tonyscv
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Post by tonyscv on Apr 24, 2017 21:17:42 GMT -5
Hi All:
I'm curious what some of the lesser-known rules of the game are that are helpful for contestants to know. I have a couple of examples that I am not sure of the answers to, so I'd love to hear from folks who know, as well as any other lesser-known rules you are aware of.
For example, I'm aware that the wild card can be utilized after any spin to call another consonant for the same amount you landed on, but are you allowed to buy vowels in-between making that decision?
Once you announce you'd like to buy a vowel, can you change your mind?
The more esoteric rules are the ones I'm interested in hearing more about. Thanks in advance!
- Tony
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MarioGS
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Post by MarioGS on Apr 24, 2017 21:22:57 GMT -5
Yes. In the past, this was not allowed, but it is now. I asked about this with as much detail as possible in the green room. It has only happened on the show once so far and it was only on a whim because the contestant (like many) seemed to have no idea what the Wild Card is actually meant for. We have yet to see anyone capitalize on this rule by calling multiple vowels in a row and then using it for a top-dollar consonant.
Yes, as long as you didn't start to say any part of your actual guess. This is also the case for other actions; if you say "I'll spin", you can back out as long as you didn't touch the Wheel yet. If you say "I'd like to solve", you can back out as long as you didn't start your answer.
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Post by tlc38tlc38 on Apr 24, 2017 21:37:11 GMT -5
One thing I've found is it's actually better to call consonants on the FREE PLAY instead of vowels no matter what the show people try to drill into your head.
Vowels only cost $250 and you get $500 per correct consonant. You do the math.
That's interesting MarioGS , about buying vowels before using the wild card. I didn't know that. I always thought it wasn't allowed.
Another thing to keep in mind is the $1,000 house minimum. When it comes you turn and there's only one or two letters left in the puzzle, just solve it for the automatic $1,000 instead of spinning. The $1,000 house minimum does not apply to R3 because of the prize puzzle value.
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Post by tlc38tlc38 on Apr 25, 2017 7:29:40 GMT -5
MarioGS do you remember which episode that was when the contestant used the WC after buying vowels?
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MarioGS
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Post by MarioGS on Apr 25, 2017 7:54:54 GMT -5
It was the 12/26/2013 episode. There used to be a YouTube video or two of the moment. It's gone now, but I remember it vividly...
Pat: "Pick up that Wild Card. What would you like to do next?"
Contestant: "...Can I use the Wild Card?"
P: "You're sitting on $500, so your next letter would be worth $500 apiece."
C: "A"
P: "Well, you don't use it to call a vowel. Do you want to buy the A or use the Wild Card for a consonant?"
C: "I'll buy an A."
P: "There's one A... Now, you can use the Wild Card for a consonant if you want to."
And she did.
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tonyscv
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Post by tonyscv on May 5, 2017 18:39:48 GMT -5
Yes. In the past, this was not allowed, but it is now. I asked about this with as much detail as possible in the green room. It has only happened on the show once so far and it was only on a whim because the contestant (like many) seemed to have no idea what the Wild Card is actually meant for. We have yet to see anyone capitalize on this rule by calling multiple vowels in a row and then using it for a top-dollar consonant. Interesting. If you were to land on the Mystery Wedge, elect to go for it, and find the $10,000... would you then be able to use your wild card at that point for extra consonants for $1,000? |
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Post by tlc38tlc38 on May 5, 2017 18:48:42 GMT -5
^I'd say no. It'd be the value beneath the mystery wedge that was lifted---either $600 or $700, depending on which mystery wedge was hit.
