Family Game Night (game show) facts for kids

Family Game Night was a super fun American TV show. It was based on popular Hasbro board games and EA video games. The show was hosted by the awesome Todd Newton.

It first aired on October 10, 2010, on The Hub channel. This channel later became Discovery Family. The show ran for five seasons, with 108 episodes in total. It ended on November 9, 2014.

Todd Newton, the host, even won an Daytime Emmy Award in 2012 for being an amazing game show host! He was nominated four times for this award.

How the Game Was Played

For the first two seasons, two families of four competed. One family wore red, and the other wore yellow. Each family had a mom, a dad, and two kids, usually between 8 and 18 years old.

Families earned "Monopoly Crazy Cash Cards" by winning different games. There were usually five games in each episode. When a family won a game, the youngest child picked a special card from a rack. These cards had different amounts of money hidden on them, from $200 to $25,000!

Besides the cash card, the winning family also got a cool bonus prize. They kept this prize no matter what happened later in the show. At the end, both families put their cards into the "Crazy Cash Machine." This machine revealed the money amount and spit out oversized Monopoly money bills! Both families kept all the cash and prizes they won. The family with the most money also won a family vacation! If there was a tie, both families won the vacation.

In season 3, the show changed a bit. Families of different sizes (two to four people) were chosen from the audience to play. They won cash or prizes directly. Instead of Monopoly Cash Cards, they earned "combination codes" from a Mr. Monopoly statue. After four games, families used these codes to try and open the "Community Chest." If they picked the right combination, they won money and got a chance to play for even more money and a brand-new car!

The final game was still the "Crazy Cash Machine." A child picked from 16 Monopoly Cash Cards. Some cards had money, but others said "Go to Jail." If they picked "Go to Jail," the game ended, but they kept the money they had already won. If they made it to the top row and picked the "WIN" card, they won a new car, plus all their money!

Awesome Games You Could Play

Family Game Night had many different mini-games, just like The Price Is Right. Many games involved family members taking turns, starting with the youngest child, then the older child, then the moms, and finally, the dads.

Season 1 Games

Guess Who?

This was the first game! The host gave clues about a famous person or character. Families buzzed in to guess. The family that guessed correctly got to choose if they wanted to play first or second in the next game.

Scrabble Flash

Families used five giant electronic Scrabble Flash letter tiles to make words. Each player took a turn. You got points for making words with 3, 4, or 5 letters. The first family to reach 25 points won!

Cranium

Cranium was actually four mini-games in one!

• Data Head: Players answered questions about images.
• Creative Cat: Kids made things with clay, and parents guessed what they were. Then parents drew things while blindfolded for kids to guess!
• Star Performer: Family members acted out things for others to guess.
• Word Worm: Kids guessed words shown backwards or upside down. Parents spelled words backwards!

Bop It! Boptagon

This was a memory game where players had to respond fast to commands like "Twist It!" or "Pull It!" Players stood in a circle called the "Boptagon." If you missed a command, you were out! The last family with players left won.

Guesstures Free Fall

This was a cool charades game! One family member guessed while three others were suspended in the air by wires, acting out words. If the guesser passed or the actor made a sound, the actor dropped down! The family with the most points won.

Operation Relay

Families took turns using tongs to remove pieces from a giant "Cavity Sam" (from the Operation game). If they touched the edges, they got buzzed and had to go to the back of the line. If they got a piece, they had to limbo under bones, walk on balance beams, jump hurdles, and go through a giant tissue box! The family with the most points won.

Bounce 'n Boogie Boggle

On a huge Boggle board, family members jumped from square to square to spell words. Words had to be at least 3 letters long. You got 1 point for each letter. The family with the most points in 2 minutes won. Sometimes, there was a secret word that won an extra prize!

Connect 4 Basketball

This was a giant version of Connect Four. Instead of checkers, families threw red and yellow balls into baskets on a huge board. The goal was to get four balls in a row in any direction.

Twister Lights Out

In this Twister game, players followed commands like "left foot, blue." The colored dots on the floor disappeared one by one! If your hand or foot was on a disappearing dot, you had to move it fast. If you messed up, it was "lights out" for you! The family with players still standing won.

Sorry! Sliders

This was a big version of Sorry! Sliders. Each family had two giant pawns. Players pushed their pawns into rings with point values. You could even knock your opponent's pawns! The family with the most points won.

Yahtzee Bowling

In this game, the dice were giant bowling pins with numbers 1 to 6. Each family got three chances to roll a bowling ball and knock down pins to make the best Yahtzee combination (like three of a kind or a straight). The family with the best combination won.

Season 2 New Games

Many games from Season 1 returned, but some new ones were added!

Cranium Brain Break

Each episode started with a quick Cranium Brain Break. Teams did fun stunts, like throwing rings onto a Sorry! Slider or getting balls into a basket on the host's head!

Simon Flash

Families wore giant colored cubes (red, yellow, green, blue) around their bodies. A sequence of colors appeared on a screen, and families had to arrange themselves to match it. The first to five points won!

Operation Sam Dunk

This game replaced Operation Relay. Players rolled skee-balls into different cavities on a giant Sam's body to score points. There was even a bell that doubled your score if you hit it!

Ratuki Go-Round

This was a relay race to get rid of cards with numbers 1 to 5. Players could only place a card that was one number higher or lower than the last card. The first family to place all their cards won!

Trouble Pop Quiz

Kids answered number questions using a giant Pop-o-Matic. A right answer moved mom or dad forward on a path. The first team to get both parents past the finish line won.

Green Scream

Kids rolled around on a green screen floor, which revealed pictures. Parents had 90 seconds to guess what the pictures were. The family with the highest score won.

Spelling Bee

Mom wore a "stinger" (a marker) on her back and spelled words by drawing them in the air. Other family members had to guess the word. Each correct answer was worth 100 points!

Season 3 New Games

Some games changed to fit the new format, and new ones were added.

Battleship

Players stood at podiums and called out coordinates on a 5x5 floor grid to find hidden ships. The first family to sink three ships won!

Sorry!

Instead of Sorry! Sliders, a parent dressed up as a Sorry! piece. Their child chose cards to move them along a path with money amounts. If they drew a "Sorry" card, they lost their money and went back to start!

Operation

Families could win money by removing pieces from a parent's body. Then, they rolled balls into Cavity Sam to earn more cash, similar to Operation Sam Dunk.

Season 4 New Games

Monopoly Remix

This game was a new take on Monopoly. Families had to follow Boardwalk and Park Place as they were quickly shuffled around a virtual board. If they placed their hotels correctly, they kept their money. If they landed on penalty spaces, they lost money!

Jenga

Two families played with a giant Jenga tower. One person picked a disc to see how many blocks their teammates had to pull and stack on top. The family that avoided knocking over the tower won!

Yahtzee

This was a new version of Yahtzee. One family tried to get a "Yahtzee" (five of a kind) by stopping spinning animated dice. They could earn "WILD" spaces to help them!

Barrel of Monkeys

A family pulled virtual monkey chains of different lengths from ten big barrels. They had to hang them in order on five colored trees. It was tricky because they had to plan carefully!

Season 5 Changes

In the fifth season, celebrities joined the show! They played with families to win money for their favorite charities. A win meant $10,000 for charity, and even a loss meant $5,000!