The Cube (American Game Show)
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''The Cube'' is a British television
game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...
that aired on ITV from 22 August 2009 to 23 December 2021. It was hosted by
Phillip Schofield Phillip Bryan Schofield ( ; born 1 April 1962) is an English television presenter. He began his career as a Children's BBC continuity announcer from 1985 to 1987, and went on to present a wide range of high-profile programmes for the BBC and ...
. The original series offered contestants the chance to win a top prize of £250,000 by completing challenges from within a 4m × 4m × 4m
perspex Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is a synthetic polymer derived from methyl methacrylate. It is a transparent thermoplastic, used as an engineering plastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and bran ...
cube. The challenges involve physical and mental tasks including catching, throwing, estimation, reacting, memorisation, and balancing.
Colin McFarlane Colin Andrew Ignatius Peter McFarlane (born 15 September 1961) is a British actor, narrator and voice actor. He is known for his roles in film and television including Gillian B. Loeb in two films of Christopher Nolan's '' The Dark Knight Tril ...
provides the disembodied voice of The Cube, who explains the rules of the games. The show ran from 2009 to 2015, before returning as ''The Million Pound Cube'' in 2020, and again under its original title in 2021.


Format


Original series (2009–15)

The game is played by a single contestant within a transparent Perspex cube that measures 4 metres along each edge. The goal is to complete a series of seven games, each of which awards an increasing amount of prize money, before failing a total of nine times. Games are selected for each individual contestant before the show to test their mental and physical faculties in various ways. A typical episode consists of two contestants' games; depending on how successful the contestants are and on editing, a contestant's game may split across two episodes. The contestant begins with nine lives and loses one for every unsuccessful attempt at a game. The contestant must repeat the game until they either complete it or run out of lives; in the latter case, the game ends and all money is forfeited. When a contestant succeeds, they are shown a preview of the next game and can decide to either stop playing and keep their winnings or continue and risk the money. During a preview, the game is named and described by a male voice (provided by McFarlane) and demonstrated by "The Body," a woman dressed in a full-body jumpsuit and featureless metal mask. Her name is not stated on camera or listed in the credits. Schofield occasionally comments on the difficulty that past contestants have had with a game and notes the average number of lives lost while playing it, in order to help the contestant decide whether to continue or stop. Friends and family members in the audience may offer advice on decision-making and techniques for playing the games. Certain games have specific restrictions added to increase their difficulty, such as a time limit or allowing the use of only one hand. If the contestant violates any such restriction, they immediately lose a life. The contestant is given two forms of assistance, each of which may be used once. "Simplify" reduces the difficulty of a game, and may be used after any unsuccessful attempt. The exact nature of the change, such as by allowing more time or increasing the size of a target zone, is not revealed until the contestant chooses to use Simplify. The change remains in effect until the contestant either completes that game or runs out of lives. "Trial Run" allows the contestant to make one practice attempt at a game with no lives or money at stake, then decide if they want to play or stop. This assistance becomes available after they complete the first game, and can only be used upon the introduction of a new one. The seventh and final game is worth a jackpot of £250,000; contestants who complete this game are said to have "beaten the Cube". It is a more difficult version of one of the six games a contestant previously played. In the original format, seven contestants have reached this level, with six choosing to stop and keep their winnings of £100,000. The seventh is runner
Mo Farah Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah (born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983) is a Somali-British former long-distance runner. Considered one of the greatest runners of all time, his ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World tit ...
, who successfully completed the final game on an episode of a 2012 celebrity series in which British gold medallist athletes competed for charity. On 25 October 2020, model Andrianna Christofi was revealed as the portrayer of the Body during the original run of the programme.


Revival (2020–21)

On 15 June 2020, after five years off the air, it was reported that ''The Cube'' would return with the jackpot being significantly increased. A month later, the return was confirmed, with the jackpot raised to £1,000,000 and Phillip Schofield returning as host. The revival aired in 2020, renamed to ''The Million Pound Cube'', with pairs of contestants taking part who have a pre-existing relationship. Some games involve only one contestant, while others involve both; in the former case, the team must decide which contestant will play the game once it is introduced. The "Trial Run" lifeline is replaced by a new one called "Swap," which allows the participant in a single-player game to swap places with their teammate. The seven-step money ladder is still used, with higher values at each step culminating in a top prize of £1 million. In the following series in 2021, the show returned to being known as simply ''The Cube'', and the original money ladder was restored. Otherwise, the format remained the same as the previous series. When a two-player game is introduced, it is demonstrated by two Bodies dressed in jumpsuits and masks as in the original version. While the original Body displayed collar-length brown hair behind her mask, however, these two wear hoods that cover the backs and sides of their heads so that all physical features except their hands are entirely hidden from view. In the revival format, a team have managed to beat the sixth game for the very first time, which became the eighth contestant to have a chance to attempt the jackpot but decided to walk away with £100,000. In April 2022, it was announced that ''The Cube'' was to be put on hiatus, with no immediate plans for a new series, but did not rule out future series being commissioned.


