The rules of this game are simple: sixteen average Americans (eighteen in seasons 8, 9 and 11, nineteen in season 14 and twenty in seasons 10, 13 and 16) are abandoned in the middle of some of the most unforgiving places on earth. Divided into teams, they particiapte in challenges and every three days, the losing tribe must trek to Tribal Council to vote out one of their own. Halfway through the game, the game shifts to individual competitions when the tribes merge and become one, making the game every man for himself.

The game is simple: Outwit, Outplay, Outlast, by winning Immunity, thus not being eligible to have votes cast against yourself. However, the players must be careful about who they send packing - after the merge, a jury of seven begins to form, and each week they return to watch the Tribal Council ceremony. At the end of the game, they vote for one of the members of the final two to win One Million Dollars. Who will become the next Survivor?

Generally, each season begins with a twist - something different to surprise the new castaways. Survivor is a game of adaptation, and the final two of each season, listed below, were the players most able to adapt to their surroundings and to the people they are playing with. Survivor focuses on the people, and the social commentary that surrounds them. How can these players Outwit, Outplay, and Outlast is the question that the game revolves around.

• Alexis Jones

24, Los Angeles, CA Original Tribe: Airai

• Amanda Kimmel

23, Los Angeles, CA Original Tribe: Malakal

• Ami Cusack

34, Golden, CO Original Tribe: Malakal

• Chet Welch

48, Ford City, PA Original Tribe: Airai

• Cirie Fields

37, Norwalk, CT Original Tribe: Malakal

• Eliza Orlins

25, New York, NY Original Tribe: Malakal

• Erik Reichenbach

22, Pinckney, MI Original Tribe: Airai

• James Clement

30, Lafayette, LA Original Tribe: Malakal

• Jason Siska

22, Fox River Grove, IL Original Tribe: Airai

• Joel Anderson

32, Avondale, AZ Original Tribe: Airai

• Jonathan Penner

45, Los Angeles, CA Original Tribe: Malakal

• Jon "Jonny Fairplay" Dalton

33, Danville, VA Original Tribe: Malakal

• Kathleen Sleckman

45, Glen Ellyn, IL Original Tribe: Airai

• Mary Sartain

29, Emeryville, CA Original Tribe: Airai

• Michael "Mikey B" Bortone

34, Los Angeles, CA Original Tribe: Airai

• Natalie Bolton

32, Los Angeles, CA Original Tribe: Airai

• Ozzy Lusth

26, Venice, CA Original Tribe: Malakal

• Parvati Shallow

25, Los Angeles, CA Original Tribe: Malakal

• Tracy Hughes-Wolf

43, Fredericksburg, VA Original Tribe: Airai

• Yau-Man Chan

55, Martinez, CA Original Tribe: Malakal