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Sea Crates (also known as Block It Out and Block in a Hard Place) is a recurring mental challenge in Survivor. The challenge is based on the game popularly known as "Instant Insanity".

Rules[]

Castaways must retrieve four large crates (when used as a team challenge) or small blocks (when used as an individual challenge), each bearing one of four colors on each side. Once all four crates are retrieved, the crates must be stacked so that one color does not show more than once on each column. The first team or individual to complete the puzzle wins.

The method of retrieving the crates/blocks has varied between each appearance of the challenge.

History[]

United States[]

In Samoa, the challenge was used as a combined Reward/Immunity Challenge. A pair of castaways from each tribe would swim out into the ocean to retrieve crates, one at a time. Between the beach and crates would be a "battle zone" marked off by four flags. Within this zone, an opposing tribe member would try to prevent the two castaways from crossing the zone and reaching the crate. Once the two castaways crossed the zone, they would bring the crate back to the beach, and a second pair of castaways would go out to retrieve another crate. Galu was able to get their members across the battle zone faster than Foa Foa and never lost their lead, winning reward and immunity and sending Foa Foa back to Tribal Council.

In South Pacific, the challenge was used as a Redemption Island duel. Castaways must solve a slide puzzle to release a hatchet and cut a rope which would drop a bag with their colored blocks. Ozzy Lusth took an early lead, though Edna Ma was able to catch up to him after receiving verbal assistance from the other castaways. Despite this, Ozzy was able to solve the puzzle first, eliminating Edna from the game.

The challenge was again used in Blood vs. Water as a Redemption Island duel again, wherein castaways had to bounce the blocks along a rope tunnel to retrieve them. After Laura Morett finished first, Vytas Baskauskas attempted to copy her finished puzzle. However, Laura prevented him from doing so and verbally assisted Tina Wesson in completing her puzzle seconds before Vytas, eliminating Vytas from the game.

In Winners at War, the challenge was used as the first Immunity Challenge after the Tribe Switch. Each tribe had to go over and under a series of obstacles, then throw sandbags to knock over blocks and their four large crates off a ledge. Yara led heading into the puzzle portion, but were unable to solve their puzzle, allowing Sele, then Dakal, to finish and win immunity, sending Yara to Tribal Council.

France[]

South Africa[]

In Return of the Outcasts, the puzzle was used as part of the Rusty Gates challenge at the final eight. The Salan tribe struggled with the brain teaser, and in the end Marian de Vos narrowly beat Tejan Pillay to win her first individual Immunity Challenge.

Winners[]

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

References[]

Recurring Challenges
A Bit Dinghy · A Bit Tipsy · A Crate Idea · A Leg Up · A Numbers Game · Air Raid · Angry Chair · Around the Bend · Back in Slack · Balancing Point · Ballin' A Jack · Barrel Bridge · Barrel of Monkeys · Basket Brawl · Better Homes and Island Living · Beyond the Wheel · Blind Leading the Blind · Blue Lagoon Bustle · Blue Plate Special · Boats, Brains & Brawn · Bone to Pick · Boulder Smash · Bow Diddley · Box Your Mind · Braille Maze · Broken China · Buggin' Out · Build It Up, Break It Down · Butch Cassidy · By Any Means Necessary · By the Numbers · Cage Against the Machine · Can't Buoy Me Love · Cannonball Run · Caught in the Web · Cell Block Sea · Challenge Pitch · Chief's Choice · Chimney Sweep · Chinese Zodiac Symbols · Cling Ons · Choose Your Weapon · Coconut Juice · Crate Escape · Crocodile Rock · Crosswalk · Cube Crisis · Dear Liza · Dive Masters · Dizzy Gillespie · Dizzy Miss Lizzy · Domino Effect · Draggin' the Dragon · Dragging the River · Drop A Log · Drum Roll · Dulcimer Stomp · End of the Line · EOC · Eve 6 · Fallen Comrades · Fast Fire · Faulty Towers · Fauxconut Bowling · Fire and Water · Fire Fighter · Fire Starter · Flips, Flops, & Flags · Float Your Boat · Floating Puzzle · Game of Bridge · Gatecrasher · Get a Grip · Get Barreled · Get Hooked · Get Your Goat · Gimme Three Steps · Great Escape Run · Hands on a Hard Idol · Hear About It Ladder · Hot Pursuit · House of Cards · House of the Holey · Idol Hands · Jail Break · Jump Shot · Jungle Relay · Kamikaze · Keel Hauling · Keep It Up · Keep on Your Toes · Kenny Log-Ins · Kicking and Screaming · Kitty Litter · Know Your Loved One · Ladder Tree Golf · Last Gasp · Letter Hunt · Lock, Load and Light · Lock Step · Log Jam · Losing Face · Mask Match · Matchmaker · Matt Finish · Mayan Pizza · Memory · Mud Pack · Mud Slide · Muddy Waters · New School · New Tribe Member · Nut Bucket · O-Black Water · Odd Shaped Bottoms · Operation Balance Build · Out on a Limb · Over-Extended · Paddle Battle · Paddle Out · Perch · Pilfering Pirates · Piranha Feast · Pole Dancing · Pot Head · Push Me, Pull You · Puzzle Dig · Q and A · Quest for Fire · Race to Shore · Ram-Ball On · Rescue Mission · Rice Race · Rise and Shrine · Rock Bottom · Rock n' Roll · Rock the Boat · Rod Screw-It · Roll With It · Roller Ball · Rung O Star · Running Down a Dream · Sacrificial Lamb · Schmergen Brawl · Sea Crates · Sea Legs · Sea Salvage · Shipwrecked · Shoot 'n' Shuffle · Shooting Gallery · Shoulder the Load · Simmotion · Slip, Slide & Score · Slither Me Timbers · Smash and Grab · Snag, Drag and Bag · Snake in the Grass · Snake Island Relay · SOS Signal · Spear-it Hunt · Spit It Out · Splash Back · Sprung a Leak · Squared Off · Squatty Probst · Stacked Up · Stairway to Heaven · Stairway to the Stars · Star Man · Station By Station · Step on Up · Stomp-ede · Strung Out · Sumo at Sea · Survivor Auction · Survivor History · Survivor Pentathlon · Survivor Quiz Show · Swahili Scramble · Swing Break · Tangled Up · Temple Transfer · The Ball Drop · The Cruel Sea · The Game is Afoot · The Gauntlet · The Home Stretch · The Maze · The Obstacle Course · This Much · Thrash, Splash & Bash · TLP O-Course · Tomb Raider · Total Recall · Troubled Water · Uncomfortably Numb · United We Stand · Vampire Bats · Vertically Challenged · Vertigo · Wall to Wall · Well Stacked · What-er Drag · When It Rains, It Pours · Wicker Flicker · Will It Go Round · Witch Hunt · Wrist Assured · Yank Your Hank · You Shook Me
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