Get your own Free Home PageNOTE: This game is for entertainment purposes only. All dollar amounts are fictional and no money or prizes will be given out at any time.
This site is unaffiliated with the real "Wheel of Fortune," Sony, or any actual company. The official "Wheel of Fortune" web site can be found here.
This is primarily an e-mail based game, however, to get the full experience (and to have an easier time reading the puzzleboard), please make a note of the main page, http://geocities.datacellar.net/mstiescott/net_wof/netwheel.html. This page contains the current puzzleboard, used letter board, scores, and a transcript of the game in progress.
'Net Wheel of Fortune is played with three contestants. To register to be a contestant, please send an e-mail to mstiescott@hotmail.com. When a new set of contestants is needed, I will contact the people who have been waiting the longest amount of time to play. Each of those contestants will be notified by e-mail of their inclusion on the next episode. If they wish to decline, they must inform me of their decision by 11:59 p.m. EST of the following day. Please keep in mind that as a contestant, your turn may start on any day, and you will have only one day to respond. Therefore, if you do not have daily access to e-mail, do not sign up to be a contestant.
Brief rules overview
(This rules section only scratches the surface of the rules of "Wheel of Fortune." It is assumed that contestants know enough about "Wheel of Fortune" so that not every little rule must be explained to them.)
'Net Wheel of Fortune is played just like the game show "Wheel of Fortune." Players spin dollar amounts on a wheel of 24 spaces, and guess consonants in a puzzle in an attempt to solve the hidden phrase, name, etc. Each game will consist of three toss-up puzzles and five rounds.
First, there will be a toss-up puzzle. It will be worth $1,000. The rules for the 'net adaptation of the toss-up can be found below.
Then there will be a second toss-up puzzle to determine who will play first. The rules are the same, except this puzzle will be worth $2,000.
Round one will play under normal rules.
Round two will be the Jackpot round, with a Jackpot starting at $5,000 and increasing with each dollar amount spun. If a contestant lands on the Jackpot space, chooses a consonant in the puzzle, and then solves the puzzle, he/she will win the Jackpot as well as any accumulated money.
Round three will play under normal rules. This is the Mystery Round, which gives players the chance to win a car on the wheel.
There will then be another toss up puzzle to determine who starts round four. This puzzle will be worth $3,000.
Rounds four will play under normal rules. This round will most likely contain a puzzle that includes a bonus question (Fill in the Number, Where Are We?, etc.).
Round five will play under normal rules. There will never be a speed-up round.
'Net Wheel of Fortune will use the same wheel configurations as the current season of "Wheel of Fortune."
Playing the game
Toss-up puzzle
Before rounds one and four, there will be a toss-up puzzle. The letter in the puzzle that's the farthest right and/or farthest down will be displayed, and I will give all three players a chance to either solve or wait. If nobody correctly solves the puzzle, I will reveal another letter and give the same options. This continues until somebody correctly solves the puzzle. If a player incorrectly solves the puzzle, they are out of play.
Since this process can take some time, I request that if a player does not know the puzzle that they e-mail me telling me that they will wait for another letter. If a player does not respond, they will still be allowed to participate in the toss-up, but hopefully this will speed up the toss-up process a little bit so we can keep things moving along.
What happens if more than one person solves the puzzle at the same stage, you ask. Here's what will happen. When a player wishes to solve, I ask that they also submit a number between 1 and 24 with their answer. If more than one person solves at the same letter reveal, I will place a piece of paper on the wheel. The paper will list, in order, the numbers 1 through 24 (1 will be placed over the permanent Bankrupt and the numbers will increase in a clockwise direction). I'll spin the wheel, and the player with the number that is physically closest to what is spun will be declared the winner. If there is a tie, I will ask for new numbers to be submitted and I'll spin again until a winner is determined. Please note that winning is based on how close in proximity on the wheel you are to the spun number. For example, if your number is 2 and your opponent's number is 21, and I spin 24, you would win, since the 24 is only two spaces away from 2, while it is three spaces away from 21. So every number has an equal chance of winning.
Main game
When it is a player's turn, I will send them an e-mail informing them as such, along with the state the puzzle is currently in. They have to respond by 11:59 p.m. EST of the following day about whether they wish to spin, buy a vowel, or solve the puzzle, or which letter they wish to choose.
