The Rules

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The Rules

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NOTE: Some of the rules below are based on my own personal speculation about what may possibly happen in Survivor. I have no first-hand (or second-hand for that matter) knowledge of what will be happening in any particular season of Survivor, so the rules below should not be interpreted as spoilers or likely to be implemented. I am merely trying to define how the game will work in any foreseeable circumstance, no matter how likely or unlikely it may be.

This is the most important rule! Sometimes situations will occur which are not specifically covered by the letter of the rules (and possibly by the spirit as well). The Administrator reserves the right to make the final call as to how points are awarded in a given week. Please keep in mind that I will award points as fairly as can be done given the time constraint of posting results in a timely fashion after the conclusion of an episode. There is no time to debate issues with the populace of users of the site to determine what really is fair. I will be guided with what I intend the spirit of the rules to be.
There are currently three separate games to play on this site. Each game has independent rankings and scores. Private tribe leaders may choose to include any or all of these games as part of their tribe competitions, however from the site's perspective, each game is a separate game unto itself and which games (if any) each player wants to participate in is up to them.
1. OutPick'Em: This game is a simulation of the Survivor experience. It can be played in three different ways:
  1. A solo game within a private tribe. The only players within a solo game are those members of the private tribe itself.
  2. A paired game in which one private tribe is paired against another (at least until the merge!)
  3. A random game in which all participants are selected from a pool of individual players.
  The game starts by dividing all players into tribes (except for a paired game in which the players are already in their starting tribes). Each week there is an immunity challenge (either for tribal immunity before the merge or individual immunity after) and each week there is a Tribal Council in which participants vote one or more players out. As on the show, once there are only two players left, those players that have been voted out and make up the Jury vote for the Sole Survivor in one last Tribal Council.
  Because of the interactive nature of this game, a commitment above and beyond a once a week visit to the site is required. Participants are required to visit the site at least once a week to vote in Tribal Councils, however as in the real game, communicating with other players in your game is paramount, so more frequent visits to the site are expected.
  Warning: this game can get VERY intense at times. At times the drama within OutPick'Em games has rivaled anything you've seen on the show. You must remember that it is just a game and within the game, people may assume alter-egos that do not necessarily reflect how they feel in real life. I will warn you in advance that because the simulation is so real, people have forgotten that they are only in a game and have let their emotions within the game carry over to their real life outside the game. If you play this game with people you know, I recommend you agree at the beginning that what happens in the game stays in the game and any actions or backstabbings that take place in the game are all just part of the game! I have had to patch up more than one relationship that had been broken up over this game in the past, so please take this warning seriously! The players on Survivor can all go back to their real lives after the show, but you still have to live with your friends and loved ones after this game.
  For more information about OutPick'Em, please refer to the OutPick'Em Rules.
Pick'Em game details: Each week you are given 100 points to wager on Survivors you think are likely to leave the game at the conclusion of the episode. You get 100 new points each week, so you should wager all 100 points in a given week. You need not put all 100 points on a single Survivor (although you can if you wish). Generally you should put more points on Survivors you think are more likely to leave the game than those you think will remain. Usually there are also bonus questions which allow you to win additional free points if you answer the question correctly. These questions are usually about who will win the Reward and Immunity Challenges, however at times there may be additional questions (see below).
Extreme Pool details: At the point that you feel that you have reasonable confidence in your ability to predict the remaining Survivors vote-off order, you may pick the order in which the remaining Survivors are voted off and lock your votes in. Once the next weekly deadline passes, your votes are locked in and cannot be changed for the remainder of the season. You do not start to accumulate score until your votes are officially locked in and a weekly deadline passes. After each episode, the top name on your list is removed (or multiple names are removed in the event multiple Survivors leave the game), and you are given one point for each Survivor on your list that remains in the game. For example, suppose at the beginning of an episode your list contains the names in this order: Ed, Trixie, Alice and Ralph. One Survivor is voted off (Alice). Since one Survivor was voted off, one name is removed from the top of your list (Ed). Your list now contains Trixie, Alice and Ralph. The remaining Survivors are now Ed, Trixie and Ralph. You score one point for Trixie and one point for Ralph since they are still in the game AND on your list. You do not score points for Alice even though she is on your list because she left the game. You do not score points for Ed even though he is still in the game because he is no longer on your list. If two Survivors had been voted off, your list would have been shortened by two (Ed and Trixie) and the scoring would continue as before.
