Wheel of Fortune

*This article contains information that is fictitious and imaginary as PTV Network New Zealand (Patrick Te Pou Enterprises Ltd) is a fictional broadcaster. "Wheel of Fortune" is a game show format owned and licensed by CBS Media Ventures and Sony Pictures Television.*

## *Wheel of Fortune*

### Presented by

**Host:**Matt Gibb

**Co-host:**

Diamond Langi

## Production

### In-house or independent

**In-house:**PTV Entertainment (produced under licence from CBS Media Ventures and Sony Pictures Television)

## Release

### Original channel

PTV1

***Wheel of Fortune*** is a New Zealand game show that airs on PTV1. It is produced in-house by the PTV Entertainment department and licensed by CBS Media Ventures and Sony Pictures Television.

The show features a competition in which contestants solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a giant carnival wheel.

The history of the New Zealand version of *Wheel of Fortune* dates back to 1991. The original version, with Phillip Leishman (who was later replaced by Simon Barnett) as host and Lana Coc-Kroft as co-host, ran from 1991 to 1996. The show was revived in 2008 with Jason Gunn as host and Sonia Gray as co-host, but had been cancelled in 2009 due to poor ratings, decreased advertising revenue and the high cost of producing the show. Both versions were aired on TVNZ.

In 2021, PTV Network New Zealand announced that it would bring back a brand new version of *Wheel of Fortune* with television personality Matt Gibb as host and Miss Universe New Zealand 2019 Diamond Langi as co-host. Radio personality Mark Smith (The Sound and Magic) was confirmed as *Wheel*'s announcer.

The series screens weeknights at 5:00pm on PTV1, and is repeated at 6:30pm on PTV2 to offer a choice for viewers.

## Gameplay

The 2021 version of *Wheel of Fortune* is heavily modelled after Australia's version and has rules based on Australia's 2004–2006 format with subtle differences.

Before the taping begins, the players draw numbers to determine their positions on stage. Play proceeds from left to right from the viewer's perspective: from the red player to yellow, then to blue, then back to red.

The show uses a Flip-Up puzzle (based on the American version; see below) to determine control of the board to start the first and fourth round, and among which the player clockwise will begin the next round and so on (in order, red, yellow, blue and red).

### Categories

The game uses a wide variety of categories for its puzzles. Some are generic, such as PLACE or THING. Puzzles frequently refer to popular culture or common items encountered in everyday life, such as BEFORE AND AFTER, STAR AND ROLE, ARTIST(S) AND SONG and WHERE ARE WE? Other categories include BUILDING, LIVING THINGS, TRUE OR FALSE?, EVENT and PHRASE.

### Spinning the Wheel

The wheel has 96 pegs with 24 spaces that are each four pegs wide. These spaces represent cash values (in multiples of 5 instead of 50 in the American version), including one silver coloured “Top Dollar” wedge, prizes and penalty spaces, three strategic elements for use in the game.

A player who does not land on a penalty space asks for a consonant. If it is not in the puzzle, play proceeds to the next player. If the letter appears in the puzzle, the hostess reveals all instances of the letter and the amount spun up is added to the player's score. Unlike the American version, however, the amount of money won is a flat rate and not multiplied by the number of instances of the letter. The only exception is when the red mystery letter appears, which doubles the amount spun up when called. Calling a letter that has already been called results in the loss of one's turn. A "used letter board" is positioned off screen for the contestants to see to aid in their guesses. All descriptions of players being credited with cash or prizes in the remainder of this article assume that the player calls a consonant which appears in the puzzle. A player who lands on a value is credited with that amount.

#### "Top Dollar" values

The "Top Dollar" values are as follows:

* Round 1 - $750
* Rounds 2 & 3 - $1,500
* Round 4 - $2,500

### Buying a vowel

A player who has sufficient banked cash during the current round may choose to buy a vowel prior to spinning the Wheel. The cost of the vowel, $50, is deducted from the player's score and all instances of the requested vowel in the puzzle are revealed, if any. The player's score is reduced by a flat $50. If the purchased vowel is not in the puzzle, the player loses their turn in addition to the aforementioned cost. Multiple vowels may be purchased until either the supply of vowels is exhausted or the player's bank falls below $50; after which the player either spins the wheel or tries to solve the puzzle.

