Wheel of Fortune (video game)

Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, premiering in 1975 with a syndicated version airing in 1983. Since 1986, the show has been adapted into various video games, most (if not all) based on the syndicated nighttime version. Most versions released before 1998 were published by GameTek, which folded later that year. The modern versions of the Wheel of Fortune video games feature co-host Vanna White since 1991 and host Pat Sajak since 2010. From 1998 until 2010, the show's announcer Charlie O'Donnell participated, with the last of which was released posthumously.

The video games released include a computer game for older Macintosh computers, a version for the Commodore 64, a game for the Nintendo Entertainment System released before the overhaul of the bonus round during the "Big Month of Cash", a version for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis, a Nintendo 64 version, several PC versions, as well as some arcade versions. In addition, several handheld game versions, as well as slot machine versions were also released.

Contents 1 Console versions 2 PC versions 3 Online Versions 3.1 Wheel of Fortune on Facebook 4 Arcade versions 5 Redemption games 5.1 Lazer-Tron version (Spin To Win) 5.2 Funhouse version 5.3 ICE versions 5.4 Konami version 6 Slot machines 7 Play-along versions 8 Pinball machine 9 Handheld games 10 Cancelled versions 11 See also 12 References 13 External links

Console versions

Wheel of Fortune Original release date(s): 1986	Release years by system: Commodore 64
	Notes: Published by Sharedata.
Wheel of Fortune Original release date(s): 1987	Release years by system: Nintendo Entertainment System
	Notes: Designed by Rare, each player enters their selection by using the controller to scroll through the alphabet, contained in a string along the bottom of the screen; the player loses their turn if too much time is taken. A player attempting to solve the puzzle has to enter the exact solution to be credited with a victory. This game and both subsequent versions featured three rounds, a wheel that never changed values or templates (top value in every round was $1,000), and Round 3 is the Speed-Up Round with the Final Spin. If the player advances to the Bonus Round, they choose a prize to play for and try to solve the final puzzle by choosing five consonants and one vowel (this was before R, S, T, L, N, and E were given in the offset). There is a Coca-Cola logo, hidden among the game's sprites, that is not used anywhere within the game proper. (Merv Griffin Productions was owned by Coca-Cola at the time.)[1]
Wheel of Fortune: New Third Edition Original release date(s): 1988	Release years by system: Commodore 64
	Notes: Published by Sharedata.[2]
Wheel of Fortune: Junior Edition Original release date(s): April 1988	Release years by system: Nintendo Entertainment System
	Notes: Follow-up developed by Rare. This edition uses puzzles more identifiable to children and prizes to match (instead of playing for cars, players can win trips or similar items).
Wheel of Fortune Original release date(s): September 1990	Release years by system: Game Boy
	Notes: The wheel has values that are multiples of 100, as opposed to the actual show's 50. $1,000 is the top value in the first two rounds but in Round 3, the Speed-Up Round, this is increased to $5,000. The winner of the game plays the Bonus Round (using the five consonants/one vowel rule) for $25,000, a boat, cruise, trip, or car.
Wheel of Fortune: Family Edition Original release date(s): 1990	Release years by system: Nintendo Entertainment System
	Notes: Third Wheel of Fortune game designed by Rare. Does not feature the show's then-current "Changing Keys" theme, unlike both previous games. This edition follows the more child-friendly prizes and puzzles of the Junior Edition.
Wheel of Fortune featuring Vanna White Original release date(s): 1991	Release years by system: MS-DOS, Nintendo Entertainment System
	Notes: Designed by IJE, who also developed Talking Super Jeopardy! at the same time. This version uses enhanced graphics, music, and sounds. First Wheel game to feature a character selection.
Wheel of Fortune Original release date(s): 1992	Release years by system: Game Gear
	Notes: This version uses a noticeably-futuristic environment, and although there are 16 wedges displayed on the rainbow-schemed wheel, the display at the bottom of the screen shows the overall configuration has only 12 values. Round 1 has a top value of $900; this is increased to $2,500 in Round 2, and $5,000 in Round 3.
