Last Revised: 2024/May/28 (Season 46)
ONLINE SURVIVOR OFFICIAL RULES
Below are the official rules of Online Survivor. All contestants are expected to review these rules prior to participation in the game. The rules are color-coded as follows:
Blue: Real Survivor rules
Black: Online Survivor rules
Red: Online Survivor rules different from real Survivor rules
Bold: Major modifications since the previous season
2.2 Schedule Vetoes
Contestants are given the opportunity to cast vetoes (request-offs) for days they are not available. If meeting days are limited, these vetoes may be ignored. However, when flexibility exists, vetoes will determine the final schedule. The following rules apply to vetoes:
a) Each contestant may only use six vetoes per game
b) Contestants may use multiple vetoes in one week, but may not cast multiple vetoes for the same day
c) If the day requested off is scheduled, no veto will be charged
3.3 Attendance
a) Meetings will be divided into four sections. These sections will be either 15 or 30 minutes in length, depending on if a Tribal Council is held. A contestant must post a message in the active tribe camp or challenge for each of these sections to receive full attendance. Not posting in a section will result in 3/4, 1/2, 1/4, or 0 attendance for the day. Sitting idly or posting in their private confessional is not counted toward attendance. If busy with an official task (e.g., voting), the host may count their completion of this task as attendance.
b) If an event ends early, contestants are expected to continue posting in their tribe camp, and attendance will still be taken until the hour has expired.
c) If an event ends late, any posts made will be considered part of the final section. No additional sections will be added, and no one will receive less attendance for not participating past the planned ending time.
d) A contestant's attendance is determined by dividing the number of meeting days present by the number of meeting days held and rounding to the nearest whole percentage.
3.4 Inactivity
Non-participation may result in expulsion from the series. Contestants are expected to have at least 50% attendance, or they will be removed from the game. However, a progressive grace period will be in place for the first half of the game. The required attendance during this period is determined by proportionally increasing the requirement from 0% to 50% over the first 14 meeting days. Anyone who has joined the server will be immune from elimination for the first two days. Otherwise, each percentage must be achieved by the start of the meeting day...
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a) Any INACTIVE who earns attendance will be considered ACTIVE for the duration of the current meeting day.
b) At the start of each Immunity Challenge, the host will announce any currently INACTIVE contestants. Ordinarily, these contestants will be given until the end of the challenge to earn attendance and avoid ejection. However, if multiple eliminations are planned, the host may eject INACTIVES at the start of the challenge to give their tribes a fair chance at Immunity. The host may also insert or cancel eliminations to preserve the flow of the game.
g) If at any time it becomes impossible for a contestant to achieve 50% attendance by the end of the game, they will be ejected from the game, regardless of the above rules. Since attendance is officially calculated between meetings, the ejection will only occur between meetings, and not at the exact moment of impossibility.
4.1 Challenge Instructions
b) Spelling always counts unless otherwise stated. Answers will be considered incorrect if they are misspelled. More specifically, this is defined as incorrect or extra letters inserted at the beginning, middle, or end of a word. Singular and plural answers are both considered correct regardless of the question. Non-letters (e.g., punctuation, numbers, special characters, etc.) will be ignored unless they are placed in between letters or are vital to the answer. These rules will be inverted for numerical answers (e.g. letters at the beginning or end will be ignored).
c) All answers must be spelled out in their entirety. No abbreviations may be used unless the full word(s) are rarely used in common speech.
d) When answering someone's name, only the last name is required, and only the last name's spelling is verified, even if the first name makes the answer incorrect.
e) Whichever answer appears first in the server, counts first. (Note: When answers are submitted in close proximity, the sender's computer usually lists its own post first, regardless of the order it was submitted. All neutral computers will list the posts in the order they were sent to the server. A full refresh of Discord will re-list messages in the correct order.)
f) If the host posts a time limit or counts down in the room, these posts are official, even if the host's counting is not completely accurate up to the second.
g) If a contestant posts a correct answer out of turn, their team will be prohibited from answering that round. The first opponent to re-type the correct answer will be given credit. If for any reason this gives an unfair advantage to one opponent over another, the item will be thrown out. If the contestant continues to answer out of turn, they will be dismissed from that challenge.
h) Any contestant arriving late will be entered into the challenge from the start. If this gives the contestant or their team an advantage, they will be entered into the challenge tied with the contestant in last place. If someone has already been eliminated, they will not be permitted to play.
