# Running total ticks up with every part

A gaming format, measured November 8, 2026 by Volume. https://tryvolume.app/working/gaming/running-total-ticks-up-with-every-part

Price a build or setup component by component with a visible running total, saving the most expensive item for last. It worked for 3 accounts, with a median of 7x their usual reach. Type: Editing trick. Seen as: Green screen, Talking head, Screen recording.

## Why it works

The climbing counter makes people wait for the final number, and the inflated totals trigger price-outrage comments. Toastybros, Techtesseract and Linustech all use it.

## How to make it

1. Show the original or starting price first
2. Hold up or add each component and flash its price
3. Keep a total pinned on screen
4. Reveal the shocking grand total at the end

## Hook formula

How much would it cost to build [past item] today?

## Examples

- @toastybros (33K followers, Instagram green screen): 30x their usual views. Hook: “DO YOU REMEMBER” [Original post](https://www.instagram.com/p/DeNYe0dBu10/)
- @techtesseract (1.1M followers, Instagram talking head): 8.7x their usual views. Hook: “How much my husband's PC today?” [Original post](https://www.instagram.com/p/DfC5hJRsx0X/)
- @linustech (1.8M followers, Instagram screen recording): 3.1x their usual views. Hook: “Total Cost: $0” [Original post](https://www.instagram.com/p/DdwoSRRkQGn/)

More gaming formats: https://tryvolume.app/working/gaming.md

## Get the full library

The full library has every post, format and hook in gaming, plus long-running Meta ads, and your AI agent can search it over MCP. The library comes with Volume Core and Pro, from $29.99 a month, and every plan starts with a 3-day free trial. Start a free trial: https://tryvolume.app/library

Agents: add Volume's MCP server (https://app.tryvolume.app/api/mcp) and call `search_library(shelf: "formats", niche: "Gaming")` for every format, `search_library(shelf: "posts", niche: "Gaming")` for examples with transcripts and scripts.

## How this is measured

- Every post is compared with its own account's usual reach, not with other accounts. "14x their usual" means the post got 14 times the median views of that account's recent posts.
- TikTok videos and Instagram Reels are measured on views. Instagram carousels have no view count, so they are measured on likes against the account's usual likes, and say so.
- A post makes the library at 2x its account's usual or more. A format is a repeatable move (what is said or shown, or how it is edited) that several accounts used in breakout posts. It is listed here once it worked for 3 or more different accounts.
- Formats rank on how many accounts they worked for and how far above usual, damped so a fluke on one tiny account cannot outrank a format that worked for ten.

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