User:Twigboy/Sandbox/Wheel of Fortune

Gameplay
Before taping begins, the players draw numbered balls out of a container to determine their positions on the contestant podium. The player drawing 1 stands at the host's immediate left, behind a red arrow; number 2 to that player's left, behind a yellow arrow; and number 3 on player 2's left, behind a blue arrow. Each player stands on a platform which may be raised to adjust the height of the player. The white arrow in front of each player determines the value of that player's spins of the wheel. Play proceeds from right to left from the contestants' perspective: from red to yellow to blue, then back to red. Prior to the introduction of the Toss-Up puzzles in 2000 (see below), the red player played first in Round 1, yellow in Round 2, and blue in Round 3. If time permitted, the order repeated itself beginning with the red player in Round 4.

Starting a round
On a turn, a player can choose to spin the wheel, buy a vowel, or attempt to solve the puzzle. The wheel has 24 wedges; each is three spaces wide, for a total of 72 possible positions. The only exception is the special wedge used in Round 1, which has one space for a $10,000 prize surrounded by two Bankrupts. When a normal round begins, the spaces in a puzzle are shown as blank white spaces on the board. The category for the round is given, and any punctuation marks are revealed (except commas, which are omitted from the puzzle). Apostrophes and hyphens are the most common marks; ampersands and periods (for initials) sometimes occur.

Spinning the wheel
A player spins the wheel, and the result is determined by which space is in front of that player's white arrow (pointer) when the wheel stops. The wheel may stop on a cash value, a prize (including a Free Spin or Wild card for use later in the game), or penalty spaces marked LOSE A TURN or BANKRUPT. There are also some special spaces which only appear in one round (e.g., Jackpot in Round 2). If the result is anything but a penalty space, the player asks for a consonant (including Y). If the requested letter is in the puzzle, all its instances light up and the hostess touches the screens (turned the trilons until 1997) to reveal them.

Because the Wheel weighs approximately two tons, risers are placed behind the podiums for short contestants to give them enough leverage to get a decent spin of the wheel. However, only contestants with a considerable amount of upper-body strength will get more than one revolution with a single spin. This is in contrast to earlier years on the show, when the wheel would routinely spin several revolutions.

Cash spaces
thumb|left|175px|The original $5,000 space, as seen in a promo when the nighttime Wheel debuted in 1983. If a player lands on a dollar value and calls a consonant that is in the puzzle, that player receives the cash value of the space for each instance of that letter in the puzzle. (For example, if the player lands on $700 and calls "D", and there are 4 D's, $2,800 is earned). Since 1999, the minimum cash value on the wheel has been $300 (originally $100 from 1983-1986, $150 from 1986-1996, and $250 from 1996-1999). Since 2000, top dollar values that may be multiplied and spent have been $2,500 in the first round, $3,500 in the second and third rounds, and $5,000 in the fourth and any subsequent rounds. (In the 1983-1987 shopping era, the top dollar values have been $1,000 for the first two rounds, and $5,000 for any subsequent rounds. From 1997 to 2000, the top dollar values have been $1,000 in the first round, $2,500 in the second round, $3,500 in the third round, and $5,000 in the fourth and any subsequent rounds. Early on during the "play for cash" era, after the third round, if time allowed, they would go directly to the fourth round with no commercial break; in this case, the top dollar value would remain $3,500 for the fourth round, and the $5,000 top value would be delayed until the fifth round.) The $10,000 space and Mystery prize (even when it is cash) are prize wedges, and therefore do not multiply; the Big Money space, while spendable, does not multiply.

Prize spaces
A special prize wedge on the wheel may be claimed if a player landing on it requests a consonant that is in the puzzle. That contestant must then solve the puzzle that same round, without hitting Bankrupt, to win the prize. Until 1990, when a contestant landed on a prize, it was immediately picked up and claimed, and then the player would pick a consonant for the dollar value under it (which was usually $150).

