List of Wheel of Fortune puzzle categories

The following is a list of puzzle categories used on the US television game show "Wheel of Fortune".

Basic categories

The following categories were the only ones used prior to September 1988 and are still used today.

*Event(s) (What Are You Doing? was spun off to cover everyday activities, formerly in this category, that had provoked confusion)
*Fictional Character(s)
*Landmark(s)
*Occupation(s)
*Person and People (Proper Name(s) was eventually spun off as a distinct category)
*Phrase
*Place(s) (On the Map is now a distinct category covering geographic locations)
*Quotation
*Thing(s) (generic; many more specific categories have been added for different types of things; this category tends to deal with abstract nouns, like VIRTUOSITY or A HEAVY APPETITE)
*Title(s)

Word games

*Before & After - Two phrases or names joined by a common word that starts one and ends the other; e.g. WHITNEY HOUSTON TEXAS, a combination of "Whitney Houston" and "Houston, Texas".
*Same Name - Two phrases or names both ending with a common word; e.g. PIANO & ALICIA KEYS, a combination of "piano keys" and "Alicia Keys". Introduced in 1988. Originally, puzzles in this category spelled out the word "and", but after contestants were regularly calling out N and D, then buying an A, the "and" was substituted with an ampersand starting in 1989.
*Rhyme Time - Rhyming word(s) or phrase(s).

Miscellaneous

*Around the House - A location or object(s) found within a typical house.
*College Life - Things or events related to college, only used during specially-themed weeks with students as contestants.
*Fictional Place
*Fictional Family - Debuted in the 25th season.
*Food & Drink - The name of any food(s) or beverage(s). Formerly known as On The Menu.
*Fun & Games
*Headline - Brief description of a prominent current event.
*In the Kitchen - Appliances, utensils, or any other relevant feature (e.g., GRANITE COUNTERTOPS).
*Living Thing(s) - Names of animals, plants, etc.
*On the Map - Proper names of cities, states, countries, territories, and other geographical features.
*Proper Name(s) - Names of famous people, companies, or institutions. Created to avoid confusion with "Person/People". Before this category was created, the host would remind players that "Person does not always mean Proper Name".
*Show Biz - Anything relating to the entertainment industry.
*Slogan - Puzzle is a slogan for a product; if the product is not mentioned in the puzzle, contestant may guess it for a bonus.
*What Are You Doing? - A familiar activity (e.g., KNITTING A SWEATER), otherwise similar to the "Event" category. Debuted during 25th Anniversary season. To date, has always contained the '-ING' suffix.

Pop Culture

*Author & Title (e.g. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S JULIUS CAESAR) - Originally reversed as Title & Author, resulting in the automatic appearance of "BY" in the puzzle.
*Best Seller - Title of a best-selling book. Puzzles in this category are sometimes in Author & Title/Title & Author format.
*Classic TV - Title(s) of, or character(s) from, past television programs.
*Family - Names of famous people who are relatives.
*Husband & Wife - Names of famous people who are married to each other.
*Movie Title
*Rock On! - Anything related to rock music. Puzzles in this category are sometimes in Song & Artist/Artist & Song format (see below)
*Song & Artist or Artist & Song (e.g. WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS BY QUEEN or JIMMY BUFFETT'S MARGARITAVILLE)
*Song Lyrics
*Song Title
*Star & Role (e.g., MIKE MYERS AS AUSTIN POWERS) - Originally known as "Person/Fictional Character".
*TV Title
*The 20s/30s/40s/50s/60s/70s/80s/90s - Puzzles pertaining to the decade in question.
*People Magazine - Though shown as "People" on the screen, the font pertaining to the famous celebrity magazine is used as to not confuse it with the generic category of the same name. This category deals with anything that one reads in People Magazine.

Bonus Categories

These categories which allow solving contestants to win an additional bonus by answering a question related to the puzzle.
*Next Line Please - Part of a famous phrase or quotation; the solving contestant may give the next line for a bonus.
*What Are You Making? - A puzzle that lists the ingredients in a recipe; the solving contestant may identify the final product for a bonus. This category also debuted in the 25th season.
*Who Is It?/Who Are They? - Puzzle describes a famous person or people; contestant may use the puzzle to identify the person or people for a bonus.
*Who Said It? - Puzzle is a familiar quotation; contestant may use the puzzle to identify the quoted person for a bonus.
*Where Are We? - Puzzle describes a specific place; contestant may use the puzzle to identify the place for a bonus.

Retired bonus categories

*Clue - Puzzle described an object (e.g. EIGHT-SIDED POLYGON), and the solving player could win a bonus by identifying the object ("octagon" in this example)
*Fill in the Blank - Early on, puzzle would contain an incomplete phrase ending in a question mark (e.g. OH WHAT FUN IT IS TO RIDE IN ?); solving player could win a bonus by finishing the phrase ("a one-horse open sleigh" in this example). Later, three words or phrases were given, all followed with question marks (e.g. ISOSCELES ? LOVE ? BERMUDA ?); the solving player could win a bonus by identifying the common word that filled in the question marks ("triangle" in this example, for "Isosceles triangle", "love triangle", and "Bermuda Triangle"). Shown as "Blank" on the screen until late Season 12.
*Fill in the Number - Puzzle would contain a certain number, replaced with number signs (e.g. IN #### COLUMBUS SAILED THE OCEAN BLUE); solving player could win a bonus by identifying the missing number (1492 in this example).

Retired categories

The following categories are no longer in use on the show. Fact|date=February 2008
*Nickname (e.g. "HOT LIPS") - the only category used prior to September 1988 to be retired.
*Foreign Word and Foreign Phrase - Used from early- to mid-1990s.
*Megaword - Puzzle consisted of one long (9-14 letters) word; solving player could win a bonus for using the word correctly in a sentence. Used during Season 12 (1994-95).
*Slang - Used during Seasons 10-12 (1992-1995).
*Really Long Title- Used only once on April 1st, 1997 as a joke. The puzzle was "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious".

References