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MarioGS
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Post by MarioGS on May 10, 2017 9:37:49 GMT -5
Yes. In the past, this was not allowed, but it is now. I asked about this with as much detail as possible in the green room. It has only happened on the show once so far and it was only on a whim because the contestant (like many) seemed to have no idea what the Wild Card is actually meant for. We have yet to see anyone capitalize on this rule by calling multiple vowels in a row and then using it for a top-dollar consonant. Interesting. If you were to land on the Mystery Wedge, elect to go for it, and find the $10,000... would you then be able to use your wild card at that point for extra consonants for $1,000? That's a really interesting question... I would think that you simply would not be allowed to use the card on that turn. The reason you can use the card right after earning it is because the Wild Card also acts as a $500 wedge when a letter is called on it. When you flip the $10K Mystery Wedge, you don't earn any actual cash on that turn, so there's no value to apply the Wild Card to. However, you can use the card for the $1,000 if you choose not to flip it, or if the other wedge has already been flipped. |
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Post by tlc38tlc38 on May 10, 2017 9:54:39 GMT -5
^But couldn't you use the WC on the value beneath the wedge ($600 or $700) if you did flip for the $10,000?
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MarioGS
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Post by MarioGS on May 10, 2017 10:13:52 GMT -5
^ No, because that $600/$700 wouldn't have applied on any previous turn.
By that logic, if control passes to you, you could use the card immediately on whatever value your arrow was sitting on after the previous player's bad turn, which makes no sense.
Similarly, you can't use the card after picking up the MDW for the $500 underneath since you earned $0 on that turn.
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NopeNoWay
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Post by NopeNoWay on May 10, 2017 10:35:46 GMT -5
I know when I was on the show, they strongly discouraged aiming for specific dollar amounts and went as far as to say Sajak would ask the crew to stop tape, chastise you for being a jerk contestant, and resume taping. They tell you every time you spin should be a blind spin.
I don't know if that is still a rule today because there are plenty of people who very obviously aimed for amounts in recent years and I always felt like their big wins were tainted because of it.
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MarioGS
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Post by MarioGS on May 10, 2017 13:28:12 GMT -5
I know when I was on the show, they strongly discouraged aiming for specific dollar amounts and went as far as to say Sajak would ask the crew to stop tape, chastise you for being a jerk contestant, and resume taping. They tell you every time you spin should be a blind spin. I don't know if that is still a rule today because there are plenty of people who very obviously aimed for amounts in recent years and I always felt like their big wins were tainted because of it. It is. But the thing is that you can't aim for a specific wedge, but you are technically allowed to put a little more or a little less effort or strength into a spin. |
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Post by Flerbert419 on May 10, 2017 15:22:28 GMT -5
If you were to land on the Mystery Wedge, elect to go for it, and find the $10,000... would you then be able to use your wild card at that point for extra consonants for $1,000? I know it's not the definitive answer by any means, but is somebody willing to try this in one of the recent official video games to see what happens? |
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MarioGS
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Post by MarioGS on May 10, 2017 15:56:41 GMT -5
^ I think I remember this scenario coming up in the 30th Anniversary mobile/PC game and the Wild Card option was enabled with "$0" listed as the potential consonant value. Could be wrong, though. I'll try it again sometime.
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tenpoundhammer
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Post by tenpoundhammer on May 10, 2017 16:20:49 GMT -5
I know when I was on the show, they strongly discouraged aiming for specific dollar amounts and went as far as to say Sajak would ask the crew to stop tape, chastise you for being a jerk contestant, and resume taping. They tell you every time you spin should be a blind spin. I don't know if that is still a rule today because there are plenty of people who very obviously aimed for amounts in recent years and I always felt like their big wins were tainted because of it. That wheel weighs 2,400 pounds. I doubt anyone could easily "aim" it. One contestant who was on in 1993 said one of his opponents accused him of aiming the wheel because one of his spins was really light. He said they reviewed the tape and determined that the spin was light because his hands slipped. I do remember in the past seeing a few instances where Pat stopped the Wheel mid-flight and told the contestant to spin again, but I haven't seen that happen in a very long time now. (I would imagine that nowadays they just edit out something like that.) Another contestant around the same time banged on the railing in frustration when a spin just missed the prize wedge, which apparently jostled his arrow just enough to make it click over to the prize. They did do a stopdown, but it was pretty clear that it was unintentional, since he looked shocked when it happened. (It ultimately didn't matter since he didn't solve the puzzle.) |
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