WoF is challenging. Great for the bump and nudge development and mastering. The Wheel is awesome. Its different, that is for sure.

I have a nice HUO WOF.

Agree, challenging pinball, however, some people think the play is to slow. Also, it would be nice (required) to finish off the code - some minor annoyances - Stern should step up. Simple things like which Round it starts on always is different versus Round 1.

Underrated for sure, if code was finished, your machine would be worth easily 500 more instantly.

Enjoy it!

Loved mine but it was time to go. Traded for it NIB. The slow down on the flow is waiting for the wheel to stop. The post on the left ramp can be disabled but now you have the ball back to the flipper and targets that can't register until the wedge is established. The wedge modes are some of the most creative and really make the wheel a toy. The 2x and 4x scoring is fun when the drops are all down. Rt ramp and next shot is 2x. Rt ramp, Lft ramp, next shot is 4x. I have had some single letter values come in over 4M. Some have an issue with banking points of which you only get when you solve a puzzle but that is the risk/reward. The skill shot shot is awesome too.

Great game.

I traded for a WOF a few months back and did not play it much until the other day. Once I understood the rules it actually became quite fun. You definitely need to bump the machine to save the ball drains. The center post is interesting also and absolutely screws you up when you go to play a traditional machine after playing WOF.

I like the way the wheel looks/operates and skill shot is a tough one. For a $3k-ish game it is nice to have - especially for non pinball people that go to it for it's familiarity.

I decided not to LED this machine as I feel that the color and tone if ICs more represent the show. Same for my LOTR. It has a few LEDs (mostly for flashers), but all the GI and most inserts are still IC.

Definately read through the pinballnews review of the rules for a better understanding of what is there.

I'm not sure where else to post this. Anyone know where this goes? Thanks

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I recently picked up a WOF. It is a nice change from the traditional pins with the wedge between the flippers and the chance to continue your ball with a free spin on the outlanes. I'm still learning the rules but it does require you to think about your next shot. The waiting for the wheel lets you know which contestant has the best value to shoot for, but the trade off is the constant waiting.

One of the contestant brackets broke the day after I bought. I wonder if that is a common problem with all the pounding they get added to the weight of the bobbleheads. I ordered a new bracket so it should be repaired soon. So far I really like the game despite the incomplete code. We'll see how soon Pat's lame jokes get tiring.

I've had mine for years and love it. The only thing that has cracked is one of the contestant brackets; the wheel has always worked perfectly. No wizard mode because of incomplete code, though.

Picked mine up yesterday, might be one of only 3 or 4 in the UK. Has been given the full Comet LED treatment plus an LED OCD board. Looks and plays great!

Can I buy an EEEEEEEEEE.........

Love my WOF. Awesome playfield layout. Real fun for casual competition.

Is there a way to adjust the wheel position as mine is very slightly off centre for the 3 segments that are lit up, it is ever so slightly to the left. It's the same in the wheel test and during game play.

Thanks

Just played this pin for the first time the other day. I loved it! I understand the theme can put people off and there is no wizard mode but that's really just nitpicking for an otherwise unique game that is a blast to play. I hope I can expose more people to this awesome game!

Anyone have any custom cards for this one?

Picked up a WOF today. I don't see any mods available except for a shooter rod. Anybody know of a vendor with a topper or pinblades? I have seen some that once were available. Any other mods for this available?

Is there a rulesheet made up for this one out there somewhere that explains the gameplay/rules/strategies? I have not found one yet. The topic of this game seems pretty dead on Pinside.

I know the code is not completed (and a sad scenario for why that is), but I saw that there might be something out there for a 6.00 unreleased code or a 6.02 secret code. Since "something" does exist, Stern SHOULD at least put that out for this pin for bug fixes and such of which code does exist, but not released. Probably old news and a sore subject for you guys, just thought I would chime in too.

So far WOF is "different" and a change of pace for us. It seems to be a good one to have with the other ones I have as a change up - variety. If it just doesn't click with us after the honeymoon with it is over, then we will just pass it along and sell it in a few months. For now we are just trying to figure everything out.

I picked this game up two weeks ago. I'm absolutely loving it, although I will admit that often I am frustrated after playing it. Seems like I started out ok and keep getting worse the more I play. But the overall game strategy is deep, shots are challenging, etc. This is my first Stern pin and I don't regret buying it. Mine appears HUO.

