Family Feud

OPENING SPIELS:

1976-1985; 1994-1995:

''It's time for the Family Feud! Introducing the (insert family #1 [and their names]), ready for action! And the (insert family #2 [and their names]), on your marks! Let's start the FAMILY FEUD!!!! With/Here's the star of Family Feud, RICHARD DAWSON!!!''

1988-1994:

Daytime 1988-1992/Syndicated 1988-1992; 1993-1994: ''Let's meet the (insert family #1 [and their names]), ready for action! Playing against the (insert family #2 [and their names]), on your marks! Let's start the (NEW) FAMILY FEUD!!!! With the star of Family Feud, RAY COMBS!!!''

Daytime 1992-1993: ''Welcome to the Family Feud Challenge! What is the top answer to this question: (insert question). The number 3 answer is (insert answer). The number 2 answer is (insert answer). What is the number 1 Bullseye answer? You'll get the answer as we play Bullseye on...the Family Feud Challenge!+ Introducing (our returning champions), the (insert family #1), ready for action! Playing against the (insert family #2), on your marks! Let's start the FAMILY FEUD!!!! With the star of the Family Feud Challenge, RAY COMBS!!!''

+Ray would announce the Bullseye answer after he came out.

Syndicated 1992-1993: ''Welcome to the New Family Feud! What is the top answer to this question: (insert question). If you said the number 1 answer is (insert answer), you hit the Bullseye on The New Family Feud! Introducing (our returning champions) the (insert family #1), ready for action! Playing against (our challengers) the (insert family #2), on your marks! Let's start the NEW FAMILY FEUD!!!! With the star of Family Feud, RAY COMBS!!!''

1999-2002:

''Today on Family Feud, from (insert location here, followed in the first season by a rhyming couplet about the family name), it's the (insert family #1)!! From (insert location here, followed in the first season by a rhyming couplet about the family name), it's the (insert family #2)!! You're about to see these two families/teams battle it out, for $10,000/$20,000 in cash, ’cause it's time to play...the FAMILY FEUD!!!! Now here's the star of our show, LOUIE ANDERSON!!!''

2002-2003:

''It's time for the Family Feud! Introducing the (insert family #1 and their names), playing against (our returning champions), the (insert family #2 and their names)! You're about to see these two teams battle it out, for $20,000 in cash! Cause it's time to play, the FAMILY FEUD!!!! Now here's the star of our show, RICHARD KARN!!!''

2003-2006:

"It's time to play, Family Feud! It's (Our returning champs) (insert family #1), playing against, the (insert family #2)!! Now here's the star of our show (insert funny nickname here), MR. RICHARD KARN!!!"

2006-2009:

"It's time to play, Family Feud! Introducing (All the way from [city, state],) the (insert family #1), (ready for action [first and half of second season only])! Playing against (All the way from [city, state],) the (insert family #2), (on your marks [first and half of second season only)! And now, here's your host, ([insert funny nickname here] first season only), JOHN O'HURLEY!!!"

2009-2010:

"It's time to play, Family Feud! Returning for their (x) day, it's the (insert family #1)! Playing against, the (insert family #2)! And now, here's your host, JOHN O'HURLEY!!!"

2010-2011:

''It's time to play, Family Feud! This is Joey Fatone from Universal Orlando Resort in sunny Florida! And now, here's the star of our show, give it up for STEVE HARVEY!!!''

2011-2012: ''This is Joey Fatone. It's time to play, Family Feud! Give it up for STEVE HARVEY!!!''

2012-present: ''Joey Fatone: [This is Joey Fatone.] It's time to play, Family Feud! With your host/give it up for, STEVE HARVEY!!!''

''Steve Harvey: Thank you, Joey Fatone. Welcome to Family Feud! We got a good one today. Returning for their (x) day, with a total of $XX,XXX; it's the (insert family #1)! Playing against, the (insert family #2)!''

A spin-off from Match Game, this show is where two families battle it out by answering surveys to win points. The first to reach a set number of points (mostly 300) gets a chance to play Fast Money for a grand cash prize. Each family has 5 members per team, except from 1994-1995, when there were only 4 members per team.

Face-Off
At the beginning of each round, two members of each family come up to the main podium and play a mini-round for control of the question called "Face-Off". The host announced how many answers are on the board (which are always in order based on popularity), and then read a survey question and the first player to buzz-in gets to answer. The player to give the number one answer or have his/her answer be higher than the other player's answer won control. In case of a tie (both answers with the same number of people who gave it) the player who answered first won control. If neither player gave an answer on the board, the players at the main podiums get a chance to answer for control.

