The Mycenaean

Survivor, the most popular reality television show of all time, is the most challenging game to win. 

Britannica defines Survivor as a game where “contestants travel to a remote warm-weather location where they fend for themselves and compete in various team-based challenges. Every three days the contestants vote to send one of the losing team’s members home. The last person standing wins $1 million.”

Although the game show has been ongoing since May 31, 2000, (Survivor: Bonero) the thrill of the game has yet to die.

I started watching Survivor when I was ten years old, and since then I have watched every released season. 

The first season I watched was Survivor: Cagayan, and I enjoyed the obscure game. I was intrigued by the variety of people and their backgrounds, the unique challenges, camp life advantages, etc.

After watching several seasons, I decided it was time for me to have a shot at the game. I’ve spent years analyzing the play styles of various people to create the most efficient game plan.

Now, at 18 years old, it’s time for me to take a shot at being the sole survivor. As a long-time super fan, I have created the best way to play and win Survivor.

Personality

Personality means everything when it comes to Survivor. Those who have a personality opposing the normality of the tribe will suffer. Each season varies with the type of people cast and causes conflict amongst those with clashing personalities.

There are three types of people on Survivor: the manipulator, the carer, and the victim.

Manipulators are often those who claim leadership in the tribe and try to control their peers to vote in their favor (Ex: Boston Rob, Richard Hatch, and Johnny Fairplay).

The carers are kind to their tribe mates and focus their game on maintaining positive relationships (Ex: Maryanne Oketch, Kenzie Petty, and Michele Fitzgerald).

Lastly, victims are neutral with everyone, stay on the low, and are often overlooked (Ex: Mike Gabler, Yamil ‘Yam Yam’ Arocho, and Tina Wesson).

My strategy would be to have a mix of the three to have the benefits of each role. By doing so, I can act as a leader who cares about my alliance but throws the blame onto someone else: protecting me from the spotlight and risk.

Camp Life

Camp Life is the most important aspect of the show, as it’s where contestants spend the majority of their time. Those who succeed in the game often have a huge impact on the tribe’s camp life.

Ideally, I would want to be so valuable to camp life that voting me off would significantly harm the daily lives of the remaining contestants. On the first day, I would spend all my time building a fort for the entire tribe to sleep in. It’s also best to refrain from taking long breaks as it shows weakness and could cause a negative impression.

Once the shelter is built, I would locate areas with fruits like coconuts and berries. Food is a scarce resource on Survivor, so scavenging as much as possible is essential.

I also want to be cautious with the rice and bean supply, as we only have a limited amount for the entire game. I would also appoint myself as the fisherman for the tribe, so my tribe relies on me for all food.

Outside of chores and survival, I would try to be around someone at all times. I don’t want to take time away from my peers and possibly miss out on key information or miss my name being brought up for tribal council.

Alliances

Creating alliances on Survivor is extremely challenging as finding people you can trust in the game is not easy. People can flip, snitch, and lie to you whenever they desire.

My goal would be to make a small alliance of three to four people at the beginning of the game. The sooner you make alliances, the more likely they are to last. I’d try to find as many similarities as possible to encourage them to be allies with me.

My first alliance with my original tribe should hopefully last until the merge. Once we make it to the merge, I would reconsider the alliance and possibly recruit others to join or find myself a new alliance to join.

Ideally, the new or original alliance I am a part of will make it to the end of the game by eliminating our foes one at a time. If anyone in my alliance shows disloyalty, they will be voted off immediately —  similar to Boston Rob’s “Stealth R Us” alliance in Survivor: Redemption Island.

Once the game has about five or six remaining players, I will choose two people to form a secret alliance with. The secret alliance will consist of two people who are loyal to me and have little to no chance of winning. As the other players are voted off, the secret alliance will make the final three and there I will create my game-winning speech.

Challenges

Challenges are key to the game as winning provides immunity at the tribal council. Although there are physical, mental, and collaborative challenges, I am confident I will thrive.

Physical challenges require swimming, sprinting, lifting, and endurance. Although I do not exercise daily, I am in shape by constantly moving and maintaining a healthy diet. I am also skilled in swimming and sprinting as I have a background in swimming and track. 

As for lifting and endurance, I am confident I can handle any weight necessary as Survivor does not require contestants to lift substantial amounts.

The mental challenges are mainly puzzles and mazes requiring quick thinking and problem-solving. 

Although I wouldn’t identify myself as a prodigy or at the top of my high school class, I am capable of problem-solving at a quick pace. At home, I love to solve puzzles and play strategy-based games/video games.

Collaborative challenges may be my greatest difficulty as I hate relying on my peers to pull their weight. I can only hope for my teammates to be competent and give them all every challenge. 

My goal would be to set the standard by doing my best in every challenge regardless of the pain, hunger, and exhaustion.

Advantages

Although advantages, like idols, grant immunity or other benefits, I will not center my game around them.

I want to base my game on skill and strategy without the use of outside sources. I understand the benefits of advantages like immunity, an extra vote, stealing a vote, etc, but the thought of being caught is not worth the risk.

However, if I find a hint — a slip of paper guiding the person to the advantage — I will try to locate it. 

I plan to only search at night, during bathroom breaks, and when I search for resources. If anyone were to question me, I would use the excuse of being in the bathroom or fulfilling my camp chore(s). If I get caught, I would engage with them by encouraging them to search with me.

Each of the five aspects is essential to winning the game, so I plan on utilizing each throughout the game.

As of September 9, 2024, I am planning to apply to be on Survivor season 49, and one day take my skills and game plan to the real deal.