You can replace fortune with FRUSTRATION, FORMULAS or according to others, some other “F” words if you like.
How’s every one doing? Been strolling around the wide world of TSTO and recently I’ve noticed quite a few folks intensely focused on the Holiday Wheel that came with this year’s holiday update. What at first seemed like such a cool concept has ended up being a hotly debated item. There are folks who have become disillusioned, feel cheated, don’t care, want that last item that is taunting them. Whatever the case, it is definitely one of those items you either love or hate it seems.
Figured I’d chime in with my two cents for what it’s worth. The real truth about it is that I don’t really have an opinion. As one of the people who had a lot of the prizes from last year, I went into the wheel ahead of the game. Even then, there was a lot of stuff on the wheel even for me. As of this writing, I am one prize away from getting everything. I try my hardest not to become upset at things out of my control and this definitely seems to be one of them. I’m enthused when I win something extra and whether it riles me as I hit cash AGAIN, I just keep on keeping on and tapping away. The opinions of my peeps however do matter very much to me so I figured I’d take some of the “F” words I could think of and lay out some thoughts.
FORTUNE
Everything on the wheel is FREE (My favorite number). I find it hard to get too upset at a device that gives me something for nothing. While I have no need of $1000, it is more than what I had before I spun in the first place. As long as the wheel is completely played without donuts, you’ll never end up worse off for having spun it. If you play purely, you get one chance every day and some extras right towards the end. Even completely random, something’s gonna be missed. Not everyone wins on wheel of fortune, right? I’m sure a lot of newer players don’t mind the cash. My kiddo seems to think I’m crazy for not caring about 1000 dollars as she’s still on Level 14. She has a point and to date has not been upset with any of her winnings.
FRUSTRATION
I get it. Not getting everything you want is no fun. I consider myself lucky that my last remaining prize is the Ice God (which I really could care less about), but some days it does feel like me vs. the wheel as it taunts me and continuously lands so close but no cigar every time. I’ve probably spun at least 40 times now and not hit that blasted Hindi goddess. I decided rather than be upset at this I would look up multi-armed goddesses and decide which one was mocking me. I’m probably completely wrong on which one it’s supposed to be but I now think of it as Kali, godess of time and death. Seems like the manifestation of how people feel about the wheel. Takes a lot of time and has sparked some murderous thoughts lol. Every time I really get fired up, I can easily be satiated by making Rex Banner shake the heck out of Flanders. Works every time.
FORMULAS
No matter how hard we’ve delved into the files, the basic mechanics of this wheel are unclear. Algorithm, cheat, random unluckiness… whatever it is, yeah… hitting 1000 dollars numerous times in a row should not be possible. Whether it’s a clever way to make money or just something designed to make you have to wait for a complete pay-out, it is what it is. This entire game is programmed and EA gets to decide how the wheel works. My best advice for anyone who is convinced it is rigged is to just avoid t and not get worked up over it. As the wheel lacks a physical presence, it has to be completely programmed and is beyond any of our control. Don’t let some pixels get you down.
OTHER “F” WORDS
Obviously, I won’t delve further into this one but I’m sure you get it. Here at Addicts we completely understand being bummed about not winning everything and are here for ya. If you need to, curse all you want at your device and keep on tapping. If you need a break, take one. The game will be there later.
As for spending donuts on the wheel. I’d seriously advise against it. I have spent some but have the blessing of knowing I’d get donuts for Christmas because of my gig here. For experimentation purpses, I spent 100 to see if it would improve my odds. After only getting 3 prizes and a bunch of cash and gift cards, I realized free was the best option. I really would not be surprised to see every item on the wheel offered for donuts towards the end of this event. If you really want to spend your hard earned money on the wheel, I can’t stop you but hope you won’t do it. Melted snowmen and unseasonal Christmas Lights aren’t worth it.
Long post made short, this update really has been cool for me and I hate seeing fellow tappers and Addicts get bummed out about it. If the wheel is synonymous with four letter words for you then just let it alone and go out there to design/tap some of the cool stuff which doesn’t upset you.
The Holiday Wheel is what it is and to me is the least important part of the update. The 10 Personal Prizes are all sweet additions to the game and the community prizes aren’t too shabby either. I love Costingtons , Santa Flanders, Scroogey Burns, the plow truck, the skating rink and the Elves Ride for Krustyland. All of these could easily have been added for donuts but we got lucky and they weren’t. On the giant wheel of chance that is life, I consider that a WIN.
TTFN… Wookiee out!
I enjoyed the wheel!! Looked forward to spinning it!!! :). Never know what u get!!!
