Real World/Road Rules Contestants Tackle Block by Block

On the May 5, 2003 final challenge, the Real World/Road Rules Battle of the Sexes hits a stumbling block–the ThinkFun Block by Block Challenge. For the contest, ThinkFun created an oversized version of their popular brainteaser, Block by Block. The regular version sold in stores contains blocks measuring 3/4 of an inch by 3/4 of an inch; the MTV version has blocks that measure 16 inches by 16 inches.

Each team will try to create a 3D challenge shape from the original retail version, only in this case, the blocks are roughly one-third the size of the contestants. Every piece has 4 connected 16 inch blocks, making some of the pieces nearly 4 feet tall. Each piece has to be lifted onto other pieces to create the right shape and solve the puzzle.

This is the second ThinkFun game to be used by MTV. Julie Pizzi, co-executive producer of the Real World/Road Rules Battle of the Sexes, first contacted ThinkFun to create the Rush Hour Challenge last spring on the Battle of the Seasons. That challenge was so popular, she contacted them again when looking for games for the Battle of the Sexes. “We consider brainteasers to be gender-fair,” said Pizzi of why ThinkFun games were such a good fit for the show. “Those clever folks at ThinkFun have terrific puzzles that we’ve been able to turn into TV-friendly games.”

Tune in on May 5 to see who manages to conquer the blocks and win the grand prize!