Survivor Rulebook

The **Survivor Rulebook** is a contract that is to be signed by all contestants before competing in the game of *Survivor*. Though these rules are not explicitly revealed on television, they are to be followed by every *Survivor* castaway, or face expulsion with possible forfeiture of any prize money, and in rare cases, incarceration. The said set of rules are applied to the American, Australian, South African and Filipino versions as of their latest seasons.

## About

A copy of the rulebook was leaked by TV critic Andrew Dehnart on the website *Reality Blurred.*

While most conversations about these rules are low-key both in and out of the *Survivor* series, this has influenced castaways to how they should act based on their signed contract, or face legal problems. Despite these limitations, there are few instances where players have tried to use them to their advantage or, in other instances, evade them.

## The Rulebook

The rulebook is a nine-page contract signed by all castaways before being subjected into the competition. Though the rules may vary per season, and are subject to change, depending on the sole discretion of the Producer and/or if the Australian and/or local governments say so. The following is a summary of the terms and conditions in effect as of May 31, 2010.

### Pre-Game

* Contestants are expected to abide by both Australian and local laws.
* Contestants may not bring his/her luggage to camp during filming. Also, they are only allowed to wear pre-approved clothing. In some seasons, castaways are to wear outfits that are the same colour as their tribe (e.g. members of a red-coloured tribe should wear clothes that have shades of red). Furthermore, prior to filming, contestants would be strip-searched.
* Contestants must disclose their full medical history.
* Contestants may receive meagre food supplies such as small sacks of rice, beans, and the like, thus expecting significant weight loss. In pre-determined cases, food will be provided as prizes in Reward Challenges.
* Stealing personal items from other contestants is strictly prohibited, including personal clothing. The Hidden Immunity Idol is considered a personal item, thus it cannot be stolen from its owner, but that does not mean a contestant is not allowed to look through another contestant's belongings if they are suspected of possessing one.
* Contestants should be responsible for their behaviour as the Producers are not obligated to protect the contestants if they face public scrutiny.

### Competition Proper

* Daily living is to be videotaped and/or recorded 24/7, whether they are clothed, partially or fully nude. Additionally, contestants may talk to the cameramen, though they will not talk back. However, the cameramen will pull the castaways aside to do Confessional interviews.
* Players may be divided into a predetermined number of tribes (usually two), though there has been a case where the cast was divided into three tribes. Castaways are expected to stay with their tribe unless a Tribe Switch or a Merge happens. They are forbidden from visiting the opposing tribes' camp.
* There are parts of the series location that are "off-limits" to the tribes.
* During conflicts between castaways, they are not allowed to purposefully inflict physical harm to each other. Doing so could result in disqualification and forfeiture of any consolation prize.

#### Environmental Issues

* Breaking these rules would not only result in forced expulsion from the game, but would result in violation of both Australian and local law, and the contestant in question may face prosecution.
	+ Castaways may only eat food items (both flora and fauna) that are approved by the Producers. They may only hunt for food and not for any other reason.
	+ Castaways are not allowed to destroy or litter the camp, voluntarily or otherwise.
	+ Rare and endangered species native to the location are not allowed to be hunted for food.
	+ Castaways are only allowed to use certain flora and producer-given materials to create their shelter. There would be a list of vegetation they should not use as shelter materials.

#### Challenges

* Castaways are to participate in challenges that can be physical and or mental. Castaways are expected at the challenge sites at all times they are summoned, even those who are not participating in the challenge (known as "sit-outs").
* Castaways must follow the rules stated in the instructions. The Producer always reserves the right to disqualify a castaway from a challenge if he/she fails to comply with these rules.
* The Producer has the sole discretion to continue or cancel a challenge, should the need arise.
* During individual challenges where castaways are assigned individual stations, physically assisting other castaways on the challenge is forbidden.
* A tribe may forfeit a challenge, whether before or after the challenge (where there is already a winner), as long as it is a unanimous tribe decision.

#### Tribal Council

* Similar to challenges, complete attendance of any tribe is expected at every Tribal Council, unless a castaway is sent due to twists, such as being kidnapped, sent to Exile Beach, etc.
* A castaway may not cast a vote against him/herself, nor immune castaways. Doing so will force the castaway in question to redo his/her vote.
* The Producer has the sole discretion to increase/decrease the number of jury members. There is a possibility that the jury may be fewer than seven, depending on circumstance. Furthermore, the jury is required to watch subsequent Tribal Councils.
* If a castaway refuses to vote, he/she will either face expulsion or become ineligible for immunity at the next Tribal Council.
* Only a plurality of votes is needed to eliminate a castaway, not a majority.
* If a tie occurs, a second vote would commence, where only the people involved in the tie will be eligible for elimination (see *Tiebreaker*).

### Additional Rules

* Castaways are forbidden to speak to each other during transport to and from challenges, along with a certain time period before leaving for Tribal Council, as well as transport to and from it. This is to prevent strategies that cannot be filmed from being discussed.
* Castaways may be evacuated from the game for medical reasons. With this, Tribal Councils will be cancelled if the castaway is evacuated on the same day of Tribal Council. However, in any other situation Tribal Council would still go on.
* Castaways are responsible to report to the Producer about any situation that might compromise the safety of both the contestants and any personnel on location, such as infections and diseases.

### Post-Game

* After filming, castaways are not allowed to reveal "the ways of production" until three years after his or her appearance on the show.
* All castaways, including the winner, may only collect their prizes under the discretion of the Producer, and after all episodes have been aired. The Producer may give an extra consolation prize, but is not obliged to do so.
* Each castaway is liable for paying taxes or any other legal obligation that has something to do with the cash prize.
* Conspiring to share winnings between castaways is strictly prohibited.

## Known Exemptions

* Lucinda Allen-Rhodes was infamously known as the first worldwide *Survivor* contestant to vote for herself at Tribal Council. She was the first person voted out of *Australian Survivor* (2002) in a unanimous 8-0 vote.
	+ She would later be followed by Kym Johnson in the following season.

## Trivia

* The rule on pre-approved clothing items is likely the reason why most recent seasons have its contestants wearing clothes that are of their tribe color (e.g. a red tribe with its members wearing red at the start of the competition).

## See also

* Tiebreaker
* Tribal Council
* Reward Challenge
* Immunity Challenge