Reality bites as TV show's appeal becomes clear

The first round left both teams tied, and I was the only male player left on my team with three girls, as opposed to all four male players on the other side.

As the second round was mainly about physical challenges, ranging from burpee jumps and wall sits, my teammates entrusted me with the responsibility of outperforming our rivals. As the saying goes: Cometh the hour, cometh the man. My competitive streak was now turned up to eleven.

As I saw off each of my rivals in different challenges, the cheers and encouragement from my team left me at a loss for words — it was a scintillating experience that I hadn't had for years.

It then almost felt heroic during the last mission, where we were tasked with transporting a certain amount of "gold" to a specific location, as I was able to snatch a fortune in gold from our rivals, a deciding step in winning the whole game. However, in carrying out this daring raid, I had left myself exposed to the hunters.

The producer patted my shoulder and said I had "died with value and dignity". With my head held high, I was marched to the termination room.

I felt proud of myself in many ways, particularly how I survived right until the very end, and the fact that I didn't let the side down.

To be honest, I haven't been this excited about something I've done for a long time.