MTV The Challenge: Curse of the Ruins

***MTV The Challenge: Curse of the Ruins*** is the fourth season of *MTV The Challenge*. Premiered on February 12th, 2021 and concluded on March 19th, 2021.

## Description

For this season challengers will be competing in TEAMS where they will arrive to the beautiful lands of Yucatán, Mexico! Teams will compete in numerous daily challenges where their minds and bodies will be tested physically, mentally, & socially. All in all the format & other important terminologies will be explained thoroughly once the season begins! Do you think you can survive the curse of the ruins & become The Conquerors of Mexico?

## Format

The cast consists of 12 alumni from previous seasons and 12 new players for this season. The main elements of the show are as followed:

* **Daily Missions:** Each round, the three teams picked by their assigned captains will compete in a challenge. The winners of the challenge will earn safety from elimination and will split $20,000 for each of their individual bank accounts. The two losing teams fate lie within the winning team who have the power to send one team to compete in the Double Cross Ceremony, whilst the unselected team will vote one member to be sent into elimination.
* **Team's Loser Voting:** The winning team has the power to send one team to compete in the Double Cross Ceremony. The unselected team will participate in a losing team's voting, where one member from the losing team will be sent into elimination to compete against the player who was selected to compete from the Double Cross. The voting is completely public, and in the instance of a tie, all players will hold a revote against the players who tie for the most amount of votes. In the instance it ties once again is to be determined.
* **Double Cross ceremony:** The team selected by the winning team will participate in the Double Cross ceremony. Depending on the amount of players on the team there will be all single crosses except one cross which will be the double cross. By pulling a single cross, you do not guarantee your safety leaving your fate in the hands of the person who pulls the double cross. By pulling the double cross, you not only ensure automatic safety for the round, you also must publicly announce who you shall send into elimination against the person who received the most votes during the losing team's vote.
* **Elimination (Ruins):** The player who received the most votes in the losing team's vote along with the player sent into elimination by the player who pulled the double cross will compete in a head to head in an elimination, also known as the Ruins. They will compete in a competition that varies from being a live competition or one that has a 24 hour deadline, which will decide the fate of one player who will win the elimination and be sent to the Chamber of Curses, whilst the other player is eliminated from the game with nothing in their bank account.

### Twist

* **Teams:** The three players who completed the challenge and were in the bottom three placement wise are able to select their team split into 3 teams of 8.
* **First Impressions:** The first team daily, *"First Impressions"*, an immediate vote was held where one member from all three teams will go into the Ruins. The Ruins this round will be a double elimination meaning two players will be eliminated leaving the victor of the Ruins sent into the Chamber of Curses.
* **Chamber of Curses:** The challenger who wins the elim in The Ruins will have the opportunity to visit the Chambers Of Curses where he or she will gain a special advantage in the game to further their gameplay while hindering someone else’s.
* **Purge:** Just before the Final Challenge a sudden death challenge was held where the worst 2 players from each team are immediately eliminated.

