Greatest Survivor Players Of All Time?

[GrantNKY]

Dude. Ozzie is a terrible Survivor player.

 

He is great at surviving on an island. But as far as the game of Survivor, I think he could go down as one of the most overrated. Literally no strategic game play in any of the seasons he played.

Who needs strategic gameplay when you win every single individual immunity challenge. Haha Ozzie was always my favorite player so that was more of sentimental inclusion than anything.

[MJAlltheWay24]

Who needs strategic gameplay when you win every single individual immunity challenge.

 

How's that worked out for him? lol jk.

 

Definitely a fan favorite, but I wouldn't put him anywhere near the top of this conversation.

[GrantNKY]

How's that worked out for him? lol jk.

 

Definitely a fan favorite, but I wouldn't put him anywhere near the top of this conversation.

He made it to the end in Cook Islands and lost by 1 vote so it worked out pretty well for him.

[GrantNKY]

I have a question for the die hard fans on here, do you think that survivor is a flawed game? To me Survivor is extremely flawed because the best player only wins ~70% of the time. I also don’t want it to be a perfect game, the reason Survivor is such a fantastic show is because it’s flawed. Because it’s unpredictable and in some cases it’s simply not fair. That’s why it has been on for 18 years.

[MJAlltheWay24]

I have a question for the die hard fans on here, do you think that survivor is a flawed game? To me Survivor is extremely flawed because the best player only wins ~70% of the time. I also don’t want it to be a perfect game, the reason Survivor is such a fantastic show is because it’s flawed. Because it’s unpredictable and in some cases it’s simply not fair. That’s why it has been on for 18 years.

 

Your explanation is precisely why I don't think its flawed. In the end, the only thing that matters is getting the most votes and that can be acheieved with a variety of strategies.

 

Sometimes you might have a very vindictive individuals. Its your job to get them out without them holding a grduge against you and still respect you. You don't do that, then that's on you, not the game.

[Voice of Reason]

Russell ... one of the most innovative players in Survivor but that doesn't necessarily translate to greatest player in the history of Survivor. Look at the whole finding of idols without clues. Russell invented that and since he did it a lot of players have been able to do the same thing. So I don't think being able to find idols makes Russell a great player because so many other players do it. But give him credit for being innovative and showing everybody else it was possible. I think that is true about most of what Russell did on Survivor. He was creative and innovative but that doesn't make him the greatest.

 

Survivor ... the game definitely has flaws and some of them really irritate me. The one that bugs me the most is being a really good player puts you on the chopping block. It is almost better to be a weak or hated player that can more easily bond with other weak players. That issue plus the jealous and vengeful jury members who aren't able to put personal feelings and emotions aside to vote for the best player are the two biggest flaws in the game for me.

[GrantNKY]

Russell ... one of the most innovative players in Survivor but that doesn't necessarily translate to greatest player in the history of Survivor. Look at the whole finding of idols without clues. Russell invented that and since he did it a lot of players have been able to do the same thing. So I don't think being able to find idols makes Russell a great player because so many other players do it. But give him credit for being innovative and showing everybody else it was possible. I think that is true about most of what Russell did on Survivor. He was creative and innovative but that doesn't make him the greatest.

 

Survivor ... the game definitely has flaws and some of them really irritate me. The one that bugs me the most is being a really good player puts you on the chopping block. It is almost better to be a weak or hated player that can more easily bond with other weak players. That issue plus the jealous and vengeful jury members who aren't able to put personal feelings and emotions aside to vote for the best player are the two biggest flaws in the game for me.

I know I give Russell too much credit at times and that’s fine, but I appreciate someone acknowledging how much he changed the landscape of the game. Without Russell, Tony and Ben probably don’t win. The flaws you mentioned I agree our definite flaws if the purpose of the game is awarding a million dollars to the best player. But I also really enjoy those flaws. That’s what makes the game so special. It’s the only game where a guy like Cochran can go toe to toe with a guy like Malcolm and win. That’s also why the fire making challenge last season really frustrated me. I think it actually put a band aid on one of the games flaws. The show is imperfectly, perfect.

