Tribal Council

Tribal Council
Survivor Gameplay
Description	Where the tribe votes to eliminate somebody from the game.

Tribal Council is the elimination ceremony of Survivor. Every third night, typically although not always, a tribe (or tribes) attend Tribal Council. It is here where castaways vote for other castaways and the person with the most votes is eliminated.

Overview

At the beginning of the game, typically, the first time anyone attends Tribal Council is when their tribe loses an immunity challenge. When a castaway attends their first tribal council they are required to dip their torch into the main fire and see their torch get lit. It's a ritual at Tribal Council to show that fire represents life in the game and when a castaway is voted out their fire is put out as well (or their torch is snuffed).

For the first three seasons we saw one tribe visit tribal council all but one time in the pre-merge. In all four seasons tribal council was based solely on the majority of the votes and the only way to avoid receiving votes, and therefore being eliminated, was to win immunity (tribal or individual). However, introduced in the fifth season, twists have been able to save castaways before, during, or after the vote in some way, shape, or form.

Jury:

In each season, people voted out (usually) in the merged stage of the game are put on the jury. They are sent to Ponderosa, jury house, where they will collect their thoughts all the way until the Final Tribal Council. Here is where the jury will then interact with the remaining castaways to decide who will win the game.

Tiebreakers

Sometimes in the game, a tie between two or more castaways in the voting can be had.

Simple Revote:

Typically, the castaways who didn't receive votes would revote and a majority would be gained one way or another. The second time the votes are revealed, someone goes home.

Rock Tiebreaker:

When the vote is a deadlock, and there are more than four people on a tribe (in most instances), everyone except those who have immunity will draw rocks. One rock is a different color and this rock sends home the person who drew it. It's a random draw.

Challenge Tiebreaker:

In rare cases, typically when four or less remain on a tribe, a tiebreaker in the form of a challenge is held between the two castaways with a tie. This can happen with or without a simple revote, depending on the circumstances and the season. The winner of the challenge stays in the game, while the loser becomes the next person voted out of the game.

Twists

Double Tribal Council:

A Double Tribal Council is when two tribes attend tribal council or two people are voted out the game in the same night. The first time this twist occurred was in Survivor: Greece, where two tribes attended tribal council on Days 3 and 6. This twist can be used to speed up a game, or to simply be another twist in the game.

Final Tribal Council

The Final Tribal Council is where the two or three remaining castaways have a chance to plead to the jury about why they should be voted for the title of Sole Survivor (the winner of the game).

Final Two

The classic format is for two people to sit at the end with seven jury members deciding who wins the title of Sole Survivor, but there have been variations of this format with eight, nine, ten, or even eleven jury members.

Final Three

Introduced in Survivor: Greece, three people sit at the end with a number of jury members (seven, eight, nine, ten, or eleven) pleading their case as to why they should win the title of Sole Survivor.