Survivor 2 Game Play

[M3m3s3]

I actually caught on that M3m3s3 and CF had an alliance early on.  M3m3s3 slipped up during the second or third challenge (I forget which one).  We were on AOL IM working together during the challenge and CF posted a correct answer and M3m3s3 cheered.  I reminded her that CF wasn't on our team and then let the subject drop so she wouldn't catch on that I knew she just slipped up.

Actually, to tell you the truth I really though CF was on our team for a minute there. :^)

[Driew_La_27]

;Crap! Too. Much. to. read. in. such. a. short. time.....

Congrats on winning Jeremy. I'll have to read your strategy thing later.

[Dr_Dad]

Well, as "Doc" Probst for the next season of Survivor, and as one of the major players with/victims of "Jeremy Fairplay" , I guess I'll put in my 27 cents worth here.

Say, does anybody remember this post??

... Beware of what you wish for ...


Well, I'd had said from even well before this season started that if I played, I was unlikely to go all the way. And I also said that I preferred to work behind the puzzles than in front of them. But after considerable cajoling from the WOWAY denizens [especially Elvis!], I figured, oh, why not?

I had decided going in that I wasn't going to make any effort to creating any hard alliances and just play to see how far I could get. But then Bruce did contact me first. And his offer made sense. We were likely the two to be targeted in our Radioactive Hamster tribe, so it made sense for us to stick together. Bruce indeed mentioned he had other alliances with other Hamsters, which of course he said were "entirely false" and that [quoting from one of Bruce's actual PMs to me] "You have my word that if you agree to allign with me, that I will stay true to the alliance until the end of the game".

Now, to be frank, I'm not naive. I watch the show. I know the gameplay of those like Richard, Brian H., Rob C., and Jon. And I always had suspected Bruce of similar plotting, since he, as he said in his "How I Did It" post, often mentioned in his PMs to me that he had a Johnny Fairplay kind of role in this game. And I knew what that meant. [He even at one point on April 7th suggested he might post in "The Big Absense Topic" about a FAKE cousin Joanie of his who was hospitalized after an auto accident, so that if any one we aligned with doubted the sincerity of the alliance, he could say "I swear on my cousin, Joanie's life! You have my word!". Now, how JFP is THAT???]

I even told Bruce in a PM on April 2nd, "And for now, I like the arrangement, and it makes sense. I feel comfortable with the way things are looking........... but not too comfortable. This is Survivor, after all ... ".

But then I figured, hey -- I've got a target on my back, Elvis has got a target on his, Bruce has a target on his -- it made SENSE for us all to band together!! I figured the others -- especially after those individual immunity challenge wins of Bruce's early on -- would remember, "Hey! Bruce is the guy who CREATED Weird Al Survivor!! He's probably the most dangerous one here!!" With that looming over Bruce's head, I thought he's likely to stick with me for a while!

I also knew even before the game began that certainly the only way for Elvis and me to even get CLOSE to winning would be to stick together. But I realized that if one of the two of us won immunity, the other would undoubtedly be the target of the vote by the others. Clearly a two person alliance would not last long. So teaming with Bruce made perfect sense, since if one of the three of us won immunity, there would then be TWO targets -- which would hopefully split the vote and make our own united voting block stronger. And when we added the42guy to our group -- now we had a solid block of four! Now, like I said, I KNEW from before the game even began, I'd be voted out eventually. So I figured, hey, just play for fun, team up with these guys, and see how far a big fat target like me can get in this game. But then -- when I saw how far we were coming along, did the math, and realized there was actually a really good chance we could make all make Final Four -- hey! I got excited!!!

And yeah, maybe I got overconfident too. Confident that if everyone had voted doggans that was SUPPOSED to on that sixth TC, we'd have had at almost six votes for him -- me, 42, Bruce, Elvis, CF, and numbers vs doggans, Mr Carl, and y3k. And even if CF or numbers had jumped ship on us, it'd still be 5 to 4. And we'd eventually go to me, Elvis, Bruce, and 42 in Final Four, and then -- gloves off, battle royale, may the best man win. That would have been a blast.

But then the unthinkable happened. Elvis voted for Bruce! Later, after I did the math after Elvis' demise, and I saw only my vote for doggans, I then figured out Bruce was indeed playing me all along. I even told him so in a Yahoo IM chat we had shortly after the vote. [Yes, as Bruce said, the unrevealed vote could have been for his vote for doggans ... but come on, I know Survivor; the unrevealed vote is ALWAYS for the majority vote!] And Bruce gave me those puppy dog eyes , and said, "You don't believe me???" And truth be told, I didn't. But at that point, it didn't really matter. The handwriting was on the wall; my game was about over. By then, I knew it was just a matter of time before I was out. I stuck with Bruce because frankly there was nowhere else for me to go. Was anyone ELSE going to align with me against Bruce at that point, anyway? And I'm sure he knew that too. Oh well, nice ride for a while, anyhoo.

Now, I really didn't think Elvis would betray us, since I knew he knew he was a target when I won immunity before TC #6. And I really REALLY didn't think that the other players would frankly be DUMB enough to join up with Bruce if he did betray me and Elvis, since I figured they would have realized that he'd be likely to win several immunities himself [and indeed he already HAD by that point!!], and he would be very likely to wipe up the floor with them once Elvis and I were gone. But Dave did, they were ... and indeed BRUCE did. okay, now, all together -- everybody say, "Oops".