As a rule, the Pick'Em points (points wagered on individual Survivors leaving the game) will be awarded each week. This is usually the result of a vote at a Tribal Council, but it need not be. If a player quits (for whatever reason) or is injured and leaves the game, that player (or players) counts as the Survivor voted off (even if no formal vote takes place). The rule here is that any Survivor that leaves the game for just about any reason is awarded points (there may be a very small number of exceptions to this based on the exact circumstances-- see Rule #1). Extreme Pool points are awarded regardless of the circumstance of a Survivors departure. In order for points to be awarded in the Extreme Pool, a Survivor must be in the game at the end of the episode, after any departures have taken place. Even a temporary departure would be counted as a departure for as many episodes as the Survivor in question is not in the game and actively playing at some point in the episode. For the remainder of these rules, when I use the terms "voted out" or "voted off", I imply that the Survivor leaves the game for whatever reason, whether or not an actual vote has taken place.
Multiple players may be "voted out" during a given week. In this case, wagered points will be awarded to all Survivors that left the game that week. The order in which they are voted out is not important, either for the main game or the Extreme Pool.
Survivors may return to the game at a future time. If this is the case, points awarded for those Survivors on the week they left the show will stand.
Reward Challenge. Most weeks, a Reward Challenge bonus question is offered. This bonus is awarded to the tribe(s) or individual(s) that win the Reward Challenge each week.
1. Multiple tribes or individuals may win a reward challenge. If there is still a clear winner that wins the largest prize, that tribe or individual (and only that tribe or individual) will be awarded the bonus points. For example, if a tribe or individual wins a lesser reward as a second place or consolation prize, they are not considered the winner and points would not be awarded that that tribe/individual. If multiple tribes/individuals win essentially the same reward (for example, individuals may compete in pairs or teams of three or more for a shared reward), points will be awarded to all winning tribes/individuals. Even if tribes or individuals finish in an obvious order (first place, second place) but multiple rewards are awarded that are essentially the same, points will be awarded to all the winning tribes/individuals (Usually this is stated in the rules of the challenge. I.e. all tribes/individuals that don't finish last are awarded the reward).
2. At times, the reward challenge consists of a bidding event where contestants are given money or tokens with which to bid on rewards. In general, reward bonus points will not be awarded for this type of challenge. If one (and only one) of the prizes is unambiguously superior to the other prizes (for example, a new car versus a pizza pie), reward points may be awarded to the winner of this prize. In the case of potentially valuable prizes such as clues to future challenges, these are not deemed unambiguously superior as they may or may not provide a future advantage to the winner of the prize. Whether a prize is considered unambigiously superior is at the sole discretion of the administrator.
3. Sometimes the winner of a reward challenge is allowed (or required) to share or even transfer the reward to other tribes/individuals. In this case, the points will be awarded to the original winner, not the tribe or individual that the reward was transferred to or shared with. This may seem in contradiction with one of the scenarios in (a) above, however the difference is that in (a) the rules of the challenge specifically stipulate that there will be multiple winners, even if the finish order is obvious in that one team finishes ahead of another, while in (b) the winner is required to share, or wishes to transfer the reward with other team(s). For example, in Survivor All-Stars, a reward was won by one tribe. They were given the choice of one reward all to themselves, or a different (better) reward with the stipulation that ALL tribes would receive the same reward. (b) would apply here since the winning tribe made the choice to "share" the reward with the other tribes and points would only be awarded to the original winner. Had the rules of the challenge been spelled out before the challenge that the first and second place finishers would each get the reward, then (a) would have applied and points would have been awarded to both first and second finishers.
4. Sometimes there is no reward challenge or the reward challenge may complete without a winner and a reward being won. In these cases, no points will be awarded for the reward challenge.
5. If there are multiple tribes in the game, but there is a merge possible, the administrator will activate the "contingency" bonus questions. This allows you to vote for the individual you think will win reward should the tribes merge. If the tribes do in fact merge and an individual wins the challenge, points will be awarded based on your contingency pick. The tribe they were in or the tribe you picked for the reward challenge will have no bearing on points awarded.
6. If a merge occurs without the "contingency bonus" being activated and in fact the tribes merge resulting in an individual winning reward, or if in fact the tribes have already merged and the bonus questions asks for an individual winner and the tribes re-form resulting in a tribe winning reward, no reward bonus points will be awarded. The tribe the winner came from has no bearing on this.
7. If a player temporarily (as indicated by the show's host) switches tribes for any reason and a challenge is won while a player (or players) are on a different tribe, that fact will have no bearing on how points are awarded.
8. If the tribes are re-arranged permanently (at least up until the merge), either by random chance or by choice (there are various examples in past Survivors of both types of tribe re-arrangements taking place), then the Reward Bonus will be awarded as if the new tribemates had always been on the same tribe, provided the tribe name remains the same. While I realize that a different makeup of a tribe may have changed the way you selected the Challenge winner, that's the game. Certainly the new tribe has to live with this change as they actually compete in the Challenge. If the re-arranged tribes take on new names such that the names do not match the names you voted for, even if you could say that "most" of the tribemates on the new tribe came from the old tribe, the Reward Bonus is null and void.
