Wheel of Fortune

Wheel of Fortune is a television game show originally devised by Merv Griffin which runs in local editions around the world. It involves three contestants competing against each other to solve a word puzzle similar to Hangman. The name of the show comes from the large wheel that determines the dollar amounts and prizes won (or lost) by the contestants.

Special Rounds

In recent years, various special rounds have been introduced.

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Toss-up Round

This was made possible with the advent of an electronic board, compared to the mechanical board. A puzzle is revealed one letter at a time except for the last letter (similar to the Speedword on the Scrabble game show). A player may buzz in to solve the puzzle for a set amount of money ($1000, $2000, or $3000 in the U.S. version).

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In the present U.S. version, two toss-ups for $1000 and $2000 start the game, with the second one determining who starts round 1. (The first one simply determines who the host introduces first.) The $3000 toss-up determines who starts the fourth round, which is usually the speed-up round.

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An incorrect guess disqualifies that player for the rest of the puzzle. If all of the spaces are filled in or all of the players are incorrect, no cash is won, and play began with either the left-most contestant or (if it was Round 4) wherever it left off before.

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If two or all three players are tied at the end of the game, then a toss up round is played for the right to go to the Bonus Round. No money is at stake in this round, and this has happened at least once.

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The Australian version added their version of a toss-up (called a Flip Up there) in 2004, when the puzzle board was switched from a mechanical one to an electronic board.

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Bankrupt/$10,000/Bankrupt (Round 1)

In the first round, a wedge is placed on the wheel that reads $10,000 in the middle peg gap and Bankrupt in the other two. Landing on Bankrupt results in a normal Bankrupt; landing on the $10,000 allows the player to guess a letter. If he/she is correct, the player picks up the wedge and it is treated as a prize (in other words it can only be won by solving the puzzle; he/she can only win $10,000, and the money cannot be used to buy vowels.)

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When this space debuted in the 1994-1995 season, it was on the wheel starting in round three and remained on the wheel until a contestant landed on the $10,000 slot, called a good consonant, picked it up and placed it in his/her bank. This space was originally on top of one of the two bankrupt spaces, but is now over the orange $800 space in round one.

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Jackpot Round (Round 2)

After each spin, the value of the spin is added to the jackpot, regardless of whether or not the letter chosen is in the puzzle. The jackpot starts at $5,000 (when the Friday Finals existed, the Jackpot on that certain episode starts at $10,000 rather than the usual $5,000). If a player spins and lands on Jackpot, they must call a letter in the puzzle and solve the puzzle ALL IN ONE TURN. Pat usually asks the contestant if they'd like to solve for the Jackpot, so they know that if they can solve it, they'll win whatever is in the Jackpot.

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Originally, the Jackpot Round was played in Round 3.

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1987-1989 Jackpot

The current Jackpot Round debuted in 1996, and was quite different from a Jackpot Round that was part of the NBC daytime show from 1987-1989.

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That version of the Jackpot Round worked just like the syndicated Prize Rounds. The Jackpot space went into the player's bank (for correctly guessing a letter), and won the value for solving the puzzle AND avoiding Bankrupt.

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The Jackpot started at $1,000 and was non-accumulating; it increased by $1,000 for each show it went unclaimed. The resulting Jackpot was not a cash prize; it simply became available for shopping.

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Prize Round

The Prize Round was added in 1983, for the syndicated version only. It was played in Round 2, and the prize usually was worth anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000. The prize space originally concealed a $150 amount. When the "all cash" format was added in 1987, a second Prize Round was added, usually in Round 4; both prizes were specific to that round. The Prize Rounds were added to the daytime show in 1989.

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The player had to avoid "Bankrupt" and solve the puzzle to win the prize.

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The Prize Round has changed several times through the years, and currently is played in Round 1. The prize ? which is almost always a trip ? now carries over to later rounds. The prize value is usually worth between $4,000 and $10,000.

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Originally, a contestant who landed on the prize simply picked it up and it went into his/her bank. By 1989, a contestant had to guess a letter to be able to pick up the prize.

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As of 2003, along with the announced prize, there were two or three smaller "prize tokens" on the wheel ? usually gift certificates, gift packages or items such as an XM Satellite Radio. A crafty spinner could pick up several of these prize cards in a single round.

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Mystery Round (Round 3)

Two $1000 spaces marked with a stylized question mark are placed on the wheel.

