The Butler Games: Please Stand By

### Other Contestants

Roy Gray, Lindsey Wootten, Arnie Ganzeboer, Rebecca Plaistow, Andy Benson, Dan Kwok, Rich Butler, Martyn Chetwood, Tom Langan, Abby Wooley, Olivia Williams, Ryan Frain-Walker, Lisa Williams, Gaz Williams, Olly Crawford, Harry Crawford, Barnie Varnava

The Butler Games: Please Stand By was the seventh season of The Butler Games.

The season took place on Saturday 3rd April 2021 and lasted for eight rounds and a final vote. It was won by Andrew Hogg.

Please Stand By was the first season to be played completely online as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. It is the first season to feature a mix of players playing in pairs and on their own, it also featured players from outside the UK for the first time.

## The Players

Players competed both as individuals and in pairs this season.

LindseyRyan and OliviaBarnieTomLisa and GazBecca & AndyHoggRich and MartynOlly and HarryKwokAbbyArnieEmmaJuliaRoy
## Immunity Idols and The Grid

Due to the online nature of the season; a new system was in place for the immunity idols. This was The Grid.

Players had to choose a number from 150 numbers and face the consequences of whatever that number held. Behind at least one number was a hidden immunity idol, however there were also rewards and punishments to be found.

One immunity idol was also hidden during a challenge, and the clue was given to the tribe who won the first challenge. Kwok was the quickest to identify the idol and successfully used it to save Hogg from elimination in the fifth round.

Tom was the only player to find a reward on the grid; and was given the power to mute another player for a round.

Becca and Andy, Arnie and Roy suffered the consequences of a punishment; Becca and Andy lost their vote during an elimination ceremony, Arnie was muted and Roy was locked into one of the chatrooms during social strategy.

## Competitions

A total of 9 competitions were played across 8 rounds this season.

Due to technical issues and time constraints; Know It All was played multiple times this season, with players often only lasting one or two questions before only one player remained.

## The Game

### Pre-Game

All cast members had a run through on discord prior to the evening; as a result the cast list was available to those who wished to pregame. A rule was put into place which meant that players could not communicate via private message (on any platform) regarding the game during the evening. However, it was not banned to do so prior to the event.

A small alliance was formed with Barnie, Becca and Andy, Hogg, Kwok and Julia, affectionately named The Red Dawn after a D&D campaign that some of the alliance members were involved in together. Arnie was also asked to join this alliance but politely declined, wanting to forge his own way in his inaugural season.

### Round One

At the start of the evening; players were randomly split into 3 separate tribes:

 Emma
 Roy
 Becca and Andy
 Kwok

The players were given time to get to know each other before the first tribal challenge was sent to them. The Green Tribe decided to form an alliance and to keep each other safe where possible. The first tribal challenge was sent through and tribes had to compete in The Zoom Quiz, able to give two answers per question with the first answer being worth more if correct.

The Red Tribe were the only tribe to correctly identify the first image as 'sugar', with the other teams guessing 'salt'. They won the first tribal challenge with a score of 13, the Green tribe were just one point behind with 12 points and the Blue tribe with 11.

As they had not won, the Green and Blue tribes then went onto the second challenge; Zoom Quiz Part 2. This involved identifying the zoomed object and retrieving it from their homes. The Green tribe annihilated the Blue tribe in this challenge; winning 5 out of 5 questions. The Blue tribe, having lost both challenges, would face the elimination vote where they would vote between themselves on who would be eliminated. Red tribe and Green tribe were immune from this elimination and would not vote. Red Tribe also won a clue to an immunity idol hidden during the next tribal challenge.

The Blue Tribe split off and began strategising; Lindsey, Lisa, Julia and Olly and Harry discussed voting Barnie out of the game, but Julia was unsure having agreed to be part of his alliance. Barnie attempted to swing the votes towards Olly and Harry but felt like it was his head on the chopping block. He even read out a poem at the elimination ceremony to try and sway votes away from him.

 Julia
 Lindsey
 Lisa and Gaz
 Olly and Harry

With 3 out of 5 votes, Barnie was the first player eliminated from The Butler Games: Please Stand By.

As the votes were revealed as being a 3-1-1 vote between Barnie, Julia and Olly and Harry. Olly deduced that Julia was the player who voted for him, and vowed this revenge against her.

### Round Two

In the second round, tribes remained as they were and played The Colour Code. There were 6 questions, and both the Red and Green tribes were able to get 4 correct with the Blue tribe only managing to get 3 correct answers. They would once again face the elimination vote.

During this challenge; Kwok won the Immunity Idol.

Barnie, now as a jury member, campaigned heavily against Olly and Harry and blocked the pair from entering a video channel with only 4 available spots in. Lindsey and Lisa & Gaz were a solid duo, and decided to vote with Julia to remove Olly and his brother from the game.

 Lindsey
 Lisa and Gaz
 Olly and Harry

With 3 out of 4 votes, Olly and Harry were the second players eliminated from the The Butler Games: Please Stand By. They were also the first pair to be eliminated.

