(I posted a version of this in the Three Tribes thread, but it discusses more than three tribes and I probably should have posted here). Here are
several twists I've been advocating since the early years.
THREE TRIBES E1-E4/5 - 18 INITIAL SURVIVORS
The purpose of 3 tribes is to stress tribes and reduce the likelihood of Pagonging (the systematic elimination of the minority at the merge) without having to resort to a random pre-merge swap which creates too much chaos and can punish players who have essentially been winning the game up until the swap. But without a swap, the risk of a boring Pagonging is high.
Other devices for stressing a tribe's allegiances at the merge are problematic - loading tribes up with stupid people ... having them spend time together in pairs in Exile or on Rewards ... although I think tribes all should have some line of likely schism - class, regional, political, personalities .... its no fun when they sit around singing kum-ba ya.
A second advantage of 3 tribes is that it allows 18 in an even M-F distribution per tribe. 18 is also enough to have a Final 3 and absorb a quit or medevac or two without having to go 20 and having too many to keep track of. 3 tribes of 6 also sets a nice generational balance with each tribe having something like 2 < 28, 2 28 - 39s, and 2 40 and overs - one gender in each group.
A problem with a 3x6 early game is you can have a tribe lose the first 3 ICs and enter E4 with only 3. At that point, the Challenges get asymetric and problematic. Any 3 tribe game is probably going to have to collapse the tribes down to 2 tribes either E4 or E5. But if you're merging at 12 (which I like), then you will have accomplished the goal of creating an interesting set of tribal loyalties at the merge - a 3 way game plus a couple of players mixed into the two merged tribes after their tribe gets eliminated for reaching 4 first.
A second problem with 3 tribes is airtime. You've got three stories to tell rather than two. This can get partially solved in two ways. One is to combine the early RC/ICs. Three tribes does this well, in that 1st place gets Reward + Immunity, 2nd gets Immunity and 3rd gets a trip to TC. You can also have 2-staged RC/ICs where lots of game theory gets introducted. For example, Stage 1 is for Reward and Immunity and uses most of your players. Stage 2 is just for Immunity (or Immunity and say half the Reward value) between the tribes finishing 2nd and 3rd in Stage 1. Depending on your tribe's attributes, you may want to play your strongest in Stage 2, and minimize the worst case, rather than maximize the best case.
There are three other Twists I like for 3 Tribe Games (any comnination or all):
ASSASSIN
Assassin replaces the Hidden II which in my opinion has long ago played out as a device. First its not very effective at anti-Pagonging, and second its been as much of a curse as an advantage. 3rd its been too randomly attainable. In "Assassin" after losing your first IC, your tribe stays behind. Each tribemember then draws the name of one of their tribe members. If they vote for that person at the TC at which they are eliminated that Survivor gets an Assassin's Immunity (AI) at the next TC they attend (revealed after votes are cast but before they are read). Tremendous intra-tribal stress is created which continues post-merge. In a 3 tribe game it also makes Pagonging the new arrivals into a tribe at the collapse from 3 to 2 more interesting and from the 3 to 2 tribe collapse through the merged game, there is pressure to vote off people from alternating original tribes.
INDIVIDUAL POSSESSIONS
The initial RC is played for order, males and females finishing in two queues - tribal colors are handed out - and then starting with the women 8 items are selected in order of finish from a choice of something like - flint, pot w/ rice, tarp, raft, fishing gear, michetes (2), canteens (4), rope 100 feet. The last place finisher gets nothing. The men then select from an identical set of items. These possessions are personal up through the merge, if you are eliminated, they go with you. They can't be stolen. They can however be traded or exchanged. And they can only be used with your permission. Tribes also earn points - towards Camp Selection.
Like Pagonging, the two other flaws in Survivor or the tendency to kill older women early and strong men at the merge. While you don't want to tilt the game in such a way that people get advantage becuase of who they are, they should have the opportunity to earn advantages that might overcome the conventional game theory - kill the old women first, kill strong men at the merge ...
DIFFERENTIATED CAMPS - COMMONS
If the game opens with the individual RC and points are won by individuals, you can also have them vote (perhaps prior to communicating with the rest of their tribe) for Camp 1 - Best Resources, Camp 2 - Average Resources adjacent to Camp 3, Camp 3 limited Resources adjacent to Camp 2. There can be a Commons shared by 2 and 3 with limited resources not at either camp. After the collapse from 3 to 2 tribes, camp 3 would be abondonded. But it allows airtime in E1-E4 to be used more efficiently in telling the story of Tribes 2 and 3. Lots of game theory at play in this set up. Tribes 2 and 3 have the opportunity for collaberation, but at a cost of intra-tribal suspicions. They are also incented by the resources in the commons to rival and compete to exploit these limited resources.
ELIMINATION CHALLENGES
When you cast 18 or 20 and want 13 episodes, you have to do multi-kill episodes if there aren't quits or evacs. I like the idea - especially in a three tribe set with a collapse of 3 to 2 pre-merge of setting an elimination challenge to accomplish the multi-kill, just before the merge. The tribes arrive and they compete individually, the loser is eliminated right then and there. This works well, right after the collapse from 3 to 2 to stir up a tribe that has just absorbed some new people and gives the newbies some chaos to exploit and perhaps a bit more of a numeric. Elimination Challenges have been used in many of the foreign seasons especially in the end game.
FAN CASTING
I've been toying with various alternatives for how this could work but in whatever scheme could be worked out, fans or a "jury" of fans are involved in the selection process. They would be incented by getting prizes for how their player finishes or the popularity of their choice in a end of season fan vote. Another would be for CBS to announce that S21 will only be cast from fan/applicants and CBS will not "recruit".