Wheel of Fortune Original release date(s): 1992	Release years by system: Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System
	Notes: Both games feature similar graphics and puzzles, based on the rules of the 1989 version, with a choice of Bonus Round prizes.
Wheel of Fortune: Deluxe Edition Original release date(s): 1993	Release years by system: Super Nintendo Entertainment System
	Notes: Follows the 1989 rules, but uses the 1992 set and has detailed graphics, somewhat-simplified controls, and the Speed-Up Round (which was previously only available in the first three NES editions, and only in the earlier SNES version if there was a tie). The full spinning wheel is replaced with a much simpler animation.
Wheel of Fortune Original release date(s): April 1994	Release years by system: Sega-CD
	Notes: Released by Sony Imagesoft concurrently with the PC version. This edition featured full-motion video and Red Book CD audio of the 1989 theme and various cues from that era (though the 1992-1994 intro was used) but, like the Deluxe Edition on the SNES, the game uses the 1992 set. First game to use prize wedges. One marked "Trip" is added to the wheel in Round 2, followed by one marked "Jewelry" in Round 4. The "Surprise" wedge is active throughout the entire game until landed on and picked up; as on the show, the contents are not revealed unless the player who picks it up solves the puzzle without hitting a Bankrupt.
Wheel of Fortune Original release date(s): 1997	Release years by system: Game.com
	Notes: Features 750 puzzles. The console's touch screen is used to select letters.[3]
Wheel of Fortune Original release date(s): December 2, 1997	Release years by system: Nintendo 64
	Notes: Features rules similar to the 1995-1996 season, including the Bankrupt/$10,000/Bankrupt wedge, Jackpot Round, and the new touch-screen puzzle board (the first game to feature these three elements). Last game to use the wheel's old 2.5-template system. All games after this release use the one-template system. Even though it's shown on the wheel featured on the game's instruction booklet, the "Surprise" wedge is not used in this version. Unlike other versions where the Free Spin token is featured in the first two rounds, this game features the Free Spin token only in the third round, the Jackpot round. Unlike other versions where winners can choose from multiple bonus round prizes, the only bonus round prize is $25,000; and players have 20 seconds to solve the bonus puzzle (instead of the usual 10). In contrast to most N64 contemporaries, Wheel features low-resolution digitized 2-D sprites.[4]
Wheel of Fortune 2 Original release date(s): 1998	Release years by system: Game.com
	Notes: Features 750 puzzles and the console's touch screen is used to select letters and spin the wheel.[5]
Wheel of Fortune Original release date(s): June 5, 1998	Release years by system: PlayStation
	Notes: Hasbro Interactive acquired the Wheel and Jeopardy! licenses and started releasing versions for the PlayStation.[6] Two versions were released, the second of which (released November 30, 2000) features a behind-the-scenes look at the show and a sample contestant exam.
Wheel of Fortune Original release date(s): March 8, 2003	Release years by system: PlayStation 2
	Notes: Released soon after the 2003 PC version, which was released in November 2002. This version also features a sample contestant exam.
Wheel of Fortune Original release date(s): March 19, 2009 [7]	Release years by system: PlayStation 3
	Notes: A PlayStation Network version available in downloadable form exclusively via the PlayStation Store. Numerous online articles prove it was released on March 19, 2009, not November 5, 2008 as originally thought. First game to feature the Million-Dollar Wedge (the iPod Touch/iPhone game version soon following, having been released on March 27, 2009). Works almost faithfully to the Season 26 rules (still with Free Spin instead of Free Play) with two relatively-major differences – one is that there are no prize wedges, gift tags, or Prize Puzzles; the other is that a bug makes the Wild Card usable only after buying a vowel that is in the puzzle.
Wheel of Fortune Original release date(s): November 2, 2010	Release years by system: Nintendo DS, Wii
	Notes: Developed by THQ. The Wii version is compatible with the Wii Speak accessory, and is the first version to feature Pat Sajak alongside Vanna White. First game to feature gift tags and prize puzzles, and the second to have the Free Play, after an updated version of Wheel for the iPhone, iPod touch, and the iPad. Game was released shortly after the death of announcer Charlie O'Donnell, who had participated in this game. [8]

