Is ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Running Out of Ideas? Fans Debate Recent ‘Stupid’ Puzzles
Wheel of Fortune YouTube/ABC
After 50 years on the air, Wheel of Fortune viewers are wondering if the iconic game show is starting to run out of puzzles, especially after some recent examples that “made no sense.”
The latest debate comes after Friday’s (January 24) final Winter Wonderland-themed episode, which saw a showdown between JaRyce Echols from Spring, Texas, Kate Stuntz from Wellesley, Massachusetts, and Andy Kraus from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
During the Mystery Round, the three contestants were attempting to solve a puzzle under the “Weather Forecast” category. The players struggled to solve the puzzle, eventually getting down to just three letters missing.
The puzzle read: “C L O U D _ / W I T H / A / C H A N C E / O _ / S N O W _ L O W S.”
Eventually, Echols figured it out, answering, “Cloudy With A Chance Of Snowplows.”
This was the final straw for one viewer, who took to the Wheel of Fortune Reddit forum to complain, “Are they running out of puzzle ideas??? I’m sorry but Cloudy with a chance of snowplows is just so goofy. I know there’s been some silly ones over the years, but my mom and I couldn’t believe that was the actual answer when we were watching.”
Another agreed, adding, “I thought that last word was ‘snowblows.’”
“This has been a discussion in my house recently lol. The puzzles lately have been so stupid,” said another.
“That is SO dumb. When have they ever heard a meteorologist say that? I was guessing snowblows, but even that’s bad. In the very beginning, I thought it was snowflakes – at least that makes sense (though I just realized that that doesn’t fit 💀),” added one commenter.
Another wrote, “That puzzle made no sense. I’m not from a snowy area so maybe it’s regional but I’ve never heard this phrase.”
“I swear some of the puzzles must be AI lately,” quipped one user.
Another added, “I yelled at the TV on that puzzle. I said, “No weatherman EVER forecast that!” So stupid!”
One viewer noted how their Wheel “pet peeve” is “that so many puzzles have to be related to either the prize or some weekly theme. There are an infinite amount of potential puzzles, so why are we limiting ourselves to such specific topics? It just feels contrived and hokey.”
Another pointed out how since Ryan Seacrest took over hosting duties from Pat Sajak last year, the show “has been trying different things. An emphasis has been placed on Vanna with multiple contestants professing a story about her. Ryan has been much more playful with contestants. Some puzzle categories are not as broad.”
Others didn’t seem to mind, with one fan writing, “They’re definitely tying the puzzles to the weekly theme more than they used to, but it’s a TV show and audiences like watching people win more than they like watching them lose. I’m nonplussed by it and I’m certainly not surprised by it.”
“Some of the puzzles have been a bit odd, but I do appreciate them trying fun new categories,” added another. “I’m a bit torn on them tying the puzzles into the theme week. It makes for some strange puzzles, but I feel if they’re going to do theme weeks, they need to do more beyond have the name of the week on the video wall and that’s it.”
What do you think about Wheel‘s recent puzzles? Are they running out of ideas? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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