## Gameplay

### Daily Missions

* **Race Across Mexico:** Competitors will begin their stopwatch and will try to run 6 miles via the statement "[YOUR NAME] runs across Yucatán, Mexico 1 .. 2 .. 3" and will continue until they count to 30, where it will signify they have reached their 3rd mile. After they reach their 3rd mile, they will be given a 54 piece jigsaw puzzle they must complete. Once finished, they will continue the counting process until they get to 60, signifying their 6th and final mile, stopping their stopwatch.
	+ **Winner:** *Gible, Jason & TN*
	+ **Team Captains:** *Demi, Julian & Tina*
* **First Impressions:** The three teams will immediately vote a player from their own team into the Ruins. The player from each team with the most votes are sent to the Ruins where the three players will compete in a double elimination where only one player out of the three will come back into the game.
	+ **Losers:** *Caleb, Chris & DLS*
* **Ruins Relay Battle:** The team will be split up into sections of the relay race. The first section involves 3 players who will undergo 3 different mazes based on difficulty. Each maze has 4 numbers which will determine a number combination. Once the number combination is unlocked, they will proceed to the second section where 3 players will sprint and pass puzzle bags in order to proceed to do their respective slide puzzles for the third and final section where 2 players will do slide puzzles varying from difficulty. Once the slide puzzles are sent, the person who started the stopwatch must end it to finalize their time. The team with the fastest time will win safety and each member gets a split of $20,000.
	+ **Winner:** *Black Team*
* **Chain Gang:** This challenge is a live endurance competition. At 12:00pm EST, teams will begin by connection the first link of chains, and every 10 minutes, two individuals from each team will have to relink and connect their chains. If one individual does not check in at least twice, your team is automatically disqualified for the running of become the winning team. At the end of the deadline, the team who has the most chains connected and linked together will win safety and each member gets a split of $20,000.
	+ **Winner:** *Grey Team*
* **Switchagories:** This challenge all members are prompted to name a time where all will compete in a semi-live challenge. There will be 8 categories in which every member on the team has to be responsible for each category. They will be given a category where one member steps forward and has to list a variety of things pertaining to that category within 1 minute. Your score is how many things or items listed with CORRECT spelling. Then once all teams are done, a category on every team will give 5, 3 and 1 points respectively to the people who did better in the category. The team with the most points in the challenge will win safety and each member gets a split of $20,000.
	+ **Winner:** *White Team*
* **Scavenger Hunt Knock-Out:** This is a live challenge. Teams are given 14 X's which will be evenly distributed depending on members and some will have extras by random. Marq will give an item to take a picture of and have a paper consisting of your name and the phrase given. If you are the first to do so, you will be taking an X from a player, once all X's are removed from a player they are out from the challenge and are ineligible to participate. The last team standing will win safety and each member gets a split of $20,000.
	+ **Winner:** *Black Team*
* **Puzzle Trivia:** Players will assign themselves to one of eight 54 piece puzzles, all of which are completely different puzzles. Once all the puzzles have been assigned, you will do your own assigned puzzle in your confessional in which hidden within the puzzle is a trivia question based on the real television series, The Challenge. Once you have your answer, and have been checked that the same answer is correct, you will stop your stopwatch. The team who has the fastest time overall will win safety and each member gets a split of $20,000.
	+ **Winner:** *White Team*
* **Messy Rooms:** Players on each team will be divided into doing sections based off of difficulty, which will involve finding an object within the messy room provided and then later is provided an extra task based off of the difficulty they were designated at. The team who has the fastest time overall will win safety and each member gets a split of $20,000.
	+ **Winner:** *Black Team*
* **Color Assignments:** Players will be assigned a color, within that color when they are ready to complete their color portion of the challenge, they will follow the instructions guided to. Certain colors appeal to mobile or computer based challenges all off of the task and will not know their task application till they begin. The team who has the fastest time overall will win safety and each member gets a split of $20,000.
	+ **Winner:** *Black Team*
* **Purge Party:** Players will be given a sudoku puzzle they must solve, once finished they are given 4 differently colored rings representative of different numbers which will be a combination to unlock the next phase of the challenge. Once you get the code, you are then given a puzzle which you must solve in order to move onto the final part of the challenge. Once finished you are given a board of rectangular shapes labeled with a number and letter which you must correctly arrange and place. Once prompted that you have done it correctly, your time is stopped. There is no identifiable winner as this is a **Purge** challenge meaning that the bottom 2 scoring players on Black Team and the bottom 3 scoring players on White Team will be immediately eliminated solidifying the finalist teams.
	+ **Purged:** *Booty, Dyna, Glboalist & Noor*

