Family Game Night (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Family Game Night is a television series based on Hasbro
's family of board game
s. The show is hosted by Todd Newton
, and also features announcer Burton Richardson. The 60-minute program debuted on October 10, 2010 on the new channel, The Hub
, formerly Discovery Kids
; it was previewed on October 9, 2010 on its sister channel, TLC
. Each season will contain 30 episodes. Season two premiered on Friday, September 2, 2011, and new games were 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.
Teams earn "Monopoly
Crazy Cash Cards" by playing the various games, normally 5 of them in each episode. When a family wins a game, the youngest child gets to pick a Monopoly Crazy Cash Card from a rack located at the "Crazy Cash Corner" on the far left of the stage. The rack starts out holding 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 holds a different randomized amount of money, which is revealed at the end of the show. Most of the cards are valued between $200 and $995 (in $5 increments), although at least one card holds a four-figure amount (usually between $1000 and $7000) and one card is the "Top Cash Card" worth between $7,500 and $25,000. (The Top Cash Card's value is announced at the beginning of the game and referred to throughout the episode.)
When a team wins a game, in addition to the Cash Card, they also get a special bonus prize which they also keep regardless of the game outcome. In the first season of the show, this prize was simply revealed by host Newton, but in the second season, each bonus prize was a "Monopoly Party Prize" revealed by announcer Burton. At the end of the show, both families take their accumulated cards to the "Crazy Cash Machine". Each card is placed into the Machine, revealing its value and spitting out the amount in oversized Monopoly Money bills. Both families keep all the cash & prizes they win during the game, and the family with the most cash at the end wins a family vacation. If the "Top Cash Card" card isn't found by the players, usually the host will tell the audience near the end of the show what card held it.
and Time Machine
.
is the 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.
Flash is a game where the families have to make words using 5 oversized electronic Scrabble Flash letter tiles. Alternating between teams, each family takes a turn picking what word they can make. The team then arranges the Flash tiles used to make that word. The team gets 3 points for making a word with 3 letters, 4 points by making a word with 4 letters, or 5 points by making a word with 5 letters. The first family to reach a score of 25 points or more is the winner. The game is now seen on "Scrabble Showdown" with different rules.
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 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 charaders 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 guess correctly in a least amount of time wins. In another version of this minigame, the families faced music keypad with five notes numbered & colored. 1-Blue, 2-Red, 3-Green, 4-Yellow & 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.
Word Worm: First, 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.
Boptagon is a memory game designated to test how fast the players can respond to specific commands. Set inside a ring called the "Boptagon", the players each operate one of 8 stations: Twist It, Pull It, Shout It, Kick It, Whack It, Honk It, Crash It, and Bop It. The players will hear a command, and they must obey it in time. They might also hear "Rotate It" and "Reverse It". When they hear one of these commands, they move one station left for Rotate It, and one station right for Reverse It. If one or more players fail to correctly obey the command, does their command if it is not the one called, or goes in the wrong direction during "Rotate It" or "Reverse It", they are knocked out. The family with one or more of their team left in the Boptagon is the winner.
. The family with the most points wins the round. Ties are broken by determining which family made the fewest passes.
A subsequent rules change for this game had the time limit reduced to 45 seconds, with all three family members acting out things or actions for the fourth member to guess. The same scoring rules remained in effect. At the 30-second mark, one of the family members is lowered, followed by another at the 15-second mark. Passing is allowed only 3 times.
A later rule change doubled the time limit to 90 seconds, with each family member being given 30 seconds to act out progressively harder words. In the first 30 seconds, the younger child will act out words for 10 points each. In the middle 30, the older child will act out 20-point words, and in the last 30 seconds, the adult will act out words for 30 points each. Guessers are still only allowed 3 passes.
The 2-minute version of Guesstures Free Fall continued for the second season, with the addition of a short fanfare playing once three members from each family rise up in mid-air. Guessers are allowed infinite passes.
