Teams of three (or in one episode, two) are tasked with conquering an obstacle course based on one of a few different rooms from a house, with players eliminated if they fall from an obstacle at any time. The winners split $10,000 and are awarded a lava lamp as a trophy.
Season 1 featured three teams (or, again, in one episode, two) contest the same course in each episode, with the winning team being the one that got the most players to the exit (and in the case of a tie, the team that got the most players there the quickest). There is an indirect time limit, as from the moment the teams enter the course, the short staircase in front of the exit door (which is not always crucial to successfully exiting but is always helpful) begins to slowly sink into the lava.
Season 2 slightly changed the format; again, there are three teams that need to navigate a room, but the two teams to navigate this room best then have to compete against each other on another obstacle course where they have to stop the volcano causing the lava (ostensibly the rooftop of the house that features in the game's various rooms). The first team to succeed at this task wins, with the runner-up team obliged to deliberately jump into the lava. The first and second teams to tackle the initial course then watch the team or teams to follow them with the host from an elevated spot, giving commentary on how they fared on various obstacles. The host also humorously provides one towel, no matter if two or even all three team members fell in.
Floor is Lava contains examples of:
- Action Dad: Season 2, episode 1, the winning team consisted of 2 fathers and an uncle, all whom went through the obstacle courses while carrying dolls representing a baby. Episode 3 had another team of 3 dads.
- Action Mom: Season 2 episode 3 had a team of 3 moms, all of them being well trained athletes. The very first team in the show's history featured a mom and her twin kids (one boy, one girl), who fared quite well in the game, escaping with her son, which was good enough to win the episode.
- Always Identical Twins: Triplets, actually, in the first episode. Despite all being pretty well-built athletes, two out of three end up falling in the lava, immediately eliminating them from the game since the previous team got two players out of the room. They came back for an encore on the first episode of season 2, and didn't fare any better with all three of them falling into the lava.
- Badass Preacher: One team in season 1 consisted of 3 pastors.
- Death Glare: One episode features a team of flight attendants, two women and one man. The man is quite evidently gay, and when one of his teammates calls at him to "Reach around! Reach around! Reach around!" in order to negotiate an obstacle, he gives her an epic one of these.
- Dress-Coded for Your Convenience: Most teams will wear matching outfits/colours/accessories as part of their attire.
- Gamer Chick: One episode features a team of three of these.
- The Ground Is Lava: Contestants compete to traverse an obstacle course in a themed location without falling into the "lava" (actually an unknown liquid substance). Locations include a bedroom, a kitchen, and a planetarium in season 1, and a garage, a game room, an attic and a children's bedroom in season 2.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In the first episode of the series, the first team's twin daughter pushed herself off and into the lava to knock down an obstacle that would allow her twin brother to safely head towards the exit. What made it even more heroic was said team ended up winning the episode.
- Incredibly Lame Pun: The running commentary from the show's host is full of these. Occasionally players are heard offering them too.
- Large Ham: Presumably under directions from the show's producers, players who witness a teammate falling into the lava invariably chew the scenery in how they react and the fallen player is never shown resurfacing, as if they've been Killed Off for Real. Given the farcical nature of the entire show, it basically works.
- Lava Adds Awesome: The show certainly wouldn't be quite the visual spectacle it is without the lava.
- Lava Is Boiling Kool-Aid: The show's "lava" is basically colourful slime.
Word of God jokes that the closest equivalent to it is the orange-chicken sauce from Panda Express. - MacGuffin: Season 2 removed the time limit involving the sinking staircase, but added the obstacle that each team member must first secure an exit pass before being allowed to leave the room. They do also serve the purpose of breaking ties if multiple teams fail to get anyone out of the room - whoever grabbed the most exit passes and/or the fastest breaks the tie. In one episode, a team had all three members fall in after grabbing only one exit pass, but this was still good enough to advance to the volcano since another team had all three fall but got their one exit pass slower. That first team then won the episode.
- Plug the Volcano: Season 2 & 3 have the two teams that perform best on the first room compete against each other on a second obstacle course, where they have to climb the volcano causing the lava stream and plug the crater with stones. The first team to complete this task wins the $10,000 and the lava lamp.
- Race Against the Clock: In season 1, there's a short staircase in front of the exit door that slowly sinks into the lava. While the staircase is not always essential to leave the room, it is notably harder to do so when it's gone. Played straight if two or all three teams manage to get an equal number of players out of the room or exit passes; the team which did so in the quickest time wins.
- Serial Escalation: In the last half of season 1 where players had to traverse the same rooms from the first half, their ordeal was made trickier due to important pieces of furniture being removed, handles/levers which were previously useful being switched out with a booby trap (triggering massive geysers that shower obstacles with slippery lava), etc.
- Sole Survivor: This trope comes into play when a team only manages to get one of their players out of the room. Taken Up To Eleven in the third episode of the first season, where the only player of the winning team to make it out was also the only player to exit the room in that episode; The other two teams had all of their players fall into the lava.
- Team Spirit: Several rooms and obstacles require at least two players to work together to overcome them safely. Special mention goes to one of the Study-themed episodes of the first season, where the only team that attempted to go lone-wolf on the obstacles was also the only team that lost all their players to the lava. In contrast, the other two teams managed to get all three of their players out by working together.
-
That One Level: More like That One Pyramid, in the museum-themed Basement episodes of the first season. With its slanted surfaces, players can only rely on a steady grip on the top to keep them above lava-level. It's notably the only obstacle in the room and arguably the entire series that has all the players who get onto it fail to make a safe dismount to another obstacle. - Title Drop: Every time a team is briefed, the host warns them against falling to the ground. Why? Because the floor is... lava!
