• Wheel Of Fortune Board Game Walmart

La ruota della fortuna is the Italian version of Wheel of Fortune. The show has run nonstop since 1988 on Canale 5 and Rete 4, and switched from a trilon to an electronic board in 2003, like the U.S. version.^[1] previously hosted by Mike Bongiorno, the show was hosted by Enrico Papi on Italia 1, and featured Victoria Silvstedt from the French version of the show, La Roue de la Fortune. The Italian version of Wheel went off the air in 2010.

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In 1985, the show was one of several game shows that was part of the television series, Pentatlon, which was also hosted by Mike Bongiorno. The show aired on Canale 5.

From September 1987 to 1988, the show aired on Odeon TV. This version had the shopping element that the U.S. version, along with several other versions at the time, had. This version had a different host.

• 1Differences in Gameplay Compared to American Version
  • 1.1The Electronic Puzzle Board (circa 1998-2003)
  • 1.2The Wheel

Differences in Gameplay Compared to American Version[edit]

The Electronic Puzzle Board (circa 1998-2003)[edit]

This is the only puzzle board in the world where if more than one letter was revealed, the hostess only had to touch one and all would simultaneously appear. Prior to its introduction, and like many other versions, the board used trilons.

The board on the modern Italian version acted like the US version's puzzle board in that letters would light up one at a time, and the hostess had to touch all letters.

Vowels[edit]

In 2002, the price for buying a vowel changed from ₤1,000,000 to €300. On the 2007 revival, each vowel cost €200.

The Wheel[edit]

When the show was on 'Pentatlon' using Italian Lira as its currency, the 15-wedge wheel configuration ran from ₤100,000 to ₤1 Million.On the Odeon version, the number of wedges increased to 24, and amounts ranged from ₤50,000 to ₤1,000,000. In round 3, the amounts increased with ₤100,000 as the smallest and ₤3,000,000 as the biggest.^[2]In 1989, ₤1,000,000, ₤1,300,000, and ₤2,000,000 were the top amounts of the first three rounds. The following year, the smallest amount of ₤200,000 increased to ₤300,000, and ₤1,000,000 became the top amount for the first two rounds. This changed from €150 to €500 (€200 to €1,000 in round 3) when Italy decided to go to Euros in 2002. From 1999 to 2001, however, a blue band was inserted at the wheel's edge showing the euro value equivalent to each corresponding wedge. For example, a wedge worth ₤300,000 had a blue band noting that the same wedge was worth €154.94. In 2001, euro and lira values swapped positions. By 2002, the band was removed, and the euro values were changed again, ranging from €50 to €300 (€100 to €600 in round 3).^[3]

Values were displayed in thousands of liras from 1989 to 2002. That meant if a player landed on a wedge that had the number 300 on it, the player would be playing for ₤300,000.

In addition to amounts ranging from €100 to €500, the most recent version adopted two rules from the French version by putting a €0 on the wheel, meaning players keep their turn but earn nothing for a correct letter, and also the 'Cave' feature. The Lose a Turn wedge is known as 'Passa' and the Bankrupt wedge is 'Perde' or 'Bancarotta'.

The Free Spin[edit]

This was referred to as a 'Jolly', due to the clown picture being on the token. It had to be earned with a correct letter, and could be turned in if a mistake was made. On 'Pentatlon,' it was named Bonus. On the 1987-88 Odeon version, it was known as Rilancia.

Originally the word 'JOLLY' was placed as an entire wedge on the wheel, and players could earn multiple free spins, spinning again immediately after earning one.

Warm-Up Lap[edit]

The 'warm-up lap' carried over from Pentatlon, but was dropped after the first few episodes. What it did, however, was allow each player exactly one spin and one guess, regardless of whether or not the letter was in the puzzle, starting with the player whose turn it was to begin the round. After each player got one guess, the game continued in the standard fashion with the player who began the round continuing to control the wheel until he/she made a mistake or landed on 'Perde' (Bankrupt) or 'Passa' (Lose a Turn).

Landing on 'JOLLY' during the warm-up lap allowed a player a free spin, but control immediately passed to the next player instead of allowing the player a second spin.

