Harry Friedman leaving Wheel & Jeopardy!

[BrandonFG]

    - Get rid of the Prize Puzzle (most people would say good riddance) or have more non-trip prizes

While I don't agree with the "most people would say good riddance" comment, getting rid of the Prize Puzzle *does* make a bit of sense. Seems like more often than not, the winner of the Prize Puzzle puts the game out of reach for everyone else.

Agreed. Maybe a smaller prize, like a less expensive trip or something that would've gone on a simple prize wedge back in the day. Basically something <$5,000.

[Dbacksfan12]

brought in more desirable prizes.

Examples?  I'd much rather have a new fridge than some overpriced fashion crap.

Agreed. Maybe a smaller prize, like a less expensive trip or something that would've gone on a simple prize wedge back in the day. Basically something <$5,000.

Take this comment for what its worth...my best friend who is far from a game show fan cites two complaints with WoF when we watch:  Contestants who take a singular letter over a multiple and immediately solve...and the prize puzzle.

[Steve Gavazzi]

I would like the Prize Puzzle a lot more if it simply weren't counted toward the contestant's score.

[Flerbert419]

Seems like more often than not, the winner of the Prize Puzzle puts the game out of reach for everyone else.

Just to put some numbers behind this - when analyzing 1000 episodes from 2011 to 2016 whoever solved the prize puzzle won 740 times.

In 226 of those instances, the prize puzzle amount was the difference between winning and losing.

With the addition of the Triple Toss Up this upcoming season (see here), my hope is that the prize puzzle impact is minimized going forward by an element of the show that requires more skill.

[JakeT]

I would like the Prize Puzzle a lot more if it simply weren't counted toward the contestant's score.

My thought exactly...let it be a great bonus but not affect the outcome of the game...

JakeT

[beatlefreak84]

Agreed. Maybe a smaller prize, like a less expensive trip or something that would've gone on a simple prize wedge back in the day. Basically something <$5,000.

Take this comment for what its worth...my best friend who is far from a game show fan cites two complaints with WoF when we watch:  Contestants who take a singular letter over a multiple and immediately solve...and the prize puzzle.
[/quote]

This is pretty much the chief complaint my wife has about the show, to the point where we call the show "Win Round 3 of Fortune."  Given that the show has a gimmick or prize on the wheel every round for the first 3, why not just do the Express wedge in round 3 and that's it?

Anthony

[Jeremy Nelson]

brought in more desirable prizes.

Examples?  I'd much rather have a new fridge than some overpriced fashion crap.

Well, considering how a good chunk of the under 40 crowd lives nowadays, I wouldn't be surprised if the room packages of yesteryear (new kitchen, new living rokm, etc) swing back to being more desirable prizes.

That being said, there's way more tech friendly products, some groceries/maid/laundry for a year items, some fashion packages and the like.

[Joe Mello]

brought in more desirable prizes.

Examples?  I'd much rather have a new fridge than some overpriced fashion crap.

As someone who rents, owning a large appliance doesn't help me, and I can find plenty of people I can gift/sell handbags or clothing to.

[Dbacksfan12]

some groceries/maid/laundry for a year items

I was under the impression these were straight cash prizes.  Straight cash isn't something I'm opposed to, but I feel its a disingenuous way for the show to control the budget when these "prizes" are offered.  I've never seen any detail(s) provided, just that you can win "maid service for a year!"

and I can find plenty of people I can gift/sell handbags or clothing to.

Yes, I believe I avoid people like you at the mall.

[TLEberle]

I think this just proves that different people desire different things and it isn't the job of a game show to cater to the wants/needs of a single specific contestant. I may not like everything that TPIR has changed in the last ten years but presumably Mike Richards wouldn't be in the running if he was bad at his job. As long as there is a wheel and a puzzle board as the main thrust of the game the ancillary stuff doesn't bother me.

/still hoping the day's winner would be decided by a Toss-up Countdown Round
//still not holding my breath for it.

[jjman920]

some groceries/maid/laundry for a year items

I was under the impression these were straight cash prizes.  Straight cash isn't something I'm opposed to, but I feel its a disingenuous way for the show to control the budget when these "prizes" are offered.  I've never seen any detail(s) provided, just that you can win "maid service for a year!"

Sometimes they'll be sponsored by an appropriate sponsor. Like "Meals for a Year" being sponsored by Postmates or "Movies for a Year" being sponsored by Fandango. Doesn't change that it's basically cash, but I appreciate the effort.

brought in more desirable prizes.

Examples?  I'd much rather have a new fridge than some overpriced fashion crap.

I think some of it also comes down to frequency. Lots of prizes were cut down or phased out completely, and I'd rather have a laptop/tablet over a chandelier, daybed or grandfather clock. While I think it'd be nice to have some of those prizes show up on occasion and, for a time, designer items were heavy enough for them to attempt doing a "Look of the Week" a few seasons ago, they've reached a fine balance for the most part, in my opinion.

[BrandonFG]

and I can find plenty of people I can gift/sell handbags or clothing to.

Yes, I believe I avoid people like you at the mall.

eBay? Craigslist? Facebook Marketplace?

[Loogaroo]

This is one of the things that I think the new PYL does absolutely brilliantly with its bonus round - the personalized prizes give the show variety. It can be tiresome as a viewer to see them give away yet another car, trip, big screen TV, etc. week after week. Something like a 5-year grooming package or an array of arcade machines might not be everyone's cup of tea, but they add some unpredictability to the show and of course seeing someone actually win a prize they've been dreaming about is a lot of fun.

How you get that to work on a show with multiple contestants vying for those prizes, though, is the challenge.

[rebelwrest]

Since some of us have added what we would do if we were the executive producers of "Wheel", I add my two suggestions.  One not so drastic and one that's sacrilegious.

1) Make changes to the Wheel layout.  We've had this same layout (meaning placement of the big money space, lose a turn, free play, and bankrupts) since 1997.  Let's move one of the bankrupts two spaces to the left or move the free play to the opposite side of the wheel.  Maybe add a $750 and a $850 space to the wheel.  Just freshen up the Wheel.  One of the problems the show has was a few years ago it decided to make the minimum value of a good spin $500, and since the season where they cheapen some of the spaces, nearly 2/3rds of the wheel's spaces has a value from $500 to $700.  Rather than coming up with a new gimmick to differentiate between seasons, change the wheel layout.

2) Raise the cost of vowels to $1,000.  I'm serious.  Vowels give a lot of valuable information for the puzzle, and even if you find only one letter in the puzzle for $500, you can get TWO vowels and a lot more information.  This could change the strategy of players knowing that the information you get from vowels would cost a big chunk of your score.

[BrandonFG]

This is one of the things that I think the new PYL does absolutely brilliantly with its bonus round - the personalized prizes give the show variety. It can be tiresome as a viewer to see them give away yet another car, trip, big screen TV, etc. week after week. Something like a 5-year grooming package or an array of arcade machines might not be everyone's cup of tea, but they add some unpredictability to the show and of course seeing someone actually win a prize they've been dreaming about is a lot of fun.

How you get that to work on a show with multiple contestants vying for those prizes, though, is the challenge.

How about just a simple "Personal Prize Package" space?

Or....I've thought about bringing back shopping for one round, but in the form of adding a $5,000 "gift card" to the wheel. Land on the space, call the letter, solve without Bankrupt, etc., and the gift card would be used to shop at the Wheel store (read: the centerstage monitor). Said store contains 9-12 gifts, three or four of which were provided by each contestant. Win the round, use your 5K to buy the gifts you want. To avoid eating time with excess plugs, make the least expensive prize $1,500-2,000. Anything left over goes on a Visa gift card.