Hello. I have the same problem! I won all the prizes except the yeti man. I economized the coins for the wheel till i got 6. Yesterday night i used them all with the hope that i will finally have my yeti…but no..i got 1000 money all 6 rounds…. Today i got 2 more coins..hope that i will finally win it..if not..maybe next year. 🙁
I don’ t care Claus Co…..I don’t know why….but I want the useless Yeti….I only want that….just that….
I have tried so many times to get the Mr plow costume but I have not got it yet. Tomorrow is the last day to spin and I am praying that I get it. Wish me luck!!!
YESSSSS! At last got claus co (lvl 37 and was honestly gonna quit game if never got it) anyway to try and help others..moving your target prize slot 4 slots anticlockwise to pin does work although not well explained…i will try, gentle/slowly move wheel 4 slots infront of target prize,realease finger so wheel is stationary then very slowly! Spin wheel clockwise….hope this helps!!!.. Ohh man im so happy made my day. Good luck!
It’s nice to get free stuff but seriously this wheel is mugging me off. I’m on 65,000 tickets currently and have played every day and with over 100 spins now I still haven’t managed to get the Claus co or the helper skelter which were the two I most wanted. As the deadline is closing I panicked and spent 25 hard saved donuts on spin tokens only to get 1000 money and mm off the Claus co on all 3 spins.i have tried spinning at different points with different strengths and directions but keep getting one off the prize I need, Wow 25 donuts for 3000 dollars…… Kill me please
I think you’re wrong when regarding $1,000 as “free”. You need to consider the cost to get the 1,000 gift cards that get you a spin token. The minimum wage for any character (without bonuses) for 8 hours of work seems to be $275, or only 27 gift cards. To earn 1,000 gift cards, a character needs to work a bit more than 37 times (37 times would yield 999 gift cards, to be precise). In the same amount of time, that character could have earned $10,185. When receiving only $1,000, more than 90% of the effort is lost.
Note that this only considers money. If the award on the wheel is 50 gift cards to replace the 1000 used to get the spin token, then 95% of the gift cards are lost. When valuing this in terms of money that the character could have earned, it’s a loss of more than 99.5% of the effort.
In other words, if the wheel had awarded us $10,185 (or more if we want to offset the gift cards), then we would have reached break-even. Anything below that is a loss.
Ok, I’ve figured it all out. At least as things stand on January 07th 2013.
First of all, the percentages that people have offered for landing on certain spaces are not correct. How do I know? I drew cash or cards on over 20 spins in a row while having both Snowmen, Plow King, and Claus Co spaces still needed. This is beyond unlikely. (especially given that I had hit Helter Shelter, Ice God, and Yeti with FOUR snowmen still to go plus the others, including some decorations). You can do the math if you like, it defies reasonable expectation.
So I started experimenting moving the wheel and setting it first. I have been able to start going through the snowmen now after landing on Claus Co. even before them by accident. What I do if I want a certain spot is set the wheel 4 spaces clockwise from the prize, dead center, and spin the wheel *lightly counter-clockwise. So far, it hits it every time.
Now, I’m not saying there isn’t or hasn’t been an *element* of chance, or that things may or may not have changed along the way, or that this method works with *every* prize, but it is clearing the four snowmen (2 in a row now after 20 misses since adapting). I do not pretend to know the programming, it may obviously be more complicated than that. Experiment if this doesn’t work for you. What I am saying with confidence is that it is not completely random, and there is an element that you control. Hit me up @therealfrza on twitter if this works for you. Thanks.
Awesome I spun 3 times before I figured out how to do it but I finally got the Claus Co. 🙂 Thanks. I did have to slightly put it further then dead middle on the 4th. I had to slide it almost to the line. Thanks a bunch!
No problem. Yeah I was actually going to update to say that I went 3 for 3 and that a little failure afterward was me spinning too lightly. I’m so glad it helped you, I actually expected to be flamed by someone telling me the odds are perfectly fixed but my unique situation of winning most hard prizes by accident early left me with a unique situation to prove the fixed percentages that are floating around out there are wrong. I only stated trying to aim whem I was ready to throw my phone through the wall. Best of luck!
Thanks for the tip. That **** really worked
It worked on my second try! Wow. Finally have all the prizes. Thank you!!!!
I’m at 108000 gift cards, I’d really like to win Claus Co one of these days.
I have 101,224 gift cards. I am grateful for the free stuff (:-P) its just tough seeing people who hardly play getting all the cool stuff for free while we do all the work. I saved 38 tokens I got several gift cards and $1000’s it’d just be nice to get the Claus Co.