9. If an as yet unknown tribe wins a Reward Challenge (or part of a Reward Challenge), then no points will be awarded for that tribe (there is no way you could have picked them anyway). For example, the "Outcasts" tribe on Survivor Pearl Islands. If an existing tribe shares the Reward with the unknown tribe (see above for rules governing multiple winners), points WILL be awarded for the existing tribe.
10. At times during the show, the Reward Challenge is actually performed by non-contestants in the game (family and friends of the outcasts for example). Usually the non-contestant is actually representing one of the Survivors. If there is a clear link in place and an individual or tribe wins the Reward based on their representative(s), then the Reward Bonus will be awarded to the individual or tribe that actually receives the Reward.
Immunity Challenge: Most weeks, an Immunity Challenge bonus question is offered. This bonus is awarded to the tribe(s) or individual(s) that win the Immunity Challenge each week.
1. Multiple tribes or individuals may win an Immunity Challenge. As for points being awarded for the Immunity Challenge bonus, the criteria is simply that the tribe or individual voted for must in fact win Immunity from Tribal Council and any voting. Even if no vote actually occurs, but a challenge is held and there is a clear winner that is awarded Immunity, points will still be awarded. Unlike the Reward Challenge, if multiple tribes win Immunity and there is a clear winner gains an additional prize (reward), points will be awarded to all tribes/individuals that actually gained Immunity. No consideration will be given to extra bonuses given to winners of the Immunity Challenge.
2. Sometimes the winner of an Immunity Challenge is allowed to transfer the Immunity to other tribes/individuals. In this case, the points will be awarded to the original winner, not the tribe or individual that the Immunity was transferred to. It is inconceivable that an Immunity winner would be REQUIRED to transfer or allowed to SHARE Immunity, but if that situation ever exists, this rule will apply.
3. In rare cases there is no Immunity Challenge or the Immunity Challenge completes without a clear winner and no Immunity being won. In these cases, no points will be awarded for the Immunity Challenge.
4. If there are multiple tribes in the game, but there is a merge possible, the administrator will activate the "contingency" bonus questions. This allows you to vote for the individual you think will win Immunity should the tribes merge. If the tribes do in fact merge and an individual wins the challenge, points will be awarded based on your contingency pick. The tribe they were in or the tribe you picked for the Immunity Challenge will have no bearing on points awarded.
5. If a merge occurs without the "contingency bonus" being activated and in fact the tribes merge resulting in an individual winning Immunity, or if in fact the tribes have already merged and the bonus questions asks for an individual winner and the tribes re-form resulting in a tribe winning Immunity, no Immunity bonus points will be awarded. The tribe the winner came from has no bearing on this.
6. If a player temporarily (as indicated by the show's host) switches tribes for any reason and a challenge is won while a player (or players) are on a different tribe, that fact will have no bearing on how points are awarded.
7. If the tribes are re-arranged permanently (at least up until the merge), either by random chance or by choice (there are various examples in past Survivors of both types of tribe re-arrangements taking place), then the Immunity Bonus will be awarded as if the new tribemates had always been on the same tribe, provided the tribe name remains the same. While I realize that a different makeup of a tribe may have changed the way you selected the Challenge winner, that's the game. Certainly the new tribe has to live with this change as they actually compete in the Challenge. If the re-arranged tribes take on new names such that the names do not match the names you voted for, even if you could say that "most" of the tribemates on the new tribe came from the old tribe, the Immunity Bonus is null and void.
8. If an as yet unknown tribe wins a Immunity Challenge (or part of a Immunity Challenge), then no points will be awarded for that tribe (there is no way you could have picked them anyway). For example, the "Outcasts" tribe on Survivor Pearl Islands. If an existing tribe shares Immunity with the unknown tribe (see above for rules governing multiple winners), points WILL be awarded for the existing tribe.
9. At times during the show, the Immunity Challenge is actually performed by non-contestants in the game (family and friends of the outcasts for example). Usually the non-contestant is actually representing one of the Survivors. If there is a clear link in place and an individual or tribe wins Immunity based on their representative(s), then the Immunity Bonus will be awarded to the individual or tribe that actually receives Immunity.
Combined Challenges: Sometimes the Immunity and Reward challenges are combined into one single challenge where the winner gets Immunity AND a Reward.
1. The winner of the combined challenge is considered the winner of both the Reward and Immunity Challenges for the week, even though this would tend to double-weight the single competition.
2. For this to be the case, however, there must be no other reward-like challenges (whether or not it is explicitly called a "reward challenge") and no other rewards must be offered. If either of these scenarios occur and the loser of the challenge is awarded a reward, Reward Challenge bonus points for the week will not be awarded. If the WINNER of the combined challenge is also the same tribe/individual that is awarded the separate reward, Reward Challenge bonus points will still be awarded to the winner.
