Blue Plate Special (also known as Pot Shots, Sands of Time, Signal Fire, Shoot Your Way Home, and The Key of Sea) is a recurring skill and accuracy challenge of Survivor.
Rules[]
Each person has three plates with his/her name on them hanging from a tree. Using a slingshot, each castaway must try to break everyone's plates before his or hers are entirely broken. The last person with a plate still hanging at the end wins.
In Vanuatu, the challenge was modified for tribal use. Taking turns, each tribe member will take a shot at a ceramic tile grid. On the ground lies twenty wooden squares on a 4-by-5 gameboard, each of which will be turned over when its corresponding ceramic tile is broken. Once all four squares in a column are turned over, the tribe member assigned that column will move to a finish mat and exit the challenge. The first tribe to break all twenty tiles wins.
History[]
United States[]
In The Australian Outback, Amber Brkich was first out, followed by Keith Famie, Tina Wesson, and Rodger Bingham, all taken out by Colby Donaldson. Colby knocked two of Elisabeth Filarski's plates out to win immunity.
In Africa, the challenge consisted of eighteen clay pots in a line. Each player's name is printed on three of the pots. The players were given traditional East African weapons called rungus which they must throw at their opponents' pots, trying to break them and have them fall to the ground. Each player throws one rungu per round and players switch positions after each round. When a player's third pot is broken, that player is out of the challenge. The last player with at least one pot still hanging wins. In the first three rounds, Tom Buchanan managed to hit one of Teresa Cooper's pots, followed by Kim Powers and Lex van den Berghe, while the others missed each time. In the fourth round, Kim Johnson had the sole hit, but on one of her own pots. In the fifth round, Ethan Zohn hit Kim P.'s second pot. In the sixth round, Ethan and Tom hit Teresa's other two pots, eliminating her from the challenge. In the next two rounds, Lex eliminated Kim P. by hitting her third pot and hit Ethan's first pot. In the ninth round, Kim J. made the first hit on Tom, who hit Ethan's second pot in the tenth round. In the eleventh round, Kim J.'s second pot was hit by Lex, whose second pot was hit by Ethan in the twelfth round. Tom, however, stopped Ethan by hitting his third pot in the thirteenth round. Although Tom broke Kim J.'s third pot in the fourteenth round, it did not fall, keeping Kim J. in the running. Tom managed to eliminate Lex by hitting his third pot in the fifteenth round. Although Kim J. manages to hit Tom's second pot in the sixteenth round, Tom also broke Kim J.'s third pot, giving Tom individual immunity.
In Marquesas, each player has an hourglass structure filled with sand. A tiki is placed at the base of each structure. Each player takes turns firing small rocks with a slingshot at another player's structure hoping to break one of nine tiles on it. Breaking a tile releases sand that falls over a player's tiki. Once a player's tiki is completely covered, they are out of the game. Players rotate one space over after each round. The last player left with their tiki uncovered wins. The three men—Robert DeCanio, Sean Rector, and Paschal English—are the first to have their tikis covered, followed by Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien. Neleh Dennis and Vecepia Towery continued to battle it out until Vecepia's accuracy pays off for her, winning her individual immunity.
In Pearl Islands, the challenge was done in three heats. Each castaway would use a slingshot to fire marbles at targets. Whenever a target is hit, it will ignite a flame that would climb to the next target. The targets must be hit in the correct order, otherwise, if castaway hits the target that is not in the right order, he/she will be out of the challenge. The first person from each heat to hit their three targets in ascending order would move on to the final round. The first person in the final round to hit their three targets wins reward. After winning the last heat against Ryan Opray and Lillian Morris, Rupert Boneham won reward, but opted to give it to Burton Roberts, who shared with Lillian.
In Vanuatu, the challenge was modified for use as a tribal Immunity Challenge. Facing certain elimination as the last man on Yasur, Rory Freeman gave his tribe a consistent lead against the rival Lopevi tribe to success, winning immunity.
In Panama, the challenge was used as the second half of the final six Reward Challenge. After Courtney Marit, Danielle DiLorenzo, and Terry Deitz won the team phase of the challenge, they each used a slingshot to break hanging tiles. Terry was the first to break all his tiles, thus winning the reward: a brand new car.
Australia[]
France[]
South Africa[]
In Santa Carolina, the contestants had to sift through sand to search for their slingshot and marbles before attempting to break three plates. Many of the contestants managed to break two plates, but it was Kaseran Pillay that broke his third plate first to win his second consecutive individual Immunity Challenge.
In Return of the Outcasts, the newly merged Salan tribe competed for food at the merge feast; as soon as a castaway broke both their target plates, they could take their pick of whatever is left at the buffet. Felix Godlo was the first to complete the challenge, while numerous castaways stayed behind or returned to the challenge to help their tribemates break their plates. Toni Tebbutt was the last person to leave the challenge after receiving the help of four of her tribemates. After the challenge, Meryl Szolkeiwicz walked away with a Reward Send Token, Dino Paulo with a Save the Date advantage, and Phil Dickson with rice, spices, and a cooler of cold drinks back at camp for his tribe.
Winners[]
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| The Australian Outback "No Longer Just a Game" |
Individual Immunity |  Colby Donaldson |
| Africa "The Big Adventure" |
Individual Immunity |  Tom Buchanan |
| Marquesas "Marquesan Vacation" |
Individual Immunity |  Vecepia Towery |
| Pearl Islands "Shocking! Simply Shocking!" |
Individual Reward |  Rupert Boneham |
| Vanuatu "Anger, Threats, Tears... and Coffee" |
Tribal Immunity |      Yasur |
| Panama "Perilous Scramble" |
Individual Reward |  Terry Deitz |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Celebrity Survivor Australia Episode 8 |
Individual Immunity |  Imogen Bailey |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Bocas del Toro Episode 7 |
Tribal Immunity |     Machiga |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Panama Episode 9 |
Individual Immunity |  Gareth Tjasink |
| Santa Carolina Episode 8 |
Individual Immunity |  Kaseran Pillay |
| Return of the Outcasts "Work for It" |
Individual Reward1 | |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Vecepia Towery is the only woman to win this challenge individually.
- She is also the only eventual Sole Survivor to win this challenge.
- She is also the only individual winner of this challenge to not compete in Survivor: All-Stars.
- No one has participated in this challenge more than once.
References[]