### Round Three

The third round began with the players being merged into only two tribes. A random selection was made to decide team captains for the new Red and Blue tribes; with Emma and Ryan & Olivia being chosen. They would choose the first members of their tribe and then that player would choose the next and so on.

 Becca and Andy
 Kwok
 Roy
 Lindsey
 Arnie
 Lisa and Gaz

Lisa & Gaz were not chosen; and therefore could choose whichever tribe they wanted to be in. They chose the Red Tribe. Interestingly; most players stuck together, choosing members from their original tribes to better their chances. The old Blue tribe were divided, with Julia being the only member of the the New Blue Tribe who was not previously Green.

The new tribes competed in a game called 'Give Me Five' where they were timed whilst trying to name 5, 10 or 15 of something e.g. name 15 colours. Tom was particularly impressive when tasked with naming 10 elements on the periodic table, and played a huge hand in bringing the new Blue tribe to victory. The red tribe would face elimination, the third time in a row for Lindsey and Lisa & Gaz.

The old Blue tribe banded together and had to choose between Lindsey and Lisa & Gaz, ultimately deciding to throw more votes towards the latter due to connection and tech issues.

 Becca & Andy
 Emma
 Kwok
 Lindsey
 Lisa and Gaz
 Roy

With 5 out of 7 votes, Lisa and Gaz were the third players eliminated from The Butler Games: Please Stand By.

### Round Four

In the fourth round, players remained in their new tribes and competed in the Know It All competition. This was winner stayed on, with the final player winning immunity for their entire tribe. Lindsey was the last player remaining and therefore won immunity for the entire red tribe. The players were then informed that for the first time this season, everyone would cast a vote and two players would be eliminated from the game.

The Green Team Alliance banded together and decided to all throw votes on Julia, the only tribe member not in their initial alliance. Tom had won a reward from The Grid, and was given the option to mute any player of his choice; he chose to mute Julia to ensure she could not campaign against them with the other tribe. The Green Team Alliance then had to campaign for themselves to avoid being the second victim of the double elimination.

Becca and Andy received a punishment from The Grid, and had lost their vote for this round. This was kept a secret so they were still called to vote as normal.

With 4 out of 11 votes, Julia, Ryan and Olivia were fourth players eliminated from The Butler Games: Please Stand By in a double elimination.

### Round Five - Merge / Safety and Exile

The fifth round began with the Puzzled battle back challenge. This involved the eliminated players competing against each other in a slide puzzle challenge. The first player to complete the puzzle would return to the game. Despite some technical difficulty, this game was finally completed and Julia returned to the game with immunity for the round.

It was after the Battleback, that Abby announced that she was withdrawing herself from the game.

This round did not have a typical challenge, but instead a social twist was activated - Safety and Exile. As Julia had just returned to the game; she was safe for the round and would have to choose a player to nominate for elimination. That player would then choose someone to save from elimination and so on until allayers were given a status.

* Julia nominated Lindsey for elimination
* Lindsey chose to safe Arnie
* Arnie nominated Tom for elimination
* Tom chose to save Roy
* Roy nominated Hogg for elimination
* Hogg chose to save Kwok
* Kwok nominated Rich and Martyn
* Rich and Martyn chose to save Emma
* As they were not chosen, Becca and Andy were automatically nominated for elimination.

During this game; several deals were made. At this stage, most players had become aware that Kwok had a hidden immunity idol. They had told their tribe earlier in the game and it had been spread around the different chat rooms. Lindsey was trying to convince Hogg to nominate Kwok in order to force their hand and flush the idol out of the game; Hogg made a deal with the pair that if he chose to save them this round and make them immune, that they would use the idol if they thought he was in danger. Kwok agreed to this deal.

All players voted during this vote, with only Lindsey, Tom, Hogg, Rich & Martyn and Becca & Andy eligible for elimination.

 Emma
 Julia
 Kwok
 Lindsey
 Roy

Before the voted were announced; Kwok played their immunity idol to successfully save Hogg from elimination. If they had not used the idols revote would have taken place to decide between Hogg and Tom.

With 4 out of 10 votes; Tom was the fifth player eliminated from The Butler Games: Please Stand By.

### Round Six - Judge, Jury and Executioner

The game went back to basics for the sixth round, with the Know It All Challenge being played again, this time as an individual immunity challenge. All remaining players competed and Roy was the last player remaining in the game. Roy was therefore granted immunity for the round.

Players scrambled to save themselves; Hogg, Kwok and Becca & Andy were still part of The Red Dawn alliance, however Hogg also had made an in-game alliance with his original Green Team, of which only Rich and Martyn remained. Hogg was torn between which direction to go, but ultimately had to go with who could get him further in the game.

Rich and Martyn tended to stick to the Main Channel chat and became quick targets for the other players who were moving around the various channels.

 Becca and Andy
 Emma
 Hogg
 Julia
 Kwok
 Lindsey
 Rich and Martyn
 Roy

With 5 out of 9 votes, Rich and Martyn became the sixth players eliminated from The Butler Games: Please Stand By.

