WooWho
Made It and Played It Producer 
Panel Quizmaster
"They better NOT be booing me!"
Posts: 2,537 
Airdate: 04/28/2014
Winnings: $41,400
SPIN ID: JW1336114
|
Post by WooWho on Jul 16, 2015 16:20:56 GMT -5
Previously on the Evaluation series, Express and Free Play. Go chime in over that way if you haven't already. This week on the Evaluation series...a new way to win a car, even before getting to the bonus round.
HOW IT WORKS: - There are two 1/2 Car tags on the Wheel. A player may remove a tag from the wheel if he lands on the wedge containing a tag and calls a correct letter.
- If a player solves a puzzle with two tags in his possession, he wins a car. The tags are then removed from play for the rest of the game.
- If a player solves a puzzle with one tag in his possession, the tag is "locked in." He maintains possession of the tag into the next round, and will need to pick up only one additional tag to win the car.
- Provided the car has not yet been won, any tags that have been picked up are replaced between rounds.
WHAT WE KNOW: - Tags that are not "locked in" after a round are lost.
- Tags are lost to Bankrupt.
- Upon picking up a 1/2 Car tag, players also receive $500 per correct consonant.
- Tags are replenished between rounds.
- Tags are removed from play entirely after round 3, regardless of whether or not the car has been won at that point.
- For its first week of existence, the 1/2 Car worked differently. Instead of one tag taking up a whole wedge, the tags were on Oreo wedges (like the Million Dollar Wedge). The outer thirds were regular $500 spaces, while only the middle third awarded the tag. Unlike today, the tags were not lost to Bankrupt, although players were still required to lock them in with a solve.
- Under this old method, only two tags were ever hit.
- It is not possible to steal a tag from another player.
WHAT WE WANT TO KNOW: - I think we can all admit the first format with the oreo wedges made the car pretty much impossible to win, but could that mechanic be repurposed into something else? (And if you say the Million Dollar Wedge, I'm gonna smack you.
 )
- Should the tags stay on the wheel for the whole game, instead of disappearing after round 3?
- The car has, about 99.9 percent of the time, been worth around $15,000. Is this an appropriate amount?
- Why can't they just make a "Car" prize wedge and slap that on the wheel instead? There have been Prize Puzzles worth about the same (or close to it) in the past.
|
|
genius2751
VIP 
Something big will happen eventually.
Posts: 5,547
|
Post by genius2751 on Jul 16, 2015 17:20:10 GMT -5
I DON'T think the 1/2-CAR should stay on the wheel after Round 3. But $15,000 sounds like an appropriate estimate for its value. After all, most of the 1/2-CAR vehicles appear to be compact.
|
|
WooWho
Made It and Played It Producer
Panel Quizmaster
"They better NOT be booing me!"
Posts: 2,537
Airdate: 04/28/2014
Winnings: $41,400
SPIN ID: JW1336114
|
Post by WooWho on Jul 17, 2015 15:14:18 GMT -5
I guess I wasn't clear with the "appropriate amount" question. I'm not referring to the estimate of its value, I'm asking whether $15,000 is an appropriate bonus for completing the 1/2 Car Mission, if you will.
