The Brainteaser Experience
By James Aukett
The pyramid works as follows - the contestant is given a three letter word to start off with, with an extra letter provided in the next space down. The contestant then has to jumble the letters of the three letter word around to fit with that extra letter so a new four letter word is formed. (No, I don't mean THAT kind of four letter word!) If the contestant works it out correctly, then they have the opportunity to do virtually the same thing, though this time the extra letter is given in the next space below and they have to come up with a five letter word. If the contestant gets that correct, they have the opportunity to go through the same format with a six letter word, then a seven letter word, and then finally, if they're feeling brave enough, they can attempt to solve an eight letter word where the big jackpot awaits them. As the length of the word increases, so does the prize money on offer (£100, followed by £200, £500, £750, £1500, and then finally £3000 should the contestant go on to solve the eight letter word). However, there is a risk! The contestant is given 45 seconds in which to solve the entire pyramid. The clock ticks down as they guess the word, but stops as soon as they get the word correct. As soon as that happens, they have the opportunity to quit and take whatever prize money they have won, or attempt to go on and solve the longer word with whatever time they have remaining. If they take the latter option but don't have a correct answer in time, they face losing all the money already won when the clocks hits zero.

So, how did I do? Well, I was given the three letter word
EAR to start off. 45 seconds began ticking and I was given the extra letter B - I correctly guessed BEAR with 43 seconds remaining. I went ahead to solve the next word, being given the extra letter G. I correctly guessed BARGE without using a single second! Things were looking good, so I decided to attempt to solve the next word. With the extra letter N, I correctly guessed BANGER - and there were 41 seconds still left! Realising my potential, I decided to carry on at a point where most people cop out - I was given the extra letter I and assumed the word was BEARING, although Bear was already on the pyramid. But unbelievably I was right. I had got up to the seven letter word with a massive 39 seconds at my disposal.

But the question was, dare I risk all to tackle the final word? At the rate I was going, there was only one sensible answer - yes. I had to give it a shot, especially since I was doing so well. I was given the extra letter
K, and then I said the word BREAKING. At that point Craig shouted, "Stop the clock!" I gave a triumphant cry of jubilation - I had done it! I had solved the entire pyramid with an awesome 37 seconds still on the clock, earning myself £3000 in the process!
SUMMARY OF "THE PYRAMID"
The extra letter in each word is underlined with the amount of time I had remaining on the clock in brackets.

EAR (45) - £100 word
BEAR (43) - £200 word
BARGE (43) - £500 word
BANGER (41) - £750 word
BEARING (39) - £1500 word
BREAKING (37) - £3000 word
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