How are ‘Survivor’ and ‘Deal or No Deal Island’ different, and how did ‘Boston Rob’ master both?

“Boston Rob” Mariano has remained one of the faces of Survivor for two decades, and now he’s taken Deal or No Deal Island by storm. But, what is the difference between the two reality competition shows? NBC’s newest product, Deal or No Deal Island, is now two episodes deep, and we’ve finally got a good sense of what we’re getting with it.

Season 1 features a crop of hopefuls vying for a life-changing cash prize. To win, they must battle in challenges, earn immunity, and stave off elimination through several rounds of play. Sounds like Survivor, right?

The game Boston Rob has competed in five times is a staple on CBS, and also features the elements listed above. But, a key difference is the living conditions. In Survivor, castaways are forced to build their own shelter, forage and hunt their own food, and brave the elements for weeks with only the clothes on their back, and a few essentials — like a machete and cooking pot.

Well, it’s the complete opposite on Deal or No Deal Island. The cast lives in a luxurious glamping set-up with full meals, bottles of water, and showers, for example.

Further, the game’s structure is different. Instead of going to Tribal Council and voting someone out on Survivor, one player competes head to head with the Banker every round in a game of Deal or No Deal. If the player strikes a deal better than what’s hidden in their briefcase, they’re safe and can eliminate a player of their choosing. If the deal they hatch with the Banker is worse than what’s concealed in their briefcase, they’re out.

If you want a more in-depth breakdown of how Deal or No Deal Island works, you can take a look at my article here.

Of a roster with 13 players, Boston Rob stands among them as a reality TV legend and someone who has traversed a social-strategy game on an island many times. He won Survivor’s 22nd season, Redemption Island, in 2011, and he most recently attempted to become a two-time champion during season 40’s Winners at War in 2020.

Boston Rob is best known for his “buddy system” strategy on Survivor — he’d align himself with a bevy of castaways, and make sure they’re never alone to ensure no one flips on him or the group. Rob’s priority on Survivor has always been to secure control over a tribe. It’s worked sometimes, and it’s failed other times. But, watching him in the opening episode, he made it clear that he planned to take the same approach with him to the Banker’s private island.

However, considering Deal or No Deal Island is a brand-new competition, Boston Rob told Entertainment Weekly that he wasn’t sure how to navigate the workings of the game from the jump. But, once his teeth were sunk in, he let his hair down.

“What’s funny is when the other contestants got out there, I think they gravitated towards [Survivor], and very quickly I realized this is not that game. It’s not alliances, it’s not voting, it’s not what I’m used to. So I had to adjust for sure, and once I realized what it wasn’t, I was able to kind of figure out what it was. And you’ll see during the course of my time out there almost a shift in strategy from the first few days in the beginning and what I thought was optimal to once I realized the dynamics of the game.”

The Robfather said that there was no blueprint for Deal or No Deal Island. Of course, Deal or No Deal was on the air for years, but that was only an element of the competition — ensuring that you’re safe without winning immunity was something every player had to figure out through social bonds and alliances.

“So that was a little bit of an exercise in trial and error,” he continued. “And at the same time, using your perceptiveness to try to figure out what’s the best way to navigate.”

Boston Rob isn’t just a career reality star, he’s also a professional poker player. And he told the outlet that both spending time under the gun at a poker table and surviving on a remote island lent toward how he approached Deal or No Deal Island, like managing risk versus reward, when to “hit the brakes,” and finding a “crack” in the proverbial armor of alliances, players, and the game’s structures.

Without giving anything away, Boston Rob said he was able to “figure out what I think was the optimal strategy for the game in its inaugural season.”

Judging from his interview, Rob is pleased with how he worked his way through Deal or No Deal Island. But, was it enough for him to become a two-franchise king? Only time will tell!