Wheel of Fortune on SolarTV panalo

MANILA, Philippines - Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes. The title refers to the show’s giant carnival wheel that contestants spin throughout the course of the game to determine their cash and/or prizes. The current broadcast syndicated version of the program premiered on Sept. 19, 1983 and is hosted by Pat Sajak and Vanna White. In a 2008 article, TV Guide named Wheel of Fortune as the “top-rated syndicated series.”

The core game combines the game of hangman with a carnival wheel which gives away cash and/or prizes. Word puzzles, with blank spaces representing the letters in the puzzle, are presented with an appropriate category. On their turn, a contestant can spin a giant wheel to determine a dollar value and guess a letter that they believe is in the puzzle, earning the value multiplied by how many times the guessed letter appears in the puzzle if any. Before spinning, players can also buy a vowel for $250. The Wheel also contains special spaces which affect the course of game play, as well as special prizes. While other non-cash wedges have varied in the show’s history, the Wheel has always featured Bankrupt and Lose a Turn, both of which forfeit the contestant’s turn, with the former also eliminating any cash and/or prizes earned within that round.

Originally, after winning a round, players spent the money earned during the game while shopping for prizes. The prize showcases changed each round and only one player could buy a particular prize on each given episode. According to the E! True Hollywood Story episode on Wheel of Fortune, Lin Bolen is credited with implementing the shopping concept and the idea to have the wheel horizontally mounted. The story sometimes conflicts with other accounts; for example, on an A&E Biography episode, Merv Griffin said that his initial idea of the presentation of the show was “a stage full of prizes.” The shopping element was eliminated from the syndicated version in 1987 and from the network version in 1989. Since that time, players receive their game winnings in cash.

At the end of the game, the highest-scoring contestant plays a bonus round. The contestant is given a smaller, partially filled-in puzzle and asked for additional letters to assist in solving it within a 10-second time limit. A correct solve earns a bonus prize which is determined by spinning a smaller wheel prior to the beginning of the bonus round. Prizes in the bonus round include amounts of cash ranging from $30,000 to $50,000 in increments of $5,000, as well as an automobile and a top prize of $100,000. Starting in Season 26, a $1,000,000 prize in the bonus round was made available.