Yankee Swap (also known as the Prize Swapping Competition) is a recurring Power of Veto and Head of Household competition. It is unique among competitions in that the winner of the competition does not automatically win the Veto/HoH. This competition is notable for being the one that causes an unlucky houseguest to wear the BB Unitard for a week.
Rules
The players will compete in a series of rounds where they must try to score the highest number. The player with the lowest score each round will be eliminated from the game. Once they are eliminated, they must claim a prize which may contain money, vacations, advantages in the game, punishments, the power of veto, or the HOH key. The players that are eliminated in later rounds will have the option of keeping the prize that they have received or trading it for other prizes that have already been revealed. The player with the power of veto (or HOH key) in their possession at the end of the final round will win POV or HOH.
List of the Yankee Swap Competitions
United States
| Season | Week | Competition Variant | Name Variant | Competition Winner | Veto Holder or HOH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 2 | Power of Veto | "Cutthroat Christmas" | ||
| 9 | 4 | "Color of Veto" | |||
| 10 | "Big Brother Slapshot" | ||||
| 11 | 6 | Head of Household | "HoH Invitational Golf Tournament" | ||
| 12 | 4 | Power of Veto | "The Wizards of Pinball" | ||
| 13 | 6 | "Big Brother Cornhole" | |||
| 14 | 4 | "Field of Veto" | |||
| 15 | 6 | "Frog Darts" | |||
| 16 | 4 | "BB Cup" | |||
| 17 | 6 | "Game of Throws" | |||
| 18 | 8 | "Zingbot for President" | |||
| 19 | 7 | "BB Adventure Tours" | |||
| 20 | 6 | "Boom Power Trip" | |||
| 21 | "Tossed in Space" | ||||
| 22 | 5 | "Mathcathalon" | |||
Canada
| Season | Week | Competition Variant | Name Variant | Competition Winner | Veto Holder |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 4 | Power of Veto | "Lacrosse Fire" |
Trivia
- Big Brother 11 is the only season where this competition was played as a Head of Household competition. This competition was originally going to be a Veto competition, however, because of Chima Simone's expulsion, it was later played as an HOH competition instead.
- Big Brother 8 is the only season where none of the prizes and punishments were traded.
- Big Brother 8 is also the only season where the Power of Veto was awarded last. In all of the subsequent seasons that featured this competition the veto was awarded first.
- Ryan, Libra, Judd, Caleb, Elena, Tyler and Sarah won the competition in their respective seasons, however, they choose not to take the Power of Veto and took the prizes instead.
- Ryan, Judd, Caleb, and Elena took the cash prize instead of the veto. Libra and Tyler took the vacation, while Sarah Miller from BBCAN2 took the Slop Pass.
- Angela Rummans from Big Brother 20 was eliminated the earliest from the competition to still win the Power of Veto, being eliminated in the 2nd round.
- Of the Canada Players, Allison White was eliminated the earliest and won the POV. She was eliminated in the 3rd round in Big Brother Canada 2.
- Jeff Schroeder, Jordan Lloyd, James Huling, and Paul Abrahamian have played this competition twice. Dani Briones and Nicole Franzel have played this competition three times.
- Jeff and James made it to the final round twice.
- Paul was eliminated in the first round and received a punishment both times he played.
- Dani won once and lost the other two times.
- Nicole lost this competition all three times and received a Unitard from it twice.
- The one time she did not receive a Unitard, she was already wearing one as a different punishment, and her showmance Corey Brooks received the Unitard instead.
- Dan Gheesling and Brendon Villegas were present for this competition twice but never played. Rachel Reilly and Britney Haynes played this competition on their first season but didn't play it on their second season.
- The earliest week that this competition was played was in Week 2 during Big Brother 8, while the latest week that this competition was played was in Week 8 during Big Brother 18.
- James Huling and Victor Arroyo are the only men to win this competition and be America’s Favorite Houseguest at the end of their respective seasons.
- With the exception of Jessica Milagros, everyone that won the competition and the HOH/POV, they made it to the final 5 at some point in their Big Brother careers.
