The Barry-Enright Version
Step1
Place two contestants in separate isolation booths. If both contestants are new, decide who will go first; if one is a returning champion, the other contestant will start. Turn off the sound in the booth of the contestant who will not be asked the question.
Step2
Announce the category for the round of questions. Let the contestant being asked the question choose the point value (and thus the difficulty) from 1 to 11 points of the question he wishes to answer.
Step3
Read the question to the contestant and allow her a fixed amount of time to answer. If she answers correctly, add the value of the question to her score; if not, deduct it, but do not reduce the score to below zero.
Step4
Turn off the sound to the first contestant's booth and turn on the sound to the other contestant's booth. Give him the same category, and if he chooses the same point value, the same question as well, without telling him how the first contestant fared. Repeat Step 3, awarding or deducting points as necessary.
Step5
Repeat Steps 2 through 4, then turn on the sound in both booths and, without revealing scores, give the contestants the option to stop the game. If neither wishes to stop, repeat Steps 2 through 5 until one or both players reach 21 points or five questions have been asked of each contestant.
Step6
Reveal the scores if the game is stopped, each contestant has answered five questions, or either contestant reaches 21. Declare the contestant with the higher score when the game ends the champion, unless the game ends in a tie, in which case, repeat Steps 1 through 6 (i.e., play another game).
Step7
Award the winner $500 per point of victory over his opponent (for example, $2,000 for a 21-17 triumph), plus $500 for each tie game played. Offer the winner the right to return, risking losing $500 of her winnings for each point she is defeated by should she lose, or to leave with her accumulated winnings.
The NBC Revival Version
Step1
Follow Steps 1 and 2 under the Barry-Enright Version.
Step2
Read a multiple-choice question to the contestant and allow her a fixed amount of time to answer. If she answers correctly, add the value of the question to her score; if not, give her a strike. If she gets three strikes, she loses, regardless of point score.
Step3
Allow a contestant having trouble with a question to call for help from a "Second Chance" assistant once during the game. Bring out the helper from backstage and ask this person the question. The contestant may accept the helper's answer or offer his own. If the contestant misses, give him two strikes.
Step4
Alternate questions between contestants, again stopping after the second round to ask if either wishes to stop the game, and resuming play if neither does. Continue until five questions have been asked, either or both players reach 21, or one player gets three strikes.
Step5
Resolve tied games by turning on the sound to both booths, having both players take up buzzers, and asking them a tie-breaker question. The first player to buzz in with the right answer is the winner.
Step6
Award the winner a cash prize based on the number of games won. (Originally, this was $100,000 for the first game, $200,000 for the second, $300,000 for the third and $400,000 for the fourth, starting again at $100,000 for the fifth. This was replaced with a seven-tiered scale starting at $25,000 for the first game and increasing to $1 million for the seventh.)
Step7
Place the winner in the "Perfect 21" bonus game consisting of six true-false questions with values of one to six points with $10,000 awarded per point for each right answer, and a loss of all bonus game winnings for an incorrect response. Allow the winner to stop after each question.
