Family Game Night (game show) — BrandWiki

Family Game Night (game show)

genre	Game show
runtime	44 minutes, Approx. (60 minutes with commercials)
location	Sunset Bronson Studios Hollywood, California (2010–12; 2013–14) Delfino Studios Sylmar, California (2012)
based on	Hasbro Family Game Night by Electronic Arts and Hasbro Board Games
composer	Vanacore Music
country	United States
language	English
network

company	ZOO Productions All3Media America (season 5) Hasbro Studios

director	Rich DiPirro

presenter	Todd Newton

announcer	Burton Richardson Andrew Kishino Stacey J. Aswad

executive producer	Barry Poznick John Stevens Charles Steenveld (S1-S2) Bob Boden (S1-S2) Kevin Belickoff Stephen Davis

first aired	October 10, 2010

last aired	November 9, 2014

num seasons	5

num episodes	101

Family Game Night (abbreviated as FGN) is an American television game show based on Hasbro's family of board games and EA's video game franchise of the same name. The show was hosted by Todd Newton. Burton Richardson was the announcer for the first two seasons; he was replaced by Stacey J. Aswad in the third season, and Andrew Kishino was hired for the fourth season. The 60-minute program debuted on October 10, 2010, on The Hub (formerly Discovery Kids, the network became Discovery Family on October 13, 2014); it was previewed on October 9, 2010, on its sister channel, TLC. Seasons 1 and 2 contained 26 and 30 episodes respectively. Seasons 3, 4 and 5 each contained 15 episodes. Season 2 premiered on Friday, September 2, 2011, with additional games being added. The games added to the second season included Cranium Brain Breaks (which replaced Guess Who? as the opening toss-up game), Green Scream, Ratuki Go-Round, Simon Flash, Operation Sam Dunk, Trouble Pop Quiz, and Spelling Bee. However games from the previous season were still kept.

On June 19, 2012, Family Game Night was renewed for a third season by The Hub, which premiered on September 23, 2012.[1]

On July 9, 2012, it was announced that Family Game Night was one of four original series from The Hub that won the CINE Golden Eagle Award for high-quality production and storytelling.[2]

The show's fifth season premiered on August 3, 2014, and added a new feature in which a celebrity plays to win cash and prizes for the audience members that they team up with, as well as their favorite charities. The fifth season ended on November 9, 2014.

The show's host Todd Newton won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host in 2012 for his work on the show, He was also nominated four times in that category.[3]

Gameplay

For the first two seasons, the TV show featured two families of four (one wearing red, the other wearing yellow) competing for cash and prizes. Each family consisted of the mother, the father, and two children, ages 8 to 18. Teams are usually named for the younger of the two kids (i.e. Willie's Family or Suzie's Family).

Teams earned "Monopoly Crazy Cash Cards" by playing five games that varied in each episode. Whenever a family won a game, the youngest child was allowed to select a Monopoly Crazy Cash Card from a rack located at the "Crazy Cash Corner" on the far left of the stage. The rack initially held 21 different cards, each depicting one of the tokens used in either the original "Monopoly" board game or the "Monopoly: Here and Now Edition" board game. Each card held a different randomized amount of money, which was revealed at the end of the show. Most of the cards were valued between $200–$995 in $5 increments, although at least one card held a four-figure amount (usually between $1,000–$7,000) and one card was the "Top Cash Card" worth between $7,500–$25,000.

In addition to the Cash Card, a family that won a game also received a special bonus prize which they kept regardless of the final outcome of the show. In the first season of the show, this prize was simply revealed by host Newton, but in the second season, each prize was a "Monopoly Party Prize" revealed by announcer Burton Richardson and still shown as a prize, but with a "(Subject of Prize) Party" before it being revealed and explained. At the end of the show, both families took their accumulated cards to the "Crazy Cash Machine". Each card was placed into the Machine, revealing its value, at which point the machine would spit out the amount in oversized Monopoly Money bills. Both families kept all the cash and prizes they won during the game, and the family with the most cash at the end also won a vacation. If there was a tie after both families had used all their cards, then both families won the vacation, rather than playing a tiebreaker.

