Wheel of Fortune fans have noticed a pattern among contestants in the Bonus Round that they think is a “total waste” and costs them the chance of a big bucks win. It’s all down to the letters they pick. Fans of the show say that it’s all too predictable that players make bad choices when they hear the clue and see the puzzle board, then choose letters that don’t help them solve the rest of the puzzle. For many viewers the three letters that cause the biggest groan are I-N-G.
“So sick of people picking i-n-g in the bonus puzzle!!!” a Reddit user posted. “When a word CLEARLY ends with ‘i-n-g’ .. maybe the word just has the ‘N’ in it, and people waste their letters by choosing ‘I’ and ‘G’!!! It happened tonight!! I cannot believe people could be that dense that they would willingly waste their choices by picking obvious letters! You only get three consonants, people. Use them wisely.”
During the Bonus Round, Wheel of Fortune gives contestants the letters “R,S,T,L,N, and E,” before they have to pick three consonants and one vowel. With “N” already being on the board, picking “I” and “G” would only help to fill in a word such as “running,” “hiking,” or “screaming.” If the other letters are left blank, the “-ing” doesn’t really help contestants figure out what the rest of the word is.
This fan referenced contestant Kristyn Hobbs, from Fort Cobb Lake, Oklahoma, who made it to the Bonus Round on Friday’s (May 2) episode. She picked the letters G, C, H, and I. One of the words ended in “-ing,” and she couldn’t solve the puzzle because she only had the first letter of the word, which was an “R.” The word looked like “R_ _ _ _GING.” The puzzle turned out to be “Rummaging in the Backyard.” The same thing happened the day before when Renea Zuidmulder, from Colorado Springs, Colorado, picked G, M, C, and I.
“It doesn’t have to be a wasted vowel, though it’s rarely the one I would pick, the ‘G’ is always a wasted letter unless you’re 90% sure the puzzle is GETTING BIG GOGGLES and you just want to be sure,” a Reddit user commented.
“My husband and I have this conversation every time someone chooses those letters. WHY???” said another.
“Fully agree. Or when people pick H if it’s clearly ‘the.’ Honestly, I think they do that on purpose so people pick useless letters,” wrote one fan.
“Total waste,” said another.
One fan came to the contestants’ defense saying, “Sometimes there are multiple I’s or G’s which can help. Sometimes for me having more of the letters physically present, even if I know what they are, can help me fill in the rest of the word.”
Wheel of Fortune, Weeknights, Check local listings
