Big Brother's 12 Best Alliances Of All Time — And The 5 Worst!

Anyone can come up with a clever Big Brother alliance nickname, but to play this game of human chess with loyalty and keep your trap shut about it? That's what separates the legends from... whatever BB23's Frenchie was.

Whether a coaster, a floater or a partner in a showmance, there are many different strategies one can play in the BB house, but none of these will ever compare to the safety provided by a majority alliance. With Season 24 right around the corner (catch the season premiere Wednesday, July 6 at 8/7c on CBS), we're looking back at houses past to break down the best and worst alliances in the show's history.

While some duos kept their games small and savage like the Renegades, other groups (like the ill-planned Bomb Squad) internally combusted long before they had any actual sway in the game. Below, we hark all the way back to Season 2, highlighting the very best strategists and gameplay in BB history. (And whoever made the claim that all-female alliances never work in Big Brother, we've got one set of ladies that'll prove you wrong!)

So which alliances landed a spot in our list? Scroll down for a full breakdown, then tell us which ones you'd "sadly evote" (or stan!) in the Comments.

One of the first, and one of the best. Dr. Will Kirby and Mike Boogie's devilish duo made BB history in Season 2, with their outlandish antics and cocky gameplay. In both seasons the guys played together, they reigned victorious: Dr. Will took home the Season 2 gold, while Boogie pulled out the win in (the real) All-Stars. The fact that Chilltown was always a house target — in both seasons! — yet still pulled it out makes them undoubtedly one of the best alliances to ever play the game. Plus, their diary room "phone calls" (brrrrring, brrrrring!) were a hoot and a half.

The Level Six collective may have had a few bumps in the road (What's wrong with Angela?), but Tyler Crispen and Kaycee Clark's control over the game proved to be an impressive road to victory. Battling it out against the FOUTTE alliance, Tyler suavely convinced Kaitlyn to not only flip to evict Steve in Week 1, but also to backdoor her own alliance head, Swaggy C, in Week 2, giving Level Six a level up. The only faux pas Tyler made was telling Bayleigh he didn't need her jury vote in the middle of an argument, which cost him later when he lost to Kaycee by a 5-4 vote. Whoops!

Remember Camp Comeback? (We wish we could forget it, too.) The beginning of BB21 was just as ugly as, well, the entire season, and many members of the Gr8ful alliance were entirely to blame. Much of winner Jackson Michie's behavior was perceived as racist and misogynistic, while many of Jack Matthews' comments on the live feeds were both derogatory and/or racist. (Seriously, what did this cast not understand about LIVE FEEDS?) As for the rest of the alliance, which included Nick Maccarone, Bella Wang, Holly Allen and Analyse Talavera? There was simply no one moral or likable to root for. In fact, we were "Gr8ful" when this season was over.

Season 10 was one of the most turbulent and dramatic seasons of Big Brother, which makes Dan Gheesling and Memphis Garrett's complete domination that much more impressive. Not only did the duo uphold relationships with many of the house's ladies (like Keesha, Renny and Libra), but Dan even navigated being America's Player without letting our wishes destroy his game. He even nominated his alliance-mate for eviction in Week 7, and after Memphis won the veto, the duo gave Michelle Costa the boot in one of the greatest backdoor plays of all time. Needless to say, Gheesling's win was more than deserved, and he remains one of the best players of all time.

Real talk: The Hitmen can arguably take the blame for much of the tepid gameplay of "new school" Big Brother players. (Voting with the house? No flipping? Snooze.) But credit is also deserved. Cody Calafiore and Derrick Levasseur held their cards close, aligning with Christine Brecht, Frankie Grande and Zach Rance to form the Detonators, while solidifying a Final 2 deal with each other. One could say they created the blueprint for Big Brother's modern-day gameplay, but just because their strategy worked doesn't mean it was fun to watch.

Three ladies joining together in hope of crowning a female winner was a noble cause, but following Jozea Flores' lead from the get-go was just plain dumb. Natalie Negrotti, Bronte D'Acquisto and Bridgette Dunning aimed to lay low and not make waves, but their "strategy" turned them into mere wallpaper. Sure, Bridgette banked a Head of Household win, but it wasn't enough for these nice-gals to usurp any real power.

The Brigade was so successful it was a wee bit boring to watch. However, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and their overall strategy was more or less copied by Season 23's The Cookout, and also by the Pretty Boys in Big Brother Canada Season 7. Consisting of Enzo Palumbo, Matt Hoffman, Lane Elenburg, and winner Hayden Moss, the guys slowly picked off their enemies, while winning key competitions to keep them safe. Each alliance member also took on an ally on the side to expand their safety net and numbers just in case they were ever in trouble. Despite having to cut the troublesome Matt early, the Brigade stuck mostly to their plan, and secured themselves seats in the Final 3.

