Big Brother 24's premiere has marked the start of another season for the hit reality game show, and with it as always, the start of viewers fantasizing about how they themselves would play the game. So many fans of Big Brother dream of entering the house and playing the game themselves, and a lot of them truly convince themselves that they would play the perfect game, knowing exactly what to do and what to avoid doing throughout the summer.
Of course, Big Brother is not an exact science, and even the most careful of plans can get blown up by dumb luck and unfortunate timing. With a game built on twists and the catchphrase "Expect the unexpected," there's only so much good that preparation can do. That being said, there still are a few obvious mistakes that anybody attempting to win the game of Big Brother should avoid at all costs.
Getting Too Emotional
This is perhaps the most important thing to know. Things get heated in the Big Brother house, especially when such a large cash prize is at stake. Fights are bound to happen, and tempers will flare. But taking anything too personal in the house, or getting too intense during an argument, will almost surely come to backfire on a contestant.
It will either cloud their judgement and have them make game moves where they're not thinking rationally, or it will draw negative attention from the rest of the house, giving them a reason to evict the houseguest. Kaitlyn Herman from BB20 was one such emotional houseguest, so much so that she literally let it ruin her chance to re-enter the house, sitting on the floor and crying instead of completing her Bonus Life puzzle.
Winning The First HOH
This is a controversial one, especially since one of the new houseguests from the Big Brother 24 cast recently detailed how winning the first HOH actually increases a contestant's chances of winning the game by four times as much.
While winning the first HOH garners a houseguest safety and creates opportunities for alliances, it also paints one as an impressive competitor to watch out for early on and forces them to get blood on them hands by nominating two of their fellow houseguests within the first week. BB23's Frenchie was the season's first HOH and wound up being the second evictee the week after his reign had ended.
Being A Lone Wolf
Big Brother is a social game, which means one obviously has to show off some people skills and develop some relationships in the house if they want to win. A houseguest keeping to themselves and not interacting with their fellow houseguests will not only put off their peers, but it will also make them a target for eviction.
This is especially true early on in the game when the first few Head of Households are searching for someone to nominate whose eviction they know won't cause waves in the house. Even the viewers won't mind getting rid of anti-social houseguests, judging from how they nominated the player named Cornbread during the digital-only interactive Big Brother: Over the Top season.
Not Being In An Alliance
This is different from simply not just being a lone wolf. Even if they're a well-liked social butterfly in the house, if a player doesn't have a set-in-stone alliance or final two deal backing them up to keep them safe, they're probably not long for the game. Many of the best Big Brother seasons have been dominated by strong alliances and if a player doesn't find themselves in one of those strong alliances, they're gonna have a rough time.
Alliances often ensure safety, even when a houseguest isn't personally the one in power. Donny Thompson from BB16 was about the nicest houseguest to ever step foot into the Big Brother house - kind to everyone he met - but, because he wasn't truly a part of any alliance, meaning his fellow payers had no problem cutting him loose when the time came.
Being In Too Many Alliances
On the flip side, a player can get a little too pumped up about alliances and makes a bunch of contradicting deals with different houseguests. Whenever this happens, the house almost always talks with one another and finds out about it, and usually has no problem getting rid of their newfound common enemy.
Seasons 10's Brian Hart fell victim to this mistake, something which caused him to be one of Big Brother's most memorable first evictees.
Volunteering To Be Nominated (Or Evicted)
There is never, ever, a good reason to do this. Even if a houseguest thinks they completely have the numbers to stay home that week. Even if they think they're doing something truly beneficial for their alliance - like hiding their allegiance to one another or similar motivations - it will come back to bite them.
If someone takes it a step further and asks for their own eviction, they can end up making one of the funniest mistakes in Big Brother history like Lawon Exum did in BB13.
Falling In Line
This is something unfortunately common in Big Brother, especially whenever a returning houseguest is playing. Many of the other contestants will simply listen to every command and plan of whoever the most dominant houseguest is pulling the strings. They will target who that person wants to target, and will vote the way that person wants to vote.
Doing this might keep someone safe for a time, but they will ultimately be discarded when this player no longer has any use for them. Just take a look at the wreckage left in Paul Abrahamian's wake during their stint on BB19, casting his loyal underlings Raven Walton and Matt Cline aside when the opportunity arose.
Leaving Mean Goodbye Messages
This is such a tempting mistake to make, especially when a houseguest has just eliminated one of their fiercest rivals or a player they've had difficulties with all season. It may seem like the perfect time for a houseguest to gloat over a person who is no longer playing against them, but nothing good can ever come from it.
Firstly, there's always the possibility of a Battle Back twist that will land the player they just mocked back into the house with ample reason to target them. Just take Cody Nickson coming back with a vengeance against Paul in BB19 after his week 2 eviction. Secondly, even if they don't come back into the house, they might still be a jury member...
Forgetting The Jury Aspect
Again, Big Brother is a social game. Not only does a player need votes to stay in the house throughout the summer, but if they make the final two they also need votes from the jury of their fellow houseguest to win the game. If they only prioritize making it to the end, and thus not making sure the jury sees them a skilled and likable player that they want to award the money to, then they won't win.
Needless lies, intense fights with fellow contestants, and mean goodbye messages could all destroy any chance the jury has of voting for a player to win the game. BB6 runner-up Ivette Corredero left an infamously mean goodbye message to Rachel Plencner, and Rachel would turn out to be the deciding vote that swayed the jury in favor of awarding Maggie Ausburn the $500,000.
Entering A Showmance
This is much easier said than done as, to be fair, feelings are bound to happen when someone is trapped in a house with attractive strangers and no contact with the outside world. It may seem like a great idea for a houseguest to enter a showmance, as not only does it provide a little bit of summer romance, but it also gains a new ally who (probably) has their safety in mind.
Unfortunately, other players could see this showmance as a package deal that needs to be broken up through eviction, meaning a houseguest and their boo might be bound for the chopping block. While Rachel Reilly wound up winning BB13, she wasn't as lucky in BB12, with she and her future husband Brendon Villegas finding themselves sitting next to one another on the chopping block multiple times.