Big Brother: The Game is the official game of the Big Brother franchise. It allows users to participate in a massively-multiplayer virtual adaptation of the Big Brother format, with winners receiving real-life cash prizes.
Background
Over the 2006-07 holiday season, Endemol ran an online version of Big Brother on the Second Life platform.[1] Fifteen users from three time zones had to spend at least eight hours per day inside a virtual house, completing tasks and socializing with fellow housemates.[2] After 34 days, Madlen Flint from Hungary became the winner of Big Brother Second Life, receiving a virtual island worth US$1,675.[1]
In May 2020, over a decade later, Endemol Shine Group announced plans to launch a mobile game based on the Big Brother format, suitably titled 'Big Brother: The Game'.[3] Described in a press release as the “world’s first online multi-player reality TV show” which would introduce “a new genre of reality gaming”, the MMORPG allows users to experience a simulation of the Big Brother format by competing as housemates in a 3D house, with each virtual 'season' culminating in one lucky winner receiving a “life-changing prize fund”.
Big Brother: The Game marked the first time that Endemol Shine had commissioned its own custom-built virtual platform for the Big Brother format, and the first time that a Big Brother-branded app had been created for global release. The Game was developed by small independent studio 9th Impact, based in Galway, Ireland, which specialises in designing tie-in apps for television shows; it took the company over three years to make.
Big Brother- The Game Trailer "Watch Out Now"
Official trailer for Big Brother: The Game
Later that month, The Game was given a soft launch in the Republic of Ireland, where a short pilot season was run as a public test of the software. Dr Finn Krewer, Head of Development at 9th Impact, explained that Ireland was chosen as the location as the country had never had its own version of Big Brother before[4] (Ireland had previously only been included in the UK version). On July 13, 2020, County Mayo resident Aoife Cheung - known by her screen name ‘Ava’ - was named winner of the pilot season, receiving a real-life cash prize of €5,000.[5]
On October 15, 2020, The Game was finally released worldwide as an Android app on Google Play and an iOS app on Apple’s App Store. The first full season began that same day, described by developers as an 'official season' of Big Brother.[6]
Although The Game was initially promoted as a mobile app, a PC edition was later released for Windows 10 devices on November 11, 2020.[7] Users can cross-play between different devices.
The Game features elements inspired by both the classic and North American versions of the Big Brother format, although actual gameplay leans more heavily towards the latter. Players take part in Head of Household and Power of Veto competitions, and are encouraged to strategise and form alliances in order to advance.
On May 15, 2021, a major software update for was released, including a then-mystery new gameplay mode. It was later revealed that this mode, named ‘Friend Zone’, would allow users to create their own houses and compete in just-for-fun battles against their friends, without real-life prizes. Friend Zone went live in The Game on May 28, 2021; it exists alongside but runs separately to the main 'competition' mode.
How it Works
In order to access the Big Brother: The Game, users are required to create an account and a 3D avatar, known as a 'character', using a The Sims-style interface, which features several customisation options allowing appearance to be fine-tuned; these can be tweaked at any time in the settings menu.
The character creator allows users to fine-tune the appearance of their avatar
Users can take part in the virtual Big Brother experience by playing the game as a ‘Houseguest’ in either competition or Friend Zone modes.
Alternatively, they may follow the action for free as a ‘Spectator’. Spectators can search for and view live feeds of any open house, interact with each other via a chat function, and participate in free public eviction votes. The feeds section prominently lists the most active houses at any given time.
Currencies
The Game features two currencies used to enable various features. ‘Entrance Tokens’ are a premium currency which are required in order to become a houseguest or create a house, depending on gameplay mode. Entrance Tokens are almost exclusively bought using real-life money, in packages of either 3 for US$4.99 ($1.66 each), 9 for $9.99 ($1.11 each) or 29 for $23.99 ($0.83 each), or the equivalent amounts in local currency. However, users can also gift Entrance Tokens to each other for free.
The second currency, ‘BB Cash’, can be used to purchase or unlock other features throughout the game; for example, it can be spent on exclusive customisation options in the character creation tool. BB Cash can be acquired for free as a reward during gameplay or by referring friends to join the app; it can also be earned by watching or listening to in-app adverts. Additionally, BB Cash can be bought using real-life money in packages of 100 for US$1.99, 500 for $8.99, 1,000 for $13.99, or 10,000 for $89.99.
Gameplay
Houseguests communicate with each other using the game’s chat function. Each house has a single group chat that players can message in and read at all times, regardless of which room they are in. The group chat is visible to spectators. Houseguests can also engage in private chats, visible only to those involved. However, each direct message costs BB Cash to send, and each houseguest is only allocated ten direct messages per day, which accumulate throughout their stay in each house. The developers have stated that the restrictions on DMs are intended to encourage greater interaction among the entire house, and therefore provide more content for spectators to view.[8] While participating in a house, houseguests are strictly forbidden from communicating with each other outside of the game or sharing any information about their real-life social media accounts.
'Hold On For Dear Life' HoH competition, which requires user to touch their screen continuously for as long as possible
Each cycle of the game begins with the Head of House (HoH) competition, in which all houseguests excluding the previous HoH compete for power to nominate two others for eviction. If the HoH fails to complete their nominations in the permitted time, they will automatically be nominated themself.
Once the nominations have been made, the nominees will then compete in Power of Veto (PoV) competition, alongside a number of other houseguests. The PoV winner can save one of the nominees, including themself, from the threat of eviction; if this occurs, the HoH must then name a replacement nominee.