|
|
lousan92
Made It and Played It VIP 
El Gran Campeón De La Ruleta
Posts: 782
Winnings: €20,650
|
Post by lousan92 on Jul 17, 2015 15:38:07 GMT -5
I will answer your questions point by point: - I've always thought that this format was quite broken: it made the car almost impossible to win (in fact, it didn't happen). Could we use this mechanic for something else? Well, I have a suggestion: in La Ruleta de la Suerte Premium there was a wedge with three sections: €10,000, €30,000 and €50,000. When someone landed on it, the host awarded her/him an small wedge that, if taken to the BR, they replaced a random envelope of the Bonus Wheel with the value, similar to the MDW. Probably they could make their own version with smaller values, like $150K, $300K and $450K, or even something more similar to the old 1/2 Car tags, like the MDW but with an smaller value, like $200K. But we all know that they are in budget mode and that's impossible. The outer sections of this wedge could be cash spaces, $500 or whatever. (Will you smack me for purposing something similar to the MDW? ) - There is no reason to let the tags continue after R3. If all the cardboard disappears after R3, why should they continue? As Mario mentioned in the Free Play evaluation, there would be less available spaces to hit in the Final Spin. - Yes, it is. Normally Prize Wedges are worth less than $10K. The car is harder to get than the Prize Wedge, so it should be rewarded. - That almost always happens during team weeks, when normally there is no car in the Wheel. Probably what happens is that they double the actual value of the trip because they give a trip per person (I remember one $16K+ trip during S31 in a Sandals week, I think. Even if the trip is very luxurious, I don't think that they award only one trip that is worth more than $16K). I wouldn't make a "Car" wedge for two reasons: as I've said in the previous answer, you can't make one wedge with a prize worth less than $10K and another prize worth about $15K. For me it's not fair. And the other reason is that they would make the car winning less exciting: I don't know if it's just me, but when one of the players hits a 1/2 Car tag, I get excited in every spin because I want to know if in the next spin (s)he will hit the other tag (and, of course, it's even more exciting when the player has both tags). |
|
|
|
Post by couponboy on Jul 20, 2015 8:50:07 GMT -5
1. That first format for the half car was WAY too hard. It definitely shouldn't be used again in the future, especially as there are plenty of gimmick spaces on the Wheel already.
2. For the sake of simplicity, the wedges shouldn't stay in play past Round 3. I don't think it was necessary to remove the half cars in Round 1, though. It makes that round even more bland.
3. $15,000 is definitely an appropriate price for the car. It's large enough to decide the game in some cases, but it usually makes for a close match when someone else wins the prize puzzle.
4. Having half cars makes it significantly harder to win than a normal prize wedge, which is appropriate given how much of a game decider it normally is.
Overall I definitely like the half car wedges. They add some classic flare to the game as it gives players a chance to win a car in the main-game, and it is reasonably difficult to win so that it won't be won nearly every day but it also will be won often enough to make the gimmick worthwhile.
|
|
WooWho
Made It and Played It Producer
Panel Quizmaster
"They better NOT be booing me!"
Posts: 2,537
Airdate: 04/28/2014
Winnings: $41,400
SPIN ID: JW1336114
|
Post by WooWho on Jul 20, 2015 20:47:02 GMT -5
One other question came to my mind: what if there were only two tags available throughout the entire game? Sorta like how on the Spanish version there's the Gran Premio wedges. I think you'd need to introduce something akin to Me Lo Quedo (Power if you're familiar with the Filipino version), but I wonder what you all think...
|
|
MarioGS
Made It and Played It VIP
PhD in Wheeloffortunology
Posts: 14,923
Airdate: 03/25/2016
Winnings: $76,086
SPIN ID: RS1363545
|
Post by MarioGS on Jul 20, 2015 21:28:00 GMT -5
I think we can all admit the first format with the oreo wedges made the car pretty much impossible to win, but could that mechanic be repurposed into something else?
They could always just use one of those wedges but make the center worth the full car. But the current tags format is just fine.
Should the tags stay on the wheel for the whole game, instead of disappearing after round 3?
No. It's two more obstacles for the Final Spin and would probably make the car a little too easy to win. Having it on just for R1-3 is fine, and it shouldn't be that much harder to win with the tags now only available in two rounds, but I would have much preferred they do like they do with the Prize Wedge and take them off after R3. I cringe for the other two players when somebody wins both tags in the Prize Puzzle round. That guarantees you $21,000+ in prizes alone. Winning two major prizes at once was likely the reason they began removing the Prize after R2, so I really don't get it. In my HYO games next "season", I will still be offering the tags in R1-3.
The car has, about 99.9 percent of the time, been worth around $15,000. Is this an appropriate amount?
On most episodes, yes, but not on those team episodes with $11,000+ Prize Puzzle trips. They could spring for $17K+ on those episodes (but then the $500-$900 Wheel wedges look so cheap in comparison which is already a problem on the team weeks as it is).
Why can't they just make a "Car" prize wedge and slap that on the wheel instead? There have been Prize Puzzles worth about the same (or close to it) in the past.
It's already bad enough when they have really expensive trips as the Prize Wedge. As I said in the first point, if you're going to have a Car wedge, make it Oreo-style.
What if there were only two tags available throughout the entire game?
