Game booth
The wheel of fortune: prizes, odds and stock
Set up the segments, the real odds of each prize, the stock, the losing segments and the statistics.
Game being rolled out. Depending on your version of BoothX, some wheel settings may differ from this description.
The wheel of fortune is the easiest activity for a passerby to understand: you tap, the wheel spins, you win (or not). BoothX lets you control precisely what comes up, and how often.
Segments
The wheel has up to 12 segments, all the same size on screen. Each segment has:
- a label: the name of the prize (“Tote bag”, “20% off”, “Free coffee”);
- a chance (a weight from 0 to 100): the relative probability that the wheel stops on this segment;
- a stock: unlimited, or a number from 0 to 9,999;
- a type: prize or losing segment.
When you first open it, the wheel offers default prizes that you replace with your own.
Real odds
The segments are the same size on screen, but the draw is weighted: a segment with a weight of 50 comes up five times more often than a segment with a weight of 10. To avoid any confusion, BoothX shows the real chance as a percentage next to each prize, calculated from all the weights.
Example with four segments:
| Segment | Weight | Real chance |
|---|---|---|
| Pen | 50 | 50% |
| Tote bag | 30 | 30% |
| Cap | 15 | 15% |
| Bluetooth speaker | 5 | 5% |
A segment with a weight of 0 never comes up: handy for keeping a prize visible on the wheel without putting it into play.
In a contest, the odds of winning must match what your rules state. Use the percentages shown by BoothX to write them.
Stock
With each win, the prize's stock goes down by one. When it reaches 0, the prize can no longer come up: its chance is redistributed among the other segments, and its displayed real chance drops to 0%. A player can therefore never win a prize you no longer have.
With an unlimited stock, the prize can come up without limit (discount vouchers, small goodies).
Tip: spread the big prizes over the duration of the event. For a three-day trade show with three speakers to win, put one speaker in stock each morning rather than all three on the first day.
Losing segments
A wheel where you win every time is expensive; a wheel where you always lose is discouraging. Losing segments (“No luck”, “Play again”) let you strike a balance:
- No luck: the game ends, with a friendly message;
- Play again: the player spins the wheel again.
Aim for an overall win rate of 30 to 60% depending on the value of the prizes.
During the activity
- The player taps the wheel (or the Spin button).
- The wheel spins, then slows down and stops on the drawn segment.
- The screen announces the result. In case of a win, the prize screen can be printed so the prize can be collected at the stand (see Leaderboard and printable prize screen).
Statistics
The wheel counts:
- the number of games played;
- the number of wins per prize;
- the remaining stock of each prize.
Reset clears the statistics (for example after your test games). You can also go back to the default prizes.
Everything is stored on the booth, with no network.
Best practices
- Test around twenty spins before opening to check that the prizes come up as planned, then reset.
- Lock the booth so that nobody changes the weights during the activity.
- Display the list of prizes next to the booth: transparency reassures players.