For time reasons, during Louie Anderson's & (some of) Steve Harvey's tenure, if neither player's answer was on the board the question was thrown out, and a new one was played.

During Dawson's first version & the current version, the player that won the Face-Off has a decision to either let his/her family play the question or pass the question to their opponents.

Main Question
The family that won the face-off earns control of the question. The controlling family's job is to reveal the remaining answers hidden on the board with each correct answer adding points to the bank above the board. The answer's value is determined by how many people who gave it. Each player on the controlling team in turn gave an answer and if the answer he/she gave is correct, it is flipped over and revealed. Revealing all the answers on the board won the round (this is classified as a "Clean Sweep"). Giving a wrong answer at any time earned a strike; getting three strikes (one in the final round from 1999-2003) caused the team to lose control of the question, giving the opposing family a chance to steal by giving one correct answer. A successful steal won the round, but an unsuccessful steal gave the round to the first family. The winners of the round took all the points in the bank plus (in the pilot, from 1992-1995, and again from 1999-2003) the value of the correct answer given by the stealing family.

Question Values
The first few questions had its values be worth the number showing. Later on in the game, the values of all the questions would be doubled (the double value round wasn't available from 1999 to 2003); and still later, all the point values would be tripled (in the Dawson era and the first four years of the current version, the triple valued question would be the last question of the game).

Winning
The first family to reach a set number of points won the game. For most versions, the goal is 300 points. In the first season of the Dawson run and pilot episode, the goal was 200 points; but in the final season of the Dawson run, the goal was set to 400 points. (In the original Dawson version and his 1994 comeback, when the game takes too long to reach the 300/400 goal, Richard goes to the controlling family to tell them that each teammate has three seconds to answer once he reads the question to them during the TRIPLE Round. Beginning in 2003, when the 300 goal was returned, Karn will only read the question once to both families upon Tripling the point values; though he did read it again after the captain of the stealing family gave an answer. In Karn's final season whenever he reads the question once, home viewers will show the survey question at the bottom of the screen.) From 1999 to 2003 there was no goal, the team with the most points won the game, even though most families in this period reached the goal of 300 points. In addition, there was only one strike for the team in the triple round (round 4). This created a scenario in which a team could give an incorrect answer and still win if there were not enough points in the bank for the other team to win by a successful steal. Other times when an opposing family already had more points than the bank, if a controlling family gave an incorrect answer, the game would automatically end. Until 1992, dollars were used instead of points.

Bullseye/Bankroll Round & Sudden Death Question
Starting in 1992, Family Feud instituted a new Bullseye round. This was the round that affected the grand prize for either family if and when they make it to Fast Money. In this round, both families started with a bankroll of $5,000 ($2,500 in the first half of the Family Feud Challenge). Five questions were asked to each pair of family members in a Face-Off fashion, and only number one answers counted. The first player to buzz-in with the number one answer added money to their own Fast Money bank; this resulted in a possible $10,000 in the first half or $20,000 in the second half. The syndicated version used this round from 1992-1994, with the doubled values.

Scoring
Here how they scored for each question:

Fast Money
The winning family went on to play Fast Money for a grand cash prize. The winning family chose which two players will play the game. The first family member stood at center stage while the second family member went off stage to a soundproof area. The first player has 15 seconds (later 20) to answer five Family Feud questions. He/she has to give the most popular answer to each question. When he/she was done, the answers were reveled on a different board followed by the number of people who gave them. After all the answers were revealed and scored, the second player came out and took his/her turn. The second player had 20 seconds (later 25) to answer the same five questions but with one exception: he/she cannot repeat any of the answers previously given by the first player or a double buzzer will sound, at which point the host says, "Try again." The contestant must give a different answer (the second player will also be charged for similar answers or an answer which fits into the same category as the first player's answer). When the second player was done, his/her answers were revealed and scored. The family wins $5 for each point made in the round, but if the two playing players reached 200 points or more, the family wins the grand cash prize.

NOTE: Very rarely, the first contestant from the winning family playing Fast Money would get 200 points and win the big money all by himself/herself. During Ray Combs' tenure, whenever that occurred, he would trick the second player into thinking that the first player did terribly and then ask him/her five phony ridiculous questions.