When Britney Haynes, Danielle Murphree, Dan Gheesling, Ian Terry and Shane Meaney joined forces, they targeted fan favorite Janelle Pierzina, along with Mike Boogie and Frank Eudy (aka, Chilltown 2.0). It was a crazy couple of weeks in the Big Brother house, but the chaos continued when Dan held his own "Big Brother funeral" — a strategic ploy which ended up saving his hide, and burning his fellow alliance-mate Britney. This group swung for the fences all season long, and the rest of the Pack flapped their feathers straight to the Final 4.

We've covered the extremely problematic Season 21, now let us turn our attention to BB15 (if we must). The Exterminators may have won their war against showmance Amanda and McCrae, but Andy Herren's floater play was hardly something for the record books. And talk about unlikable! GinaMarie Zimmerman and Spencer Clawson were on record making racist, homophobic and/or misogynist remarks. If only we could have exterminated the Exterminators.

The secret alliance that was Danielle Reyes and Jason Guy went all the way to the final three. Known for their competitive spirit and expert-level sneak-ery, Danielle and Jason had each other's back the entire game... that is, until eventual winner Lisa Donahue booted Jason out the door. Watching Danielle and Jason's friendship grow (along with Danielle's no-nonsense Diary Room sessions) kept us rooting for the duo all season long. The fact that this jury was sent home and not sequestered led to the wrong person winning, which is, to this day, one of the biggest atrocities in BB history. (The evicted houseguests watched the season back and took offense to Danielle's shady confessionals.) But Danielle and Jason proved that loyalty could be upheld in the Big Brother house. If only she could've secured the bag at the end, Season 3 would've been a near-perfect showing.

It's not every day that an alliance invents a piece of strategy that changes the game forever, but that's exactly what Nakomis Dedmon and her allies did in Season 5. The Six-Finger Plan alliance created what is now commonly known as the backdoor. (MIC. DROP.) In the "six-finger plan," Nakomis placed two of her allies on the block, in order to ensure that her side of the house would win the Power of Veto. After the veto was used, adversary Jace was put up for eviction and sent packing. The Six-Finger crew then fought their way to the very end of the game, solidifying their role in BB history.

Say it with me now, folks: Nine. People. Is. Too. Many. For. An. Alliance. The Bomb Squad was ready to implode the second it was created, but they didn't have to wait long for Devin to become the ultimate wrecking ball. Not only did he stick his neck out for houseguests that weren't a part of his crew, but he also betrayed his own ally Zach by putting him on the block! Devin swiftly went out the door the week after, and both he and the Bomb Squad became prime examples of playing too hard, too soon.

Whoever said all-female alliances don't work on Big Brother clearly neglected to watch Over the Top (which aired exclusively on CBS All Access in 2016). Sisters Morgan and Alex Willett, along with the help of Shelby Stockton and Whitney Hogg won loads of comps, keeping themselves and their allies safe when they needed to most. At many points throughout the season, the ladies were the tightest knit group in the house, and with a little help from viewers in the form of America's Care Package, Morgan was able to land herself in the Final 3 and win the game.

You know that GIF of Tyra Banks from Top Model where she screams: "We were all rooting for you!"? That pretty much sums up our feelings about FOUTTE. The underdog pals fell apart from the very beginning, after Kaitlyn backdoored her own alliance mate, Swaggy. If that wasn't bad enough, Fessy then booted his ally Scottie! (Seriously, these guys were painful to watch.) And when the Hacker twist doomed Hayleigh's HOH, sending her friend Rockstar to jury, we knew the game was pretty much in the bag for Level Six.

Comprised of Tiffany, Kyland, Derek F., Xavier, Azah and Hannah — all of whom were Black houseguests — the Cookout flipped the script for BB, which has often seen people of color ousted early and under shaaaady circumstances. (See the aforementioned Camp Comeback from BB21). Despite some internal strife (particularly between Tiff and Big D, and also Kyland and Azah), the Cookout stayed strong "for the culture" to ensure that the first-ever Black winner would be crowned. In this game, it's nearly impossible for any group of six to stay together to the very end, and the fact that this crew was able to accomplish that goal was damn impressive.

Before you rag on us for putting "The Nerd Herd" as a "Best," hear us out. Yes, they were mostly annoying, and yes, we all wanted Janelle to win that last HOH comp (and the season), but we have to give credit where credit is due. In a season that featured two competing alliances and hefty power shifts back and forth, the Friendship never turned their backs on each other, tromping all over the Sovereign Six, who was busy sometimes evicting its own members (Howie!). The Friendship was pretty eyeroll-inducing, but they got the job done and one of their own — Maggie Ausburn — took home the check.