Relay is where the families get the pieces from Cavity Sam using tongs. If they hit the edge, the person is buzzed and has to go to the end of the line. If they get the piece, they have to limbo under bones (called the "limbone"), jump over two hurdles, then go through a giant tissue box. If they do something wrong they do not get the points. If they trip over or miss an obstacle, they have to go to the end of the line. Each family is given 2 or 2½ minutes, with the family scoring the most points winning the game. If a tie occurs the family with the least amount of buzzes from Sam is the winner.
board (in fact, a "'Big Boggle'" board), family members take turns searching for words. A player announces a word, then walking to the first letter in the word, spells it out by jumping from square to square to spell them, scoring 1 point for each letter in a correct word. As in the board game, words must be at least 3 letters long, and the letters used in spelling the word must touch each other in the grid orthogonally or diagonally. If a player spells a word that has two letters, backtracks (uses a letter square they have already used in the given word), spells a word incorrectly, uses unconnected letters, spells a word different from their announced word, or fails to come up with a word in time, that player's turn is lost. The family that scores the most points in the 2-minute time limit wins. Also, if a family member spells a pre-determined 6- or 7-letter Secret Word [shown to the home viewers], that family wins an additional bonus prize.
, the checkers are replaced with red and yellow balls. Family members take turns throwing those balls into baskets on a 7x6 board, in order to get 4 in a row in any direction.
In an early episode, players from both teams shot their red and yellow balls at the same time. The first team to make 4 in a row won one round; the first to win two rounds won the game.
, family members have to follow commands like "left foot, blue", with the dots shown on a floor-level video board. As play goes on, the dots disappear one by one, clockwise. If a family member's hand or foot is on a dot about to disappear, he/she must move their hand/foot to another dot of the same color. If a family member either [1] has a body part that's on a disappeared dot, [2] does not follow the command on time, or [3] has any body part other than hands or feet on the board, that member is eliminated.
The first round has the kids participating; the second round has the adults taking part. Whichever family has one player standing wins a round; two rounds win the game. If a third round is needed, Todd tosses a coin, with "heads" indicating that the kids play, and "tails" indicating the adults play; whichever family wins that round then wins the game.
Sliders, each family has two giant-sized rolling pawns. One player from each family pushes the pawns into one of the 4 rings with point values starting at 5 in the center, then 3, 1 and The Sorry Ring, which is worth no points, in the outer area. Players can push their opponents' pawns to affect the scoring. Each round consists of 2 rolls per family. The family with the most points wins the round, and the first family to win 2 rounds wins the game. If a round is tied, each family gets a half-win. If tied after 2 rounds, a "slide-off" takes place with only one roll per family; the most points wins. Starting in season 2, each team places a special prize dot on the board (except that they cannot place their dots on the 5-point zone). If a team's pawn is at least partially on their own prize dot at the end of the round, their team wins a prize; if their pawn is on their opponent's dot at the end of the round, that pawn does not count for any points.
, the dice are represented as 5 six-sided bowling pins with dice pips numbered 1 through 6 on every pin. Each family gets three chances to roll a bowling ball down a lane and knock down the pins to make the best scoring combination possible—in order from least to best: a pair, two pair, three of a kind, a small straight, a full house, a large straight, four of a kind, or Yahtzee(five of a kind).
The family with the best combination wins a frame; 2 frames win the game. If a third frame is required after the families split the first two, each family gets only one roll, with the best combination winning the game. The family who makes a Yahtzee also receives a bonus prize.
) were removed.
, families wear giant cubes around their bodies, colored red, yellow, green, and blue, like the actual game. A sequence appears on screen and families arrange themselves to match the sequence to score a point. First to five wins.
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
's family of board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
s. The show is hosted by Todd Newton
Todd Newton
Todd Newton is an entertainment personality and a three-time game show host.Newton has hosted Hollywood Showdown and Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck, both on Game Show Network; and Coming Attractions on E!, as well as occasional episodes of Wild On... He is known for occasionally wearing a...
, and also features announcer Burton Richardson. The 60-minute program debuted on October 10, 2010 on the new channel, The Hub
The Hub (TV network)
The Hub is an American digital cable and satellite television channel that launched on October 10, 2010. The channel, which replaced Discovery Kids, is a joint venture of Discovery Communications, Inc. and Hasbro...
, formerly Discovery Kids
Discovery Kids
Discovery Kids is an American website owned by Discovery Communications, Inc. created for children. Until October 10, 2010, it was an American digital cable specialty channel, owned by Discovery Communications with television programming for education of children. It was launched in October 1996...
