Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Island is the 16th season of the MTV reality game show, The Challenge (at the time known as Real World/Road Rules Challenge). Like previous seasons of The Challenge, The Island featured cast members from various past seasons of The Real World and Road Rules, competing along with several cast members from the Fresh Meat season of The Challenge. This season featured the contestants "stranded" on an island off the coast of Panama, where the cast competed for a buried treasure chest filled with $300,000 in gold. Unlike in previous seasons, the cast was not housed in a luxurious dwelling, but was "forced" to improvise and "work" for the basic necessities of food and shelter, as on the TV series Survivor. There were no predetermined teams. Instead, the cast members had to forge their own alliances. Of the twenty cast members, there were only four winners. The Island premiered on September 10, 2008, and concluded on October 29, 2008.

Format

The contestants are "stranded" on an island, the objective of the challenge is to construct two boats that they are eventually going to be used to reach a nearby island where the buried treasure of $300,000 is hidden. Once the boats are complete, only eight key-holders are allowed to board and compete in a 4-on-4 race to get to the buried treasure. At the beginning of each episode, materials to build the boats, food, information about the boats and some luxury are air-dropped, it's up to the contestants to decide how the food is divided and to assemble the pieces and make sure their vessels are seaworthy. They then have to choose 3 contestants to go into a face-off. In order to get one of the keys to be in the final race and have a shot for the money, contestants must risk it all in this three-way face-offs. After each face-off, the winner receives a key, the losers get a chance to speak in front of every contestant as should why they should stay in the island, the contestants (except for the winner of the face-off) vote on who should leave the island. In the case of a tie, the winner of the face-off decides who leaves and who stays. However, the rules of the challenge are given to the competitors as the challenge advances, and the way to get the keys can change at any moment. At the end of the season, the eight key-holders have to divide themselves into two teams of four, build their boats and race to the island where the buried treasure of $300,000 is hidden. The final eliminated contestants can help.

Contestants

Face-offs

Game summary

Face-off progress

Voting progress

Key holders

Episodes

Reunion special

The Island Reunion: The Final Face Off aired on November 5, 2008 and was hosted by Carlos Santos from MTV Tres. The cast members who attended were: Johanna, Paula, Kenny, Derrick, Johnny, Evelyn, Ryan, Jenn, KellyAnne and Robin. A promo from the upcoming The Real World: Brooklyn season is shown.

Controversy

The season sparked controversy for production's poor respect of the local environment. Panamanian locals criticised MTV for clearing a small patch of forest for construction, developing an access road through the forest and installing generators and lighting on the beach.