Buy a Vowel was one of the gameplay elements on Wheel of Fortune.
History[]
A red wedge on the Wheel (two in Rounds 3+) from which contestants purchased a vowel for $250. From the Shopper's Bazaar pilot through at least September 5, 1975, contestants could buy vowels at their discretion provided they had enough to do so, making the wedge redundant. Given this and the fact the 1974 pilots added the wedge in Round 2, it would seem the purpose of Buy a Vowel (which was never hit in the first two pilots) was to be the "impulse buy" that could backfire.
Other than this, it is one of the most uncertain elements in the show's history, with recollections being contradictory on every aspect including the above:
- What it did if the player did not have enough to buy a vowel: At least one eyewitness reported an early screenshot of a contestant with a negative score, so it is believed that the $250 was still deducted. Others recall that the wedge resulted in a lost turn if the player did not have enough. The latter is known to have happened on the September 5, 1975 episode, where a player hit Buy a Vowel on the first spin of the game and lost their turn.
- What it did if all vowels in the puzzle had been revealed: Several recollections claim that it acted like Lose a Turn, although whether it deducted $250 anyway is unknown.
During 1975, Milton Bradley released two board game adaptations which use the following rules for Buy a Vowel:
- Players must land on the wedge to buy vowels.
- Money put "on account" can be spent on vowels, which suggests the wedge took from the "ON ACCOUNT" display first (if applicable).
- Players with less than $250 lose their turn.
- Strangely, there is no rule for what to do if a player with $250 lands on the wedge after all vowels in the puzzle have been revealed. The lack of a Used Letter Board or rules for "no more vowels" and "only vowels remain" (which was in place on the show) would indicate that players have to buy an uncalled vowel even if they know it is not in the puzzle, but this still does not address what to do after all five have been called. An early picture of Susan Stafford shows the Used Letter Board without its letters, suggesting that it debuted sometime into production (definitely by July 15, 1975) and players originally had to remember what had been called.
The Library of Congress' Catalog of Copyright Entries includes a listing for the "box top" (cover artwork) of Milton Bradley's Wheel game, with a date of February 10, 1975. The Wheel layout seen on the box is also on the instruction/puzzle booklet cover, which in turn is a photo of the set, suggesting that Buy a Vowel's rules were tweaked during the show's early months before being reverted (though it's entirely possible its rules in the board game were a product of Milton Bradley).
Various accounts claimed Buy a Vowel lasted anywhere from the first few episodes up until the end of 1975. It is known to have been present through at least September 5 (which still has contestants able to buy vowels at their discretion without landing on it), and was retired by November 3. The Milton Bradley games have the wedge coexisting with a Wheel layout that has no two-digit values, indicating that it at least survived that long.