Wheel of Fortune (1987 video game)

Wheel of Fortune

MS-DOS - USA - 1st edition.

Developer ShareData, Timely Publications Publisher ShareData Published 1987-??-?? Platforms Apple II, Commodore 64, DOS Genres Licensed, Word game Themes Game Show Series Wheel of Fortune Multiplayer Alternating versus Distribution Commercial

Wheel of Fortune is a video game adaption of the television show developed and published by ShareData for the Commodore 64 in 1987, then ported to MS-DOS by Timely Publications later that year, and finally ported to the Apple II. This is the very first licensed video game adaption of the game.

The game is just a simple video game adaption of the TV show as it was played in the mid-1980s.

Personal

Own?	No.
Won?	Yes. MS-DOS and Commodore 64 ports.
Finished	Both on 2024-02-12.

In the late 1980s, my cousin Brian had this game on his Tandy 1000 and showed it to me. Although I mocked the graphics, calling Vanna White "Vanna Red" because of the poor colors, I still thought it was fun since I like pretty much everything to do with video games at the time. Being only around 8-years-old, neither of us were any good at the game, and, not really liking the TV show all that much, I never beat it at the time. Much later in life, wanting to finish a lot of the games I play as a child, I went back and played this game and won my dream vacation.

Review

2	4	2	2	5

Best Version: Commodore 64

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

• It's a passable rendition of Wheel of Fortune for 1987.
• I like that if you lose, the game doesn't make you watch an AI try to solve the bonus round.

Bad

• Since it's just the bare bones TV show as it was in the 1980s, the game just isn't that much fun. It's not much more than competitive hangman.
• The game is very slow paced. For most of the game, you're waiting either for the wheel to spin, the opponents to take their turn, or for Vanna White to slowly amble across the screen.
• There are no difficulty settings for the AI. So, if you're too good or too bad at the game, it won't be much fun. I am by no means a Wheel of Fortune expert, but I still won the majority of rounds, so I can only imagine how easy the game is skilled players.
• The AI almost never buys vowels, even when they have plenty of money. Instead, it almost always spins for consonants, and, when they have all been guessed, solves the puzzle guessing the remaining vowels perfectly every time.
• Probably for legal reasons, the game doesn't mention Pat Sajak or Vanna White.

Ugly

• The art is extremely amateur and there are obvious graphics glitches on the screen in both the Commodore 64 and MS-DOS ports. The company really should have hired a competent artist, or, at the very least, cleaned up the errant pixels.
• The music and sound is also very weak and would have benefited from a proper composer. At least the TV show's theme is used, albeit in terrible quality.

Media

Box Art

• 

  USA - Both the initial Commodore 64 and MS-DOS releases use this cover.

• 

  MS-DOS - The US re-release had a more interesting cover.

• 

  Commodore 64 - Europe - The Commodore 64 European releases had this.

Documentation

• 

  Multi-platform manual.

Screenshots

• 

  Title screen.

• 

  Starting round 1, the clue is "event."

• 

  Is there a T? There are three Ts.

• 

  I'd like to solve the puzzle.

• 

  A commanding lead at the end of round 2.

• 

  Making my way to the bonus round.

• 

  Winning my dream vacation.

Videos

Longplay - MS-DOS.

Game play - Apple II.

Game play - Commodore 64.

Play Online

MS-DOS

Representation

Strong female character?	Fail	The unnamed replacement Vanna White hostess
Bechdel test?	Fail	No women talk.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	There are no people of color.
Queer character?	Fail	There are no queer characters.

Links

     

• archive.org/details/msdos_Wheel_of_Fortune_1987 - Play online.