User:CowboySpartan/Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show): Difference between revisions

CowboySpartan/Wheel of Fortune
File:Wheel 85 Title Card.jpg Wheel of Fortune title card, circa 1985.
Created by	Merv Griffin
Presented by	Host Chuck Woolery (1975-1981) Pat Sajak (1981-1989) Rolf Benirschke (1989) Bob Goen (1989-1991) Hostess Susan Stafford (1975-1982) Vanna White (1982-1991)
Narrated by	Charlie O'Donnell (1975-1980, 1989-1991) Jack Clark (1980-1988) M. G. Kelly (1988-1989)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	4,215[1]
Production
Production locations	NBC Studios Burbank, California (1975-1989) CBS Television City Hollywood, California (1989-1991)
Running time	30 minutes 60 minutes (December 1975-January 1976)
Production companies	Merv Griffin Productions (1975-1984) Merv Griffin Enterprises (1984-1991) Califon Productions (1975-1991)
Original release
Network	NBC (1975-1989, 1991) CBS (1989-1991)
Release	January 6, 1975 – September 20, 1991

Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin in which contestants compete against each other to solve a word puzzle, similar to those used in Hangman, for cash and prizes. Pat Sajak and Vanna White have hosted the program together since 1981.

The show first aired on NBC from January 6, 1975 to June 30, 1989. It moved to CBS from July 17, 1989 to January 11, 1991 and back to NBC on January 14, 1991 until September 20, 1991 when it was canceled. Each episode was 30-minutes in length, aside from seven weeks in late 1975 and early 1976 when the program was expanded to one hour to compete with CBS' recently expanded The Price is Right.

The current syndicated version has aired in prime time access since September 19, 1983. Its 27th season premiered on September 14, 2009. It is the longest-running syndicated game show in American television history and the second-longest in either network or syndication (behind the current CBS version of The Price Is Right, which began airing in 1972). It is also the third longest running first-run syndicated program in the United States, behind Entertainment Tonight (which began in 1981) and the Soul Train (which aired new episodes from 1971-2006).

A pilot was produced in late 1973 hosted by Chuck Woolery, followed by two additional pilots hosted by Edd Byrnes in late 1974. All three pilots contained game elements which were either retooled or later dropped prior to the time production began in 1975. Woolery was ultimately picked to host, the choice being made by Griffin after he reportedly heard Byrnes reciting "A-E-I-O-U" to himself in an effort to remember the vowels.^[2] The original pilot did not include a hostess and instead featured a mechanical puzzle board.

Wheel debuted on January 6, 1975 at 10:30 AM (9:30 Central). Lin Bolen, then the head of Daytime Programming at NBC, purchased the show from Griffin to compensate him for canceling another creation of his, Jeopardy!, which had one year remaining on its contract and aired its final episode on the Friday before Wheel's premiere. Susan Stafford joined Woolery on the first episode as the program's hostess. Stafford was hired prior to production because a mechanical puzzle board could not be completed prior to the time production began.

Alex Trebek, who had recently hosted High Rollers on NBC, filled in for Chuck Woolery during one week of episodes in 1980. Another week of shows in 1980 featured NBC's other game show hosts as contestants, where one played each day for a member of the studio audience against two regular contestants.

After seven years as host, Woolery left Wheel after a salary dispute with Griffin; his last episode aired on December 25, 1981.^[3] Pat Sajak, a former weatherman,^[4] replaced Woolery the following Monday on December 28, 1981.

Stafford left the program on October 22, 1982 to pursue humanitarian work. Substitute hostesses included future Sale of the Century hostess Summer Bartholomew, Playboy Playmate Vicki McCarty and Vanna White. White was selected to replace Stafford permanently and her first appearance in that capacity aired on December 13, 1982. White remained as the daytime show's hostess for the rest of its run, working with both of its later hosts.

On September 19, 1983, the first syndicated episode of Wheel of Fortune aired in prime time with both Sajak and White as co-hosts. The pairalso continued to also host the network version until Sajak's departure from that version on January 9, 1989. Sajak left the program to host a late-night talk show for CBS, which failed to make ratings headway against Johnny Carson on NBC. Sajak continued to host the syndicated version but was replaced on the network version the following day by former San Diego Chargers place-kicker Rolf Benirschke. Benirschke hosted the program for only six months and NBC canceled the program on June 30, 1989.

