Head of Household

The Head of Household (abbreviated HOH) is the position of supreme power and control in the Big Brother house. The Head of Household is selected each week during the live show. The winner of Head of Household is free from the threat of eviction. They receive perks, such as getting their own private bedroom, but are also faced with the decision of nominating two houseguests for eviction.

HOH Competition
Each week, all houseguests, except for the outgoing Head of Household, compete in the HOH Competition. The final 3 is the only time that an outgoing HOH can win consecutive HOH competitions (or if a twist happens and nobody is evicted as did in Big Brother 14 with the coaches reset. Frank and Joe were spared and Shane as outgoing HOH was still eligible to compete). HOH competitions fall into one of three major categories:

Quiz Competition
Quiz competitions are fairly short and are shown during the live show. Questions range from events in the house to comments from previously evicted houseguests. The houseguests line up, each getting their own booth, unable to see each other. Julie Chen communicates to the houseguests through the microphone system in the backyard and can see the houseguests through a television screen outside of the house in the studio. She communicates the question to the houseguests, who then answer when she says "Answers, please." Typically, houseguests answer by turning a dial to either "True" or "False", "Yes" or "No", or "Red" or "Blue", although some competitions have used paddles, or cubes with houseguests pictures on them. One incorrect answer results in elimination. The last person standing becomes the Head of Household. If, after all possible questions have been exhausted and there are still more than one remaining houseguest playing, the competition continues into a tiebreaker round. The answer is always a number, ranging from the number of seconds that the houseguests have been in the house to the weight in pounds of an object used in a competition. The houseguests write the number on a chalkboard provided for them. The houseguest closest to the number without going over becomes the HOH. If all competitors go over, the houseguest closest to the number becomes the HOH.

Skill
Skill competitions usually involve bowling type games or shuffleboard type games in which houseguests compete while trying to get their marker closest to a certain point without going past it (although sometimes these competitions may differ from that format). The games are usually completed live, but at times, they're not complete by the end of the live show, and viewers can watch the outcome on the live feeds or on the following episode.

Endurance
Endurance competitions extend well past the time constraints of the one hour live program. They can be viewed by the live feeds on CBS.com. Houseguests generally line up in either a small platform, revolving cylinder, or in a cage. The last person standing becomes the Head of Household. Some competitions require Houseguests to keep hold of a button. If they let go, a light goes out and they are eliminated, while others do not. Harsh weather conditions, such as rain sprinklers, falling leaves, or foamy "snow" are frequently included to make the competitions as grueling as possible. Other times, prizes are awarded to the first out of the competition to tempt the houseguests. Some competitions include both endurance and skill, such as filling up an enormous fishbowl with water, only using a teacup, while the water the houseguests need to transport are several yards away from the bowl.

The Final HOH
The Final HOH competition occurs when there are only three remaining houseguests in the house. It is broken into three parts; each to be played on a different day. The first competition is always an endurance competition and usually requires the houseguests to hold onto their key to the house through some sort of grueling weather condition. The winner of round one automatically advances to round three, while the two remaining houseguests compete in the skill competition. The final round is a quiz competition (Usually "Jury Statements" is played) and since season 11 has been played on finale night. The winner selects who to take to the final two, with the other houseguest being immediately evicted and seated with the jury outside in the studio. Being the most important HOH of the game, all houseguests are eligible to compete, even the outgoing HOH.