Family Feud
Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. Two families compete on each episode to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes.
The show has aired in three separate incarnations since 1976. Its original run from 1976 to 1985 aired on ABC and in syndication, with Richard Dawson as host. In 1988, it was revived on CBS and in syndication with Ray Combs hosting until 1994, with Dawson returning until the latter version ended in 1995. The third version, also in syndication, began in 1999 and has had four hosts: Louie Anderson, Richard Karn, John O'Hurley, and Steve Harvey. The show has had four announcers: Gene Wood, Burton Richardson, Joey Fatone, and Rubin Ervin.
Within a year of its debut, the original version became the number one game show in daytime television; however, as viewing habits changed, the ratings declined. Harvey becoming host in 2010 increased Nielsen ratings significantly and eventually placed the program among the top three most-popular syndicated television shows in the United States. Harvey has also surpassed every previous host in tenure.
The program has produced multiple regional adaptations in over 50 international markets outside the United States. Reruns of episodes hosted by Steve Harvey air on Game Show Network, as well as in syndication while reruns of earlier versions air on BUZZR and Pluto TV. Aside from television shows, there have also been many home editions produced in board game, interactive film, and video game formats.
Gameplay
The game features two competing families, each represented by five members, who compete to determine the answers to survey questions. The original version of the show began with the families being introduced, seated opposite each other as if posing for family portraits, after which the host interviewed them.While there is no minimum age to participate in Family Feud, as long as at least one member of the family is 18 years of age or older, producers recommend that contestants are 15 years of age or older due to the nature of some questions. Each round begins with a "face-off" question that serves as a toss-up between two opposing contestants. The host asks a survey question that was previously posed to a group of 100 people, such as "Name something you expect to see on the streets at Christmas time." A certain number of answers are concealed on the board, ranked by popularity of the survey's responses.
The first contestant to buzz in gives an answer; if it is the most popular, their family immediately wins the face-off. Otherwise, the opponent is offered a chance to answer, and the face-off is won by whichever family's member has offered a higher-valued answer. If neither contestant's answer is on the board, the other eight contestants have a chance to respond, one at a time from alternating sides, until an answer is revealed. The family that wins the face-off may choose to play the question or pass control to their opponents.
The family with control of the question then tries to win the round by guessing all of the remaining concealed answers, with each member giving one answer in sequence. Giving an answer not on the board or failing to respond within three seconds earns the family a strike. After three strikes are earned, the opposing family is given one chance to "steal" the points for the round by guessing any of the remaining answers. Otherwise, the points are automatically awarded to the family that originally had control. From 1992 to 2003, the value of the "stealing" answer was credited to the "stealing" family. If the opponents are given the opportunity to "steal" the points, then only their team's captain is required to answer the question. For most of the series, this is done after the family confers with each other; the only exception was from 1988 to 1994 where Ray Combs polled each family member for an answer with the team captain having the option to either select one of the family's answers or give a different answer. At the end of the round, any remaining concealed answers on the board that were not guessed are then revealed.
Answers are worth one point for every person in the 100-member survey who gave them. The winning family in each round scores the total points for all revealed answers to that question, including those given during the face-off but excluding the one used to steal. The number of answers on the board decreases from round to round, and as the game progresses, certain rounds are played for double or triple point value.
For most of the show's existence, the first team to reach or surpass a certain point total won the game. The most common goal has been 300 points but there have been exceptions. When the original series first premiered, the goal was 200 points and for its final year, it was increased to 400 points, although the goal reverted to 300 points for special weeks. From the debut of the original series until 1992, families were awarded $1 per point scored.
From 1999 to 2003, the family with the highest point total after four rounds of play won the game regardless of their score. The first three rounds were played as normal rounds. In the fourth round, the point values were tripled, but the families were only allowed one strike if they had control. In the rare instance that the family in control was trailing and could not accumulate enough points to potentially overtake the leaders before striking out, the game ended without the other family attempting to steal.
On the first two series a match continued until a family reached the goal. The current series reinstated the 300 point goal in 2003 but kept the four round format. If neither family has reached 300 points after four rounds, one more triple value question is played as a sudden death face-off. Only the top answer is displayed on the board, and the first contestant to buzz in with it wins the points and the game for their team.
In the original periodic primetime specials, three games were played, with the first two ending when a team reaches 200 points. For the third game, only one question round was played with the winning two celebrity teams from the previous rounds playing.
From March 2, 1983 until the Dawson run ended on June 14, 1985, two lollipop trees filled with Tootsie Pops were placed at the anchor of each family's podium. A family member would select a random lollipop and if it had a black stem, that family won a $100 bonus regardless of the outcome.
Fast Money
At the end of the main game, the winning family selects two members to play the show's bonus round, known as Fast Money. One contestant is onstage with the host, while the other is sequestered backstage with headphones so as not to hear or see the first portion of the round. The first contestant is asked five rapid-fire survey questions and has a set time limit in which to answer them. The timer starts after the host finishes reading the first question. The contestant may pass on a question and return to it if time remains.After the first contestant has answered all five questions or run out of time, they are awarded a point for each person in the survey who gave the same response. Once these points are tallied, the board is cleared except for the total score, while the second contestant is then brought out to answer the same five questions. The same rules are followed, but the time limit is extended by five seconds ; in addition, if the second contestant duplicates an answer given by the first, the host will say “Try again,” and prompt the contestant for an alternate answer. If the two contestants manage to reach a combined total of 200 points or more, the family wins a cash prize; otherwise, the family is awarded $5 for each point.
The cash prize for winning Fast Money has varied. During the ABC and CBS incarnations of the show, the top prize was $5,000. In the original periodic primetime specials, each game was followed by a Fast Money round. The first two were each worth $5,000, and the final one was worth $10,000. The prize money was increased to $10,000 on the syndicated version until September 2001.
In September 2001, the prize money was doubled to $20,000 at the request of then-host Louie Anderson. This initially lasted until September 2009, when the Bullseye round returned at the start of the show, meaning the total for Fast Money was an adjustable amount between $15,000 and $30,000 depending on how much each family won during Bullseye. In July 2010, however, Bullseye was removed and the prize money reverted to $20,000, which has remained ever since.
Returning champions
When Family Feud premiered on ABC, network rules dictated how much a family could win. Once any family reached $25,000, they were retired as champions. The accompanying syndicated series that premiered in 1977 featured two new families each episode because of a then common television syndication practice known as "bicycling".The CBS daytime and syndicated versions which began airing in 1988 also featured returning champions, who could appear for a maximum of five days. For a brief period in the 1994–95 season which aired in syndication, there were no returning champions. For these episodes, two new families competed in this first half of each episode. The second half featured former champion families who appeared on Family Feud between 1976 and 1985, with the winner of the first half of the show playing one of these families in the second half. When the champion rule was reinstated, the winner of the first half faced the champion family in the second. Occasionally two families from the 1976-1985 version would play the first half and celebrities would play for charity in the second half.
In some cases from 1992 to 1995, the returning champions continued until they were defeated. From 1999 to 2002, two new families appeared on each episode. In 2002, returning champions again appeared with the same five-day limit. In 2009, a new car was announced for a family who wins five games in a row. This was first changed to a $30,000 cash bonus in May 2024, and then changed again in September 2024 to a vacation and a $10,000 cash bonus.