Draft

At the start of the season, three captains were randomly selected from the CBS reality players to draft the contestants into three teams of eight. Each team consisted of two Challenge veterans and six CBS reality players, with an even gender split. Italicized names indicate players who were placed on a team by default.

Challenge games

• Storm the Castle: Teams must transport two heavy statues uphill to the ruins of a castle, memorizing rune symbols and completing two checkpoints along the way. Both checkpoints require teams to identify three symbols which were not displayed to obtain the codes to unlock a wagon to use, and offload each statue's base, respectively. The first team to bring both statues to the castle ruins wins.
  • Winners: Blue Team
• Working the Poles: Played in two heats of four members from each team. Team members begin on a platform above water and must traverse several hanging poles to reach their team platform at the opposite end, with all three team's paths intersecting. Team members are eliminated from the challenge if they fall into the water. The team with the most players to reach their platform in the fastest time wins.
  • Winners: Green Team
• Capsized: Teams must swim to a boat and overturn it to view and memorize an answer key of 20 flags on the underside. Team members then swim to eight buoys to collect flags submerged underneath before hanging them to recreate the answer key on the boat's topside, and each team member must swim to at least one buoy. Once complete, teams swim back to the starting dock to have their time stopped. The team with the most correctly hung flags in the fastest time wins.
  • Winners: Blue Team
• Sideswiped: Played in six heats. Each heat, two team members from two teams begin harnessed between two trucks – one assigned to each team. As the trucks speed down a runway, team members have five minutes to swing past their opponents and stick as many of their eight disks as possible on specified areas of their team's truck while their opponents try to block them and do the same. The team with the most total disks attached to their truck and the end of the challenge wins.
  • Winners: Red Team
• Unboxed: Each team member must carry a box proportional to their bodyweight to the end of a trail. Along the way are five puzzle stations where teams may choose to spend time using the puzzle pieces in one team member's box to solve a puzzle, which allows them to leave the box behind for the remainder of the challenge. Except for the first station, only one team may solve the puzzle at each station. The first team to reach the end of the trail wins.
  • Winners: Green Team
• High-Q: Teams begin on a platform above water. Each round, teams are asked a trivia question and their platform inclines slightly if they answer incorrectly, making it more difficult to stay on. Team members are eliminated from the challenge if they fall into the water. The last team standing wins.
  • Winners: Blue Team
• Wreck & Roll: Two team members begin inside a giant sphere. They must roll around a course and knock down eight of their team's columns to release lettered tyres placed on top of each column. The remaining team members must collect the tyres and arrange them on a grid to solve a word puzzle. The first team to solve the puzzle wins.
  • Winners: Blue Team
• Spell-Lunkers: Played in four heats. Players swim to a buoy and dive to view a word puzzle submerged underneath. They must find the theme of the words hidden in the puzzle and use it to open a lockbox containing a flashlight. With the flashlight, players must then swim through a dark cave to a second word puzzle, solve the theme of the words and use it to unlock a second lockbox. The male and female player with the fastest time wins.
  • Winners: Bananas & Tori
• Speed Jumps: Played in two stages. In Stage One, players jump on a trampoline adjusted for their height to view a board of numbers behind a tall wall. They must sum the numbers together and present their answer to host T.J. Lavin. The first three male and female players to answer correctly progress to Stage Two. In Stage Two, players jump on a trampoline located on the back of a semi-trailer as it speeds down a runway. They must collect overhead flags along the runway, with green, yellow, and red flags worth one, two, and three points, respectively. The male and female player with the most points wins.
  • Winners: Faysal & Tori
• Go the Distance: Played in male and female heats. Each round, players jump off a platform into the water of the Punta Christo Quarry and attempt to grab a hanging baton (adjusted for their armspan and height) to advance to the next round. After each round, the batons are moved further away, and players are eliminated from the challenge if they are unable to grab their baton. The last male and female player standing wins.
  • Winners: Faysal & Michaela
• Slippery Business: Played in male and female rounds. Players begin in a ring, covered in oil, and attempt to push their opponents out of the ring. The last player standing in each round wins.
  • Winners: Cory & Michaela
• Brain Squeeze: Players must search the Punta Christo Fort for all their assigned bags of puzzle pieces, without being told that there are eight bags, and bring them to their puzzle station outside the fort. After collecting all their puzzle pieces, the first male and female player to assemble the puzzle wins.
  • Winners: Chris & Desi
• Burst Your Bubble: Played two players at a time, players must climb up a 40-foot rope ladder to the basket of a hot air balloon then cross a narrow balance beam to reach a second hot air balloon. The male and female player with the fastest time wins.
  • Winners: Chris & Michaela

