Survivor: China – Advice for the Remaining Seven

One of the key moments of Survivor is the point where there are seven Survivors remaining. At this point in the game, there is probably a dominant alliance, a few stragglers from a minority group, and all eyes on the million-dollar prizes. It’s also a point of opportunity, as it only takes four votes to eliminate a person, and they can be secured with a combination of stragglers and members of the dominant alliance who consider themselves to be the low people on the totem pole.

This is also a point in the game where Survivors should be wary of what I call “slow death,” where a Survivor may be in the majority alliance, and even slotted for a position in the finals, yet have no hope of winning the game if they make it that far. Being a loyal vote or sidekick to the main decision makers isn’t enough to win the game. Survivors have to decide if they want to make it to the finals and take second (or third) place, or if they want to win the game. If they want to win, this is one of the times where they have to play “all or nothing.”

All or nothing means abandoning a secure alliance and putting some trust in old enemies, as well as stabbing old friends in the back, but the alternative is losing the game at the end. Survivors should have an idea of who is likely to win the game (and the smart ones recognize the jury usually rewards the best player, not the nicest player) and figure out their position.

Anybody who figures their position is third place at best should opt to try to reverse the game at this point, and it should be considered by somebody who thinks they are in second place (though they are usually better off attempting the reversal when five people are left). On the other side, Survivors in strong positions should do their best to downplay their situation (they tend to be the ones that declare other Survivors are going to win over a jury due to their niceness or financial situation).

While making this choice requires Survivors to abandon security, the situation is different when there are eight Survivors left and a five person alliance. This was shown in the last immunity challenge, where several players, confronted with the Eat or Compete choice, helped themselves to food while the players who felt insecure decided to play for immunity. It wasn’t a bad decision to eat as there were alternative targets no matter who won individual immunity. The open secret that James holds both immunity idols helped make that decision easy.

With all that in mind, seven Survivors remain and should be looking to win the game. Who should be doing what? It’s advice for the remaining seven.

Amanda: You have a tricky situation, as you are probably the second best player in the game. That means you eventually have to jettison the best player, Todd, at some point. The trouble is, James holds two immunity idols, so you have to concede he probably has a ticket to the final four. If you want to make a move at this point, you three other players to vote with you, and you’ll need to be careful who you pick as eventually you’ll need to turn on them. I’d suggest the most down-and-out; Denise, Peih-Gee, and Erik as they have the most to gain.

Courtney: At this point, you need to figure out what you are doing that shows everybody you deserve to win the game. That means overthrowing the leadership of Todd and Amanda, so you should cut deals with James, Denise, and at least one of the former Yhan Hu tribe members. Peih-Gee is more likely to be open to a deal, so I suggest you start with her. You’ll need to spend the rest of the game keeping the strategically weak players as your alliance.

Denise: The game isn’t working for you, even though you have secure allies. You haven’t played a strategic game, so your last chance is to overthrown the leadership and redefine who is a strategist in the game. That means you need to work with James, and probably either Courtney or Erik and Peih-Gee to get rid of Todd and Amanda. If you can lead the revolt, you might regain a shot to win the game.

Todd: Your problem is that you’re the top strategist in the game, and you’ll need to keep a mutiny from happening in order to win the game. Your best method is the time tested one of focusing the attention on other players as the threat to win the game. For now though, you should put the focus on maintaining the alliance and getting rid of the stragglers of Peih-Gee and Erik. If you can get one of them removed this week, you’ll be a strong position to get rid of the other next time, at which point you’ll need to play your endgame.

Erik: Your short term problem is surviving the next vote. The best way to do that is to band with Peih-Gee and the bottom people of the enemy alliance. I’d suggest the two people at the bottom are Denise and Courtney. See if you can make them an offer to take out the leadership of Todd and Amanda. If you can’t swing either of them, try Amanda. Todd is the current leader, and James probably isn’t worried about his position due to the two immunity idol he has. If your efforts don’t work, it’s time to get rid of Peih-Gee as it is better her than you.

Peih-Gee: Winning immunity probably saved your neck at Tribal Council, but it also presented you with a new opportunity to change the game as the magic number of votes to eliminate somebody dropped from five to four. Now is your best chance to change the game by putting together a new voting block consisting of yourself, Erik, and the bottom-rung members of the Fei Long alliance. I’d suggest Denise as one of them, and Courtney as the other. However, it won’t hurt to talk to James as suggest he’d be in a better position to win the game if Todd and Amanda were sent to the jury. In any case, if somebody comes to you with a deal, you should probably take it.

James: You should focus on using your immunity idols in a way to maximize your position to win the game. While you are hard working, you’re not seen as the leader of the tribe, and they are the ones that tend to get the big money for winning the game. You can put yourself in a better position by getting rid of Todd and Amanda, though you should use a stealth maneuver if you can. That means slipping an immunity idol to a target and letting the votes rebound. Everybody will know who was responsible for that move, and you’ll gain a lot of respect by taking out a target in that manner.

Frosti: What went wrong? You were a physical threat and part of the minority alliance in the game. Both worked against you when Peih-Gee won immunity. You were the logical target, and you were promptly voted out.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent Survivor: China articles here on RealityNewsOnline:

Jeffrey Clinard has been writing about Survivor since its second season, and has provided advice for around 200 Survivors. His patronus takes the form of a penguin. He looks forward to both his upcoming cruise and the start of the ice hockey season. He can be reached at realityfeedback@bookslv.com.

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