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
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Post by WooWho on Oct 18, 2016 17:06:02 GMT -5
This question is outside the scope of this section. Ask it somewhere else.
Keep these Evaluation threads relevant to gameplay analysis, please.
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Post by tlc38tlc38 on Oct 18, 2016 17:40:43 GMT -5
Sorry. I thought all discussion about the wedge should be held here.
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Post by tkftguillotine on Aug 31, 2017 18:49:02 GMT -5
I always wanted to see the Free Play and the Wild Card merged. Land on the Free Play and call a letter in the puzzle and they give you a Free Play token (think of it like the old Free Spin, it doesn't come off the wheel). Then, on your turn, instead of spinning, you hand it in, and can do any of the things that would usually happen on the Free Play now, with no risk to your turn.
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Post by gameshowfandanny on Mar 8, 2020 11:28:16 GMT -5
"Which is more interesting from a gameplay perspective: Free Play or Free Spin?"
Free Spin.
"What's the point of free vowels if all the dollar figures on the wheel are well over $250 anyway?"
The only vowel I would call on Free Play is U.
"The Free Spin wedge (and an unclaimed Free Spin token) was taken off the wheel at varying points in the game throughout the show's history. Free Play stays on the wheel throughout the whole game. Does it need to?"
Yes because it's the only special wedge in R4+.
"I've always thought the name "Free Play" sounded a little dumb. Would you change it?"
I'd change it to "No Penalties".
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Post by pannoni1 on Apr 22, 2021 6:13:57 GMT -5
There is one important strategy element that should be used for this wedge, and is a similar trap seen in many bonus puzzles: don't call any letter that you definitely know would be in the puzzle, whether its a vowel or a consonant (i.e., don't call an "E" if T H _ ) is showing. Since you know your turn won't be ending after a Free Play, take this as an opportunity to at least eliminate a letter that may come back later on a cause a trap to lose your turn. Second tier consonants as well as the I/O (remember, if there's no _ N G ) or ( _ F) is showing) seem to be the best deal for the contestant. $500 isn't really enough to use a first-tier consonant on since it is the minimum cash amount on the Wheel.
Overall, I still prefer the Free Spin token due to its flexibility of use as well as the enticement to gamble more, since if you land on a penalty space, you can't get a mulligan without this old cardboard token last seen in Season 26.
Solving on a Free Play is absolutely pointless since if you're torn between two letters, just call the letter, even if its only a vowel. You can always solve after your Free Play turn.
One thing I would change is that during the Final Spin, the Free Play space electronically changes to a $1500, resulting in a possible $2500 per letter speedup (keep in mind that Free Play is located in the same spot as the old Big Money Wedge from Season 25). It makes sense since the Free Play space is located nearly opposite the $5K space, which could provide not just more excitement regarding the possibility of a big hit to allow for a better opportunity for a contestant to win the game, but also to save the hassle of Pat spinning again.
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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
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Post by WooWho on Jun 25, 2024 18:57:49 GMT -5
Updated, rather belatedly, with new info and questions after the retirement of Free Play.
