Wheel of Fortune This Week (Aug. 31–Sept. 4, 2026): All Five Bonus Puzzles, a $45,000 Friday, and the Toss-Up Sprint Ahead
A mother and daughter closed the week by solving a Food & Drink puzzle with half the board still blank, then opened an envelope worth $45,000. That was Friday, and it was the loudest moment of five nights that were, technically, all repeats.
Wheel of Fortune spent the week of August 31 replaying Myrtle Beach Family Week, first broadcast in May. The puzzles still counted for viewers at home, though: the nightly bonus answer was the entry code for a trip giveaway that closed Friday.
Short version
- All five episodes were Myrtle Beach Family Week encores, pairs at the wheel instead of three solo players.
- Friday's bonus round paid $45,000 and a $71,000 night.
- Season 44 starts Monday, September 14, and the game opens differently.
What were this week's bonus puzzles?
| Night | Category | Puzzle |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 8/31 | What Are You Doing? | HYDRATING |
| Tue 9/1 | Around the House | JAR OF COINS |
| Wed 9/2 | What Are You Doing? | FIGHTING A COLD |
| Thu 9/3 | Thing | FAMILIAR VOICE |
| Fri 9/4 | Food & Drink | QUICK BITES |
Four of the five are multi-word puzzles, and only HYDRATING stands alone. What Are You Doing? came up twice in one week, which is unusual for a category that normally shows up once.
The letter counts stayed friendly too: nothing longer than 13 letters, and three of the five hinge on a common phrase rather than a proper noun. That is what an encore family week looks like — the board is written to be solved.
Why were pairs playing instead of three contestants?
Family week. Instead of three solo players, three two-person teams share a lectern, talk through letters out loud, and split the winnings. Friday's team was a mother and daughter; another was a pair of sisters.
It changes the pace more than you would think. Teams talk themselves out of correct guesses, and the bonus round becomes a negotiation with a ten-second clock running. It also raises the ceiling: two people covering different halves of a phrase solve boards that a single player would stare at.
Who won on Friday?
Sandy Graham and Deb Sutton, a mother-daughter team, took QUICK BITES in Food & Drink and $45,000 with it, finishing on $71,000 for the night. The full Friday breakdown has their letter picks and the two teams that did not reach the bonus round.
What was the giveaway attached to these puzzles?
The Myrtle Beach Family Vacay sweepstakes ran alongside the week. Viewers wrote down each night's bonus solution, entered it on the official site, and each of the five nights had its own drawing.
Entries have closed. Drawings are scheduled on or about September 25, and each winner gets a five-night Myrtle Beach trip for themselves and up to three guests. If you entered Monday through Friday you are in five separate pools, not one.
👉 Keep a note of the nightly answer even during repeat weeks. The giveaway does not care whether the episode is new.How does Fan Friday work?
Fridays carry a word of the day tied to whatever the week is promoting — this week it was BEACH, matching the Myrtle Beach prize. Viewers who catch it can use it on the official site, and Friday episodes usually stack the giveaway and the biggest envelope on the same night.
The SPIN ID draw runs separately. If your number is drawn on air you win a prize, which is the one part of the broadcast where a repeat and a first run behave identically for a viewer at home.
What changes when Season 44 starts?
The opening. The $1,000 and $2,000 toss-ups that have started the show for years are being replaced by a Toss-Up Sprint: 30 seconds, as many toss-up puzzles as the three players can solve, $1,000 each, one guess per puzzle.
That is a real change in tempo. A player who used to bank $3,000 across two toss-ups could clear more than that in half a minute, or nothing at all if they buzz early and miss.
Ryan Seacrest hosts a third season, Vanna White stays at the board, and first-run episodes run September 14 through June 11, 2027.
What airs next week?
One more encore week. Sony has not published which week gets repeated, so we will post each night's bonus answer as it airs rather than guess — they land in the results archive the same evening.
Your local time does not change during encore weeks. Most markets run Wheel at 7 or 7:30 p.m. ET, next to Jeopardy!; the air-time guide covers the exceptions.
FAQ
What was the Wheel of Fortune bonus puzzle this week?
HYDRATING, JAR OF COINS, FIGHTING A COLD, FAMILIAR VOICE and QUICK BITES, Monday through Friday.
Is Wheel of Fortune new right now?
No. Encores run through September 11; Season 44 premieres September 14.
Can I still enter the Myrtle Beach giveaway?
No, that week's entry windows closed. Drawings are around September 25.
Sources
Wheel of Fortune Tonight — bonus puzzle log · Sweepstakes Lovers — nightly solutions · Wheeloffortune.com — Myrtle Beach Family Vacay · TV Insider — Toss-Up Sprint
Nightly pieces live in the Wheel of Fortune section; Thursday's setup is in the Friday preview. The Jeopardy! week in review covers the Masters semifinals.