Wheel of Fortune Question

[abba]

According to wikipedia if someone lands on the Million Dollar Wedge they must solve the current puzzle to keep it. If they don't solve that puzzle they lose the wedge. Is this true?

[chad1m]

...yes.

[DoorNumberFour]

Really? That sounds pretty damn unfair.

Whatever saves money, I guess.

[clemon79]

It's a prize wedge. Like EVERY SINGLE OTHER prize wedge, you have to solve the puzzle to bank it.

So what makes that "unfair?"

[JasonA1]

The Wild Card provides fair comparison, as a non-value wheel addition you can carry to the bonus round. And you don't need to solve the current puzzle to keep that throughout the show.

-Jason

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'200934\' date=\'Nov 3 2008, 11:10 AM\']
The Wild Card provides fair comparison, as a non-value wheel addition you can carry to the bonus round. And you don't need to solve the current puzzle to keep that throughout the show.
[/quote]
But you hit on the key point--it's non-value.  For a prize with a value it makes sense that if you don't solve the puzzle, you lose the opportunity to win it.

[JasonA1]

I meant non-value in the "doesn't add to your score" sense. Keeping the Million Dollar Wedge means jack if you can't win the game. The person who has it is no better off in the race to have the most winnings - same with the wild card. In fact, even less so with the Million Dollar Wedge, because with the Wild Card, somebody with a lucky spin can really rack up the cash. As far as the game's concerned, the wedge has no value. To the production company, it opens up the possibility for giving away a million dollars. So giving it that "must solve" rider saves them some headaches, but it does come across a tad "off" given the extreme improbability of winning the million.

-Jason

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'JasonA1\' post=\'200934\' date=\'Nov 3 2008, 09:10 AM\']
The Wild Card provides fair comparison, as a non-value wheel addition you can carry to the bonus round. And you don't need to solve the current puzzle to keep that throughout the show.[/quote]
No, it doesn't. The Wild Card, like the Double Play and the Free Spin before it, are tokens on the wheel which can be turned in for some advantage during the actual front game. They have always been treated differently than actual full-blown pick-that-up-and-stick-it-to-your-pointer wedges.

Comparing a Wild Card to a Free Spin is a fair comparison. Comparing one to a prize wedge is not.

[CJBojangles]

When's the last time you've seen someone actually use the Wild Card in the frontgame anyway?

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'CJBojangles\' post=\'201085\' date=\'Nov 5 2008, 06:44 AM\']
When's the last time you've seen someone actually use the Wild Card in the frontgame anyway?[/quote]
I almost never watch the show, so I can't tell you if I've ever seen it *hit*, much less used. But that doesn't change the fact that there are very clearly two different classes of "bonus objects" they place on the wheel.

[tvwxman]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'201088\' date=\'Nov 5 2008, 11:31 AM\']
[quote name=\'CJBojangles\' post=\'201085\' date=\'Nov 5 2008, 06:44 AM\']
When's the last time you've seen someone actually use the Wild Card in the frontgame anyway?[/quote]
I almost never watch the show, so I can't tell you if I've ever seen it *hit*, much less used. But that doesn't change the fact that there are very clearly two different classes of "bonus objects" they place on the wheel.
[/quote]
actually, a few days ago. woman hit the $3500 space, Pat reminder her of the option, and she took the bait, getting her another 3500.

[tvmitch]

[quote name=\'tvwxman\' post=\'201092\' date=\'Nov 5 2008, 12:40 PM\']
actually, a few days ago. woman hit the $3500 space, Pat reminder her of the option, and she took the bait, getting her another 3500.[/quote]
See, that I have a problem with. Unless the outcome of the game was inconsequential at that point, I think it should be up to the contestant to put two and two together to realize that Wild Card = Mo Money. In those situations, Pat could determine who wins. I would have a huge, huge problem with that if I was a contestant, because winning on WoF is just as much about how dumb the other contestants are compared to how well you can play the game.

Hard to compare, but that's somewhat like Trebek going over Daily Double wager options with a contestant. "Well, if you wager $9001, you'll have teh leadz."

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'mitchgroff\' post=\'201095\' date=\'Nov 5 2008, 12:25 PM\']
Hard to compare, but that's somewhat like Trebek going over Daily Double wager options with a contestant. "Well, if you wager $9001, you'll have teh leadz."[/quote]
But that's exactly what Trebek is doing when he says "You're $6,000 behind the leader."

As long as it's standardized; i.e. Pat always reminds the player they have it anytime they hit a dollar value over a certain amount; then I don't mind.

[Joe Mello]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'201099\' date=\'Nov 5 2008, 04:14 PM\']As long as it's standardized; i.e. Pat always reminds the player they have it anytime they hit a dollar value over a certain amount; then I don't mind.[/quote]
He also reminds people they have a Free Spin whenever they would lose control.

I think it's being courteous than anything else.  After all, the contestant is free to save the Wild Card, just like they are able to risk large amounts on a Mystery Wedge, even though Pat and common sense dictate otherwise.

[clemon79]

I think the point Mitch is making is that it should be on the contestant to remember that they have a Wild Card and to play it at the most strategically-advantageous moment THEY can discern, for better or worse. Like a manager slipping up and not telling a pitcher to intentionally walk a batter that everyone in the stadium knows they should walk.

To which I add to my original point: a) it's Wheel Of Friggin' Fortune, not the Super Bowl, and b) if you're hardcore enough to bitch about Pat doing something like that, you're hardcore enough not to want to win like that.