i) During team challenges, each team will have two 3-Minute Time Outs. Someone on the team must post "Time Out", and then wait for confirmation by the host. Upon confirmation, the challenge will be stopped for up to 3 minutes. A full Time Out is charged regardless of if the full 3 minutes were used or not. For individual challenges, each individual contestant will have only one Time Out. A Time Out may not be used when it is not currently their turn to participate. The host has the right to refuse a Time Out, especially if the challenge is timed or based on endurance.
j) If a contestant is not responding, the host will count down from 60 seconds, and then consider the contestant absent. If they later respond, they may re-enter the challenge from where they left off, if possible. If this would give them an unfair advantage, they will be treated in the same manner as someone arriving late (see h).
k) If a challenge extends beyond the halfway point of a planned Tribal Council (1.5 hours into the meeting), all contestants will be given a free absentee ballot (see 6.1.g) good for that night only. It is up to each contestant whether or not they wish to use this ballot, but it may not be saved for a future Tribal Council.
5.1 Survivor Points (SP)
a) All Reward Challenges will have a prize of at least 15 SP for the winners during the tribal stage, and at least 20 SP for the winner(s) during the individual stage
b) All Immunity Challenges will have the same rewards as SP Challenges. The best individual performers on each tribe will receive SP as listed above (see 4.3.b).
c) For a contestant to receive SP, they must accomplish one or more of the following criterion:
-Fully participate in their portion of the challenge
-Directly contribute to their team's victory (e.g. Score a point)
-Earn full attendance for the challenge
-Post a message before and after the challenge ends, and have these messages be at least 15 minutes apart.
d) The tribe(s) or contestant(s) with the most SP will be given minor advantages that are normally determined randomly (e.g., going first)
e) Optionally, the contestant(s) with the most SP near the game's end may be given major advantages (e.g., skipping large portions of challenges)
f) The finalist finishing the game with the most SP will receive votes from any absent jurors at the Final Tribal Council (see 7.2.c)
5.4 Transferring Items
a) Anything won in public must be transferred in public, and may only be done at a Challenge, Tribal Council, or Twist while the host, giver, AND receiver are all present and posting in the chat.
b) Anything won or found in secret (e.g., Hidden Immunity Idols), may be transferred at almost any time. However, both the giver and receiver must respond to the host's private messages before the transfer can be completed.
c) SP may only be transferred immediately after the challenge in which it is won, before contestants are sent back to camp.
d) No items, public or secret, may be transferred while votes are being read at Tribal Council.
e) All items are considered dead and may no longer be used or transferred if their current owner is voted out.
***Note: Secret items usually come with a code. Contestants may give this code to others to temporarily share items, and anyone may post the code to use the item. However, if someone attempts to use a code against the owner's will, the owner has the right to cancel the item's use. The only way an item may be stolen is if the owner is absent when the code is used. It is highly discouraged to share the code unless the owner is absolutely sure they want that person to use it. The owner may request a new code at any time if they believe it has been compromised.
6.1 Tribal Council Process
h) Each contestant MUST cast one vote, regardless of absence or presence. In the event only one option exists, the host may skip the formality of their vote, but the vote will still be counted for tiebreaker purposes. Any contestant that is absent or refuses to submit a valid vote will have their vote recorded against themself. If they may not vote for themself due to immunity, or if they mistakenly submitted an invalid absentee ballot, their vote be decided automatically using the following progression...
i) Once the votes are read the decision is final. The person voted out must leave the Tribal Council area immediately. That contestant may not return to the game for any reason unless they are on the jury or asked to return by the host.
6.2 Tie Votes
6.3 Hidden Immunity Idols
6.4 Mass Immunity
The sole purpose of each Tribal Council is to provide a forum for contestants to air their views and opinions concerning events since the previous Tribal Council, culminating in a vote to eliminate at least one contestant at the conclusion of the meeting. Votes will be cast individually by each contestant at the Tribal Council. The host will conceal the individual votes from the other contestants. The following rules apply to Tribal Councils:
a) Contestants will vote in alphabetical order when an even number of people remain in the game and reverse alphabetical order when an odd number of people remain in the game.
b) Once called, contestants must Privately Message the host with the name of the contestant against whom they wish to vote. Contestants must submit their votes in the format of "[Vote] Comments" (e.g. [John] He is the weakest member of our tribe). The name listed in brackets is exactly how the vote will be revealed, and contestants may customize their vote in any way they wish. However, they may not use profanity or obscenity, and the number of characters, including spaces, may not exceed 40.