### Special features

* **Flip-Up Puzzles** - These give control of the wheel to whoever solved the puzzle, but do not add any money to the contestant's score. The Flip-Up before the second round is a Prize Puzzle, awarding a prize related to the puzzle. Flip-Ups are based on the Toss-Up Puzzles from the American version.
* **Free Spin** - A golden token with black "Free Spin" text is placed at the top of a wedge; the Free Spin token allows a contestant to continue his or her turn in the event of solving a puzzle incorrectly, selecting a letter that is not in the puzzle, or landing on Bankrupt or Lose a Turn. Upon spinning it up, the Free Spin is awarded first, and then a letter is called for the dollar amount that the "Free Spin" is placed upon. If the letter called is not in the puzzle, the contestant can use it straightaway to retain control or save it for later.
* **Bankrupt** - The black Bankrupt space ended a player's turn and loses their money currently earned for the round. Any money won from a prior round was not affected by it. The Bankrupt space appears once in rounds 1 and 2, and twice in rounds 3 and 4.
* **Lose a Turn** - Ends the player's turn without affecting their current round's winnings. Like the Australian version, the Lose a Turn space appears once in the first three rounds and twice in round 4.
* **Red Mystery Letter** - A consonant that appears in red on the puzzle board doubles the money awarded for choosing that letter.
* **Surprise Wedge** - The Surprise wedge features a Mystery prize won by the contestant who picks up the wedge and solves the puzzle on the same round. This wedge appears on a sporadic basis.
* **Mystery Wedge (Space)** - Similar to the American version, round 2 features two $500 spaces marked with a stylized question mark placed on the wheel. If a player lands on one of these mystery wedges and correctly guesses a letter in the puzzle, said contestant is given an option to risk their current winnings by 'flipping' the mystery wedge (contains either a Bankrupt or a special prize, which will only be awarded if the contestant solves the puzzle), or take a buyout with a $500 per consonant. After one mystery wedge has been flipped, the remaining wedge functions as a regular $500 space.

### Solving a puzzle

Upon solving a puzzle, contestants can choose one of three prizes offered to them.

### Speed-Up Round: Final Spin

At some point, when time is running short, a bell rings to indicate the Final Spin of the Wheel. The host spins the Wheel and all remaining consonants in the puzzle are worth the value of the spin. The player in control has his/her arrow determine the round's value, compared to the red player's podium on the American version. The players take turns calling one letter each including vowels (no cost/value). If the called letter appears in the puzzle, the player has five seconds after the hostess stops moving to try to solve the puzzle. If a player has a Free Spin, he/she can still use it to keep her turn in the speed-up round. Unlike the previous rounds, contestants may give multiple guesses within the time limit. If a penalty space is landed, the host spins again until a dollar amount is spun.

## Bonus round (The Golden Wheel)

The Golden Wheel gives the day's champion a chance to win one of several major prizes. The dollar values on the wheel are replaced with the major prizes, two wedges being the car. The contestant is given help with the final puzzle in the form of consonants and vowels; they start with two consonants and one vowel to start with, plus an additional consonant for every $2,000 scored in the main game. Theoretically, enough money ($38,000) can be earned so as to call every consonant. The winning contestant then gets 10 seconds to solve the puzzle and win the prize. Contestants can make many guesses during the time limit so long it does not expire. If a champ is unable to solve the puzzle in the bonus round, any score would carry over to the next episode; however, once a major prize is won, the value is reset back to zero.

## *Celebrity Wheel of Fortune*

*Celebrity Wheel of Fortune* is a weekly series airing Saturday nights on PTV1 (at 7:00pm for the first half of the year and at 8:00pm for the second half) and running for a total of 26 weeks (over two 13 week seasons).

Celebrities play for home viewers, with those viewers earning the prizes and total of the amounts their winning celebrity spun during the game in actual cash. In the bonus round (The Golden Wheel), the winning home viewer is given four consonants and a vowel.