The goal of the game is for contestants (and home viewers) to solve a secret word puzzle, knowing only the category and length of the word or phrase, by guessing the letters it contains and accruing dollars and prizes for each correct guess. Play is determined by the titular Wheel of Fortune . Three contestants take turns spinning the giant wheel, which contains a set of wedges each labeled with dollar amounts, prizes, or penalties. If the contestant lands on a dollar amount or prize wedge, she chooses a consonant she hopes is in the word puzzle. If it is, she is awarded that dollar amount multiplied by the number of times the letter appears or the single prize, and gets another tum. If not, play moves on to the next contestant. It is also possible to land on such wedges as "Bankrupt" and "Lose a Tum," and contestants may choose to buy a vowel rather than spin the wheel. A contestant may solve the puzzle at any time, and if correct, he keeps the money and prizes he has accrued since the beginning of that round. The game generally goes four rounds, and whoever has accumulated the most cash and prizes at the end of those rounds is the overall winner. This contestant then plays a bonus round for an additional prize.

     Wheel of Fortune first aired on the NBC daytime schedule on January 6. 1975. The program was created by Merv Griffin, who was inspired by the kids' game Hangman and added the wheel concept to make the game more exciting (and less morbid) . The pilot was originally titled "Shopper's Bazaar," because contestants spent their round winnings on displayed merchandise in themed rooms, such as "Things for Outside" and "Trips." In the late 1980s, the U.S. version dropped this format when producers decided it slowed down the pacing of the show. plus contestants complained that they had to pay outrageous taxes on the merchandise and thus preferred to receive cash. However, some global versions of the show have retained the shopping element.

     The hosts of Wheel of Fortune's original pilot were Chuck Woolery and Edd "Kookie" Byrnes; only Wool­ery remained for the show's official run, however. Woolery left the show in December 1981 after a futile demand for a substantial pay hike, and Pat Sajak then joined Wheel, followed a year later by Vanna White, who replaced original hostess Susan Stafford in December 1982.

     In 1983 Wheel of Fortune split into two versions: NBC kept a version of the show on its daytime schedule but sold the syndication rights to King World Productions for only $50,000, a stunning figure given how much the show has earned in syndication since. The syndicated version, which initially differed from its daytime counterpart only in offering richer prizes, began airing in the early-evening prime-time access slot on local stations across the nation.

     Wheel of Fortune exploded in popularity after the move to prime time and became the top-rated syndicated show in 1984. It has largely owned that title since, sharing it only occasionally with another Griffin-created game show, Jeopardy! Wheel also achieved pop culture icon status by the mid- 1980s, as Vanna White appeared on the cover of Newsweek in 1986, Pat Sajak was mocked on Saturday Night Live, and home versions of the show flew off of store shelves.

     This popularity also had global dimensions. In 1981 Australia became the first country to produce its own licensed version of the show, starring hosts Ernie Sigley and Adriana Xenides. Since then, locally produced versions of Wheel of Fortune have appeared in more than 25 countries, including Belgium (Rad Van Fortuin), Brazil (Roletrando Novelas), Croatia (Kolo Srece), Denmark (Lykkehjulet), Finland (Onnen Py­ ora), France (Le roue de la fortune), Italy (Le Ruota Della Fortuna), Germany (Glucksrad), and the United Kingdom. A raft of additional countries air the syndicated U.S. version, including the Philippines and Columbia.

     As this list attests, Wheel of Fortune has enormous global popularity. In part, this is because of the worldwide popularity of game shows in general. Such programs are relatively cheap to produce, allowing nations with less affluent television systems to satisfy their audiences' desire for indigenous programming instead of foreign imports. Further, the inherent qualities of live television and audience participation lend excitement to the genre, as does the combined display of sexuality and commodification, a factor explored by John Fiske in Television Culture. Finally, the allure of the television personality is provided by the host figures, as the 1980s American fascination with Vanna White and her fashions illustrates.

     However, Wheel of Fortune has succeeded well beyond the typical game show. Partly this is because of its simplicity. It is easy for the average person to play, both on the set and at home, and especially in comparison to more knowledge-based shows like Jeopardy! It equally balances qualities of skill and luck. Contestant and home viewer play also strongly complement each other: contestants  hope  to accumulate as much money as possible in a round, so they often choose not to answer the puzzle until they have guessed most of the letters. This both raises suspense, given the possible bankruptcies and lost turns along the way, and allows the game player at home the satisfaction of shouting out the answer before the contestants do.

     Finally, the format of the show is adaptable to varied cultural circumstances. As Michael Skovmand has illustrated in his study of Wheel of Fortune and four of its global versions (U.S., German, Scandinavian, and Danish), the show is generally homogeneous across its various versions, but there are significant differences: the European word puzzles are generally more challenging than the U.S. ones; the American version has a high level of audience participation with the on-stage contestants compared with little in the German version and none in the Danish version; and the U.S. version has a gaudy, glittery set, while the German incarnation displays matter-of-fact decor.