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- DENNIS CAVERNELIS

1 WHEEL OF FORTUNE

Stepping onto the set of Wheel of Fortune at Atlantic Studio in Milnerton, Cape Town, is like stepping back in time to the 70s.

Although the technology is modern, there are a lot of "old school" details such as the giant wheel players must spin by hand.

The show has been broadcast in the US since 1975 with versions in 60 countries, including South Africa, where it launched on S3 (SABC3) in April.

YOU visited the set to try our luck at the wheel.

SOLVING THE PUZZLE

Host Rorisang (Rori) Thandekiso selects three participants from our group of 12 wordsmiths.

"And you, with the ducklings on your shirt," she says, pointing at me.

She leads me into the spotlight on the stage to the enormous, brightly-colored wheel.

Rori is the only woman to host the series in the US it's Ryan Seacrest and in the UK it's Graham Norton.

The floor manager, Lu Jacobs, assures us it's going to be fun.

I'm standing next to Nombuso Kumalo from the Sowetan and Alicia Naidoo from The South African.

"Don't look down at the wheel. Look at the board to solve the puzzles," we hear Lu say.

The board first shows a series of four empty blocks, then two, another two, then three, and in the bottom of the three rows, there's space for nine letters.

Rori winks at us: "Don't be afraid to buy vowels," she says.

FAST FINGERS

Lu shows us where our buzzer buttons are located, under the wheel.

The player who presses it first plays first, or they can go later with the "toss up" option.

Nombuso goes first. "The hint is an iconic TV game show," says Rori, adding, "spin the wheel" There are slots on the wheel marked from R100 to R800 as well as dreaded slots like "lose a turn" or "bankrupt" which can make all the money you've collected disappear within seconds.