Cheers, 7o62x39
THREE TRIBES E1-E4/5 - 18 INITIAL SURVIVORS
The purpose of 3 tribes is to stress tribes and reduce the likelihood of Pagonging (the systematic elimination of the minority at the merge) without having to resort to a random pre-merge swap which creates too much chaos and can punish players who have essentially been winning the game up until the swap. But without a swap, the risk of a boring Pagonging is high.
Other devices for stressing a tribe's allegiances at the merge are problematic - loading tribes up with stupid people ... having them spend time together in pairs in Exile or on Rewards ... although I think tribes all should have some line of likely schism - class, regional, political, personalities .... its no fun when they sit around singing kum-ba ya.
A second advantage of 3 tribes is that it allows 18 in an even M-F distribution per tribe. 18 is also enough to have a Final 3 and absorb a quit or medevac or two without having to go 20 and having too many to keep track of. 3 tribes of 6 also sets a nice generational balance with each tribe having something like 2 < 28, 2 28 - 39s, and 2 40 and overs - one gender in each group.
A problem with a 3x6 early game is you can have a tribe lose the first 3 ICs and enter E4 with only 3. At that point, the Challenges get asymetric and problematic. Any 3 tribe game is probably going to have to collapse the tribes down to 2 tribes either E4 or E5. But if you're merging at 12 (which I like), then you will have accomplished the goal of creating an interesting set of tribal loyalties at the merge - a 3 way game plus a couple of players mixed into the two merged tribes after their tribe gets eliminated for reaching 4 first.
A second problem with 3 tribes is airtime. You've got three stories to tell rather than two. This can get partially solved in two ways. One is to combine the early RC/ICs. Three tribes does this well, in that 1st place gets Reward + Immunity, 2nd gets Immunity and 3rd gets a trip to TC. You can also have 2-staged RC/ICs where lots of game theory gets introducted. For example, Stage 1 is for Reward and Immunity and uses most of your players. Stage 2 is just for Immunity (or Immunity and say half the Reward value) between the tribes finishing 2nd and 3rd in Stage 1. Depending on your tribe's attributes, you may want to play your strongest in Stage 2, and minimize the worst case, rather than maximize the best case.
There are three other Twists I like for 3 Tribe Games (any comnination or all):
ASSASSIN
Assassin replaces the Hidden II which in my opinion has long ago played out as a device. First its not very effective at anti-Pagonging, and second its been as much of a curse as an advantage. 3rd its been too randomly attainable. In "Assassin" after losing your first IC, your tribe stays behind. Each tribemember then draws the name of one of their tribe members. If they vote for that person at the TC at which they are eliminated that Survivor gets an Assassin's Immunity (AI) at the next TC they attend (revealed after votes are cast but before they are read). Tremendous intra-tribal stress is created which continues post-merge. In a 3 tribe game it also makes Pagonging the new arrivals into a tribe at the collapse from 3 to 2 more interesting and from the 3 to 2 tribe collapse through the merged game, there is pressure to vote off people from alternating original tribes.
INDIVIDUAL POSSESSIONS
The initial RC is played for order, males and females finishing in two queues - tribal colors are handed out - and then starting with the women 8 items are selected in order of finish from a choice of something like - flint, pot w/ rice, tarp, raft, fishing gear, michetes (2), canteens (4), rope 100 feet. The last place finisher gets nothing. The men then select from an identical set of items. These possessions are personal up through the merge, if you are eliminated, they go with you. They can't be stolen. They can however be traded or exchanged. And they can only be used with your permission. Tribes also earn points - towards Camp Selection.
Like Pagonging, the two other flaws in Survivor or the tendency to kill older women early and strong men at the merge. While you don't want to tilt the game in such a way that people get advantage becuase of who they are, they should have the opportunity to earn advantages that might overcome the conventional game theory - kill the old women first, kill strong men at the merge ...
DIFFERENTIATED CAMPS - COMMONS
If the game opens with the individual RC and points are won by individuals, you can also have them vote (perhaps prior to communicating with the rest of their tribe) for Camp 1 - Best Resources, Camp 2 - Average Resources adjacent to Camp 3, Camp 3 limited Resources adjacent to Camp 2. There can be a Commons shared by 2 and 3 with limited resources not at either camp. After the collapse from 3 to 2 tribes, camp 3 would be abondonded. But it allows airtime in E1-E4 to be used more efficiently in telling the story of Tribes 2 and 3. Lots of game theory at play in this set up. Tribes 2 and 3 have the opportunity for collaberation, but at a cost of intra-tribal suspicions. They are also incented by the resources in the commons to rival and compete to exploit these limited resources.
ELIMINATION CHALLENGES
When you cast 18 or 20 and want 13 episodes, you have to do multi-kill episodes if there aren't quits or evacs. I like the idea - especially in a three tribe set with a collapse of 3 to 2 pre-merge of setting an elimination challenge to accomplish the multi-kill, just before the merge. The tribes arrive and they compete individually, the loser is eliminated right then and there. This works well, right after the collapse from 3 to 2 to stir up a tribe that has just absorbed some new people and gives the newbies some chaos to exploit and perhaps a bit more of a numeric. Elimination Challenges have been used in many of the foreign seasons especially in the end game.
FAN CASTING
I've been toying with various alternatives for how this could work but in whatever scheme could be worked out, fans or a "jury" of fans are involved in the selection process. They would be incented by getting prizes for how their player finishes or the popularity of their choice in a end of season fan vote. Another would be for CBS to announce that S21 will only be cast from fan/applicants and CBS will not "recruit".
Cheers, 7o62x39
