<P> As the first U.S. network game show to offer a million - dollar top prize, the show made television history by becoming one of the highest - rated game shows in the history of American television . The U.S. Millionaire has won seven Daytime Emmy Awards, and TV Guide ranked it No. 6 in its 2013 list of the 60 greatest game shows of all time . </P> <P> At its core, the game is a quiz competition in which the goal is to correctly answer a series of fourteen (originally fifteen) consecutive multiple - choice questions . The questions are of increasing difficulty, except in the 2010--15 format overhaul, where the contestants were faced with a round of ten questions of random difficulty, followed by a round of four questions of increasing difficulty . Each question is worth a specified amount of money; the amounts are cumulative in the first round, but not in the second . If the contestant gives a wrong answer to any question, their game is over and their winnings are reduced (or increased, in the first two questions) to $1,000 for tier - one questions, $5,000 for tier - two questions, and $50,000 for tier - three questions . However, the contestant has the option of "walking away" without giving an answer after being presented with a question, in which case the game ends and the contestant is guaranteed to walk away with all the money they have previously received . With the exception of the shuffle format, upon correctly answering questions five and ten, contestants are guaranteed at least the amount of prize money associated with that level . If the contestant gives an incorrect answer, their winnings drop down to the last milestone achieved . Since 2015, if the contestant answers a question incorrectly before reaching question five, he or she leaves with $1,000, even on the first question that is worth only $500 . For celebrities, the minimum guarantee for their nominated charities is $10,000 . Prior to the shuffle format, a contestant left with nothing if (s) he answered a question incorrectly before reaching the first milestone . In the shuffle format era, contestants who incorrectly answered a question had their winnings reduced to $1,000 in round one and $25,000 in round two . </P> <P> On the ABC versions, ten contestants competed in a preliminary "Fastest Finger" round for the right to play the main game on each episode . The contestants were presented with a question and a list of four answers which needed to be put in a specific order . Using keys on their podiums, each of the contestants attempted to enter the correct order in the shortest amount of time, with a maximum time limit of 20 seconds . If the main game ended and there was still time available for another game, the remaining contestants played another Fastest Finger round for a chance to play the main game . In the event of a tie between two or more contestants, those contestants played an additional Fastest Finger question to break the tie . If all contestants answered the question incorrectly, the round was repeated with another question . Fastest Finger was eliminated from the gameplay when the syndicated version premiered in 2002 . </P> <P> From 2008 to 2010, time limits were used for each question . Contestants were given up to 15 seconds each for questions one through five, 30 seconds each for questions six through ten, and 45 seconds each for questions eleven through fourteen . Unused time was banked, and if the contestant reached question fifteen, he or she was given 45 seconds plus the amount of time previously banked . If the clock reached zero before a contestant could provide a final answer, the contestant was forced to walk away with the winnings they had at that point . During the clock format era, a "Millionaire Menu" was introduced, in which categories are revealed for each question at the beginning of the game, and are made visible to the contestant for their future reference . Some prize levels also changed at the start of season eight . Most of the episodes in season eight (from the "Million Dollar Tournament of Ten" onward) featured special "Celebrity Questions" that were mid-level in monetary value, and were provided by notable individuals whose identities were not revealed until the contestant reached their special questions . </P>

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