Gameplay elements

Over time, Wheel of Fortune has introduced and occasionally retired various gameplay elements.

Current Elements
The current round structure is as follows:

½ Car Wedge

A special wedge initially used only for the week of April 11, 2011, offering a chance at winning a car. Similarly to the $10,000 and Million-Dollar Wedges, it had a one-third-sized "Car" space surrounded by one-third-sized $500 wedges, and a license plate-shaped "car" tag on top. Hitting the "car" space in the middle awarded the tag plus $500 per consonant, and two had to be claimed to win the car; obviously, the contestant also had to solve that round's puzzle. The ½ Car wedges were in play from Rounds 1-3, and located over the orange $300 space and blue $500 next to the red $900.

The "Car" tags were unique in that they were not lost to Bankrupts hit in subsequent rounds (but were lost to Bankrupts hit in the same round). Also, if one was claimed, it was replaced with another in the next round, meaning that as many as six "Car" tags could theoretically be gathered. During the week that these were in play, only one of the tags was ever claimed and several variables involving the tags were not explored (such as what would happen if more than one contestant had two).

Another unique property of the ½ Car Wedge is that it affected two other spaces on the Wheel for aesthetic purposes: the red $900 wedge became blue until Round 4, and the Wild Card moved to the pink $900. These changes except when the red $900 became blue are reverted from April 18 until the end of the season.

In Season 29, the ½ Car pieces were changed to license plate-shaped tags featuring the logo of the featured car's manufacturer; they debuted on September 26. One is still over the blue $500, but the other is now on the green $500 (changed from $700, also resulting in Wild Card's permanent relocation to the pink $900). The contestant no longer needs to land in the middle of the wedge to have a chance to collect the tag. When either tag is landed on, as was either wedge in Season 28, a car horn sounds. A tag is now vulnerable to Bankrupts in all rounds and the contestant must solve the puzzle after picking one (or two) up to keep them in subsequent rounds. When a tag is picked up, a large graphic of a generic ½ Car tag appears on the contestant's scoreboard before shrinking to fit under their score. Beginning on September 28, collecting a tag also awards $500 per consonant.

 Bankrupt 

Introduced in the 1974 pilots, Bankrupt is a black wedge on the Wheel that takes away the player's score for that round when landing on it (score from previous rounds is not affected). Originally, the space had white outlines; this was changed by June 7, 1976 to its current appearance. Originally, there was one Bankrupt on the Wheel in Round 1, then two for each round thereafter; since the beginning of Season 27, both Bankrupts are present throughout the game, with the second permanently replacing a purple $600 next to $300.

The wedge's symbolic slide whistle was added sometime between June 7, 1976 and April 6, 1978 (one recollection claims it was added in 1977), and changed to the current sound on July 17, 1989. Strangely, starting in the late 1980s, the slide whistle sound was not heard if Pat hit it on the Final Spin.

Beginning on September 16, 1996, the second Bankrupt was "off model", using the Clarendon font with all letters the same size. This was fixed by October 2.

 Cash Wedges 

Cash wedges are wedges with a dollar amount on it, and essentially are the "meat" of the show. A correct letter call credits that amount multiplied by how many times that called letter is in the puzzle.

The minimum amount was $25 when the show debuted ($0 in the Shopper's Bazaar pilot), which was quickly increased to $100 in 1975 followed by $150 (1985-96), $250 (1996-99), and $300 (1999-). $50 was the minimum on the 1974 pilots and from July-September 1989.

On the daytime show, the top dollar amounts were originally $500/$750/$1,000 in Rounds 1-3 respectively; by June 7, 1976 this was altered to $500/$1,000/$1,500. This configuration remained until some point between June 1 and December 4, 1979, when it was altered for the remainder of the original NBC run to $750/$1,000/$2,000; when it moved to CBS in 1989, the amounts were lowered to $500 (Rounds 1-2)/$1,000 (Round 3)/$1,250 (Round 4+).

Nighttime top values are $2,500 ($1,000 until 2000) in Round 1, $3,500 in Rounds 2 and 3 ($1,000 in Round 2 and $5,000 in Round 3 and beyond until 1986; $2,500 in Round 2 and $3,500 in Round 3 from 1986-2000), and $5,000 in Round 4+.

 Free Play 

A special wedge introduced in Season 27 that is essentially a successor to the Free Spin and is located over the yellow $400 between Lose A Turn and Bankrupt. If a contestant calls a wrong letter or makes an incorrect solve while on Free Play, the wedge allows the player to keep their turn. Vowels cost nothing, while consonants are worth $500 each (and, during Round 1, adds $500 to the Jackpot).

 Gift Tag 

On March 20, 2000, three different gift tags were added to the Wheel. Located over various dollar amounts, these offer $1,000 towards a company's products. The number of tags fluctuated repeatedly until early Season 24, where there is only one placed on the pink $300.