; it was previewed on October 9, 2010 on its sister channel, TLC
TLC (TV channel)
TLC is an American cable TV specialty channel which initially focused on educational content. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks...
. Each season will contain 30 episodes. Season two premiered on Friday, September 2, 2011, and new games were 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.
Gameplay
The TV show features two families of four competing for cash and prizes. Each family consists of the mother, the father, and two children aged 8 to 18. Teams are usually named for the younger of the two kids (i.e. Willie's Family or Suzie's Family).Teams earn "Monopoly
Monopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
Crazy Cash Cards" by playing the various games, normally 5 of them in each episode. When a family wins a game, the youngest child gets to pick a Monopoly Crazy Cash Card from a rack located at the "Crazy Cash Corner" on the far left of the stage. The rack starts out holding 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 holds a different randomized amount of money, which is revealed at the end of the show. Most of the cards are valued between $200 and $995 (in $5 increments), although at least one card holds a four-figure amount (usually between $1000 and $7000) and one card is the "Top Cash Card" worth between $7,500 and $25,000. (The Top Cash Card's value is announced at the beginning of the game and referred to throughout the episode.)
When a team wins a game, in addition to the Cash Card, they also get a special bonus prize which they also keep regardless of the game outcome. In the first season of the show, this prize was simply revealed by host Newton, but in the second season, each bonus prize was a "Monopoly Party Prize" revealed by announcer Burton. At the end of the show, both families take their accumulated cards to the "Crazy Cash Machine". Each card is placed into the Machine, revealing its value and spitting out the amount in oversized Monopoly Money bills. Both families keep all the cash & prizes they win during the game, and the family with the most cash at the end wins a family vacation. If the "Top Cash Card" card isn't found by the players, usually the host will tell the audience near the end of the show what card held it.
Games (Season 1)
Family Game Night features an interchangeable selection of mini-games, similar to The Price Is RightThe Price Is Right (U.S. game show)
The Price Is Right is an American game show which was created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Contestants compete to identify the pricing of merchandise to win cash and prizes. The show is well-known for its signature line of "Come on down!" when the announcer directs newly selected contestants to...
and Time Machine
Time Machine (game show)
Time Machine is an American game show where contestants competed to answer trivia questions about popular culture and recent history to win prizes. The show aired on NBC from January 7 through April 26, 1985 and was hosted by John Davidson. Charlie Tuna was the announcer, with Rich Jeffries as his...
.
Guess Who?
Guess Who?Guess Who?
Guess Who? is a two-player guessing game created by Ora and Theo Coster, also known as Theora Design, first manufactured by Milton Bradley in 1979 in Great Britain. It was brought to the United States in 1982.-Game play:...
is the 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
ScrabbleScrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
Flash is a game where the families have to make words using 5 oversized electronic Scrabble Flash letter tiles. Alternating between teams, each family takes a turn picking what word they can make. The team then arranges the Flash tiles used to make that word. The team gets 3 points for making a word with 3 letters, 4 points by making a word with 4 letters, or 5 points by making a word with 5 letters. The first family to reach a score of 25 points or more is the winner. The game is now seen on "Scrabble Showdown" with different rules.
Cranium
CraniumCranium (board game)
Cranium is a party board game based on Ludo. Whit Alexander and Richard Tait created Cranium in 1998 after Richard spent a weekend playing games with another family and recognized the need for a game involving a variety of skills. He left his job at Microsoft, convincing friend and co-worker Whit...
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 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 charaders 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 guess correctly in a least amount of time wins. In another version of this minigame, the families faced music keypad with five notes numbered & colored. 1-Blue, 2-Red, 3-Green, 4-Yellow & 5-Purple. This is a Simon
Simon (game)
Simon is an electronic game of memory skill invented by Ralph H. Baer and Howard J. Morrison, with the software programming being done by Lenny Cope and manufactured and distributed by Milton Bradley. Simon was launched in 1978 at Studio 54 in New York City and became an immediate success. It...
-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.
Word Worm: First, 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.
Bop It! Boptagon
Bop It!Bop It
Bop It toys are a line of audio games based on concepts originally patented by Dan Klitsner. Bop It was licensed to Hasbro and further developed there by a number of designers including Bob Welch....