Games

Season 1

Family Game Night featured an interchangeable selection of Games, similar to The Price Is Right. Many games involved family members playing in turn, starting in order with the youngest child, then the oldest child, the moms, and finally, the dads. In total, 10 games were used in the first season.

Guess Who?

Guess Who? is an opening toss-up game that decides which family is given the option to play first or second in the first game. The host gives up to four clues to the identity of a celebrity or a fictional person. The families can buzz in whenever they want. If they get it right, they get to pick to go first or second in the next game. If they get it wrong, the other family wins the round and they get to decide if they want to go first or second. In addition, after this game, each family selects a "Crazy Cash" card, starting with the family that will be playing first.

Scrabble Flash

Scrabble Flash is a game where the families have to make words using 5 oversized electronic Scrabble Flash letter tiles. Alternating between teams, each family member in family order takes a turn picking what word they can make. The player then arranges the Flash tiles used to make that word.

Famous Contestants

Josie Totah and her mother were contestants in a season 4 episode and would play "Barrel of Monkeys"[4]

In a season 5 episode, Trinitee Stokes and her mom and dad would appear as contestants and play "Monopoly Remix"[5]

International versions

External links

Game Shows at Allspark

References

MCN Staff. The Hub Orders Third Season Of Family Game Night MultiChannel News, June 19, 2012, retrieved June 19, 2012^
HubWorld.com press release retrieved 13 September 2012^
'Game Night' Honored With Daytime Emmy® Award For Outstanding Game Show Host

Cranium

Cranium is actually a set of four minigames, each represented by one of the Cranium characters. The host reveals one of the characters and the character's related game. The game is then played in two parts, with the children in each team competing first, followed by the parents. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

In an early episode, all 4 minigames were featured; the team with the highest combined score won the game.

Data Head: Players are shown a series of images and are either asked questions about the image or are asked to identify an aspect of the image or something related to it. Five such images/questions are asked to the kids for 10 points each. Then another five more difficult images/questions are asked of the parents for 20 points each.

Creative Cat: This minigame is divided into 2 halves. In the first half, the 2 children in each family are given clay, as well as a card with a thing that each pair of children has to make from their clay. After a commercial break, the clay "masterpieces" are brought out, and the parents have 15 seconds to guess what their children made. Each correct answer is worth 10 points per second remaining. Then, in the second half, the parents get to draw things for their children to guess. Each parent uses an electronic sketch pad and is blindfolded while drawing. The children then have 15 seconds to guess what each parent is drawing. Correct answers are worth 10 points per second remaining. The family with the most total points from the two halves wins the round.

Star Performer: In one version of this minigame, Dads have 30 seconds to guess activities performed by their kids and their wife; The first round had players form letters and are worth 10 points, the second round sees players forming numbers which are worth 20, the third round is symbols which are worth 30, and finally the characters form general things with each correct answer worth 40 points. The family with the most points wins the round. If there's a tie, then the Dad that guesses correctly in the least amount of time wins.

In another version of this minigame, the families faced a music keypad with five notes numbered and colored. 1-Blue, 2-Red, 3-Green, 4-Yellow and 5-Purple. This is a Simon-like game where the player who made a mistake forfeited the points to his/her opposing family. The kids played first and they must add one note at a time; their round is worth 10 points. The adults played second, but they must add two notes at a time; their round is worth 20 points. The family with the most points wins. This version is now played in the second season as Cranium Piano.

Word Worm: In one version of this minigame, the kids are shown words that are revealed either from top to bottom or reverse. The first team to guess a word scores 10 points; five words are played. Then, the parents participate in a "backwards spelling bee", in which they have to spell given words backwards, at 20 points per correct word. The family with the most total points wins.