PC versions

From 1987 through 1990, GameTek created five Wheel of Fortune computer games for the Apple II, Commodore 64 and MS-DOS.^[9] A 1994 PC edition with co-host Vanna White was created by Sony Imagesoft and released in June 1994. Atari released three PC editions with White and announcer Charlie O'Donnell in 1998, 2000, and November 2002, all of which were developed by Artech Entertainment, Ltd. Hasbro Interactive, which developed the PlayStation versions, also developed the PC versions.

The most recent Wheel game for the PC was released in 2007 by Sony Online Entertainment titled "Wheel of Fortune 2," as it was an updated version of their 2003 online game. A revised version of this game was released in 2010 titled as a "Platinum Edition," although the graphics and possibly the rules are the same as it's 2007 counterpart.

Online Versions

Wheel of Fortune on Facebook

Sony Entertainment, together with GSN Digital released a free Wheel of Fortune game on Facebook.^[10] It combines most aspects of the TV game show and allows players to become contestants competing for virtual currency, called "Wheel Bucks," by playing a "Main Round" puzzle on their own and a "Bonus Round" puzzle that will allow them to collaborate with Facebook friends to increase their winnings.

Players can use the Wheel Bucks to purchase more Power-Ups and receive 75 Wheel Gold for every level-up. There are also Power ups, with Free Play not on the wheel, but as a Power up. There are also three other bonuses (Timeout, Reveal Letter - which reveals a random letter and all its occurrences, and Double Bucks - Similar to the Double Play formerly used in the actual game). ^[11] A player may also receive a spin of the "Spin & Win", which is a graphic of the Bonus Round wheel used to offer a random power-up, gold or an episode.

The Main Round works almost like the Online Game Sony Online Entertainment created in 2003, with 5 turns only, and no prizes/gift tags on the wheel. The top dollar is $2500, and follows the configuration of the current season. The bonus round is currently played for $5000 Wheel Bucks.

Arcade versions

GameTek also developed an arcade version of Wheel in July 1988. Playable by one to three players, the gameplay was much like the show with a few exceptions – a Bonus Round (as gameplay ends with this round), selectable difficulty of puzzles (normal or expert), a single Wheel arrangement for all rounds (top dollar value of $900; with all cash values in $100 increments and no Free Spin space), and prizes or bonuses. When a puzzle was solved, a $10,000 bonus was added to a player's score and that player gets an extra turn. In addition, there is no Speed-Up Round/Final Spin. Players were given a set number of "misses" (wrong guesses or hits on Bankrupt or Lose A Turn, adjustable by the arcade owner between 1 and 5) before gameplay ended and the player was prompted to buy-in and continue. Hitting certain score amounts could replenish these misses (similar to earning extra "lives" in other games). Player controls were limited to an encoder wheel (which was used to spin the Wheel or select letters and game options) and one button for each player to confirm said selections.

This was a video redemption game – while no real money was actually won (it was simply a means of keeping score), reaching certain score amounts would cause tickets to be dispensed. Graphics were on par with arcade games of the era (slightly over the home game systems of the time), and the game even featured a "Vanna" look-alike to "turn letters" on the board and urge on players with a simulated voice. The "Vanna" look-alike wore a red dress in odd-numbered rounds and wore a blue dress in even-numbered rounds.

This game used a software-based test menu (as opposed to DIP switches) to set the game options – they were saved to EEPROM.

Redemption games

Lazer-Tron version (Spin To Win)

In 1992, Lazer-Tron released an arcade game loosely based on the show called Spin to Win. The main feature of the game was a 15-wedge wheel (each with three pegs) that very closely resembled the show's wheel. A light featured in the back of the game allowed players to easily see which space they landed on when the wheel came to a stop.

The player rolled three balls, one at a time, down a chute that would go into one of seven slots. Whatever he or she accumulated via the wheel at the end of the three rolls was what s/he won.