Until 1997, prizes were represented by distinctly colored yellow-green wedges with the name of the prize in black letters. The wedges now contain descriptive artwork. These prizes, now placed over the lavender $350 space, are usually trips valued from $5,000 to $10,000. In 2000, the show also introduced $1,000 gift tags from a sponsor, represented on the wheel by small oval tokens; although multiple tags per game were used for a time, currently a single gift tag is placed over the pink $300 space (see below). When a prize wedge or gift tag is picked up from the wheel, it reveals the cash value of the space it was covering, and the space becomes that normal cash value for the rest of the show. When gift tags are claimed, they are placed on the railing immediately in front of the contestant; full-sized prize wedges are placed horizontally across the red, yellow or blue triangle in front of the player's podium. Prizes and gift tags remain on the wheel through Round 3 if unclaimed, and are not multiplied if the letter called appears more than once.

Free Spin
If the pointer lands on the Free Spin token, a contestant can win it by calling a correct letter (in the same manner as a prize) and may retain it throughout the game. The token is not lost (unlike other prizes) if the player does not win the round. If that player later lands on Bankrupt or Lose a Turn, guesses an incorrect letter, or solves the puzzle incorrectly, the Free Spin can be redeemed to claim an extra turn at any point in the game until the Speed-Up Round; this does not however, recover money or prizes lost to Bankrupt.

Until 1989, Free Spin was a full tan wedge that remained on the wheel throughout Round 1 (and later, also Round 2). The tokens were stored in a stack at the host's podium, and were awarded automatically every time a player landed on the wedge, so that players could accumulate multiple free spins without successfully guessing letters in the puzzle. When the show moved production to CBS Television City in 1989, shiny green tokens with the two yellow italic words "Free" above and below the white uppercase word "SPIN" were adopted, and only one Free Spin token, placed over top of the hundreds digit of a dollar amount, could be claimed during the game.

Since late 1990 (the start of Season 8), a contestant has been required to call a consonant that appears in the puzzle in order to claim the Free Spin token. Before 2007, the token was removed from the wheel after Round 2 if no one had claimed it by then. Now, during the first three rounds (if it has not already been picked up), the Free Spin token covers a dollar sign instead of a dollar amount. The contestant landing on it and calling a correct consonant now earns the token plus the multipliable cash value beneath it (currently the green $300 space).

Penalty spaces

 * LOSE A TURN: If a player lands on Lose a Turn, the player's turn ends.
 * BANKRUPT: If a player lands on Bankrupt, the player's turn ends and any cash and prizes accumulated thus far in the round are lost. Any cash or prize winnings from previous rounds are unaffected.

A player with a Free Spin may redeem it to continue playing after landing on a penalty space.

Speed-up round (final spin)
When time is running short in the game, a bell rings four times, signaling the start of the speed-up round. Usually, this occurs in the beginning or middle of Round 4, but faster-paced games may include five or even six rounds. Prior to the introduction of the Toss-Up puzzles, the speed-up round was sometimes omitted, or Sajak would announce that the speed-up round was to be played at the beginning of Round 4. Sajak gives the wheel a "Final Spin" and the remainder of the game is played using the value of this spin, plus $1,000, for all remaining consonants. At the start of Round 4, the wheel is intentionally pre-positioned to increase the odds of Sajak hitting the top dollar space should the speed-up round begin before the first spin. Since the top dollar value in Round 4 is $5,000, the Final Spin may be worth as much as $6,000 per consonant.

The extra $1,000 was added to the value of the Final Spin beginning in 1999. This rule change makes it less likely that the round will be anti-climactic, as was often the case when one player had a large lead and Sajak spun a small dollar amount which made it impossible for the others to catch up. Before 1996, there was also a $1,500 space on the wheel during this round, which had lessened the possibility of a runaway game.

Beginning with the player whose turn it was when the bell rang, each contestant calls one letter; a consonant which appears in the puzzle is worth the above value, while vowels may be called, at no cost but also no cash value. If the letter appears in the puzzle, the player has three seconds (five seconds until 1998) to solve it. The timer does not begin until the hostess completely moves over to one side of the board. The player is allowed to try several solutions on the same turn within the allotted time. If the player does not solve, control passes to the next player.

