Big Brother Rule Book

The Big Brother Rule Book (or simply, the House Rules) is a handbook of rules and regulations created by Big Brother for houseguests during their stay in the house. It plays a major part in the show, and it can affect a houseguest's stay inside the house if he or she violates one or more of the rules, as each violation results in a corresponding punishment.

Big Brother's House Rules may vary throughout each country and season, and are enforced at the sole discretion of production. Some countries may have stricter house rules while others have more lenient ones. Some twists can also alter the season's respective rules and regulations.

International House Rules
The following house rules are the most important rules in the Big Brother House and must be followed by contestants all around the world. If a houseguest were to violate these rules, he or she could face a punishment or ejection.


 * Housemates shall have no contact with the outside world.
 * All housemates must wear microphone lapels at all times, except when swimming or sleeping.
 * Conversations in the Diary Room should always stay confidential. No one should ever share such conversations with other houseguests unless told to do so.
 * Whispering inside the house is strictly prohibited. (Whispering is defined as talking too softly for a microphone to detect)
 * Housemates should never intimidate, threaten or act violently towards any other housemate.
 * Tasks are compulsory, but housemates may be permitted to refrain from participating where health or other reasons are accepted by Big Brother.
 * Speaking in another language aside from the official language used by the show is strictly prohibited.
 * The housemates should never deliberately break anything inside the house.
 * The housemates should never discuss anything related to the outside world. (Selectively enforced)
 * Covering or tampering microphones or cameras, writing secret messages, talking under hidden places (such as bedding, tables and beds) are strictly prohibited.
 * The Houseguests must leave the house immediately (after brief goodbyes) once evicted and immediately experience an interview with the host on live television.
 * Production has the sole discretion over what to broadcast and what not to broadcast.
 * The following items are forbidden inside the house:
 * Drugs and narcotics
 * Personal medication (except in consultation with Big Brother)
 * Weapons
 * Watches
 * Money, check books, or credit/debit cards
 * Mobile/cell phones
 * TVs, Computers, or Gaming Devices
 * PalmPilots or electronic organizers
 * Agendas or diaries
 * Magazines
 * Books, aside from official religious texts
 * Pens or any similar writing implements (unless provided by Big Brother)
 * Paper or writing pads (unless provided by Big Brother)
 * Musical instruments (allowed in some countries)
 * Any ready-made games, such as playing cards (unless received from production)
 * Any item requiring electrical or battery power
 * Radios or walkmans
 * CDs or CD players
 * Clothes entirely white in colour, with prominent commercial logos (unless authorized), or messages to the outside world.
 * These items will not be returned until the end of the game/if you're evicted from the Big Brother house.

Pinoy Big Brother
In Pinoy Big Brother, the Rulebook was published on the show's website from Season 1 to Teen Edition 4. The Philippines' Big Brother is very strict when it comes to his house rules and must be observed at all times.

Rules for Teen Housemates
Since the Philippine version produces Teen Editions, there are certain rules that are enforced specifically to the teen housemates, whose ages range between 13 to 18 years old. However, these are unwritten rules as they aren't included in the official rulebook. Some of the unwritten rules that have been mentioned in the show are the restriction of liquor and cigarettes. Other legal rules concerning housemates under the age of 18 are also observed in the show, in accordance with the national laws and censorship rules set by the MTRCB.

Big Brother US & Canada
In the Big Brother U.S. and Big Brother Canada, the majority of the house rules enforced internationally are also enforced in the house, with key differences regarding how the game is played.

Some of these rules that appear specifically on the North American version include the following; the houseguests are allowed to talk about nominations, as well as influence others to vote; the houseguests aren't given a weekly house budget. Instead, certain houseguests go on slop for a week, determined by either a challenge or the Head of Household.

Violation & Punishments
A violation is an unlawful action made by a Housemate/Houseguest that is considered as improper conduct in the Big Brother Rule Book. Every violation made has a corresponding punishment.

Typically, each housemate can only be given three strikes of violations which means they can only receive three warnings within their whole stay inside the Big Brother House. Once they had three or more strikes, they automatically face forced eviction.


 * 1st Strike: Violators may have a light punishment, usually, punishments that hinder their normal lives in the house such as being tied together for a certain amount of time, or wearing an embarrassing costume.
 * 2nd Strike: Violators may receive an automatic nomination.
 * 3rd Strike: Violators will have to be forcibly evicted out of the house.

Despite having three strikes, there are rules that if violated may result in ejection regardless of the strike count. Some of these grave violations include; violent behavior, abusive & offensive remarks, and failure to observe the 24-hour Rule.

Violation Announcements
Announcement of Violation Reports may vary from season to season or even different countries. Usually, Big Brother will inform the housemates in the Living Room of those who had a violation for the week. The violators will be shown on television with their committed violations. They will be receiving the punishment afterward.

If the punishment is a "Forced Eviction/Ejection" the violation is usually announced privately inside the Diary Room. Depending on the season, the ejected housemate may leave the house immediately and unannounced, or during a specific day within the week.

In Pinoy Big Brother, a loud heartbeat sound will be heard in the entire house, just for only two reasons. Either signifying upcoming nominations or signifying that someone committed a violation. They must immediately gather around the Living Room for the announcement. The announcement process may vary from each week, depending on Big Brother himself. After announcing the violations, Big Brother will then talk to the violators one by one or sometimes in a group inside the Diary Room and a video clip of what they did that is deemed unlawful in the Big Brother Rule Book will be shown to them. Afterward, their punishments will be given to them.

Trivia

 * Big Brother (U.S.) is the first-ever franchise to revise some of the major house rules in Big Brother due to the changing of the format in Big Brother 2 (US). Revised rules include; the allowing of discussions about Nominations and influencing others to nominate other contestants. Those are considered major violations in the original format as contestants were strictly prohibited of talking about nominations, and doing so may result to either automatic nomination or ejection.
 * Big Brother Canada is the only other franchise to follow the American rules of Big Brother.
 * Kryssie_OTT_Rulebook.jpg Big Brother: Over The Top finalist Kryssie Ridolfi is best known for checking the rulebook after a competition, which has turned into a meme across the fandom.
 * Pinoy Big Brother 2 introduced a very controversial new rule called 5 Pound Rule. The housemates must not gain more than 5 pounds every week. They will be weighed at end of the week. If they gained more than the limit, the housemate will be receiving an automatic nomination.
 * It was brought back for Pinoy Big Brother: All In.
 * The current Australian format seen on Big Brother Australia 12 adopted some elements of the American rules, allowing its housemates to talk about nominations and influence others to nominate other.