Bankrupt[edit]

Wheel Of Fortune Board Game Walmart

Written on the wheel as 'Perde,' short for 'Perde tutto' (lose everything). The wedge was renamed Bancarotta in 2007.

Lose a Turn[edit]

Written on the wheel as 'Passa,' short for 'Passa mano' (lose a turn).

5-Second Timer[edit]

The show employed a rule that all decisions had to be made within 5 seconds. This was represented by a series of bells and a chime originally; later on it changed to a ticking clock and a gong. Sometimes leniency was allowed in the event that Mike was in the middle of giving instructions, since the clock didn't stop ticking.

Toss-up puzzles[edit]

From 2007 to 2009, each round began with a toss-up puzzle (similar to the French version). The first player to solve the puzzle began the round with €500, and had to solve the puzzle to keep it but would lose it to a Bankrupt. An additional toss-up puzzle was played to determine order intro to start the show before the first round proper, so solving both puzzles meant the player would start Round 1 with €1,000.

The audience would chant each letter out loud as it was revealed.

Bonus Round[edit]

Played exactly the same as the American version. At first, the winner chose which prize to play for. Starting in 1995, players chose from three random envelopes (similar to the 'WHEEL' envelopes in the early 1990s in the US); from 2007 to 2008, they spun a miniature wheel with prizes ranging from €5,000 to €200K, or a new car. From 2008 until the end of its run in 2009, the top prize of €200K was halved to €100K.

The first two runs used the original rules of players choosing five consonants and a vowel, but they wouldn't be told the category until after all letters chosen were revealed if they were in the puzzle; Mike would say the category, after which the 15-second timer immediately started. The 2007-09 run gave the player R, S, T, and E for free, and then they had to pick 3 more consonants and a vowel. Unlike the US version (which only gives 10 seconds), the contestant had 30 seconds to solve the puzzle, and were told the category beforehand.

Parole d'oro (Golden Words)[edit]

Airing from 1987-88 on Sunday evenings and ending in 1988 due to low ratings, Parole d'oro (Golden Words) was a knockoff of La Ruota Della Fortuna with notable differences. The main difference in Italy was that the Wheel, rather than using money, had all letters of the alphabet (the Italian alphabet does not use J, K, W, X, or Y, except on loanwords) plus one each of Bankrupt and Wild. Players who landed on a letter could take the letter (for 500,000 lire per appearance) or pass their turn, as a wrong letter cost that player 500,000 lire.

Some letters on the Wheel were gold, and hence were worth 1,000,000 lire per appearance. Landing on the Wild space allowed that player to choose a letter. Once a puzzle was solved, all players won what was on their display, with the person who solved receiving an additional 5,000,000 lire. (This has a similarity to the UK 'Wheel,' where all players keep their points they scored when the puzzle gets solved.)

In some instances, players were allowed to use a Joker in the event the wheel landed on a letter already called; doing so still earned 500,000 lire per appearance if the letter was in the puzzle, or costing 500,000 if it wasn't.

The Bonus Round allowed the player to choose five letters, albeit picked at random from a bag. Solving the puzzle doubled that player's winnings. The players had 60 seconds to solve the puzzle.

Notes[edit]

Rather confusingly, the Showcase Showdown round of the Italian version of The Price Is Right (OK, il Prezzo e Giusto!, or just OK for short, as it's known in Italy) was also called 'La Ruota Della Fortuna.' The round's title was used to emphasize the wheel used in the game.

Both Ruota and OK successfully aired on the same network at the same time.

References[edit]

1. ^See the Wheel of Fortune (US game show) article for more details on gameplay.
2. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2013-11-05. Retrieved 2013-12-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2009-06-16. Retrieved 2013-12-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Wheel of Fortune is a British television game show based on the American show of the same name 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 programme aired between 19 July 1988 and 21 December 2001 and was produced by Scottish Television in association with King World Productions^[a], and with for the ITV network - having effectively replaced Now You See It as STV's prime time game show offering for the ITV network. It mostly follows the same general format from the original version of the programme from the United States, with a few minor differences.