Yeah, this wheel of fortune sucks. I either get 1000 money or gift cards, I’ve got Mr Plow, all of the simpsons snow men, including the pets, and the plow king, and I don’t even have the bowlarama, I just got the Claus co on my other account, chodgson47, and I’d really like is the heater shelter, and that’s about it. This should be more fair, instead of predictable. Mix it up and have something completely different every time you spin the wheel. And I’m happy the event has been extended by another week.
I have everything except the snow goddess. Can anyone tell me if he has a bonus multiplier or anything special? Or is it just a dead decoration? I really don’t feel like I need it but will keep spining as my free spins come in. If it has no special perks though I think I will throw in thw towel to this dumb wheel since I have what I wanted.
+10 points to Vanity. Lol.
I just hit 50,000 gift cards and had saved up 37 spins. All I have left is Clausco. Out of the 37 spins, 36 landed on $1000 and one on 50 cards. 25 landed on the exact same $1000 prize. Yeah, something is definitely odd.
Yeah its total crap shoot. 1k in cash is like a middle finger in this game. Its like when you get a tree in your mystery box.
There are still some on lower levels desperate for cash that $1000 is a nice addition too. The Odds are always going to favor the house. That’s how gambling works. I was just happy to get ANY free prizes off the wheel. I still have quite a few left to get in my freemium town. 🙂
I totally don’t need the money but want everyone to get all the prizes. So happy there’s an extra week for this to happen.
You get stuff besides trees in your mystery box? Seems it’s been all trees and hedges and fences in mine.
Oh, I did get the lemon tree once. So that was nice.
A couple of times I got 30 donuts but that was after purchasing some a little while before. I think they try n give better stuff to ppl that buy donuts as shitty as that sounds. Most of the time I get treez, hedges, news paper stand, etc. I got a couple of gazebos b4 too.
I have spun the wheel SO many times and I get 1k bucks almost everytime now. I dont think I’ll get the chance to win the abominable snow man. Thats all I want. I feel like I have no chance at the Shelter, Abominable, or ice god. It’s kinda pissing me off. It’s so lame to spend all this time tapping for 1k cash which in this game is like punching me in the face. I’ve spent good money on this game and this is how they repay me? Shame shame EA
Frustrating I know but you still have until Tuesday to see what you can win…You never know what might happen. 🙂
I’ve now won the cash prize 8 times in a row. There’s nothing random about it. There are still 3 prizes on the wheel I haven’t won as well as 2 gift cards its never landed on.
Finally got all the prizes on the wheel. Got the last one this evening (I’m in the UK) which was the Santa’s Little Helper Snowman. All without resorting to spending donuts 😃.
WOOHOO!!! Score! 🙂
I consider myself extremely lucky to have won Claus Co, Helter Shelter, Snow Monster, and Mr. Plow on my first 4 spins. I would never spend donuts on the wheel even if I never won the prizes. It would be a much safer investment to just buy them if sold as premium items.
On another note, my bonus spin token for every 1,000 gift cards after the initial 30,000 is not working. In my task book, it says that I have completed it, but it isn’t giving me a spin token or allowing me to start on the next 1,000. I have collected about 4,000 gift cards since, so I am missing out on a lot of spins. I guess it doesn’t really matter though, because I only have some snowmen and the ice goddess left (which I don’t care about at all).
Sorry about that. EA is aware of the glitch. You are welcome to contact them to open a ticket too. I am not sure what they are going to do to fix issue.
Wookiee, you and I are in the same boat. I have the Ice Goddess taunting me, but I take a deep breath, consider myself fortunate to have won ClausCo and Helter Shelter, along with the Abominable Snowman, and I move on. If I get it, I get it. It was meant to be. I HOPE I get it. But I may not. All I know is that this update has been the COOLEST update of all!!
I’m fine with them setting the odds low. It’s just not right when the arrow points to Claus co but get the cash next to it. Happened twice to me. At least once to my girlfriend.
Have you told them this? Contacted them? I would get a screenshot and contact EA if there is an issue like that.
It happens more than you realize. Invariably, you get the lesser prize: cash instead of gift cards or decorations or buildings, bronze instead of silver. I got gold only once, but 150 cards isn’t that big a deal. 😉 The wheel is an illustration which isn’t always accurate. Winnings are determined by an algorithm (or whatever the computer terminology is.)
It’s one thing to be moderately peeved when you’re only missing a snow character. How long did it take for you to win the buildings? I have neither after hundreds of spins. I agree free is great and I have spent a lot of time on this without resentment. Just frustration.
