''The Family Game'' was an American

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

that ran on ABC for six months in 1967.

Geoff Edwards Geoffrey Bruce Owen Edwards (February 13, 1931 – March 5, 2014) was an American television actor, game show host, and radio personality. Starting in the early 2000s, he was also a writer and broadcaster on the subject of travel. Background P ...

was originally to host the (unrecorded) pilot, but was dropped at the last minute and was replaced by producer Chuck Barris. Although ABC bought the series, they mandated that someone other than Barris be the host; Bob Barker, then hosting ''

Truth or Consequences ''Truth or Consequences'' is an American game show originally hosted on NBC radio by Ralph Edwards (1940–1957) and later on television by Edwards (1950–1954), Jack Bailey (1954–1956), Bob Barker (1956–1975), Steve Dunne (1957–1958), ...

'' and also began hosting the

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Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

Pageants on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

that year, was selected without a screen test or pilot. ''The Family Game'' was played similar to Barris' more popular ABC game show ''

The Newlywed Game ''The Newlywed Game'' is an American television game show that puts newly married couples against each other in a series of revealing question rounds to determine how well the spouses know or do not know each other. The program, originally create ...

'', except that instead of four married couples there were three families (each consisting of two children and their parents). The series is notable for being the last new black-and-white network series to air in America prior to the nationwide switch to color in 1968.

Gameplay

''The Family Game'' had parents and their children aged 6–11 years old trying to predict and match answers to a series of questions, similar to ''Newlywed''.

Round 1

In Round 1, the younger children were asked three questions while their parents were off stage. The parents returned and the mothers responded to the same questions. Their teams scored 10 points for each answer they matched.

Round 2

In Round 2, the parents again left the stage and the older children answered four questions. The first three were worth 15 points, while the last was a "bonus" worth 25 points. When the parents returned, the father tried to match answers to the first three questions and both parents responded to the 25-point bonus question. The family with the most points won the game and a grand prize. If there was a tie, it was broken in the same manner as on ''The Newlywed Game''. Before the show, each family was asked to predict how many points they would score. The one closest to their actual score without going over was declared the winner.

Merchandise

A board game based on the show was released by

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...

at the time.

Episode status

''The Family Game'' is believed to have been erased ("

wiped Lost television broadcasts are mostly those early television programs which cannot be accounted for in studio archives (or in personal archives) usually because of deliberate destruction or neglect. Common reasons for loss A significant prop ...

") due to network practices. Only two episodes are known to exist.

Attempted revival

A revival was attempted in 1986 with Jeff MacGregor (the host of ''The All-New Dating Game'' from 1987 to 1989), but the pilot was not picked up. This unsold pilot can be viewed at the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the ar ...

, and a clip was also shown briefly in the Game Show Network original series, ''As Seen On''.

References

American Broadcasting Company original programming Black-and-white American television shows American game shows 1960s American game shows 1967 American television series debuts 1967 American television series endings Lost television shows Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television series by Barris Industries Television series created by Chuck Barris {{US-game-show-stub