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Jail Break (also known as The Great Escape, Pirate Prison Break, Prison Rescue, Breakout, and Back in the Saddle) is a challenge that originated in Survivor: Thailand as a tribal challenge. It has also been used as a Redemption Island duel and a re-entry challenge on seasons with Edge of Extinction.

Rules[]

When used as a tribal challenge, players are locked in a makeshift jail cell and shackled. To escape, players must use the resources provided to create a long pole to retrieve three keys. These keys are to be used to unlock their shackles and they must then dig out of the cell. The first tribe to get all of their members out of the cell would win.

In the individual Redemption Island version of the challenge, players are no longer shackled. Because of this, the keys are now used to unlock the cell door. In Edge of Extinction and Winners at War, the castaways first had to climb a net and retrieve bags of sticks before working on the cell door portion of the challenge. After getting through the cell door, they then had to navigate a ball to the top of a vertical snake maze.

History[]

United States[]

This challenge debuted in Survivor: Thailand. Shackled by locks, each tribe would be placed in a jail cell. Using the resources on the ground, they had to escape the cell by reaching for the keys that hung on posts outside of the cell. They would then unlock their shackles and dig out of the jail. The Chuay Gahn tribe beat Sook Jai for immunity.

In Survivor: The Amazon, in order to escape of the cage, the tribe members had to untie a series of ropes in order to release a machete. Then the tribes had to use their machete to cut through a rope, undo another series of knots in order to release a plank, which will in turn release a pole. They then used the pole to retrieve a set of keys on the outside of the cage. Once the keys were collected, they unlocked their chains and released their escape hatch. Tambaqui made a fatal error when they didn't fully cut through the rope attaching the plank of wood, and they never got past it allowing Jaburu to win their second Immunity Challenge, sending Tambaqui to Tribal Council.

In Survivor: Pearl Islands, the challenge was used as the Immunity Challenge of the Outcasts twist. If The Outcasts beat one tribe, they would vote one member back into the game and the losing tribe would vote somebody out, but if they beat both tribes, they would vote two members back into the game and both tribes would vote somebody out. The Outcasts infamously won this challenge, sending both Drake and Morgan to Tribal Council.

In Survivor: Redemption Island, the challenge was used as the first ever Redemption Island duel. The castaways had to build a long pole out of sticks and rope. They would then use the pole to retrieve three keys hanging outside their cells. Once all the keys were retrieved, they had to unlock three padlocks on their cell doors, open the door, and walk through. Matt Elrod defeated Francesca Hogi in this challenge, eliminating her for good.

In Survivor: South Pacific the concept of the challenge was the same as in the season before it. This time it was used as the final pre-merge Redemption Island duel. Ozzy Lusth defeated Redemption Island champion, Christine Shields Markoski, re-entering the game and eliminating Christine.

In Survivor: Blood vs. Water, the challenge was be used as the duel between Katie Collins, Laura Morett, and Katie's mother, Tina Wesson. Tina gave advice to Katie in hopes of having her and Katie advance together. Unfortunately for the mother and daughter, Laura M. was able to continue her Redemption Island dominance and come in first. Katie initially had the lead, but when she dropped the second key in the sand, she was unable to get it out. This enabled Tina to catch and beat her daughter. Before opening the door and walking through, Tina asked Katie if she was alright with her doing it. Katie said she was alright with her mother advancing, which meant Katie was eliminated for good. Victory was bittersweet for Tina as Katie was permanently out of the game while she stayed on Redemption Island.

In Survivor: Cambodia, the challenge was incorporated as the final part of the Quest for Fire challenge, where contestants would have to retrieve a key to open the cell door and light their tribe's flame. Bayon defeated Ta Keo to win immunity, sending Ta Keo to Tribal Council with no time to strategize.

In Survivor: Edge of Extinction, the castaways from Edge of Extinction were first to climb atop a net crawl to retrieve a bag before going to their respective gates, where they would use sticking and string to build a pole to retrieve keys to unlock their cell door. After getting through the door, castaways would have to navigate a ball to the top a vertical snake maze, while standing on balance beam, from A Bridge You Must Cross. Rick Devens would ultimately win the challenge, and a spot back into the game.

Reappearing in Winners at War, the challenge was identical to the Edge of Extinction counterpart, once again being merged with A Bridge You Must Cross. Everyone except Amber Mariano, Parvati Shallow, and Yul Kwon purchased an advantage that allowed them to skip digging up their strings. Rob Mariano was the first to make it through the gate, although Tyson Apostol overtook him on the maze section, with Tyson just barely edging out the competition to sink his ball first, earning himself a spot back in the game.

