The game begins with six contestants, who may start with a bank of their choice of up to £25,000. Except that the greediest of the contestants is eliminated on the spot, so it actually starts with five. The contestants are then asked to wager on a question, and whoever makes the largest bid has to answer it in 10 seconds. However, only half of the question is revealed at first. After each round (which consists of as many questions as there are contestants remaining), the leader gets to eliminate one other contestant of their choice, and everyone else's bank is evened out to that of the leader. In the second round, each contestant also gets a "Shift" they can use to pass the question onto someone else.
When it gets to the final two, they are asked but one question: whether to share, or to shaft. Or in other words, it's the Prisoner's Dilemma.
Shafted only lasted four episodes before it got the shaft itself; ratings nosedived after the premiere, plus there were many complaints about the backstab-driven mechanics of the game itself. Despite this, they did manage to sell the format to Australia's Nine Network — which added a few elements, such as quick-fire toss-up questions and a returning champion system where contestants who won via shafting could secretly return for the next episode as a "Master Shafter" to win more.
This series provides examples of:
- Bait-and-Switch: A whole question often leads in a totally different direction from that suggested by its incomplete prompt. For example:
- Prompt: What is the name of the river...
- Question: What is the name of the River Phoenix film based on a Stephen King story? Answer
- Catchphrase:
- "Their fate will be in each others' hands as they decide whether to share, or to shaft." Plus the associated hand motions.
- "Let's play Shafted!"
- "You're only safe if you're in the lead."
- "Make your bids!"
- "[name] and [name], join me for that all important final decision... to share or to shaft."
- Elimination Catchphrase: "You're off the show!"
- The Australian version: "[contestant], you've been Shafted!"
- Signing Off Catchphrase:
- "It's good to share, but sometimes it pays to shaft."
- "What would you have done? Think about it."
- Eject the Loser: In the Australian version, each player sat on a chair on a platform. When a player got eliminated, Red would pull a big red lever next to him, and the player would descend out of sight.
- Game Show Host:
- Robert Kilroy-Silk for the UK version. The pilot, which was filmed in the original Dutch set of Deal or No Deal, was hosted by Richard Madeley.
- TV and radio personality Red Symons hosted the Australian version.
- Lifelines: The "Shift", used to force an opponent to answer a question meant for the shifting player. If the opponent gets the question right, they steal the bidding amount of the shifting player from them; otherwise, they lose such amount. Each player has one Shift at the beginning of the second round, to be used anytime from that point.
- Never Trust a Title: Apparently there were complaints to the ITC about the title of the show, presumably concerned that it involved penises rather than backstabbing.
- Obvious Rule Patch: The Australian version, initially, told the contestants who the Master Shafter was off the bat. Predictably, they ended up becoming an easy target for elimination. After the producers realised this, the Master Shafter was no longer revealed to the remaining contestants.
- Prisoner's Dilemma: The endgame; the final leaders' bank (or both finalists' total, in the Australian version) can either be "Shared" between the final two players, or if one player calls "Shaft", they take it for themselves. If both players choose "Shaft", they get nothing.
- Who Wants to Be "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?": From the network that premiered it, no less, although the show itself seemed to be going after BBC's The Weakest Link more than anything.