I also wish they would fix the code for it, but I'm guessing that'll never happen. I can't imagine buying a car and having Ford tell me "sorry, never got around to finishing that feature". Unacceptable! Ah well, despite the few unfinished items, it's a great game. I could make a small list of software "fixes" like showing the ball number at the start of each ball, leaving the "wild card" award on the DMD longer after collecting it (so it doesn't drain while I'm trying to see what I got), etc....

Also, for what it's worth. I had the opto board problem when I got the game. The ramp optos would toggle like mad. I removed the opto board and re-flowed the solder on the header pins. It hasn't happened again for a week. So either that fixed it, or possibly it was just the re-seating of the connectors. Not sure, but it seems to be fixed.

Again, great game, hard to believe it's not more popular. It's no TZ, but it's still a lot of fun.

Since it seems the WOF owners aren't social about this game in this thread, I'll post this here as I found info about an issue I have in a different forum from a few years back.

My issue ... Only had the pin for a week and learning it. While playing the pin all of a sudden my wife was getting all kinds of points and extra balls and doubled my grand champ score. Then I played right away and right off the launch the extra ball light was lit. I shot the ball into the scoop (or whatever that thing is called), and the extra ball stayed lit. I hit that 5 times in a row with the same result, then the light went out. Note that the max extra balls was set at 5. After doubling her grand champ score I just let the balls drain and we both agreed something is wrong. What in the world COULD it be? Both inflated points and extra balls.

I found on another forum that pinball_keefer responded to someone with the same or similar issue back in 2016 that I hope he wont mind me quoting him:

"For some reason, WOF seems susceptible to an opto problem where they just start going crazy on the ramps. That’s the only thing that can explain the extra balls (10 ramps, then 60, 110, etc.) and the high score. I’ve heard of it numerous times, never seen it in person. It happened on a test game once, apparently during Ramp Rampage, because they wound up with over 2B on that mode (mode points are audited on WOF)…"

Someone else (@ryanwanger) also replied with:

"Yeah, what keefer said. I’ve seen it happen in person on my machine on a few occasions. Usually not as high as you saw, but a GC did appear that was like 2b.
I ended up replacing the ramp opto boards and don’t have the issue anymore. They’re not expensive, less than $10 each. If that doesn’t do it, soldering the wires directly might be worth trying."

Looks like I will find the part number for the opto boards for the ramp and order a few.

So this is just an FYI for new owners looking for info on this pin and maybe someone searching Pinside for help with this same issue. Pinside is a good source of info for pinheads, so I thought this post could benefit WOF owners. I didn't find this in the other OLD WOF threads.

I owned WOF for about a year and never saw the issue FWIW.

Actually the pin was rock solid. Never had a single issue for me and I played it a lot.

There’s a service bulletin in regards to the scoring bug. Which is on Sterns website. Also make sure you’re running code that’s up to date.

http://www.sternpinball.com/games/217/wheel-of-fortune

It’s number 173.

I have had to replace those opto boards on several Stern machines, including WOF and Tron.

I saw that, thanks for pointing that out though. I do have version 5.0 installed. It's not the end of ball bonus, it's during the game and symptoms like a few others found with the ramp opto going flaky. New optos fixed it for them, so hopefully it will fix it for me too.

A side note though ... even though I do have version 5.0 code, I still have symptom #1 in that bulletin #173 with the wheel indexing issue. I tried the manual wheel diagnostic test and sometimes it indexes the opposite way in that test, I exit out of that and it stays indexed the opposite offset until reboot. The manual says that it goes through a automatic indexing every time it boots, which is right on dead nuts, but as soon as the game starts and the wheel spins it is always indexed off just a bit. So I'm guessing that even if I fiddled with the indexing opto, it would still turn out the same. I wouldn't know what to fiddle with anyhow. Anyone find a solution for the wheel indexing issue with 5.0 code? Or are we just kind of stuck with it that way. Not a big deal, just that engineer in me wants to fix it.

While I'm ordering ... is there other optos on the WOF that go bad? If they're all the same part number (haven't checked yet), I might as well order extras.

I know on mine, the drop target optos went and didn’t register. Replaced them and all is good again.

I had a WOF on location with the left ramp registering all the time. I walked away after ball 2 and it showed I had 2200 ramp shots completed.

