Challenge Discussion Thread

[Skelda]

I'd also agree that adding challenges that advantage players that are already doing well in the game is a bad idea. It's a funny little line between 'test the same skills as the game itself' and 'give players on the top an advantage'.

I have had this perspective in the past, but I've kind of changed my mind on it a bit recently. Especially in the early merge, I think challenges which force players to "show their cards" so to speak can disrupt the power structure more than hoping the exact person who needs Immunity manages to win it. I mean if you desperately need Immunity at final 10, you have a 1/10 chance at getting it, in theory, and then a 1 in 9 chance the following round, etc. (though obviously things can change). But if there is a challenge which can force the majority to reveal where some lines are drawn, that could potentially do more good for the game long-term. It very much depends on how the challenge works though. I understand the instinct against challenges which allow a majority to work together to conspire, and maybe you would want to have more at stake than just Immunity or have players make decisions which can reveal where they stand in the game while not necessarily being able to work together to guarantee an outcome.

[Skelda]

(I'm thinking of something like the knockout-style Big Brother HoH, which while bad for the minority, has also given us a fair amount of drama and some shakeups. And if the minority is just good at the comp, they can still win it.)

[Skelda]

To be fair, I also don't see the problem with a jigsaw aside from the fact that jigsaws are a little basic as a challenge and should probably have another twist to be memorable. But like all the show's challenge at least have the time are just do this obstacle course and then do a puzzle, and I don't think the contestants spend a lot balancing balls on plates outside of that immunity comp. So I feel this might just be something that's hard to do.

Also like, what's the MS equivalent of firemaking, a skill which everyone on the show should have if they've made it that close to the end.

There should be a challenge about responding to as many wall PMs as you can as quickly as possible hahahahahahahaha

[Skelda]

Also I would love more cooperative challenges post-merge where multiple people win Immunity! That Defusing the Bomb challenge in PD was the most fun I've had in a challenge ever. And then that has the fun additional benefit of making players choose their own partners which can kind of show where they stand a little, like I just said earlier (like presumably you wouldn't want to partner with someone you plan to vote out and help them win, for example)

[Skelda]

Also I would love more cooperative challenges post-merge where multiple people win Immunity! That Defusing the Bomb challenge in PD was the most fun I've had in a challenge ever. And then that has the fun additional benefit of making players choose their own partners which can kind of show where they stand a little, like I just said earlier (like presumably you wouldn't want to partner with someone you plan to vote out and help them win, for example)

I think this is a good idea. It would increase collaboration and require some social skills. Perhaps my only worry would be that someone could partner with someone and then throw the challenge to ruin their chances, but I think it could also help the longshot odds of winning a challenge in the early merge. I've often wondered if increasing the amount of people who win immunity in the early merge rounds could be good and give those challenges more relevance than I think they have right now.

It is true that someone could throw a challenge to make their partner lose, which is why you allow players to choose their own partners. And if they agree to partner with someone so against them that they are willing to give up their own chance at Immunity and risk going home in order to prevent them from winning, then to me that is on the person going home. Plus someone legit throwing the challenge could be some fun drama.

But I think this helps the minority more than it hurts it, because if two people are clearly on the outs, they can team up together and bam, both can win Immunity and really screw up plans.

[Skelda]

Although I don't like the forced fire twist in survivor in general, I thought the idea of revealing what the firemaking challenge at 4 would be at the start of merge in Equestria was pretty clever. Gives players a lot of time to hypothetically practice if they want so anyone could be good at it. (similar to actual firemaking)

This was also fun in RPG, although a different situation obviously with no challenges. But yes, if we're gonna have F4 firemaking, I like it to be as known an element as possible so players can plan.

[Skelda]

Yeah I would like to see some survivor games reveal more info instead of trying to with hold everything. It's ok to have a couple twists but is it so bad to know when swaps are coming? Or exactly how many idols are in play? Or what the fire making challenge is like flum is suggesting?

Especially if it's an F3 or F2...but this the challenge thread, let's not. Maybe we need a "Should you reveal if it's an F3 or F2 and if so, when?" thread next. Although alternatively we can continue all agreeing that we should reveal it and then not doing it

[Skelda]

i dont really have any input but i think that that one challenge where you have to assign three attributes to yourself and your teammates should be removed entirely. i've played two games with it and it has been a crapshoot both times. definitely one of my least favorite challenges in an LSG atm

yeah this deserves to go. a breaking strategy of submitting an alphabet's going to emerge eventually too

That was the old norm people went for, until for some mysterious reason people stopped doing it, and the people that *do* then don't get nearly so many points or anything. But either way, it's a little too random or luck based. I did like the versions where you designated somebody to be isolated while the rest of the tribe theorized together on how best to match what that person was going to submit, that at least took some doing. But it's still not really a good option.

I really like that version!

I'm here for luck-based challenges though, or at least challenges which don't require specific skills. There can still be strategies, but I think it's fun for there to be some challenges in theory anyone could win. Not every challenge, but some of them.