History Main / ProgressiveJackpot

* Played with in Creator/{{Capcom}}'s ''Pinball/{{Breakshot}}''; the jackpots in Ball-O-Rama and Breakshot Frenzy are constantly rising unless no switches close for seven seconds, in which case they will freeze until a switch closure is detected.

* ''Series/TicTacDough'': The pot in itself in each game was progressive, because each correct answer added to it in different ways (normal outside questions put $200 in, while center-box questions added $300). There were special methods of adding money as well-- the Secret Category (always a red box, and always a random subject) doubled the pot when that question was correctly answered, and the Grand Question did what it said (added $1000 to the pot). Two of the largest pots came with people named Thom and Tom-- $36,800 by Thom McKee over Pete Cooper, and Tom O'Connor for $38,100 over a challenger named Peter.

* ''Series/{{Eggheads}}'': The jackpot starts at £1,000. If the challengers lose, the jackpot increases by £1,000. If they win, it reverts to £1,000 for the next episode.

* ''Classic Concentration'': The base bonus round time was 35 seconds; every time the car wasn't won, five seconds were added to this until the car was won (the highest the timer got was 75 seconds).

** Wrestling/SgtSlaughter and his "Cobra Clutch Challenge," which began in 1981 with a cash payout (initially an unstated amount, but later said to have increased to $5,000 and then later to $10,000). [[note]]One of the first wrestlers to attempt to collect was, incidentally, a young Wrestling/JimDuggan, at the time a Wrestling/{{Jobber}} and years before he became a main-event star challenging Slaughter for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.[[/note]] This was a set-up for a feud with Pat Patterson, then a color commentator on the WWF's syndicated programs. When the jackpot was at $10,000, Patterson attempted the challenge and was about to break out of the cobra clutch (to claim the money) when Slaughter released the hold, initiated a brutal attack and sparked one of the top feuds of the early 1980s.

* ''Series/SchlagDenRaab'': The jackpot starts at €500,000 and the first person (be it the contestant or Stefan) to reach a total of 61 points or more will either win the jackpot and revert it to €500,000 for the next episode (if the contestant wins) or roll it over by another €500,000 (if Stefan wins). The biggest jackpot won by far was €3,500,000, and there have been some occasions in which a contestant won the starting value.

** From 2002 to 2004 (the "9 Keys" era), one "bad" key was eliminated for each star captured (by agreeing/disagreeing correctly about a fact concerning that particular star) in the first half of the bonus game. In the first season with this format, one additional "bad" key was eliminated for each subsequent attempt (1 for the second attempt, 2 for the third attempt, 3 for the fourth attempt, 4 for the fifth {and final} attempt) at the same prize (Car, $25K, Trip Around the World, $50K).

** In 2008 series of Wheel of Fortune in Australia, Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune added another $200,000 space to the bonus wheel until someone claimed the prize.

* ''Eggheads'': The jackpot starts at £1,000. If the challengers lose, the jackpot increases by £1,000. If they win, it reverts to £1,000 for the next episode.

* ''Series/SplitSecond'': On the Kennedy version (1972-75), winning a car also won a jackpot that started at $1,000 and increased by $500 (originally $200) every day it wasn't won.

* [[SpellingBonus Spelling T-U-R-T-L-E-S]] in ''Pinball/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'', which starts the Turtle Millions round.

** Bergeron: started an accruing "Secret Square Stash" during Season 2, usually with a trip or gift card, and added a prize each day until claimed. The highest Secret Square was valued at around $50,700. Strangely it was removed in the final season.

* ''Series/CaesarsChallenge'': The "Lucky Slot", used in the main game; solving the puzzle immediately upon placing a letter into that slot added a jackpot to your score. This started at $500 each day, increasing by that amount for every word in which it wasn't won.
* ''Series/ChainReaction'': The Canadian version (1986-91) awarded $3,000 for winning the bonus round plus $1,000 for every day it wasn't won; this was dropped to $2000 in 1988 and the switch to solo players.

** NBC daytime: the jackpot (of merchandise prizes) started at $1,000 (later $2,000 by 1970, and $3,500 to $4,500 by the late 1970s) and rose by somewhere between $1,000 and $2,000 (during the early years) to somewhere between $3,000 and $5,000 (in the late 1970s) for each day that it wasn't won. It wasn't uncommon for Secret Squares to reach $20,000, and at least one such jackpot reached $35,000 before being won.
** Bergeron: started an accruing "Secret Square Stash" during Season 2, usually with a trip or gift card, and added a prize each day until claimed. The highest Secret Square was valued at around $50,700.

* ''Series/SaleOfTheCentury'': The cash jackpot in the "shopping" endgame, and later the "Instant Cash" segment, both of which increased by $1,000 per day. On the Australian version, the Cash Jackpot increased by $2,000 per day.

* ''Series/TruthOrConsequences'': The "Mrs. Hush" contest, a March of Dimes fundraiser during the show's radio days, was possibly the trope originator. Basically, for every week a mysterious actress went unidentified (the clues for which were at first vague but later became more and more narrow), more prizes were added until someone guessed the correct answer. Go to Trivia.TruthOrConsequences for the further lowdown.

* ''Pinball/{{Monopoly}}'' has the value of Free Parking, which starts at 100,000 points, grows by 5,000 each time the target is hit in normal gameplay, is carried over from game to game, and is only obtainable when you start Free Parking Multiball (which is fairly rare- only either via Chance card, or by landing on Free Parking after a Roll & Collect).

-->-- '''Geoff Edwards''', ''[[TreasureHuntUS Treasure Hunt]]''

* ''Series/ChainReaction'': The Canadian version (1986-91) awarded $2,000 for winning the bonus round plus $1,000 for every day it wasn't won.

* ''Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'': Having suffered a long drought of no million-dollar winners, the ABC version eventually started adding $10,000 to the grand prize every time it wasn't won, including the 71 days between the last million-dollar winner and the date the jackpot was first offered.

* ''Series/AllStarBlitz'': The jackpot for the [[BonusRound Blitz Bonanza]] started at $10,000, and increased by $2,500 every time it wasn't won or until reaching $25,000; this was later modified to increase by $2,000 and cap at $20,000.

* ''Pinball/PartyZone'' has the Big Bang jackpot.

* [[SpellingBonus Spelling ELVIRA]] in ''Pinball/ElviraAndThePartyMonsters'' lights a three-million point shot; the letters carry over across players and games.

* ''Series/AllStarBlitz'': The BonusRound jackpot, the "Blitz Bonanza", started at $10,000, and increased by $2,500 every time it wasn't won.

* ''Wordplay'': Winning the Double Definition BonusRound was worth $5,000 plus $2,500 for every day it wasn't won.