 Jackpot Round 

Introduced on September 16, 1996, the Jackpot is a special cash prize which starts at $5,000 and has the value of each successive spin added to it. An onscreen display throughout the round shows how much is in the Jackpot. To claim it, the contestant must land on the wedge, call a right letter and solve all within the same turn. The first Jackpot win was on September 26, 1996, at the base value of $5,000 thanks to a one-letter solve.

The wedge has always been over the orange $300, but it has changed rounds several times. Initially, the Jackpot was in Round 3. It moved to the green $500 in 1999 and to the red $300 in 2008. It also moved to Round 2 on the weeks of May 1 and 8, 2000, a change that became permanent at the beginning of Season 18. Beginning in Season 27 (2009-10), it moved again to Round 1.

From Season 24 onward, letters called on the Jackpot wedge are worth $500 each, even if the Jackpot is won. Previously, they had no value. Also, letters add $500 to the Jackpot, whether called correctly or not; this also applies to the Free Play space.

From September 4, 1997 until the retirement of the "Friday Finals" format, the Jackpot started at $10,000 on Friday Finals episodes.

Daytime used a different Jackpot from 1986-88, which is discussed below under "Retired Elements".

 Lose A Turn 

Present since the 1973 pilot Shopper's Bazaar, Lose A Turn simply makes the contestant lose his or her turn, but unlike Bankrupt does not remove money or prizes. Originally, a second wedge was added in Round 3; this was removed by June 7, 1976.

The wedge was originally yellow with white outlines around the lettering and the space itself. By June 7, 1976 the outlines were removed, and on September 16, 1996 the wedge adopted its current appearance (a very light shade of yellow, nearly white).

 Million-Dollar Wedge 

Introduced in September 2008, the Million-Dollar Wedge is a special wedge which offers a chance at $1,000,000 in the Bonus Round; it has a shiny, green, one-peg-wide "ONE MILLION" in the middle, with one-peg-wide Bankrupts on either side, and it is located over the orange $800. The contestant must hit the wedge, call a correct letter, and solve that round's puzzle without losing it to Bankrupt; if s/he then wins the game without hitting Bankrupt, the $100,000 envelope is removed from the Bonus Wheel and replaced with a $1,000,000 envelope.

Since its inception, the $1,000,000 bonus envelope has only been hit once; on October 14, 2008, contestant Michelle Loewenstein won it by solving the bonus puzzle LEAKY FAUCET. A disclaimer in the credits of the episode states that those who win the $1,000,000 may have it paid in installments over 20 years ($50,000 per year) or take a lump sum of $660,000.

Mystery Round/Wedges

"The Mystery Round: it's all or nothing!"

Introduced in Season 20, the Mystery Round offers a chance at an extra prize in the main game. A pair of Mystery Wedges are placed on the Wheel in Round 2 (Round 3 until November 1, 2011). Both are valued at $1,000 ($500 until Season 22), and offer the choice of taking their face value or forfeiting it for a chance at the prize. One wedge has the prize on the reverse; the other has a Bankrupt. If either wedge is flipped over, the other functions as a $1,000 ($500 until Season 22) space for the rest of the round and cannot be flipped over.

The prize was often a compact car when the round debuted, but starting in Season 24 it was sometimes $10,000 cash. Since October 3, 2005, it has always been $10,000 cash (except for October 19 and 20, which were taped prior to the change) and a graphic effect shows home viewers what is on the reverse of a wedge if it is landed on.

The Mystery Wedges have been redesigned twice, although they have always included a question mark in a circle above the dollar amount: when the wedge values were increased in Season 22, they were recolored from black to blue; in Season 23, the circle around the question mark was changed from black to red.

Originally, the Mystery Wedges were located over the green $500 (between $300 and $800) and the orange-yellow (changed to blue in Season 24) $500 between $900 and $300. In Season 26, the latter was moved to the blue $300 next to Lose A Turn and the green $500 became blue.

 Prize Puzzle 

Introduced in Season 21, the Prize Puzzle offers an extra prize to the contestant who solves the puzzle (usually trips). Since Season 23, every game has a Prize Puzzle; previously, they occurred randomly throughout the week.

On March 15, 2004, the show debuted the Wheel Watchers Club, which allows home viewers a chance at winning the prize as well. After each Prize Puzzle, a SPIN ID is drawn, and if a home viewer sees their ID on the show, they have 24 hours to verify it on the show's website. SPIN IDs are sporadically used for other home viewer sweepstakes, and until 2009, were also used if a contestant won a car in the Bonus Round. Beginning in April 2007, Wheel Watchers Club members who have an active Sony Card receive $50,000 as well.

Until Season 28, a Prize Puzzle could occur in any of the first three rounds; from Season 28 to October 31, 2011, it could occur in Round 2 or Round 3. Since November 1, 2011, a Prize Puzzle occurs in Round 3 only. It is not known why this change was made, but it may have been to lessen the chance of a contestant building an early runaway lead.