The network version moved to CBS and began airing on July 17, 1989 with future Entertainment Tonight co-host Bob Goen at the helm, who remained host of the network version for the remainder of its run.

Charlie O'Donnell was the program's original announcer, who was replaced by former Cross-Wits host Jack Clark in 1980 due to O'Donnell's obligations to other shows. After Clark's death in 1988, Los Angeles-area disc jockey M.G. Kelly announced for several months until O'Donnell returned permanently in March 1989. Those contributing periodic fill-ins have included current Jeopardy! announcer Johnny Gilbert, John Harlan, Don Pardo and Don Morrow.^[5]

According to the E! True Hollywood Story episode on Wheel, NBC daytime programming executive Lin Bolen is credited with implementing the shopping concept as well as the idea to have the wheel horizontally mounted. This story sometimes conflicts with other accounts; for example, on an A&E Biography episode, creator Merv Griffin said that his initial idea of the presentation of the show was "a stage full of prizes".

Production of the show moved from NBC Studios in Burbank to CBS Television City in Hollywood when the daytime Wheel first changed networks. The show remained there following the daytime show's move back to NBC in 1991; production of the nighttime version subsequently moved to the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City in 1995.

The show is produced by Sony Pictures Television and distributed by CBS Television Distribution.

From December 1, 1975 to January 16, 1976, the program aired a series of hour-long episodes. Two three-round games were played with two different sets of three contestants. The winners of each game played a head-to-head speed-up round, with the winner of that round playing the bonus round described above.

Before the syndicated version began in 1983, Sajak had hosted the daytime version of the show on NBC, taking over that role from Chuck Woolery in 1981.

The nighttime Wheel was offered to many of the stations that were already airing the daytime version, nearly all of whom passed on it due to commitments to other shows (including the NBC owned-and-operated stations, which all were running the hit Family Feud in the Prime Time Access slots). Although Wheel did not debut on many stations upon its entrance into syndication, the series was offered to and picked up by most of the owned-and-operated stations held by CBS.

When it debuted, the nighttime Wheel offered a larger prize budget than its daytime counterpart,^[4] such as a $5,000 wedge on the Wheel. By 1986, the show had the highest ratings of any syndicated television series in history,^[4] and in 1987, it was renewed for another five seasons at that point.^[6]

The game is essentially a variation of hangman, the show's main premise being word puzzles, which are presented with an appropriate category and none of the letters revealed. Games typically include three contestants, each of whom spins the Wheel to determine the cash value of a letter in each turn, or buy a vowel for $250. The Wheel also contains special spaces which affect the course of gameplay, 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. Since 2000, the show has also featured Toss-Up puzzles, which are filled in one letter at a time and can be solved after ringing in with a buzzer.

At the end of the game, the highest-scoring contestant plays a bonus round. Here, he or she is given a smaller, partially filled-in puzzle and asked for additional letters to assist in solving it within a ten-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.

Players spun a giant wheel to determine a dollar value and guessed a letter that they believed was in the puzzle, earning the value multiplied by how many times the guessed letter appears in the puzzle (if any). The first person to solve the puzzle earns the money they accumulated during the round and could then choose to either shop from various sets of prizes with their earnings or elect to risk their money and save up for larger prizes by putting their winnings "on account," only being able to maintain the money if they won a subsequent round and did not hit a Bankrupt space. Each contestant who solved a puzzle was guaranteed a $200 minimum ($100 during the first few months) for that round.

After the move to CBS, the shopping elements of the game were removed and the game was switched to use a lower-stakes version of the all-cash format the nighttime syndicated version used.

The series' original pilot (see below) had a bonus round called "Shopper's Special", in which the contestant would play for the prize they had selected before the show, with the bonus puzzle spelling out that prize. Any vowels in the puzzle would be revealed first, after which the contestant had 30 seconds to call out consonants; correct ones were revealed in the puzzle where needed.

The winner of the game chose one of four different puzzles labeled "easy," "medium," "hard" and "difficult". After being shown the puzzle, the contestant called four consonants and one vowel. Those letters were revealed and the contestant was given 15 seconds to solve the puzzle. If successful, the contestant won a prize, with bigger prizes for more challenging puzzles. For example, the prize for an easy puzzle might be a $1,000 television-stereo console, while a difficult puzzle might be a $13,000 automobile. The prizes varied widely between episodes.

