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Jeff Probst when starting a challenge.

Challenges are competitions in Survivor where the contestants convene and battle for a certain prize, whether it is for creature comforts or safety from elimination.

About[]

Each episode of Survivor generally contains two challenges. An Immunity Challenge, whether individual or tribal, and commonly a Reward Challenge. Challenges can be physical or mental in nature, and provide prizes, in the form of a reward or immunity from the next vote, to the victorious contestants.

Behind The Scenes[]

After the tribes have been notified about the upcoming challenge via Tree Mail, they would be transported in vans with blacked-out windows. The reason behind the covered windows is to prevent the survivors from seeing base camp. The castaways are not allowed to talk to each other until they reach the challenge grounds so no critical moment will be missed when the cameras are down. Upon reaching challenge grounds, the castaways would be sequestered until they are called by the host. The tribes convene at the challenge area, starting with the tribe that won the previous Immunity Challenge, then followed by the tribe that lost a member at the previous Tribal Council. This is to extract suspense to the tribe that won the last Immunity Challenge.

After giving the instructions of the challenge, the host would give them a further rundown of the challenge (which usually happens off screen) before they strategize. When the tribes strategize, they would assign certain tasks to members, while also deciding which tribe members will be sitting out, if the tribe has more members than the rival tribe. In uncommon situations, both tribes sit out tribe members.

In his Tout page, Jeff Probst revealed if the challenge is individual-based, the castaways would draw rocks to determine their spots in the challenge.

Contestants are obliged to participate in challenges. If a tribe or single player does not want to participate in a challenge, they are breaching their contract (see Survivor Rulebook). As a solution, they purposefully lose to the rival tribe. There have been few tribes who threw challenges because they want to eliminate an unliked contestant, while players who refuse to do a challenge are still to participate.

Types of Challenges[]

Reward Challenge[]

See Reward Challenge.

Immunity Challenge[]

See Immunity Challenge.

Combined Reward/Immunity Challenge[]

Several seasons would have an inaugural challenge that is for both reward and immunity.

In the advent of the Redemption Island twist, most challenges would be both for a reward and tribal/individual immunity (though, post-merge, the reward part appears less often).

Redemption Island duel[]

See Redemption Island.

Do-It-Yourself Challenges[]

See Do-It-Yourself Challenge

Trivia[]

  • Pagong is the first Survivor tribe to win a challenge.
    • Tagi is the first tribe to lose a challenge.
  • For the viewers to not see the microphones during a challenge where audio would be a problem (such as a challenge that would require more locomotive movement such as obstacle course), the production crew would plant microphones around the challenge area and conceal them behind challenge props and surrounding rocks, grasses or termite mounds.[1] Furthermore, if a challenge needs minimal running or walking, the contestants wear lapel microphones.
  • Journalists who visit the production crew are invited to join the Dream Team to rehearse challenges. They usually compete against the Dream Team.
  • In most post-merge team challenges, the colors used in the challenge props' colors are still based from the season's starting tribes.
  • Phillip Sheppard is the first person to not participate in an Individual Immunity Challenge without being tempted out.
    • He is also the first person to be voted out, when they did not participate in an Immunity Challenge, by their own decision without being tempted out of it by food.
  • Six castaways have made it to the merge with only one challenge win: Lillian Morris (Pearl Islands), Mookie Lee (Fiji), Denise Stapley (Philippines), Michael Snow (Caramoan), Katie Collins (Blood vs. Water), and Vytas Baskauskas (Blood vs. Water).
    • However, Mookie and Michael both "won" tribal immunity by virtue of the other tribe electing to give it up.

References[]

  1. Probst, Jeffrey Lee (February 1, 2011). "Survivor: Gabon - Things You Don't See". Jeff Probst. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxbOIGB0esw&feature=related. Retrieved February 9, 2012. 