• 2Prizes
• 7Transmissions
  • 7.2Specials
    • 7.2.1Regional transmissions information

Gameplay[edit]

Unlike the American version, where the numbers on the wheel correspond to the amount of money won by each contestant, the British version instead referred to these amounts as 'points' – they had no cash value, their only purpose was to determine the grand finalist, or to choose a winner for a particular round. There was a reason for this: between 1960 and 1992, the Independent Broadcasting Authority and for the last two years its successor the Independent Television Commission imposed caps on the top prize game shows could give away per week, and standardising the prize on offer per episode ensured the programme did not breach the set limits.

Points earned from all players carried on to proceeding rounds, and only scores for the current round were susceptible to Bankrupts, meaning a winner could be crowned that never solved a puzzle, but acquired a large number of points. This rule would actually encourage sacrificing a player's turn if he or she did not know the puzzle rather than risking his or her points by spinning again.

For the first three series, before the recording of each episode, each contestant spun the wheel; the contestant with the highest score would start the first round. In the programme proper, the contestant was asked a 50/50 trivia question, and if the contestant answered correctly, they spun the wheel. If the contestant landed on a number, they had to pick a letter. If the letter appeared on the puzzle board, the contestant earned the value multiplied by the number of times the letter appeared. A player was allowed to purchase a vowel for a flat rate of 250 points for any number of repetitions as long as that vowel appeared in the puzzle. The contestant would then spin the wheel again, but the contestant's turn would end if the contestant either (a) landed on a number but picked a letter that did not appear on the puzzle board, earning the contestant no points (but not deducting the number the contestant landed on); (b) bought a vowel that did not appear in the puzzle (still costing the 250 points); (c) landed on the 'LOSE A TURN' space; (d) landed on the 'BANKRUPT' space, losing the contestant's total score for that round (but not from previous rounds); or (e) attempting to solve the puzzle but giving an incorrect answer.

If the contestant landed on the 'FREE SPIN', the contestant would be given a 'FREE SPIN' token and would spin the wheel again. If the contestant landed on a number but picked a letter that did not appear on the puzzle board, or landed on the 'LOSE A TURN' space or the 'BANKRUPT' space, the contestant could give their 'FREE SPIN' loop to the host and spin again. They could alternatively hand over play to the next contestant.

If the contestant answered the 50/50 trivia question incorrectly, they would not spin the wheel; play would move on to the next contestant.

In the speed round, the host would spin the wheel with the centre player's arrow determining the point value for each contestant. Vowels were worth nothing, and consonants were worth whatever the value spun. The left player would go first. No more 50/50 questions were asked.

From the fourth series onward, the 50/50 trivia individual questions were dropped. Instead, at the start of each round, the contestants would be asked a general knowledge question and the first contestant to buzz in and answer correctly would gain control of the wheel (this included the speed-up round).

Also from the fourth series onward, from Round 3 to the end, the points on the wheel were worth double (although the wheel did not show the values at double points).

The yellow (centre) player's arrow determined the point value for each consonant in the speed-up round (and during the final spin both Walsh and Leslie employed the catchphrase 'No more spinning, just winning!' while explaining how the speed-up round worked). Vowels were worth nothing, and consonants were worth the value spun. In case of a tie, each player tied for the lead spun the wheel and the player who spun the higher number went through.

In the Grand Finale, the winning contestant chose from one of three bonus prizes to play for: a car, a luxury holiday, or a cash prize. The series in 1994 differed, in that the prize the contestant won for solving the puzzle was a car plus the cash prize of £10,000. In one episode in 1994, the prize was two cars and £10,000.^{[citation needed]} From 1995 to 1998, the player chose one of two envelopes, one with the car and the other with £20,000. The prize chosen, the Grand Finale continued with the contestant choosing five consonants and a vowel. The contestant had 15 seconds to solve the puzzle to win the prize. Unlike other versions, the player could solve any one word individually, and then work on any other word in the puzzle. For example, if the puzzle was 'A CUP OF TEA', the player could solve 'OF', then 'A', then 'TEA', and finally 'CUP' to complete the puzzle.

In the final series, 'LOSE A TURN' was changed to 'MISS A TURN', for reasons unknown, and a '500 Gamble' wedge was added. If a player landed on the latter wedge, they had the option of going for 500 points per letter or gambling their round score. If they chose to gamble their points and called a correct letter, their score would be multiplied in for each of that letter in the puzzle with 1,000 (2,000 starting in the third round) added to the sum;^{[clarification needed]} an incorrect letter was the same as Bankrupt.

