How Did John Screw Up His Game On ‘BB17’?

Poor, Johnny Mac. Lately I have been hoping that he could slide under the Big Brother radar and make it until the very end. By not making any enemies, I thought, maybe he could guarantee the vote to win from the jury members. But somewhere along the lines he went from sneaking by undetected to sitting right on the eviction block. So how did John screw up his game so royally this season?

Well, there are a couple of things that I can think of for sure that didn’t help his game. But was he may be more of a victim of circumstance than someone who played the game wrong? That might be the case, too. So let’s break this down and look at all of the decisions and game moves that went into getting Johnny Mac a front row seat to his own eviction.

First of all, the guy definitely played it safe. That’s not always a bad thing in the Big Brother house, but when coupled with the other things he did wrong and the way this season is going, it might be the thing that ultimately does him in. Instead of making big plays and winning competitions, he kept to the back of the crowd and only pulled out a win when he had to.

And then there is the fact that, for most of the game, he was a floater. He didn’t pose any real threat to anyone, he helped out whomever was in power when they asked him to, but he otherwise kept to himself. And while this strategy has worked for some Big Brother contestants in the past, it’s definitely not the most successful strategy in the show’s history. It can certainly get players to a certain point in the game without rocking too many boats or getting too much attention, but it’s not the best way to win the game. So maybe that’s what happening with John now? He’s ridden the floater strategy to its end point, and the downfall of it is starting to take its toll?

Because the one big drawback to being a floater for the entire game is that you don’t make any friends. By definition, a floater is a game player who doesn’t form alliances. This might help to initially keep a player out of harm’s way, but once the house alliances are tight — and there are so few people to evict outside of those alliances — if that player doesn’t have any friends in the game, he or she is going to be the first player to be put up on the block.

So while I totally admire John’s floater strategy, he might have played it a little too long for his own good. The thing that got him this far in the house might be just the thing that gets him evicted.

It’s a paradox, that Big Brother house. And John, unfortunately, might be its next victim.

Check out the latest episode of Bustle's own Big Brother podcast,The Diary Room to for loads of #JohnUpdates and other BB drama. And don't forget to subscribe to Bustle's SoundCloud page keep up to date with all the latest BB gossip.

Image: CBS (3)