Grand Cash Prizes
The grand cash prizes were different depending on the series:


 * Daytime Versions (1976-1992) - $5,000
 * Syndicated Versions (1977-1992, 1999-2001) - $10,000
 * Current Version (2001-2009, 2010-present) - $20,000
 * Gameshow Marathon (2006) - $100,000 for the player's charity (main game win), $50,000 for a home viewer (Fast Money win)
 * NBC Celebrity Version (2008) - $50,000 for a win, $25,000 for a loss (both for charity)

Bullseye/Bankroll
Here are the max values in terms of Bullseye money:


 * Combs Version (1992-1994): 1st Half - $10,000, 2nd Half/Syndicated (1992-1994) - $20,000
 * Dawson Version (1994-1995): 1st Half - $7,000, 2nd Half - $14,000
 * O'Hurley Version (2009-2010): $30,000

Returning Champions
On the ABC run, families retired from the show after winning over $25,000, a limit which had been lifted during the final season to $30,000. On the syndicated series from 1977-1985 and from 1999-2002, two new families competed on each show. From 1988-1992 and from 2002 onward, winning families could return for up to five days. From 1992-1995, families simply continued until defeated. Starting in September 2009, families who won 5 days in a row won a brand new car (Chrysler 300C from 2009-2010, Ford Taurus from 2010-2012, Ford Edge from 2012-).

All-Star/Celebrity Family Feud primetime specials
In all versions of the All-Star/Celebrity primetime specials, four celebrity teams (celebrities and their families also in the Al Roker version) competed to win money for their favorite charities.

In the Richard Dawson all-star series, there were three games a show. The first two games were played to 200 points, and the third one was a one question showdown; and the Fast Money round was played after each game; the first two Fast Monies were worth $5,000, and the third one was worth $10,000.

In the Al Roker celebrity series, there were also three games all of which were played as the civilian shows but without the double value rounds; not only that, Fast Money does not play until the end of the show. All Fast Money rounds were worth $50,000 to the winning celebrity families' charities should they make it to 200 or more, and not winning was worth half the amount or $25,000.

1988-1994
The 1988–1994 version carried special tournaments for the four highest winning families from certain periods of time returning for a Winner-Take-All Tournament of Champions. These were rarely held at first for both the CBS and syndicated versions.

The main game rules applied, but if a family reached 200 points in Fast Money, $5,000 went into a jackpot that started at $25,000 and went up to potentially $55,000 on the CBS version. Likewise, on the syndicated version, the jackpot started at $50,000 and went up $10,000 for each time Fast Money was won, up to a possible $110,000. If the score was less than 200, nothing was added to the jackpot, as the $5 a point rule was discarded for the tournament. Each semifinal was the best-of-three games, with the first family in each one to win two games advancing to the finals, which was also a best-of-three match. There was no Fast Money round played during the finals. The scoring was similar to the 1984–1985 season (single-single-single-single-double-triple) or the regular CBS/Syndicated version from late 1989–1990 (single-single-single-double-triple) in the finals, with the first family to reach $400 winning the game instead of $300. The first family to win two out of three games won everything in the jackpot in addition to what they won in the regular game. Again, no Fast Money was played.

No additional tournaments were conducted on the syndicated version after the second season. The CBS version continued conducting them, but in mid-1990, tournaments were held every month, with the top four money-winning families of the previous month returning. The main game point goals for winning a semifinal and a final game were the same, but the match format was changed from the best-of-three to a one-game match for both the semifinals and the finals. Thus, the potential maximum was lowered to $35,000.

2002-2009
The current version began doing tournaments in 2002. The first occurred in May 2002 with the Family Circle Tournament of Champions, with eight winning families returning in a single-elimination tournament. The jackpot started at $50,000 and went up $20,000 for each time Fast Money was won, up to a possible $170,000. For this particular tournament only, if Fast Money was not won, $5 per point was added to the jackpot. Each game was played to 300 points except for the finals, which required 500 points to win the game and the jackpot. The winning team for this tournament won a trip to Charleston, South Carolina and tickets to the Family Circle Cup women's tennis tournament in nearby Daniel Island, in addition to the money, which was $112,230. The runners-up for this tournament won a trip to Jamaica.