Boptagon is a memory game designated to test how fast the players can respond to specific commands. Set inside a ring called the "Boptagon", the players each operate one of 8 stations: Twist It, Pull It, Shout It, Kick It, Whack It, Honk It, Crash It, and Bop It. The players will hear a command, and they must obey it in time. They might also hear "Rotate It" and "Reverse It". When they hear one of these commands, they move one station left for Rotate It, and one station right for Reverse It. If one or more players fail to correctly obey the command, does their command if it is not the one called, or goes in the wrong direction during "Rotate It" or "Reverse It", they are knocked out. The family with one or more of their team left in the Boptagon is the winner.
Guesstures Free Fall
In Guesstures Free Fall, a variation of the charades game Guesstures, one family member has 2 minutes to guess things or actions mimed by the other three family members, each suspended in mid-air by wires. 10 points are awarded for each correct answer, but if the family member who guesses decides to pass on an item or if the family member who mimes makes a noise while doing so, the miming player is then lowered, freefall-style, behind the Guesstures barrier. The answer is then revealed, and another of the family members suspended in mid-air gets to mimeMime
The word mime is used to refer to a mime artist who uses a theatrical medium or performance art involving the acting out of a story through body motions without use of speech.Mime may also refer to:* Mime, an alternative word for lip sync...
. The family with the most points wins the round. Ties are broken by determining which family made the fewest passes.
A subsequent rules change for this game had the time limit reduced to 45 seconds, with all three family members acting out things or actions for the fourth member to guess. The same scoring rules remained in effect. At the 30-second mark, one of the family members is lowered, followed by another at the 15-second mark. Passing is allowed only 3 times.
A later rule change doubled the time limit to 90 seconds, with each family member being given 30 seconds to act out progressively harder words. In the first 30 seconds, the younger child will act out words for 10 points each. In the middle 30, the older child will act out 20-point words, and in the last 30 seconds, the adult will act out words for 30 points each. Guessers are still only allowed 3 passes.
The 2-minute version of Guesstures Free Fall continued for the second season, with the addition of a short fanfare playing once three members from each family rise up in mid-air. Guessers are allowed infinite passes.
Operation Relay
OperationOperation (game)
Operation is a battery-operated game of physical skill that tests players' hand-eye co-ordination and fine motor skills. Originally made by Milton Bradley, and currently made by Hasbro it has been in production since 1965, the year in which the game was invented by John Spinello.The game is a...
Relay is where the families get the pieces from Cavity Sam using tongs. If they hit the edge, the person is buzzed and has to go to the end of the line. If they get the piece, they have to limbo under bones (called the "limbone"), jump over two hurdles, then go through a giant tissue box. If they do something wrong they do not get the points. If they trip over or miss an obstacle, they have to go to the end of the line. Each family is given 2 or 2½ minutes, with the family scoring the most points winning the game. If a tie occurs the family with the least amount of buzzes from Sam is the winner.
Bounce n Boogie Boggle
On a 5-by-5 grid that resembles a BoggleBoggle
Boggle is a word game designed by Allan Turoff and trademarked by Parker Brothers, a division of Hasbro. The game is played using a plastic grid of lettered dice, in which players attempt to find words in sequences of adjacent letters.-Rules:...
board (in fact, a "'Big Boggle'" board), family members take turns searching for words. A player announces a word, then walking to the first letter in the word, spells it out by jumping from square to square to spell them, scoring 1 point for each letter in a correct word. As in the board game, words must be at least 3 letters long, and the letters used in spelling the word must touch each other in the grid orthogonally or diagonally. If a player spells a word that has two letters, backtracks (uses a letter square they have already used in the given word), spells a word incorrectly, uses unconnected letters, spells a word different from their announced word, or fails to come up with a word in time, that player's turn is lost. The family that scores the most points in the 2-minute time limit wins. Also, if a family member spells a pre-determined 6- or 7-letter Secret Word [shown to the home viewers], that family wins an additional bonus prize.
Connect 4 Basketball
In this variation on the vertical checkers game Connect FourConnect Four
Connect Four is a two-player game in which the players first choose a color and then take turns dropping their colored discs from the top into a seven-column, six-row vertically-suspended grid...
, the checkers are replaced with red and yellow balls. Family members take turns throwing those balls into baskets on a 7x6 board, in order to get 4 in a row in any direction.
