Family Challenge is an American game show

Game show

A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...

 that aired on The Family Channel

ABC Family

ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...

 from October 2, 1995 to September 7, 1997, lasting for two seasons. Reruns aired on GSN

Game Show Network

The Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...

 from April 3 to September 25, 1999.

The first season was hosted by Ray Combs

Ray Combs

Raymond Neil "Ray" Combs, Jr. was an American comedian, actor, and host of the game show Family Feud on CBS and in syndication from 1988 to 1994.-Early life and career:...

, with Gene Wood

Gene Wood

Eugene Edward "Gene" Wood was an American television personality, known primarily for his work as an announcer on various game shows. From the 1960s to the 1990s, he announced many game shows, primarily Mark Goodson–Bill Todman productions such as Family Feud, Card Sharks, Password, and Beat the...

 serving as announcer. Both had formerly served in the same respective roles for Family Feud

Family Feud

Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people...

. It would be the last game show for Combs, as he committed suicide

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

 in 1996. The second season was hosted by Michael Burger

Michael Burger

Michael Burger is an American actor and game show host. He is best known for hosting the game show, Match Game, and co-hosting the 1994 ABC talk show Mike and Maty...

 and announced by Charlie Glaize.

Premise

Two teams of six family members competed. Each team consisted of two adults and four children (commonly the parents' own children, plus nieces and/or nephews). Five stunts were played, and each stunt was worth a varying amount of points. The stunts varied in each show; the following are a few stunts used on the show during the first season.

Stunts

• Tug of war
  Tug of war
  Tug of war, also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war or rope pulling, is a sport that directly pits two teams against each other in a test of strength. The term may also be used as a metaphor to describe a demonstration of brute strength by two opposing groups, such as a rivalry between two...
  
  : All six members of the first team competed against Lee Reherman
  Lee Reherman
  Lee Reherman is a former American football player but a current actor and television host.-Personal life:Reherman was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He played football at Cornell University and then played professionally with the Miami Dolphins...
  
  , better known as "Hawk" the American Gladiator
  American Gladiators
  American Gladiators is an American competition television program that aired in syndication from September 1989 to May 1996. The series matched a cast of amateur athletes against each other, as well as against the show's own gladiators, in contests of strength and agility.The concept was created by...
  
  , with a tank full of green "gunk" set up at the center point. The team won one point for each second they could stay up. They won 60 points if they stayed up for 30 seconds or pulled Hawk into the gunk. This process would be repeated for the second team.
• Backwards relay race: Three members of each team competed. The first team started at a table with various items on it. The first teammate ran backwards to a board and read a short message written backwards on it, which corresponded to an item on the table. He then ran backwards to the starting position and do something with the item. (For example, "This Icy Sensation Causes A Gyration" means they must pour a pitcher of water down their pants, and "Simple Simon Met A Pie Man" means they must smosh a pie into their face.) This continued until all three teammates had a chance to do two things. After the first family finished, the second family was brought out of isolation to try to beat their time. The family who could do it in the fastest time won 100 points.

• Kissing contest: One event involved three doors and one member of each team. The player on the first team would pick a door, behind which was a live animal
  Animal
  Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
  
  , which the contestant would have to kiss on the lips. If the player kept contact with it for 5 seconds, that family won 10 points. The player on the second team then picked a second door, and had to kiss whatever was behind it. After this, each player could elect to kiss whatever was behind the unpicked door, but had to do it blindfolded for 10 seconds. Doing this won 20 points.

• Pearl diving: Two members of each team had two minutes to wade in a giant tank of gunk looking for large balls that represented pearl
  Pearl
  A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
  
  s. Each white "pearl" collected won 10 points, and each black "pearl" won 50.

At the end of the final event, the team with the most points was the winner. That team won two prizes (such as a new living room

Living room

A living room, also known as sitting room, lounge room or lounge , is a room for entertaining adult guests, reading, or other activities...

 group and a ceiling fan

Ceiling fan

A ceiling fan is a fan, usually electrically powered, suspended from the ceiling of a room, that uses hub-mounted rotating paddles to circulate air....

), and a trophy

Trophy

A trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and serves as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics...

 called "The Family Challenge Cup".

Season two changes

Besides the new host and announcer, the show was re-titled The New Family Challenge and given a new set and slightly remixed music. It was taped at Universal Studios Hollywood

Universal Studios Hollywood

Universal Studios Hollywood is a movie studio and theme park in the unincorporated Universal City community of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood movie studios still in use...

. The game was played the same as before, except that only four stunts were played. Burger also played games with the audience, filling the time previously used for the fifth stunt.

Towards the end of the run, all Friday shows were comprised solely of audience participation games.

The second season premiere was dedicated to the memory of Ray Combs, as acknowledged during the credits.