Survivor Gameplay
Challenges Challenge Advantage · Do-It-Yourself Challenge · Duel · Family Visit · Immunity Challenge (Final Immunity Challenge) · Immunity Idol · Immunity Necklace · Medallion of Power · Reward Challenge · Survivor Auction
Elimination Edge of Extinction · Ejection · Evacuation · Final Tribal Council · Jury · Null Vote · Quit · Redemption Island · Snuffer · Sole Survivor (Perfect Game) · Tiebreaker · Torch · Tribal Council · Urn
Strategy Alliance · Goat Strategy · Pagonging · Split Vote
Social Dynamics Final Two · Final Three · Merge · Tribe
Twists Casting Battle of the Sexes · Blood vs. Water · Brawn vs. Brains vs. Beauty · Old vs. Young · Returning Players · Schoolyard Pick · Tribes Divided by Ethnicity
Tribal Council Advantage Amulet · Do or Die · Double Elimination · Double Tribal Council · Extra Vote · Hidden Immunity Idol (History) · Idol Nullifier · Joint Tribal Council · Juror Removal · Legacy Advantage · Knowledge is Power · Safety Without Power · Shot in the Dark · Vote Blocker · Vote Steal
Game Mechanics Advantage Menu · Buried Treasure · Day Zero · Exile Island · Fake Merge · Fire Token · First Impressions · Ghost Island · Haves vs. Have Nots · Hourglass · Island of the Idols · Kidnapping · Looting · Mutiny · One World · Reward Steal · Summit · The Outcasts · Tribe Leader · Tribe Switch
Post-Game Fan Favorite Award · Lawsuits and Legal Action · Ponderosa · Reunion Show
Miscellaneous Buff · Camp · Confessional · Luxury Item · Rites of Passage · Survivor Rulebook · Ulonging
Recurring Challenges
A Bit Dinghy · A Bit Tipsy · A Crate Idea · A Leg Up · A Numbers Game · Air Raid · Angry Chair · Around the Bend · Back in Slack · Balancing Point · Ballin' A Jack · Barrel Bridge · Barrel of Monkeys · Basket Brawl · Better Homes and Island Living · Beyond the Wheel · Blind Leading the Blind · Blue Lagoon Bustle · Blue Plate Special · Boats, Brains & Brawn · Bone to Pick · Boulder Smash · Bow Diddley · Box Your Mind · Braille Maze · Broken China · Buggin' Out · Build It Up, Break It Down · Butch Cassidy · By Any Means Necessary · By the Numbers · Cage Against the Machine · Can't Buoy Me Love · Cannonball Run · Caught in the Web · Cell Block Sea · Challenge Pitch · Chief's Choice · Chimney Sweep · Chinese Zodiac Symbols · Cling Ons · Choose Your Weapon · Coconut Juice · Crate Escape · Crocodile Rock · Crosswalk · Cube Crisis · Dear Liza · Dive Masters · Dizzy Gillespie · Dizzy Miss Lizzy · Domino Effect · Draggin' the Dragon · Dragging the River · Drop A Log · Drum Roll · Dulcimer Stomp · End of the Line · EOC · Eve 6 · Fallen Comrades · Fast Fire · Faulty Towers · Fauxconut Bowling · Fire and Water · Fire Fighter · Fire Starter · Flips, Flops, & Flags · Float Your Boat · Floating Puzzle · Game of Bridge · Gatecrasher · Get a Grip · Get Barreled · Get Hooked · Get Your Goat · Gimme Three Steps · Great Escape Run · Hands on a Hard Idol · Hear About It Ladder · Hot Pursuit · House of Cards · House of the Holey · Idol Hands · Jail Break · Jump Shot · Jungle Relay · Kamikaze · Keel Hauling · Keep It Up · Keep on Your Toes · Kenny Log-Ins · Kicking and Screaming · Kitty Litter · Know Your Loved One · Ladder Tree Golf · Last Gasp · Letter Hunt · Lock, Load and Light · Lock Step · Log Jam · Losing Face · Mask Match · Matchmaker · Matt Finish · Mayan Pizza · Memory · Mud Pack · Mud Slide · Muddy Waters · New School · New Tribe Member · Nut Bucket · O-Black Water · Odd Shaped Bottoms · Operation Balance Build · Out on a Limb · Over-Extended · Paddle Battle · Paddle Out · Perch · Pilfering Pirates · Piranha Feast · Pole Dancing · Pot Head · Push Me, Pull You · Puzzle Dig · Q and A · Quest for Fire · Race to Shore · Ram-Ball On · Rescue Mission · Rice Race · Rise and Shrine · Rock Bottom · Rock n' Roll · Rock the Boat · Rod Screw-It · Roll With It · Roller Ball · Rung O Star · Running Down a Dream · Sacrificial Lamb · Schmergen Brawl · Sea Crates · Sea Legs · Sea Salvage · Shipwrecked · Shoot 'n' Shuffle · Shooting Gallery · Shoulder the Load · Simmotion · Slip, Slide & Score · Slither Me Timbers · Smash and Grab · Snag, Drag and Bag · Snake in the Grass · Snake Island Relay · SOS Signal · Spear-it Hunt · Spit It Out · Splash Back · Sprung a Leak · Squared Off · Squatty Probst · Stacked Up · Stairway to Heaven · Stairway to the Stars · Star Man · Station By Station · Step on Up · Stomp-ede · Strung Out · Sumo at Sea · Survivor Auction · Survivor History · Survivor Pentathlon · Survivor Quiz Show · Swahili Scramble · Swing Break · Tangled Up · Temple Transfer · The Ball Drop · The Cruel Sea · The Game is Afoot · The Gauntlet · The Home Stretch · The Maze · The Obstacle Course · This Much · Thrash, Splash & Bash · TLP O-Course · Tomb Raider · Total Recall · Troubled Water · Uncomfortably Numb · United We Stand · Vampire Bats · Vertically Challenged · Vertigo · Wall to Wall · Well Stacked · What-er Drag · When It Rains, It Pours · Wicker Flicker · Will It Go Round · Witch Hunt · Wrist Assured · Yank Your Hank · You Shook Me
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