[GrantNKY]

Your explanation is precisely why I don't think its flawed. In the end, the only thing that matters is getting the most votes and that can be acheieved with a variety of strategies.

 

Sometimes you might have a very vindictive individuals. Its your job to get them out without them holding a grduge against you and still respect you. You don't do that, then that's on you, not the game.

I still think the game is flawed but I don’t want it changed. It’s deliberately set up so sometimes the game can simply be unfair and I love it. But with regards to bitter juries, I think Russell would/ will never win Survivor, but I don’t think that makes him a bad player. You need Russell to get far in the game. Even in Redemption Island, Zappatera completely fell apart when they got rid of Russell. He’s the glue that holds everything together. He’s always the target, but you can’t get him out. But his tribes perform well in challenges and they usually make it very far in the game post merge. But he will never win the game, because what he does to make it to the end spurns people so much they can’t get over it. I would like to think I wouldn’t be that bitter, but I can’t imagine being in their shoes. But since it’s happened twice with bitter juries I don’t think he would ever win employing those tactics. But he’s also so much of a threat before those tactics that he would be voted out early if he isn’t a total jerk. He’s in a lose/ lose situation with survivor. Personally I choose to look at his contributions to the game rather than his performance in the game. That’s why I hold his gameplay in much higher regard than most on here.

[Larry Linville]

In my mind the great thing about Survivor is the fluidity of the game. Had the game stayed exactly as it was in Borneo it would have died by now. The twists and game changes are what have made it great. Some of the changes were better then others and some like Redemption Island and the returning tribe have been terrible. Players never know how the game is going to play out.

 

What I know some see as a flaw is what I think is the best thing about the game. Being able to read people and manipulating people in such a way that they are willing to vote for you to win a million dollars. That's why I love the game.

[GrantNKY]

In my mind the great thing about Survivor is the fluidity of the game. Had the game stayed exactly as it was in Borneo it would have died by now. The twists and game changes are what have made it great. Some of the changes were better then others and some like Redemption Island and the returning tribe have been terrible. Players never know how the game is going to play out.

 

What I know some see as a flaw is what I think is the best thing about the game. Being able to read people and manipulating people in such a way that they are willing to vote for you to win a million dollars. That's why I love the game.

Call me crazy, but put me in the camp that if it wasn't for Richard Hatch, I'm not sure Survivor ever becomes the game it is today and would likely have fizzled by now. Could someone have come along and seen the game the way Hatch did, probably, but even down to the way they started casting people to play the show after Hatch. They basically scraped the idea of this being a survival show to a show about people. It has certainly had its fair share of simply bad ideas: redemption island being the worst hands down, followed closely by this stupid final 4 fire making challenge which I hope goes the way of Redemption Island.

[Larry Linville]

I like the fire making challenge and I figured you would as well since it gives a strong player a chance when he/she would otherwise be voted out.

 

I agree about Hatch. He invented alliances and his machinations are what caused the game to be what it has become.

[GrantNKY]

I like the fire making challenge and I figured you would as well since it gives a strong player a chance when he/she would otherwise be voted out.

 

I agree about Hatch. He invented alliances and his machinations are what caused the game to be what it has become.

I understand that but Ben had his opportunity to save himself by winning immunity and he didn't. I know I argue about strong players and in particularly Russell, but I also respect that the best player doesn't always win and thats what keeps the game fun and exciting. I don't like the fire making challenge simply because I think for the first time it was evident that the producers were steering the game in a certain direction. Like if they would have simply told the players about the twist at the beginning of the game I don't think I would have as much problem with it, but because the twist game out of nowhere at a time that just so happened to save the most popular and strongest player of the season just didn't sit right with me. I know the twist is for sure coming back for Ghost Island and who knows how it would play out this time, but after one season I would like to see it go.

[GrantNKY]

Also I think I need to revise my greatest survivor ever list:

 

#1) Ashley Underwood-- Redemption Island

[GrantNKY]

Also I think I need to revise my greatest survivor ever list:

 

#1) Ashley Underwood-- Redemption Island

I mean seriously.

[GrantNKY]

I really like the Brains/Brawns/Beauty idea from Caramoan, but I’d love to see them give this another shot with former castaways. Going to put together some tribes later.