Multiple Challenges: Sometimes there may be multiple challenges (see below for the official definition of a challenge) for reward or immunity. The general rule will follow that for multiple winners of a challenge.
1. If there are multiple challenges for reward or immunity, and there are separate winners, regular Reward or Immunity (as appopriate) bonus points (+5 points) will be awarded to all those that select one of the winners.
2. If for some reason there are multiple challenges (for reward) and the same winner wins each time, no additional bonus points will be awarded for the multiple wins (only the single +5 points will be awarded).
Definition of a Challenge: For the purposes of this game, the following shall define what constitutes a challenge:
1. If the host explicitly calls the challenge a "Reward Challenge" or "Immunity Challenge", it counts as a challenge. This rule takes precedence over the rest of this section. However, it is not a requirement that the host explicitly calls the challenge a reward or immunity challenge (see below).
2. To be a challenge, there must be some aspect of competition, a puzzle to be solved or a task to be completed, although the difficulty is not a factor in this determination. Specifically, this rules out "gifts" that may be handed out to competitors without having to perform a challenge to get them.
3. To be a challenge, all parties must have a chance of being awarded the reward or immunity. If the challenge is one where the award is either awarded if the challenge is successfully completed, or not awarded at all, this does not count as a challenge.
4. It is not necessary for all parties to be actively competing to be considered a challenge. For example, if the challenge is performed by one party, with failure resulting in the award going to a non-competitor, this still counts as a challenge.
5. Even if ALL challengers "win" the challenge, it still is considered a challenge.
6. A challenge need not explicitly be called "reward challenge" or "immunity challenge" for it to be considered a reward or immunity challenge. If the end result is a reward being awarded or immunity from tribal council being bestowed, it meets the requirement of being a challenge. This stipulation, however, only applies if there is not an explicitly named challenge that occurs elsewhere in the interval between tribal councils. In the case of a combined challenge, such as an Immunity/Reward challenge, it would still be possible to have a separate reward challenge not explicitly named.
Finale extra bonus questions: During the final episode, two additional bonus questions are offered.
1. Second Immunity Challenge winner (5 points). If past seasons are any indication, there are two Immunity Challenges offered during the finale episode. An additional bonus question is offered during this episode only, with points being awarded to the winner of the second Immunity Challenge. See #6 above for rules related to Immunity Bonus questions.
2. Sole Survivor (100 points). For the final week of votes, you are asked to pick the Sole Survivor as a bonus question worth 100 points. In this case you are picking who you think will win the grand prize of the Survivor TV show. The rules of the show dictate what points are awarded. Hopefully it is obvious that this will be the person that receives the most votes during the final Tribal Council, but just to cover myself, if for example there is evidence of cheating uncovered and they award the grand prize to a different player for any reason, the player that is awarded the grand prize receives the points. If for some unforseen reason no grand prize is offered at all, this bonus question will not be awarded.
Other bonus questions: I tend to shy away from any other bonus questions since the game starts to take on more of a "Fantasy" flavor which I specifically try to avoid, but every now and then there is a "Pick'Em" style bonus question that is appropriate. When used, these questions will be worth as much as the other bonus questions (5 points). An example bonus question in Survivor Pearl Islands was which two Survivors would be voted back in. By their nature, these questions are impromptu and cannot be conceived in advance. If additional bonus questions are added for a given week, the rules covering them will be discussed on the Tribal Council Message Board.
Survivors returning to the game or new Survivors added to the game: Sometimes Survivors have returned to the game from being voted off, and it's not inconceivable that additional Survivors would be added to the current Survivors (e.g. if additional "All-Stars" were to join the existing All-Stars). Provided you were given an opportunity to pick these players for "voted off" and bonus questions, points would be awarded as usual. However, for example, if a Survivor is added at the beginning of an episode but voted out at the end, no points would be awarded (since there is no way you could have picked that player or tribe). Of more concern, however, is the Extreme Pool:
1. If the new Survivor is a brand new Survivor (was not in the game as of the series premiere) and is permanently replacing (if the show mentions this is only a temporary replacement, it is not considered permanent) an existing Survivor, your picks for the Survivor being replaced will be replaced with the new Survivor. For example, if you picked Larry to be voted off 12th in the Extreme Pool but partway through the season he is replaced with Curly, your Extreme Pool picks would show Curly being voted off 12th.
2. If the new Survivor is a returning Survivor (a la Lil and Burton in Survivor Pearl Islands), they will be re-activiated in the Extreme Pool until such time as they are voted out again. Therefore, if in your picks you had "Moe" as the last Survivor voted out, and Moe got voted out in Week 3, back in Week 7 and back out Week 10, you would receive a point for Moe in Weeks 1 and 2. You would not receive points in Weeks 3-6. You would receive points in Weeks 7-9. And you would not receive points from Week 10 on.

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