In the rare event two or all three players were tied for first place, the host had each player spin the wheel once, and the highest number spun won the game. Spinning a 'BANKRUPT,' 'LOSE A TURN/MISS A TURN,' or 'FREE SPIN' did not allow another spin and thus counted as a zero score.

Prizes[edit]

Unlike the original American version, instead of cash prizes, successful spinners from each round were rewarded with a choice of three prizes which might contain household appliances, a holiday, etc. In 1988 the prizes for the final were a trip (an oriental furnished living room on 6 September and a luxury bathroom on 13 September), a new car (or sometimes a new boat), or a cash jackpot at £3,000 (£2,000 on the last two episodes of the first series). In 1989, the cash value increased to £4,000, from 1993 the Cash value increased again to £5,000. On the celebrity specials, solving the final puzzle donated £5,000 to the celebrity's favourite charity. During the 1994 series, solving the final puzzle won both £10,000 and a new car. In some episodes in 1994 this was increased to two cars and £10,000. The prize was later increased to £20,000 or a car from 1995-1998, with the winning contestant randomly selecting his/her prize by choosing one of two sealed envelopes.

During the daytime series, winners of each round were able to chosen from an array prizes laid out in the studio, such as a CD player, dishwasher etc. The cash prize for the final puzzle was dropped to £2,000. Players also could pick the same prize more than once, and on some occasions contestants made requests for an opponent who had won nothing to pick a prize, and Leslie always upheld the request.

All contestants in all series, win or lose, went home with a Wheel of Fortune watch (and sometimes other Wheel-related merchandise).

In the final, the winning contestant had a free choice of five consonants and one vowel in order to help them identify the answer within 15 seconds to the puzzle and win the prize.

Special prizes[edit]

• During the peak time series, the second and third round began with the hostess presenting a special prize (usually jewellery) which could be won by landing on a prize star and going on to solve the puzzle. (prime time series).
• During Bradley Walsh's run, the first player in the third round to land on a special disc and also put a letter on the board won the contents of 'Brad's Box'.^[1] This bonus carried over into the prime time John Leslie series and was renamed 'Leslie's Luxury' but during Leslie's series, there were two boxes; one would be for the men, and the other one would be for the women (prime time series).
• Starting in 1996, one puzzle would contain a 'cash pot' letter (gold in 1996 and 1997, red thereafter) that would net that player £100 for solving the puzzle immediately after finding the letter (both formats).
• The winning contestant had a chance to win another £100 by guessing a special partially-revealed 'puzzler' related to the puzzle just solved. (daytime series).
• During the second round on the daily series, a mystery prize would be awarded to the contestant if he/she picked up the token and solved the round two puzzle.

Special episodes[edit]

In the ninth episode of the second series and the thirteenth episode of the fourth series, the contestants were brides and in the twelfth episode of the third series and the eleventh episode of the fourth series, the contestants (two women and one man) were retired.

One memorable episode took place in 1998, when Elizabeth Jensen took on the wheel. On her way to the final, Liz won a petrol lawnmower, but narrowly missed out on the main prize when she failed to work out the TV programme she was looking for was 'working lunch'. After filming, John Leslie was quoted as saying, 'Liz is the greatest contestant we've ever had. The fact she is such a looker was an added bonus'.

Studio designs[edit]

From 1988 to 1993, the host would emerge from the right stairs. Then as the presenter introduces the letter spinner, the letter spinner would walk down the left stairs. Between 1994 and 2000, the host and the letter spinner would emerge from the puzzle board that rotated clockwise. And in 2001, the host and the letter spinner would emerge from the prize pod.

The original design of the wheel was based on the American design, placed above ground on top of layers with lights. From 1994 to the end, the wheel was placed on the ground.

Wrong way spin outtake[edit]

One notable outtake from the show involved a man who spun the wheel in the wrong direction, forcing the show to be postponed until the next day. As the British wheel has a gearing mechanism to regulate its speed, this action promptly broke said gears, and the studio technicians spent hours trying to fix it.^[2]

Wheel configurations[edit]

The top point space was 1000 points, with one such space in round 1. One more space was added in round 2, along with a second Bankrupt, and a third 1,000-point space was added in round 3. Also, starting from series 4 in 1992, values were doubled beginning from round 3 onward, making the top point spaces worth 2,000 points.