Ok ... the left ramp is just switches and not opto sensors and those check ok in testing mode. The middle wheel spin ramp and the drop target ramp are opto switches that both go to a single common opto board. Did ryanwanger and blowback1976 replace the switches, the board, or both? Sounds like ryanwanger replaced the board and blowback1976 replaced the switches.

In switch test they do register. In audits, there were a few thousand counts for both of the switches (out of less than 600 games), so that might not be too bad if the previous owner was a decent player. If the board was flacky, that might not register switch hits in the audits. I will order both so I have them, but just wondering which I should try first. I played a few games and it is back to normal for now. I know it will return based on what has been said.

I'm liking those bonus spin modes when stacked with multiball ...

Just some other info to post ... I talked to someone who repairs pinball machines daily and I asked him what is typically something that fails on WOF that I should watch for. He said it is a pretty good machine as far as repairs go, but sometimes after thousands of plays the bobbleheads will fatigue and their heads will fall off. Since this one website has them 20% off (really the only reason), I ordered a set in case I keep this pin a long time and the bobbleheads become unobtainable. I'm prepared for 10 years down the road.

Here is the webpage for that sale currently going on (cheaper than Marco): https://coinoppartsetc.com/product/parts-sale-pinball-machine-parts/wheel-fortune-pinball-machine-game-genuine-replacement

I replaced the opto interface boards only. I don't believe I've replaced the optos themselves.

I got it from Twisted Quarter for less than $8: http://www.twistedquarter.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=82_441_443&products_id=2392

I suppose either could be an issue...but the hundreds or thousands of times quickly I believe is almost always an opto board issue.

Okay, thanks for the info and the link.

I have personally owned WOF since 2007 and have enjoyed the game. Still looks brand new. One problem, for many years always have had an issue where the ball is released from the lock, and either hits the left post or slingshot then immediately drains down the middle. I've adjusted the rail, then it was just draining down the middle--!! Well after all these years - the underside play field bracket was loose and as a result the side rail was never properly adjusted. Well, I'm happy to announce that the ball finally is released, against the rail, then hits the left flipper. If anyone ever has this issue - can easily assist. Otherwise it completely ruins the entire game.

IMG_0282 (resized).PNG

Added over 6 years ago: Update - still have the issue. If anyone can assist please send me a message!

My opto board fix is still working - reflowing the solder on the headers. Hopefully that's the long term fix. Just wanted to let others know that it worked for me. Odd though, I didn't see any broken / cold solder joints when I inspected the board before "repair".

Anyone ever have this problem? On boot up the wheel is supposed to find it's home position. Well it just keeps turning for a few turns, then continuously just steps backwards after that. It does the same thing in test mode. I checked all of the wire connections and wiggled them around a bit, but still got the same results for about 10 attempts. Any ideas? Would this be the symptom of the wheel opto board being bad? Is there a way to verify that?

I’ve put about 30-40 games on a WOF on route in Birmingham and I love playing it. If anyone in the south wants to get rid of there’s please let me know.

I removed the wheel opto/led board and cleaned all of the connector tabs with alcohol, and cleaned the little opto lenses too, then reinstalled and get the same thing. The opto sensor part of it doesn't seem to be working. Looks like there goes $250 for a new wheel board it appears. Argh!

I received the new opto/LED wheel board and it solved that problem, but I discovered two out of three of the in-line drop target optos had gone bad too. I wonder what could have caused them all to go at once. Ordered those too.

*** Something most do not know ***
I saw Lyman at the MGC show signing autographs and asked him if he would ever finish the WOF code. He replied that somehow people started thinking that he was involved with the WOF code development, but he did not and is frustrating to him. He thinks that started from when someone took a photo of him and Keith in front of a WOF poster or pin and assumed that they were working together on it. He claims he did not. Feel free to verify that with Lyman. So the IPDB database should be updated to not include his name (and the Pinside Moderators should remove his name on it for Pinside also). Lyman then told the known story that Stern offered to pay Keith to complete WOF before he started at JJP. Keith had his reasons for not doing it and from what I read in one of Keith's posts, he told them that they had all of his code to continue on to complete it.

So ... it "appears" that this game has REALLY been abandoned by Stern. Such a shame. Wish they wouldn't be this way. It might not be a popular theme, but the game isn't that bad and could be better if the code was re-visited. Bummed.