Ten wedges had ticket values normally ranging from 1-15, although some units had 20 as a top value.

• Bankrupt: Two wedges marked Bankrupt would cost the player all the tickets he or she accumulated up to that point. If the player hits one of the Bankrupts on the last spin, they win nothing. If any of the player's balls went into this slot, it would move the wheel to the nearest Bankrupt wedge.
• Lose a Ball: The player wins nothing for this spin and also loses the following ball. If the player's first spin was this wedge, they would be left with only one more ball to roll.
• Double Ticket Bank: The number of tickets the player accumulated up to that point would be doubled. If the player were to spin 5, 10, and Double Ticket Bank for the game, they would win 30 tickets.
• Bonus Jackpot: If the player's last spin resulted in landing on this wedge, a second consecutive game would be played and, if their last spin resulted in landing on this wedge again, they would win the Bonus Jackpot (which could be worth hundreds of tickets).

The seven slots were what controlled the wheel. Normally, from left to right, the slots were Bankrupt (automatically moved the wheel to a Bankrupt wedge), 1 Slot Right (the wheel moved counterclockwise by one space), 3 Slots Left (the wheel moved clockwise by three spaces), No Spin (the wheel did not move, with the wedge it was currently on being applied to the player's earnings), 3 Slots Right (the wheel moved counterclockwise by three spaces), 1 Slot Left (the wheel moved clockwise by one space), and Full Spin (the wheel moved around in either direction, landing on a random space).

Some arcades customized their units with different labels in order to suit their specifications for movement of the wheel. Some labels even had the option to move two slots in either direction.

Funhouse version

In 1995, Funhouse released the first non-video Wheel redemption game. Out of seven large boxes spelling out JACKPOT, the A, K, and O had to be lit up via a 12-wedge wheel. A light traveled around the wheel itself, and once a coin traveled down a chute into the machine, the light would stop spinning on a value. Ten wedges had values normally ranging from 2-12 tickets, while Bankrupt gave the player zero tickets (but the player would not lose any tickets already earned). The twelfth wedge at the top of the wheel netted the player a lit letter plus the biggest value on the wheel, normally 50 tickets. If the player successfully lit up the last letter, in normal circumstances, 100 tickets would be won.

The game's backdrops were similar to Tyco's 1992 Wheel board game, only the photo was morphed to stretch across the machine. There was a letter girl at the left side of the machine.

ICE versions

In 2000, ICE released a Wheel redemption game similar to their popular Cyclone games. In order to spin a large, 20-wedge wheel offering bonus values, players needed to stop a light traveling around the game on a blue bulb marked "Spin Zone". Otherwise, a smaller amount of tickets were dispensed. This version uses the 1997 rendition of Changing Keys.

In 2005, ICE also released a coin pusher version. In order to spin the wheel at the top of the game, players needed to skillfully light up all 14 letters on a puzzle board spelling out "WHEEL OF FORTUNE". To do this, players needed to drop their coins onto a lighted section (the light would move back and forth along seven sections).

Konami version

In 2010, Konami announced plans to release a Wheel of Fortune redemption game based on the slot machine versions. In it, the player can choose between a regular mode or a Double Play mode, which costs twice as much as the regular mode yet gives out twice the ticket potential. A large wheel is spun using a smaller wheel which controls the power of the spin. Whatever the large wheel lands on is the amount the player plays for per letter occurrence. The rest of the gameplay works similar to the bonus round on the actual show, yet not the same. Random letters are revealed in the puzzle, and the player has to choose three different letters out of various highlighted letters, which can be either vowels and/or consonants (all the highlighted letters are in the puzzle). The player then has to solve the puzzle by typing in the missing letters in order to win a bonus ticket value. If the player fails to solve the puzzle correctly, they still win the tickets earned during the puzzle.