Prize Wedges

The concept of a Prize wedge was first tried on the hour-long daytime episodes in 1975 and 1976. Unlike the current ones, these were claimed immediately upon being hit and apparently did not require solving the puzzle to be won. Also, if a contestant lost it to Bankrupt, it was placed back on the Wheel.

Prize wedges were introduced permanently on the first nighttime episode in September 1983, and on daytime in July 1989. Like all other winnings, they are held if the contestant solves that round's puzzle without hitting Bankrupt.

Initially, a contestant who hit a prize wedge claimed it automatically upon hitting it, then called a letter for the dollar value underneath. Beginning in Season 8, the contestant has to call a right letter before claiming the wedge.

From the retirement of Shopping until the late 1990s, Wheel prizes were introduced in Rounds 2 and 4, obviously unless Round 4 began as a Speed-Up. In Season 14, perhaps due to increasing time constraints, the second one was retired. If the Surprise was picked up in either of the first two rounds, the second prize would be added. For a short time after the retirement of the Surprise wedge (see below), the second Wheel prize was reinstated in Round 3, but it was retired again around January 2002. Currently, the Wheel prize is always in Round 1. While Bob Goen was host, the daytime version generally introduced a new prize in each of the first three rounds and often did so in the fourth.

Until the late 1990s, Prize wedges often offered a variety of prizes, including some rather esoteric choices such as an autographed engraving of Florence Nightingale or even $500 cash (pictured above). Since around 2000, it is extremely rare for the prize to be something other than a trip or cash prize provided by a sponsor.

The current Prize wedge is on the purple $350 near Lose A Turn, except during the week of November 15, 2010 where a red-colored "Sears" wedge (a $5,000 Sears shopping spree) was placed over the green $300, most likely to avoid having two adjacent wedges of the same color.

 Speed-Up 

Present since the earliest days, the Speed-Up round is used when time is running short.

During a Speed-Up, the host gives the Wheel a Final Spin, to determine the cash amount of each consonant called; since October 4, 1999, the Final Spin has $1,000 added to its value. Vowels called in a Speed-Up round are free. Originally in the shopping era, a shopping round always followed the Speed-Up; at some point between December 18 and 28, 1981, this was changed to play for a gift certificate if the round began as a Speed-Up.

Control begins with the player who was in control at the time that the Speed-Up bells ring. Each player calls one letter at a time, going in order from the viewer's left to right. After calling a letter, the contestant has three seconds (reduced from five on April 13, 1998) in which to solve the puzzle. Since around 2000, every game ends in a Speed-Up round, most likely to allow for a better chance at a comeback by a trailing contestant and bring a definite "end" to gameplay.

Initially, if the host hit something other than a cash amount on the Final Spin, it was left in. On at least two occasions, Pat hit Bankrupt more than once (one of which was a Fall 1989 episode where he hit it three times followed by $5,000); on at least one occasion, he hit a Prize wedge twice and removed it (and all other prize wedges) from the Wheel before resuming the Final Spin. Also, Bob Goen repeatedly hit Bankrupt on a daytime episode, and eventually had Vanna do the Final Spin. The practice of editing out "bad" Final Spins began on February 24, 1997, and edits can usually be spotted by looking at the Wheel's position just before the close-up shot.

Until 1991 or so, clacking and chalkboard taps were frequently heard during Speed-Up rounds; these were from the Used Letter Board, as letters were discarded and scores changed. The letter cards were hinged and flipped back to mark those which had been picked; the letter cards typically hit the top of the Board with force, hence the clacking. By July 17, 1989, the chalkboard had been replaced by a dry-erase board.

Tie games on the nighttime show were originally broken by a second Speed-Up round. In these cases, the non-tied contestant was dismissed during the commercial break, and Pat gave the Wheel another Final Spin to start the tiebreaker round; as a result, the Bonus Round and credits were in the same segment. By comparison, a tie game on daytime simply meant that no Bonus Round was played and all three contestants returned the next day. (The returning-champion limit was not applied to tie games, as "return" episodes were treated as a continuation of the tie game rather than being a separate appearance; it is known that one player in 1987 remained for five shows due to two consecutive tie games.)

 Toss-Ups 

The Toss-Up rounds were introduced with the Season 18 premiere on September 4, 2000. For that season only, there were two: one before the interviews, to determine who starts Round 1, and one before Round 4 to determine who starts that round. Both Toss-Ups were valued at $1,000, and the round was not split-screened; home viewers saw only the puzzle board.

In Season 19, a third Toss-Up was added, with the values set at $1,000, $2,000, and $3,000. The $1,000 is essentially a "warm-up" for the contestants, determining who is interviewed first. The $2,000 Toss-Up determines who starts Round 1, and the $3,000 one (still before Round 4) determines who starts that round.

During a Toss-Up round, the puzzle answer is revealed one letter at a time. Contestants are given buzzers similar to those on Jeopardy! and may ring in when they think they know the answer. When a contestant rings in, the "right letter" ding is heard. Giving an incorrect guess "locks out" that player for the rest of the Toss-Up.

