Family Feud Slot: Will You Win Or Get The Big X?

Family Feud is one of the longest running TV game shows in the United States. It was first broadcast way back in July 1976. There have been six hosts in total, with Steve Harvey the emcee since 2010. The game sees two families of five battle it out by guessing the answers to questions posed to 100 people surveyed, The family that guesses the most popular answers collect points. The winning family can then try and win the jackpot prize.

The show is also famous for some of the hilarious answers given by contestants to questions posed, such as “Give me a boy’s name that starts with the letter ‘H,’” to which the contestant replied “José.” Family Feud is very much an institution now and as such, the slot that represents the show on TV needs to match up to it. So how does this brand new slot shape up? Is it a top answer, or a big red “X”? Let’s take a look and find out.

Overview: Family Feud

The backdrop to the slot is the Family Feud studio. This will certainly be familiar to anybody that has seen the TV show. There are the usual 5×3 reels on the slot with a total of 15 non-selectable paylines in play on each spin. You can wager from as little as $0.01 per coin per line up to $2.00 per line. This gives you a minimum bet of $0.15 and a maximum bet of $30. Ideal for the medium to lower stakes slot gamer.

What is particularly appealing about the Family Feud slot is that it has a 10,000 coin jackpot. If you play at full price, you could win up to $20,000. That’s a sizeable amount to win. The game is presented nicely and has some lovely graphics and music which will be familiar to anybody that has seen the TV series. There is a good mix of base game wins from a few coins up to the 10,000-coin jackpot.

Who will the Family Feud slot appeal to?

Family Feud has a legion of fans, not just in the United States but also across the globe. The TV show is popular in many other countries too. In the UK, for example, it is called Family Fortunes. Certainly anybody that has seen a version of the show would be tempted to give the slot a try. Its high production values certainly make it eye-catching when you see the screen load up. However, it’s a little disappointing that host Steve Harvey doesn’t appear on the slot.

In terms of the slot playing fraternity, this is a TV show-themed slot which do attract plenty of players. The fact it has a decent-sized jackpot, plus a decent free spins bonus feature, will mean that plenty of slot players will be keen to give the game a try. The lower stakes means it’s a slot aimed at the lower to medium stakes player, rather than the high roller.

Gameplay: Family Feud

One of the nice things about the Family Feud slot is that it is easy to select how much you want to play for. All the available options are laid out in a series of buttons. You can just keep clicking this button to set the reels spinning, or click it once and click the Repeat Bet button. Click on the More Bets button to reveal higher/lower priced bets and set your unit stake.

The reels are yellow and populated with a mix of symbols. The playing card symbols from 10 through to Jack are the lowest value symbols. They offer wins of up to 200 coins if you can land five of the Aces on a payline. Higher value symbols include the blue and pink family silhouettes, the answer board, a buzzer and the Family Feud logo, five of which on a single payline triggers the 10,000-coin jackpot in either the base game or the free spins round.

Additional features

To help you land some wins there are additional symbols on the reels. The Family Feud logo symbol mentioned above is the in-game Wild. It can substitute for any other high or low value symbol to award additional wins.

In addition, there is the Scatter symbol on the reels which is the big red X which famously appears on screen when an incorrect answer is given. Land two or more scatters and you win a cash prize of 3x your total coins for 2 scatters, 12x for three scatters, 25x for four and lastly 50x for five scatters. However the scatter does not trigger any of the bonuses in the game.

To trigger the free spins bonus you need to land three of the Family Feud Bonus symbols on the first three reels on a payline. Once you have achieved this you are taken to a screen with three rows of cards to select from. Keep selecting cards which will reveal a number of free spins, an increase in the size of your multiplier, or the Start symbol which starts the free spins bonus and ends this part of the game.

When Free Spins start your payouts are calculated slightly differently. For every win you get Triple the multiplier you have earned, which is then multiplied by the coin size and then this is further multiplier by the number of paylines that started the bonus.

