# UK Gameshow "Golden Balls" in the US ?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-gameshow-golden-balls-in-the-us/446971>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Created:** [April 26, 2008, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-gameshow-golden-balls-in-the-us/446971 "2008-04-26T15:55:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2008, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-gameshow-golden-balls-in-the-us/446971/1 "2008-04-26T15:55:01Z")

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I came across an ad for a cell phone version of the UK game show “Golden Balls”. I googled it, and you tubed it, and found a complete episode.

If Poker and Deal or No deal could marry, Golden balls would be the offspring.

> **[Golden Balls](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Balls)**
>
> Golden Balls is a British daytime game show that was presented by Jasper Carrott. It was broadcast on the ITV network from 18 June 2007 to 18 December 2009.
> At the back of the studio is the "Golden Bank," a giant contraption like a lottery machine. Inside are 100 golden balls, containing cash values that range from £10 to £75,000. Twelve of these balls are randomly drawn from the Golden Bank and put into a mixer, and four "Killer" balls are added by Amanda Grant, referred to by Carrott as the ...

Basically, ((Using the DOND context)) 4 players get 4 suitcases each (out of 100) (Golden Balls) and open two of them to all players, and then “declare” what dollar values they have in the other two cases. Players vote a player (and his/her cases) off the show. Of course, the declaration does not have to be truthful. (The cases are revealed after each voting round, however). There are balls that bankrupt a player, or exponentially decrease the players total. (Read the wiki for more info)

The final round “Split or Steal” offers the same exact Prisoners Dilema construct that the GSN show “Friend or Foe” offered. – In itself, a great game mechanic.

> **[Prisoner's dilemma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma)**
>
> The prisoner's dilemma is a game theory thought experiment that involves two rational agents, each of whom can cooperate for mutual benefit or betray their partner ("defect") for individual reward. This dilemma was originally framed by Merrill Flood and Melvin Dresher in 1950 while they worked at the RAND Corporation.\[citation needed\] Albert W. Tucker later formalized the game by structuring the rewards in terms of prison sentences and named it the "prisoner's dilemma".
> The prisoner's dilemma mo...

What are the chances that this show can “make it” in the US?

How popular is the show over in the UK?