In each house there is a ‘Diamond Case’, which may contain two special powers houseguests can activate for advantages in the game. The amount of times each houseguest can use a special power may be limited. The first, 'Immunity', grants its holder(s) immunity from eviction for one cycle. Immunity is available when there is six or more houseguests remaining in a house, and can only be activated during HoH competitions by a maximum of two houseguests per cycle, on a first come, first served basis.
The second special power, 'Do-Over', gives its holder(s) the chance to replay a HoH or PoV competition. The result achieved in a Do-Over will always be final, whether it is better or worse than the original score. Do-Overs are only available during certain competition types and must be activated during the competition’s scheduled run time.
The two houseguests ‘on the block’ following the PoV competition will then face eviction. Evictions are decided by one of three methods: house vote, public vote, or an eviction competition.
Houseguests communicate via public group chat or paying BB Cash for private direct messages
During house votes, all houseguests including the HoH must vote for the nominee they want to evict. In the event of a tie, the HoH’s vote decides which nominee is evicted. During public votes, any spectators, including evicted ex-houseguests, may cast one vote to evict during the voting window. Houseguests are permitted to canvass for votes from spectators.
As with the actual show, Big Brother may occasionally add twists to the process to surprise the houseguests.
While living in a house, houseguests may be assigned tasks, secret missions or optional chores to complete. Successful completion will earn them a reward, such as BB Cash or a gameplay advantage.
During each cycle, the HoH also selects a number of houseguests to become ‘Have Nots’, who are subsequently assigned mandatory chores. Failure to complete mandatory chores, follow instructions from Big Brother or adhere to rules of the game will result in houseguests being fined BB Cash.
More serious rule breaches may result in houseguests being suspended or banned from the game entirely by its administrators. In circumstances involving illegal private chats, the first houseguest who reports it will face a reduced punishment.[9]
Houseguests can voluntarily complete chores to earn BB Cash
Gameplay requires active participation from the houseguests, and most events within the house are scheduled to take place at specific times. In the event that a participation requirement is not met, Big Brother will rule on how to proceed. For example, if no houseguests are online during a competition, Big Brother will automatically choose its winner at random.
As with the actual show, all of Big Brother’s decisions are final and he reserves the right to change the rules at any time.
Competition Mode
Competition is the main gameplay mode of Big Brother: The Game, which gives users the chance to win cash prizes.
Similarly to a television adaptation of Big Brother, competition mode is staged in ‘seasons’. Seasons have a tournament-like format, featuring seven ‘Tiers’ of gameplay.[10] Each Tier has a different house design based on a real-life Big Brother house, and its own unique twists to the nomination and eviction process. The winners of Tier 1 progress to Tier 2, and so on.
Any user can pay one Entrance Token to become a Tier 1 houseguest while the entrance window is open. During the first season, the entrance window was open for 200 days after launch.
Once a user has redeemed their Entrance Token or progressed to the next Tier, they are allocated to a house at random. They must then wait until it has been filled with enough houseguests. This is known as the ‘casting period’ and can take up to five days; houseguests will be notified when their house has opened. All houses in competition mode are filled randomly; users cannot arrange to be placed with their friends.
'Retro House' design, which is based on the real-life house from Big Brother 14 U.S.
If a houseguest is evicted at any point while the entrance window is still open, they can re-enter the season, either by returning to the same Tier they were evicted from[10] or by starting again at Tier 1, by paying the appropriate amount of Entrance Tokens. Only winners of each Tier can progress to the next one; it is not possible to pay to bypass early Tiers and enter a higher Tier directly.
According to the in-game instructions, ’Big Brother’ decides the number of houseguest in each house, the length of time each house will last, and how many houseguests win each house and progress to the next Tier.
The last houseguest standing at the end of the seventh and final Tier is crowned the winner of the season, and receives a significant cash prize. During the first season, the jackpot started with a guaranteed USD$10,000 and increased by $0.69 for each unique houseguest who entered, up to a maximum of $1million; the final prize fund stood at $33,270.25.[11]
Friend Zone
Friend Zone is a just-for-fun gameplay mode that enables users to create their own houses whenever they like and invite their friends to play as houseguests; it does not feature different Tiers or real-life prizes.
A Friend Zone house can either be ‘open’, allowing any other user to join, or ‘closed’, restricting it to users whom have been invited to take part by the creator using a ‘share code’.
Each house costs its creator Entrance Tokens to open; prices range from 1 to 48 Entrance Tokens depending on the house design chosen. Additional houseguests can join for free.
Events
Promotional graphic for the BBCAN vs. BBUS event
To promote the launch of The Game, a four-day special event dubbed ‘BBCAN vs. BBUS’ took place beginning on the original release date of October 15, 2020, running concurrently with the start of the first season.
It saw eight real-life former houseguests, four each from Big Brother Canada and Big Brother U.S., become avatars and compete in their own virtual ‘All-Stars’ battle. On October 18, 2020, Angela 'Rockstar' Lantry, from Big Brother 20 U.S., was named winner of the event and given the title of ‘Queen of North American Big Brother’[12]; there was no actual prize.
List of Seasons
| Season | Availability | Season Run | Days | Winner (Screen Name) | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot | Republic of Ireland | N/A | N/A | Aoife Cheung (Ava) | €5,000 |
| BBCAN vs. BBUS | Worldwide | October 15, 2021 - October 18, 2021 | 4 | Angela 'Rockstar' Lantry (Angela Rockstar) | None |
| Season 1 | October 15, 2020 - July 29, 2021 | 288 | Amy Elizabeth (Amy Elizabeth) | $33,270.25 | |
| Season 2 | December 16, 2021 - October 22, 2022 | 311 | DHuck | $50,000 | |
| Season 3 | To Be Determined | ||||
Gallery
