10 users responded in this post

Subscribe to this post comment rss or trackback url
mygif

I don’t watch survivor, but I’m a little surprised it’s taken someone this long to start metagaming it. I used to do this all the time in first-person shooters to find hidden powerups. TLGD: “Think Like Game Designer”.

ReplyReply
mygif

Hey, this actually makes me want to watch Survivor. I haven’t for years, for the exact reason that it’s taken someone this long to start metagaming it.

ReplyReply
mygif

Smart people watch Survivor?

ReplyReply
mygif

I stopped watching survivor because the only time they can appear innovative is when they bring in people who play the game well enough to be noticeable.

That and they’ve copied the premise so many times that it really detracts from the original series.

ReplyReply
mygif

Hey, this actually makes me want to watch Survivor. I haven’t for years, for the exact reason that it’s taken someone this long to start metagaming it.

Completely untrue. It’s not that people don’t metagame: it’s that the metagame evolves relatively slowly.

Major development of the metagame started in the first season, when Richard Hatch figured out that a voting alliance would work better than random popularity contests to win the million; this continued into the second season when teams realized that use and abuse of alliances were key to the game’s strategy.

The third through fifth seasons continued to see this metagame relatively stagnate, although it did teach players that A) tribes could get swapped around and that B) a merge was not always definite. This at least forced players out of the “get into one alliance early and stay there” mindset, which made for boring teevee.

Rob Cesternino’s skillful use of strategy effectively changed the game with the sixth season, as people realized that shifting alliances frequently could work to one’s advantage. That became the new norm for several seasons, until people figured out that having a smaller mini-alliance within shifting power blocs was superior to being a roving free agent (who never won at tribal council). And so on, and so forth.

Russell isn’t even the first person to meta the actual game: that would be Yul from Cook Islands, who not only “invented” mathematical voting strategies to avoid immunity idol ambush, but also guessed the idol from one extremely vague clue basically by thinking like a game show host.

ReplyReply
mygif

I thought the first person to meta the actual game was Richard Hatch. When he made the final jury realize that playing to win was what it was all about (not playing in the most honourable/fair/whatever fashion).

Up until that point, they thought they should vote for the better person. Instead, they ended up voting for the better player.

ReplyReply
mygif

[Russell] seems like a good sort of a guy

Good guys don’t own oil companies.

I don’t know that John’s decision to dodge the tie is immediately a bad one — for that specific TC, he would’ve gone from a 0% chance of elimination (either Laura or Natalie) to a 10% chance; of course, he also went from a 50/50 chance of sending a Foa Foa + Shambo home to a 100% chance of hurting his own alliance.

ReplyReply
mygif

Russell is an asshole, but it’s like I’m suffering from Stockholm Syndrome with the guy. Suddenly, I want him to shake things up. I never found the Galu faction to be odious, and I’m sure Dave Ball is a nice guy in “real life,” but it would be awesome to have a final four of Foa Foa in the end.

A few clarifications: Jaison was instrumental in getting Ben and Erik voted off (the former for being a racist asshole, the later for being a condescending prick), and I do believe his “story” in the game will lead to him winning the $1 million. Big rule of thumb for watching the show: never, ever, EVER believe the promos. Shambo isn’t so much a backstabber as somebody who found kinship with the opposite tribe. She’s this unholy mix of Sue Hawk and Dreamz, with Denise’s mullet thrown in. Somebody like Rob Cesternino would know what to do five days in advance. Aside from “Vote Out Galu,” I doubt Shambo knows what to do five minutes from any point in the game.

Two corrections: the next episode is a clip show (ironic, since Galu consists of the biggest turkeys in the game, and it airs on Thanksgiving), and it’s Elisabeth Hasselback (or Filarski, if you’re going old-school), not “Elizabeth.” Seriously, though . . . who saw her being a heinous right-winger coming?

ReplyReply
mygif

I don’t think that we have enough information to decide if Russel is a nice guy. He is highly charismatic, but for behavior, he’s thus far been an accomplished bastard. What he is like in the real world, who knows? Not everyone who wins at Monopoly is a libertarian asshole, but playing like one pays off.

ReplyReply
mygif

Russell is cocky enough that it’s supremely annoying to hear when he’s in complete control, like he was in Foa Foa. At the moment he’s the underdog, so it’s great to watch him find the idols again and again, and pull the numbers together. This last council he clearly had no intention of playing the idol, knowing he had the sheer numbers.

I can’t believe that, knowing Russell found his first two idols with no clues, the losers of that reward challenge didn’t comb the place for the idol before Russell got back! They don’t even learn. *sigh* It *was* a harder find than the last two, but they didn’t even try, as far as we can tell. Like Russell, hunting blind is the first thing I would do. But of course, I don’t and won’t audition for the show, so that’s moot. 😉

Jason: Actually, I think it’s “vote out Laura or her supports”. She wasn’t, after all, a number Russell could count on until it was time to get Laura, as that was Shambo’s main goal in working with him. (That being the case, I believe it worked strongly in Russell’s favor to have Laura win immunity a couple times, giving him a few more bites at that alliance with Shambo’s concealed support.) So I think the flip shown in the latest ads is genuine, on Shambo’s part. But yes, she’s playing with her emotions, not with her head.

I agree with MGK that metagaming started with Richard Hatch’s alliance while the other tribe voted on who was the best camper each week. It’s an evolving thing, and Russell is the current star.I don’t know whether I like him or not, but he sure is entertaining.

ReplyReply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Please Note: Comment moderation may be active so there is no need to resubmit your comments