On rare occasions, Toss-Up rounds are unsolved (signified by the "time's up" buzzer from the Bonus Round); most frequently, this results from a contestant giving a wrong answer with most of the puzzle filled in, leaving little to no time for anybody else to ring in. However, there are several cases where two or even all three contestants rang in with wrong answers, and at least one where nobody rang in at all. If the $1,000 Toss-Up goes unsolved, the player in the red position is interviewed first; if the $2,000 one is not solved, the player who solved the $1,000 Toss-Up starts Round 1 (unless the $1,000 Toss-Up was also not solved, in which case the red player begins Round 1); and if the $3,000 one is not solved, the player who started Round 1 also starts Round 4.

Tie games are currently broken by a Toss-Up between the tied contestants, which does not have a cash value. This happened on March 13, 2003 and March 2, 2006.

Before the Toss-Ups were introduced, gameplay started with the red (leftmost from the viewer's point of view) contestant. Contestants' positions were, and are, determined by drawing numbered balls out of a leather pouch.

As far as is known, the signaling buttons do not have an official name; Pat tended to come up with various (often silly) names during the first few seasons the Toss-Ups were in use. On March 2, 2007, after a discussion about what to call the devices during the previous show's post-game banter, he and Vanna, with approval from the studio audience, decided to call them "dingers"; however, they were never referred to in such way again. In recent years, Pat has called them "devices" on the show, though he uses the term "buzzers" in the Wii adaption of Wheel.

Wild Card

Introduced on October 23, 2006, the Wild Card offers an extra letter to be called on a spin for the same amount as the contestant is currently sitting on. Alternatively, it can be taken to the Bonus Round, where it allows for a fourth consonant. Originally located on the green $700, it moved to the pink $900 in September 2011 (a change previously made for the week of April 11, 2011; see above) and the $700 wedge was changed to $500.

Retired Elements
$10,000 Prize

Introduced on November 28, 1994 and retired in September 2008, when it was replaced with the Million-Dollar Wedge. The $10,000 wedge featured a one-peg-wide, golden $10,000 design with a one-peg-wide Bankrupt on either side. It was located on an orange $800 from 2001 until its retirement, and before that on the Bankrupt between $500 and $600 (between $750 and $350 from the beginning of Season 14 until the Jackpot Round premiere). Hitting the $10,000 portion gave the contestant a $10,000 cash prize if a correct letter was called, which was treated like a Prize wedge and could not be spent on vowels. The reverse of the wedge was originally blank, but sometime in late 1995 it gained a shiny $10,000 design on the reverse. It is believed that the reverse of the wedge was used as a cash value for one week; there is also one episode where it was placed upside-down by mistake and a contestant hit it.

Initially, it was introduced in Round 3 and stayed on the Wheel through subsequent rounds until claimed. In Season 14, it was only in play during Round 2; it moved back to Round 3 in Season 18. From Season 20 until its retirement, it was only available in Round 1.

25 Wedge

A second Wheel prize, present only in Season 25, located on the purple $550 in Round 2 (Round 1 in the first week of taping). To celebrate the show's 25th nighttime season, this wedge offered a special prize with a theme of 25 (such as a $2,500 cash prize, $2,500 in gas cards, etc.). It functioned identically to the existing Prize wedges.

Big Money Wedge

A special wedge used in the Mystery Round, also present only for Season 25, located on the yellow $400 between $300 and $600. This wedge contained a small screen that alternated randomly among values of $5,000, $7,500, and $25,000, plus Lose A Turn and Bankrupt (which was sometimes displayed with black text on a white background instead of vice-versa). Its cash values were obviously flat rates, though the Wild Card could be used on any of its amounts. If hit for any cash amount and a correct letter was called, the wedge functioned as a $1,000-per-letter space for the rest of that round. For the first week of tapings only, its amounts were treated as prizes, but for the rest of the season, any money won with it could be spent on vowels. Also, for the first week only, the contestant's scoreboard displayed "BIG MONEY" along with the score. If it was landed on, the wedge was "enhanced" by a graphic effect that highlighted it with a yellow glow.

The housing of the Big Money Wedge was recycled in Season 26 for the current Jackpot wedge.

 Buy A Vowel 

First used in the Shopper's Bazaar pilot, Buy A Vowel was a red wedge on the Wheel (two from Round 3 onward) which allowed contestants to purchase a vowel.

Recollections are contradictory as to whether or not contestants had the opportunity to buy vowels at their discretion. At least one eyewitness has reported an early screenshot of a contestant with a negative score, so it is believed that the $250 was still deducted even if the contestant did not actually have that much. However, others recall that the wedge resulted in a lost turn if it was hit by a contestant who did not have $250, and it is known that it resulted in a lost turn if all the vowels had been revealed.

Just as contradictory is when the wedge was retired, with various accounts claiming it lasted anywhere from a few weeks up until the end of 1975. The only known hint is Milton-Bradley's two board game adaptations – Buy A Vowel is present along with the gift certificates, but the two-digit values have been removed.

