Review Date: August 2, 2010
Developer: Backstage Technologies
Publisher: iWin
Platform: Facebook
Genre: Trivia
Family Feud, the long running TV game show, is best known as a group experience. Two families compete against one another, taking turns asking questions. But the Facebook version of the trivia show is a mostly solitary experience. It gets the basic experience right, but without much in the way of a social or multiplayer component, it misses a lot of what has made the Feud such a long running institution.
Survey Says
The core concept of Family Feud on Facebook is pretty much identical to its TV counterpart. You're given a question and a board that features several possible answers. You're goal is to guess all of the most popular answers before time runs out or you get three incorrect answers. Each game consists of at least four rounds, and if you manage to score above the average score you'll get to move on to the fifth and final speed round.
This round is rapid fire and will ask you five different questions in a short period of time. You only get one guess for these, so the goal is to guess the most popular answer each time. Depending how you do you're awarded a score at the end of the game. Like most Facebook games, Family Feud limits the amount you can play each day. A new "episode" becomes available every 12 hours, so you're only able to play twice a day. That is, unless you want to pay for them. The game allows you to purchase additional episodes either by paying actual money or completing various surveys and offers.
Forget The Family
The Facebook version is bare bones in terms of presentation, but still manages to get the basic look and sound of the game show down. The menus are all instantly recognizable, as are sound effects like the iconic error buzz or the host saying "survey says!" It won't blow you away but it's most definitely Family Feud.
Where the game really misses an opportunity is when it comes to its social features. Part of the appeal of the TV show is that it brings together a family as a team, so you'd think that a social network filled with all of your friends and family would serve as the perfect platform for some fun multiplayer modes. But instead, the social component of Family Feud amounts to nothing more than a leaderboard. You can see how your scores compare to your friends and families, but you don't actually get to directly compete with them in any way, which is very disappointing.
The Bottom Line
If you're expecting a great social Family Feud experience, it's best to lower your expectations before playing the game on Facebook. It's a solid game that manages to capture some of the spirit of the game show, but unfortunately is missing a key component. Essentially it turns the family themed game show into a basic single-player trivia game. Survey says: it's passable but a little too simple.