Missing Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel? Play the game with your family instead

If you’re a fan of Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel, then we have some good news for you. Featuring celebrity guests such as Dermot O’ Leary, Harry Redknapp, Carol Vorderman and Bill Bailey, BBC One’s Saturday night gameshow The Wheel recently wrapped up its second series. Fortunately, fans can fill the void by checking out the brand new board game instead.

The board game shares many a similarity with the quiz show, minus the celebrity guests and Michael McIntyre’s jokes.

Here’s how the actual show works, according to the BBC: “In each show, seven celebrities are strapped to the circumference of the giant wheel. Each celebrity has brought one area of expertise to the show – and it is on these areas that the contestants must answer questions.

“The contestants themselves are underneath The Wheel, on another smaller wheel! This Contestant Wheel is spun, and whichever contestant is randomly selected, rises up on their chair, to take their place at the centre of The Wheel and begin the game.

“The contestant at the centre of The Wheel is in control – if they can stay there until the end of the show then they could win a life-changing sum of money. However, one wrong answer or spin of The Wheel and they’ll be back down to the Contestant Wheel, and they might never return…

“The contestant at the centre of The Wheel chooses a category they want to take on, and with the help of one of the celebrities, they’ll answer a question on it. However, the contestants don’t get to choose who their celebrity helper is, The Wheel does, in a dizzying, high-energy spin!”

The board game also features question and contestant wheels, as well as 14 different question categories including Superheroes, Science, TV, Celebrities, History, Food and Drink, Travel and Numbers.

After deciding which seven categories will feature within the game, you’ll need to spin the contestant wheel to see who will play first.

The nominated player will choose a category before spinning the wheel to see whether to answer a tricky blue question, or a slightly easier gold question. Land on red, however, and it’s back to the contestant wheel to see who will play next.

When a player collects seven question cards – one from each category – it’s on to the end game, where you get one final question to win the entire game. Get it wrong and it’s once again back to the contestant wheel.

It’s a fun game for two or more players, aged 10 and upwards. Indeed, my only real complaint is that the questions are a little on the easy side, which is why it’s a good idea to select a wide variety of topics.

On the plus side, the accessibility makes it the perfect game to play with the whole family. It’s also quick and easy to set up, with game sessions lasting up to 30 minutes.

You can pick up a copy of Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel – Board Game for £22.49 from Amazon.