Arena games

• Slam Dunked: Players begin harnessed over a water tank filled with 1,500 balls. Throughout the elimination, they must remove as many balls as possible from the tank, while continuously being lifted out of and lowered into the tank 15 times. The player with the most balls removed at the end of the 15 dunks wins.
  • Played by: Ameerah vs. Michele
• Drop the Ball: Players attempt to catch balls dropping from a large pinball-like machine and deposit it into their goal to earn points, while their opponent tries to block them and do the same. Black balls are worth one point while silver balls are worth three points, and balls are considered out of play once they hit the ground. The player with the most points after all 60 balls are released wins.
  • Played by: Jonna vs. Tori
• Fire & Ice: Players begin standing on a block of ice with one arm raised above their head and connected to a bucket of fish guts which spills if they move that arm. Throughout the elimination, they can throw beanbags at a target to ignite a flame underneath their opponent's ice block, making it more difficult for them to keep their arm raised as the ice melts, while also turning off the flame under their own ice block. The last player standing wins.
  • Played by: Bananas vs. Paulie
• Evil Eye: Players begin in the center of the Arena with both hands on a large evil eye disk. The first player to wrestle the disk out of their opponent's hands and bring it outside the boundary of the Arena twice wins.^[6]
  • Played by: Chris vs. Luis, Amanda vs. Desi
• Block Heads: Each player begins locked in a geometric-shaped cage and must roll the cage to four flagpoles and collect the attached flags. After collecting all four flags, players place them on a lightbox to reveal a code which they use to unlock the cage and escape. The first player to escape their cage and push a button at the boundary of the Arena wins.
  • Played by: Alyssa L. vs. Cassidy
• Crank Shafted: One player stands on a wheel trying to balance for as long as they can. Their opponent can untie up to three steering wheels, attach them to a crankshaft and use them to spin the wheel to make it harder to balance on. Attaching more steering wheels to the crankshaft makes it easier to spin, however players risk losing time untying them. Once the player on the wheel falls off, players switch positions and repeat this process. The player who balances on the wheel for the longest time during their turn wins.
  • Played by: Dusty vs. Wes
• Top Heavy: Each player begins harnessed to a beam at the center of the Arena. They must generate momentum to swing the beam back and forth so they can collect balls at one end of the Arena and throw them into a basket at the other end. The first player to land ten baskets wins.
  • Played by: Michaela vs. Tiffany
• Too Cool For Spool: Players begin harnessed to a giant spool at the center of the Arena, which spins as they move towards and away from it. They must collect balls at the boundary of the Arena and use them to assemble a five-layer pyramid on top of the spool. The first player to assemble their pyramid wins.
  • Played by: Monte vs. Tyler
• Trick, Trick, Boom: Players line up three barrels with flat panels mounted on them, then perform a trick shot by throwing a ball to have it bounce on each panel before landing in a barrel at the end. After landing their first trick shot, players must then add two additional barrels, with slanted panels, to their setup and throw a second trick shot. The first player to land their second trick shot wins.
  • Played by: Chris vs. Sebastian
• Ripped Off: Players begin harnessed to the side of a cylindrical tower, with one player designated as the "chaser" and the other as the "runner", who wears a jumpsuit with ten patches attached to them. The chaser attempts to rip off as many patches from the runner's jumpsuit as possible in five minutes while the runner tries to prevent them from doing so. Afterwards, players switch roles and repeat this process. The player who rips the most patches off their opponent during their turn as chaser wins.
  • Played by: Alyssa S. vs Cassidy, Chris vs. Wes
• Barrel Tag: Starting on opposite ends of the Arena, one player begins as "it" and must use two barrels to move around the Arena without touching the ground and tag their opponent, while their opponent tries to avoid them using the same method. Once the player who is "it" tags their opponent, players switch roles and repeat this process. The player who tags their opponent the fastest during their turn as "it" wins.
  • Played by: Chris vs. Tyler
• Hot Wheel: Players begin on opposite sides of a bar which has a torch connected to the center and steering wheels attached to each end. They must spin the wheels to attempt to maneuver the torch to light their six assigned targets while their opponent tries to do the same. The first player to light all their targets wins.
  • Played by: Cassidy vs. Michele
• Hall Brawl: Holding a kick shield for the initial impact, players must run through a narrow hallway past their opponent and solve a puzzle at the opposite end. The first player to solve the puzzle wins.
  • Played by: Cassidy vs. Chanelle, Faysal vs. Josh

Final Challenge

The final eight contestants competed in the Final Challenge, which began the day after the "Hall Brawl" elimination.

Episode progress

Color key:

Team progress

• Teams at the start of each episode