In another version of this minigame, the families have to figure out what fills in the blank between two other words. For example Couch ______ Chip, the word in-between would be potato (similar to the "Before & After" puzzles on Wheel of Fortune).

Cranium

In an early episode, all 4 minigames were featured; the team with the highest combined score won the game.

Season 2

In addition to the return of Bop It Boptagon, Bounce 'n Boogie Boggle, Connect 4 Basketball, Cranium, Guesstures Freefall, ''Sorry! Sliders, Yahtzee Bowling and Twister Lights Out'', new games were introduced. Also, Guess Who? was no longer the opening game, and Operation Relay and Scrabble Flash (now used on Scrabble Showdown) were removed. Also, teams earned "Monopoly Party Packages" for winning each game. In total, 16 games were used.

Cranium Brain Break

A Cranium Brain Break was the new toss-up for season 2. Teams would perform a short challenge, such as trying to throw two rings onto a Sorry! Slider in the dark, or getting more paper balls in a basket on host Newton's head in 30 seconds. In a timed event, if the game ends in a tie, the first team that scores in the game wins.

Cranium Guesstimator

One team is given a question that has a numeric answer. The other team must then predict if the actual answer is higher or lower than the first team's guess. The kids play first for questions worth 10, 20, 30 and 40 points, then the adults play more difficult questions for double points. The highest score wins. If there is a tie, one final question is read, and each team makes a numeric guess, with the closest guess winning.

Cranium Who's Older

Teams take turns being shown a pair of people and/or things and identifying which one is older. Right answers win points, wrong answers forfeit the points to the opposing team. The kids play four questions worth 10 points each, then the adults play four questions at double points. The highest score wins. If there is a tie, one final question is played, and the team that buzzes in first gets to answer, with the winner determined by their right or wrong answer.

Simon Flash

A variation on Simon, families wear giant cubes around their bodies, colored red, yellow, green, and blue. A sequence appears on screen and families arrange themselves to match the sequence to score a point. Each player's color randomly changes after each score. First to five points wins.

Operation Sam Dunk

Replacing Operation Relay, this game involves rolling skee-balls to land in various "Funatomy Cavities" on Sam's body to score points. Also, a bell (for Ringing In The Ears) is installed to double the team's total score if hit. (If no one has tried for the bell yet after the first round, Newton will call attention to it.) Each family member gets two rolls in family order. The highest score wins.

List of Funatomy Cavities from least to best scoring:

Ringing in the Ears: Double Score
Frog in the Throat: 500 Points
Bird Brained: 400 Points
Bad Plumbing: 350 Points
The Giggles: 300 Points
Toxic Gas: 250 Points
Phone Finger: 200 Points
Burp Bubbles: 150 Points

Ratuki Go-Round

A variation on Ratuki, this game involves a relay race to get rid of twenty cards, with values from 1 to 4 on it, and the final 20th card with a value of 5 on it (displayed by different types of pictures) by placing them on a center spinner initially holding five cards with values from 1 to 5 on them. Players can only place a card that is either one number higher or lower than the previous card that was placed. The final card with a value of 5 cannot be placed down until all the other cards are gone. Breaking the rules causes the offender to freeze for 10 seconds. The first family to place all their cards wins.

Midway through the season, the rules were adjusted. If the family placed the wrong card, their opponents automatically won the game. In addition, regular 5s were added to the team's decks. If they placed a 5 card, their opponents froze for 10 seconds. The final 5, however, must still be played last to win.

Note: In production order, the format with the regular 5's was actually first, before the change was made to remove them and the wrong card rule a few episodes later.

Trouble Pop Quiz

The kids are asked number-based toss-up questions, using a big Pop-o-Matic to answer. A right answer or a false start from the opponent moves mom or dad (of the kid's choice) forward the number of spaces shown on the die. If a team answers incorrectly, the other team gets to answer. Landing on an opponent's space sends the opponent back a space. The first team to get both parents past their finish line (which is their opponents' starting line) wins. In the first three instances of this game (in production order), the children in each team would alternate answering, whereas later episodes saw all four children playing at the same time.