In any event, the wedge was removed by June 7, 1976.

 Cash Wedges 

A variety of cash values have been used by the show, then dropped: $0, $25, $50 and $50♦, $75 and $75♦, $100, $125, $150, $175, $200, $225, $250, $275, $325, $375, $425, $650, $700, $750, $850, $1,250, $1,500, and $2,000.

$0 was used only in the Shopper's Bazaar pilot, while $225, $325, $375, and $425 were only used in the 1974 pilots. $25, $50, and $75 were the first three values dropped after the show went to series.

$125, $275, $650, and $850 were removed in late 1979, when the top values became $750/$1,000/$2,000. The resulting layouts remained, barring a few moves, until $175 left in September 1986.

$2,000 was retired when Bob Goen became host of the daytime show in July 1989, with $50, $75, $125, and $175 returning and $1,250 added as top dollar in Round 4. The two-digit values were given diamonds on his second show, but both values were removed by September 18; $100, $125, $175, and $1,250 were retired following the last daytime show in 1991.

September 16, 1996 saw the debut of the show's current single-template layout, which resulted in the disposal of $150, $200, $750, and $1,500. $250 remained until October 4, 1999.

Wheel 2000 returned 100, 150, 200, 650, 750, and 2,000 to the Wheel as point values, with 2,000 being the top value for Round 2; 850 also returned, but only for this version's Bravo Card tour.

$1,000 was retired in 2000, only to return in 2004 as the increased face value for the Mystery Wedges.

The most recent value to be retired is $700, used from the 1973 pilot through the Season 28 finale. $300 is the only value that has always been on the Wheel.

Double Play

Present only in Season 13, located on the blue $300 between $200 and $400 in Round 2 where it was introduced, and normally on the pink $300 between $600 and $700 in Round 3, the Double Play token could be used before any turn in to double the value of the next spin. If used before hitting a penalty wedge, the penalty had no additional effect, but the Double Play was not returned. It is believed that it would have also been discarded if used before hitting a Prize Wedge, Surprise or Free Spin, although there is no record of this happening. However, one pair of contestants during Sweethearts Week in February 1996 used it to double the $10,000 cash prize.

 Free Spin 

Also introduced in the Shopper's Bazaar pilot, Free Spin was originally a single tan wedge on the Wheel. Hitting it automatically gave the contestant a Free Spin disc, and s/he spun again. A Free Spin could be used at any time after a contestant lost a turn, or saved for later.

The wedge originally had white outlines like the other three special spaces, which was removed by June 7, 1976. At some point in either late 1987 or early 1988, it was kept only on the Wheel for Round 1, and replaced with a yellow $200 in subsequent rounds. This yellow wedge was upgraded to $300 at the start of Season 6 in September 1988.

The Free Spin disc was originally tan, with "FREE SPIN" printed horizontally across the center. The more familiar green design, with "SPIN" in the center and "Free" on the top and bottom in yellow script, was introduced on July 17, 1989.

On October 16, 1989, the Free Spin wedge was permanently retired, with the yellow wedge being upgraded to $500 and taking over for all rounds, and Free Spin reduced to a single disc placed over a random dollar amount. It spent all of Season 13 on the purple $200 next to Lose A Turn, then moved to the green $300 on September 16, 1996, staying there until its retirement. It was most likely changed to a single disc to prevent contestants from gaining unfair advantages by turning in multiple Free Spins, or banking multiple discs that never got used. Like the Prize wedges, when landed on, it could be removed and then a letter could be called for the value underneath, but from Seasons 8-24, only a correct letter awarded the disc (but without awarding the value underneath).

From Season 25 until its retirement, Free Spin's rules were changed slightly, so that hitting it gave both the Free Spin and $300 per letter; previously, it awarded only the disc. To indicate this rule change, the disc was moved up the wedge slightly so that it did not obscure the 3. In addition, the disc was available in the first three rounds; previously it was only available in the first two rounds.

 Free Vowel 

Used only in the Shopper's Bazaar pilot, Free Vowel was a singular wedge which allowed the player who landed on it to pick a vowel at no cost. The wedge sat between $100 and $250 for the first two rounds ($400 and $350 from Round 3 onward), and across from Your Own Clue (see below).

Free Vowel eventually returned in September 2009 as part of Free Play.

 Jackpot (Daytime) 

Used from September 15, 1986 through September 16, 1988, this Jackpot wedge was in Round 3 on the red $300 between $200 and $250. Unlike the current Jackpot (see above), this one began at $1,000 and increased by $1,000 every day until it was won. It was treated identically to a Prize wedge, and the money won with it could not be spent on vowels or in shopping rounds. The highest known Jackpot was $22,000, awarded on November 27, 1987.

Preview Puzzle

"Here's tonight's Preview Puzzle just for you at home. It's a [category]. Can you solve it? Stay tuned for the correct answer."

