# Two tweaks that would make Family Feud better **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 5, 2013, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441 "2013-10-05T15:57:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441/1 "2013-10-05T15:57:58Z")
Watching the new Family Feud yesterday, I cam up with two rules changes that I think would make for a better show. [ul][li]More prize money. $20,000? Seriously? That seems like a bunch of work for $4000 per family member. I’m not sure if they pay for the family’s airfare, etc, but still I think $50k would be more reasonable.[/li] [li]This one I’m particularly proud of. When a family wins the $20k, how about any points over 200 get bumped up to the next round, if that family wins again? Let’s say they get 230 points - that means they have 30 points banked if they go to the fast money round in the next show. If they get the 200 with some answers remaining, show the points for those answers as well and roll them over.[/ul][/li] Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441/2 "2013-10-05T20:45:29Z")
There was a version of Family Feud that set the prize money with the first survey question. It didn’t last long. Maybe a season or two at most. > [@](#): > > 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. > **[Family Feud](https://gameshows.fandom.com/wiki/Family_Feud)** > > Family Feud is a spin-off from both the Family Week of Password in 1967, and Match Game’s big money "Super Match" bonus round in 1973. This show is where two families battle it out by answering surveys of 100 participants to win points/dollars. The... ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441/3 "2013-10-06T07:38:41Z")
Just a wild guess, but I have to assume prize money is somewhat based off of advertising money for the show - so perhaps Family Feud is not exactly raking in huge amounts of coins, unlike Price Is Right or Wheel Of Fortune or some of the other shows with higher amounts. My problem with Family Feud is that the families are mostly idiots. I don’t know exactly where they find these inbred clans of fools, but more often than not, the answers are so ridiculously stupid (with the obligatory clapping and “good answer!” cheers) that my eyes hurt from rolling back in my head. Then again, I suppose I too would be hard-pressed to find four other members of my own immediate family that did not include a few clueless dolts who would appear to have first cousins as parents. “Name something that is fattening!” “Water?” Good answer!!! ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441/4 "2013-10-14T22:38:45Z")
I’m in favor of anything that gets them to give all the answers in the bonus round, but I doubt it would be workable as the families go too crazy when they hit 200 pts. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441/5 "2013-10-14T22:56:40Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Just a wild guess, but I have to assume prize money is somewhat based off of advertising money for the show - so perhaps Family Feud is not exactly raking in huge amounts of coins, unlike Price Is Right or Wheel Of Fortune or some of the other shows with higher amounts. I think the ridiculously high (but practically unattainable) top prizes of modern game shows (Millionaire, Deal or no Deal) has kinda made all order game shows seem ridiculously cheap. I was looking up “Win Ben Stein’s Money” recently and I was shock that the top prize was only $5,000. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441/6 "2013-10-14T23:03:55Z")
Has anyone done any studies on whether it’s better to “pass” or “play” ? Incidentally, the celebrity Feud team I remember most was the cast of _Gilligan’s Island_ (missing only Bob Denver and Tina Louise). Jim Backus was pretty far gone by that point, they didn’t even make him walk to the center lectern to take his turn. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441/7 "2013-10-15T16:43:29Z")
Why does more money make the show more enjoyable to watch? Personally, I don’t care what they’re winning. If it’s an enjoyable game, I’ll watch it; if it’s not, I won’t. My favorite game shows are NPR radio shows like Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me and Ask Me Another, which make a point of giving out basically nothing as prizes. Doesn’t matter to me at all. Jeopardy’s an awesome show, and it would be just as good with 1/10th the prizes. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441/8 "2013-10-15T16:54:28Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Two tweaks that would make Family Feud better 1. Tweek should be mandatory for all contestants. 2. Weapons. Also, families should be able to swap 1 member with the opponent family if they hit the Family Fracas answer, which is randomly assigned to an answer in one of the games. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441/9 "2013-10-15T17:10:06Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > “Name something that is fattening!” > “Water?” > > Good answer!!! Truly. For every pint I drink, I gain a pound. It is insidious it is. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441/10 "2013-10-15T17:15:00Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 1. Tweek should be mandatory for all contestants. > 2. Weapons. A shotgun round with real shotguns? ---