### Elimination Games

* **Blurred Boardwalk:** Players are given a stand and 10 boards which each plank has two differently colored shapes on opposing ends. The players must shade in the color of the shape tile that the plank best fits in and must then decode a word using the 2 shapes which have been blurred on the board and add them up to get a representative letter based on when the letter is announced in alphabetical order. Once they have the word, they will send the word and will immediately be given a word search in which they must highlight all of the terms given. Once finished, they are complete and the sole player with the quickest time will win the elimination and head to the Chamber of Curses.
	+ **Played by:** *Caleb* vs. *Chris* vs. *DLS*
* **Pole Wrestle:** Players will be prompted with a barrage of emojis where they have to find the correct meaning or english text interpretation of the emoji phrase. They will go through multiple heats until one player does not give the correct answer by the time provided, meaning the player who had the answer on time earns a point. This is best of two meaning the player to get two points first will win the elimination and be sent to the Chamber of Curses.
	+ **Played by:** *Josh vs. Julian*
* **Wrecking Math Wall:** Players are given a wall filled with blank bricks that will tower up to the number 41. You are then provided with 28 different colored bricks that have an equation that can be used to tower up to 41. Once you feel like you have the correct bricks, you must use an editing tool to shade in the bricks and get the hosting team to check. If it is incorrect, you must redo it, if it is correct, you can climb the wall and ring the bell. The player to do this in the quickest time will win the elimination and be sent to the Chamber of Curses.
	+ **Played by:** *Booty vs. Don*
* **Arrangements:** Players are given a photo containing emojis and by doing so they have to find out what that object is and once you figure that out, you must assort them alphabetically in one text and must have one member on hosting team to clarify if it is correct or not before moving onto the next one. This cycle continues for more and more stations until you get to the final one and stop your stopwatch. The player with the quickest time will win the elimination and be sent to the Chamber of Curses.
	+ **Played by:** *Jason vs. Tina*
* **Battery Charge:** Players are given 500 boxes where they will have to navigate different boxes via numerical order until they find 5 different boxes with batteries. Once they have found those 5 batteries, they are able to stop their stopwatch. The person who finds all 5 batteries within the fastest time will win the elimination and be sent to the Chamber of Curses.
	+ **Played by:** *Jake vs. Julian vs. TN*
* **Oppenheimer:** Players will be competing in a live challenge where the Hosts will drop a certain category where the agents will have to send 20 emojis corresponding to that category, the first to do so will earn a point. The agent who earns 4 points first will win the elimination and be sent to the Chamber of Curses.
	+ **Played by:** *Gible vs. Nasir*
* **Map It Out:** Players are given a guide that contains 12 blacked out countries they have to identify and correctly guess which one it is. Once they feel confident within all of their answers, they lock it in and stop their stopwatch. Player who is the most accurate with their countries and in the event of a tie is the quickest, they will win the elimination and be sent to the Chamber of Curses.
	+ **Played by:** *Booty vs. Demi*
* **Reverse Tug O' War:** Players are given a picture of the phrase they will have to type however in reverse capitalization meaning anything uncapitalized must be capitalized and vice versa. This process will continue to happen until one player tugs the bell towards their avatar. The player who does so will win the elimination and be sent to the Chamber of Curses.
	+ **Played by:** *Globalist vs. Taona*
* **Ball Brawl:** Players are given a maze they must complete and submit in the ruins chat, once finished they will input a command which will give you a question and eight balls. Within those eight balls contain names of previously eliminated or currently still in players. The first person to answer with the correct ball and ring the bell will earn a point. This process will continue until one player earns two points. The first player to do so will win the elimination and be sent to the Chamber of Curses.
	+ **Played by:** *Emily vs. Gible*