Green Scream

Kids roll around in green sacks on a green screen floor, thus revealing pictures (associated with a category) for the parents to guess in 90 seconds. Up to ten are used per family and a right answer scores ten points. The highest score after the game wins. If there is a tie after the 90 second time limit, the team who correctly solved the words in the fastest time wins. The parents may direct their kids to go in certain directions on the floor as they wish. Parents may pass on pictures, but they may not come back once they have done so.

Spelling Bee

Mom wears a "stinger" (a black marker) on her back to spell out words for other family members. The moms are not allowed to talk, or else the word is disqualified. They are, however, sometimes encouraged to make "buzzing" noises like a bee. If a family can't guess the word after the third letter, host Newton gives a clue to the word. Each right answer is worth 100 points, and each family has 90 seconds to guess as many words as possible. The highest score wins. Ties are broken by who took the least time to score their words.

Season 3

Some of the basic games were held over from the previous seasons. However, they were changed in some ways to accommodate the show's new format as well as the addition of other games (with Simon Flash and Connect 4 Basketball as the only games to remain unchanged). Also, Stacey J. Aswad took over the announcing duties, replacing Burton Richardson. However, Newton himself does the announcing duties for the intro instead, while Aswad takes over after. After each game was played, each team picked a combination code for the Community Chest near the end of the show. Each combination had three specified colors, and if the chest was opened, the teams would play for a new car. If the chest was not opened, the teams kept the prizes they won earlier, as with seasons 1 and 2. In total, only 8 games were used.

Battleship

The players stood behind podiums with a button. On the 5x5 floor grid, six ships (3 cruisers, 2 submarines and a battleship) were hidden under coordinates that the players called out on the board (for example: B3). Once the coordinate was locked in, Newton and the audience did a three-second countdown. After the "Launch!" signal was given, the player pressed the button, which launched a virtual peg from the video screen in the background. Each hit sunk a ship, and three sunken ships won the game. If the family had a score of 3–2 without any misses, the family with 2 ships sunk would have a chance to get a prize as their opponents did, so that both families could win the same prize. The winners got to draw a Community Chest combination code from Mr. Monopoly's hand first and won the game's prize package.

Sorry!

Instead of Sorry Sliders, the parent now dressed up as a "Sorry!" pawn and was moved down a path with different dollar amounts from $100 to $900 in $100 steps by their child(s) choosing a card with either several spaces to move ranging from one to four, or "Sorry!" on them. The players could stop on any of the spaces and win the cumulative amount of money they landed on, or continue towards the prize at the end. If a "Sorry!" card was drawn, the parent was moved back to start and they lost the money in their bank at that point. If the other "Sorry!" card was drawn, the game was over. At the end of the game, the family drew a combination card for the Community Chest.

Operation

In this variation, the family can win money. To begin with, the family gets one roll and they can earn up to three more by removing a piece from the parent's body. After that, they will use these rolls to earn money by rolling into Cavity Sam, which is similar to Operation Sam Dunk from the show's second season. The family can win up to $4,000 in cash and they will also earn a Community Chest combination card.

Yahtzee Bowling

Although fundamentally the same from the previous seasons, instead of two families competing with each other, one family is chosen from the audience and three members must bowl (one for each person), trying to build up a different combination of numbers. However, instead of the highest combination winning the game in earlier seasons, each combination is assigned a different prize the family can win after they have all played ranging from cameras to a vacation. At the end of the game, they proceed to draw a Community Chest combination card.

Bop It! Boptagon

Though fundamentally the same as the previous seasons, the Boptagon is now smaller and accommodates only one player at a time in teams of two. Each player gets thirty seconds to get as many commands as possible. The new commands include "Chop It!" and "Squeeze It!" (which replace Twist It and Shout It). Pull It is now a rope instead of a leg with a shoe. After two rounds of play with both team members, the team with more correct commands wins the game. Ties are broken in favor of the child who completes their first command faster. After that, the two teams will receive a Community Chest combination card.