Used from October 4, 1999 to June 2, 2000, the Preview Puzzle was a short, partially-filled puzzle (complete with category) shown before the intro. While it was shown, Vanna would mention it through the above voiceover; after she and Pat walked out, she then revealed the Preview Puzzle answer. The first one used was TOM CRUISE (Proper Name).

The Preview Puzzle is unique in that it had literally no bearing on the game whatsoever, and was entirely for the home audience. It was most likely an attempt to provide more play-along factors for home viewers, something which has since been done more smoothly and successfully with the Toss-Ups.

Puzzler

Introduced on June 12, 1998 and made permanent on September 21, Puzzler was an "extra" puzzle done immediately after any of the first three rounds. The Puzzler answer was related to the puzzle immediately before it. In a Puzzler round, the contestant was given the category and about half of the letters in the answer. S/he then had 5 seconds to solve it for a cash bonus of $2,000 ($3,000 in Season 17), during which time the Bonus Round beeps played.

From its debut until some point between October 12 and November 9, 1998, the Puzzler was indicated by a series of bells. The Puzzler was used through June 2, 2000.

 Red-Letter Puzzles 

Present in Seasons 11 and 12, Red-Letter puzzles could occur at any time during the main game, in any category. In these rounds, the puzzle answer had some letters which are red. After the contestant solved the puzzle, s/he was given 5 seconds to unscramble the red letters, which spelled out a short (usually 4-6 letters) word; to make the red letters stand out more, the rest of the letters in the puzzle were turned off. Unscrambling the word awarded $1,000.

The show also held several home viewer sweepstakes with similar puzzles, starting with a Red-Letter Sweepstakes in Season 10. In these sweepstakes, home viewers could submit the word spelled out by the red letters for a chance at winning a prize. Later sweepstakes used red-and-blue letters that spelled out the name of a U.S. President, gold letters that spelled out the name of an Academy Award winner, and red-and-blue letters that spelled out the name of an Olympic event.

 Returning Champions 

"If you win today, we're gonna retire you as a champ."

Another well-known retired element. When Wheel debuted in 1975, contestants could stay on for up to five days; this was reduced to three days at some point between June 7, 1976 and December 31, 1979. A notable exception is the champion from Rolf Benirschke's last show on June 30, 1989, who did not return for Bob Goen's debut on July 17.

The nighttime show originally did not use returning champions, adopting the concept when it moved to Television City in September 1989. The element was replaced from 1996-98 by the Friday Finals, where the three highest-scoring players from Monday-Thursday returned to compete again.

Since 1998, the show has returned to one-and-done for all contestants. Pat Sajak explained on the Sony Rewards website that this change was made because the most skilled players are not always the big winners – a good puzzle solver may end up hitting Bankrupt or Lose A Turn over and over while a lousy solver could stumble into a runaway lead. While this is true, many would consider skill and luck while spinning the Wheel to be half the point of the game.

In any case, the return to one-and-done has resulted in several contestants leaving with very little to show for their efforts, including several winning scores of less than $10,000 (one of the lowest, if not the low record, being $6,550 on December 13, 2004).

Unlike Jeopardy!, where contestants who appeared on a version other than the Alex Trebek run can appear again, contestants who were on Wheel at any time in its American history are not allowed back. For a time on the show's official website, the contestant application page specifically mentioned Wheel 2000 and the daytime show (name-checking Chuck Woolery, Goen, and Sajak); this was later changed to the far more generic "Our rule is that you can be on the show only once in a lifetime. There are a lot of people who want to spin the Wheel!"

 Shopping 

"Try not to hit that black space 'Bankrupt', because if you do, you lose your cash but not your merchandise, because once you buy a prize, it's yours to keep."

"The prices of the prizes were furnished to the contestants prior to the show and have been rounded off to the nearest dollar. Gift certificates do not include sales tax."

Arguably the most famous retired element. After solving a puzzle, a contestant could spend his or her winnings on prizes in a showcase. This element was unofficially retired from nighttime on October 5, 1987 with the Big Month of Cash, an experimental play-for-cash format that seamlessly became permanent. Daytime, however, kept shopping until Rolf Benirschke's last episode on June 30, 1989.

Contestants could put money "on account" at any time during a shopping round, which allowed the money to carry over to the next round (but at the risk of being lost to Bankrupt). From about late 1975 onward, the winnings could also be placed on a gift certificate. If a contestant did not have enough money left over to buy another prize, s/he would almost always choose to have the remainder on a gift certificate. To ensure that the contestant would have money to spend in the shopping round, games featured a $200 house minimum if a contestant solved with less than that amount banked (although at least one game omitted a shopping round because there were no remaining prizes under $200).

It should also be noted that contestants did not have to spend all of their winnings on prizes; a contestant could choose to put winnings "on account" or on a gift certificate at any time, even without buying a prize. According to one personal recollection, a contestant placed all of his winnings on account immediately, and then used the combined total in a late round to buy the most expensive prize.

