Tribe

The competing teams in Survivor RP are known as **tribes**. Commonly, there are two tribes in a season, but there have been instances where three may be active at the same time. A tribe can have anywhere from eight to twelve contestants at the beginning of the game.

## Dividing into Tribes

Most commonly, the tribes are divided by the hosts before the game begins and during tribe shuffles or tribe swaps. However, there have been exceptions.

### Schoolyard Pick

Some seasons have had the swapped tribes selected by the contestants themselves. This is known as the "Schoolyard Pick," and has occurred four times so far.

* In *Survivor: The Everglades*, the tribe swap occurred in a similar manner to the *Galápagos* schoolyard pick, with the two tribe captains (Juggernaut for Tequesta, and Ayra for León) alternating between picking someone from their original tribe and then picking someone from the other tribe, until the new tribes had four members from the former and three from the latter.
* In *Survivor: Galápagos*, the winning Blood vs. Water pair of the first challenge was split into two tribe captains, with each alternating picking a contestant to join their tribe; that contestant's partner was then assigned to the opposite tribe. Saki and Yugiri emerged victorious, the former becoming the captain of Rábida and the latter, Pinzón.
	+ This is the only instance so far when a schoolyard pick determined the starting tribes.
* In *Survivor: Wild West*, the tribe shuffle was determined via selecting two tribe captains at random, with each of them choosing a survivor for their tribe. Each chosen survivor then picked another person to join their respective tribe. This chain occurred until every survivor had been divided into a tribe.
* In *Survivor: Jan Mayen*, the tribe swap functioned similarly to *The Everglades* and *Galápagos*, where two randomly chosen captains (Sandy for Isbjorn and Maki Oze for Olonkin) selected who to place on their respective tribe.

### Tribes Divided by Theme

More commonly, some seasons have had the tribes divided by a specific theme by the hosts:

* In *Survivor: Romania*, survivors were divided based on whether they were human (Mangalia), machine (Otopeni), or monster (Fagaras).
* In *Survivor: Nahanni* and *Survivor: Gorgona*, survivors were divided based on their gender, with males assigned to one tribe and females to the other.
* In *Survivor: Greece*, survivors were divided based on whether their skillsets fit more accurately into brains (Apollo), brawn (Ares), or beauty (Aphrodite).
* In *Survivor: Wild West* and *Survivor: Hawaii*, survivors were divided into two tribes of twelve: one tribe containing all-new players, while the other has players from past seasons.
* In *Survivor: Japan*, survivors were divided based on whether their skillsets fit more accurately into science (Amaterasu) or magic (Tsukuyomi).
* In *Survivor: Appalachia*, survivors were divided based on whether they leaned more into authority (Pisgah) or rebels (Citico) in their daily lives.
* In *Survivor: Siberia*, survivors were divided based on whether they were monsters, mystics, or mercenaries.
* In *Survivor: Egypt*, survivors were divided based on whether they were figurative Davids or Goliaths in their upbringings or daily lives.
* In *Survivor: Jan Mayen*, survivors were divided based on whether they were heroes or villains.
* In *Survivor: Turkey*, survivors were divided based on whether they hailed from, or embodied the aesthetics of, the past, the present, or the future.
* In *Survivor: Camelot*, survivors were divided based on their skillset, whether they used might or magic to solve problems.
* In *Survivor: Socotra*, survivors were divided based on whether they were earthlings or aliens.

## Starting Tribes

Each Survivor RP season starts with 24 contestants (the only exceptions being 20 in *The Everglades*, and 22 in *Moon Islands*) stranded in a remote location and will be left there for the next 39 days. The contestants (aka castaways) will be then equally divided into teams ("tribes"). These tribes then will be sent out to separate camps identified by a colored tribe banner. From there on out, the contestants must fend for themselves in all aspects of survival (foraging for food, creating shelter, fishing, etc.). Tribes may also be given meager supplies, though usually they have to win supplies such as flint & steel, hunting tools, or a first-aid kit through challenges. Castaways also have the option to bring a "luxury item" along with them.

## Names and Identification

Starting tribes are given unique names (usually based on local language, culture, or history) and identifying colors which are used on tribe flags, challenge props, and various other items. Each player is given a buff, an elastic ring of cloth generally adorned with the logo for the current season that can be worn however the contestant pleases as long as it is visible.

