A Bit Tipsy (also known as Got a Hunch, Discy Business, Another Brick in the Wall, and Let There Be Rock) is a recurring challenge from Survivor. It debuted in Survivor: Blood vs. Water and reappeared later in San Juan del Sur, Kaôh Rōng, Game Changers, Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, Ghost Island, David vs. Goliath, Edge of Extinction, Winners at War, Survivor 41 and Survivor 42.
Rules[]
The castaways must hold on to a rope attached to an unbalanced table to keep the table level. They must stack a wooden block on the table and hold on to the rope to keep the block upright. They must then retrieve one of nine wooden blocks from three stations while keeping all the blocks on the table upright. Once the block is retrieved, the castaway would have to stack the block on the table and retrieve the other blocks. Should any of the blocks fall, the castaway would have to return to the table and re-stack the blocks (or have to completely restart as done in Kaôh Rōng) before retrieving any more blocks.
In Kaôh Rōng, Game Changers, Winners at War, and Survivor 42, the castaways had to stack the blocks on top of one another to spell out the word "Immunity". This version was also used in Edge of Extinction and Survivor 41, with the only difference being having to stand and balance their blocks on a rocking walkway and spelling out "Final 3". This concept was modified for tribal used in Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers and Ghost Island. Tribe members would stand on balance beams in a semi-circle around the platform in the middle, and each would hold on to a rope that connected to the platform. One by one, the castaways would place one of eight blocks on the platform and stack them to spell out "Immunity" in Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers and "Reward" in Ghost Island.
In David vs. Goliath, the challenge was modified to include a water element. There was also a puzzle that had to be solved while five members of each tribe negotiated the tilt-table.
In Blood vs. Water and San Juan del Sur, the first castaway to have all their blocks standing for a three count would win the challenge. Beginning with Kaôh Rōng, the rule was changed so that the first to stack all their blocks and return to their starting position would be the winner.
History[]
United States[]
The challenge first appeared as the final five Immunity Challenge in Blood vs. Water. After falling behind early, Tyson Apostol got a hang of the challenge the quickest, defeating his closest competitors Gervase Peterson and Monica Culpepper to win immunity.
In San Juan del Sur, the challenge was used as the final seven Immunity Challenge. The challenge came down to Jon Misch and Keith Nale racing stack their final block; Keith dropped his stack, giving Jon the opening to win immunity.
In Kaôh Rōng the challenge was used as the final six Immunity Challenge and was modified so that castaways now had to stack their blocks on top of the other to spell "Immunity". Most of the castaways had problems with their stack falling over. After over an hour,[1] the challenge came down to a close race between Cydney Gillon and Kyle Jason, with Jason dropping his completed stack just before making it back to the start, awarding Cydney's slow and steady approach throughout the challenge with immunity.
In Game Changers the challenge appeared in the same iteration as Kaôh Rōng, with only the added task of untying a bag that contained the blocks at the start. In a close challenge amongst the most of the tribe, Andrea Boehlke, Brad Culpepper, and Troyzan Robertson all came close to finishing before Andrea and Brad dropped their stacks, allowing Troyzan to win immunity after 14 minutes.[1]
In Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, the challenge was modified for tribal use and used as an Immunity Challenge, with the tribes spelling "Immunity" on a central platform. The lead switched several times as the tribes figured strategies to keep their stacks steady. After an extremely close race between all three tribes in which every tribe managed to complete their stack at the same time and raced to get back to their starting position, Yawa finished first to win immunity, while Soko dropped their stack, allowing Levu to finish second and sending Soko back to Tribal Council.
In Ghost Island, the challenge was used as a tribal Reward Challenge, under the same design as Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, but spelling "Reward", including the Ghost Island icon on both ends. Naviti was able to finish their stack first to win reward. Yanuya then beat Malolo to take second.
In David vs. Goliath, the challenge was used as a tribal Immunity Challenge, and was modified once again. One member from each tribe had to use to rungs to climb a ladder and retrieve a key that would unlock their boat. Five members then had to paddle out to retrieve bags of puzzle pieces and paddle back, after which which five castaways had to balance a table and complete a block puzzle. Although Goliath raced out to an early lead, both tribes spent over an hour in the heat while working on the puzzle. In the end, Goliath managed to finish their puzzle as David struggled hopelessly on theirs, giving Goliath immunity and sending David to Tribal Council.