### Final Challenge

* **Welcome to the Hell:** One challenger will start the timer ”a.stopwatch” and enter the command "!finalstage1" to be given 4 different videos to watch and the goal/objective answer 3 questions pertaining to the video that you have chosen. Questions will be fill in the blank, you will each post your answers and when everyone has posted their answers add all the letters up from all 12 answers and enter that number in command form  to receive 4 mazes (2 medium/2hard) where you will notice letters on your maze. Using the letters on all 4 mazes enter you will unscramble the word and enter the answer in command form. When you have entered the correct word you will finally reach a phrase with missing letters. Solve for the correct phrase and the challenger who starts the timer must end the stopwatch.
	+ **Black Team:** 19 minutes and 30 seconds
	+ **White Team:** 24 minutes and 15 seconds
* **Math Hunt/Lyrical Chainz:** For this stage teams will be broken down into duos within your team, one duo will complete one part and the other duo will complete the second part where both times will be combined.
	+ *Part 1*, one person will need to start the timer ”a.stopwatch” and  enter the command ”!finalstage2part1” where you will receive 10 math questions however the questions will not just be basic math questions! You will have to use the server to search for your answers for majority/all of your math questions.
	+ *Part 2*, one person will need to start the timer ”a.stopwatch” and enter the command ”!finalstage2part2” where the duo will have to build 20 musicals chains (10 chains a piece) by alternating turns. You must find a song/lyric ending with the last word of the song, remembering to include the song artist/title of the song.
		- **Black Team:** 47 minutes and 11 seconds *(Total Time: — 1hr:6m:41s)*
		- **White Team:** 13 minutes and 29 seconds *(Total Time: — 37m:44s)*
* **Puzzles:** Challengers will be working individual to complete 1 of the 4 sections containing 2 sets of puzzles! Puzzles will range in difficulties from slide puzzles, to jigsaws, word searches,  and crosswords.Start your timer ”a.stopwatch” and enter the command ”!finalsection#” (# sign indicating your section) you must complete 2 puzzles and send in a completed screenshot in your confessional where you will then stop your timer ”a.stopwatch”.
	+ **Black Team:** 1 hour, 11 minutes and 44 seconds *(Total Time: — 2hr:18m:25s)*
	+ **White Team:** 1 hour, 10 minutes and 13 seconds *(Total Time: — 1hr:47m:57s)*
* **Endurance/Typing:** Challengers will be working in duos within their team. This stage will be endurance where it’s going to take 1500 STEPS to reach the finish line! However along the way there will be tasks to complete. When duos are decided, one challenger will start the timer ”a.stopwatch” and proceed to enter the command ”!finalstage5” to receive your first task before actually typing. Following the instructions on the path & once completed the challenger who started the timer must stop it ”a.stopwatch” to complete The Final Challenge.
	+ **Black Team:** 1 hour, 35 minutes and 13 seconds *(Total Time: — 3hr:53m:38s)*
	+ **White Team:** 2 hours, 11 minutes and 11 seconds *(Total Time: — 3hr:59m:08s)* + Penalty *(4hr:29m:08s)*

*Note: White Team incurred a penalty of 1 hour and 30 minutes after Gible and Jason did not complete Stage 5.*

### Final results

* **Winners:** Black Team *(Aura, Chess, Issy, TN) — $1,000,000 ($250,000 each)*
* **Runners-Up:** White Team *(Bryce, DLS, Gible, Jason) — $0*

## Game Summary

### Notes

* During the purge challenge "Purge Party", Marti withdrew from the competition after continuing mental frustration.

### Ruins Progress

     The contestant won the final challenge.
     The contestant lost the final challenge.
     The contestant won the daily challenge.
     The contestant was not selected to go into the Ruins.
     The contestant was immune and did not have to compete in any competitions.
     The contestant was on the bottom few during the opening challenge and became captain for their respective team.
     The contestant participated in the Double Cross ceremony and was not selected to participate in the Ruins.
     The contestant pulled the Double-Cross and voted someone into the Ruins.
     The contestant won in the Ruins.
     The contestant volunteered for elimination and won in the Ruins.
     The contestant lost in the Ruins and was eliminated.
     The contestant was eliminated at the challenge.
     The contestant withdrew from the competition.

## Notes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Despite losing the Final Challenge, Bryce and DLS received $100,000 each for their great perfomance.
2. ↑ Julian's Double Cross curse from the Chamber of Curses was immediately played, therefore no one else from White Team participated in the Double Cross and his sole decision was who went in.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Player pulled the double cross and volunteered.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Jason used his Triple Cross curse from the Chamber of Curses and held the power to send one individual from each of the three teams to go into double elimination round.
5. ↑ No Double Cross ceremony took place, due to the First Impressions daily.
6. ↑ TN used his Sanctuary curse to exempt Issy from the voting. However with their immunity meant they were unable to vote.
7. ↑ Booty used his Steal-a-Vote curse from the Chamber of Curses and decided to steal Aura's vote for the house vote.