Wheel of Fortune for PowerPoint Version 4.0 beta 2

Missed out on beta 1? Here are the beta 1 release notes.

---

Beta 1 turned out to be more successful than I thought. Many users I've talked to preferred the new puzzle setup system, and it showed when I ran a game during Thanksgiving break. The rounds went by more smoothly, and best of all, I didn't have to stress out placing a letter in the wrong tile.

That said, there's still a lot of room for improvement. Using beta 1 for an actual game has helped me think of feature ideas that otherwise wouldn't have popped up with testing alone. Some of those ideas have landed here in version 4.0 beta 2. So let's go through the new features, shall we?

Wheel of Fortune for PowerPoint Version 4.0 beta 1

Update (Nov. 20): Beta 1.1 has been released. This is a bug fix release; no new features have been added. Here's what's fixed:

• Load Puzzle no longer clears the entire puzzle board if a puzzle isn't found.
• If the entire puzzle is already up on the puzzle board, clicking the Solve button will no longer display a confirmation box.
• "Wipe all puzzles/scores and end show" now wipes the Mystery indicator.
• The puzzle editor category box is now wider so that it's more compliant with how much space you get on the actual puzzle board.
• Fixes a center alignment issue with player names.
• Increases the size of the player name boxes to fit longer names.
• Works around a bug in PowerPoint 2007 that prevented the game from highlighting filled puzzles in the puzzle editor.

---

Introducing Wheel of Fortune for PowerPoint Version 4.0 beta 1. Brace yourself, as this release essentially redefines the way you play the game.

In previous versions, you had to remember the solutions to your Wheel of Fortune puzzles in your head (or on a solution card). There was friction between you and your contestants as you fumbled trying to remember how many M's were in your puzzle and where they were located. Starting with this release, I am proud to state that those days are numbered. Introducing Set Up Puzzles, a new method to prepare your puzzles in advance!

New Icons for PowerPoint Games

I'm still migrating files out of MediaFire, but in the meantime, I thought it was a good idea to add icons to all my PowerPoint games on the Projects page. Yes, even the ancient projects I've abandoned years ago have been given icons. Here's a glance of what I've made.

Tim's Slideshow Games is switching to Google Drive

Update (Nov 10): The migration process is complete.

After six years of service, I am planning to retire MediaFire and migrate all of my downloadable projects to Google Drive. The reason? Unlike MediaFire, Google Drive does not serve ads while downloading and appears to be more robust to use.

For cleaner download links, I am using my Github page to process download queries. Here's an example on how it works. The below URL,

https://timtree.github.io/download/bingo-master-board-plus/

will download the latest stable release of Bingo Master Board PLUS.

To download a specific version (in this case version 1.0), you'd add the following parameter to the URL, like so:

https://timtree.github.io/download/bingo-master-board-plus/?ver=1.0

So far, I have only moved Bingo Master Board PLUS to Google Drive. The migration process will take a while for all projects, especially the old ones. So for the time being, expect a mixture of MediaFire and Github -> Google Drive based download links. I'll edit this post when I'm done migrating every project.

Hope this proves to be a better download experience!

Bingo Master Board PLUS Version 2.0: Features Galore!

Version 2.0

I'll admit, the first release of Bingo Master Board PLUS was rushed. The code was a mess, it only had one distinguishing feature, and it was all built up within less than a day. That's why version 2.0 is ready to roll, addressing the sloppiness from v1.0 and introducing a plethora of new useful Bingo features. Let's take a look, shall we?

What's Changed

Bingo Master Board for LibreOffice

This project has been discontinued in favor of Bingo Master Board for Web. I no longer will update this LibreOffice version nor seek LibreOffice Basic advice.

Released: October 15, 2017
Updated: March 8, 2018 (Version 1.0.2)

Size: 4.6 MB

Click here to Download

Description

Now you can project and play Bingo games using free open source software.

This LibreOffice version, a macro-powered presentation, tries its best to port as many master board features as it can from its PowerPoint brethren. Although not everything could be ported due to LibreOffice limitations, it retains the core PLUS feature: the ability to randomly (and manually) draw Bingo balls.

Need help setting this game up? Click here for my troubleshooting tips.

Compatible with:
- LibreOffice Impress 5.4 or newer on Windows, macOS, and Linux

You'll need to enable macros for Bingo Master Board to work. Instructions can be found within the file and on my LibreOffice troubleshooting post.

Screenshots:

   

 

LibreOffice Troubleshooting Tips

LibreOffice is impressive for being a completely free office suite, but it's not without its share of problems. Here are some issues I've encountered while testing Bingo Master Board PLUS for LIbreOffice and what I recommend to solve them.