**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:** [October 15, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441/11 "2013-10-15T20:15:22Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Has anyone done any studies on whether it’s better to “pass” or “play” ? > … I took statistics on about a hundred episodes. My father-in-law had even more episodes saved, and I had nothing to do while stuck in Reno helping him out after intestinal surgery. My conclusions: - Richard Dawson is creepy - Richard Karn is the worst game show host in the history of television. - It’s better to play. Not only does your family get face time\*, you’re more likely to get the points. While sweeping the board isn’t common, especially with more than four answers, I unexpectantly found that most steal attempts fail. There are certain types of questions I might pass, ones where there are lots of answers and #1 scored lots of points, or weird questions with “soft” answers. Even then I think it’s better to play. \*: Most hosts seem fun to interact with, especially Steve Harvey. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2013, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441/12 "2013-10-15T20:47:49Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > My problem with Family Feud is that the families are mostly idiots. I don’t know exactly where they find these inbred clans of fools, but more often than not, the answers are so ridiculously stupid (with the obligatory clapping and “good answer!” cheers) that my eyes hurt from rolling back in my head. > > Then again, I suppose I too would be hard-pressed to find four other members of my own immediate family that did not include a few clueless dolts who would appear to have first cousins as parents. > > “Name something that is fattening!” > “Water?” > > Good answer!!! The best [answer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNoV_kSe7Dk) in the history of the show. Granted, it was stupid but at least she caught on right away. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441/13 "2013-10-15T20:55:20Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Watching the new Family Feud yesterday, I cam up with two rules changes that I think would make for a better show. > > [ul][li]More prize money. $20,000? Seriously? That seems like a bunch of work for $4000 per family member. I’m not sure if they pay for the family’s airfare, etc, but still I think $50k would be more reasonable.[/li] > [li]This one I’m particularly proud of. When a family wins the $20k, how about any points over 200 get bumped up to the next round, if that family wins again? Let’s say they get 230 points - that means they have 30 points banked if they go to the fast money round in the next show. If they get the 200 with some answers remaining, show the points for those answers as well and roll them over.[/ul][/li] > Thoughts? 1. For a five-episode-a-week syndicated game show, a $20,000 grand prize is a lot of money. Don’t make the assumption that Feud is as popular as Jeopardy or Wheel. 2. Does FF still have returning champions? Even if it did, it wouldn’t necessarily be fair, for two reasons; first, some Fast Money rounds will have higher possible totals than others; second, you’re penalizing a family that gets exactly 200 points in, say, seven answers; if they were to get 199 in the first seven and another 40 in the eighth, that’s 39 extra points. > [@aceplace57](#): > > There was a version of Family Feud that set the prize money with the first survey question. It didn’t last long. Maybe a season or two at most. I assume you’re thinking of Family Feud Challenge. Each family’s potential prize started at $5000. The host asked the first players from each family a question, but one of them had to come up with the most popular answer (not just one more popular than the opponent’s answer); if one did, $1000 was added to that family’s possible prize. The second players were then asked a question, for a possible $2000; the third players were then asked one, for a possible $3000; the fourth players were then asked one, for a possible $4000. (I _think_ there were only four players per family in that version; I’m not sure.) If one family got all four, and then won Fast Money, they won $15,000. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2013, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441/14 "2013-10-15T21:23:25Z")
X = remove one article of clothing. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441/15 "2013-10-15T21:25:31Z")
Considering the popularity of Family Feud (or at least that they can run it five days a week), I still think someone is missing a bet with not bringing [Pointless](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointless_%28game_show%29) to the US. You’d have to find a way to either cut it down to 30 minutes or commit to a 1 hour slot using it’s current format, but I find it to be a highly watchable show. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441/16 "2013-10-16T00:26:48Z")
Of course it’s better to play than pass. I think one incarnation of the show (Ray Combs, maybe?) didn’t even give the pass option. ---
**Author:** ![want2befree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3e96dc/32.png) [@want2befree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2befree)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441/17 "2013-10-16T00:53:39Z")
Bring back Richard Dawson. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441/18 "2013-10-16T01:17:31Z")
> [@want2befree](#): > > Bring back Richard Dawson. If people thought Dawson was creepy before, wait until they get a load of zombie Dawson! 😃 ---
**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:** [October 16, 2013, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441/19 "2013-10-16T01:48:56Z")
Instead of the creep kiss, he’d lean in for a bite. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441/20 "2013-10-16T03:28:20Z")
> [@want2befree](#): > > Bring back Richard Dawson. Heck, let the show be hosted by Richard _Dawkins_. “Name a religious belief with a rational foundation. Top zero answers on the board.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-tweaks-that-would-make-family-feud-better/670441.md?page=2)