OTEV known specifically as OTEV The _____ is a recurring Power of Veto competition.


OTEV is a musical chairs-style competition played in rounds, with one person being eliminated each round until there is only one person left.

  1. The playing area features the OTEV statue with five (to begin with) kneeling spots in front of it at the top of a platform only accessible by a slippery ramp. Surrounding this are several different zones filled with the item of the challenge.
  2. The six (or however many players there are left) kneel before the OTEV at the beginning of each round. There is one less kneeling spot than there are players left.
  3. OTEV will sing a song or recite a rhyme describing, depending on the season:
    1. A previously evicted houseguest.
    2. Two previously evicted houseguests.
    3. A previously played competition.
    4. The day for a specific event in the house.
    5. A specific event.
  4. When OTEV says "Go", the players must rush down the ramp and look for the item displaying, depending on the season:
    1. The name of the houseguest OTEV described.
    2. A mashup of the names of the two houseguests OTEV described.
    3. The name of the competition OTEV described.
    4. Numbers for the day of the event.
    5. The number of people who participated in the event.
  5. Once the player has found the correct item, they head back up the ramp and kneel on one of the kneeling spots. One player will be left without a spot to kneel on. If the player grabbed the wrong item, they are allowed to leave the kneeling spot to go back and try to find the right one, as long as they're not the last person up the ramp.
  6. If all of the players on the kneeling spots brought back the correct item, the last person to return will be eliminated.
  7. If one of the players brought back the wrong item and the person not on a kneeling spot brought back the right item, the person who brought back the wrong item will be eliminated.
  8. Once a player has been eliminated, a new round begins.
  9. The last person standing wins the Power of Veto.


List of the OTEV Competitions

Season Week Competition Variant Name Variant Winner
7 7 Power of Veto "Voo Doo Dolls"
Janelle Pierzina
8 8 "Catscratch Veto"
Eric Stein
9 "The Rainmaker"
"OTEV the Great and Powerful Rhyming Rain God"
Ryan Quicksall
11 7 "Let's Get Bananas"
"OTEV the Ape"
Jeff Schroeder
12 8 "OTEV the Broadway Clam"
Enzo Palumbo
13 9 "OTEV the Sweet-Toothed Shark"
Adam Poch
14 8 "OTEV the Absent Minded Alien"
Dan Gheesling
15 "OTEV The Broken Hearted Beaver"
Elissa Slater
16 7 "OTEV the Pissed-Off Penguin"
Zach Rance
17 8 "OTEV the Rockin' Roll"
Liz Nolan
18 5 "OTEV the Dope DJ"
Michelle Meyer
19 6 "OTEV the Possessed Piglet"
Mark Jansen
20 7 "OTEV the Sneezy Skunk"
Tyler Crispen
21 "OTEV the Paranoid Pigeon"
Tommy Bracco


  • OTEV is a play on the word "veto", as "OTEV" is "veto" backwards.
  • The voice of OTEV has occasionally been provided by a special guest.
  • Frank Eudy and Jordan Lloyd are the only houseguests to compete in this competition twice. Both of them lost both times.
    • Both times that Frank competed, he had been on the block and was evicted that week.
    • Nicole Franzel was present for this competition twice. However she only played during her first season.
  • Tommy Bracco is the first LGBT houseguest to win this competition.
  • Big Brother 10 is the only season since Big Brother All-Stars to not feature an OTEV competition.
    • Dan Gheesling is the only contestant from Big Brother 10 to compete in OTEV.
  • Big Brother 18 features an OTEV competition the earliest at week 5.
  • No one who has won OTEV has then gone on to win the game. Throughout the fandom this is known as the OTEV Curse.

Big Brother Recurring Competitions
100 MinutesAn Offer You Can't RefuseAs Close As You CanAsk The EvicteeBall ThrowerBB ComicsBB Flix & ChillBB Storm WatchBefore or AfterBig Top DropBowlerinaBuzzkilledCaged EggsDizzy DiscsDomino EffectDrinks On UsDrunk SpeechesFaster Than A Speeding VetoFeeling KnottyFitting InFoam PartyGolf InvitationalHide and Go VetoIn The BalanceIt's Time to ReflectJury StatementsKaitlyn's PuzzleKnight MovesKnockoutLast One StandingMajority RulesMorph 'O' MaticNiagara BallsOTEVPerfect ShotPick Your PoisonPull Some StringsPunch, Slap, KickReady, Set, WoahSeesawSequence ExplosionSlapshotSlippery SlopeSolve For XSomewhere Over The VetoSpelling SearchStay or FoldStick It to MeTake It OffThe Black BoxThe HauntingThe WallTightropeTime FliesTime HighwayTumblin' DiceWhat The Bleep?What Did They Just Do?What's The Hold UpWheel Of First ImpressionsWho Did What?Weight GainWho Said It?Yankee SwapZingbot Competition