I won’t waste my donuts/money on unregulated wagering, but some people have spent real money on this wheel. EA has the right to set the odds as low as they want in free games of chance but it’s wrong that this is is a money-making feature with no publicly established odds.
To me, there’s something very low about EA selling the items at the end of the event and, yes, I considered the possibility this may be the way EA will end it. Much as I want the buildings – which are the only significant prizes – it galls me to think of spending my money on this, especially after virtually (not literally) being held hostage, dedicating so much time to earning spin tokens. People can do whatever they want but I think it would be terrible if EA ultimately SOLD these prizes to us in a few days. And the ten free donuts they tossed our way on New Year’s Day don’t make it okay. I will not spend one cent on those prizes. To paraphrase Homer, ‘prizes are just pixels and they cost EA nothing.’
Sorry, long post. I’m a bit po’d. I got conned into blowing donuts on the SLEep-eASY Motel and then Whacking Day was extended an extra week. Similar to this event, I dedicated a lot of time to getting something for free, ended up buying it, to find that people who were more casual about the event ended up getting it for free. It made the game a bit less fun, too. I’ve spent HUNDREDS on this game, and all I want is reasonable expectations and fairness.
Definitely understand the frustration. Unfortunately it’s impossible to make it perfect for everyone. They have to make money to keep on going. Good news is they pay attention to what tappers have to say so who knows, maybe some will be offered for game cash? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink EA. I think if they don’t do that, offering the buildings for 10 donuts would at least still end up being a free-ish proposition.
Hi Wook. Of course it’s a business. One that earns EA tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars. Your thought about game cash would be reasonable. I’ve already accrued an additional $3.5 million since this event started. What’s a gal to do with 7 or 8 million fake bucks? 😉
I stand by my statement: it’s about fairness — in terms of (the players’) time as well as real world cash. And I have a serious problem about gambling – which it IS when actual money is involved – disguised as an innocent game, with a misleading virtual wheel that suggests that one has a 10% chance at any given object when nobody but EA knows just how minuscule the odds are.
I feel ya Teal. All we can do is keep on tapping. I definitely sympathize with any one who feels cheated during this update. I definitely have a stockpile of in-game cash I wish I could give to someone, anyone lol.
I’ve been playing this game since sept 2012 and I didn’t get 10 free donuts on New Year’s Day….EA I guess is selective, it’s probably because I’ve spent money on donors in the past…silly me
You would have had to been logged in that day and sent Homer on the quest in order to receive them. Sorry.
I dropped over $100 to EA for Battlefield4 who has made a billion at least…how about a few donuts or at least a New Years storyline???
You play battlefield with donuts too? Lol 😉
I get about 6-7 spins at the wheel a day with the amount of gift cards I accumulate (friends,egg nog, and making them hunt for the simpsons over and over again) and I’ve had the clause co as the last prize in the wheel for days now. Pissing me off.
Seen a lot of folks finally getting that last item recently including myself. With that many spins each day, I have faith clausco will be yours. Good luck!
A haiku in honor of my frustration with the wheel… (although I definitely will never complain about getting free stuff!)
I spin the prize wheel…
Hoping for Claus Co to come!
Nope. Just the money.
Lol. Nice! 😉
Out of 8 saved tokens in which I was down to just ClausCo and Mr. Plow, two spins landed on Mr. Plow but I was given the $1000 instead…all you that are happy with this “event” can just bite me…
I’ve been told I’m not allowed to bite. I might have rabies. 😉
Me,too. I’m wondering if that is the reason I can’t seem to win Mr. Plow – the game knows I should already have him! Ironically, the only two things I really wanted on the wheel were Mr. Plow and Plow King, which I don’t even have a chance at since he won’t show up on the wheel until I have Mr. Plow, which I will apparently never win.
The snow monsters the last thing for me. I’ve been spinning the wheel every day about three times for a week or more and usually end on cash. The $1000 cash might as well be $1, would it really have hurt them to give at least 5 or 10 thousand.
I shouldn’t be ungrateful though, I’ve been playing over a year and have so much stuff and I’ve yet to spend a single dollar of real money.
I’ve spun so much and I have 2 prizes left. Ice goddess and CLAUS CO I want Claus co so much but I get the useless $1000 almost every time. I’d so frustrating and I’m worried I won’t get it at all before the update ends in less than a week. It’s really annoying because so many people have it and a lot of them have spun a considerable amount less than me. I’m just really hoping I get it. Not too fussed about the ice thing.
im trying to get the yetti… ive got the claus co
after the ice scuptures of the simpsons fam