Australia[]

In the Network Ten incarnation of Australian Survivor, the Jail Break challenge is usually combined with Fast Fire to form a single challenge named Breakout. This variant debuted in Australian Survivor (2016) as the season's sixth tribal Immunity Challenge. Saanapu and Aganoa won the challenge, sending Vavau to their second Tribal Council.

In Champions v Contenders (2018), the challenge appeared as the second part of the final five Reward Challenge, where the members of Koro Savu competed for a brand new 2018 Holden Commodore Tourer. After solving a word puzzle, the final five had to fashion a pole to retrieve a keyring from the other side of the gate. Brian Lake won the challenge.

The challenge appeared in All Stars as the first of two re-entry duels for the inhabitants of Exile Beach. Each of the six players raced to retrieve a piece of flint outside their cell, after which they would race to start building a fire. Cheered on from the sidelines by her Mokuta Alliance, Moana Hope was the first to retrieve her flint and burn through her rope, winning the challenge before anyone else had retrieved their flint. The challenge then came down to Brooke Jowett and Zach Kozyrski, who were evenly matched heading into the fire-making challenge. Ultimately, it was Brooke that won out, earning her way back into the game.

The challenge appeared in Heroes v Villains. After losing the Immunity Challenge on Day 15, the Villains were sent to Tribal Council, where it was revealed that individual immunity was up for grabs. Simon Mee was the only person to complete the Jail Break portion of the challenge. Facing little competition, he managed to build his fire first to win the Immunity Necklace and save himself from certain elimination at the hands of the Spice Girls, thereby setting into motion a series of events that would lead to one of the most chaotic Tribal Councils in franchise history.

France[]

New Zealand[]

Quebec[]

The challenge appeared as the inaugural Redemption Island duel on Survivor Québec (2023). Sylvain Béland and Nicolas Brunette defeated Sango Bien-Aimé to stay in the game.

Russia (Unofficial)[]

In Serdtse Afriki, the challenge was used for immunity. During the challenge, River fails to catch the keys with grappling hooks. The Sand tribe claims immunity once again, sending the River tribe to Tribal Council for the third time in a row.

South Africa[]

The Breakout variant of the challenge from Australian Survivor was modified for use as the first tribal Immunity Challenge in Philippines. Tribe members first raced out into the water to retrieve sticks, which two tribe members would use to build a pole to retrieve a key from inside a bamboo cage. Once the cage was opened, the tribe would use the flint to build a fire. Luzon led the challenge, but Tom Swartz's failure at the fire-making station allowed Mindanao to take the win.

Winners[]

Episode Challenge Type Winners
Palau
Episode 11
Individual Immunity FRS10 patrick t
Patrick Merle
La Revanche des Héros
Episode 7
Individual Reward FRS14 teheiura t
Teheiura Teahui
Malaisie
Episode 11
Individual Immunity FRS15 philippe t
Philippe Bizet
L'Île des Héros
Episode 8
Individual Reward FRS24 teheiura t
Teheiura Teahui
La Légende
Episode 9
Individual Immunity
(Sudden-Death Challenge)
FRS27 ugo t
Ugo Latriche
Le Totem Maudit
Episode 8
Tribal Reward FRS28 ambre tFRS28 fouzi tFRS28 francois tFRS28 geraldine t
FRS28 jeancharles tFRS28 louana tFRS28 maxime tFRS28 pauline t
Cadlao
Le Feu Sacré
Episode 6
Tribal Reward FRS29 Christine tFRS29 Gilles tFRS29 Grâce tFRS29 Julie t
FRS29 Laura tFRS29 Martin tFRS29 Nicolas tFRS29 Tania t
Paniman

Episode Challenge Type Winners
Nicaragua
Episode 1
Duel NZS1 hannah t
Hannah Gough

Episode Challenge Type Winners
Serdtse Afriki
Episode 3
Tribal Immunity RUU1 alexey tRUU1 annak tRUU1 linda t
RUU1 lyubov tRUU1 natasha tRUU1 lesha t
RUU1 roman tRUU1 samir tRUU1 vladimirv t
Sand

Episode Challenge Type Winners
Philippines
Episode 1
Tribal Reward/Immunity ZAS6 jeanne tZAS6 katinka tZAS6 marthunis t
ZAS6 murishca tZAS6 pk tZAS6 staceylee t
ZAS6 tevin tZAS6 toni tZAS6 werner t
Mindanao

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

References[]

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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