Net Press Your Luck was passed to me in July of 1998. And for 10 years now, we have seen some of the greatest competition of luck and strategy known to game show fans. And now, as we enter our second decade, the bar is about to be raised, as the game plays more like the real thing than ever. But one thing remains the same: With more players than your standard PYL game, you have to prepare for a free-for-all if you want to walk out with the Whammy's respect.

Here's how it all works, and how you can get in on it.

Anyone wishing to sign up for Net Press Your Luck can e-mail me at the address at the bottom of the page. You will then be placed on the player list which allows you to enter all future games. You may also sign up at the "netpressyourluck" group at Yahoo!, which will keep you informed of all future NetPYL matters.

Games are run in groups of 3, each with its own board configurations and other characteristics. When an announcement is made to signal the start of the games, all people on the list are sent a spin board to see if they wish to play. To play, simply follow the instructions in the e-mail. You will then be placed in one of the three games at random.

Each game has a maximum of 15 players. Once the maximum 45 players have signed up, or if the time limit to sign up has expired, the entry period is closed.

Games of NPYL last approximately 2-3 months (when you read all this, you'll understand why.) Like the TV show, each game consists of 2 rounds in 2 separate parts: a spin board & a cash board.

In this version of the game, there are no questions to earn spins. Rather, each player receives a "spin board". The spin board consists of the 18 squares of the game board, numbered 1-18. The board is modeled after the version of Press Your Luck that the player has been assigned to, be it Classic or Whammy!: The All New Press Your Luck. (The players do not know what their configuration is until the 1st Cash Round.) The spin boards look like these:

CLASSIC PRESS YOUR LUCK

-------------------------------------------------------
|        |        |        |        |        |        |
|   #1   |   #2   |   #3   |   #4   |   #5   |   #6   |
|        |        |        |        |        |        |
|-----------------------------------------------------|
|        | |ŻŻŻ|  |ŻŻŻ|  |ŻŻŻŻ  |ŻŻŻŻ  |ŻŻŻŻ |        |
|  #18   | |___|  |___|  |---    ---    ---  |   #7   |
|        | |      |  \   |____  ____|  ____| |        |
|--------|-----------------------------------|--------|
|        | |      | |ŻŻŻŻŻ| |     | |ŻŻŻŻŻŻ| |        |
|  #17   | |______| |     | |     | |______| |   #8   |
|        |    ||    |_____| |_____| |     \  |        |
|--------|-----------------------------------|--------|
|        | |        |     | |ŻŻŻŻŻŻ |      / |        |
|  #16   | |        |     | |       |------  |   #9   |
|        | |_______ |_____| |______ |      \ |        |
|-----------------------------------------------------|
|        |        |        |        |        |        |
|  #15   |  #14   |  #13   |  #12   |  #11   |  #10   |
|        |        |        |        |        |        |
-------------------------------------------------------

WHAMMY!: SEASON ONE

-------------------
|        |        |
---------|   #3   |   #4   |---------
|        |        |        |        |
---------|   #2   |-----------------|   #5   |---------
|        |        |                 |        |        |
|   #1   |--------|                 |--------|   #6   |
|        |        |                 |        |        |
|--------|  #17   |                 |   #8   |--------|
|        |        |                 |        |        |
|  #18   |--------|                 |--------|   #7   |
|        |        |                 |        |        |
|--------|  #15   |                 |  #10   |--------|
|        |        |                 |        |        |
|  #16   |--------|                 |--------|   #9   |
|        |        |                 |        |        |
---------|  #14   |-----------------|  #11   |---------
|        |        |        |        |
---------|  #13   |  #12   |---------
|        |        |
-------------------

WHAMMY!: SEASON TWO

----------------------------
|        |        |        |
---------|   #2   |   #3   |   #4   |---------
|        |        |        |        |        |
|   #1   |--------------------------|   #5   |
|        |                          |        |
-------------------                 -------------------
|        |        |                 |        |        |
|  #18   |  #17   |                 |   #7   |   #6   |
|        |        |                 |        |        |
|--------|--------|                 |--------|--------|
|        |        |                 |        |        |
|  #16   |  #15   |                 |   #9   |   #8   |
|        |        |                 |        |        |
-------------------                 -------------------
|        |                          |        |
|  #14   |--------------------------|  #10   |
|        |        |        |        |        |
---------|  #13   |  #12   |  #11   |---------
|        |        |        |
----------------------------

Hidden amongst the 18 squares are spins. 5 squares contain 3 spins, 8 squares have 1 spin, and the remaining squares have nothing. Players each choose 4 squares by number, and their contents revealed at the end of the Spin Round period, which is usually around 4 days.

