Main game: Lucky Letters

The contestants were shown a board of 15 numbers, ranging from 1 to 99 and arranged in three rows of five. Hidden behind some of these numbers were letters that spelled out two words in a category announced by Coia. The other numbers concealed "lousy letters" that did not belong in either word. Every letter in a word was vertically or horizontally adjacent to the one after it, and the initial "starter letter" was marked by a gold star. No individual space was used in both words, or more than once in either word alone.

Each contestant chose a number from the board to start the round. If the letter behind it belonged in a word, the number was added to their score; if it was a lousy letter, they received no points for that turn. After all three contestants had had two turns (later reduced to one), Coia began to ask toss-up questions on the buzzer, and the contestant who responded correctly chose a number. Finding a starter letter immediately awarded a free turn, and completing a word awarded both a free turn and a 50-point bonus. However, if the contestant completed a word by finding its starter letter, they received only one free turn. The round ended when all the letters in both words had been uncovered.

Three rounds were played, with the lowest scorer at the end of each round choosing first in the next one. The high scorer after the third round advanced to the Spellbound Challenge.

Bonus round: Spellbound Challenge

The five vowels (A, E, I, O, U) were displayed three times each on the board, covered with playing card symbols (diamonds, hearts, clubs, spades, jokers) and scrambled. Based on Coia's talk with the contestant about their hobbies, three words were chosen and stripped of their first two vowels. The contestant had eight chances to complete the words by uncovering the six vowels on the board. When a usable vowel was found, the contestant chose where to put it in the three words.

At different times during the show's run, either cash or prizes would be at stake. When cash was offered, the contestant won £250 for completing each of the first two words, and the third replaced this money with a jackpot of at least £1,000 that was randomly set at the beginning of the episode. In the case of prizes, the first completed word awarded a prize and each successive word replaced it with one of greater value.