Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Sexes - Guide to the Fantasy Challenge

Why would anybody want to watch Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Sexes? Could it be for the intense action? To ogle Jonny Moseley, the sleepy-eyed host? To watch characters who will make you beg for Flo from The Amazing Race 3? Or would it be to win prizes and earn bragging rights among your peers?

Last year, MTV.com introduced the Fantasy Challenge to coincide with Battle of the Seasons. I had so much fun with it, I wrote about it for RealityNewsOnline, my very first article for the site. So I figured I'd walk you through the game, and send you on the way to a brand new obsession.

The format hasn't changed much from last year: you pick six people from the show, three male and three female. Before each episode, you choose four of your chosen Challengers, keeping two on the bench. Those four earn points based on their actions, points that go to you. However, you don't get points earned by your benched players. Before an episode airs, you can swap your benched players for your starters.

To make things more interesting, you're allowed to make six trades, replacing booted Challengers and those not getting you the points. As the show progresses, the number of Challengers dwindles, so the key is to make sure your roster is stocked with people still on the show. In order to tease visitors into playing, MTV.com won't be counting points until January 13, meaning that you can adjust the lineup as often as you'd like before then.

Here are the categories, along with Challengers who could bring home the big points for you:

Crying (5 points)

Most of these people are out-and-out drama majors already, and some has squirted tears in past seasons, so it's tough to tell who the biggest crier will be. Aside for those who got teary during the preview special - Ellen (RR: The Quest), Anne (RR: Northern Trail), and Puck (RW: San Francisco) - I'm thinking that Ayanna (RR: Semester at Sea), Tonya (RW: Chicago), and Aneesa (RW: Chicago) would make with the waterworks. Also, David B. (RW: New Orleans) has been known to shed a single tear now and then.

Fighting/Tantrums (10)

We already know about Melissa vs. Julie (both RW: New Orleans), Puck vs. Ellen, and Puck vs. David E. (RW: Los Angeles). While Ayanna looked mellow in her present-day segments, she has been known to explode. Emily (RR: Season Two) has been P.O.'ed by the likes of Julie and Holly in past Challenges. Her boyfriend James (RR: Maximum Velocity Tour) is also a loose cannon; in his last Challenge, he picked a fight with Syrus (RW: Boston), who was much bigger than him. David B. found himself in a lot of verbal battles during his season.

Hugs and Kisses (5)
Hooking Up/Making Out (20)

Hooking up refers to more intense interaction. We've seen Emily and James get some snuggle time in the preview, as did David B. and Ayanna. Whether that escalates into hooking up isn't evident. I wouldn't put it past David to get the 20 points, having once gone to bed with a woman whose name he didn't learn. Oh, and he did that while Matt (the pious virgin) was trapped in the bedroom. Jisela (RR: The Quest) is notorious for deep kisses. Even if she keeps things friendly, she could rack up points in bunches of five. If Melissa is still friendly with Jamie (RW: New Orleans), expect a lot of hugs between those two. I wouldn't count on Lori (RW: Back to New York) or Blair (RR: The Quest) for hooking up, since their significant others (Kyle and Kendall, respectively) are not in Jamaica. Also, beware of teasers. Last year, there were a few clips of Theo and Coral getting cuddly, but it was never shown in the episodes.

Nudity (15)

Can we think of nudity without conjuring up images of Aneesa (RW: Chicago), who was really comfortable with her body? Ditto with Ruthie (RW: Hawaii), who went skinny-dipping with Teck in the first episode of her season. In their pre-show analysis, Mike and Coral said that Blair would get naked often. I'd be surprised if James gets naked in front of the cameras once again, having done so after losing a bubble-blowing bet to Dan (RW: Miami) during Extreme Challenge. Same for Melissa, whose brief excursion into topless dancing has been blown out of proportion, including getting voted as the third most memorable moment in the show's history.

Getting Bleeped (3)

Anybody can fit the bill here. Seriously, there will be a lot of bleeps in every episode. You just have to hope that your players will make with the potty-mouth as often as possible.

Trash-Talking (5)
Gossiping/Bad-Mouthing (5)

Trash talking applies to competition only. Once again, anybody on this show can talk smack about others. Beth (RW: Los Angeles) did a lot of ranking in one episode last year before she got the boot. Julie was a poor sport in the latter half of Extreme Challenge, especially with Emily. If anybody has anything nice to say about Puck and vice versa, I will be surprised.

Pep Talk (5)

I would never have thought of Laterrian (RR: Maximum Velocity Tour) before watching the preview, but his shouts of "HOO-RAH!" and "RIDE OR F*****G DIE!" make him perfect for this category. Rachel (RR: Campus Crawl) was also seen rallying the troops. While they're a couple, Emily and James are alpha enough to try and fire up their teammates.

Getting Injured (10)

Even before watching the preview, I thought of Anne as a prime candidate for getting hurt. She's injured herself in her season and in the first Challenge. I don't think she'd get injured on account of looking like Nancy Kerrigan while there's a blonde named "Tonya" around, but you never know on this show. Amaya (RW: Hawaii) found all sorts of ways to get hurt during Challenge 2000. Beth sprained herself during the first episode of her first Challenge. I don't see Tonya getting hurt, unless she has a kidney stone relapse.