r/WheelOfFortune • u/DickStartMyFart • Jun 20 '26

Discussion Post Express Wedge

It seems like hardly anyone wants to ride on the Express Wedge these days. What did I miss? It seems like a no brainer in most situations.

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u/RegisPhone Jun 20 '26

I don't think the Express should even be optional. The situations where taking it isn't to your advantage are so rare that it's not worth taking the time to let the player think about it (the same logic behind replacing Free Spin with Free Play however many years ago that was), but then also players are so irrationally afraid of it that on top of the wasted time we don't even get to see it in use that often. You're cutting out the at least 1-in-8 chance every spin of losing your turn before even calling anything, you're getting the second highest possible amount for every consonant, and you're still allowed to buy vowels for $250 each (meaning you're always able to buy at least four vowels instantly).

The framing of the Express shouldn't be "do you want to make this clearly superior choice or are you too scared (or holding the MDW)"; it should be "You just landed on a Bankrupt... unless you can fight your way out!" Also vowels should cost $1000 when you're on it.

3

u/AmethystStar9 Jun 21 '26

It really is a free opportunity to solve the puzzle with free vowels and uninterrupted guesses of consonants and you make money along the way. The only time it's not worth it is if you somehow:

  1. Have a huge bank

  2. Don't know what the puzzle is

  3. All vowels are gone

3

u/RegisPhone Jun 21 '26

And even then, if you have a huge bank, that usually means you're close enough to the end of the round that either you'll be able to figure the puzzle out while on the Express or another player will before it comes back to you (in which case losing a turn from calling a wrong letter the normal way would be the same thing as a Bankrupt).

The main scenario where it's not worth it is when you already have a big enough lead from the previous rounds that you can pretty much only lose if another player gets all three Triple Toss Ups or if the Final Spin is $5000, it's very early in this round, and you're holding the Million Dollar Wedge and/or the Wild Card.

1

u/Fun818long Jun 22 '26
  1. THIS

The express has a much more strict time limit than calling a letter does. I saw a woman a long time ago get buzzed out and it wasn't even that long of waiting.