Family Feud

Host: Richard Dawson, Ray Combs, Louie Anderson, Richard Karn
Announcers: Gene Wood, Burton Richardson

Premise: Two families try to win money by predicting the most common answers to a survey question given to 100 people.

BASIC GAMEPLAY
Each question began with a face-off. One member of each family came to the upstage podium and listened to the survey question from the host. Whoever buzzed in first gave their answer, and if not the top-ranking one, the opponent could give their answer.

The player that gave the answer that ranked higher on the list won the question. (If there was a tie, the person who buzzed in first won.) They could either have their family play the question, or pass it to the opposing family.

In turn, each player on the team would contribute an answer, hoping to match those on the survey. If it was up there, money would go into the bank to be claimed by the winner of the round. For each person out of the 100 who gave an answer matched, $1 went into that bank. If the answer given did not make the survey, or no answer was given, then a strike was noted. The round could end in two ways. If the controlling family gave all of the remaining answers on the survey, they got all of the money in the bank. If the team put up three strikes, the other team could steal the money. The other family had three seconds to shout out potential answers to their captain, at which time the captain had to choose one. If that answer is on the survey, the stealing family gets the money in the bank (though nothing for the most recent answer). If not, the original family gets the money.

After that, a new question is put up, and the next family members in line would face-off. Questions would be played like this until one team reached the goal.

For almost every version of the show, teams would win whatever money amount wound up in their bank in cash. On Combs' syndicated version, the hour-long "Family Feud Challenge," and the current version, the game was played just for points.

BONUS GAME
The winning family would then get a chance to win thousands of dollars. Two players would compete; the second would wait in an isolation booth offstage.

The host reads the first player five survey questions, just like before. This time, the player must give the best answer they can think of as quickly as possible, because they only have 15 seconds to supply five answers. After the answers are given, they are put up on the big board, and the totals are revealed. At that point, the partner comes out, and does the same thing. They get 5 seconds more to answer, because repeats aren't allowed.

After all ten answers are revealed, if the team has scored 200 points, they win the jackpot. Anything less than 200, and the family wins $5 per point.

SCORING FOR EACH ROUND Version One: x1, x1, x2, x2, x2...(Goal 200)
From the premiere until Mid 1979

Version Two: x1, x1, x1, x2, x3...(Goal 300)
Started two weeks into the nighttime version, continued until finale.

Version Three: x1, x1, x2, x2, x3... (Goal 300)
Mid 1979 to early 80s, daytime.

Version Four: x1, x1, x1, x1, x2, x2, x2, x3...(Goal 400)
Toward the end of the original run, five to seven questions played per show.

Version Five: x1, x1, x3, x3, x3...(Goal 300)
Very early in 1980s, for a short time.

Version Six: x1, x1, x2, x2, x3...(Goal 300)
Beginning of CBS run.

Version Seven: x1, x2, x3...(Goal 300)
CBS/Syndicated, when Bullseye format was used in order to save time. The adding the value of the steal answer came with this change.

Version Eight: x1, x1, x1, x3 (Most points wins)
1999 version. Round four had only one strike for the team.

Version Nine: x1, x1, x2, x3, x3 (Goal 300)
2003 season, round five is a top-answer only tie-breaker.


VERSIONS
ABC (1976-1985). Families played for $5,000 in Fast Money, and stayed on the show until they won $25,000 (which usually took seven or eight shows).

Syndicated (1970s. Winning families played for $10,000 in Fast Money, but only stayed on for one show.

CBS Daytime (1988-1991). Families played for $5,000 in Fast Money, and retired after five wins. The four big winners each month played in a tournament of champions. The jackpot started at $25,000, and $5,000 could be added in each semi-final. The two winners played for the jackpot in the final episode.

Syndicated (1980s). Families played for $10,000 in a format similar to the CBS show. Top winners of the quarter would return for a tournament. Each semi-final was best-of-three, along with the final. Semi-final games allowed $10,000 to be added to the jackpot if Fast Money was won, starting from $50,000. 400 points won the finals games.

CBS (1990s). Families now competed in the Bullseye round before the game started. Right answers added from $500 to $2,500, starting with a $2,500 bank. That round determined what the winners would play for in Fast Money. The winners would play against the winners from yesterday's show for up to $20,000, and the right to come back next time. Winning families could come back until defeated.
On the concurrent syndicated show, getting 200 points was worth $10,000 in addition to the main game winnings. Teams only stayed on for one show (similar to Match Game PM.

On the daily CBS run, teams won their main game winnings and played for $5,000 in Fast Money. Teams that won five games retired undefeated, but were invited back for the Tournament of Champions.

On the syndicated show, teams played for $10,000; and stayed on for five shows. When the change was made to the "Family Feud Challenge" format, teams could stay on as long as they kept winning, and played Fast Money for whatever amount was in their bank, from $2,500 to $20,000.

With Richard Dawson's return to the program, the team was reduced to four players,

For the 1999 return of the show, the game was played just for points, and Fast Money was played for $10,000. In 2001, that amount doubled to $20,000. In 2002, teams could stay on for up to five days, meaning a team could win $100,000.

Tournament of Champions
The four top winning teams played for up to $110,000. The game had two semi-finals, where the winning family tried to add $10,000 to the winners' jackpot, which started at $50,000. The teams that won 2 games moved on to the best-of-three final, where 400 points won a game. The winning family won the jackpot. On the syndicated version, the jackpot started at $25,000, and $5000 was added for each win, but the games were "best-of-one."

In 2002, Family Feud revived the Tournament, with eight teams competing in single elimination contests, with a jackpot beginning at $50,000; and $20,000 added each time Fast Money was won. The eventual winners claimed over $110,000 and a trip to the Family Circle Tennis Tournament. The 2004 tournament was similar, the eight winning families came back; games added $20,000 to the jackpot, but there was nothing to seed the jackpot, which grew to $80,000. The format for the final game was S-S-S-D-D-T-Sudden Death.

Bullseye/Bankroll: For the Bullseye round, each player answered one face-off question, but only the top answer scored. The first question won $1000 toward the bank for the number one answer. Each question was worth $1000 more than the last. The teams started with $5000, so a $20,000 bankroll was possible. In the "Bankroll Game" the teams sent one player to answer a $1000, $3000, and $5000 question, so a $14,000 pot was possible.

Home Play: See Concentration for how many box games were made, and you get the idea. Family Feud never goes out of style.

For the most recent version, the jackpot began at $10,000; then increased to $20,000. Now, the jackpot is $20,000, and champs can stay on for five days, making the top winnings $100,000 for a family.