The Black Box is a recurring Have/Have-Not Competition, Battle of the Block competition, Head of Household competition, Power of Veto competition, Hit The Road competition and BB Basement competition. It's called black box because it's dark in there and it makes the competition difficult since they can't see where they're going. The Haunting is a variation of this competition, although the difference is that the houseguests usually get headlights to help guide them.
Rules[]
Houseguests enter a black box. They must search around for items and place them where they need to go. The houseguest(s) that get the most the quickest will win the competition. The following seasons used a different format:
In Big Brother 18 (US), houseguests had to hold a button, and if not back in time, would have to leave the Black Box, in addition to the regular searching aspect.
In Celebrity Big Brother 1 (US), houseguests had to crawl through a makeshift restaurant and try to make their way out in the fastest time.
In Big Brother 20 (US), houseguests had to search around for folders in order to escape. There was one less folder than there were people playing, so whoever was left without a folder received a punishment. One special folder would allow whoever finds it to advance to the other round, while any other folder would only spare the finder from the punishment.
In Big Brother 21 (US), houseguests had to search around the dark to find an exit, but there would be many decoy exits in their way. The last person to leave through the correct exit will be evicted from the game on Day 1.
History[]
The competition was first used as a Have/Have-Not Competition on Big Brother 15. Houseguests Andy Herren, McCrae Olson, and Spencer Clawson won the competition, meaning they were haves for the week.
On the following season, Big Brother 16, the competition was used as a Battle of the Block competition. Houseguests Christine Brecht and Donny Thompson won the competition, dethroning Derrick Levasseur, the HoH that had nominated them, despite Christine trying to throw the competition.
In its next appearance, Big Brother 18, the competition was used as an HoH competition. Houseguest Natalie Negrotti beat Corey Brooks by four seconds, winning her first HoH of the summer.
The next appearance was Celebrity Big Brother 1 (US), where it was used as a PoV competition that was won by James Maslow as his first win of the season.
Used as one of the opening night competitions on Big Brother 20 (US), half of the houseguests participated in this competition, with the loser being given a punishment. Angela Rummans won the competition, and advanced to the next round's Immunity Competition, while Kaycee Clark came in last place and was punished with a Unitard.
Returning as another opening night competition on Big Brother 21 (US), after Jackson Michie was voted Camp Director, he had to banish four of his fellow contestants to participate in a Hit The Road competition. He chose to banish Cliff Hogg III, David Alexander, Jessica Milagros, and Kemi Fakunle. Cliff and Kemi managed to make it out, and it came down to David and Jessica, with Jessica managing to exit first, leaving David to become the first person evicted from that season.
In Big Brother 22 (US), it was used as a twist, the BB Basement competition. All houseguests would compete to find three Power Icon and place them in their corresponding Power Podium. The first three to find and place the Icons would win and each earn their own unique power. In a redemption arc from the previous season, David was the first to find an Icon and place it in the Podium, earning himself the Disruptor power. Next, Dani Briones found hers and earned the Replay power, while Christmas Abbott earned the Blocker power.
List of The Black Box Competitions[]
United States[]
Civilian[]
| Season | Week | Name Variant | Winner | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 8 | "The Black Box" | ||||
| 16 | 8 | |||||
| 18 | 9 | "Black Box" | ||||
| 20 | 1 | "The Trash Folder" | ||||
| 21 | 1 | "The Search for Camp BB" | ||||
| 22 | 5 | "The Basement of Power" | ||||
| 24 | 10 | "Horror Fest Lockdown" | ||||
| 25 | 9 | "BB Exorcism" | ||||
| 26 | 7 | "Bot Builders" | ||||
Celebrity[]
| Season | Day | Name Variant | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | "Dining in the Dark" |
Canada[]
Civilian[]
| Season | Week | Name Variant | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 1 | "Down the Rabbit Hole" |
Celebrity (Quebec)[]
| Season | Week | Name Variant | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | "The Black Box" | |||
| 2 | 5 | "Dining in the Dark" | |||
| 3 | 11 | "In the Dark" | |||
| 4 | 11 | "Blind Dinner: The Revenge" | |||
Trivia[]
- Every season that this competition has been used, it has been used for something different.