In The Balance is a recurring Power of Veto, Head of Household and Safety Suite competition.
Rules
"In the Balance" is a competition of skill:
- Each houseguest is given a mobile-like setup consisting of multiple rods hanging from each other by strings. Each houseguest also has a number of objects with different weights.
- The goal of this competition is to hang all of the objects on the mobile. However, they must be balanced properly or the mobile may tip.
- The first houseguest to get their mobile properly set up without anything touching the ground, and then hit a button will win this competition.
History
This was first used as a Power of Veto competition on Big Brother 15 (US). In honor of former houseguest Britney Haynes' pregnancy, it had a baby theme, with the houseguests attempting to hang stuffed animals from a baby's mobile. It was won by Jeremy McGuire.
It was again used as a Power of Veto competition on Big Brother 16 (US), this time with a space theme. The goal was to hang a number of different planets to create a planetary display. It was won by Devin Shepherd.
The next time this competition was used was on Big Brother 19 (US), this time as a Head of Household competition. Rather than the entire house participating, only one member from each of the two teams that won the previous part of the HoH competition competed: Paul Abrahamian, and Cody Nickson. In keeping with the "Garden of Eden" theme used throughout this week, the two had to hang apples from a tree. In the end, Cody narrowly beat out Paul to win Head of Household.
It returned as a Power of Veto competition on Big Brother 21 (US), with an underwater theme. The goal was to hang up all of their sea creature stuffed animals onto the mobile, and Jackson Michie managed to win.
In Big Brother 22 (US), it was instead used as a Safety Suite Competition, and the rules were a sligthtly altered. Instead of being the first one to balance various weighted objects on a mobile and hit their button, the houseguests instead had to balance various weighted objects on an unstable table, and since they competed individually, they had to do so in the fastest time to win. Christmas Abbott completed this task in the fastest time, and she chose Ian Terry to be her Plus One, granting them both safety for the week.
List of the In The Balance Competitions
| Season | Week | Competition Variant | Name Variant | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 2 | Power of Veto | "In the Balance" | |
| 16 | "Big Brother Galaxy" | |||
| 19 | 1 | Head of Household | "Hangs in the Balance" | |
| 21 | 8 | Power of Veto | "Coral Grief" | |
| 22 | 2 | Safety Suite | "Gettin' Tipsy" |
Trivia
- The first three winners of this competition went home as the 3rd evictee, ranking 14th place.
- However, Cody returned to the game after his eviction so he was no longer in 14th place.
- Christmas is the first woman to win this competiton.
