Survivor: The Tribe Has Spoken review — Celebrating 50 seasons and a few blindsides at the table

Confession time: I have watched every episode of Survivor. Some seasons, I’ve even watched multiple times. I even convinced my wife to watch all the seasons to catch up so we can watch them live. I even play fantasy survivor games with my family. My brother even got me a Cameo of Season 44 winner Yam Yam for my birthday! One could say I’m a fan. At the time of this review, we’re heading into the end of Season 49 with Season 50, a cast of all returning players, on the horizon. What a more perfect time to check out the official Survivor party game than now!

Over the 25 years of the show, there have been several licensed Survivor themed games, all with pasted on thematic elements that did little to integrate the ins and outs of a Survivor season. How do you take the experiences of building an alliance with another player, playing a perfectly timed hidden immunity idol, stealing someone’s vote, winning an advantage in a challenge and bottle that all into a game? In Survivor: The Tribe Has Spoken, the creators have done just that.

The Tribe Has Spoken is a party style game for 3-6 players from publisher Exploding Kittens and designers Ian Clayman, Elan Lee, and the host of Survivor himself, Jeff Probst. In the game, players will play cards from their hand, execute different actions, and take part in tribal councils, in order to be named “Sole Survivor.”

Each player in the game begins with three cards from the draw deck and two Survivor character cards. These character cards feature prominent players from all eras of Survivor including four time player Cirie Fields, fan favorite good guy Rupert Bohenam, two time winner Sandra Diaz, and the ever charismatic Boston Rob Mariano. Throughout the game, characters can be eliminated by turning them face down and when both are turned over, that player is out of game…sort of. A central deck of player cards is constructed with some larger sized tribal council cards evenly distributed throughout the deck. Depending on the player count, tribal council cards will feature a single or double elimination on their face and will initiate a special phase of the game when revealed.

Play progresses clockwise around the table with players following three steps on their turn. The first step is stealing a card from another player. This step is not optional, so every turn is an opportunity to make a new enemy! The second step is optional, where a card is played from the active player’s hand for its effect. Cards can feature mini-reward challenge games, ways for other players to lose turns and cards, and other items that can be used during a tribal council phase. How you play the cards from your hand can win you allies or create enemies. The final step of a turn is to draw a card from the central deck. If the player reveals a Tribal Council card, then a special phase of the game will commence, otherwise play moves to the next player.

The tribal council is led by the player revealing the card from the deck and a special script is included to help them channel their inner Jeff Probst. A round of discussion takes place with players making their case for why players should be voted off the island or why they should stay. When voting begins, players will drum on the table as the voting box is passed around the table and cards are dropped in the slots. At the end of voting, players get one final opportunity to play any special cards such as a hidden immunity idol to affect the vote. The votes are read and if there is a tie, the tribal council leader gets to break it. The player with the most votes, or in a double elimination the top two vote getters, will turn over one of their Survivor Character cards. Play then resumes around the circle until the next tribal council or there are only two players left in the game.

When only two players remain, a final tribal council is held. Rather than voting someone out, the eliminated players will get to vote on who will win the game, based on how they played. The final two players will get a chance to make their case on how the Outwit, Outplay, and Outlast the other players the best and the player who gets the most votes in the final tribal wins!

Overall Thoughts

The production of this game, though thematic, is a mixed bag. The cards are a bit poor in their construction and can warp easily. The crowning achievement, however, is the integration of the voting box into the overall storage box of the game. Once the cards are removed, the box is flipped on the side and provides slots for each player color with a magnetic clasp lid to easily remove votes. In true Survivor fashion, there also may be some secrets for players to discover…

As a fan of Survivor, I thought the game did a great job of incorporating the ins and outs of forming alliances and outmaneuvering your opponent as much as they could in a party/card game. The true fun of the game comes when you have other fans of the show at the table and you can really lean into the table talk and social elements of the game. Players who are only familiar with the series, may find it harder to immerse themselves during a first playthrough. But I found after seeing how the game plays, they are more open in future sessions. The fact that players have to steal a card on their turn is a great addition, meaning you can make an enemy from the beginning of the game, use it to your advantage to help out an ally, or just go after a player who is rich in card options. The amount of times a hidden immunity idol card can change hands can definitely add some tension to the game. I did feel a few of the cards weren’t used very often, such as the legacy advantages. These cards allow you to gain the cards of a specific player color once both of their characters are eliminated and were barely ever used. Also, some of the mini games like throwing out numbers can get old quickly. More varied options or suggestions for other “minute to win it” style games could take it up another level. I also felt that non-fans of the show did not get as much out of the game as others and finding die-hard fans may prove difficult.