Million Dollar Password
Million Dollar Password Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Rules for Clues
The Password is always a single, non-hyphenated word.
The clue word must be a single, non-hyphenated word. For example, the clue "well-to-do" would not be allowed.
If a two word or hyphenated word is given as a clue, the Password will not count towards the score for that team.
Proper nouns may be used as clue words. Thus, "Hitchcock" may be given for the Password "mystery."
No part or form of the Password may be used as a clue. "Chemist" could not be used for "chemistry," "steal" could not be used for "stolen," and "monk" could not be used for "monkey".
Specific gestures and pantomime are not allowed. For example, a player may not point at the window for "window." Players are allowed to show facial expressions and use voice inflections. For example, a player may whisper "silence" to get "quiet" as a response.
A previously given clue word may be repeated by the clue-giver if desired. It is also helpful to link a clue to previous clue words. For example, "race", "horse", and "rider" may be three separate clue words linked together to get "jockey" as a response.
No spelling of a clue word is allowed. If a form of the Password is given as a response, the clue-receiver is given one chance to correct the word to the exact Password. However, singular, plural, and past-tense forms of the Password are considered correct responses.
In the Event of a Tie
Have each team keep the same clue-giver and clue-receiver. Each team takes the next card from the Password Round cards, and slides the card into their team's Card Reveal Sleeve. The teams will play the first five words on the card. The team with the highest score wins Million Dollar Password™! (If there is another tie, play the next five words until one team earns a higher score.)
Variations of Play
With 3 Players: Select one player to be the clue-giver for both teams. After Round 1, the clue-giver will switch places and play Round 2 against the winner of Round 1. Proceed the same way for Rounds 3 and 4. The two players who win the most rounds go on to play the Bonus Rounds to try for $1,000,000!
With 4 or more Players: Play in teams or create your own Million Dollar Password™ Tournament!
Contents
- 2 Password Round Card Reveal Sleeves
- 15 Password Round Team-A Cards
- 15 Password Round Team-B Cards
- 180 Bonus Round Cards (30 Cards for each of the following Monetary Bonus Round values: $10,000; $25,000; $50,000; $100,000; $250,000; & $1,000,000)
- Instructions
- 1 Dry-Erase Score Card
- 1 Scoring Marker
- 30 Second Sand Timer
Object
Win the Password Rounds by guessing more Passwords than your opponent. Then move on to the Bonus Round for a chance to play for $1,000,000! Be the team with the highest winnings to win Million Dollar Password™!
Setting Up the Game
To play Million Dollar Password™ in its "true TV format," you will need 4 players.
Break apart the Team-A and Team-B cards for the Password Rounds. Then break apart the Bonus Round cards and place them into 6 piles according to the monetary value. (Place cards word side down).
Divide into two teams of two players per team. One team will be Team A, and the other will be Team B. Each team will select a clue-giver for the first series of Passwords. The other player on each team will be the first clue-receiver.
Give each clue-giver a Card Reveal Sleeve and the card designated for that round.
Note: Once you've played the game once, put the used cards at the bottom of the stack. Start the second game with Card #2 for each team.
Playing the Game
I: PASSWORD Rounds
For the first phase of the game, there are 4 Password Rounds.
To begin a Password Round, the clue-giver for each team will slide the Password card for that game into the reveal sleeve for the first set of words.
NOTE: a number 1 will be visible in the notch of the reveal sleeve for the first Round as shown.
When Team A is ready, a player from Team B will turn over the sand timer to start the :30 countdown. The Team A clue-giver gives a one-word clue for the first Password. The Team A clue receiver tries to guess the Password. The clue and the guess may only be one word. If the clue-receiver guesses correctly, the clue-giver may go on to the next word. If the clue receiver guesses incorrectly, the clue-giver gives another one-word clue and the clue-receiver guesses again.
See Rules for Clues.
At any time the clue-giver or the clue-receiver may Pass. The clue-giver then goes on to give a one-word clue for the next word on the list. If there is time remaining after the fifth Password, the clue-giver may again give clues for any "Passed" word. The team scores one point for each of the 5 Passwords guessed correctly.
When the timer runs out, Team A records their score on the score card by filling in the circle next to the number of Passwords successfully guessed. It is now Team B's turn to play the first Round.
After both teams have gone through the first 5 Passwords and recorded their scores, it's time to begin Round 2.
At the start of Round 2, the clue-giver from each team then becomes the clue-receiver. The clue-receivers take the Reveal Sleeves to give the clues. Slide the card inside the Reveal Sleeve until the number 2 is visible in the notch.
Teams play through the second set of words on each card and play proceeds as in Round 1. Players update their scores on the score card after each Round.
Switch clue-givers at the start of Rounds 3 and 4, and play the word set for that Round to complete the Password Rounds. The Password Rounds are complete after Round 4.
The team with the highest score after all 20 words on the card have been played can select whether they wish to go first or second in the Bonus Round.
II: BONUS Round
Select which player will be the clue-giver. This person will be the clue-giver for the entire Bonus Round. The clue-giver is the ONLY PERSON who may see the cards in the Bonus Round.
A player from the opposing team may operate the timer and keep track of all correctly identified words. During the Bonus Round, turn the :30 sand timer over two times for a total time limit of :90. Fill in the circle on the score card after each flip of the sand timer to keep track.
The Bonus Round is played just like the Password Round except that the clue-giver may only give a total of 3 clues per word. If a clue-giver has used all 3 clues and the Password is still incorrectly guessed, the Password cannot be replayed. In the Bonus Round, any "Passed" words may not be replayed. Keep track of the number of "Passed" words at each level, because there are a decreasing number of passes allowed at each successive level.
In each level of the Bonus Round, 5 words must be correctly identified before the 90 second timer runs out in order to advance to the next round.
Each tier of the Bonus Round has fewer and fewer words until you reach the Million Dollar Round where the team must correctly identify all 5 out of 5 Passwords with no Passes, and with no more than 3 clues per word.
The number of words that must be correctly identified per round are as follows:
| Monetary Value | Passwords That Must Be Correctly Identified |
|---|---|
| $10,000 | 5 out of 10 Passwords |
| $25,000 | 5 out of 9 Passwords |
| $50,000 | 5 out of 8 Passwords |
| $100,000 | 5 out of 7 Passwords |
| $250,000 | 5 out of 6 Passwords |
| $1,000,000 | 5 out of 5 Passwords |
After each successful round, the team shall record its score on the score card by filling in the circle next to the dollar value in that round. The team must then choose whether it wants to risk all earnings up until that point to play on, or quit and keep the earnings it has acquired up until that point.
NOTE: Should a team successfully complete the $25,000 round, that money is then guaranteed. The team may play for the $50,000 without risk. Any failed attempts after that and the team will lose everything except the guaranteed $25,000.
III: Winning the Game
The team with the highest winnings after the Bonus Round is the winner of Million Dollar Password™!