The "Star Bonus" round was played for a time in April 1978 and allowed a second- or third-place contestant to become champion by solving a bonus puzzle. A special "Star Bonus" token was placed on the wheel which allowed anyone who claimed it to play the bonus round if he or she was not the top-winning contestant that day. However, the Star Bonus was not played if the contestant who landed on it was in the lead at the end of the game.

The contestant was required to play for a prize that was worth more than the difference between their winnings and those of the first-place contestant. As with the hour-long episodes, the bonus prize's value corresponded with the puzzle's difficulty. The contestant picked four consonants and one vowel, then was given 15 seconds to attempt to solve the puzzle.

A permanent bonus round began on Pat Sajak's first episode. Several of the more expensive "shopping" prizes on each episode were marked with a gold star, and the champion chose one of these as their prize for solving the bonus puzzle.

After the implementation of the all-cash format when the program moved to CBS in 1989, several prizes were available each week for a champion to select. Although a returning champion could not select the same prize twice, new champions could play for a prize that had been won by another contestant earlier in the week. While the syndicated version offered luxury cars and a cash prize of $25,000 at the time, the prizes on the network version typically included trips, subcompact cars, rooms of furniture and a cash prize of only $5,000. Additionally, some of the bonus prizes on the network version doubled as prizes featured during rounds of the main game on the syndicated version.

At this time, unlike the nighttime version, in which contestants blindly chose the bonus prize from a selection of five envelopes, contestants on the daytime show continued to verbally choose the prize to play for in the bonus round.

Throughout the history of the daytime version, a tie game meant that no bonus round would be played that day and all three players returned on the next show, even if one finished behind the other two. The cumulative scores from both days were used to determine which player became the champion.

The daytime show allowed champions to appear for up to three days (originally five). However, the winner on Rolf Benirschke's last episode, even though he had not yet won three games, was not brought back as returning champion on Bob Goen's first show when the program changed networks and formats.

When the series began the minimum value on the wheel was $25 and the top dollar value was $500 in Round One, $750 in Round Two and $1,000 for each round thereafter. In 1976, the minimum was raised to $100 and the top amounts were changed to $1,000 in Round Two and $1,500 for later rounds. In 1979, the top amounts were increased to $750 in Round One, $1,000 in Round Two and $2,000 for the rest of the game, remaining at those values until the end of the first NBC run.

From 1986 to 1988, a "Jackpot" space was placed on the wheel in Round Three. The jackpot began at $1,000 and increased by that amount each day until won. If a player landed on the Jackpot space they could collect the wedge from the wheel, and if that player solved that puzzle without hitting Bankrupt, he or she won the Jackpot.

In 1989, with the move to CBS and introduction of the all-cash format, most spaces on the wheel had their values cut in half from the shopping format, making them an even smaller fraction of the analogous values on the nighttime show. The top values on the wheel were $500 for the first two rounds, $1,000 for Round Three and $1,250 for Round Four and beyond. $50 and $75 spaces appeared on the wheel for the first time since 1976, but those and some other spaces were eventually raised in value. To compensate for lower payouts, the price of vowels on this version was initially decreased to $200 and again to $100 in 1990.

Prizes similar to those on the nighttime show but smaller in value were introduced at this time, beginning with a trip to Lake Tahoe valued at $916. By the time of the last CBS episode in 1991, the prizes were usually worth around $2,000-$4,000. However, payouts still paled in comparison to those offered on the nighttime show.

Bonus prizes offered on the all-cash daytime version were considerably smaller as well, with a $5,000 cash prize instead of $25,000 and cars in the $10,000-$15,000 range instead of the more expensive prizes frequently offered on the nighttime show. The first prize was introduced at the beginning of Round Two. Additional prizes were placed on the wheel in Rounds Three and Four, with new prizes in each round if previous ones had been claimed. When the show returned to NBC in 1991, a prize was introduced at the beginning of Round One as well.

In 1989, the tan "Free Spin" wedge was replaced with a single Free Spin marker placed on various dollar amounts. A contestant was required to call a consonant appearing in the puzzle in order to claim it. Prior to this, a player who landed on the space automatically received a Free Spin and could spin again or buy a vowel if their score was large enough. For a brief period after the Free Spin wedge was replaced with a single token, a player could pick it up and then call a letter for the value it concealed.

Round One layouts and dollar values

• 
  1974 (pilots)
• 
  1975
• 
  1979-1986
• 
  1989 (CBS)

A different wheel template was used for each of three main-game segments throughout the network run. Prizes unclaimed before a template change were removed from the wheel.

