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 Extinction, Winners 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[]
Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
---|---|---|
Worlds Apart "Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner" |
Tribal Immunity | Nagarote |
Masaya | ||
David vs. Goliath "Jackets and Eggs" |
Tribal Immunity | Vuku |
Tiva | ||
Edge of Extinction "There's Always a Twist" |
Re-entry | Rick Devens |
Winners at War "This Is Where the Battle Begins" |
Re-entry | Tyson Apostol |
Survivor 44 "Two Dorky Magnets" |
Tribal Immunity | Ratu |
Soka |
Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
---|---|---|
Champions v Contenders (2018) Episode 9 |
Tribal Immunity | Champions (2018) |
All Stars Episode 23 |
Individual Immunity | David Genat |
Heroes v Villains Episode 22 |
Individual Immunity | Liz Parnov |
Episode | Challenge Type | Winners | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Cambodge Episode 4 |
Tribal Reward | Takéo | ||
Bokor | ||||
L'Île des Héros Episode 10 |
Team Reward (Tied Destinies) |
Charlotte & Teheiura | ||
Les Armes Secrètes Episode 11 |
Individual Immunity (Sudden-Death Challenge) |
Arnaud Deshayes | ||
La Légende Episode 5 |
Individual Reward | Claude Dartois |
Phil Bizet |
Teheiura Teahui |
La Légende Episode 13 |
Duel | Alix Noblat | ||
Le Feu Sacré Episode 1 |
Tribal Immunity | Tinago |
Episode | Challenge Type | Winner |
---|---|---|
Philippines Episode 8 |
Tribal Immunity | Visayas |
Luzon (South Africa) | ||
Return of the Outcasts "High Risk, High Reward" |
Individual Reward/Immunity | Dino Paulo |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This challenge has only appeared in seasons where there are three tribes before the merge.
- The name of this challenge references the Led Zeppelin song Houses of the Holy.
- The holey wall section of the challenge also appeared as the final section of Rice Race in Kaôh Rōng and Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers.
References[]