Probably the most fondly-remembered part of the shopping rounds is the ceramic Dalmatian, which several contestants purchased. The prize has since become a semi-cultural icon associated with the show – the Retro Week "Shopping" wedge was a picture of the Dalmatian, both Pat and Vanna own one (and displayed them on occasion), and the Wheel Watchers Club released an exclusive bobblehead.

Surprise

Used from October 5, 1992 to June 1998, the Surprise wedge was a special Wheel prize present throughout the entire game. It was located on the orange $200 between $500 and $700, and in 1996, it moved to the yellow $400 between $250 and $500 (between $300 and $250 in Season 15 only). It was claimed identically to the other Prize wedges, but the prize was not revealed until after the contestant won it.

Originally, Surprise used a far thinner, Arial-esque font; the regular font was introduced by October 26. Both versions used black text on a pink background.

Surprise was retired at the end of Season 15, and was essentially replaced in September 1998 by a second Wheel prize (which was itself removed in January 2002). During Happy Holidays week in its final season, the wedge was redone to include a gift box. When claimed and won, the box was opened to reveal a card that read "I've won (name of prize). Tell me about it, Charlie!" which then segued into the prize description.

 Your Own Clue 

Used only in the Shopper's Bazaar pilot, Your Own Clue was a wedge that activated the rotary phone in front of the contestants. The player who landed on it picked up the phone and received the puzzle's category (Person, Place, or Thing) from announcer Mike Lawrence. If that same player landed on Your Own Clue again, Lawrence gave her a more detailed clue; if another contestant landed on the space for the first time, she started from the first clue.

While Your Own Clue was discarded from the American format after this pilot, the concept became a part of several foreign versions (albeit without the phone).

Bonus Round
The Bonus Round has had several variations over the show's long history.

Shopper's Special

Used only on the Shopper's Bazaar pilot in 1973, with the bonus puzzle being the name of the prize the contestant was playing for. The winner was shown all vowels in the puzzle, then had 30 seconds to give consonants to fill in the solution.

Hour-Long Episodes

Used on the hour-long episodes in late 1975 and early 1976. While details on the hour-long format are sketchy, it is believed that three contestants competed in the first half-hour and three more in the second half-hour; the two winners then played a final round to determine the top winner, who was asked for four consonants and a vowel, then given the category and 15 seconds to solve.

Star Bonus

Present for at least the week of April 3, 1978, the Star Bonus was a token present in the first three rounds which allowed a trailing contestant to play a special puzzle at the end of the show. The disc was placed over a $100 wedge ($150 in later rounds), and was not lost if a player hit Bankrupt. Here, the contestant could pick among four different prizes, with the difficulty of the puzzle corresponding to the prize's value (Easy, Medium, Hard, Difficult).

If the contestant made it to the Star Bonus Round, it was played identically to the Bonus Round of the hour-long episodes, with an onscreen "stopwatch" graphic counting down the time. There are three known instances of the Star Bonus being played: two Difficults and a Medium; one of the Difficult puzzles was played by veteran game show contestant Scott Hostetler, who failed to solve PABLO PICASSO (Person).

Star Bonus was likely retired for several reasons, the most obvious being that there was no guarantee it would be played – and in the event that it was, the interviews were considerably cut down to squeeze it in. The prizes designated for the Star Bonus (marked by stars) were also available during normal shopping rounds, which allowed for the possibility of the Star Bonus being rendered useless. Additionally, it was possible for the day's winner to have the token.

Current Bonus Round

The current iteration has been in place since at least the week of December 14, 1981; it was called the "Christmas Wish Bonus" during that week, so it is highly likely that it was introduced then. Originally, the contestant was provided a blank puzzle and a category, and asked for five consonants and a vowel. S/he then had 15 seconds to solve. Almost all contestants chose some permutation of R, S, T, L, N and E, because those letters are the most common.

The current rules were introduced on both daytime and nighttime on October 3, 1988. Now, the contestant is given those six letters automatically, and then asked for three more consonants and a vowel (plus a fourth consonant if s/he has a Wild Card that was not used and/or lost to a Bankrupt in a main game). Also, the time limit is reduced to 10 seconds, and the puzzles are made slightly harder; it is extremely rare for R, S, T, L, N and E to comprise half or more of the answer, and there are several known instances between 1992 and 2001 of puzzles that did not have any of those letters.

Originally, contestants could pick any of the remaining prizes in the Bonus Round, which often meant playing for a fairly inexpensive prize, such as a cabinet or bed. With the retirement of the shopping rounds from nighttime in October 1987, the Bonus Round began offering five different prizes; these always included $25,000 cash, a car, and three other prizes that were changed each week. In Season 6, the show tried two experimental "Wipeout" Weeks, where winning the Bonus Round allowed the contestant to return for the next day, but also eliminated the prize that they played for.

With the vast majority of nighttime contestants picking the $25,000 cash, the prize selection on nighttime was changed in Season 7 to a random draw from five envelopes spelling out W-H-E-E-L; any prize that was won was taken out of rotation for the rest of the week. Daytime included a $5,000 cash prize starting with Bob Goen's first episode in July 1989, but still allowed contestants to pick any prize they wanted.

