The way of the Whammy is to take everything in sight. But the way of the contestant is to take everything in sight without crossing the Whammy's path. Here's how a typical game of Whammy is played.
Round 1: Avoid the Whammy
Each player starts out with $1,000. The object of this round is to take as many spins as possible without hitting a Whammy. Every time the players clear the cycle, more Whammies are added to the board. If a player is afraid of the Whammy or thinks he/she has enough money to win the round, that person can freeze their earnings so nobody can take it away. If a player hits a Whammy, however, that person is eliminated from the round. The player with the highest total gets the opportunity to play last in the final round.
Round 2: Spins to Win
Old-school rules apply here. A question is asked, and the first person to buzz in gets to answer the question. That answer then becomes one of three multiple choice answers for the other two players. A correct buzz-in answer earns the player 3 spins while a correct multiple choice answer earns 1 spin. The more spins a player accumulates, the better the chance to win the game. One player can earn a possible 12-15 spins in this round.
Round 3: Big Bucks, Double Whammies
The final round is where it all counts. The players may now use their spins to see how much they can add to their total. The player with the least amount of money plays first with control moving down the line towards the person in the lead after round 1.
In the case of ties between players, it is either the player who earned the least amount of spins or who answered the most questions right in round 2 that plays first. If there is still a tie, the player to Todd's left goes first.
Whammies are everywhere, and if a player hits one, their winnings are gone. Also, they must avoid the Double Whammy, because not only do they take away the player’s money, they also get dumped on from above (Double Whammies only count as one Whammy).
A player can pass his/her remaining spins to the player in the lead hoping that they hit a Whammy, and the player on the receiving end must take those spins one at a time. Should a player get four Whammies, they are eliminated from the game. The player with the most money at the end of the round is the winner and gets to keep whatever he/she has accumulated.
New Things for Season 2
* Now players can Whammy the Whammy and win back anything they lost! If a player hits a Whammy, everything they accumulated goes into a pot called the Big Bank which starts off at $3,000 every show. If they hit the Big Bank space in round 1 or round 3, they must answer one question correctly to win everything in the pot (they also have a shot at winning the car if both key halves are in there).
* A car is offered in every episode. To win it, a player must collect both halves of a car key (1 in round 1, 1 in round 3 or get both halves together from the Big Bank), stay Whammy-free and finish round 3 in first place. In the Whammy interactive game, collecting the round 1 half was worth 2500 points and collecting the round 3 half was worth 7500 points, which can really boost your score if you're low on points (check out the Interactive Game Guide for more info)!