Filming

Objective Productions Objective Media Group (OMG), previously known as Objective Productions, is a media production company. It has produced shows including '' The Cube'', ''Lingo'', '' The Gold'', '' Feel Good, Peep Show'', '' Fresh Meat'', and '' Toast of London' ...
first approached
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
in 2008 with the format. It was made into a non-televised
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
by the channel, and was hosted by
Justin Lee Collins Justin Lee Collins (born 1974) is a former actor and radio and television presenter from Bristol, England.Fountain Studios Fountain Studios was an independently owned television studio in Wembley Park, north-west London, England. The company was last part of the Avesco Group plc. Several companies owned the site before it was bought by Fountain in 1993. Originall ...
. ''The Cube'' is one of the first shows to use the game freeze filming technique on a frequent basis, such as when a contestant jumps in celebration. The technique used is called "
Bullet Time Bullet time (also known as frozen moment, dead time, flow motion or time slice) is a visual effect or visual impression of detaching the time and space of a camera (or viewer) from that of its visible subject. It is a depth enhanced simulation of ...
". Using specially designed cameras, it allows the viewer to see one side of the Cube before the action is frozen, spun to another face of the Cube, and then resumed.
Slow-motion Slow motion (commonly abbreviated as slow-mo or slo-mo) is an effect in film-making whereby time appears to be slowed down. It was invented by the Austrian priest August Musger in the early 20th century. This can be accomplished through the use ...
shots are again common to show action replays of the task a contestant just completed, or the critical moment of a game, to heighten the excitement of whether the contestant will succeed or fail. The show makes extensive use of CGI to project images onto the walls and ceiling of the Cube, while a screen on the floor is also capable of showing images. These film techniques make the seemingly simple tasks that are put before the contestants seem much more exciting than they would normally be.


Prize money

Originally, ''The Cube'' had a prize money structure starting at £1,000 and ending at the £250,000 jackpot; in the 2020 series, the jackpot was raised to £1,000,000. Below is a breakdown of the prize money structure as used from Series 1–9, showing the game number and amount of prize money that can be won for successfully completing that game. If a player loses all their lives at any point, their game ends, and they leave with nothing. The only exception is for celebrities, playing for charity, in which £1,000 is awarded. A different game is played at each of the first six levels; the seventh and final level was a game which contestants played before, but at a much higher difficulty level, such as decreased time or a smaller target area.


Transmissions


Ratings


Series 1


Series 2


Series 3


Series 4


Series 5


Series 6


Series 7


Series 8


Series 9


Awards


International versions

The format has been sold to international broadcasters. In the case of the Greek, Turkish and U.S. versions from 2010, only a pilot was ever made. Below is a breakdown of the countries that have created their own versions along with other information including the Jackpot available and broadcast dates. Most versions of ''The Cube'' aired until 2017 used a version of the British intro, for example in the Arab World, Chinese, German, Italian, Russian, Saudi Arabian, and Ukrainian versions, whilst the French and Spanish versions used custom-composed cues whilst maintaining the British music for the games. When the original British version returned, the Australian and Dutch versions also used the new intro, with the Dutch version adding new sound effects. Legend: : Currently airing   : No longer airing   : Non-broadcast pilot   ;Note The UK version of ''The Cube'' was formerly
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...
in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
by
Virgin Media One Virgin Media One, also called Virgin One, is an Irish free-to-air television channel owned by Virgin Media Ireland (part of Liberty Global), operated through its subsidiary Virgin Media Television. The channel launched on 20 September 19 ...
. It is broadcast in
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
on TV1, and in Australia on the
Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
. Old series were broadcast in
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
by
RTRS Radio Television of Republika Srpska (Serbian language, Serbian: ''Радио Телевизија Републике Српске'' / Radio Televizija Republike Srpske or RTRS) is the entity-level Public broadcasting, public broadcaster which o ...
, in
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
by IQS Life and in
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
by MediaCorp Channel 5. The American version of ''The Cube'' was previously broadcast in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
by
ViuTV ViuTV is a Cantonese language Generalist channel, general entertainment television channel in Hong Kong operated by HK Television Entertainment (HKTVE), whose parent company PCCW also operates the IPTV platform Now TV (Hong Kong), Now TV and the ...
.


