The Chair (game)

The participants of the game undergo a full-scale medical examination before the start of the game: they are offered various intelligence tests, and for several hours doctors monitor their heartbeat, including checking the reaction to various unexpected events. Only after the approval of the medical board, the participant can start the game.

The participant sits in a chair and fastens his seat belts . He looks at the screen above the presenter, where the current question and answer options are visible. The initial amount is 5 thousand dollars, the maximum gain is 250 thousand dollars. In order to get the maximum amount, the player needs to not only correctly answer 7 questions, but also make sure that the pulse does not exceed a certain mark, which is called the “red line” ( English redline ). The "Red Line" is determined by the participant's pulse in a calm state, to which 60% is added (later - 70%). With each next question the “red line” is reduced by 5%. So, with a standard heart rate of 80 beats per minute, the “red line” is 128 or 136 beats per minute (if you add 60 or 70%, respectively) and after each question it decreases by 4 beats per minute. If the pulse exceeds the “red line”, the player will lose a certain amount of money per second and lose the right to answer the question until the pulse drops below the red line. In this case, money is not deductible if the pulse jumped in between questions or while reading a question.

In the third question, the player will have to look at the video sequence, and the question can concern absolutely any fragment of the video sequence. The fifth question will require determining whether certain objects belong to any category, and the seventh will name the event that happened earlier or later. After the fourth question, the host offers the player once per game in exchange for a decrease in the game bank by 25 thousand dollars not to lower the “red line”, but players rarely agreed on this. The game continued as long as the player has money in the account and until he answers correctly. The game ended in one of the following cases:

• After the first incorrect answer
• After the loss of all money due to a decreasing heartbeat (there were cases when players lost, before even having time to answer the first question)
• After three warnings from the host (see below)
• After the correct answer to the last question (the player is recognized as the winner of the game)

Wins and penalties

The player can leave the game with a certain “stable amount” (see below) - he will not lose this money if he gives the wrong answer. The maximum gain without losing money and the manifestation of any excitement is 250 thousand US dollars.

Stop Heart

Twice during the game, the operation “Stop-heart” ( Eng. Heartstopper ) was carried out in order to intimidate the player and try to raise his pulse - on the site, fireworks can start, lights come out, smoke starts, etc. Sometimes a player could be shown an alligator close, a beehive, a huge pendulum swinging overhead, delivering balls directly above his head, etc. However, at the same time, the organizers of the program had to ensure the safety of the player so that he did not receive physical injuries. The operation lasts 15 seconds, and if the player passes this test, the game continues. If the red line is exceeded, the player will lose money. The player must never close his eyes, otherwise he will be given a warning.

Stabilization

After answering a question worth 15 thousand US dollars, the player receives the right to “stabilize” the amount - it becomes “fireproof”. If the player gave the wrong answer or received three warnings, he leaves the game with the selected fireproof amount. If, when the “red line” is exceeded, the bank is less than the stabilized amount, then the player will lose money from his own fireproof amount.

Warnings

The player must not close his eyes and take any physical actions to reduce the pulse (including during the "Stop-Heart"), otherwise he will be given a warning. After three warnings, the player leaves the show. However, in the US throughout the history of the game no one was disqualified: in the first issue, the participant was not issued a warning when he closed his eyes during the operation "Stop-Heart"; in one issue, the player received two warnings, but did not drop out.

In 2002, they showed 9 issues on ABC, removing only 13. For all issues, only two people succeeded, giving the right answer to the last question:

• Chris Mackerer - $ 224,600
• Stephen Benjamin - $ 250,000 maximum win

A week before Makerer’s victory, Dean Sheffron and the bank reached $ 132,200, but lost all the money due to the excess of the “red line”.

Due to the competition with FOX's The Chamber show, The Chair quickly closed because it had to be filmed at night. Moreover, ABC and FOX accused each other of plagiarizing the idea, but the judicial investigation did not reveal anything.

• In the Korean version of the game "Stop-Heart" does not last 15, but 20 seconds, and only the host announces the beginning of this operation.
• In the Russian version, only 60% is always added to the player’s pulse to form the “red line”.
• In the British version, the player also participates in a blitz test: in 45 seconds he must give as many correct answers to questions as possible without any answer options. Each correct answer will raise its red line by one point.

France

In the French version, the player has the right once a game (on the last two questions) to ask the help of a fan, losing 20% ​​of the red line and risking half the pot of the game. With each question, its red line is reduced by 10%. Also, the types of questions are strictly fixed:

• The first question implies the answers “True” and “False”.
• In the second question, the player watches the scene with the lead in the image of the mime and give the correct answer to the question on the scene. There are no options.
• The third and fifth questions have four possible answers.
• In the fourth question, the player listens to a fragment of the song and gives an answer to the question about the song. There are no options.
• In the sixth question, the player watches the video sequence and answers the question about it. Four possible answers.
• In the seventh question, the player must list a number of names or concepts of a given category: the minimum number of necessary answers and the maximum number of possible ones will be named. If the player gives the correct number of answers correctly, he will win. If he makes at least one mistake, he will lose.

• Official site in the Internet Archive