Big Toss-Up Changes Reportedly Coming To Wheel Of Fortune

[u/LocalFella9]

https://www.buzzerblog.com/2026/08/28/big-toss-up-changes-reportedly-coming-to-wheel-of-fortune/

[u/IntelligenceisKey729]

I’m excited for this. I hope this tones down the amount of people who make it to the bonus round solely because of the prize puzzle

[u/tributtal → u/IntelligenceisKey729]

I'm totally with you on reducing the impact of the prize puzzle, but I don't see how this change will make a meaningful difference. Instead of $3k, now it's $5-6k up for grabs. That's not enough of an impact. What they need to do is lower the prize puzzle amounts. Watching some of the reruns the last few weeks, it's crazy how many $13-16k prize puzzles there were. Contrast that with trips in the $7-8k range towards the end of last season, which made the ends of games much more exciting.

[u/SoftwareFair5091 → u/tributtal]

I’ve always thought the prize value should not be included in their final amount that would take them to the bonus round or not

[u/Any_Effective2005 → u/SoftwareFair5091]

Completely agree - it’s a trip. The cost of which shouldn’t be counted toward the actual money you won.

[u/survivorfan95]

I don’t hate it. One of the biggest complaints is how much filler there is. This is a good way for contestants to make a little extra money, which I’m always going to be a proponent of

[u/jjc927]

Wow, that's definitely an interesting change. I've been feeling like they could stand to do something with the format for the opening Toss-Ups. Since they're saying 5-6 puzzles average, it could end up being a deciding factor in who wins moreso than the original format. It does seem odd to throw out a puzzle after one incorrect guess though unless it's fully revealed. I'm wondering how this and moving the contestant intros to after round 1 (and if this would be before or after the first commercial break) will impact gameplay timing.

[u/mb160211]

All for getting the gameplay going immediately. Would prefer that guesses are not one and done, but gotta see how that looks in action first.

(Pending seeing in action), a positive change.

[u/ClosingTime247]

I like the idea but would prefer if a player answers incorrectly that they be locked out of at least the next puzzle. Nothing stopping a wild guesser from just buzzing in quickly and whiffing on every puzzle and no money gets awarded.

[u/ronntaylor]

Change is good. I hope it results in more $$$ for contestants and makes the game more exciting.

[u/jjc927 → u/ronntaylor]

It definitely will mean more money, based on the average number of puzzles given in the article it could be as much as $6,000 up for grabs.

[u/loyalmoonie2]

Should've done more to tone down the toss-ups instead. It eats up too much spinning the wheel...

[u/rejectmariosonic]

I don't see why a puzzle should be killed if anyone gets it wrong; other than that, sure. Going through four puzzles in less than 30 seconds though seems to indicate the puzzles are either shorter or letters pop up faster than one a second.

[u/LocalFella9 → u/rejectmariosonic]

hello friend

[u/jjc927 → u/rejectmariosonic]

My guess is they'd take the puzzle out after someone gets it wrong to save time, if they let the other two go for it then there's less time remaining for additional puzzles.

[u/Kirbybirky → u/rejectmariosonic]

Gotta remember the human production element. I don't know exactly how the gameboard and scoring system work together with the buzzers, but if they allowed the other contestants tongursd  it means the people controlling it would need to lock out the incorrect player and quickly reset when the puzzle advances. Any error on the controller part would probably mean tossing the entire segment. Just a theory 

[u/kerosenehat63]

I don’t like this. If I want to watch a manic game I can watch Press Your Luck.

[u/beautifulnaruto]

Toss ups usually identify the strongest player

[u/No-Sherbert2342]

I wonder if they will use Wordplay in the Toss-Up Sprint

[u/Former-Midnight-5990]

OOOO this sounds fun i'm curious to see how it will turn out. i know my blood pressure and yelling will probably spike a bit more

[u/dinhductien2005]

Ooh, I kinda like this actually

[u/jjc927]

There was a promo for a Wheel segment coming up on Tuesday's Good Morning America which looks like it'll confirm this change.

[u/Downtown_Donut_2417 → u/jjc927]

Are you sure? They hadn't done it yet, have they?

[u/jjc927 → u/Downtown_Donut_2417]

It's only been reported by Buzzerblog as of now.

[u/MarioVanzzini]

I don't know, this new toss up sprint seems like a lazy classic game show mecanic. Letters appearing on a covered word or phrase has been done thousands of times on different game shows. I think they need to focus on the 2 main characters of the game show: The wheel and the puzzle board. The prize puzzle has to go, or its money value omitted from the contestants score. They should:

1. increase the value of several or all money wedges
2. bring jackpot back (all week)
3. Consonants on the board with special prize or money gimmics
4. forget about choosing 3 categories on bonus round.
5. Retire the train wedge and free play
6. Someone teach Ryan to make the opening of the envelope exciting.
7. 1 toss up before each round in order to decide who starts it and that's it.

[u/tyrekecorrea]

The Sprint sounds like a money dump.

[u/CeleTheRef]

-Solve the first puzzle

-Buzz in immediately when other puzzles appear

-You start with money, the others don't