The Link (game show)

The Link is a BBC quiz show that aired BBC One since 5 May 2014 and is hosted by Mark Williams.

Gameplay

First round

Three teams of two contestants attempt to answer general knowledge questions and identify links between the answers to each question. After correctly identifying the common bond between the answers, the team then removes a number of links attached to six cash amounts displayed on a screen: £125, £300, £500, £750, £1,000 and £2,000. The cash amounts are suspended by links, with higher cash values suspended by a larger number of links: only one link for the £125 value, and six links for the £2,000 value. The fewer answers it takes a team to identify the common bond, the more links the team is able to cut from the cash amounts.

All questions are toss-ups, and any member of a team can buzz-in and attempt to answer the question. If the contestant answers the question correctly, the team can confer before providing their guess to what links the specific set of answers. For example, connecting the answer "Harry" to the question "Name Prince William's younger brother" and the answer "Draco" to the question "Eltanin is the brightest star in which constellation?" would produce a link to Harry Potter (which features the characters Harry and Draco Malfoy). The fewer answers the team requires to decipher the common bond means the team can cut more links from the cash amounts suspended on the screen. If the team needs only one answer to decipher the common bond, the team can cut four links from the cash amounts. The number of links to cut reduces to three for needing two clues; two links for needing three clues; and one link if all four clues are needed.

Once the common bond is deciphered, the team cuts links to any cash amount(s) of their choice—either from one cash amount, or links distributed among multiple cash amounts. Once the final link to a particular cash amount is severed, that amount "falls" and is added to that team's bank, regardless of which team removed any other links to that specific amount. After all the links from all cash amounts have been cut and all money has been banked, the two teams with the highest totals go forward to the second round. The team with the least amount of money at the end of the first round leaves the game empty-handed. If there is a tie for second place at the end of the round (only possible at £0), a tie-breaking link is played for £125 in the same manner as the first round and the first team to guess the link adds the money to their bank and moves on to the next round.

Second round

In the second round, each team's total bank is suspended separately on the screen by a total of seven links. The team who brought the higher amount into the second round chooses which team plays first. The team in control is asked to identify a person, place or thing based upon a series of clues. Clues in this round are provided in the style of descriptive statements as opposed to the one- or two-word clues used in the first round. However, unlike the first round, the team chooses how many links to pay for at the start of each turn, from one to four links. Additionally, the more links the team chooses to play for, the fewer clues the team receives. If the team is unable to identify the subject after receiving their clues, the opposing team is shown all four clues and attempts to identify the subject to be able to cut a single link from their own bank. Questions alternate between each team (regardless of which team identified the subject) and play continues until a team completely severs all links to their own bank. That team wins the game and goes through to the final round, while the other team leaves with nothing.

Final round

In the final round, the remaining team is given sixty seconds to work out the links between lists of items. Each correct link the team finds moves them up a step on a six-step prize ladder. The first five steps of the prize ladder are worth the following amounts: £125, £300, £500, £750 and £1,000. The final step of the ladder is worth £2,000 plus whatever the team brought with them from the previous round.

Each member of the team takes turns to decipher the link in a list of ten items, with items on each list revealed one at a time. The team starts with 60 seconds and the countdown begins as the first item on the list is revealed. The time continues to count down as other items are revealed and only stops when the teammate buzzes-in to attempt providing the link. If a contestant incorrectly guesses a link, play stays with that contestant and he or she is given a new list of items to decipher. This continues until the contestant either correctly guesses the link, or time runs out.

After each correct link is found, the timer is paused, the prize value increases, and the team is asked if they want to stop the game and take home the current prize value, or to play on for the next rung. However, if the team chooses to play on and fails to establish a link before the time runs out, the team wins nothing. The maximum a team can win is £6,675. To accomplish this, the team must bank all six amounts from the first round (£125 + £300 + £500 + £750 + £1,000 + £2,000 = £4,675) and go on to win the final round (£4,675 + £2,000 = £6,675).

Transmissions

References

External links

• The Link at BBC Programmes
• The Link at UKGameshows.com