Filming locations

The German, Italian, Portuguese, Saudi Arabian, Spanish versions, and the 2010 U.S. pilot of ''The Cube'' were filmed at
The Fountain Studios Fountain Studios was an independently owned television studio in Wembley Park, north-west London, England. The company was last part of the Avesco Group plc. Several companies owned the site before it was bought by Fountain in 1993. Originally ...
in London using the British set and games. Other international versions have created their own studio sets. The Chinese version of the show was filmed at the Zhabei Gymnasium in
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
; the Ukrainian version of the show was filmed at the
Antonov Serial Production Plant The Antonov Serial Production Plant (), formerly AVIANT (), is an aircraft manufacturing company in Kyiv, Ukraine, the serial manufacturing division of the Antonov. “Antonov” serial production plant's office and industrial premises are locat ...
in
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
; the Russian version of the show was filmed at the
Ostankino Technical Center Ostankino Television Technical Center () is a television studio and technical center in Moscow, Russia for Channel One Russia. The center provides ongoing technical support to multiple broadcasters in the country. History It was created on Mar ...
in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
; the Arabian version was filmed at the Dubai Studio City in
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
; the French version of the show was filmed in La Plaine Saint-Denis, near
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and the 2021 U.S. version was filmed in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
.


Top prize winners

Across all versions of the show, 8 contestants have won the final game and taken away the jackpot.


Games


Board games

An electronic board game based on the series was made available in stores from November 2010. As of June 2011, the game has been discontinued by most main retailers. The game comes with an electronic handheld system featuring games such as Time Freeze and Stop Zone, as well as 9 balls- six 18mm blow moulded balls, 1 30mm EVA foam ball, 1 25mm hard ball and one 50mm hard ball. The balls are used for different reasons and the foam ball is used for most games with a ball. For Multisphere, all balls are used unless it is being played in a room with hard floors, in that case, eight balls are used. Tubes are used for almost every physical game for starting positions, voids, tubes, towers, and columns. Other equipment in the board game are track pieces, discs, clips, z-shaped platform pieces, cannons, blocks, a ball flipper, a beam and card pieces, and a 7 cm x 7 cm x 7 cm plastic cube for playing a series of physical games. The cube is used for a container and to connect onto the cube platform for the electronic games. A reducer also comes with the cube, allowing it to reduce the size of the open top of the cube. This is, in almost all games involving the cube, removed in a simplify. Many well-known and classic games are here as well as new games such as Roller, Catch, Retrieval and Bounce, everyday life games and interesting and complex games.


Mobile games

Around the time of the release of the board game, a Game App version of the series was made available via the iTunes store for use on the
iPod Touch The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and formerly marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a po ...
,
iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...
, and
iPad The iPad is a brand of tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple that run the company's mobile operating systems iOS and later iPadOS. The IPad (1st generation), first-generation iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. ...
. This app version originally featured sixteen games from the series: Balance, Cylinder, Descent, Drop Zone, Focus, Multisphere, Perimeter, Precision, Quantity, Reaction, Revolution, Shatter, Stabilise, Stop Zone, and Time Freeze. The first update for the game came in April 2011 with Pulse added Another update for the game was made available in June 2011, adding a further free game, Succession, and making eight games available via in-app purchase in 2 "packs" Exact, Pathfinder, Totalise and Tower in Pack one and Invert, Composure, Calculate and Navigate in Pack two. A further update was made available in October 2011, adding a further free game, Axis. 2 further games followed in 2012, Eliminate in April, and Symmetry in October. In February 2013, Chase, which at that time had not been shown on TV, was made available. Almost a year later on 21 February 2014 Avoid was added. The most recent update came on 19 May 2014 when 4 games new games were made available via In-App Purchase. These new games were Reset, Plummet, Selection, and Tally all of which are new games from the most recent series. Following the show's revival in 2020, the app saw the first appearance of a two-player game: Circumvent, and a new 4 game pack featuring Cascade, Downfall, Loop, and Dual Stop. In March 2021, three new two-player games were added: Dual Extraction, Revolve, and Interchange. There are currently 42 games available to play in the App version.


Console game

On 16 November 2012, a Cube game was released on consoles for the first time. It was available on the
Nintendo Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...
,
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...
and
Nintendo 3DS The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...
. 33 games are playable in this version including two unseen new games: Flight Path (already played in international versions) and Retrace. If the Cube is beaten, Extreme Mode is unlocked, featuring more extreme versions of five popular games: Revolution, Pathfinder, Perimeter, Rebound, and Momentum.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cube (British game show), The 2000s British game shows 2009 British television series debuts 2010s British game shows 2020s British game shows 2021 British television series endings BAFTA winners (television series) British television series revived after cancellation British English-language television shows ITV game shows Television series by All3Media Television shows set in London