deal or no deal

This is a variation of the popular TV game show that can be played with your youth group. I played this game with a group of kids and they really got into it. Our highest dollar amount to win was $250 and our lowest amount to win was $.50. Our first winner won $.50! It was great. We felt so bad we ended up giving her $50 just for being such a good sport.

MATERIALS NEEDED:
Cash money or whatever you are playing for (other variations could be candy bars or other treats, small prizes, etc.), poster board, cardstock, tape.

ACTIVITY SETUP:
Place the dollar amount (or candy bars or whatever your group is playing for) in descending order on a large piece of poster board. When I play, I use 22 spots on the board with dollar amounts ranging from $.50 to $250.00. If you have a large dry erase board or chalk board, you can save resources and just draw a playing board there. If you want a playing board that you can use over and over again, use stronger material – you can even use a piece of wood and paint it, creating a long-lasting board.

On pieces of cardstock, put the dollar amounts in random order, one dollar amount per sheet. Then, on the other side, number the cards from 1 to 22 (or however many spots you have on your board).

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. The contestant will call out the numbers of three cards to pull. A leader will pull the cards one at a time and display the dollar value on the back of the card (i.e. $5.00, $15.00, etc). The teacher will then cross that dollar amount off from the board (or if you are playing with a permanent board, you can use something to cover the dollar amount up with).
2. After choosing the card, another leader will act as the “banker” and will make a money offer to the contestant to try and “buy” their card from them. The goal of the banker is to try and give the contestant the least amount of money possible. The banker cannot offer more than the highest amount of money that is not crossed out on the board. The goal of the contestant is to walk away with the most amount of money possible.
3. The contestant will then either take the offer the banker has given – DEAL – or chose to keep playing – NO DEAL.
   2nd Round – Open three cases
   3rd Round – Open three cases
   4th – 7th Round – Open two cases
   8th Round and Over – Open one case at a time
4. If the child gets down to just one card left, they will have the choice of keeping their original card or switching out with the last card. The dollar amount on the back of the card they choose is what they win!