Thunderball !

» Thunderball is another interesting game from the UK National Lottery.

Thunderball is another interesting game from the UK National Lottery. In this game the key to winning a prize is matching the Thunderball – it could be the game for you if you have a special lucky number!

Running alongside the Lotto draw on Wednesdays and Saturdays, the entry fee is £1 and you must be 16 or over to play. Prizes vary from £5 up to £250’00.

» How to play

To play Thunderball, the player has to pick five numbers from 1-34. The Thunderball is a separate number from 1-14. The key to winning a prize is matching the Thunderball number.

You can match as few as one number as long as you have matched the Thunderball you will get a prize; match 5 numbers and a Thunderball and the jackpot is yours!

Draws are made twice weekly and on a separate machine from the Lotto draw although they will take place on the same show. Thunderball can be played with an official slip or it can be played online and up to 8 weeks in advance. Like with the UK Lotto game, the lucky dip function can be used, meaning the machine will generate some random numbers for you. Remember to choose the correct amount of games and the correct days you want to play.

» Prizes

Matching one number and the Thunderball will give you £5, matching 2 and the Thunderball or 3 main numbers gives you £10, matching 3 numbers and a Thunderball gives you £20, matching 4 main numbers gives you £100, matching 4 numbers and the Thunderball gives you £250, 5 main numbers gives you £5,000 and 5 numbers plus the Thunderball gives you the jackpot of £250,000.

When claiming a prize you must have a valid ticket that needs to be verified. If you bought your ticket online then you will be notified of winning. You have 6 months or 180 days to claim your prize (and people sometimes forget!) and if it isn’t claimed in this period it will be given to the Lotto fund.

If claiming a small cash prize, you can usually collect these at a Kiosk point. If you are collecting anything over £500, you will be given a cheque by the Lottery. If you are claiming anything £10,000 and above, you will need to visit the Lottery HQ in person and your identity will be verified due to the amount of money

Results can be checked online, on TV or Teletext if you are in the UK and in the national papers. You can also use the result checker on the official National Lottery Website which will match your winning numbers with all possible winning combinations.

Don’t forget you can use Thunderball to play with Syndicates too – playing on the internet is ideal as you can play up to 25 lines at a time and you don’t have to worry about taking care of the ticket.