Unlike the board used on the American version since 1997, the United Kingdom version's puzzle board was never electronic, so the regular puzzle would be placed at the top portion of the board while the puzzler would fill any unused lines below. The puzzle board's shape from 1994 to early 2000 was the same as the current American puzzle board. From 1988 to 1993, its border was styled like the one on the American puzzle board used from 1981 to 1993. The background colour for unused trilons on the UK's puzzle board was green from 1988 to 1993, after which it was changed to blue.

In 2001, Lose A Turn was renamed Miss A Turn and a 500 Gamble space was added. When 500 Gamble was landed on, the player had a choice of going for the regular 500 points or gambling their round score on a correct letter. Each appearance of a correct letter increased their score by 1,000 points plus their current score while an incorrect letter took away all the points they accumulated in the round.

Transmissions[edit]

Series[edit]

Specials[edit]

The two Hogmanay Specials were only broadcast to the Scottish and Grampian Television regions.^[3]

• 1988: With Amanda Laird, Teri Lally and Andy Cameron.^[3]
• 1989: With Andy Cameron, Paul Coia and Viv Lumsden.^[3]

Regional transmissions information[edit]

1988–1998[edit]

For the first ten series, the show was broadcast once a week in a primetime slot. With series 8, a number of regional ITV stations did broadcast episodes a few days later including the last episode on 31 December 1996.

1999[edit]

During the eleventh series, the programme was moved to a five-shows-a-week daytime slot and it aired at 2.40pm each afternoon from 2 March, after the sixth series of Dale's Supermarket Sweep concluded its run. It took a break from 28 May to 10 September 1999.

2000[edit]

The twelfth series began at the start of the year, and lasted until the start of December. During this series, the show's slot varied in different ITV regions.

• Carlton (London and Westcountry), Grampian and Scottish aired the episodes at 5:30pm.
• Anglia, Border, Granada, Meridian, Tyne Tees, Ulster and Yorkshire aired the episodes at 2:40pm until 31 March 2000, then Friday afternoons only from 18 May to 9 June. From 12 June, it was moved back to five-times-a-week at 1.30pm and then from 17 July, it was moved to 2:40pm, so not all the episodes aired.
• HTV followed Anglia's pattern until 8 May before switching to the 5:30pm slot.
• Carlton (Central) also followed Anglia's pattern until 12 June before moving the show to 5.30pm.

Additional episodes were broadcast by all ITV regions on Sundays during May.

2001[edit]

During the thirteenth series, most ITV regions broadcast episodes at 5.30pm from 2 January to 22 June 2001, except for Meridian, Yorkshire, Tyne Tees, before being switched to a Saturday afternoon slot until 4 August 2001. The final thirty episodes (series fourteen) were networked at 2.40pm, from 12 November to 21 December.

References[edit]

1. ^Bradley Walsh :: TV :: Wheel Of Fortune
2. ^http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Wheel_of_Fortune
3. ^ ^{abcdefghijklmnopq}'Evening Times'. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
4. ^'04 June 1991, 36'. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
5. ^'29 August 1991, 32'. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
6. ^'18 May 1992, 36'. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
7. ^'24 August 1992, 32'. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
8. ^'07 June 1993, 70'. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
9. ^'30 August 1993, 20'. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
10. ^'11 July 1994, 59'. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
11. ^'12 December 1994, 21'. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
12. ^'30 August 1995, 40'. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
13. ^'27 December 1995, 21'. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
14. ^'24 July 1996, 43'. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
15. ^'24 December 1995, 47'. Retrieved 5 October 2017.

1. ^Alongside King World, for the show's first two seasons, the show was co-distributed in association with The Walt Disney Company Limited and Action Time Productions, with Buena Vista International Television taking over for Seasons 3-4 before King World became the sole-distributor for the show from Season 5.

External links[edit]

• Wheel of Fortune (UK) on IMDb
• Wheel of Fortune (UK) at BFI
• Wheel of Fortune (UK) at UKGameshows.com