Awantura o kasę


Awantura o kasę is a Polish game show that aired on Polsat between November 4, 2002, and February 25, 2005 and was revived on the network in October 5, 2024. The format features teams of contestants answering questions from a randomly selected category, with the right to respond determined through a bidding process against rival teams. The winning team of each episode remains in the competition as Champions until defeated by another team. It has been continuously hosted by Krzysztof Ibisz.
In the game show, contestants could win an unlimited amount of money as well as prizes such as famous Polish pickled cucumbers, tickets to festivals, scooters, cars, gold, and even diamonds. The show is currently shown every weekend at 17.30 on the Polish television station Polsat. Under the Polish licence of the format, granted by the ATM Grupa, a local version of the show also aired in the New Zealand in 2005, using the title Cash Battle.

Game rules

Round 1

Three four member teams named blue, green, and yellow compete against each other. Each team starts the game with PLN 10,000. They bid on questions coming from randomly chosen categories, and each team has a captain who bids on behalf of the team.
Each auction begins with PLN 500. All the money that is offered by teams goes to the pool, regardless of whether the team wins the bid or not. The minimum overbid increment is PLN 100, and bid amounts should be rounded to the nearest hundred. The team that declares the highest amount of money answers the question. A team is automatically given the right to answer the question if they bet their entire bank account, or if their bid is higher than any other team's total.
The team that won the bid is given 60 seconds to confer. If they answer the question correctly – they win all the money from the pool; if they don't come up with a correct answer – the pool is carried over to the next question. At all times contestants are allowed to negotiate with the host the price of a hint, which is a set of four possible answers. If the hint was purchased, the response timer was reset back to 60 seconds. Otherwise, the remaining time continued from the point at which the countdown had been interrupted. The teams that bet 'va banque' can't buy a hint because they have no money left in their balance.
In some cases, when there is a significant difference in the money balance between the two teams, the host may choose to contribute additional funds from his own pocket to the prize pool. This is intended to make the game more exciting and provide the losing team with a chance to take the lead. This usually happens in the final round, although it has occasionally occurred in the first round.
If a team's money balance falls below PLN 600 after the question, the team can no longer place bids. Therefore, the team is eliminated from the game and receives the rest of their saved money. If a team fails to participate in the auction despite having the opportunity, the presenter will either issue a warning for passivity or impose a penalty by reducing the team's account balance. The amount of the penalty depends on the team's and opponent's total funds. The presenter may impose a penalty without a warning if the team has deliberately tried to avoid to participate in the action. The highest "penalty for passivity" in the history of the show was PLN 10 000.
The first round ends after seven questions have been asked or if two of the teams go bankrupt. The team with the highest amount of money moves to the final round. Teams that didn't advance to the Final Round win whatever is left on their accounts.

Final Round

The team that won the first round and the team that won the previous episode play by similar rules. The challenging team begins the round with the money they won in Round 1, while the Champions begin with the amount they scored after the first round on the first episode they appeared in.
The team with the highest score after seven questions are asked advances to the next episode as the new champions. The game may end earlier if one of the teams goes bankrupt or chooses to play va banque when bidding on a black/golden box. In a case of a tie, the show is won by the current Champions team. As in the first round, if the final question is answered and money remains in the pool, the winning team automatically receives the remaining amount. Champions stay on the show until they lose in a future episode. Their winnings add up over the episodes and are shown at the end of each one.
The Champions’ team members wear traditional graduation cap and black gown outfits.

Categories

Each category is represented by a single wedge on the wheel, with the exception of 'Hint', 'Curiosities', and 'What is it?', each of which occupies three wedges.

First run (2002–2005)

Source:

Second run (2024–)

  • Anatomy and medicine
  • Art
  • Astronomy
  • Automotive
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Cinema
  • Classical music
  • Contemporary times
  • Cooking
  • Popular music
  • Fishing
  • Football
  • Geography
  • History
  • Literature
  • Mathematics
  • Miscellaneous
  • Philosophy and religions
  • Physics
  • Polish language
  • Politics and economy
  • Pop culture
  • Proverbs and quotes
  • Sport
  • Technology
  • TV series
  • What is it?

Special categories

Hint

Appears on the host's wheel on three wedges and only in Round 1.
Questions selected from a drawn category did not include multiple-choice options; instead, they were open-ended. The hint contained four answer options, one of which is correct. Unlike other auctions, money bid by teams is removed from play instead of being added to the pool. The hint is not counted as a question and therefore does not contribute toward reaching the required total of seven questions.
The team that wins a hint during the auction is allowed to use it at any time, including in later episodes. Additionally, teams were permitted to sell unused hints to other teams. In the second run of the show, unused hints did not carry over to the next episodes and were lost. Teams were no longer able to trade hints with each other.

Duel (Toe-to-Toe)

The "Duel" appeared on the host's wheel on two wedges, replacing two wedges of "Curiosities" category. In the second run, 'What is it?' is replaced by Duel. Duel is only in the Final Round.
Each team designates one member to take part in a duel. These two players are asked to move to a designated station equipped with two button: red for the Champions team and green for the winner of Round 1. The teams then take turns eliminating seven categories from the list displayed on the jumbotron, leaving only one category to be played. The first to press the button within sixty seconds, has the opportunity to answer the question within fifteen seconds. If they answer correctly, the team wins the pool, while the opponent is goes to the penalty box, and the losing team plays shorthanded. In case of a wrong answer, the answering player goes to the penalty box, and the pool carries over to the next question. If neither player presses button within thirty seconds, both of them go to the penalty box, and the pool is carried over to the next question.
A player in the penalty box can be bought out in any moment by their team via bargaining with the host.

Black Box / Golden Box

Appears on the host's wheel only in the Final Round: on three wedges or on four wedges. The black or golden boxes category replaces the 'hint' wedges.
The Black Box or the Golden Box contains various prizes, e.g.: cash, cars, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, scooters, diamonds, gold bars, or even joke prizes such as PLN 1 or a pickle. There was also the chance of winning tickets to Polsat SuperHit Festival. It is also possible for one box to have multiple prizes inside.
The Black/Golden Box is bid on in the same way as a question, meaning whoever offers the most money wins it. The Box is not considered part of a round, and subsequent questions will still be asked. Since the second run of the show, the team that wins the box can choose between two Golden Boxes ; this was not the case in the first run, as one Black Box was being brought in by a cast member. The boxes are always opened at the end of the game, if the team wins it.

First Champions teams

Since the first episode didn't have a proper returning champion, the Champions team was made up of biggest winners from the previous game show hosted by Ibisz, Życiowa szansa.
For the first episode of the second run of the programme, best team chosen during casting was invited as the Champions team.

Transmissions

; First run
EpisodesSeasonStart dateEnd date
1–912002/2003November 4, 2002June 26, 2003
92–1912003/2004September 1, 2003June 27, 2004
192–200Fall 2004September 3, 2004October 29, 2004
201–208Winter 2005January 7, 2005February 25, 2005

; Second run
SeriesEpisodesSeasonStart dateEnd dateViewers
SHRSource
1209–226 Fall 2024October 5, 2024December 1, 20248828.6%
2227–248 Spring 2025March 1, 2025May 11, 20257908.4%
3249–271 Fall 2025September 31, 2025November 16, 20259089.6%

International versions

The TV format, was exported only in one country just now, that is New Zealand.
CountryNameHostChannelAirdates
'''New Zealand