Sixteen contestants row two rafts to the jungle island of Pulau Tiga in the South China Sea. Once there, they divide into two tribes (Pagong, Tagi) and go head-to-head in an Immunity Challenge called “Quest for Fire.” The contest requires the tribes to light a series of torches in the water while holding onto a raft. The losing team attends Tribal Council and votes out one of its members.

Generational difficulties arise, as do conflicts over varying work ethics, as the castaways try to adapt to life on the island. “Buggin' Out,” the Immunity Challenge, involves eating live beetle larvae. The first tribe member who refuses to eat the squirming grubs loses Immunity for his or her tribe.

The two tribes desperately search for food and compete in a Reward Challenge that requires them to drag a sunken treasure chest to shore. The winning team receives fishing equipment. “Rescue Mission” is the Immunity Challenge. The tribes must rescue an “injured” player out in the jungle and bring him or her back to the beach on a stretcher. The third contestant is voted off the island.

The contestants endure a powerful storm, replete with high winds and lightning. For Immunity, the castaways participate in “Buried Treasure,” a relay race that includes digging up a treasure chest. A fourth person is voted off the island.

Conflicts arise among some teammates when their food supply runs low. The contestants participate in a Reward Challenge using blowdarts, slingshots and spears to win fresh fruit and live chickens. The Immunity Challenge is “Shipwrecked.” A fifth person is voted off the island.

The tribes compete for Immunity on an obstacle course built by Green Berets, and the winning team then has to retrieve the Immunity Idol from Snake Island; the contestants are tempted with a domestic food not normally associated with humans; one team's chemistry implodes after losing a Reward Challenge; one of the men makes a rude comment about women that affects life on the island; a sixth person is voted off.

In Week 7, the Tagi and Pagong tribes merge into one, with a person from each tribe attending a summit meeting on the sand spit to determine at which camp they will live. Also, the contestants compete in an underwater swimming event for Immunity; and a seventh person is voted off the island.

The contestants participate in an archery competition for a videotape from home. Later, in the Immunity Challenge “End of the Line,” they race through the jungle following a rope course; an eighth person is voted off the island.

The contestants participate in a Reward Challenge for a barbecue by swinging along a rope course. For Immunity, they become pieces on a huge board game called “Squared Off.” “It's the equivalent of playing chess with eight people,” says host Jeff Probst. Also, one of the contestants celebrates a birthday “by running around in [his or her] birthday suit all day long, which causes a lot of excitement,” says Probst. And a ninth person is voted off the island.