c) Should any contestant fail to cast a valid vote within five minutes, the host will announce that the contestant did not submit a vote and is currently self-voting, then call the next contestant.
d) If a contestant wishes to change their vote (including those who did not vote), they must publicly request to re-vote. They will then be re-called at the end of the voting order. All re-votes must be submitted within two minutes, or the original vote will stand.
e) A vote cast against an immune contestant will be void, and the contestant returning such a vote will be required to vote again for a non-immune contestant.
f) No contestant may secretly cast a vote against themself. If a contestant votes against themself, the contestant returning such a vote will be required to vote again for a contestant other than themself.
g) Each contestant is permitted to absentee vote in advance of Tribal Council. The absentee ballot may include ranked choice voting and is good for all votes that night (tiebreakers, double eliminations, etc.). All absentee ballots will cost one veto (see 2.2). If a contestant has no vetoes remaining, they may not cast an absentee ballot.
-Whoever is absent/self-voting
-Whomever they have personally voted against the most at past Tribal Councils.
-Whomever they have personally voted against most recently.
-Whoever has accumulated the most overall votes at previous Tribal Councils.
-Whoever received any vote at Tribal Council most recently.
-Whoever has the worst attendance.
-Whoever attended a meeting least recently (including meeting sections, if applicable).
-Whoever has the least SP.
-Whoever earned less SP on the most recent day.
-Random draw among absent contestants.
-Random draw among present contestants.
The contestant with the most votes against them will be eliminated. The vote need only be a plurality, not a majority. If there is a tie between contestants, then another vote will be conducted in which all contestants at the Tribal Council must vote to eliminate one of such tied contestants. The contestants involved in the tie may not vote, even if more than 2 people are involved in the tie. This voting process may continue until one and only one contestant is chosen for elimination. If, however, there is a deadlock in the voting as determined by the host, then the following shall occur, with a new tiebreaker vote occurring from the beginning if only part of the tie is broken:
a) It will be announced how many votes the tied contestants have accumulated in all initial votes at previous Tribal Councils (This does not include tiebreaker votes, or votes cast at a vote that was canceled by an idol). The contestant with the most accumulated votes will be eliminated.
b) In the event that a tie exists among the accumulated previous votes, the contestants who are tied shall compete against each other in a duel challenge, to be decided by the host. The contestant who loses this challenge shall be eliminated.
c) Any absent contestants will forfeit the above duel. Should more than one tied contestant be absent from the Tribal Council, the tribe will be given five minutes to decide which absent member should be eliminated. If no plurality is reached, a representative for each contestant shall roll dice at the host's command. The contestant whose representative rolls the lowest dice total will be eliminated. If the dice rolls are tied, the contestant whose representative rolled last will be eliminated.
(Why is this different from the real Survivor?)
***Note: If a scenario occurs where there is a 2-person Tribal Council, and the vote will inevitably tie 1-1, the above tiebreakers will not apply. Instead, the contestants will immediately compete in a duel to decide who is eliminated. No immunities or other items may be played to avoid this duel.
Hidden Immunity Idols may be hidden in the game in a variety of manners. The following rules apply to Hidden Immunity Idols played after the vote:
a) The idol may only be used for the initial vote. The idol may not be used for a tiebreaker vote, or for a new vote caused by another Hidden Immunity Idol.
b) Any contestant wishing to use a Hidden Immunity Idol must be present and must play it before the first vote is read. They may assign it to someone else if they wish, but that contestant must also be present.
c) Anyone voting for themself will not be permitted to use a Hidden Immunity Idol (or have one played on them).
d) If the person receiving the most votes has played an idol (or had one played on them), they will not be eliminated. The Tribal Council and all votes cast will be voided, and a new Tribal Council will begin consisting ONLY of everyone that voted for them. All other contestants will be sent back to camp. All played immunities and items will carry over, however, no new immunities or items may be played for this new vote.
e) In the event of a tie vote, anyone who played a Hidden Immunity Idol will immediately win the tiebreaker, and the other person will be eliminated. If more than one person still remains in the tie, the tiebreaker will proceed as normal.
f) If a tie occurs only between contestants who have played idols, their idols will be used in combination. Any individual that voted to eliminate either contestant will attend the new Tribal Council.
g) If a contestant uses a Hidden Immunity Idol but is forced to remain for a new Tribal Council due to another Hidden Immunity Idol, their idol will carry over in the form of individual immunity.
h) All votes cast when an idol is played unsuccessfully will still count toward everyone's previous vote total, including the person playing the idol. When an idol is played successfully and the Tribal Council is voided, all the votes will also be voided, as if the vote never occurred.