Starting in September 1998, the $25,000 envelope was kept in play even if it was won. In the first few weeks of the 2001-02 season, the W-H-E-E-L envelopes comprised three cars and two $25,000 prizes, and none were taken out if won; they were retired on October 22, 2001 and replaced with a current 24-envelope Bonus Wheel. Prize distribution on the Bonus Wheel has changed over time, although there has always been only one $100,000 envelope. Additional cash amounts (from $30,000 to $50,000 in $5,000 increments) were added for Big Money Week in February 2002, then made permanent that September. In Season 26, the Bonus Wheel was changed from "WIN $100,000 CASH BONUS" to "SPIN & WIN AMERICA'S GAME." Several $25,000 envelopes were originally present as well, but Season 28 replaced these with additional $30,000 envelopes.

Although it has never been stated on-air, the Bonus Wheel must make at least one complete revolution. Spins that do not are edited out.

Wheel 2000
Other than Bankrupt and Lose A Turn (renamed The Creature and Loser respectively), Wheel 2000 used several unique elements.

 www.Wheel2000.com 

A blue wedge worth 750 points which was named after the website. If a contestant landed on it, Cyber Lucy read the name and hometown of a viewer who had registered on the site; if the player called a correct letter, the home viewer got a Wheel 2000 hat and t-shirt while the contestant got 750 points per consonant.

A new viewer was picked each time the space was hit, regardless of whether the previous viewer won.

 Double Up 

A purple wedge with green font which allowed the contestant to try for double the wedge's value, or 1,000 points per correct consonant, by correctly answering a question posed by host David Sidoni. At least two Double Up questions were multiple-choice from three answers.

 Prize Box 

Another purple wedge with green font, this one had a large green box facing toward the contestant with the Wheel of Fortune 2000 logo on top. If the player called a correct consonant, s/he got 100 points per appearance and opened the box to get the small prize inside, such as a Game.com. The prize was kept regardless of the game's outcome, and a new prize was added for each round; it was essentially Surprise, which itself used a similar method of reveal for Happy Holidays Week in December 1997, mixed with the 1990-91 daytime prize structure.

Much later, on December 25, 1998, a Prize wedge had a box on top of it which Pat opened; inside was a CD jewel case with his picture on it, which he gave to the winning contestant before the Bonus Round.

 Physical Games 

Wheel 2000 utilized various stunts over its run, which were played if a contestant landed on one of the three red, double-width 250-point spaces. According to one recollection, there were only two episodes where a physical game was not played.


 * Alientoss: The player faced a small 12-square board and threw stuffed aliens at the numbers to try and match shapes. A letter was earned for each shape matched. (The game was played slightly differently for the Bravo Card tour, with just four pairs on a nine-square board {possibly according to a theme, such as Halloween with a trick-or-treat bag, a pumpkin, a bat, and a skeleton}; the remaining space was taken by Bravo, which acted as a wild card).
 * Call Waiting: The contestant stood behind a semicircular table with five phones on top and 60 seconds on the clock. The player had to pick up the phone and, after saying "Who's calling?", had to determine the famous person from the clues they gave. The trick was that all five phones were ringing at nearly the same time, and only rang four times each.
 * Chutes and Letters: The player stood over a 12-wedge wheel (four each of red, yellow, and blue) and had 60 seconds to correctly guess where a ball (rolled by them down a chute) would land.
 * Cube Roll: Unknown; its only known appearance, during Round 2 on what is believed to be the first taped episode, was edited out.
 * Feed the Raptor: Known to have involved a giant raptor head and a sort of "sandbox".
 * Letter Launch: The player stood by a catapult and tried to launch UFOs (placed on the catapult by David) into one of four "pods" extending from a giant rotating cog. While the contestant began with 30 seconds, s/he could add 15 or 30 more by answering two true-or-false questions posed by David.
 * Match It: The player had four colored helmets and three humanoid aliens (the latter's colors revealed to the audience), and was given 60 seconds to match the proper helmet to each alien. Upon placing the helmets, a podium lit up with up to three lights, denoting how many were correctly placed. (Unlike the other games, all three letters were awarded upon winning; it is assumed that if the player ran out of time, the number of correct placements determined how many letters were earned.)
 * Smell-O-Letter: The contestant, wearing a haz-mat helmet with a nozzle, had 60 seconds to smell up to four items (shown to the home audience) and try to name them.
 * Wash and Wear Words: The player put on various hats, shirts, pants, and shoes all showing a letter, and had to guess the word spelled out by that clothing (always a four-letter word; as far as is known, the game was always set up to avoid "dirty" words).
 * (unknown): The player drove an R/C car along a maze-like course with five lines. While the first was the starting point, crossing the second line awarded one letter; the third line awarded a Wheel 2000 hat, the fourth gave a second letter, and crossing the finish line awarded the third letter.

Following the stunt, the space became a double-width 250-point wedge.