference to the original Miljoenenjacht Deal or No Deal round from 2002 to 2006. On that episode, the American models came out wearing wigs and white dresses. While true fans could realize it was a reference, Howie claimed it was done to see if he remembered the models' names over the summer, as it was the season four premiere.