'Wheel of Fortune' Fans Divided After Show Debuts Different Puzzle Board

By Daniel S. Levine

Wheel of Fortune is celebrating its historic 40th season as a syndicated game show, starting Monday night. The episode also introduced a brand new puzzle board for Vanna White. It will take some time for fans to get used to it, and based on some early responses on Twitter, it doesn't look like they have universally embraced it yet.

This is the first major overhaul for the puzzle board since 2003. In 1997, producers introduced the first digital puzzle board, where White just had to tap a square to reveal a letter. Before that, she had to physically push the cubes in to turn them around and show letters. The previous digital board had 52 individual monitors, but the new one is a single giant LED screen, notes TVLine. There are two sensors on the board that activates screen changes.

The technology used on the board is so advanced that self-driving cars and the Mars Rover are using it. Producers used "LIDAR" (light, imaging, detecting, and ranging) laser technology. White only has to gesture at the center of each illuminated box to reveal letters. The new board also gives producers a chance to add fun graphics to individual puzzles.

'Too bright and cartoony'

The new board is not the only change coming to Wheel. The first week of shows is "XL Week," since XL is also the Roman numeral of 40. There will be "extra luxurious" prizes, and "extra large" puzzles, and the wheel could be "Extra lucky" for contestants. Players can also double their chances to win $1 million since there will be two full $1 million wedges. If they make it to the bonus round with a $1 million wedge, they can win another $1 million because there will be two $1 million envelopes in the bonus wheel.

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'Absolutely hate the new board'

There is also a new "XL Wedge," which gives players a chance to win $40,000 if they bring it to the bonus round. After "XL Week" is over, the game will go back to normal. However, the minimum players can win on the bonus wheel was raised to $40,000. We imagine Pat Sajak will have a lot of fun explaining these changes on the show.

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'I hate it'

Scroll on to see how fans responded to the new puzzle board.

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'Wish they never changed it'

"Is it just me, or is the new graphic letter board on Wheel of Fortune just awful to look at? Can't explain it, but definitely irritates my eyes when I look at it... Wish they never changed it," one fan wrote.

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'Obnoxiously bright'

"The new Wheel of Fortune board is obnoxiously bright—also the new extra white around the letters needs to go," one viewer wrote.

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'Blinding viewers with a brighter-than-the-sun board'

"Wheel of Fortune team changed the font for the scoreboards and IDK why it's bothering me so much," one viewer wrote.

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