Personalized Wheel of Fortune Game. Fun Lucky Draw Game Idea for Parties.

Round and Round She Goes. Where It Stops, Nobody Knows.

‘The Wheel of Fortune’ is a popular American TV show. Contestants in this show spin a large disk. Sections of this disk are marked with gifts and rewards. At the side of the wheel, there is a fixed pointer/arrow. In a sense, it’s a lucky draw game idea. A contestant wins the gift corresponding to the section on the spinning wheel where the arrow stops. The whole setup is very similar to the workings of a roulette table.

The problem is that a TV game show has a huge budget and can afford to fabricate such an elaborate and fun lucky draw setup. They can even get their own gifts and rewards printed on the wheel on a daily basis – such is the degree of customization possible.

But let’s suppose that an individual homeowner wants to adapt this idea for a birthday party he is throwing. Or maybe your wife/friend is planning their turn for the upcoming kitty party with their friends. You’d think that such an idea would be out of their reach. What with the costs associated with the fabrication of a spinning wheel, a highly professional finish and custom artwork.

But wait. Does it really have to be so?

Where Did the Wheel of Fortune Idea Come From?

Mr. Charan Poojary is a senior executive at KFC. He was in charge of opening a new KFC branch at Pimple Saudagar, Pune. And a lot of fun and games were planned for this launch event. As a marketing exercise, Mr. Poojary wanted a novel way to introduce people to the KFC products on the food menu. And that is when he tasked me with creating a ‘Wheel of Fortune’ toy to showcase the same.

The idea involved a rotating wheel bearing images of different food items like burgers, pizzas, fries, etc. There was a fixed arrow at the center. Customers were asked to spin the wheel.

Going by the lucky draw idea, when the wheel stopped rotating, one random food image (out of the many displayed on the disk) stopped under the fixed arrow. And this food item was the gift the customer had won. A novel and tasty concept, right?

How Did We Fabricate the Wheel of Fortune at Orchid Digitals?

We had never executed such a job before. But at Orchid Digitals, we also never shy away from difficult challenges. We always love to go the extra distance to satisfy our customers.

The wheel shown on the TV game show was a huge metal disk. It had lights embedded in it and worked on an elaborate mechanism of gears. But we needed to fabricate something simpler and more importantly, at a much lower price point. Regardless of whether you are creating this for a corporate event, a house party, or a kitty game, you’d want to keep the cost in check.

So, here’s what we did:

1. We made the main wheel (the rotating section) of this party game using a rigid yet lightweight sunboard sheet of 5 mm thickness. The sunboard is printed with the artwork of the various gifts and rewards.
2. We then use a CNC router to cut the thick sheet into the shape of a perfect circle.
3. This circular, printed sunboard sheet is then mounted on a ball bearing with a shaft. The shaft works like an axle on a wheel. The ball bearing helps rotate the sunboard sheet around the shaft/axle.
4. Finally a fixed arrow (also fabricated out of a printed sunboard sheet) is placed on top of the rotating wheel below.
5. 5. The whole structure is mounted on an ACP (aluminium composite panel) sheet which can be hung or nailed to any wall.

And viola, our personalised wheel of fortune party game carrying a custom design is ready.

Let the fun and games begin.

Here is a List of Materials that we Used for Party Game Project

1. Photo vinyl printed on eco-solvent machine + matt lamination.
2. Above print mounted on 5 mm thick sunboard.
3. Above sunboard cut into a circular and arrow shape on a CNC router.
4. Aluminium pipe of 1 cm diameter which acts as a shaft/axle.
5. Ball bearing which can accommodate the above 1 cm diameter spindle.
6. Base plate in ACP (aluminium composite panel)

Price of the Custom Printed Wheel of Fortune

The Wheel of Fortune job was a one-off specialised contract awarded to us for large quantities. It is not a regular product in our inventory. Moreover, we cannot manufacture the same in small numbers. So there is no standard unit price for this job.

But in case you’re curious to know, a similar 18-inch (1.5 feet in diameter) wheel of fortune game costs approximately ₹ 1500.00 plus taxes to manufacture.

Closing Note

The ability to create printing projects like this is a function of capable machines, an innovative and experimental team, and our dedication to delighting our customers at Orchid Digitals.

Using this party game idea at a corporate gathering, kitty party, or birthday celebration is sure to delight your guests. So, if you like this idea and want to get one made for your next gathering, reach out to us.

Meanwhile, what do you think of this idea? Do let us know in the comments section below. And if you are a printer who has fabricated something different, we would love to hear from you. Drop a note and/or the link to your novel print project and we’d love to talk with you about the same.