Friend or Foe?

infobox television
show_name = PAGENAME


caption =
format = Game show
runtime = 30 minutes per episode
creator =
starring = Kennedy (host)
country = USA
network = Game Show Network
first_aired = June 3, 2002
last_aired = 2003 (can currently be seen as reruns)
num_episodes = 105

"Friend or Foe?" is an American game show based on knowledge and trust, which aired on Game Show Network. The catch was whether members of a two-person team would think that their partner would be able to fairly split their cash winnings.

The show premiered June 3, 2002, and lasted for two seasons totaling 105 episodes. It was hosted by Kennedy. The exception was for one episode in 2003, in which Mark L. Walberg hosted. It is presumed that no more episodes will be produced.

Rules

Six contestants, paired off into three teams of two after hearing some scandalous facts about each other, compete.(In season 1, a selected contestant go to choose his/her teammate by way of voting.)

Three rounds are played, with each team spotted $200 at the start of the game. (Trust funds start at $0 rather than $200 in the second season. The eliminated team, if they had answered zero questions correctly and thus had no money, were given a $200 consolation prize to divide between themselves.) Kennedy asked a series of four multiple-choice questions; each team had to work together to arrive at an answer. Correct answers were worth $500. In season one, Kennedy read the question then the choices. In season two, She read the choices then the question.

At the end of each round, the lowest-scoring team is eliminated, but not before they head to the Trust Box, where they face a form of the prisoner's dilemma (a well-known problem in game theory). If teams are tied for score, the team who took the most time to answer the questions is eliminated. Each side of the Trust Box conceals a button to vote "Friend" or "Foe." Kennedy interviewed each contestant as to why his/her partner should vote "Friend," and thus divide the winnings evenly. Afterward, the contestants had 10 seconds to decide whether to press the button and vote "Foe" on their side of the box or not to touch the button and vote "Friend." After the 10 seconds elapse, the outcome was revealed with much dramatic energy.

The decisions the contestants make in the 'Trust Box' determine the team's winnings and how they were divided. Four outcomes are possible:

Round 2 is played the same way, except that the questions were worth $1,000. At the end of round two, the team with the lowest score is eliminated but before taken to the Trust Box, where they must also choose friend or foe. The remaining team advances to the bonus round.

In the bonus round, the partners team to answer 10 questions (at $500 apiece) within 60 seconds. Every correct answer is worth $500 apiece. Every incorrect answer will give you a strike. Three strikes and the game is over, but if all 10 questions are correct, the entire pot is doubled, meaning a possible total of $22,400 in season one and $22,000 in season two. The partners then pay one last visit to the Trust Box to determine how their winnings would be divided.

Reruns

In Spring 2008, Friend or Foe returned to GSN's schedule after it not being on the schedule for more than three years. Reruns were canceled July 21, 2008 due to the new program line up which consists of the new game shows "Pyramid" hosted by Donny Osmond, "Catch 21" hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro, and the return of the game show "Chain Reaction" hosted by Dylan Lane.

Famous Contestants

"Deal or No Deal" model Alike Boggan appeared as a contestant on an early first season episode of "Friend or Foe?"

"Flavor of Love" contestant Brooke Thompson (Pumkin) appeared as a contestant on the second season of "Friend or Foe?" winning $2,000.00 when her partner voted Friend, while she voted Foe.

External links

* [http://bpp.wharton.upenn.edu/waldfogj/pdfs/fof.pdf Social Learning and Coordination in High-Stakes Games Evidence from Friend or Foe, (a game theoretic analysis of "friend or foe")]
* [http://www.buzzerblog.com]