Snag, Drag and Bag (also known as Grapple and Maze, Puppet Master, Weight and Sea, Running on Empty, Master of Puppets, and Feel the Earn) is recurring challenge that debuted in Survivor: Tocantins. It has since reappeared in Redemption Island, South Pacific, Blood vs. Water, Worlds Apart, Kaôh Rōng, Survivor 45, Survivor 46, and Survivor 47.
Rules[]
Castaways would race to collect bags of balls with a grappling hook. Once the bags are retrieved, they would use one ball and place it in a table maze. The first person to solve the maze would win.
The challenge was modified for team use as a water challenge in Kaôh Rōng, with each team member using their weight to tilt the table maze.
History[]
United States[]
The challenge debuted in Tocantins, where the final seven competed for immunity. The challenge was split into two rounds. In the first round, the contestants would have to retrieve three bags using a grappling hook. Coach Wade, Debbie Beebe, and J.T. Thomas hooked their three bags first and moved on to the second round where they had to use one ball from one of the bags and guide it through a table maze. Coach won immunity by getting his ball through the table maze first in a tight race with J.T.
The challenge appeared as a Redemption Island Duel in Redemption Island, where Matt Elrod and Krista Klumpp faced off. Matt won his fourth straight duel, eliminating Krista for good.
This challenge was again used as a Redemption Island duel in South Pacific between Ozzy Lusth and John Cochran. Cochran struggled during the grappling hook stage, though he caught up during the labyrinth game and was just barely edged out by Ozzy. For winning, Ozzy was given the choice of which members of the Te Tuna tribe would be granted a visit from their loved ones. He decided to give it to Albert Destrade, Brandon Hantz, and Coach, who all spent the afternoon at Redemption Island with Ozzy and their respective loved ones.
In Blood vs. Water, the challenge re-appeared as the first post-merge Redemption Island duel between Aras Baskauskas, Vytas Baskauskas, and Tina Wesson. Vytas came first, and in a tight race, Tina managed to get second place, eliminating Aras.
In Worlds Apart, the challenge reappeared as the final six Immunity Challenge. Although closely matched by Dan Foley and Sierra Dawn Thomas, Mike Holloway won his third immunity.
In Kaôh Rōng, the challenge appeared as a team Reward Challenge. Instead of using grappling hooks to retrieve their balls, the teams had to traverse through an obstacle course and collect the balls at the end. The teams would then have to use their body weight to tilt the table, maneuvering the ball through the maze. The blue team of Kyle Jason, Michele Fitzgerald, and Tai Trang won reward.
In Survivor 45, the land variant of this challenge was used, but the grappling hooks were replaced by an obstacle course. After most contestants dropped their balls in the maze, Emily Flippen edged out Austin Li Coon to win a trip to the sanctuary.
The Survivor 45 variant appeared at the final six of Survivor 46, where the Nuinui tribe competed for Chinese food at the sanctuary. Charlie Davis won the challenge, after which it was revealed that the reward also came with letters from home. Charlie picked Liz Wilcox and Kenzie Petty to join him on the reward.
Australia[]
The Weight and Sea variant of the challenge introduced in Kaôh Rōng appeared as the final stage of the first post-switch tribal Immunity Challenge in Australian Survivor: Brains v Brawn (2021). After crossing a balance beam and sliding down a ramp, six tribe members would pass balls to three tribemates who would attempt to land the balls at the end of a giant table maze. Although Brains and Brawn were neck-and-neck near the start of the challenge, Rachel Downie struggled at the balance beam, allowing Brawn to win the challenge in a blowout victory.
South Africa[]
In Immunity Island, the challenge was used as the final six Immunity Challenge. After winning the previous Reward Challenge, Chappies Chapman won the right to deprive three castaways of the opportunity to compete in the challenge. Chappies chose to compete against Anela Majozi and Santoni Engelbrecht, whom he viewed as easy competition. Both Anela and Chappies made it to the inner circle of the table maze at around the same time, but Anela's ball fell out of the maze, allowing Chappies to land his ball first and clinch his third consecutive Immunity Challenge win.
Winners[]
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tocantins "They Both Went Bananas" |
Individual Immunity |  Coach Wade | |
| Redemption Island "Their Red-Headed Stepchild" |
Duel |  Matt Elrod | |
| South Pacific "Ticking Time Bomb" |
Duel (Family Visit) |
 Ozzy Lusth | |
| Blood vs. Water "Big Bad Wolf" |
Duel |  Vytas Baskauskas |
 Tina Wesson |
| Worlds Apart "My Word Is My Bond" |
Individual Immunity |  Mike Holloway | |
| Kaôh Rōng "Now's the Time to Start Scheming" |
Team Reward |    Jason, Michele, Tai | |
| Survivor 45 "How Am I the Mobster?" |
Individual Reward |  Emily Flippen | |
| Survivor 46 "Mamma Bear" |
Individual Reward |  Charlie Davis | |
| Survivor 47 "Feel the FOMO" |
Team Reward (Earn the Merge) |
      Kyle, Rachel, Sam, Sierra, Sue, Teeny | |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Brains v Brawn (2021) Episode 8 |
Tribal Immunity |          Brawn |
| Blood v Water Episode 7 |
Tribal Immunity |          Water |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Cambodge Episode 8 |
Tribal Reward |      Takéo |
| L'Île des Héros Episode 11 |
Team Reward |     Claude, Jessica, Naoil, Régis |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Survivor Québec (2024) Episode 11 |
Tribal Immunity |         Bayani |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Immunity Island "A Very Weird Vibe" |
Individual Immunity |  Chappies Chapman | |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This challenge, along with House of Cards and Jail Break, are the only challenges to appear in every season featuring Redemption Island.
- This challenge and Jail Break are the only ones to appear as a duel in all of these seasons.
- The table maze section of the challenge appeared as the final section of Ow Pairs in Game Changers and Rice Race in Winners at War.
References[]