Twister Lights Out

Basically the same as the previous season, there are several changes. First, there is the new command of "air," which means the players must raise the indicated body part off the ground. Second, the dots no longer disappear one at a time but a "warning light" appears to alert the contestants that the outermost dots are disappearing, and they must move their body parts inward.

Monopoly Community Chest

All teams have a chance to play for a car by using a combination card from the previous games they've played during the show. Each card has three colors. To unlock the chest, the team captain must input the three-color combination code that Newton calls out before pressing the button. If it's locked, a buzzer will sound, signaling a wrong combination. When that happens, that team will go back into the studio audience. If it opens, however, then a fanfare will play, with firework sounds being heard, and Monopoly cash and confetti will come out from the chest, which signals a winning combination. When that happens, that team is the instant winner of the family game night.

Monopoly Crazy Cash Machine

This is the same as in the previous seasons, but only one family can play with 16 Crazy Cash Cards in a 4x4 grid. Nine of the cards have cash, six of them have Go To Jail, and the last one has Win. Each time they get a Cash Card from each row, they will earn the corresponding amount on the card and move on to the next one. If a team gets a Go To Jail Card (rows two through four), the game is over, but they get to keep all the money they've earned along with the prizes from earlier. When that happens, Newton will reveal wherein the top row of the car is. However, if they get to the top row and successfully find the Win Card (the screen displays "WIN!" and "GO TO JAIL" on slots), they'll earn a Jeep Patriot in Seasons 3 & 4, and a Ford Escape in Season 5, along with the prizes and the money they've accumulated.

Season 4

For the show's fourth season, new games were introduced along with returning games, and some classic games were modified. Also, Andrew Kishino took over the announcing duties replacing Stacey J. Aswad. Newton also no longer announces during the intro, leaving Kishino to do all announcing duties similar to Richardson. The names in each selected family are also now shown on the big screen. Those families who lose their games receive $100. Combinations were still chosen from Mr Monopoly's hand to open the Monopoly Community Chest before playing the Monopoly Crazy Cash Machine. In all ten games were used.

Monopoly Remix

The fast-dealing game of properties is re-imagined in a whole new way; a sharp eye and a good sense of recall are rewarded with cash and prizes. One family plays on a MONOPOLY-style virtual game board with two dark blue property spaces — Boardwalk and Park Place — and starts with $1,000 of MONOPOLY money. In the first round, Boardwalk and Park Place are shuffled amongst two penalty spaces — Luxury Tax and Income Tax, $300 each. Family members use keen vision and extreme concentration to follow the properties as they are rapidly shuffled around the playing field. If the family accurately identifies and places their jumbo-sized hotels where Boardwalk and Park Place landed on the game board, they keep the $1,000 of MONOPOLY money. If the family places their hotels on the penalty spaces, they pay the fine. In the first round, the penalty spaces cost $300 each. In the second round, a Street Repairs space is added and the penalty spaces cost $400 each. In the final round, the fines increase to $500 and a Bankrupt space is added. If a hotel is placed on Bankrupt (and/or they run out of MONOPOLY money), the game is over. If the family has any MONOPOLY money left at the end of the game, they win that amount in real cash and a prize.

Jenga

Two families stack and remove blocks on an oversized version of the iconic Jenga tower. The game starts with one member from each family picking a numbered disc from a box. The number indicates how many Jenga blocks the other family members have to pull from anywhere on the tower and stack on top within a two-minute time allotment. The tension builds with each turn as the tower gets perilously higher and unbalanced, and the families race against the clock. The teammates must alternate tagging each other removing and placing the blocks, as well as pressing their buzzer to stop their clock. The family who avoids knocking over the tower or running out of time during their turn wins the game. A family can be assessed a five-second penalty if one teammate does something out of turn.

