Break the Bank featured nine celebrities, and pitted one male and one female contestant against one another (similar to The Hollywood Squares).

When either a money box or the Wild Card was uncovered, a question was asked to the two celebrities connected to that number.

If no one broke the bank before time ran out, the player who had won more games was declared the winner.

The round ended if the contestant either found the "BUST" card, which forfeited the accumulated money, or reached a total of $2,000 or more, in which case his/her winnings were increased to $5,000.

On the syndicated version, each episode was self-contained due to syndication practices of the era; two contestants competed for the entire episode, with multiple games per show, and the contestant who broke the bank first or won the most games became champion and played the bonus round.

The rules and materials were based on the syndicated version of the show, with the $100–$300–$500 cash cards and the Bonus Round.