On the 1973 pilot, the wheel's top dollar amount was $500 for the first two rounds, then $1,000 for each round afterward. Also on the wheel were $0 spaces which kept the contestant's turn but rewarded no money for a correct consonant; "Your Own Clue", which allowed the contestant to pick up the nearby telephone and hear a clue to the puzzle's solution, with a more specific clue each time the same contestant landed on the space; and "Buy a Vowel", which required players to purchase a vowel for a cost of $250. If the player did not have enough money, or all vowels in the puzzle had been called, the player lost their turn. This was the only opportunity in which players could ask for vowels during the game.

On the 1974 pilots, the top dollar values on the wheel were changed to those which were eventually used when the show debuted, though the spaces were in a different order and some values were cut when the show came to air. The $0 and Your Own Clue spaces were eliminated and the black "Bankrupt" space was added.

The "Buy a Vowel" space appeared during the first weeks of the series, but was quickly replaced by the current rule giving any player with sufficient money the option to buy a vowel during their turn.

Various changes have been made to the basic set since the show's premiere in 1983, including changes to the color of the floor and various additions of lights/strobes to the puzzle board and contestant backdrops.

In 1996, a large video display was added center stage, which was then upgraded in 2003 as the show began the transition into high-definition broadcasting. The set decorations change with each weekly set of themed programs. Dick Stiles was the show's first art director, and the production is currently designed by Renee Hoss-Johnson.

The show was originally taped at NBC Studios in Burbank, the same place where its daytime counterpart was taped. In 1989 the show moved to CBS Television City, remaining there until 1995 when production moved to its current home at Sony Pictures Studios.

Until 1997, the show used a manually-operated puzzle board composed of 48 trilons in four rows (11, 13, 13 and 11, respectively). The board was surrounded by a double-arched border of lights which flashed at the beginning and end of the round. When a letter was placed in the puzzle, its space would light up and Vanna White would turn the trilon to reveal it. On February 24, 1997, the show adopted a computerized board composed of 52 monitors (adding one space to each row). To illuminate a letter during regular gameplay, White simply touches the edge of the monitor, although the board may be controlled remotely to reveal letters or solutions. The new puzzle board made Toss-Up puzzles possible and also facilitated an evolution of the hostess' role, which was originally justified by the need to turn letters. The old puzzle board was offered to the Smithsonian Institution, but was rejected as they did not have enough space. The old puzzle board was eventually donated to The National Museum of Television History.^{[citation needed]}

thumb|right|The current Puzzle Board. The digital board also no longer requires taping to stop in segments that feature more than one puzzle. While the viewers at home saw a seamless transition to the next puzzle, what actually happened was a show stop down, during which the board would be wheeled off stage while the new puzzle was loaded in by hand out of sight of the contestants, who would typically stand in some place on the sound stage where they could not see the board. With the new board, no stop downs were necessary, meaning tapings could finish more quickly at a lower cost to the production company.^{[citation needed]} In 2003, the gold panels were replaced with the current LED and glass light extension. In 2007, the current puzzle board was revamped with new flat screens.

The first puzzle board had three rows of trilons and a total of 39 spaces. A larger board with an additional row of trilons and 48 total spaces (11 on the top and bottom rows and 13 on the middle two rows) and decorative arched light border was adopted on December 21, 1981. The second board became popularly associated with the show and remained for the rest of the daytime run (plus the syndicated run through February 21, 1997).

[[:Image:Wheelbackdrops.png|thumb|right|Various changes have been made to the backdrops seen behind the contestants.

An editor has nominated the above file for discussion of its purpose and/or potential deletion. You are welcome to participate in the discussion and help reach a consensus.]]

The contestants stand behind a large, padded railing that provides leverage when spinning the wheel. The area behind the contestants originally contained colored shapes (red for Player 1, yellow for Player 2, and blue for Player 3) that provided a backdrop as well as an additional scoreboard for displaying the amount a contestant had placed "on account" (see Shopping). In early 1997, the backdrops were removed in favor of a display that fit the theme for that week's set of tapings. In 1998, a video wall replaced the themed backdrops displayed behind the contestant. This video wall was upgraded in 2003.

Until 2002, the show used eggcrate displays to display scores. The eggcrate displays were replaced by LCD monitors in 2002 and again were replaced by flat-screen plasma^{[citation needed]} displays in 2007. Also beginning in 2002, special animations play on these monitors if a contestant lands on "Bankrupt" or "Lose a Turn".

