Social Strategies

This is a list of all the popular social strategies used to play the game of Big Brother in the United States and Canada. They work in conjuction with Competitive Strategies.

=Coaster= The Coaster social strategy includes players who often have little effect on the game or attach themselves to a stronger player to get to the end. These players often have little understanding of the game and tend to do very poorly in competitions. Unlike Floaters, Coasters typically remain with one alliance throughout the game. These players may "float", in the sense that they do not have any alliances, but they do so without any real strategy. The typical competitive strategy choice for Coasters is passive.


 * Houseguests who have employed this strategy include Jordan Lloyd (Big Brother 11 & 13), Kathy Hillis (Big Brother 12), Adam Poch (Big Brother 13), Jenn Arroyo (Big Brother 14), Victoria Rafaeli (Big Brother 16), Meg Maley (Big Brother 17), James Huling (Big Brother 18), Raven Walton, Matthew Clines and Kevin Schlehuber (Big Brother 19); Kryssie Ridolfi (Big Brother: Over The Top); Talla Rajaei (Big Brother Canada 1), Nikki Grahame (Big Brother Canada 4), Karen Singbeil (Big Brother Canada 5), William Kenny and Maddy Poplett (Big Brother 6).

=Collaborator= The Collaborator social strategy involves a houseguest attempting to join an alliance and help that alliance make it as far as possible into the game. The Collaborator's goal is to keep his or her alliance intact, while simultaneously not appearing as a threat as the Leader.


 * Houseguests who have employed this strategy include Maggie Ausburn (Big Brother 6), Mike Malin (Big Brother 2, All-Stars, & 14), Matt Hoffman and Hayden Moss (Big Brother 12), Shelli Poole (Big Brother 17); Sindy Nguyen (Big Brother Canada 3 & 5).

=Floater= The Floater social strategy includes consciously joining no alliances or joining many but having no true loyalty to any of them. The Floater's goal is to stay out of the way and to be seen as a non-threat while the Leaders and the Gamers take themselves out of the game. Unlike Coasters, Floaters deliberately attempt either to play multiple sides of the house against each other or to remain in the middle of opposing alliances in order to strategically further themselves in the game. The typical competitive strategy choice for Floaters are selective or passive.


 * Houseguests who have employed this strategy include Will Kirby (Big Brother 2), Jun Song (Big Brother 4), Erika Landin (Big Brother: All-Stars), Adam Poch (Big Brother 13), Andy Herren (Big Brother 15), Justin Duncan (Big Brother: Over The Top), Mark Jansen (Big Brother 19), Mark McGrath (Celebrity Big Brother 1 (US)); Godfrey Mangwiza (Big Brother Canada 3), Cassandra Shahinfar and Mitchell Moffit (Big Brother Canada 4) and  Paras Atashnak (Big Brother Canada 6).

=Gamer= When utilizing the Gamer social strategy, the player seeks to present themselves as a "fan of the game", and argues that a houseguest who is not playing the game "well" does not deserve to remain in the house. Gamers promote the eviction of the Coasters, the Floaters, and the Snakes so that the Leaders and the Gamers, who they argue ultimately deserve to win, can decide the winner without fear of giving the title to an undeserving player. The typical gamer competitive strategy is aggressive or selective.


 * Houseguests who have employed this strategy include Rachel Reilly  and Brendon Villegas (Big Brother 12 & 13), Ian Terry (Big Brother 14), Helen Kim (Big Brother 15), Devin Shepherd, Frankie Grande and Caleb Reynolds (Big Brother 16), Shelli Poole and Vanessa Rousso (Big Brother 17), Paulie Calafiore and Paul Abrahamian (Big Brother 18), Alex Ow (Big Brother 19); Ika Wong and Neda Kalantar (Big Brother Canada 5), Kaela Grant (Big Brother Canada 6).

=Leader= The Leader social strategy has the player create an open (or sometimes secret) agreement and use that group's power to control the happenings in the house. They are usually targeted and so rely on the ability of their alliance to win competitions and the fear of reciprocation from alliance members in the case of the Leader's eviction. The Leader's goal is to keep his or her alliance or sub-alliance in the house for as long as possible so that his or her control of the game increases. Leaders will most often select the aggressive competitive approach, although they will sometimes choose selective maneuvering.


 * Houseguests who have employed this strategy include Jase Wirey (Big Brother 5 & All-Stars), Eric Littmann (Big Brother 6), Kaysar Ridha (Big Brother 6 & All-Stars), Jessie Godderz (Big Brother 10 & 11), Jeff Schroeder (Big Brother 11 & 13), Amanda Zuckerman (Big Brother 15), Devin Shepherd (Big Brother 16), Vanessa Rousso (Big Brother 17), Alex Willett (Big Brother: Over The Top), Paul Abrahamian (Big Brother 19); and Bruno Ielo (Big Brother Canada 3 & 5)

=Loudmouth= The Loudmouth social strategy involves the player threatening some or all of the other houseguests. The Loudmouth's goal is to appear to be unable to get the necessary jury votes to win the $500,000 and/or to make the other houseguests afraid to vote to evict the Loudmouth for fear of becoming a target of the Loudmouth if he or she is not evicted. The Loudmouth usually takes a selective or passive competitive strategy.


 * Houseguests who have employed this strategy include Dick Donato (Big Brother 8 & 13), Russell Kairouz and Chima Simone (Big Brother 11), Amanda Zuckerman (Big Brother 15), Zach Rance (Big Brother 16), Michelle Meyer (Big Brother 18), Josh Martinez (Big Brother 19); and Ika Wong (Big Brother Canada 2 & Big Brother Canada 5).

=Snake= The Snake social strategy primarily involves one player manipulating the other houseguests. Typically, a player described as a Snake is very friendly but is not open about where his or her loyalties lie. The Snake's goal is to influence the other houseguests into evicting one another without bringing attention to himself or herself. A Snake will typically select the passive or selective competitive strategy.


 * Houseguests who have employed this strategy include Will Kirby (Big Brother 2 & All-Stars), Eric Stein (Big Brother 8), Ronnie Talbott (Big Brother 11), Dan Gheesling (Big Brother 10 & 14), Andy Herren (Big Brother 15), Audrey Middleton (Big Brother 17), Nicole Franzel (Big Brother 16 & 18), Da'Vonne Rogers (Big Brother 17 & 18), Paul Abrahamian (Big Brother 19); Neda Kalantar (Big Brother Canada 2 & 5), Cassandra Shahinfar and Mitchell Moffit and Tim Dormer (Big Brother Canada 4), Dre Gwenaelle (Big Brother Canada 5) and Paras Atashnak (Big Brother Canada 6).

=Under the Radar= When utilizing the Under the Radar social strategy, the player seeks to lay low in the house and not make huge waves as a means of getting to the end of the game. These players can simultaneously employ any other strategy, but ensure that all or most of the moves they make in the game go unnoticed by their housemates. These players typically form strong bonds with their fellow houseguests, which in turn makes them appear as less of a threat. An Under the Radar player will typically select the passive or selective competitive strategy.


 * Houseguests who have employed this strategy include Danielle Reyes (Big Brother 3), Jun Song' (Big Brother 4), Dan Gheesling' (Big Brother 10), Derrick Levasseur' (Big Brother 16), Liz Nolan (Big Brother 17); Morgan Willett' (Big Brother: Over The Top); and Paras Atashnak (Big Brother Canada 6).