But I admit, Jeremy played the game masterfully. And that's why I voted for him to win. I myself never had much of a bent for Johnny Fairplay-ish tactics; I try to find advantages to certain approaches to certain players, and thus make mutually beneficial arrangements, which are more likely to be honored by all parties -- of course, knowing that such arrangements would only go so far in this game -- and that's pretty much as devious as I'd go. But watching those who CAN plot and do it with such finesse [as has been done by Richard, Brian, Rob C., Jon ... and now Bruce_The_Duck] is ... well ... let's just call it a guilty pleasure ... even when YOU'RE the victim [as I most certainly was]. And I'd much rather see a Richard or a Brian win Survivor by plotting and scheming than a Vecepia or Sandra get the million purely by flying under the radar; at least the former two of those winners actually WORKED to get the win. So, kudos to you, Jeremy! Well played indeed! And we are still most certainly friends [and co-conspirators!; see below ...]

Ah, well. Much fun. And even just a dream of a Survivor title was worth it. But hey, that's enough for me for now. I'm retiring from the game. As much as I enjoy figuring out Al-related puzzles, as I said, I'd much rather DESIGN them. And so I am REALLY looking forward to doing Survivor 3. I hope everyone is able to participate and we have a great season. I also hope I can figuratively "carry the torch" from the great prior Survivor productions by Bruce, sarley, and Anth! I've got some fun challenges already lined up -- a few retreads, but many never before seen!! Everyone at "home" is invited to play along too!! Click here NOW if you want to sign up and join the fun!!

... And I am especially looking forward to our Survivor All Stars. Yes, folks, you heard right -- Jeremy and I are the Probst and Burnett behind All Stars. We started discussing it even during our Season 2 alliance [though not since I was voted off due to Survivor rules of jury members not talking to Survivors till after the game]. And, oh yes, we're cooking up some EVIL concoctions for those of you brave enough to step up to the AllStar plate .... >:) Now THAT should be a season for the ages ...

Great game for all who played this Season! Congrats to Jeremy and CF!! And everyone come join us for
SURVIVOR SEASON THREE!!
[Now in preproduction and casting!]


Jim / Doc Probst

[Bruce the Duck]

Now, imagine having to read posts that are THAT /\ long every time your alliance partner PMs you! Hence, another reason why I turned on Dr. Dad!

Just kidding, Jim! You know I love you, in a completely plutonic sort of way....

[Genius in Maine]

OK, now that the game's over, I imagine all of you want to read my whited-out commentary on Anth's site.

[doggans]

Confident that if everyone had voted doggans that was SUPPOSED to on that sixth TC, we'd have had at almost six votes for him -- me, 42, Bruce, Elvis, CF, and numbers vs doggans, Mr Carl, and y3k. And even if CF or numbers had jumped ship on us, it'd still be 5 to 4. And we'd eventually go to me, Elvis, Bruce, and 42 in Final Four, and then -- gloves off, battle royale, may the best man win. That would have been a blast.

But then the unthinkable happened. Elvis voted for Bruce! Later, after I did the math after Elvis' demise, and I saw only my vote for doggans, I then figured out Bruce was indeed playing me all along. I even told him so in a Yahoo IM chat we had shortly after the vote. [Yes, as Bruce said, the unrevealed vote could have been for his vote for doggans ... but come on, I know Survivor; the unrevealed vote is ALWAYS for the majority vote!] And Bruce gave me those puppy dog eyes , and said, "You don't believe me???" And truth be told, I didn't. But at that point, it didn't really matter. The handwriting was on the wall; my game was about over. By then, I knew it was just a matter of time before I was out.

Wow, I guess I was a more important factor in this game than I realized!

[anthontherun]

OK, now that the game's over, I imagine all of you want to read my whited-out commentary on Anth's site.

I still need to add your last one in.

[Bruce the Duck]

Yeah, doggans, you were critical to my winning the game! My entire game at that point rested on the alliance I made with you! Thanks! To pay you back, I'll help you get the knife out of your back! >:)

[mickens]

With cunning, wit, and absolutely NO real alliances in the entire game. So next time you think alliances are SOOOOOO important in winning Survivor, think again!

So if I drive to your house, but never intend to keep driving once I get there, should I tell you I didn't drive at all? And driving wasn't necessary because I planned all along to stop once I got what I wanted?

According to the gigantic post explaining how you won, alliances were very important to you, even though you broke them all. You used whatever alliance you were in to get what you wanted until you needed a new alliance to get rid of someone else. Alliances all over the place.

Rather than prove alliances are unnecessary to win, as you claim, I think you proved you know how to use them better than everyone else.

I'm not trying to take away from your glory, but if you think alliances didn't do anything for you just because you planned on breaking them all along, then I never typed this reply because I was planning on ending it all along.

[Bruce the Duck]

Alliances, as they are used in the game of Survivor, are groups of people joining together for a COMMON GOAL - to get that core alliance to the end of the game. I did no such thing. I did not have a common goal with ANYONE in the game. Dr. Dad's goal was to get the three of us (him, me, and Elvis) to the final three. Mine was to eliminate everyone else and break every alliance that I could. An alliance is built on trust and loyalty. I had absolutely ZERO loyalty to anyone in the game, as Dr. Dad, doggans, ccs, alberta1, the42guy, and lookatthenumbers will surely tell you! >:)