This version, however, did not do tournaments on an occasional basis until May 2005. Again, eight families were brought back, but this time, they consisted of either families who previously lost their first game for the tournament that was held in May 2005 and May 2006, or previously winning families, but not necessarily focusing on the higher winning families of the past for the tournament held in February 2006. The differences at this point for the tournaments were that the jackpot started with nothing, except for the February 2006 Tournament of Champions, which began at $10,000 and went up $20,000 for each time Fast Money was won, up to a possible $130,000. Losses in Fast Money did not add anything to the jackpot, as in the 1988–1994 version, and the championship game was played to 400 points and used the 4 singles-double-triple round format (with Sudden Death if applicable). Trips were sometimes awarded to the jackpot-winning family, including Hawaii during the February 2006 tournament and Mexico during the May 2006 tournament. Again, no Fast Money was played in the finals.

The Original Board
For a span of the first 20 years, Family Feud used a trilon game board. Two sides of the board had twelve flip panels (six in each column) used for revealing answers during the main game (though no question ever had 12 answers, the most was 10), one of those sides was covered up by the show's logo during the opening and was taken down backstage when the opening was finished, and the words "double" & "triple" were placed on both sides of the main game board to indicate that the values were either doubled or tripled, and the third was a digital board which displayed the show's title and was used for Fast Money. During the opening and sometimes closing of the show, the digital board had an animated light pattern: The original Dawson series had its board light up/turn off one row at a time, while the 1988-1994 series had their board light up/turn off in a "four square-like" manner. This was not used for the closing, but was used for the closing of the 1994-1995 series. For most of the series, the digital board in neutral title mode was displayed in yellow on black, but in the pilot and in the early episodes of the Combs run, the board displayed black on yellow.

Alterations
All Versions: In the 1975 pilot, the trilon board was housed in a box-like shape, with all three numerical displays (the bank & family's scores) up top. Under the board were three little boxes which were used to display the strikes. The number sides of the flip panels had the numers sandwiched between 2 triangles. They were similar to that of Match Game the show that gave us Family Feud, and the unplayed panels were tan with a pale blue circle in them. When the show became a series in 1976 and lasting until 1994, the trilon board was now housed inside the now familiar blue oval with rectangles sticking out of either side to make room for the family's scoreboards (the bank was still at the top as it had always been; plus, the strikes were now superimposed). The oval board has chasing lights which lit up from the center to the ends; one of the top sides would light up when a family won the round and the entire side would light up when a family has won the game. While the Dawson shows always had their lights turned off, the Combs shows turned on theirs when it was time to play Fast Money and continued to have them turned on during the final segment of the show.

Today's Board
When the show returned in 1999 after a four year hiatus and to keep up with the times, the trilon/digital board was replaced with a single TV monitor which like the digital board in the 1994-1995 run did all jobs. The main game board still held eight answers and the number sides still had the same look from before only now the unplayed slots were the same, they just don't have numbers on them; from 1999-2010, the bottom two slots were replaced with one large slot with the word "DOUBLE" or "TRIPLE" on it to indicate affection of the values, these days only the sudden death question had the large "TRIPLE" slot below since there was only one answer needed to be given. The Fast Money board is completely computer animated, it has ten black slots to house the answers & ten black squares on the right to house the point scores (the scores next to the right side answers on the original versions used to be on the left), and one additional slot for the total scores. For individual reveals, a red square was used to reveal the answers and ending up in the point square and it accompanies the now familiar reveal sound, the square disappeared when the value was revealed. While the face-off podium was seen for the entire show in the past, for the current era, it would be removed for the remainder of the show.

Alterations
Louie's Era: When Louie Anderson was the host, the monitor was a projection TV housed inside a oval-like square with chase lights on it. It was located on a wall which doubled as an opening for host Anderson to go through. Not only that, the bank was now in blue eggcrate mode (the toteboards used to be in a Ferranti-Packer font), while the family's scoring displays in the same font were now shown on their podiums. For the final season of this run and continuing into Karn's run, the show's logo would be seen on the floor, similar to Combs' run.

Sounds
The strike buzzer, the correct answer clang and the win bells were recycled from a previous ABC Goodson-Todman game show, Showoffs.

The Face-Off buzzer sound was used in a few other Goodson-Todman shows such as Child's Play, Classic Concentration, Trivia Trap & Chuck Henry's Now You See It.

Inventors
Mark Goodson & Bill Todman

Music
1975, 1976-1985, 2006 - "The Feud" by Walt Levinsky, Robert A. Israel & Ken Bichel

1988-1994, 2002-2003, 2008-present - Edd Kalehoff & Score Productions

1994-1995 - Edd Kalehoff & Score Productions

1999-2002, 2003-2008 - John Lewis Parker

2003 (Unused) - John Lewis Parker

The 1976 main was originally a prize cue by Walt Levinsky on The Price is Right and when Mark Goodson heard it, it inspired him to create this show.

