Simvivor: Al Simhara

***Simvivor: Al Simhara*** is the fourth season of *Simvivor*.

The season was met with a mixed reception. While its cast was praised for the diverse personalities, it was also criticized for focusing on casting "superfans" of *Simvivor* rather than regular people to be introduced to new audiences. The strategic gameplay received praise as well. However, with multiple rule changes including the sudden announcement of the rock-drawing tiebreaker at the Final Four, the season was heavily considered to have been manipulated in an effort to assist certain players with winning.

As well, the finale episode drew widespread attention due to the elimination of front-runner Leoncio Hedley. He was pulled from the game due to medical concerns after winning the Final Immunity Challenge. A standard practice within *Simvivor* production is that producers can remove players for medical reasons at any time, and due to Leoncio's severe drop in blood pressure following the challenge, producers had no choice but to remove him. Due to its timing and the closeness to the Final Tribal Council, he was not allowed to participate on the Jury, causing there to be only six Jury Members present at the Final Tribal Council.

Ultimately, it was Tierra Ocampo who reigned victorious. She beat Hilda Szoke in a unanimous 6-0 decision, the first unanimous winner in *Simvivor* history. Further, she also received zero votes cast against her throughout the season, being the first person to win *Simvivor* with a Perfect Game.

## Production

*Al Simhara* was selected as a future filming location during the early development of *Simvivor*. There was a special consideration at trying to focus more on Egyptian mythology, but in favor of focusing more on "back to basics", no overall twists or changes were sought after for the season.

Despite being an inland desert filming location, Sims of all varieties and occult were considered for the cast due to additional precautions taken to protect all castaways.

## Twists/Changes

* **Meager Supplies:** The castaways were not given any food rations. The tribes' supply crates were drastically reduced to only a magnifying glass, three pans, a fillet knife, and two water containers.
* **Tribe Switch:** A luck of a draw sent three members from both tribes to join the rival tribe.
* **Purple Rock Tiebreaker:** In case of a deadlocked tie and there is no consensus as to how the vote will go, everyone, including people who did not receive votes except the owner of the Immunity Necklace, will pick a rock from a bag. Inside the bag, there is one purple rock, and the contestant who gets it will be automatically eliminated from the game. Going forward, all future seasons will feature the rock-drawing tiebreaker.

## Season Summary

*Al Simhara* opened with an epic sequence featuring all sixteen castaways riding camels and llamas into the desert, where eventually they all united seemingly in the middle of nowhere to find Merissa Horvath. With introductions out of the way, the castaways were split into their two predetermined tribes. On the Oasis tribe, an alliance quickly formed between Jenna Phillipson and Mikki Verde, but then Mikki made an additional alliance with herself, Jordan Daniels, and Nigel Thrussel. The Papyrus tribe seemed more tame, with Tierra Ocampo swiftly finding herself in the middle of a three-person alliance.

The tribes bounced Immunity between each other for the first three rounds, typically targeting people who were on the outside of the main alliances of each tribe. At the next Reward Challenge, Merissa revealed that the tribes would be switching members, sending shockwaves through the remaining players. Jordan and Mikki joined the new Papyrus tribe along with former Oasis member Bobby Wentworth. The threesome seemed to be in danger, but luckily, Mikki was able to avoid elimination and the tribe almost unanimously sent home Bobby, the first person of many to face betrayal from their original tribe members. Tierra remained a highly visible player, constantly shifting her game to match the strong flow of the game throughout the pre-merge portion.

Once the merge finally came, multiple power struggles were at play. Giannis Lykaios attempted to grab hold of the reigns, but was swiftly eliminated and became the first member of the jury. His own structure of alliances fell along with him, leading the way for underdog Leoncio Hedley to make a mad dash to the finish line. When Jordan, Tierra, and Andre Oakley started to pass Individual Immunity back and forth, it was Jenna who tried to make bold moves in order to better her chances at winning, only to find herself on the receiving end of a gnarly blindside.

A fast-paced merge only accelerated harder after Jenna was eliminated, with Jordan, Leoncio, and Tierra finding themselves as the three biggest threats to win in the Final Four. When Leoncio won the Final Immunity Challenge, the pressure of the game became too much and he collapsed, being medically evacuated by a doctor's order due to a plummeting blood pressure. His shocking removal left Tierra and Hilda Szoke as the unwitting Final Two, and the Final Tribal was set to take place the following day as expected.

Tierra made serious campaigns for herself to win, while Hilda admitted that she would have been eliminated had Leoncio not been removed. This surrender, combined with Tierra's fascinating control over the game and incredible skill in jury management, handily assisted Tierra in being declared the winner in a unanimous decision.

## Trivia

* Numerous records were broken in the finale episode.
	+ Smallest Jury (6 Jurors)
	+ First person to win the Final Immunity Challenge and place third overall
	+ First all-female Final Two
	+ First Occult Sole Survivor
	+ First Sole Survivor by unanimous decision
	+ First Perfect Game
* *Al Simhara* utilized two filming locations in order to accompany both tribe camps, a Tribal Council set, and an area for challenges.
* *Al Simhara* is the first season to feature a medical evacuation.