by Jeff Probst » Fri Dec 05, 2014 2:42:57 am
Just to comment on this. The rules were a little hinky since this was a special scenario where neither tribe won Immunity and instead both tribes won individual immunity. However, the precedent for pre-merge ties has always been that the other tribe breaks the tie. In Stranded, unless specified otherwise, we always defer to what happened in the past to decide the fairest course of action for the future. The twist was planned out pre-season so that ambassadors were tribe leaders, and would thus make the important decisions such as leading the tribes in challenges, sacrificing tribe members and breaking ties pre-merge.
We are always intentionally vague when it comes to tie breaker rules, as is the television show. We don't want it to be known because we want players to fear a tie. Just like we will not specify what happens in a post-merge tie. If you notice, we do not specifically say "the other tribe sends one person over who gets to vote someone out" we leave it up to the players fears and imagination intentionally. If we had to do it over again, I would not specify "unless both tribes go to council in which case its still the other tribe that decides" that takes away from the intentional ambiguity of the rule.
tldr; This rounds rules were a bit confusing in reference to the tie breaking rules, but we went with the precedent set pre-season and for all the seasons before this.