(Why is this different from the real Survivor?)
No one may be eliminated by default. At least 2 people must be eligible for elimination at each Tribal Council vote, otherwise the following process will be applied until at least 2 people are eligible for elimination:
a) If hidden immunity idols were successfully played, no one will be sent back to camp. The player(s) using a hidden immunity idol will be given individual immunity, and a new vote will occur among everyone.
b) All immunities except those won in Immunity Challenges will cancel out and those players will become vulnerable.
c) Immunities won in Immunity Challenges will be removed from players in the order they were earned (the most recent immunity will always remain).
***Note: All canceled immunities may not be played again at current or future Tribal Councils. However, if a contestant possesses more than 1 immunity, they may play them after immunities are canceled out, provided the initial vote has not yet occurred.
(Why is this different from the real Survivor?)
7.1 Finale Scheduling Procedure
Schedule vetoes no longer apply during finale week. Rather, the host will collect availability from each remaining contestant before finale week and schedule the final meeting day for a time when all contestants guarantee they are available. The following rules apply to scheduling the final day:
a) If a contestant is unavailable or becomes unavailable for the final day, they have the right to request a postponement. However, the final day may only be postponed for a finalist once.
b) If a finalist did not request a postponement, and is absent at the Final Tribal Council, they will be ejected from the game and moved to the jury.
c) No one may win by default. If 1 or no contestants remain at the Final Tribal Council, the most recently eliminated juror(s) will replace the ejected contestant(s) and have an opportunity to win the game.
d) If an absent finalist arrives before the final vote has begun, they may be given back their finalist position at the discretion of the host. Time elapsed and number of jurors present will factor into this decision.
e) For the game to end, the host, two finalists, and at least one juror must be present at the Final Tribal Council. If this is not the case, the Final Tribal Council will be postponed after a waiting period of one hour.
7.2 Jurors
On average, seven (7) eliminated contestants, determined in the host's sole discretion, will be expected to participate as part of the jury in the Final Tribal Council to decide the winner. The host in his sole discretion may increase or decrease the number of contestants who shall serve on the jury. All such eliminated contestants may be required to attend or watch subsequent meetings of the Tribal Council, as determined by the host, to ensure an informed decision at the Final Tribal Council. Contestants may be expelled from the jury or otherwise removed for a violation of the rules or for other reasons at the host's sole discretion. The following rules apply to the jury:
a) Upon elimination, each contestant must have been voted out to join the jury. If a contestant is eliminated via ejection, quitting, or inactivity, their jury spot will be surrendered to the most recently voted out contestant. If no contestant exists, the most recently eliminated inactive will join the jury. However, any contestant that has quit the game, or been forcibly removed for a reason other than attendance, may not join the jury for any reason.
b) The Final Tribal Council will consist of previously eliminated contestants (the number to be determined in the host's sole discretion), who will vote for a winner among the final contestants. At the conclusion of the Final Tribal Council, each such eliminated contestant will cast a secret ballot for one of the final contestants as the winner. The contestant with the greatest number of votes cast for them as winner is the winner. Before this vote can occur, each finalist must be given an opportunity to make an opening statement, each juror must be given an opportunity to question the finalists, and each finalist must be given an opportunity to make a closing statement.
c) Absentee ballots may be used for the Final Tribal Council. The juror must have an absentee ballot left over from the game and may submit questions/comments for the finalists with their vote. For all other absent jurors, the finalist finishing with the most SP will receive their votes. However, they may only receive up to 50% of the total votes through SP, after which the contestant with the 2nd most SP will receive the remaining votes. A finalist must receive at least one vote from a juror (present or absentee ballot) to win.
8.1 Rule Changes
8.2 Host Powers
Anything not derived from the original official SURVIVOR rules (in blue), not an established OLS twist, and not vital to the host's ability to host the game may be changed mid-game, but only by using the following process:
a) Rule change is submitted to or by the host
b) The host contacts all contestants with full details
c) All ACTIVE contestants affected have two days to object
d) If there are no objections after 48 hours (or all agree earlier) the proposed change takes effect immediately
The host reserves the right in their sole discretion to change or modify the rules at any point during the series including, without limitation, at any point during a particular challenge or Tribal Council, or at any other time provided they do not interfere with any of the rules listed above, or provided they are announced in advance as part of a twist. However, if a conflict is found within the rules, the host reserves the right to create a new rule, even if it may violate an existing rule, to resolve this conflict.