Tote boards used to display the totals for each player featured eggcrate light displays, with room for four digits and a dollar sign. Space for a fifth digit was added by 1978 and for a sixth in 1990.

When the show debuted, backdrops with the same shade and texture as the green mirrored puzzle trilons were used behind the contestants. On December 21, 1981, new backdrops were installed with bright sunbursts of red, yellow and blue. When the show moved to CBS Television City in July 1989, the sunbursts were replaced by red, yellow and blue chevron backdrops. Each of these backdrops included eggcrate displays showing money "On Account" (under the shopping format) or the total winnings for a champion.

When the syndicated version of the program premiered in 1983, the values on the wheel were slightly higher than those used for the daytime version of the show. While the daytime top-dollar values in 1986 for rounds one, two and three were $750, $1,000 and $2,000, respectively, the top-dollar values on the syndicated version were $1,000 for both rounds one and two and $5,000 in round three.

The Wheel mechanism weighs two tons (4,000 lbs.)^[7] and is surrounded by light extensions. Until 1997, the Wheel was spun automatically during the show's opening and closing and featured alternating gold lights and panels. These were replaced by a metallic blue circle surrounded by gold panels, with several similar paneled spikes going around the Wheel and the Wheel no longer spun automatically during these segments. The current LED and glass light extension debuted in 2003.

Prior to 1996, three different dollar value configurations were used during each show. There have never been amounts under $100 on the syndicated Wheel and the only cash space not to end in "50" or "00" was a $175 wedge that was subsequently removed in 1985. The current configuration is based on the one formerly used in Round Three (Round Two prior to 1987). In 2008, the configurations were revamped slightly, with the addition of a few new colors and dollar values.

From 1983-1984, the lowest value on the wheel was $100. This was increased to $150 in 1985 and to $250 in 1996. The lowest value has been $300 since 1999.

On the 1974 pilots, the prizes were placed behind the puzzle board. After a puzzle was solved, the board was quickly wheeled off stage to reveal the prizes. When the series began, the studio had individual podiums for each of the three main-game prize showcases which were placed center stage and in the area behind where the host stood.

On December 21, 1981, a single large turntable was adopted, which displayed the prizes for each round as it was played. When the bonus round was instituted the following Monday, gold stars indicated the larger prizes that were also available in that round.

With the move to CBS and the adoption of the cash format in July 1989, the turntable was retired. Smaller turntables featuring replica wheel templates were used to display the prizes (mostly cars) available in the bonus round. The $5,000 prize was displayed on a rotating, circular green sign.

When the show was produced at NBC, the image of the host and hostess saying goodbye at the end of the show was superimposed on the green center of the rotating wheel using chroma key.

From 1983-2000, the show's theme music was "Changing Keys" by Griffin. Over the years, the theme was re-recorded several times in various arrangements from jazz to big band. The arrangements were by Griffin's longtime musical director, Mort Lindsey, with some of Lindsey's sidemen including Plas Johnson, Nick Ceroli and Jack Sheldon participating in the recordings.^{[citation needed]}

Since 2000, the main theme of the show has been "Happy Wheels" by the late Steve Kaplan, which was remixed in 2002 and 2004 by Kaplan and in 2006 by Frankie Blue.^{[citation needed]} Since 2006, a theme by John Hoke and Frankie Blue has been used.^{[citation needed]}

The theme heard on the 1974 pilots was "Give it One", composed by Maynard Ferguson. The song was released on the Columbia LP "M.F. Horn Two", which was re-released on CD by Wounded Bird^[8] in 2006.

"Big Wheels", the theme used from 1975-1983, was written by Alan Thicke and credited to Stan Worth. Thicke also contributed all the prize cues including "Glorious Sax", "Hip Check", and "Lusherous".

"Big Wheels" was replaced by the Merv Griffin-composed "Changing Keys" on August 8, 1983 (beginning an "Armed Forces Week") in anticipation of the nighttime show's launch, so that Griffin could derive royalties from its use on both versions. Griffin also wrote an entirely new set of prize cues for the show at that time. A remix of "Changing Keys" debuted in Summer 1984 during a week featuring Olympic athletes.

"Changing Keys" was rearranged when the show moved to CBS. This included a jazzier arrangement of the original melody, featuring saxophones and updated percussion backings. This theme was used on both the daytime and syndicated versions after production moved to CBS, and was retained for the remainder of the daytime show.