Should a player be assigned to a Whammy! game, the number selections are thrown out, as there is no Spin Round for Round 1. In Round 2, however, the Spin Board is in play, and the players are allowed to select 5 squares instead of 4.

THE CASH ROUND

At the end of the Spin Round, the cash round begins. All contestants who have earned spins will be eligible to "Press Their Luck" at the big board. The cash board will look exactly like the spin board, except cash, prizes, surprises, and whammies will be hidden among the squares. Also, the format for the cash board will look exactly like a board from the real show (although I, Brian, may use my own board from time to time :-).

On each spin the board spins until a contestant sends an e-mail message saying "STOP!". The time that the message is sent will determine the box that is hit, as well as the contents of that box. He/She wins what was hidden in the box on which the board stopped.

THE ORDER OF PLAY:

In each round, the contestants will be divided into 3 groups of players, based on the traditional rules of the TV show. The setups are as follows:

CLASSIC PRESS YOUR LUCK:
ROUND 1: 3 groups of 5 players, arranged according to spin totals.
ROUND 2: 2 grousp of 6 players, and 1 group of 3 players, arranged according to dollar totals.

WHAMMY!:
ROUND 1: No arrangement is made. All players play exactly one spin together before making their next decision.
ROUND 2: 2 grousp of 6 players, and 1 group of 3 players, arranged according to dollar totals.

(NOTE: If there are less than 15 players in a game, the sizes of the groups will be adjusted. Also, any ties at cutoff marks will be broken by the order of player sign-up, with the player registering first granted the highest position.)

Each group will play in order, having the standard decisions to "press" or "pass" (or to "freeze" in Round 1 of a Whammy! game). Once the entire group has exhausted its spins, the next group in order will be allowed to play.

At any time, a player may pass their remaining spins. As always, spins are passed to the opponents with the most money. But now, in a new twist, the spins are divided among TWO groups of players. This results in up to twice as many spins being passed.

The divisions are as follows:
DIVISION 1: The 3 players currently in the lead evenly divide the spins. If the player who passes is already in the top 3, spins pass upward if they are not leading, and pass downward if they are in 1st place.
DIVISION 2: The 3 players who were originally in the lead when the current group of players began spinning will also evenly divide the spins. However, this group can only receive passed spins ONCE from each player in the current group. Division 1 rules then apply from that point after should any spins be re-passed.

In the event that a player falls into both passing groups, they will receive the higher amount of passed spins promised to them by the divisions.

At the end of Round 1, the 3 players with the most money earn the right to play last in Round 2, giving them the advantage of letting their opponents set the bar. In addition, the overall leader gets a "Spin Bonus". During the 2nd Spin Round, he/she receives the choice of earning an extra 3 spins on top of what they earn for from the spin board, or automatically earning 1 more spin than whoever earns the most spins (without having to pick any numbers from the Spin Board). The leader may also refuse both options if they wish to.

The player with the most money at the end of the game is declared the winner and will advance to the Tournament of Champions against the winners of the other 2 games. The tournament is played according to the classic rules, complete with standard Question Rounds, and the board used during CBS's Game Show Marathon series. Winners of the tournament will be honored in the Net Press Your Luck Hall of Fame.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER:

There is a deadline to take spins. At least one spin must be taken before the end of every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If a spin isn't taken before the deadline, the player receives a Whammy and a spin is burned.

When a prize square is hit, the prize it contains will change for EVERYBODY. Thus, each prize can only be earned by one person, except when all prizes for a square are claimed. Also, special prizes such as the Gem Car (among other vehicles), Add-A-One and Double Your $$+One Spin will only reappear on the board if the player who wins them hits a Whammy, and the current prize in its square is hit.

In Whammy! games based on season 2 of the show, the BIG BANK square is also in play. If a player hits Big Bank, they will be asked a question, which they will have 24 hours to reply with an answer. A correct answer earns the money in the Big Bank, which starts at $3000, plus 20% of the money earned by any Whammies up to that point. All players receive the same Big Bank question until it is answered correctly. (Should a player hit Big Bank again before this point, they will be asked a new question.)

Finally, like all netgames, this game is for entertainment only. While no prizes will be awarded, I am offering winners the opportunity to make a free trade with me.

So, are you ready to PRESS YOUR LUCK? If you think you have what it takes, Send your e-mail to me, Brian Sapinski, at SonicWhammy@aol.com. In your e-mail, write "Net Press Your Luck" as the subject, and PLEASE include your full name. All e-mail addresses are kept confidential, and will never be used by me or anyone else for purposes other than playing this game. All game e-mails will be sent via the same e-mail address. In addition, players are encouraged to find the NEW Yahoo group "netpressyourluck", where many of our players have now gathered to receive updates on the game's status.

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