Delayed Reaction - WoF

[takinover]

Waiting to see J!, I am watching the end as I have not seen the show in a very long time. Why couldn't the puzzle writers come up with better puzzles to force the contestants away from R-S-T-L-N-E instead of just spotting them those letters?

[BackInTex]

I had the answer with just those gimme letters. It was easy.

[SportsFan68]

Mom said it didn't work. She said the contestants ALWAYS picked rstlne.

So, many of the puzzles were completely unsolvable.

[ontellen]

I still remember a classic case in point when almost everyone guessed rstlne as their letters. Didn't work too well with Moby Dick.

[peacock2121]

One of my final puzzles was:

PICKLE PUSS

The other:

BOUTIQUE

Didn't get either.

Annoyed me when the guy that beat me in my third game got:

NO WAY JOSE

I knew that one without the extra letters.

[gsabc]

Waiting to see J!, I am watching the end as I have not seen the show in a very long time. Why couldn't the puzzle writers come up with better puzzles to force the contestants away from R-S-T-L-N-E instead of just spotting them those letters?

Sportsie has it. Those were always the letters chosen, so TPTB decided to spot the players those and let them pick others. I think it's more of a challenge for the writers to come up with puzzles that minimize those letters.

My three from 14 years ago: OLIVE, KING SIZE BED, ON THE SURFACE. Got the middle one while I was choosing my letters, after mentally putting the G in the right place. Missed the first one because they'd had GLOVE as a final puzzle not long before and I chose an A instead of the O I might otherwise have. Guessed CLOVE in my allotted ten seconds. Didn't have a clue on the last one.

[earendel]

Waiting to see J!, I am watching the end as I have not seen the show in a very long time. Why couldn't the puzzle writers come up with better puzzles to force the contestants away from R-S-T-L-N-E instead of just spotting them those letters?

Sportsie has it. Those were always the letters chosen, so TPTB decided to spot the players those and let them pick others. I think it's more of a challenge for the writers to come up with puzzles that minimize those letters.

My three from 14 years ago: OLIVE, KING SIZE BED, ON THE SURFACE. Got the middle one while I was choosing my letters, after mentally putting the G in the right place. Missed the first one because they'd had GLOVE as a final puzzle not long before and I chose an A instead of the O I might otherwise have. Guessed CLOVE in my allotted ten seconds. Didn't have a clue on the last one.

So why did WoF change the rules and do away with returning champions? Seems like they could use a "Ken Jennings" to boost interest in the show.

[gsabc]

So why did WoF change the rules and do away with returning champions? Seems like they could use a "Ken Jennings" to boost interest in the show.

I would guess that it was because of the high interest in becoming a contestant. It is, after all, America's favorite game show, or so they tell us. They do quite a few road shows because of that.

As far as a "KJ" goes, I don't think it would work as well for WoF. KJ's run on J! was so astonishing because of the breadth and depth of knowledge needed to continue for so long. That, and the buzzer ability. WoF is basically just one very simple game, Hangman. If you can do crossword puzzles well, you can do this very well. So someone (like me, he says modestly) could be there for a very, very long time. (I'm not modest, because in three days, I lost only two puzzles. I was good, and even got an on-air compliment about it from Pat at the end of my last show. I should only be so good on 'BAM and J! when my turn comes.)

There is also the equivalent of J!'s buzzer speed for WoF, or at least there was. When I was on, I found I could control the wheel within a fairly narrow range (one full turn within 2-3 wedges) and did just that. Three days of puzzles and I think I hit only one BANKRUPT and one LOSE A TURN, and those on a first spin right after getting passed the control of the wheel. I don't know the configuration now, but back then, there was a stretch of a quarter of the wheel with money wedges only, not big dollar amounts but good enough. I got into there and stayed. It added up.