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If a player lands on one of these mystery wedges and guesses a letter in the puzzle, they may either take $1000 per letter as normal, or turn over the mystery wedge.

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On the other side of the mystery wedge contains either a Bankrupt or a prize (usually $10–13,000 cars or a $10,000 prize).

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If the player reveals the prize, as with any other wheel prize, they must solve the puzzle without hitting Bankrupt to win it.

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After one mystery wedge is revealed, that space becomes a normal $500 wedge, and the other mystery wedge acts as a regular $1000 space for the remainder of the round.

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Up to the 2004 season, the Mystery spaces were worth only $500 each.

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Speed-Up Round

Four consecutive bell-ringing (similar to a tugboat's bell) sounds (with a brief pause between the second and third rings) are heard. Host: "That sound means time is running out. So I'll give the wheel a final spin." As the wheel is spinning down: "You give me a letter, and if it's in the puzzle you'll have three (previously five) seconds to solve it. Vowels worth nothing, consonants worth..." the value of the space on which the pointer lands. Often this happens in the middle of a round, usually the fourth round, although some fast-paced games continue to a fifth and (rarely) even a sixth round. In slower games, the final spin will start the fourth round. The audience is told to keep silent so the answer cannot be revealed.

Related Topics:
Tugboat - Silent

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In recent U.S. seasons, $1,000 is added to the value of the final spin (for example, landing on $550 means consonants are worth $1,550). Previously, the speed-up round was often anticlimactic, especially when the leader had a huge lead over the second- and third-place contestants and Sajak landed on a small dollar amount. The wheel almost always lands on $5000 if a contestant has not spun the wheel.

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On some versions, such as in the U.S., the host intentionally aims for the top dollar value with the final spin; the wheel is set to give the host a better chance of hitting it. In other versions, the host gives a random spin. If the host spins bankrupt or lose-a-turn, or a remaining prize (when they were on the board on the final round) in the final spin, he spins again. In the current version, final spins that land on bankrupt or lose-a-turn are edited out.

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The record for the most money won in any maingame round is $54,000, set during a February 2005 episode from Las Vegas. The all-time maingame winnings record is $65,250, set during a 2001 College Week episode from Washington D.C.

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Puzzle Round

Some puzzles have a question that can be answered in order to win some extra money ($3,000 on the U.S. version). Categories for this puzzle include:

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• Clue: The puzzle describes a person, place, thing or event, and the contestant wins money for guessing that object.
• Fill In the Blank: Three question marks appear by themselves in the puzzle, representing a common word. After guessing the puzzle, the contestant can identify the word that goes in the blank.

Example of Fill In The Blank

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? And Sour

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? Dreams

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? Home Alabama

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The answer to the blanks is Sweet, and correctly guessing that earns the player $3,000.

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• Next Line Please: The puzzle is a sentence of some sort; the contestant wins money for continuing the sentence.
• Slogan: The contestant must identify the brand or company that uses the slogan used in the puzzle.
• Who Is It/Are They?: The puzzle is a description of (a) person/people, dead or alive, real or fictional. The contestant must identify the person/people the puzzle is talking about.
• Where Are We?: Similar to to Who Is It? except that the puzzle gives landmarks, traditions, etc. about the location. The contestant has to guess where the puzzle "is."
• Who Said It?: Like the category quotation, except that the contestant must identify who said it.
• Fill In The Number/s: The puzzle contains numbers, except that the number/s is/are replaced with sharps (#). The person who solves the round has to fill in the number/s. For example, a Fill in the Number puzzle would look like this:

TO BE ELATED IS TO BE ON CLOUD NUMBER #

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The answer is 9, and guessing 9 earns $3,000.

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Prize Puzzle

As indicated at the beginning of a puzzle, at seemingly random intervals there are Prize Puzzles that award the winner with a prize somehow relating to the puzzle.

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Example: If the solution was "FUN IN THE SUN", the player would win a trip to a tropical island.

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Starting sometime near the end of 2004 (which was during the 21st season), home viewers (in the U.S. only) were given a chance to win the same prize as the contestants with a "Special Personal Identification Number" (S.P.I.N), consisting the first letter of their first and last name, and five numbers (example: AB12345) from the show's web site, and having twenty four hours to log on and claim their prize.

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Apparently somewhere around this time, the prizes given away became exclusively trips.

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