Responding early is always preferable, and if a contestant can respond to several e-mails within the course of a day, it will help to speed the game along so that more contestants will have the opportunity to play. Remember, if it is not your turn and you wish to see the state of the game, the most up-to-date version is always at http://geocities.datacellar.net/mstiescott/net_wof/netwheel.html.
If a contestant wishes to spin, I will spin the wheel. The "wheel" is a replica of the "Wheel of Fortune" wheel that came with a Deluxe Wheel of Fortune home game. I have placed a piece of posterboard snugly around the wheel containing the dollar amounts currently used on the show (see a fuzzy picture of the wheel). After I spin the wheel, I will send an e-mail to the contestant informing them of the space spun. If the space is a dollar amount or prize, the contestant may then tell me which consonant he or she wishes to guess.* I will then inform the contestant of whether or not their chosen consonant appears in the puzzle. This process continues until the contestant spins Bankrupt or Lose a Turn (unless they have a Free Spin, in which case I will ask if they wish to use it), calls a letter not in the puzzle, or does not meet the response deadline. Any of these occurrences will cause play to pass to the next player, who will receive an e-mail notifying them that it is their turn.
Solving the puzzle
When you're solving the puzzle, spelling counts! The spelling of your answer must be exactly the way it is spelled on the puzzleboard, or it will be deemed incorrect. Punctuation, such as apostrophes, periods, and hyphens, also counts. Capitalization does not count, however. I suggest you play a game or two in the single-player mode at www.wheeloffortune.com. Solving the puzzles there and solving the puzzles here use exactly the same rules.
If you are answering a bonus question after you have solved the puzzle, your spelling does not have to be perfect, but it does have to convey the correct answer with no doubt. If you're not sure of a spelling, just try to spell it phonetically. I will be the judge of such spelling calls. Of course, Fill in the Number's answer must be exact, and while spelling doesn't have to be perfect, the next line in Next Line Please does have to match the words exactly.
Play continues for five rounds. At the end of the fifth round, the player with the highest score advances to the bonus round. The bonus round is played exactly like the bonus round on "Wheel of Fortune." The player will be shown a puzzle and the frequency of R, S, T, L, N, and E. The contestant may then choose three additional consonants and one vowel to be displayed. When those are displayed, the contestant will be allowed up to four guesses as to what the puzzle is. More than one guess may be listed in an e-mail, to save time. If after four guesses the contestant does not solve the puzzle, the puzzle will be revealed.
* I have allowed an alternate method of calling letters. If a player wishes to spin the wheel and announce which consonant he or she wishes to choose in the same e-mail, that may be done. I only ask that these be made into two separate sentences so I can insert my text announcing the dollar amount into the game transcript in between. If Bankrupt or Lose a Turn is spun, I will not include the sentence calling for a specific letter so as not to influence the other players. Please note that this practice is optional and is neither encouraged nor discouraged.
Other various stuff
I will also place a prize on the wheel in both the second and third rounds, again, the same as the real show does. Because I'm lazy, these prizes will be the same as the ones used on the real "Wheel of Fortune." The same goes for bonus round prizes.
In the rare event of a tie for first place after round five, I will send one additional puzzle to each of the players in first place. Each player will then have the option of choosing any letter of the alphabet (consonants or vowels) to be placed in the puzzle or solving the puzzle. Letters that do not appear in the puzzle do not count as a penalty. The player that solves the puzzle in the fewest number of choices will advance to the bonus round (essentially, it's competitive Hangman). However, if a player attempts to solve their puzzle and is incorrect, they are automatically disqualified.
I try to mimic the style of puzzle presentation that's used on the show -- for example, using an ampersand instead of the word "and" when necessary in the "Things" category. The only instance I can think of where I will not mimic the show's punctuation concerns their practice of putting a question mark at the end of questions. In my opinion, it just makes things too easy. I'll start using question marks when they start using commas.
For the record, I determine all of the puzzles and prizes to be used in advance before a game starts.
This used to be a paragraph about how 'Net Wheel of Fortune would only be playable when I have access to e-mail (which at the time of the creation of this game was only when I was in college). I have access to the internet at home now, too, so there shouldn't be any problems with hanging games. If I go on an extended vacation, I'll do my best to prevent a game or round from hanging.
Questions? Anything I missed? E-mail me!
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