In Edge of Extinction, the challenge was used as the Final Immunity Challenge and again used the Kaôh Rōng variant, with the exception of having to stand and balance their blocks on a rocking walkway and spelling out "Final 3". Gavin Whitson and Rick Devens both struggled to get a hang of the challenge, leaving it down to Chris Underwood and Julie Rosenberg. Towards the end, Julie dropped her stack while racing to catch Chris, giving him the final immunity.
In Winners at War, the challenge once again returned to the Kaôh Rōng variant as an individual Immunity Challenge. The challenge came down to Ben Driebergen and Tony Vlachos racing to get back to their starting position after completing their stack. Ben's entire stack toppled over, allowing Tony to slowly make his way back to the platform and win immunity, along with two Fire Tokens.
In Survivor 41, the Edge of Extinction variant returned as the Final Immunity Challenge for the second time where the castaways have to spell out "Final 3". Xander Hastings managed to spell his words to win his second Immunity Necklace.
In Survivor 42, the Kaôh Rōng variant was used as the first individual Immunity Challenge. With the exception of Tori Meehan, everybody who came close to finishing their stack eventually dropped their table, allowing Tori to win immunity.
Australia[]
In All Stars, the challenge was used as a tribal Immunity Challenge where each member had to stack three blocks vertically on top of each other on their individual wobbly table. Vakama was the first tribe to have all their members get back to the finish with their blocks stacked, thereby winning immunity and sending Mokuta to Tribal Council.
The Discy Business version of the challenge was modified for use as the final tribal Immunity Challenge in Brains v Brawn (2021). Instead of balancing letter blocks on the wobbly disc, the tribes would balance balls on poles which will gradually increase in height. Under Dani Beale's charge, Brawn pulled off a successful challenge throw, thus granting the new Brains tribe their first Immunity Challenge win.
The Let There Be Rock version of the challenge appeared at the final eleven of Brains v Brawn. Adopting a slow-and-steady approach, Emmett Pugh was the only person to never drop his blocks, allowing him to win his third consecutive Immunity Challenge.
The challenge appeared at the final eleven of Titans v Rebels as an Immunity Challenge. Each castaway had to stack two blocks vertically on each of four prongs extending from a wobbly table. If a castaway dropped a block, they could reset the dropped blocks without restarting; however, if all of their blocks dropped, they would have to start over entirely. Aileen Chong was in the lead for most of the challenge, until she toppled her table mere inches from clinching victory. This allowed Kitty Blomfield to seize the win.
France[]
New Zealand[]
Quebec[]
The Survivor: Kaôh Rōng version of the challenge was used as an Immunity Challenge at the final six of Survivor Québec (2023). Prior to the challenge, Christophe Tiffet found a Challenge Advantage and had a three-minute headstart on his tribemates. However, it was Karine Lavigne-Fortin who won the challenge, clinching her second individual win.
South Africa[]
The Survivor: Kaôh Rōng version of the challenge appeared as the final eight Immunity Challenge of Philippines. In a stressful competition between every member of the Araw tribe, Toni Tebbutt was the first person to get all eight blocks stacked to spell IMMUNITY, but she dropped her table mere inches from the start line. This opened the door for Werner Joubert, who, after over 50 minutes, made it back to the start and clinched his first individual victory.
The Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers variant of the challenge was used as a tribal Immunity Challenge. Sa'ula cruised to a first-place victory, while Laumei and Ta'alo both struggled with keeping their towers stacked. In a close finish, Tania Copeland fell off the balance beam moments after placing the last block for Laumei, setting them back just enough for Meryl Szolkeiwicz to return to the start line to win the challenge for Ta'alo and send Laumei back to Tribal Council.
Sweden[]
United Kingdom[]
The Discy Business variant of the challenge appeared as the fourth tribal Immunity Challenge, with the additional rule that every time a tribe member fell off their balance beam, their whole tribe would have to reset their stack. While the lead swung between the two tribes, it was La Nena that managed to place their last block first, ending Caletón's winning streak and sending them to Tribal Council.