If the final spin lands on a non-dollar space (such as Bankrupt or Lose a Turn), it does not count and the host spins again. (In the early seasons, these spins were shown and the "slide" sound effect would play, but they are now edited out of the broadcast.) The record for the most money won in the speed-up round is $54,000 (nine consonants at $6,000 apiece), which has occurred three times.

Buying a vowel
A player who has at least $250 in cash may opt to buy a vowel for that amount; $250 is deducted from the player's score as a flat rate, not multiplied by the number of instances that the vowel appears. The amount is even deducted if the vowel called does not appear in the puzzle.

Solving the puzzle
At the beginning of any turn, a player can attempt to read the solution to the incomplete puzzle. If the guess is incorrect, the player's turn ends, and the player may use a Free Spin if available. Only the player who correctly solves the puzzle keeps the earnings from the round.

The puzzle must be read exactly as it appears; no words may be added or omitted. Although alternate dialectal pronunciations are generally accepted (such as "expresso" instead of "espresso"), the pronunciation must also be valid.

If the player solves correctly, and his or her total is less than $1,000 (combined cash and the stated cash value of prizes), the player's score is augmented to a "house minimum", currently $1,000. The house minimum for solving a puzzle has increased over time: from $200 (1983-1995), to $500 (1995-2005), and $1,000 since 2005. During special weeks featuring two-player teams, the house minimum is $2,000, with any scores below that amount being augmented accordingly.

During the early years of the series, a round would sometimes be interrupted by a commercial break. The host would instruct the contestants to face away from the board during the break; this ensured that no one could gain an unfair advantage by studying the board during the break. Today, the show does not break except between rounds, but contestants are still required (off-camera) to face away from the board during those breaks while new puzzles are set up and round-specific spaces (such as Jackpot or Mystery wedges) are added or removed.

Shopping
Originally, a contestant who won a round would spend the money shopping for prizes displayed in the studio, generally including cars, furniture, trips, furs, and jewelry. A particular prize could only be bought once per episode. This format was changed to play-for-cash in 1987.

Each round corresponded to a prize showcase with a certain theme (e.g. the "Backyard Patio"). The contestant who solved the puzzle had the opportunity to shop for prizes in that round's showcase. The showcase changed after each of the first two rounds. The showcase prizes were placed on a turntable which was partitioned into three spaces, revolving to show only the prizes available at that particular time in the game. The largest prizes, such as cars, were not limited to a specific showcase, but were available throughout the show.

A player who did not have enough money left to buy the least expensive remaining prize was offered a gift certificate in the remaining amount for merchandise from a particular retailer. A less popular option, which was available at any time while shopping, was to place the money "On Account." With this option, the contestant risked those winnings during subsequent rounds. The player had to avoid Bankrupt spaces and win another round in order to keep the money and use it for shopping. This option was intended to allow the contestant to accumulate winnings to eventually purchase a larger, more desirable prize, such as a car; however, it was not often used. A large prize could also be played for in the bonus round, lessening the incentive to put money "On Account" during the game, though the option was offered until shopping ended in 1987.

Contestants kept any prizes purchased during the shopping portion of the show, regardless of the game's outcome or if they landed on Bankrupt spaces in future rounds. Sajak always reminded contestants (and viewers at home): "Try not to hit Bankrupt, because if you do, you lose your cash, but not your merchandise, because once you buy a prize, it's yours to keep."

Playing for cash
In 1987, the producers of "Wheel" experimented with an all-cash format, and quickly decided to make it permanent. Removing the shopping segments after each round sped up gameplay considerably, making it common to see four and possible to see up to seven puzzles on a given night instead of the three seen during the shopping format. During the cash format, the person who solves the puzzle wins whatever amount he or she has in cash, in addition to prizes earned during a round. The total value of prizes won is added to the contestant's cash score to determine a daily winner. (The daytime version also adopted this format from 1989 to 1991, though with substantially lower cash amounts.)

As with the Shopping era, once a player solves a puzzle, any winnings are theirs to keep, regardless of whether they land on a Bankrupt wedge in a subsequent round, or whether or not they win the game and advance to the bonus round. Players who do not solve any puzzles are given $1,000 (parting gifts until 2002, $500 from 2002-2005) at the end of the game as a "house minimum" consolation prize.