# Family Feud TV show strategy **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 9, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-feud-tv-show-strategy/502453 "2009-07-09T14:27:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Never\_Say\_Dice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee59a6/32.png) [@Never\_Say\_Dice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Never_Say_Dice)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-feud-tv-show-strategy/502453/1 "2009-07-09T14:27:37Z")
Does it make economic sense to favor Pass or Play? Most everyone seems to Play, and Pass is considered risky, but my guess is it’s the reverse. Unless there are very few answers listed and somebody already guessed the top one. Otherwise it’s full of obscure answers and Playing will lead to three strikes. I also wonder on the Fast Money segment whether the odds are rigged. Sometimes the top answer will get 40 or more points, and sometimes just 25 points. If no top answer hits 40 then it’s really hard to reach 200. So they must know which games will not likely be won. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-feud-tv-show-strategy/502453/2 "2009-07-10T18:10:54Z")
Play, for sure. If you pass, not only do you run the risk of the other team sweeping the entire board, but even if they don’t, the odds are that they’ll guess the easier answers and leave only the more obscure one for you to guess - and you only get one chance when you’re in “steal” mode, not the three strikes you get when you “play”. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-feud-tv-show-strategy/502453/3 "2009-07-11T02:49:55Z")
Passing seems like a bad idea, ESPECIALLY if the category seems like a tough one. The team that plays is probably going to eliminate all the obvious answers, leaving the other team struggling to come up with an obscure answer that a mere handful of respondents gave. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2009, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-feud-tv-show-strategy/502453/4 "2009-07-11T12:58:46Z")
I always thought the team that “steals” the board should get the points (money) that would include their answer. Several times I have seen the “Playing” team only get about 20 points, before they struck out, and the team steals the board, getting the number one answer worth 50 points and it not count towards the total. 20 Points, pffffft, BFD. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-feud-tv-show-strategy/502453/5 "2009-07-13T15:25:02Z")
But when you’re stealing, your whole team gets to discuss the answer to give. That’s a fairly large advantage. It would be simple enough to check what percentage of rounds are won by the playing team. My impression is that it’s more than half. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-feud-tv-show-strategy/502453/6 "2009-07-13T15:31:08Z")
Do whatever you want until the last round, which is the only one that matters. Then play. They always have some Super Mega Ultra Bonus Round that’s worth all the marbles, whose point value is more than the previous rounds combined. What’s the point of the rest of the game? I’d be in the cocktail lounge. “Somebody get me for the Super Round, and then we’ll play.” ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-feud-tv-show-strategy/502453/7 "2009-07-13T15:50:56Z")
> [@borschevsky](#): > > But when you’re stealing, your whole team gets to discuss the answer to give. That’s a fairly large advantage. > > It would be simple enough to check what percentage of rounds are won by the playing team. My impression is that it’s more than half. Maybe an advantage, but it’s good strategy on the other team, just to punt the round if they have only got 20 points and two strikes. If I was Captaining the team with the current rules, that is what I would urge my team to do. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-feud-tv-show-strategy/502453/8 "2009-07-13T16:35:10Z")
I’ve watched far, far too much Family Feud in recent days. (…and holy crap is Richard Karn a horrible game show host.) It there are more than six answers, I say pass. If there are fewer than six answers, play. With six answers, consider the question. If the #1 answer alone scores higher than, say, 65 points, that means the remaining answers are more obscure. Verb answers are harder than noun answers. Nebulous questions about reactions to a situation or the like are hard: “What would a woman do if she thought her husband might be cheating on her?” “What would you hate to see when you walk up to your parked car?” Hard questions tend to be easy: “Name a famous astronaut” “Name a country that makes good beer.” If you do play, the odds are you will get three strikes. Your best bet is to clear out all the “obvious” answers and hope the opponent misses, too. In any case, I’m fairly certain reason teams actually on the show choose overwhelmingly to play is to get screen time. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-feud-tv-show-strategy/502453/9 "2009-07-13T17:24:59Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > I’ve watched far, far too much Family Feud in recent days. I’m willing to bet that I win this contest… The summer after I graduated college, I earned extra money by doing some research for a local professor who specializes in game theory. He had taped days worth of The Family Feud for analysis. So I spent my free time watching episodes of the Feud, recording every bit of data you could want. I have absolutely no idea what conclusion he came up with, or even if he did. I do know that his previous work concluded that if you were the first person (or those before you went over $1) to spin the big wheel on The Price Is Right, you should spin again if you get 65 cents or less on the first spin. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-feud-tv-show-strategy/502453/10 "2009-07-13T18:04:06Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I do know that his previous work concluded that if you were the first person (or those before you went over $1) to spin the big wheel on The Price Is Right, you should spin again if you get 65 cents or less on the first spin. Assuming that spin of the big wheel is random (which clearly it is not) this could be proven with some statistical analyis and verified through simulation. Intuitively, the 65 cent number looks reasonable for the first spinner. Assuming the first spinner busts out or has less than 50 cents, I suspect that the breakeven number for the second spinner would be less than 65 cents because there is one player left versus two players left ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-feud-tv-show-strategy/502453/11 "2009-07-13T18:26:13Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Assuming the first spinner busts out or has less than 50 cents, I suspect that the breakeven number for the second spinner would be less than 65 cents because there is one player left versus two players left Not too much lower, as the payoff of getting a chance at $1,000/$5,000/$10,000 for hitting $1.00 (and then hitting the money spots later) is a very strong incentive at spinning again. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-feud-tv-show-strategy/502453/12 "2009-07-13T19:31:22Z")
I think the primary goal of the big wheel showdown is to make the showcase where you have about 45% chance of winning something in 20K range. Thats a giving a 10% chance of two overbids in the showcases. and there is a small chance of winning both showcases. Getting to a dollar after one spin is a 20-1 shot, and then getting the big prize is another 20-1 shot. The intermediate prize is a 10-1 shot. Of course the big wheel is 100% cash where the showcases are all prizes. (sometimes there is cash involved) ---
**Author:** ![Borborygmi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/borborygmi/32/217_2.png) [@Borborygmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borborygmi)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/family-feud-tv-show-strategy/502453/13 "2009-07-14T16:53:25Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > I’m willing to bet that I win this contest… > > The summer after I graduated college, I earned extra money by doing some research for a local professor who specializes in game theory. He had taped days worth of The Family Feud for analysis. So I spent my free time watching episodes of the Feud, recording every bit of data you could want. > > **I have absolutely no idea what conclusion he came up with, or even if he did.** > > I do know that his previous work concluded that if you were the first person (or those before you went over $1) to spin the big wheel on The Price Is Right, you should spin again if you get 65 cents or less on the first spin. (bolding mine) Clearly, the government determined that we weren’t ready for his conclusions and launched a cover-up. Typical. If I were you I’d lay low. I’m assuming **Munch** isn’t your real name, so that’s a good start.