The original Shopper's Bazaar pilot is held by GSN, but has not been aired by the network.^{[citation needed]} A color promotional picture from that taping, showing Chuck Woolery standing in front of the wheel, was used in the A&E Biography "TV Game Shows". A Woolery episode from June 3, 1976 exists in the Library of Congress and in the GSN library. This was one of three daytime episodes shown on GSN as part of a memorial tribute to Merv Griffin in August 2007, the only time a Woolery episode has re-aired since his departure.

Clips of early daytime episodes hosted by Sajak, plus portions of White's audition tape, have been seen on the nighttime version's retrospective episodes.

The E! True Hollywood Story episode chronicling the show's history showed pictures of the 1973 pilot plus footage of a 1974 pilot, 1975 premiere, Stafford's last episode, McCarty making entrances as substitute hostess and White's audition tape.

Michelle Loewenstein became the first contestant to win $1,000,000 on October 14, 2008^[9] after the top prize was increased on September 8^[10] of that same year. Lowenstein's grand total was $1,026,080.

The daytime Wheel had good ratings for most of its run. From 1978, when it passed Match Game, until 1990, it was the second- or third-most-watched network game show, trailing only The Price is Right and sometimes Family Feud.^[11] However, since the available audience was considerably smaller, the daytime show never reached its nighttime counterpart's stratospheric level of popularity.

After Sajak's departure, the daytime Wheel was cancelled three times, by NBC in 1989 and by both CBS and NBC in 1991. It was the last NBC network show to air in the 10:00 AM Eastern time slot for several years; following the show's cancellation in 1991, the network gave that hour back to the affiliates for local or syndicated programming. Wheel was one of NBC's last daytime game shows.

The current version of Wheel does not count the daytime series as part of its history or episode count, declining to recognize that the game has aired continuously on television since 1975.

Retrospectives on the syndicated show (airing as its 3,000th, 4,000th and 5,000th episodes) have aired clips of Sajak and White's first shows and other early daytime appearances, White's unaired audition tape, Sajak's last daytime show, one 1974 pilot hosted by Edd Byrnes, and the opening of a 1978 episode. None of the daytime show's other hosts have been seen in these clips.

GSN aired ten Wheel episodes as part of a memorial tribute to creator Merv Griffin in August 2007. Three daytime episodes were included – a 1976 Woolery episode, White's first episode as permanent hostess in 1982, and Sajak's last daytime episode in 1989.

The December 24, 2007 episode featured appearances and interviews with the three "Teen Week" contestants from Sajak's first daytime show, to mark his 26th year with the series (with clips of the episode shown). Also mentioned during the reunion was the fact that White was not on the show when Sajak began, though Stafford was not discussed.

Numerous board game versions of the game show have been released by different toy companies. The games are all similar, however, incorporating a wheel, a puzzle display board, play money and various accessories like Free Spin tokens.

• Milton Bradley released the first board game in 1975. In addition to all the supplies mentioned above, the game included 20 prize cards (to simulate the "shopping" prizes of the show; the prizes ranged in value from $100 to $3,000). Two editions were released.
• Pressman Toy Corp. released several different editions between 1985 and 1991. They also released two Deluxe versions in the mid-1980s that featured a real spinning wheel which allowed dollar amounts on the wheel to be changed for each round (with the help of extra wedges).
• Tyco/Mattel created three editions between 1992 and 1998.
• Parker Brothers released their own version in 1999.
• Pressman, which currently retains rights to the home game, has released four editions since 2002 including a 20th Anniversary edition, a Simpsons Edition and a Disney Edition. The "Disney Edition" has a "hidden Mickey"-shaped wheel in the same style as the company's Deluxe Editions, albeit with only a few specific spots to place certain Disney-related prizes.
• Endless Games released a card game version of the show in the summer of 2008.
• Irwin Toys released electronic tabletop versions in 2009; a regular edition with 1000 puzzles and an overall gold motif, and a "Platinum Edition" with 1500 puzzles and a platinum-colored body & wheel.

In 2005, Info Space Games teamed up with Sony Pictures Mobile to create the mobile game Wheel of Fortune for Prizes. Players competed against others across the U.S. in multi-player tournaments for a chance to win daily and weekly prizes.

• Official website
• U-gottaseethis.com A website from Sony with classic Wheel video clips
• Play Wheel of Fortune online