Rad van Fortuin is a video game that was produced and published by Dutch gaming designers EZ Productions. It is based on a television game show that aired in Holland in the eighties and nineties. This game was released in the early nineties and can be called a puzzle game.
Rad van Fortuin very closely resembles the American television game show, Wheel of Fortune, which was popular at the same time as Rad van Fortuin, and is in fact still currently running on the air.
In this game, the contestants have to figure out word puzzles based on a thematic clue that is given to them at the start of each game, and by guessing letters that the word or words contain, similar to the classic children’s game of Hangman.
With Rad van Fortuin, each competitor spins a huge virtual wheel that features many wedge shaped sections, each with a different dollar amount or prize displayed. (There are also “Bankrupt” slots, which will cause the user to lose his turn and his money.) Since Rad van Fortuin is a converted television game show, the point of the game is to gain as much money and prizes as possible. The user will do this by spinning
the wheel and hoping for a large dollar amount to land in front of his indicator. After this happens, the user will then have to guess a letter that he feels will be in the word. If he is correct on his guess, he will receive the indicated dollar amount for every letter the word contains. If he spins $1.00, and the letter he guesses is present in the puzzle seven times, he will receive $7 in his bank account. This money will continue to accumulate until the gamer either uses it to purchase a vowel (a very handy trick for revealing much of the puzzle) or until he incorrectly guesses a letter from the puzzle. At this time, the turn passes to the next player.
The clues offered to the puzzles are vague and generic. For example, a clue might be “Famous Person.” This could encompass anyone from a current pop singer to a figure from political history. The letters that have been guessed (successfully or not) displayed on a board to avoid repeating them, and the dollar amount each contestant has amassed is also on display. The one with the most money at the end of the regular rounds will compete in a solo bonus round for really big money or prizes. Overall, Rad van Fortuin, is simply Wheel of Fortune in Dutch.