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Post by duke on Jul 10, 2024 22:26:35 GMT -5
Now that there's no game mechanic to allow players to save their turn after a mistake...does the game even need one now? Does it absolutely need one? Probably not. Could it use one? Probably. Following the gameplay history all the way back to the Free Spin wedge and thinking about the problems each evolution attempts to solve, I can suggest a logical next step. As I read the history, Free Spin wedge was replaced by Free Spin token after a couple of players with excellent wheel finesse stockpiled and in some cases then squandered a whole pile of Free Spins. Fascinating to see once, but really, it's an exploit. So we can't have a means for a player to stock infinite free turns with a wedge that grants tokens. I'm a little more fuzzy on this one, but it seems Free Spin token was replaced by Free Play in part to address the issue of acquired Free Spin tokens going unused. It is very easy for both host and player to forget about a Free Spin being held, and the rules specifically state "the host will remind the contestant that he/she has the option to use the free spin", which frequently did not properly happen. This probably caused issues at some point. Another aspect that seemingly causing an issue was the inconsistent timing for a player to declare Free Spin use. It seemed like some contestants following the player holding a Free Spin would race to spin the wheel before the Free Spin could be declared for use. While there was no rule stating that a Free Spin had to be used before the next player started their spin, it seems like at least some players presumed the presence of this rule, creating some awkward moments. Free Play seemed to be an attempt to fix that. Now that Free Play is retired, my suggestion would be to bring back a token of some sort, but alter the way that the token works. Rather than it being a "declared use" token, have it be an "automatic use" token that is valid only for the current round. It would give the player a "Save" on their next mistake in the current round only. Have it appear on their scoreboard when picked up, like the Wild Card. This makes it much easier to remember about the token. It kind of gives something halfway between a Free Play and a traditional Free Spin token. It doesn't completely take over 1/24th of the wheel for the entire game like Free Play did. And it always gets used once landed on and picked up - even if the player solves on the very next turn, the "Save" is there as insurance against a mis-solve. |
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spinthewheel123
Please spin the wheel. Try to advoid Bankrupt or Lose a turn or you'll lose a turn
Posts: 468
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Post by spinthewheel123 on Jul 11, 2024 10:39:46 GMT -5
I do miss Free Play. I still think they should've kept it, but it's nice to see $850 take it's place on syndication and $950 in CWOF. I really thought Free Play would've lasted longer than it did. I still think the show needs a way for people to save their turn. I do like duke's idea. I think they could've done it like this. Just make it a cardboard wedge (maybe in the style of the green promo version), and place it over a green $500. Remove it after Round 3. I know Free Play stayed through the entire game because it's structure was too complex. I thought about this because I remember germanname1990 saying in a picture of the S39 wheel where only part of it was showing with the Free Play not on the Wheel thinking it could've been restyled and it's location moved instead of being retired. So here's what it could've been for Round 1 (thanks to MarioGS for the layout and wedges):  Now, as for why it replaced Free Spin, I remember seeing a post on the S30 taping thread by MarioGS saying that it was because of the MDW. He said, it was easier to save a MDW with a Free Spin than with Free Play. He also said, the MDW is why the second Bankrupt next to the top dollar became permanent, not just for Round 2-3. Season 26 was the only season to have both the Million-Dollar Wedge and Free Spin. They want the Million hard to win, so that's why they did that, and also didn't award $500 per consonant unlike the other tokens and wedges. I know most people like Free Spin better, but I did like Free Play better, since it was available for multiple players throughout the entire game unlike the single token. I did like that you could call free vowels on it, even though it's better to call a consonant for $500, and use that to buy vowels. It's still great if there are only two vowels left to choose from. I know a few people tried to lift the Free Play Wedge, so that could be a problem with making it cardboard like I showed above. Now, during the 6/1/2021 episode in Season 38, one of the last shows with Free Play before it's retirement, someone landed on the Free Play wedge during Round 4, called a wrong letter, and the bells sounded. They didn't know how to proceed. That puzzle was scrapped, and replaced with a different puzzle. So, that's another reason Free Play may have been retired. But I would've just proceeded with the Final Spin, and continue with that player's turn. I started watching Wheel when they had the Free Play Wedge. I was confused on how it worked, it took me a little while to figure out how it worked. Free Play was never used in CWOF as you know even during Season 1 when Season 38 still had the Free Play Wedge, due to it being too complicated for non-fans. I would've just had a Free Spin token available for CWOF, placed on any of the $500 spaces, and awarded $500 per consonant. I know they still had that token, since it was used for that fresh off the boat Wheel set in 2017, where it was based of 1997 and also had the $300 and $400 wedges. The celebrities probably could understand how Free Spin worked, since it was used in Celebrity games before. I know they probably wouldn't use the token again on syndication. |
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