That would lead to way too many awkward moments where one player gets one tag and then another player gets the other tag. If they wanted to save on tags, I suppose they could do something like, say, don't replace any claimed tags unless two players each have one half, and only then add two new tags to the Wheel in the next round in hopes that one of them can complete the car.
|
|
lousan92
Made It and Played It VIP
El Gran Campeón De La Ruleta
Posts: 782
Winnings: €20,650
|
Post by lousan92 on Jul 23, 2015 4:28:06 GMT -5
One other question came to my mind: what if there were only two tags available throughout the entire game? Sorta like how on the Spanish version there's the Gran Premio wedges. I think you'd need to introduce something akin to Me Lo Quedo (Power if you're familiar with the Filipino version), but I wonder what you all think... Definitively they needed to introduce something similar. When Gran Premio was introduced, Me lo Quedo didn't exist yet (Gran Premio appeared in April of 2012, and Me lo Quedo in September of the same year), and when two different players claimed one part of it, the prize was immediately retired (it happened to me in my first show, I landed on the second half of the Gran Premio and it was retired), which made the wedge(s) a bit broken. In fact, La Ruleta's director told me that one of the reasons of introducing Me lo Quedo was to enforce the Gran Premio winnings. But now it would be late for change the mechanic of 1/2 Car, and probably limiting it to R2 and R3 it's the best thing they could do to avoid so many wins (and you know, people don't care about it, as we saw when they forgot one of the tags in R2 last season). |
|
ld
Posts: 38
|
Post by ld on Jul 24, 2015 3:00:17 GMT -5
Modern (non-Oreo) 1/2 Car is a great concept for Wheel of Fortune since it is unique and adds a method to win big but without breaking the game.
However, the way the tags are positioned on the wheel makes them way too easy for weak spinners to land on both consecutively, which is quite an unfair implicit advantage. The ideal spots for the tags would be two wedges to the left and right of the Bankrupt next to the top dollar (in other words, place the other tag at where the Wild Card is located at currently). That way it decreases the chance of consecutive landing.
Car amount is fine, I have no issues with it (then again, I find anything that could beat the prize puzzle amount to be good).
Car tags should stay up to Round 3 only; as said, that lowers the distraction amount for the final spin.
I wouldn't want a Car wedge since that'd be too easy to land and retrieve. 1/2 Car is fair since two spins are necessary.
Tags becoming non-replenishable is a big no-no. 1/2 Car should not be allowed where only the player who is able to get the tag first can win it, for obvious reasons.
|
|
|
|
Post by tlc38tlc38 on Oct 12, 2016 8:36:09 GMT -5
This element has lasted longer than I expected. Although beginning with season 33, it's been reduced to rounds 2 & 3. Wouldn't surprise me if it goes bye-bye in season 35 or limited to only ONE round.
|
|
|
|
Post by tlc38tlc38 on Dec 5, 2016 10:04:27 GMT -5
Interesting...
I was watching Whammy! (The Newton version) today and they had 1/2 keys for a car...
I wonder if that's where WOF got their idea for 1/2 car tags.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bryce L. on Dec 5, 2016 12:16:20 GMT -5
^ If you get a chance to, watch the July 4, 1975 episode of High Rollers that's on YouTube. You're gonna be in for a bit of a shock... |
|
|
|
Post by gameshowfandanny on Mar 8, 2020 11:18:43 GMT -5
"I think we can all admit the first format with the oreo wedges made the car pretty much impossible to win, but could that mechanic be repurposed into something else? (And if you say the Million Dollar Wedge, I'm gonna smack you. :P )"
Probably a full car wedge.
"Should the tags stay on the wheel for the whole game, instead of disappearing after round 3?"
The 1/2 Car is retired now, but I think it should've been the whole game because as I always say, there are no special gimmicks in R4+.
"The car has, about 99.9 percent of the time, been worth around $15,000. Is this an appropriate amount?"
Yes. I love it when people win at least $40,000 before the Bonus Round (though it almost always results in the Bonus Round being lost).
"Why can't they just make a "Car" prize wedge and slap that on the wheel instead? There have been Prize Puzzles worth about the same (or close to it) in the past."
The Prize Wedges are usually trips, cash prizes, shopping sprees, or apps based on Wheel of Fortune (two times it's been the Wheel of Fortune Wii game).
|
|
)