In an early episode, players from both teams shot their red and yellow balls at the same time. The first team to make 4 in a row won one round; the first to win two rounds won the game.
Twister Lights Out
In this variation on TwisterTwister (game)
Twister is a game of physical skill produced by Hasbro Games. It is played on a large plastic mat that is spread on the floor or ground. The mat has four rows of large colored circles on it with a different color in each row: red, yellow, blue, and green. A spinner is attached to a square board...
, family members have to follow commands like "left foot, blue", with the dots shown on a floor-level video board. As play goes on, the dots disappear one by one, clockwise. If a family member's hand or foot is on a dot about to disappear, he/she must move their hand/foot to another dot of the same color. If a family member either [1] has a body part that's on a disappeared dot, [2] does not follow the command on time, or [3] has any body part other than hands or feet on the board, that member is eliminated.
The first round has the kids participating; the second round has the adults taking part. Whichever family has one player standing wins a round; two rounds win the game. If a third round is needed, Todd tosses a coin, with "heads" indicating that the kids play, and "tails" indicating the adults play; whichever family wins that round then wins the game.
Sorry! Sliders
In this big version of Sorry!Sorry! (game)
Sorry! is a board game that is based on the ancient Cross and Circle game Pachisi. Players try to travel around the board with their pieces faster than any other player. Distributed by Parker Brothers, Sorry! is marketed for two to four players, ages six through adult...
Sliders, each family has two giant-sized rolling pawns. One player from each family pushes the pawns into one of the 4 rings with point values starting at 5 in the center, then 3, 1 and The Sorry Ring, which is worth no points, in the outer area. Players can push their opponents' pawns to affect the scoring. Each round consists of 2 rolls per family. The family with the most points wins the round, and the first family to win 2 rounds wins the game. If a round is tied, each family gets a half-win. If tied after 2 rounds, a "slide-off" takes place with only one roll per family; the most points wins. Starting in season 2, each team places a special prize dot on the board (except that they cannot place their dots on the 5-point zone). If a team's pawn is at least partially on their own prize dot at the end of the round, their team wins a prize; if their pawn is on their opponent's dot at the end of the round, that pawn does not count for any points.
Yahtzee Bowling
In this variation of YahtzeeYahtzee
Yahtzee is a dice game made by Milton Bradley , which was first marketed by game entrepreneur Edwin S. Lowe in 1956. The game is a development of earlier dice games, such as Yacht and Generala. The object of the game is to score the most points by rolling five dice to make certain combinations...
, the dice are represented as 5 six-sided bowling pins with dice pips numbered 1 through 6 on every pin. Each family gets three chances to roll a bowling ball down a lane and knock down the pins to make the best scoring combination possible—in order from least to best: a pair, two pair, three of a kind, a small straight, a full house, a large straight, four of a kind, or Yahtzee(five of a kind).
The family with the best combination wins a frame; 2 frames win the game. If a third frame is required after the families split the first two, each family gets only one roll, with the best combination winning the game. The family who makes a Yahtzee also receives a bonus prize.
Games (Season 2)
In addition to the return of Bop It Boptagon, Bounce 'n Boogie Boggle, Connect 4 Basketball, Cranium, Guesstures Freefall, Sorry! Sliders, and Yahtzee Bowling, new games were introduced. Also, Guess Who? is no longer the opening game. and Operation Relay and Scrabble Flash (now used on Scrabble ShowdownScrabble Showdown
Scrabble Showdown is a game show created for the American cable network The Hub. The program is based on the well-known board game Scrabble and is hosted by entertainer Justin Willman.-Gameplay:...
) were removed.
Cranium Brain Break
Each episode now starts off with a Cranium Brain Break where teams perform a Double Dare-esque stunt, such as trying to throw two rings onto a Sorry! Slider, or getting more 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.Simon Flash
A variation on SimonSimon (game)
Simon is an electronic game of memory skill invented by Ralph H. Baer and Howard J. Morrison, with the software programming being done by Lenny Cope and manufactured and distributed by Milton Bradley. Simon was launched in 1978 at Studio 54 in New York City and became an immediate success. It...
, families wear giant cubes around their bodies, colored red, yellow, green, and blue, like the actual game. A sequence appears on screen and families arrange themselves to match the sequence to score a point. First to five wins.