Family Feud is a fast paced, fun slot that is a gentle and unassuming tribute to the show. The slot is definitely a medium variance game with a nice mix of wins available in both the base game and also during the free spins round, though you are more likely to win bigger sums during free spins.

Special Features: Family Feud

Family Feud bonus

The Family Feud Bonus symbol is housed on the first three reels. You need to land three on a payline to trigger the bonus game. When you do, you pick from cards to generate your multiplier and the number of free spins, which you then subsequently play through. Big wins can be had in this bonus, although equally sometimes the payouts can be small.

Scatter

The Red X scatter symbol offers players a chance of a payout if you can land two or more the symbols anywhere across the reels. Payouts range from 3x your wager for 2 scatters up to 50x your bet for landing five scatters across the reels.

Wild

The Family Feud logo is the in game wild and substitutes for all high and low value symbols to create winning paylines. Land five of the Wilds on a single payline and you trigger the 10,000 coin jackpot. This can be won in the Free Spins round as well as the base game.

What works?

Presentation

The bright presentation of the slot and the music and vivid colors of the reels and symbols all do create a very joyful playing experience and capture the fun nature of the TV show very well. The game itself works well and has been nicely put together to give players a simple, yet rewarding experience as they play. The pace of the game allied to the presentation is good too.

Mixed value wins

The fact that you can trigger the biggest win on the slot in the base game as well as the bonus round is always a positive move. It means every spin could be a big winner. Besides that, you can also win some very sizable amounts by landing five of a kind on a payline of some higher value symbols too. These bigger wins do help bolster your bankroll at times.

Accessible bonus games

One of the most pleasing features of the Family Feud slot is that you can access the bonus game relatively frequently. You do tend to hit the bonus symbol once, if not twice on the reels very regularly and there isn’t usually a huge amount of time between you triggering bonus games one after the other.

What doesn’t?

Base game dull

For all the brightness of presentation and music to help bring the game to life, there’s no denying that the base game is rather dull. Considering the TV show is about its presenter, humor and families working together, there is a complete lack of this in the game. This combined with a lack of additional features in the base game, such as Wild wins being subjected to a multiplier for example, do make the slot a little boring.

No Steve Harvey or animation

Family Feud host Steve Harvey really does bring the show together well. It’s his interactions with the families and audience, especially when they give a crazy answer, that makes the show such a hit. Freemantle has made a big error not licensing Steve to appear in this slot. It would have lifted the game immensely.

Bonus Games are volatile

Although you can trigger the bonus games on the Family Feud slot relatively easily, this does not mean you are guaranteed huge payouts. The bonus can be very volatile and you can win very small amounts as well as some much larger wins.

The scores

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Graphics & soundtrack 3/5

The graphics and soundtrack are bright, breezy and fun, exactly in keeping with the show, but the game developers missed a trick by not including the host of the show and the more comedic elements in cut away shots. The presentation is good, but it could have been so much better with a little thought.

Originality & creativity 2/5

Although this is a brand new slot, it is very much based on existing slot games and bonuses and I was disappointed to see no novel new games based on the Family Feud TV show. Instead you just have a simple free spins bonus which could be played on any other slot.

Play value 3/5

The play value of the Family Feud slot is definitely down the middle as it is a medium variance game. In some sessions I’ve finished well ahead of my initial bankroll starting point, on others well below. That’s not a fault, that is exactly how a medium variance slot should play out.

Jackpot potential 3/5

The 10,000 coin jackpot is available in the base game and free spins and this is a positive thing which makes the big wins accessible on every spin. Smaller wins are also available and you can hit some decent mid-sized wins relatively frequently. But that big jackpot is appealing especially if you are playing at higher stake sizes.

Repeat play 3/5

The Family Feud slot is certainly playable and will keep players coming back for more, but I think they will be disappointed with how little the slot links in with key elements of the show and as a result, I think its long-term appeal will diminish.

Total score: 14/25

Family Feud does a lot of nice things as a slot but there are some glaring omissions from it which have severely impacted how appealing it is to players. That said, the slot still plays nicely and you can have plenty of fun on it, it just isn’t as much fun as it should be.