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House of the Holey (also known as A Bridge You Must Cross and Back in the Saddle) is a recurring challenge from Survivor. It debuted in Survivor: Worlds Apart and has since reappeared in David vs. Goliath, Edge of ExtinctionWinners at War, and Survivor 44.

Rules[]

The tribes must race through an obstacle course while retrieving bags with balls. At the finish, one person for each tribe must balance on a beam while attempting to maneuver a ball through a maze of holes to the top. The first tribe to get all three balls to the top wins.

Since David vs. Goliath, the wall of holes has been replaced with a curved, vertical snake maze. Instead of landing three balls, each tribe or contestant need only land one ball to win the challenge.

History[]

United States[]

In Worlds Apart, the tribes were attached to a rope and one at a time had to maneuver through a rope obstacle grabbing a bag of balls and heading to the finish. At the finish, one person for each tribe would balance on a beam while attempting to maneuver a ball through a maze of holes to the top. All three tribes were neck-and-neck throughout the challenge, but the Nagarote and Masaya tribes narrowly won, sending Escameca to their first Tribal Council.

The challenge reappeared in David vs. Goliath where the tribes first had to climb up and over a hill obstacle. They would then pull down a ladder, and, using a rope, four of the five tribe members must hold a bridge up while the last member runs across the bridge and releases a lever that would hold the bridge up. The tribe must then run across the bridge and go down a fireman's pole, then untie a bag containing a ball. One member must then get on the balance beam and negotiate a maze in the shape of a snake. Vuku held the lead for most of the challenge and ultimately finished first, while Tiva narrowly edged out Jabeni, sending Jabeni to Tribal Council.

In Edge of Extinction, this challenge was incorporated as the final part of the Jail Break challenge where, much like in David vs. Goliath, castaways would need to navigate a ball up a vertical snake maze while standing on a balance beam. Ultimately, Rick Devens was the first to complete the maze after a back-and-forth challenge, winning his way back into the game.

Reappearing in Winners at War, the challenge was identical to the Edge of Extinction counterpart, once again being merged with Jail Break. A close race eventually narrowed down to Rob Mariano and Tyson Apostol on the maze section, with Tyson just barely edging out the competition to sink his ball, earning himself a spot back in the game.

The David vs. Goliath version of the challenge reappeared as the second Immunity Challenge of Survivor 44. While Ratu lagged behind for most of the challenge, Matthew Grinstead-Mayle's experience practicing the challenge at home paid off when he won the challenge for his tribe after making no mistakes at the snake maze. Meanwhile, Josh Wilder experienced a steep learning curve, dropping his ball several times before eventually gaining momentum and capitalizing on Sarah Wade's fumble near the end of her maze to seize the victory for Soka, thus sending Tika to their first Tribal Council.

Australia[]

The challenge appeared in Heroes v Villains in combination with Unchained Medley as the final five Immunity Challenge. As the first person to reach the maze, Liz Parnov used her sizeable time advantage to overcome the learning curve on the maze. Despite being chased down by Nina Twine, Liz's consistent lead allowed her to land her three balls in the finish first to win her second Immunity Challenge.

France[]

South Africa[]

The original format in Survivor: Worlds Apart was used as an Immunity Challenge in Philippines. Vusi Mafulela brought Visayas to yet another first-place finish, while Katinka Oosthuizen scored a second-place finish for Luzon. PK Phetoe was unable to land his third ball, sending a dejected Mindanao back to Tribal Council.

The holey wall was used in the final stage of the third individual Immunity Challenge. After landing a ball in a notch on a table maze, the castaways would make their way to the holey wall and land three balls. Tejan Pillay, Dino Paulo, and Meryl Szolkeiwicz were the first three to complete the table maze and had the chance to compete on the wall; Dino narrowly beat out Tejan to win his first individual challenge, as well as a brand new Mahindra XUV300, which he got to test drive on his way to enjoy tapas and wine.

Winners[]

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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