Winners[]
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blood vs. Water "It's My Night" |
Individual Immunity |  Tyson Apostol | |
| San Juan del Sur "Still Holdin' On" |
Individual Immunity |  Jon Misch | |
| Kaôh Rōng "Now's the Time to Start Scheming" |
Individual Immunity |  Cydney Gillon | |
| Game Changers "A Line Drawn in Concrete" |
Individual Immunity |  Troyzan Robertson | |
| Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers "This Is Why You Play Survivor" |
Tribal Immunity |      Yawa | |
    Levu | |||
| Ghost Island "Gotta Risk It for the Biscuit" |
Tribal Reward |      Naviti | |
     Yanuya | |||
| David vs. Goliath "The Chicken Has Flown the Coop" |
Tribal Reward/Immunity |           Goliath | |
| Edge of Extinction "I See the Million Dollars" |
Individual Immunity (Final Immunity) |
 Chris Underwood | |
| Winners at War "The Full Circle" |
Individual Immunity |  Tony Vlachos | |
| Survivor 41 "One Thing Left to Do... Win" |
Individual Immunity (Final Immunity) |
 Xander Hastings | |
| Survivor 42 "The Devil You Do or the Devil You Don't" |
Individual Immunity |  Tori Meehan | |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Champions v Contenders (2019) Episode 20 |
Individual Immunity |  Luke Toki |
| All Stars Episode 13 |
Tribal Immunity |      Vakama |
| All Stars Episode 17 |
Individual Immunity |  Sharn Coombes |
| Brains v Brawn (2021) Episode 12 |
Tribal Immunity |       Brains |
| Brains v Brawn (2021) Episode 15 |
Individual Immunity | Emmett Pugh |
| Blood v Water Episode 3 |
Tribal Immunity |           Water |
| Blood v Water Episode 13 |
Individual Reward | Khanh Ong |
| Heroes v Villains Episode 16 |
Individual Immunity |  Simon Mee |
| Titans v Rebels Episode 16 |
Individual Immunity |  Kitty Blomfield |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Johor Episode 11 |
Individual Reward |  Mélissa Bastin |
| Thaïlande Episode 12 |
Individual Immunity |  Alain Chrisostome |
| L'Île au Trésor Episode 7 |
Individual Immunity |  Bruno Troester |
| Cambodge Episode 7 |
Sudden-Death Challenge |  Sébastien Gottiniaux |
| Le Combat des Héros Episode 6 |
Duel |  Clémentine Jullien |
| La Guerre des Chefs Episode 6 |
Tribal Immunity |       Ikalu |
      Tabuo | ||
| L'Île des Héros Episode 10 |
Team Immunity (Tied Destinies) |
  Claude & Naoil |
| Les Armes Secrètes Episode 8 |
Team Reward |      Flavio, Laëtitia, Myriam, Thomas, Vincent |
| La Légende Episode 10 |
Duel |  Alexandra Pornet |
| Le Totem Maudit Episode 15 |
Individual Immunity |  Bastien San Pedro |
| Le Feu Sacré Episode 13 |
Individual Reward/Immunity |  Laura Yelpa |
| Les Chasseurs d'Immunité Episode 10 |
Individual Immunity (Sudden-Death Challenge) |
 Jean Belmonte |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Nicaragua Episode 19 |
Individual Immunity |  Tom Paterson |
| Thailand Episode 6 |
Tribal Immunity |       Khangkhaw |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Survivor Québec (2023) Episode 61 |
Individual Immunity |  Karine Lavigne-Fortin |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Philippines Episode 11 |
Individual Immunity |  Werner Joubert |
| Island of Secrets "Let Them Play Barbie and Ken" |
Tribal Immunity |       Sa'ula |
      Ta'alo |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Robinson 2023 Episode 16 |
Individual Immunity |  Camilla Salén Sjögren |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Survivor U.K. (2023) Episode 4 |
Tribal Immunity |        La Nena |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Aubry Bracco, Michele Fitzgerald, Sarah Lacina, Tai Trang, and Tyson Apostol are the only castaways to compete in the individual version of this challenge twice.
- Ben Driebergen and Nick Wilson are the only castaways to compete in both the individual and tribal versions of this challenge.
References[]