Tribe Switch

A tribe switch (also known as tribe shuffle or tribe swap) is the very first game-changing twist of Survivor. This twist sends members from one tribe to the rival tribe and vice versa.

About
The tribe switch is a twist can happen in a random point during a game and this reassignment of tribes will be effective until the tribes merge. This is denoted by contestants wearing a newly supplied Buff that is colored according to their new tribe. They would then drop their old buff on the ground and start wearing the new one.

Normally it would send half of the tribe to the other when both tribes have equal number of tribe members, though it has changed over the years. One such example is in Survivor: Nicaragua where one tribe has nine members while the other has seven, and the switch evened the tribes out with eight members each. This also applies to season that has an Exile Island twist, where if the number of remaining contestants is odd, the odd-man-out will be sent to Exile Island, and would wait for a tribe to vote out a member, and be their replacement, thus having equal numbers.

A variant of the tribe switch, Tribe Absorption, requires the entire tribe to be dismantled and its remaining members are spread into the remaining tribes.

Survivor: Africa
The first time a switch occurred was in Survivor: Africa, where both Samburu and Boran tribes were instructed via Tree Mail to send three representatives to meet the host for reasons still unknown at the time. Once the representatives arrived at the meeting place, the host informed them they would be joining the other tribe. This event caused became a major key point in the game, where Teresa Cooper and Frank Garrison turned on fellow Samburu-turned-Boran member Silas Gaither for mistreating them at the old Samburu due to being older members of the tribe. Cooper and Garrison plotted with the original Boran members to oust Gaither. Continuing their revenge streak, the two then revealed the identity of the only remaining person who had votes during their previous Tribal Councils to exploit the then-rule of counting previous votes to break deadlock ties—Silas' former alliance partner Lindsey Richter. The original Borans secretly relayed the information to their former tribemates that are now Samburu members during the subsequent Reward Challenge. Utilizing this information, the Borans at Samburu successfully eliminated Richter, entering the merge with a 6-4 voting advantage.

Survivor: Marquesas
A severely depleted Maraamu tribe further decimated after the tribe swap, for the tribe was already down to its last five members while the enemy Rotu tribe was still complete at eight. Stepping on random disks with buffs underneath, the Maraamu five were split, with three on the new Rotu, while two stayed at Maraamu. Outnumbered at the new Maraamu, the two only original members Sarah Jones and Gina Crews were voted off, leaving the three switched members occupying the camp. At the new Rotu, the three former Maraamu members were in particular trouble, being outnumbered by three to five, though one original Rotu member, Gabriel Cade revealed that he does not want to employ strategy, making the whole tribe turn on him and vote him out.

Survivor: The Amazon
After twelve days competing as tribes defined by sex, both tribes' youngest members Jenna Morasca and Dave Johnson went to an overnight paradise, with food, bedding and a bath. The next morning, the host revealed that they would decide which members are staying on their tribes and who to send to the other tribe. The switch proved to be a successful one, especially for the women, where Christy Smith, who felt prejudiced at the women's tribe because she was deaf, was delighted that her new male members were considerate enough to place a lamp near their lip when they talk so Smith will not be left out from any conversation. On the other hand, Shawna Mitchell, who was visibly weak and emotional, became more jovial upon seeing male members join their tribe. This caused inter-tribal alliances to form at the merge.

Survivor: All-Stars
On Day 21, the tribes convened at a Reward Challenge after receiving cryptic treemail instructing them to paint their bodies, they were shocked to learn that they would not be competing and instead be paired off to enjoy a picnic with somebody from the other tribe. Under the preseumption they will merge, Jeff Probst revealed a vase containing buffs. To their suprise, the familiar red and green buffs emerged, signaling a tribe switch. In a rather odd coincidence the whole Mogo Mogo tribe were now under the Chapera name, while five of the six Chapera members were switched to Mogo Mogo. The only contestant to not switch tribes, Amber stayed at Chapera, under the mercy of her new tribemates.

These tribes remained until Day 25 when they merged.

Survivor: Vanuatu
Both tribes were approached by Vanuatu tribesmen and tasked to select one person to become their "Chief" (denoted by holding a tribal staff). Lopevi chose Lea whilst Yasur chose Scout. At the Reward Challenge, Jeff announced that the tribes would be switched with Scout selecting the tribes and Lea deciding which one to lead.

Survivor: Guatemala
While some players were away, both tribes were asked Who has the most tribe pride. The person who was selected (Brian Corridan for Yaxha and Cindy Hall for Nakum) would remain on the tribe, while the present contestants would switch tribes.

Survivor: Cook Islands
On Day 7, after one member from both Manihiki and Aitutaki were voted out, four tribes became two. Puka Puka and Manihiki were dissolved, with the 18 remaining contestants were randomly spread by Schoolyard Pick into the new Rarotonga and Aitutaki tribes with 9 members each.

Survivor: Fiji
Captains were chosen, and teams were chosen by a Schoolyard Pick. Then, the captains would draw buffs, to determine what camp the teams would live on, changing several of the near-spoiled Moto members, sending them to the barest-essential holding Ravu camp(and vice-versa), all due to the Haves vs Have Nots twist.

Survivor: China
In a more straightforward fashion, the two tribes received Tree Mail, instructing them to chose two "warriors" from the rival tribe to added onto them.

Survivor: Micronesia
Both tribes would seperatly draw rocks. The Malakal member to draw a purple rock (Ozzy Lusth) and the Airai member to draw an orange rock (Natalie Bolton) would be the captains (the first to select in a Schoolyard Pick).

Survivor: Gabon
Gabon thus far it is the only season to have two tribe switches (one at the Final 15 and one at the Final 10. Both were done in different fashions as follows:
 * The first switch involved both tribes ranking one person in secret as the most important within their tribe. The castaways voted most important would stay on their former tribes and become the new captains in a second Schoolyard Pick.
 * The second switch involved castaways drawing a numbered stone from a big. The "odds" would be the new Fang tribe, while the "evens" would be the new Kota tribe.

Survivor: Nicaragua
Once again, the tribes would draw rocks. The castaways to draw their tribe's colored stone would be the captains (Brenda Lowe for La Flor and Holly Hoffman for Espada). The captains privately chose chose members of the other tribe (because La Flor had one more member, Brenda chose three while Holly chose four), to join their tribe. Because the tribes were no longer divided by age, the Medallion of Power was no longer usable.

Survivor: One World
At random, the castaways would all pick eggs. Once they all received an egg, they would smash the egg against their bodies, and whatever color paint it contained would represent their new tribe. Orange paint for the new Manono, and blue for the new Salani. The tribes both swapped three players to the opposite tribe, with Jay Byars, Michael Jefferson, and Troyzan Robertson switching to Salani, as Alicia Rosa, Christina Cha, and Monica Culpepper switched to Manono.

Tribe Absorption
See Tribe Absorption

Mutiny
See Mutiny (twist)