However, in a shocking twist; the round was not over and selected members of the Jury returned to the game for an immediate elimination ceremony. The Judge, Jury and Executioner twist was activated, and jurors were invited to cast a public vote against a player of their choice. The player with the most votes would be eliminated from the game. Roy remained immune from this elimination ceremony due to his immunity win and could not be voted out by the Jury.

 Ryan and Olivia
 Tom
 Rich and Martyn

With 3 out of 4 votes, Kwok became the seventh player eliminated from The Butler Games: Please Stand By.

### Round Seven - Defenders

During the Seventh another twist was announced: The Defender Twist. For this round, all players will be randomly tasked with defending another player. This worked as a chain, so the player you were tasked with defending was tasked with defending another player.

If the player you had been tasked to defend was voted out of the game, then you too would be eliminated.

* Lindsey had to defend Roy
* Roy had to defend Julia
* Julia had to defend Hogg
* Hogg had to defend Emma
* Emma had to defend Arnie
* Arnie had to defend Becca & Andy
* Becca & Andy had to defend Lindsey

The Know It All Immunity Challenge also took place again, with Lindsey once again being the last player standing and won immunity. If Lindsey failed to defend her player then the player tasked to defend her would be eliminated instead.

Most players were upfront about who they were tasked with defending; but Hogg became suspicious that Becca and Andy were lying to him as Lindsey already had immunity and nobody had claimed to be defending Roy. Interestingly, Lindsey suffered from mass technical issues during this round and spend the entirety of it trying to fix her computer, therefore she could not claim that it was in fact her who was tasked with defending Roy. Suspicions about the final duo in the game began to rise.

Becca and Andy, Emma and Hogg all agreed to vote out Julia. However, there were concerns that another twist would take place, and some players were not sure which way round the defender twist would go.

 Becca and Andy
 Emma
 Hogg
 Julia
 Lindsey
 Roy

With 3 out of 7 votes, Becca and Andy became the eighth players eliminated from The Butler Games: Please Stand By.

As they failed to defend Becca and Andy, Arnie became the ninth player eliminated from The Butler Games: Please Stand By.

### Round Eight - The Round Table

In the eighth round, players were informed that no one was safe. They were all locked in the main channel where they were to have a round table discussion before publicly voting out on the other players. The player who receives the most votes would then gain the power to drag another player out of the game with them.

The final five - Emma, Hogg, Julia, Lindsey and Roy - all discussed the votes, but no one wanted to reveal who they were voting for or who they would drag if they were eliminated. Lindsey put pressure on both Emma and Roy to confirm who they would drag out of the game and both of them stated it would be decided at random.

Members of the jury were also invited to join the conversation. Becca and Andy felt betrayed by Hogg and campaigned for him to be eliminated in one way or another. Hogg was confident his time was up and suggested that a newbie final could be a great way to end this season, he confirmed he had already made up his mind on who he wanted to eliminate but did not provide the name.

Julia confirmed that she was voting Hogg out of the game, and would drag him if she was eliminated. She is the only player in the final five who was upfront about her intentions.

The vote was cast publicly, with players confirming their vote in discord before revealing it to the group.

 Hogg
 Julia
 Lindsey
 Roy

There was tension as the votes were being announced; Lindsey confirmed she was voting for Emma as she had not worked with her in the game, with Emma retaliating that she was voting for Lindsey because she was 'drunk' and needed 'to go home'. Hogg stuck with his plan for a newbie final and voted Lindsey out, expecting that she would drag him out of the game too. Julia also stuck to her word and voted Hogg. Roy was the last player to reveal his vote, and was the final nail in Lindsey's coffin.

With 3 out of 5 votes, Lindsey was the tenth player eliminated from The Butler Games: Please Stand By.

She then had the decision to drag any player of her choice out of the game with her. In a move that shocked everyone, she chose to drag Roy. With that, Roy became the eleventh player eliminated from The Butler Games: Please Stand By.

Lindsey later commented that she chose to do this in order to mess up the dynamic in the final; knowing that Roy had a lot of friends on the jury and could very well have won the game if he made it to the final 3.

### Round Nine - The Final Vote

Before the final vote, each player was given the opportunity to give a speech to convince the players to vote for them to win and answer questions that the jury may have.

Due to the nature of this season, most jurors had left the game. Prior to leaving the discord, they were required to rank all remaining players in order. The finalist who was ranked the highest received this jurors vote. Jurors highlighted in bold made their decision at the final, whilst the others made their decision upon being eliminated from the game.

*(Finalists: Emma, Julia and Hogg)*

With 8 out of 12 votes, Hogg was crowned the winner of The Butler Games: Please Stand By.

## Trivia

* The first inclusion of a 'green tribe' and the first season to have players split into three tribes instead of two.
* Featured 15 players (20 individual people with 12 of them playing as a pair).
* The first season to feature players from outside the UK; Arnie was playing from The Netherlands, Julia was playing from Germany and Roy was playing from the USA.
* The first season to feature a final three, instead of a final two.
* The first season where more jurors were absent than present during the final.