Slot machines

A series of popular slot machines, all based on the current version of Wheel of Fortune, were manufactured for North American casinos by International Game Technology. The most common machines use a version of the wheel built into the game and has a bonus spin in which the player can win coins and can also win a progressive jackpot by lining up three "Wheel of Fortune" symbols wins the progressive jackpot. The jackpot can be linked with other Wheel machines throughout one or more states and reaches into the millions of dollars.

In 1998, Tiger Electronics released a handheld game based on the Wheel slot machines. It featured a Progressive Super Jackpot which started at $5,000 and increased by $1, $2, or $3 depending on what the player's bet is. There were two ways to win the Super Jackpot – either land on the Super Jackpot wedge when spinning the Wheel (the Wheel would be spun when a SPIN symbol hit the payout line, offering an easy way to win the Super Jackpot or some value between $20 and $1000), or get three "Wheel of Fortune" symbols on the payline with a $3 bet.

In more recent years, as video-based slot machines with many paylines have become popular, video versions of Wheel machines have appeared, with the wheel built above the main screen. In 2004, a Special Edition version featuring Sajak, White, and O'Donnell was created by IGT. A second version of the Special Edition machine was produced in 2006, which features nine video terminals situated around a giant wheel in the center. In this game, multiple players may become eligible for a bonus spin at any given time.

Play-along versions

In June 1988, Mattel released an electronic handheld Wheel of Fortune game that allowed players to point the device at the television and play along with the puzzle. It also featured hosts Pat Sajak and Vanna White. The unit also included video tapes in these three editions with puzzles on them and allowed players to program their own puzzles. A second edition was released in November 1989, and hosted by Bob Goen and White. The third edition was released in December 1994, and hosted by Sajak and White.

Pinball machine

A Wheel of Fortune pinball machine was released in Fall 2007 and was developed by Stern Pinball. It was designed by Kevin O'Connor and Margaret Hudson, and featured host Pat Sajak and announcer Charlie O'Donnell.^[12]

Handheld games

Tiger Electronics released an electronic handheld game for Wheel of Fortune in 1995, and a Deluxe version came out in 1999; both came with expansion cartridges. Both use the 3-round format the show used early during its run, but if there were only 2 players (Player 2 being the computer player), Player 1 would start Round 3. As usual, the player with the most money after the third round plays the Bonus Round, but if the computer player wins, no Bonus Round is played and the game is over.

Cancelled versions

In 1983, GameTek planned to release a version of Wheel, along with conversions of six other popular game shows (Jeopardy!, The Price Is Right, Family Feud, Password, The Joker's Wild, and Tic-Tac-Dough), for the Atari 2600.[2] However, these plans were canceled when the North American video game crash of 1983 occurred. Since many felt that the Atari 2600 was not powerful enough to faithfully reproduce these games, it is believed that if these games had been developed and released, they would have been released as a hybrid video/board game (such as the Quest for Rings on the Odyssey2).[3]

In 2004, Tiger Electronics teamed with VEIL Wireless Technologies to make a Wheel game which let home viewers play along with the actual TV show (similar to the 1988 Mattel game). "Wheel of Fortune Live Play" was never released because of technical issues, however one unit (possibly a prototype) was sold on eBay in December 2006.

See also

• Video game based on a Russian adaptation of the show

References

External links

• Wheel of Fortune series at MobyGames
• Wheel of Fortune on Station.com
• Wheel of Fortune 2 on Station.com
• Wheel of Fortune Slot Machine Demo (non-US visitors only)

Wheel of Fortune U.S. versions Current series Wheel 2000 International versions Australia Denmark France Italy Malaysia New Zealand Philippines Poland Russia United Kingdom Other international versions Cast and Crew Producers Merv Griffin (creator) Harry Friedman Hosts Rolf Benirschke Edd Byrnes (pilot) Bob Goen Pat Sajak David Sidoni (Wheel 2000) Chuck Woolery Hostesses Tanika Ray (as "Cyber Lucy", Wheel 2000) Susan Stafford Vanna White Announcers Jack Clark M. G. Kelly Charlie O'Donnell Jim Thornton Miscellaneous Video games Book:Wheel of Fortune Category:Wheel of Fortune (franchise) Portal:Television