Yahtzee

The famous dice game was re-invented for the new season. Yahtzee is now played in two rounds by one family. The object of the game is to stop the spinning animated dice to get a Yahtzee, which is five-of-a-kind. Before the family plays, they answer one trivia question that has three correct answers. Each correct answer earns them one WILD space on all five dice; the WILD space can represent any number on the dice and helps the family get closer to the ultimate five-of-a-kind Yahtzee. If they get Yahtzee in three rolls or less, they win a prize.

Barrel of Monkeys

To win the game, the only family playing pulls virtual monkey chains of varying lengths out of ten big lettered barrels ranging from A to J and correctly hangs them in sequential order on one of five colored trees. But it is not as easy as it sounds. The family has to be strategic when placing each monkey chain to win the game. For example, if a family picks a barrel with a chain of nine animated monkeys and places it on the red tree on the far right, they could potentially lose the game if the next barrel they pick has a chain of ten monkeys. To help them out, one barrel's dubbed the Top Banana & if chosen, gives the family a save in case they make a mistake. An animated monkey will show the viewers which lettered barrel the Top Banana is located before the game starts.

Bop It! Boptagon

Though fundamentally the same as Season 3, the Boptagon has been altered. The "Whack It" and "Kick It" commands have been replaced with "Lift It" and "Dunk It" commands.

Monopoly Community Chest

The Monopoly Community Chest has been altered. Before, contestants manually changed the combination lock to the three colors on their cards. This season, a slot was added for the combination cards to be inserted into so that the combination would automatically light up on the combination lock. If the light flashes red, the chest remains locked and they'll go back into the studio audience. If the light flashes green, then the chest will unlock and the family will advance to the Monopoly Crazy Cash Machine for more money and a brand-new car. If only one family remains, then their combination will win for them.

Monopoly Crazy Cash Machine

Same rules as Season 3, but the only difference is that the Iron card has been replaced by the Cat card (since the Cat replaces the Iron in the MONOPOLY board games.)

Gameplay

Games

Season 1

Guess Who?

Scrabble Flash

Famous Contestants

International versions

External links

References

Cranium

Bop It! Boptagon

Guesstures Free Fall

Operation Relay

Bounce 'n Boogie Boggle

Connect 4 Basketball

Twister Lights Out

Sorry! Sliders

Yahtzee Bowling

Monopoly Crazy Cash Machine

Guess Who?

Scrabble Flash

Cranium

Bop It! Boptagon

Guesstures Free Fall

Operation Relay

Bounce 'n Boogie Boggle

Connect 4 Basketball

Twister Lights Out

Sorry! Sliders

Yahtzee Bowling

Monopoly Crazy Cash Machine

Season 2

Cranium Brain Break

Cranium Guesstimator

Cranium Who's Older

Simon Flash

Operation Sam Dunk

Ratuki Go-Round

Trouble Pop Quiz

Green Scream

Spelling Bee

Cranium Brain Break

Cranium Guesstimator

Cranium Who's Older

Simon Flash

Operation Sam Dunk

Ratuki Go-Round

Trouble Pop Quiz

Green Scream

Spelling Bee

Season 3

Battleship

Sorry!

Operation

Yahtzee Bowling

Bop It! Boptagon

Twister Lights Out

Monopoly Community Chest

Monopoly Crazy Cash Machine

Battleship

Sorry!

Operation

Yahtzee Bowling

Bop It! Boptagon

Twister Lights Out

Monopoly Community Chest

Monopoly Crazy Cash Machine

Season 4

Monopoly Remix

Jenga

Yahtzee

Barrel of Monkeys

Bop It! Boptagon

Monopoly Community Chest

Monopoly Crazy Cash Machine

Monopoly Remix

Jenga

Yahtzee

Barrel of Monkeys

Bop It! Boptagon