Survivor: The Sims

**Episodes:** | 147

***Survivor: The Sims*** is a sims-based reality show based off of the United States version of *Survivor*. It premiered on May 12, 2021 and so far, has aired 10 seasons. The show is currently hosted by Jack Jones, who also serves as the executive producer for the series.

## History

In February of 2021, host and executive producer Jack Jones watched the U.S. version of *Survivor* for the very first time, starting with *San Juan Del Sur*. Jack initially decided to watch *San Juan Del Sur* because two of his favorite contestants from *The Amazing Race*, Natalie and Nadiya Anderson were on the season. From that moment, Jack was hooked on *Survivor* and watched *Samoa* and *China* before watching every season in order.

After watching nearly every season, Jack decided to create a *Survivor* world of his own by starting *Survivor: The Sims*. He went on his laptop and made 16 sims to compete on *Survivor: Samoa*. Ever since, this has become a huge hobby of his.

## Format

Following the U.S. *Survivor* format, each season, a number between sixteen and twenty castaways are divided into two to four tribes and taken to a remote location. For 39 days, these castaways live off the land and compete in challenges for reward, which are typically to improve camp life, and immunity, to stay safe from Tribal Council.

Around the halfway mark of the season, the tribes would merge into one and begin competing in individual challenges instead of tribal challenges. For some post-merge reward challenges, the members of the merged tribe would be split into teams and compete against each other for rewards. In the event of an immunity challenge, one person typically wins individual immunity (in some cases, two - one male and one female) and is given an immunity necklace. Most of the castaways eliminated post-merge form the jury. When the season gets down to the final two or three, the remaining finalists plead their case to the jury, who ultimately vote for who they think should become the Sole Survivor.

## Tribe Divisions

### **Number of Members Per Tribe**

* **Two Tribes of Eight:** This format was first used in *Survivor: Samoa*, featuring two tribes of eight with four men and four women each. This format was later used in *Mauritius*.
* **Two Tribes of Nine:** This format was introduced during *Survivor: Thailand*, with either five women and four men, or four women and five men to a tribe. This format was later used in *South Africa* and *Chile*. *Chile* initially began with twenty castaways, but two were not selected for tribes on Day 2, resulting in two starting tribes of nine.
* **Two Tribes of Ten:** The first instance of this format was on *Survivor: Panama*, with each tribe consisting of five men and five women. This format was used again on *Fiji*, *All-Stars* and *Philippines*. Each of these seasons had an equal number of men and women to a tribe with the exception of *Fiji*, where the tribes were divided by gender with one tribe of ten women and one tribe of ten men.
* **Three Tribes of Six:** This format was introduced during *Survivor: Cook Islands,* with the castaways being divided into three tribes of six at the start of the game, each with three men and three women. This format was repeated on *Survivor: Vanuatu* with the tribes being divided based on the "Brains vs. Brawns vs. Beauty" theme.

### **Schoolyard Pick**

Seen only on *Chile*, a schoolyard pick was held to determine the tribes. Contestants Rob Landi and Yara Fathi each were the first to find an immunity idol on their beach and became tribe leaders, picking the members of their tribe. The two each formed a tribe of nine, and two castaways (Tommy Lyons & Felicia Wang) were ultimately not picked for tribes and were eliminated.

## "Versus" and Themed seasons

For certain seasons, the contestants are divided into tribes by theme, based on personal traits of the contestants or because returning players are present in a season with new players.

* **One Returnee Per Tribe:** This theme was first seen on *Survivor: Panama*, and returned on *Survivor: Philippines*. One returning player joined each starting tribe, competing alongside the new players. On *Panama*, Michaela Thompson and Shamar Neal who were seen as having their time cut short on *Thailand* were brought back on opposing tribes. On *Philippines*, Felicia Wang and Tommy Lyons who were not chosen for a tribe on *Chile* were brought back for a chance to play the game again.
* **Tribes Divided by Gender:** Only seen on *Survivor: Fiji*, the two starting tribes were divided based on their gender identity, with the men and women being pitted against each other at the start of the game. The separation by gender lasted until there were sixteen castaways remaining, splitting everyone into three new tribes.
* **Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty:** In *Survivor: Vanuatu*, the tribes were divided into three tribes of six based on the quality they exhibit the most in their day-to-day lives: beauty, brains and brawn.
* **All Returning Players:** Only seen on *Survivor: All-Stars*, twenty past contestants were brought back for another chance to play the game.

## The Merge

The merge occurs near the halfway point of the season, with thirteen to nine castaways remaining in the game. The game shifts from competing as a tribe to individual challenges, and each castaway attends every Tribal Council post-merge. The eliminated contestants after the merge usually form the jury, with the exception of a few.

* The first person to ever make the merge, but not the jury, is Samson Collins on *Thailand*. The merge began with 10 players remaining, and with a final two format, to make a tie impossible at the Final Tribal Council the jury had an odd number of players. Aaron Rosenfeld on *South Africa* was not included on the jury for the same reason.

## Finalists and jury composition

* **Final Two and Jury of Seven:** This is the original format, used in *Survivor: Samoa*. *Thailand*, *South Africa*, and *Chile*.
* **Final Three and Jury of Ten:** This format was first seen on *Survivor: Panama*, and was later used during *Fiji* and *All-Stars*.
* **Final Three and Jury of Eight:** This format has only been used during *Survivor: Cook Islands*. *Survivor: Vanuatu* originally had eight jurors, but due to the Juror Removal twist, only seven remained on the jury.
* **Final Three and Jury of Nine:** This format was only used during *Survivor: Philippines*.
* **Final Three and Jury of Seven:** This format was first used during *Survivor: Mauritius.* Due to the Juror Removal twist, *Survivor: Vanuatu* also had seven jury members.

## Tribe Switch

The tribe switch was first introduced on the show's inaugural season, *Samoa*. The purpose of a tribe switch is to reassign castaways into new tribes. A tribe switch can occur at any point in the game pre-merge.

* **Random Draw of Buffs:** On *Samoa* and *Thailand*, the castaways remaining drew random, covered buffs and were reassigned into tribes based on how they drew. This format is entirely random, and depends on the picks the castaways make. This format was also seen in *Panama, Fiji*, and *All-Stars* in both tribe swaps.
* **Tribe Expansion:** During *Panama*, *Fiji*, and *All-Stars*, the castaways remaining encountered the creation of a new tribe, splitting the remaining competitors into three tribes. There was a shift from two to three tribes.
* **Tribe Absorption:** Seen only on *Cook Islands*, the tribe with the least amount of members was disbanded and its members were placed on the two other tribes. The members of the non-absorbed tribes remained the same, with the addition of members from the fallen tribe.
* **Tribe Switch/Dissolve:** Used in *Vanuatu*, the tribes were switched with a random draw of buffs, however there was a transition from three to two tribes. The tribe with the least amount of members was dissolved, but the members of the remaining tribes still were involved in the switch.
* **Conquering:** Only seen on *Chile*, when the Guanaco tribe was whittled down to just two members, they were absorbed by the Taruca tribe in place of a merge.
* **Kidnapping:** On *Mauritius*, each tribe picked a member from the other tribe to steal and switch onto their tribe.

## Hidden Immunity Idol

The Hidden Immunity Idol was first featured on *Survivor: Thailand*. Hidden immunity idols are hidden at each tribe's camp, granting protection from being voted out when played. The format for the idol has remained the same, where the idol must be played before the votes are read, but after they are cast.