The last few notes of the 1976 theme are currently being used on The Price is Right as the introduction to Grand Game, and was used for a brief period as the intro to Plinko. It was also heard on Trivia Trap for getting all the wrong answers eliminated. For a brief time in the 1990s, the 1988 theme's end notes replaced those 1976 theme in the aforementioned Grand Game introduction.

The 1994 opening vamps as well the unused main themes from the 1994 version were recycled into the daytime and 1994 versions of The Price is Right as showcase cues.

Although the 2003 main is unused, replaced with the 1988 main, the face-off cue was still used on the show.

Merchandise
A board game based on the 1976 version was released in 1977 by Milton Bradley.

A Commodore 64 and Apple II game was released by Sharedata in the 80's; however, the picture on the box showed the Dawson set. A PC game also released by Sharedata in the 80's was based on the 1988 version and had a photo of the Combs set.

A PC and NES game based on the 1988 version was released by GameTek.

Board games based on the 1988 version were made in two versions released in 1990 and 1993 by Pressman.

Games based on the 1988 version for the Super Nintendo, 3DO, Genesis and PC were released in 1993 by GameTek.

Games based on the 1999 version were released for the PC and PlayStation by Hasbro.

A DVD game based on the Karn version was released in 2006.

Games were released for the PC, PS2 and Game Boy Advance in 2006 by Global Star Software. The former two formats had unlockable sets from all versions except the Louie Anderson and pre-2006 Karn editions.

A board game was released in 2007 by Endless Games.

A DVD game based on the O'Hurley version was released in 2007.

A DVD set featuring All-Star episodes of the 1976 version was released in 2008.

A DVD game with a special "Movie Edition" theme was released in 2008.

Games for the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and PC were released in 2009.

A game for the Nintendo Wii entitled Family Feud Decades was released and features all the sets from each version, sans the 1994 version. Games for the Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 were released in 2011, this time with the ability to enroll your system's avatars as players.

Spin-Offs
Gameshow Marathon - Family Feud was the finale of the 7 games.

¿Que Dice la Gente? - A Spanish language version aired on Telefutura from 2006 to 2008.

Celebrity Family Feud - A nighttime summer special aired on NBC in 2008 with teams of celebrities playing for charity. All but one episode was aired. The new graphics and music this show had were incorporated into the current daytime version.

In Popular Culture
Sesame Street had a spoof of Family Feud, called "Family Food", featuring a family of muppet contestants and Richard Dawson himself, teaching about the concept of a full, healthful meal.

An early episode of Mama's Family had the Harpers as contestants on the show, playing against the Van Courtland family and unfortunately not ending up successful; they lose on Thelma's answer to the question "Name something you wind up", "Letter".

The July 1985 issue of Seventeen magazine contains a journallike story, from a teen girl's point of view, of her family's exciting Family Feud adventure from auditioning to be contestants all the way to actually appearing on the show against an unidentified opposing family. The story does not end happily, however; the girl's family ends up losing to their opponents on (largely) her answer to the question "Name something you use scouring powder on", "Windows". (The remaining answer was "toilet".)

Saturday Night Live even parodied Family Feud. This sketch was entitled “Dysfunctional Family Feud”.

In the mid-2000s, Old Navy made a series of commercials called "Family Fleece" (featuring actress Morgan Fairchild), a parody of the Feud where families showed off the clothes that were for purchase.

Taglines
"We love ya, see ya here on the (Family) Feud. Bye-bye." - Richard Dawson (1976-1985; 1994-1995)

"God bless all the little children in the World." - Richard Dawson (The Final Episode)

"For the Feud, I'm Ray Combs saying thank you for watching, have a great day (on CBS), and see you next time. Bye-bye. (Play at home!)" - Ray Combs (1988-1994)

"Be good to your family. Come back and see our families on the Feud." - Louie Anderson (1999-2002)

"I'm John O'Hurley. Thanks for joining us here on the Family Feud. We'll see you next time. Bye-bye." - John O'Hurley (2006-2010)

"I'm Al Roker saying, 'Love your family, don't feud.'" - Al Roker (2008)

Links
Official Site

Official Site (Celebrity Version)

YouTube Profile

Josh Rebich's Family Feud Rule Sheets