### Tribe Switch

The tribe switch is the very first Survivor RP twist. One of the hosts asks the contestants to drop their buffs, signaling there will be a change in the nature and personal makeup of the tribes. In a tribe switch, the contestants will either end up at their original tribe or they will be swapped into another. They must give up their old buff and must don a new one. If there is a switch, it occurs before the merge, commonly catching players off-guard. As seen in *Moon Islands*, *Wild West*, and *Italy*, there may even be a second tribe swap, commonly referred to as a "tribe shuffle." The logic of the twist is that the relationships from their first tribe will be tested in their new tribe, and will create additional possibilities when the tribes finally merge. Oftentimes, players who were not successful in their original tribe use the switch as an opportunity to create new bonds, and potentially last longer in the competition.

### Tribe Dissolves

Another variant of the tribe switch is the "dissolve." In seasons that have more than two starting tribes, a tribe dissolution before the merge may take place. The tribe will be permanently disbanded, spreading its old members into the other two tribes. Like in a traditional swap, the members of the dissolved tribe must surrender his/her old buff and must join his/her new tribe. So far, this has occurred four times: once in *Greece*, when the Aphrodite tribe dissolved and its members were divided into a new, expanded Ares and a new, expanded Apollo tribe; again in *Siberia*, with the Yarkiy tribe dissolving and its members being divided among both Noch and Solnste; a third time in *Cranberry Isles*, with the Doria tribe dissolving and its remaining members being allocated to either Saratoga or Trumbull; and in *Turkey*, with the Cesaret tribe dissolving and its members being divided among both Kimse and Yaratici.

## Merged Tribe

The merged tribe is composed of the remaining members of the two or three tribes remaining, usually when 13 castaways are left in the game. Whereas the starting tribes are named by the producers, the new tribe will be usually named by the castaways themselves. They will be given new buffs with the merged tribe's name and colors, with the tribe usually being able to freely traverse among all of the original campsites.

Reward Challenges may still be team-based (depending on the number of remaining players), but Immunity Challenges will be conducted on a strictly individual basis. Usually the formation of the merged tribe signals the start of the jury phase of a season, but there have been four exceptions:

* *Nahanni*, *Italy*, *Turkey*, and *Tanzania* had a tribe merge when there were 15 castaways remaining, with the jury phase beginning only after the merged tribes reached 13 castaways.
	+ While the merged tribe of *Black Forest* was formed with 14 castaways remaining, a member of Grimm was soon after voted back into the game by their tribemates, bumping the number of those on the merged tribe up to 15 by the start of the first individual immunity challenge.
* The merged tribes of *Socotra* and *Bhutan* formed when there were 14 castaways remaining, with no other twist affecting the member size.
	+ However, in *Socotra*, whether or not 14th place entered the jury was up to the winner of the first individual reward challenge, and the winner chose not to let them onto the jury, keeping the jury phase at 13.
	+ *Bhutan*'s merge dually marked the beginning of the merge and jury phase, and did not opt to include the same twist as *Socotra*. As such, it is the only season to merge at 14 and have a jury of 11.
* The merged tribe of *Moon Islands* was formed when there were only 11 castaways left rather than the standard 13. As such, the jury phase began two eliminations prior to when the merged tribe was formed.
	+ The merged tribe of *Egypt*, meanwhile, was formed when there were 12 castaways left after the Pharaoh twist, with the jury phase beginning with the twist's elimination of Valentine.

## Expanded Tribe

An Expanded Tribe is a third tribe introduced early in or midway through the pre-merge phase of the game through a Tribe Swap. The castaways of these tribes are usually relocated to a new beach where they must again set up camp from scratch. To date, there have only been four tribe expansions: the formation of Santiago in *Galápagos*, Fiume in *Italy*, Saratoga in *Cranberry Isles*, and Kayin in *Socotra*.

### Outcast Tribe

A pre-merge twist introduced in *Black Forest*; rather than an eliminated contestant immediately going to prejury, they instead were relegated to a third tribe consisting entirely of those eliminated, Grimm. There, they continued to survive and compete in challenges alongside the other two tribes, but did not go to Tribal Council if they lost a challenge. In addition, if they won a challenge, they were able to choose which of the other two tribes attended Tribal Council that night. At the merge, the members of Grimm went to a special Tribal Council where they voted among themselves to fully send one of their own back into the game as a member of Blitzkrieg. All of the others were eliminated and sent to prejury on the spot. Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, who was voted out 2nd, returned to the game and eventually placed 7th.

## Tribe Colors Per Season

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## Trivia

* The most-used color is blue, with twenty tribes each having been some shade of the color. The least-used color is gray, with only two tribes.
* Brown and gray are the colors least frequently used for a merged tribe, with only one each.
	+ Gray was also the last color to be used as a merged tribe; there was not a gray merged tribe until season 26, *Bhutan*.