A "Wheel Of Fortune" Incentive Idea

[TimK2003]

Over the years, I have given up on watching "Wheel", with the exception of maybe 1 or 2 eps a season.

One of the main reasons is that compared to the Woolery era, there wasn't much science in calling out certain letters first (R..S..T..L...N...) and it  was rare that a single contestant could "run a round" from start to finish.  Moreso, wrong guesses were more common back then, giving each contestants multiple chances to spin each round.

To perhaps increase the likelihood in more chances for all players and less chance for "board runners", how about offering an incentive for people to *not* buy vowels???

Perhaps by offering an attractive prize or cash amount to any person who can correctly answer a puzzle without any vowels showing on the board in each regular round?

Would it create better gameplay?  I think it could give more chances to all players each round, although initially I do not forsee everyone playing for that incentive.  However, I can see some trios of players working to accomplish that incentive.  Look at some of the final rounds in which a final spin has been made.  Not too many go for vowels then.

Perhaps this incentive could eliminate the need for the Jump-ins and the need to add additional cash to the final spin amounts, so the Mo' Money Syndrome would not apply because it would be a wash.

Thoughts?

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'TimK2003\' date=\'May 18 2004, 12:28 PM\'] To perhaps increase the likelihood in more chances for all players and less chance for "board runners", how about offering an incentive for people to *not* buy vowels???

Perhaps by offering an attractive prize or cash amount to any person who can correctly answer a puzzle without any vowels showing on the board in each regular round? [/quote]
 The simpler way of doing the same thing would just be to make vowels more expensive.  

It's a perfectly viable idea, but I'm not sure that it really draws that many more people to the show.  It's at best a subtle difference in game play, and after all these years, there aren't that many of us game purists who will return to the show just because they've tightened the format a little.

[J.R.]

[quote name=\'TimK2003\' date=\'May 18 2004, 11:28 AM\'] Over the years, I have given up on watching "Wheel", with the exception of maybe 1 or 2 eps a season.

One of the main reasons is that compared to the Woolery era, there wasn't much science in calling out certain letters first (R..S..T..L...N...) and it  was rare that a single contestant could "run a round" from start to finish.  Moreso, wrong guesses were more common back then, giving each contestants multiple chances to spin each round.

To perhaps increase the likelihood in more chances for all players and less chance for "board runners", how about offering an incentive for people to *not* buy vowels???

Perhaps by offering an attractive prize or cash amount to any person who can correctly answer a puzzle without any vowels showing on the board in each regular round?

Would it create better gameplay?  I think it could give more chances to all players each round, although initially I do not forsee everyone playing for that incentive.  However, I can see some trios of players working to accomplish that incentive.  Look at some of the final rounds in which a final spin has been made.  Not too many go for vowels then.

Perhaps this incentive could eliminate the need for the Jump-ins and the need to add additional cash to the final spin amounts, so the Mo' Money Syndrome would not apply because it would be a wash.

Thoughts? [/quote]
 Why don't we just bring back the "Buy a Vowel" wedge ?

-Joe R.

[Particleman]

This may sound silly but what has drawn me away from watching Wheel on a more regular basis is the additions they've made over the years.  For example, while the newer Toss-Up  round and the "solve the riddle at the end of the round" addition are neat concepts, they just distract from an otherwise very simple game.

The set doesn't really feel right to me, either.  I'm sure it's technologically advanced and all that jazz; it's just not what I think Wheel should look like.

I'm not saying Wheel should just scratch everything new over the years and go back to the 70's and 80's.  That would be too drastic.  It's just been complicated beyond my tastes.

[JayC]

Why would you want to press even more time out of the show by not letting contestants use vowels?

[uncamark]

I have no proof, but I still suspect that the reason that no one bought vowels back in the early days (or solved the puzzle early either, for that matter) was simply because they were not encouraged to by the contestant coordinators because Lin Bolen wanted Mo Money (or "greed," if you want to put it that way).  It seemed that not all that long after her departure from NBC, "Wheel" players were all of a sudden buying vowels and solving puzzles early.

Yes, the contestants can make up their own minds on game strategy, but I would suspect that anything the contestant coordinators would tell you would be seriously considered--and if they were giving suggestions on how to act and behave on camera, they could definitely give strategy suggestions (and the contestants could be easily convinced to follow them).

[JasonA1]

Moreso, wrong guesses were more common back then, giving each contestants multiple chances to spin each round.

An excellent point. As is brought up here now and then, the puzzles way back when were drastically simpler and often contained fewer duplicate letters and/or common letters. A puzzle then might be Phrase, TAKE A GANDER. But I'm afraid that WoF is just too set now to make any real format changes other than adding on.

-Jason

[Steve McClellan]

[quote name=\'Particleman\' date=\'May 18 2004, 01:11 PM\'] This may sound silly but what has drawn me away from watching Wheel on a more regular basis is the additions they've made over the years.  For example, while the newer Toss-Up  round and the "solve the riddle at the end of the round" addition are neat concepts, they just distract from an otherwise very simple game. [/quote]
 That's interesting; I watched the show just once or twice a year for quite a while (only to see if it had gotten any better). Since the toss-ups were added, I watch it whenever I'm home. They took a boring show and made it quite watchable IMO.

[sshuffield70]

Actually what bugs me about the show is these special weeks where they have six people playing instead of three......and usually for no good reason.  I also think the "on-location" eps are a bit much.

[Craig Karlberg]

The way I see it, buying $250 a vowel seems cheap now.  If they decide to double the cost of a vowel($500), that would most likely maintain the concept of having a few dollar spaces on the wheel LESS than it does to buy a vowel in the first place.  As it is, every dollar space is MORE than it is to buy a vowel & that cheapens the show for me at that end.

[TimK2003]

[quote name=\'sshuffield70\' date=\'May 18 2004, 08:46 PM\'] I also think the "on-location" eps are a bit much. [/quote]
 During my annual watching of WOF the other day, I was pretty much yelling "What the *BLANK*" at the TV when they trucked in the big Sony video wall to San Fran, only to show a "pre-taped" overlook of people entering and exiting a no-name building, staircase and courtyard area of some college.

<setting sarcasm meter to *10+*>

Wow, I was so damn impressed to see a college's courtyard with people running all over the place for nearly a half hour!  That backdrop was almost as famous as the other San Francisco sites, like the Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street, Chinatown, Alcatraz, Nob Hill,...."

Oh yeah, I can name you all the specifics on those exact buildings -- it's sitting on the tip of my tongue!

<sarcasm meter overheating -- unit now unplugged>

[goongas]

They are not going to increase the vowel amount, because it would look like the show is doing something negative.  And they don't want to look like they are doing something negative.  Also, for the same reason they don't fire Vanna.  They really don't need her anymore since the new puzzleboard came, but viewers may be mad at the show and not want to watch it.