Rock n' Roll (also known as Lemme Go Rock n' Roll, Boulder Dash, Keep Digging, Rollings Stones, and No Quarter) is a tribal teamwork challenge that originated in Survivor: Africa, and was later reused in Gabon, Survivor 41, Survivor 42, and Survivor 44.
Rules[]
Tribes must work to navigate a large boulder through a series of checkpoints, whilst accomplishing small tasks along the way (such climbing the boulder to collect keys). The first tribe to get their boulder onto their designated pedestal wins the challenge.
In Africa and Gabon, the challenge made use of the vast, undulating terrain in the African plains to create a long course. In Survivor 41, 42, and 44, the challenge was played in a small field, with several man-made obstacles, a large tower, and a puzzle component instead adding to the difficulty.
History[]
United States[]
The challenge debuted in Africa as a Reward Challenge. The tribes worked to navigate the ball through natural obstacles, with tribes collecting flags along the way. The tribes started out relatively even, but Samburu lost control of their boulder and veered off-course twice, allowing Boran to win their first challenge.
The challenge reappeared in Gabon, where it was used as a combined Reward/Immunity Challenge. In addition to maneuvering the boulder through a series of gates, the tribe had to collect two keys suspended in the air (requiring a tribe member to climb onto the boulder to retrieve them) which was used to unlock a series of chains that blocked the final gate. In a neck-and-neck race, Kota barely edged out Fang to win immunity, sending Fang back to Tribal Council.
In Survivor 41, the challenge appeared as the inaugural Earn the Merge challenge. Two teams had to dig up a their boulder partially submerged in sand, then roll it along the course, with one member climbing atop the boulder to retrieve two sets of keys. At the end of the course, teams had to use the ball to help scale a tower, use the keys to unlock a sliding word puzzle at the top, then solve the puzzle. A huge disparity in physical strength between the two randomly-selected teams allowed the blue team of Danny McCray, Deshawn Radden, Evvie Jagoda, Ricard Foyé, and Sydney Segal to easily win reward and immunity.
In Survivor 42, the same mechanics employed in Survivor 41 were reused, with the puzzle being changed to a 75-piece jigsaw instead of the sliding word puzzle in 41. Again, the teams were lopsided in challenge strength, allowing the orange team of Hai Giang, Jonathan Young, Lydia Meredith, Maryanne Oketch, and Tori Meehan to win the merge feast and passage into the merge.
In Survivor 44, the challenge reappeared as the Earn the Merge challenge. The final puzzle was changed to a tree puzzle. The two competing teams switched leads throughout the challenge, but in the end, Carson Garrett's past practice with the tree puzzle helped the purple team of himself, Brandon Cottom, Carolyn Wiger, Frannie Marin, Jaime Lynn Ruiz, and Matt Blankinship to pull off a clutch victory, granting them immunity at the first Tribal Council of the individual phase.
Australia[]
Quebec[]
The challenge was used as the first ever Immunity Challenge on Survivor Québec. Tiyaga defeated Kalooban, sending their rivals to the series' first Tribal Council.
Winners[]
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Africa "The Gods Are Angry" |
Tribal Reward |       Boran |
| Gabon "Want to See the Elephant Dung?" |
Tribal Reward/Immunity |          Kota |
| Survivor 41 "Ready to Play Like a Lion" |
Team Reward/Immunity (Earn the Merge) |
     Danny, Deshawn, Evvie, Ricard, Sydney |
| Survivor 42 "You Can't Hide on Survivor" |
Team Reward/Immunity (Earn the Merge) |
     Hai, Jonathan, Lydia, Maryanne, Tori |
| Survivor 44 "Survivor with a Capital S" |
Team Reward/Immunity (Earn the Merge) |
      Brandon, Carolyn, Carson, Frannie, Jaime, Matt |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Survivor (2017) Episode 3 |
Tribal Reward |            Samatau | |
| Titans v Rebels "We've All Seen This Movie" |
Tribal Immunity |             Rebels | |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Survivor Québec (2023) Episode 1 |
Tribal Immunity |           Tiyaga |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This challenge has been used in both seasons filmed on the African continent: Africa and Gabon. A yellow tribe won against a red tribe both times.
- In Africa, the boulders were made of fiberglass and weighed approximately 600-700 lbs.[1]
References[]