Wheel of Fortune Board Games

[KyleCHaight]

Which would you say is the best board game version of "Wheel of Fortune", and why would you say so?

Furthermore, do you know of any photographs of the contents of some of the materials in the games?

And one more thing, what is the newest version of the game (not "The Simpsons" one) like, comparable to other versions? What is contained there in? Puzzle board design, cash values, categories, specialty rounds (mystery round, toss-up, jackpot, etc.) wheel design, is it like a "Twister" spinner or a replica wheel?

Thanks.

[JasonA1]

Which would you say is the best board game version of "Wheel of Fortune", and why would you say so?

Well, running all down the line...the first MB editions (Woolery Era) were a little odd. They offered a set of letters and blank puzzleboard - nice for keeping the game fresh forever with your own puzzles, but not so nice for set up time. Shopping is neat, I guess, but it's not a very sophisticated game.

The Pressman editions were nice, but the puzzleboard was a little clunky. Every edition I saw from my birth to now has had bad tracking on the doors, and you couldn't quite see the lines under where the letters were. That was the biggest flaw. The wheel was nice, and the light border, but...ehh.

The Deluxe version had the same puzzleboard, but the wheel more than made up for it, with all the wedges up to $5,000 and just a purely cool design. It makes the game much more fun to play at home.

Tyco had a terrible wheel, but defeated everybody with its great, great puzzleboard. The top was pretty solid, containing a defined slot for a category, and good flip-down doors for letters. Underneath that lied a used letter board set, where upon sliding a door aside, you would see which slots contained that letter, or just a blank space. This was by far the best one, and most functional too. Pressman included a wipe-off letterboard that was pretty decent, but this just eliminated the booklet on top of it.

Parker Brothers released a version that had a mini-wheel, but with only eight spaces (1 was bankrupt, 1 was LAT, and 1 Free Spin), it was kind of lame. Puzzleboard was decent and stuff, and the stack of tear-off letterboards neat, but overall a bland game.

The latest releases are just rehashes of Pressman's versions. They have the same wheel, only with the modern Free Spin graphic and $5000 replacing the yellow $100 slot. Take that for what you will.

I'd say, for the best game, get Deluxe Wheel. The cool prop, and changing wheel make it play the best at home. If they recreate that, and take the puzzleboard from the Tyco edition, it'd truly rule.

(Sorry for rambling...I won't post for two more days now
-Jason

[KyleCHaight]

haha, actually, this information proved invaluable.

I have the Tyco version and I agree with your opinion of the puzzle board. Very functional. Trouble is, I've run through all the puzzles, so I'm looking to buy a newer version (or an older one) just to get some new games.

I disagree with your opinion on the Tyco wheel. At least it was a *wheel*, far better than the "Twister spinner" that many of the other versions had.

As far the "replica wheel" in the deluxe version, how well did it work? Did it spin well, because I've seen a photo of it and it doesn't look very functional. . .

[SamJ93]

The Deluxe version's wheel is pretty cool, but it does break somewhat easily--particularly the pegs, and the white clicker that is easy to lose, unless you glue it in place.  The friction on the wheel tends to get larger with age, but you can abet it somewhat with a few drops of baby oil underneath. Hope this helps.

--Sam

[JasonA1]

At least it was a *wheel*, far better than the "Twister spinner" that many of the other versions had.

Mine never assembled properly. I never got a "ticker" for the wheel, and the wheel never fit well enough over the center. I'll change my judgement when I go look at it and try again, or see a correct version.

-Jason

[KyleCHaight]

"Updated" Tyco Wheel

Yes, the wheel looks different because I photoshopped the wheel from the "Wheel Of Fortune" background (which took a long time since there show's name was sprawled across it), printed it out and stuck it into the existing wheel, just to make the values more "up to date."

But at any rate, that's my wheel. The clicker tore into 2 some time ago, but the masking tape managed to work well enough to repair it. It works fairly well in spite of having been used hundreds of times.

[adamjk]

I got a remote linking forbidden error.

[KyleCHaight]

[quote name=\'adamjk\' date=\'Oct 20 2004, 10:35 PM\']I got a remote linking forbidden error.

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I should work. It works for me.

[gameshowguy2000]

I clicked on it, and I also got the pic to show up.

Anyway, Kyle, nicely done.

And I prefer the Deluxe version as well, because of the nice photographs of the Wheel's replica, which is what sets this game out from the rest of the pack.

[Craig Karlberg]

I too like the Deluxe version over the Pressman version based on the wheel replica.  It had a few pegs missing when I first played it(apparently, the wheel lost its pegs while it was being assembled at the factory where it was made I guess).  The replaceable wedges added that realistic feel to it too.

As far as the image showing up, I got the picture & it looks very intresting even though it was doctored up a bit.

[zachhoran]

[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' date=\'Oct 21 2004, 03:44 AM\']
I too like the Deluxe version over the Pressman version based on the wheel replica.  

The Deluxe version was also made by Pressman, it came out around the same time the second regular Pressman edition of WOF did in 1986.

[Mike Tennant]

[quote name=\'KyleCHaight\' date=\'Oct 20 2004, 08:42 PM\']Furthermore, do you know of any photographs of the contents of some of the materials in the games?

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Here's a photo of the inside of the MB 1975 game.  I'm somewhat surprised that Matt doesn't have pictures of any of the other, more popular editions, but at least this will show you what is certainly the least popular version.  I have this, and it's definitely an el cheapo game; setting up puzzles can take a long time.

I've owned both the Pressman regular and deluxe versions.  The only significant difference between them is the wheel, which is much better in the deluxe version.  I can't comment on the others, which I've never played.

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'Mike Tennant\' date=\'Oct 21 2004, 11:22 AM\']Here's a photo of the inside of the MB 1975 game.  I'm somewhat surprised that Matt doesn't have pictures of any of the other, more popular editions, but at least this will show you what is certainly the least popular version.  I have this, and it's definitely an el cheapo game; setting up puzzles can take a long time.
[/quote]
It's been a back-burner goal of mine for a long time to improve on the Wheel page with info on the other editions.  I did a pretty decent Jeopardy one a long time ago.  However, I've been concentrating more on the Cullen site (also overdue for an update) and, frankly, this place.

[KyleCHaight]

[quote name=\'Craig Karlberg\' date=\'Oct 21 2004, 03:44 AM\']As far as the image showing up, I got the picture & it looks very intresting even though it was doctored up a bit.

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Doctored? I assure you, that picture is 100% legitamate.

[JMFabiano]

So, any pics of the Deluxe Pressman online?  The best I saw was a box picture.  I do remember that being a coveted item that I never got as a kid.