Premise: Eleven teams race around the world, competing in several
different challenges, hoping to not be the last team to check in
at the Pit Stop. The final three teams in the race compete to
reach the finish line first, the team that does so wins the grand
prize, $1,000,000.
Each show is one leg of the race. Teams check out of the Pit Stop
twelve hours after checking in, so the first team in is the first
team out. Teams are given a pouch with Route Info and a Fast
Forward clue. Teams are looking for a yellow and white banner that
has the next clue. Starting with season two, the banner is yellow with a red stripe in the middle. This change was made so teams could see it more easily while on the move.
Fast Forward: The most coveted pass of the entire game. The team
that finds the Fast Forward pass does not have to complete any
more tasks, and can head straight to the goal. Each team can only
use the Fast Forward pass once during the journey. Use of this pass
is crucial; some teams went from second-to-last, to first, to last over
three episodes because the Fast Forward was used at a bad time.
In season five, there were two Fast Forward passes, on back-to-back legs. This also was how the sixth leg worked.
Detour: Usually the first task of a leg, the teams have a choice to make. After completing one of the two tasks, the team can move on.
Not completing a detour costs the team a 4-hour penalty, which begins when the next team enters the Detour area.
Road Block: One team member must complete a task before the pair
can move on. A time penalty is assessed if not completed properly. Starting with season six, each teammate is restricted to six Road Blocks.
Yield: Starting with season five, this spot along the race course allows teams to hinder the progress of another team. If a team wishes to invoke the yield, they put the picture of the team they wish to use it on on the board, along with a picture of themselves (so the other team knows who did it). The team suffering the yield must wait at the Yield mat until they turn over an hourglass and all of the sand runs out. They may then rejoin the race. Each team may only use the yield once during the race, but a team may be the victim of a yield many times. In season five, there was a yield point during each leg, in season six there were only three.
The Pit Stop: Both members of the team must step onto a mat with
the show logo. On eight of the episodes, the last team to check in
is eliminated from the game. At three points of the show, the last
place team tets to stick around. Starting with Season Two, the first team (or teams) to check into some Pit Stops win prizes, ranging from digital cameras, to cruises and trips to Hawaii to enjoy after the race.
Starting with the fifth season, the team that checks in last on an Elimination leg must surrender all of the money they have accumulated along the way. In addition, they are given $0 to start the next leg.
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