Thanks for adding to the WOF story. I really love this game and it would be the second to the last one that would leave my collection. (TSPP stays forever).

A couple of years ago, I was at CAX and happen to sit next to Gary Stern at the hotel bar. He couldn't have been nicer but when I mentioned that WOF is one of my favorite pins, his mood immediately changed. He went from smiling to frowning, shook his head and said; "Yeah...I don't like that one." Then he turned to talk to someone else.

What I took away from that is that Gary REALLY hates WOF, possibly even more than Stern's Playboy. I doubt that we'll ever see a complete code, although 6.02 is floating around the interwebs.

I'd like to at least get ahold of that. If you get ahold of it, please PM me on where I can get it. I think it is just updates for tournament mode, but I do party tournaments at home and would be good to have.

I recently traded mine in to my local dealer. Just happened that Stern was there ahead of me and he complained about WOF also.

FYI … I found a shooter eject cliffy that will work. It "looks like" the SAM AC/DC Premium cliffy will fit the WOF just fine. I only say "looks like", because I ordered this from Pinball Life even though Terry said that it would not work. It looked close to me (as I have an AC/DC Prem) and thought that I would just trim it and modify it to work. It fit with no problems or adjustments as the photos show. When I had previously inquired with Cliff, he had said that he didn't have anything and that some previous people didn't get back with him on ones he had sent to them to try. So anyway … this worked for me.
https://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=2787

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Note that I sent the above photos to Terry and he added it to the compatibility list on his Pinball Life site now.

Okay Wheel Watchers … I talked to Jordan at Cointaker during the Replay Fx show. Cointaker recently finalized buying Laseriffic from Joe and she is now the manager of the Laseriffic division of Cointaker. She said that there has been interest in a topper for WOF and there is a waitlist/interest list for it. They might make one and didn't sound just like the normal sales fluff. She said that if anyone wants to join that wait/want list to email her at [email protected]

Very cool. I'll probably buy one.......although in a perfect world, there would be interest from Stern to finally finish the f%$#^&* code.

Would love to know what that Wizard Bonus is all about.

Very quiet club, 100 pinsiders own the pin, where is everyone? I picked up a huo game with a ton of mods, including led ocd, backbox led panel FF speakers, mirrors, powder coating, etc. what a fantastic game with a light-hearted theme, feels like a cross between potc and the sopranos. I was playing with my son and it was a lot of fun trying to guess the words, buy vowels and add letters. Didn’t notice stop and go too much. Skill shot is very tough. I wish this game had a color dmd available, needs it badly. Anyone poke colordmd about it? A shaker would be nice too.

I just picked up a nice example too. I was really surprised by how fun this game is to play. It shoots well, has some interesting rules, and really looks good with the right LED's (quite colorful). Is this machine/theme worthy of a top spot in the Pinside Top 10? Obviously not, however, it is no where near as bad as its reputation. To all who have not played, give it a try, it might just surprise you.

As for ColorDMD, I have to believe Randy and crew will get it done at some point. The list of non colored machines gets smaller everyday.

I also think this machine would be an excellent candidate for a P-ROC rewrite. If only I knew how to program.

To me, this is a pin to have in a larger collection as a "change of pace". I like it because you have to play it differently. Trying to flip when it looks like it could drain could make the ball drain under the flippers when it bounces off of the center post. You have to wait for the post bounce for the save.

It is underrated probably mostly because it was totally abandoned by Stern and the code was never completed. It is not an "international" theme, but my family and friends like to play it. It may not be the most "favorite" pin, but I'm not "allowed" to sell it yet to make room for other pins … and it has been over 7 months, so the honeymoon is over and it still has a fun factor to it.

Keep bugging ColorDMD in their thread to make one for this pin to show that there is interest. Bug cointaker (Laseriffic division) for a topper that they are thinking about and taking names for too (see post #43).

I got one over the weekend. Honeymoon phase is going great.

What’s a good to great score?

I’m running 6.02 is this the “unofficial code”?

My game is running 5.0. Here is info on v6.x: https://creditdotpinball.com/2014/05/30/news-wheel-of-fortune-code-update-kind-of/

. I’ve got about 10 games on it, my hs is 82 mil.

Has anyone had any problems with this game losing its memory? I have an operator that keeps having this issue. Boards went to chaz at stern and were repaired and that was 4 months ago. Well it did it again