Upcoming Streams
| Date | Theme | Sign Up to Win Link |
| June 27, 2025 | Canadian Comedic Actors/Actresses | Sign Up |
| July 4, 2025 | Loyalists and Rebels (Patriots if you’re American) |
* note all upcoming dates & themes are subject to change
Family Tree Frenzy: What is It?
Family Tree Frenzy is a live, high-stakes genealogy game where contestant(s) races against the clock to trace a chosen individual’s ancestry back to their 3rd great-grandparents. Over a 75-minute challenge, each ancestor is “completed” by earning at least five base points from vital and historical records, while bonus points reward extra discoveries like siblings, multiple sources, and fully completed generations. Viewers drive the drama by dropping $2+ Super Chats to trigger Power Plays—adding or draining time, tweaking point targets, or issuing cousin-finding quests and trivia challenges. Hit the base or total-points threshold for a win, or watch a viewer walk away with merch or a Family Circle membership!
Two Ways to Play
1. Solo Challenge
- Format: One contestant, one 75-minute game.
- Goal: Spin the Name Wheel, then trace five generations (to 3rd great-grandparents), completing each ancestor with ≥ 5 base points.
- Viewer Interaction: Trigger Power Plays via Super Chat to help—or hinder—progress.
- Win/Lose: Reach ≥ 240 base points or ≥ 360 total points to win; otherwise a random viewer wins merch or membership.
2. Head-to-Head Co-Stream
- Format: Two (or more) genealogists co-stream together.
- Setup: Each provides a themed list of ten names for the other’s Name Wheel. After intros, they spin and then stream separately for 75 minutes (viewers see only that player’s screen with base points & time).
- Reveal: When time’s up, streams rejoin to compare completed trees, tally bonus points, and declare the highest total points champion.
- Viewer Prizes: Viewers guess each player’s base & bonus scores and the winner—closest total wins, tie-break by bonus guess, then random draw.
Entry Details:
The entry link for each episode is different and is revealed the Tuesday before the show via our How We Got Here Genealogy YouTube Community post and in the table above next to the upcoming episode.
See full rules below.
Family Tree Frenzy: Full Rules
1. Game Format
- Single 75-Minute Game
One continuous genealogy challenge per livestream. - Fixed Goal
Trace back to the subject’s 3rd great-grandparents (5 generations) of a Name-Wheel–selected individual. - Name Wheel
The Contestant spins once at the start to choose one of ten pre-loaded subjects. - Gen 1 (Parents)
Auto-completed—no records or points required.
2. Evidence Points & Advancement
2.1 Base Points (≥ 5 to “Complete” an Ancestor)
| Source Type | Base Pts |
|---|---|
| Name confirmed (“name in box”) | 1 |
| Proof of birth (certificate, baptism) | 2 |
| Proof of death (certificate, gravestone) | 2 |
| Proof of marriage (certificate) | 1 |
| Census/Voter/Directory¹ | 1 |
| Court/Land record mention | 2 |
| Newspaper/Book mention (non-vital)² | 3 |
| Announcement³ (birth/marriage/obituary) | can be used as a record subsitute |
¹ first entry only; extras → bonus
² published mention, excluding vital announcements
³ counts as base only if no official vital exists; otherwise → bonus they do not count as a Newspaper mention
Once a Contestant earns ≥ 5 base points for an ancestor, that ancestor is “completed” and they may advance to that ancestor’s parents.
2.2 Bonus Points (Tallied at End of Game)
| Bonus Source | Bonus Pts |
|---|---|
| Additional Census/Voter/Directory | + 0.5 each |
| Net Trivia Points | + or – |
| Sibling found | + 0.5 each |
3. Advancement Eligibility
Once any ancestor in that range earns ≥ 5 base pts, the Contestant may begin earning points for their parents.
4. Score Thresholds & Win Conditions
| Threshold | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base-Only Win | ≥ 240 base pts | |
| Total-Pts Win | ≥ 360 total pts | Base + bonus (double or nothing |
- Success: Hit either threshold within 75 min → bonus Q&A, no viewer prize.
- Failure: Fall short → one or two random viewer(s) win merch or a 3-month Family Circle membership. The winners are announced at the beginning of the next episode.
5. ✨ Super Chat Power Plays ✨
Each requires a $2+ Super Chat you can decide to reward or punish the conestant.
Power Plays can not be made in the Final 20 minutes any super chats will be considere a gift.
| Power Play | Effect | Chat Format |
|---|---|---|
| Time Warp | for first $2 of super chat 30 seconds added or subtracted for everyy additional $ it is 15 seconds The max net time warp effect can not exceed 15 minutes to be added or subtracted | Time Warp (+ or -) MM:SS |
| Points Tweak *can not be played on a cousin | For every $2 super chat Points Adjust one ancestor’s base-pt requirement by ± 1 this is specific to that ancestor the net effect can not be more than + or – 2 minutes on any one ancstor | Points Tweak + Ancestor Sequence # |
| Cousin Quest *only 1 cousin quest | Cousin Quest #[x]Locate one cousin of the specified ancestor: until that cousin is unlocked all ancestors of that cousin are considered locked and | Ancestor Quest+ Ancestor Sequence # |
| Trivia Challenge | You ask a trivia question about the main subject of the episode or a general genealogy question.The contestant has 2 minutes to answer it once they hit the trivia timer. If I get it right any time on the trivia timer is added back if they get it right in first minute they get 2 trivia points and if they get it right after 1 minute they get 1 trivia point – If the answer is wrong or not answered in 2 minutes they lose 2 points. | Trivia: [question] |
[Sequence#] refers to on-screen ancestor unique code see top tree.
MM:SS = minutes:seconds.
Entry Details
Each episode’s unique entry link is revealed the Tuesday before via the How We Got Here Genealogy YouTube Community post and listed in the upcoming-episode table above.
Past Episodes
| Date | Link to Episode | Theme & Details |
| June 13, 2025 |  | A Test Run of the game to finalize the format and rules (Test Rules ) |