If you were to ask me what I was expecting from my first trip out to the set of Survivor, “seeing 20-foot statues of legends from seasons past” would be very low on my list. Yet here I was in Fiji, standing on the titular Island of the Idols, staring into the stone faces of winners “Boston” Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine. And I could not stop smiling.

As a lifelong fan of the hit reality franchise, now spanning nearly two decades, I had tried to prepare myself properly for what I was going to experience out on the island. Interviewing the contestants, doing a test run of the first challenge, attending a Tribal Council. But true to its nature, the show’s 39th season had a blindside up its sleeve with a new theme. The appearance of Sandra and Rob in both statue and physical form completely took me by surprise when host and executive producer Jeff Probst told me about the twist, as I’m sure it will with this season’s 20 castaways.

Related: Meet the Full Cast of Survivor: Island of the Idols

Survivor: Island of the Idols will involve the contestants periodically visiting the nominal location. There, they’ll be greeted by Rob and Sandra, who will be serving as “mentors” rather than players this season. They’ll put their cadet through “Survivor boot camp,” teaching an important lesson about how to succeed in the game. The curriculum will run the gamut from basic survival skills like fire making to complex strategies like maintaining a lie. Then, they’ll put their skills to the test for the chance to earn an advantage they can take with them back into the game.

Here’s some more information about the mechanics behind Island of the Idols, as provided by Probst and executive producer Matt Van Wagenen.

What Was the Inspiration for Survivor: Island of the Idols?

The idea for Island of the Idols started small, during downtime while filming a season. “I remember we were walking back from a challenge rehearsal last season,” Van Wagenen says, “and we brought up the idea of Survivor ‘God-type’ characters. It started off as this small snowball that grew and grew and grew.”

Rob and Sandra were two of the first names that came to mind as deities of the game and were excited to play new roles on the show. The two were also very involved in the process of planning out the mechanics behind the twist. “We’re bringing on two people almost as producers,” says Probst. “We asked them, ‘Why don’t you write down a list of lessons you think Survivor players should know?’ Then we took those and decided which ones we wanted to put in the show.”

Why Are Rob and Sandra Staying on the Island?

One of the ideas that the duo suggested in their new role as correspondents was for them to tough it out on the Island of the Idols itself for the entirety of the season’s 39 days. “One of the first things they both said is, ‘If we do this, we want to walk the walk. It gives us the permission to talk the talk,’” says Probst. “They were adamant about building their own shelter and surviving out there.” They’ll never be alone out there, as their camp is flanked by 20-foot busts of their faces, fantastically constructed by the art team out of wood and metal. Those giant faces will be the first to greet any who visit Island of the Idols before they walk through the jungle to meet the real deal.

Why Jeff Probst Won’t Welcome Contestants to Island of the Idols

Though it will take some time before Island of the Idols is introduced, the idea will be in players’ heads from the get-go. Survivor this season will begin with the contestants getting directly dropped off at their respective tribe camps, with no further instructions or even a welcome from Probst. This is a large departure from the season openers of late, which primarily have been maroonings or competition for supplies.

Probst explains the logic behind the change, which ties into the season name. “We wanted to do a misdirect. Hopefully, the misdirect will be when the players get to their beaches, and I’m not there to greet them. All they have to go on is the name of the season. We’re hoping that they think hidden immunity idols are in play in a big way. We’re thinking they think it has to do with these tangible advantages in the game.” It’s an early way to foster some Survivor-brand paranoia with this season’s crop of contestants.

Who Is the First Visitor on Survivor: Island of the Idols?

After a couple of days of speculation, the first person will get to find out what Island of the Idols is all about. In this instance, a member of the tribe who loses the season’s first challenge will be chosen at random to go, returning that night for Tribal Council. But this season’s twist is built on variance and keeping the tribes on their toes, including how or when they’ll go to the Island of the Idols.

“We’re trying to change the device of people getting to the island,” says Van Wagenen, “so we’re not boxed in and we can keep the contestants guessing. There’s been so much Survivor and precedent that people tend to make predictions. And for a while, they were correct. We go out of our way to keep them on their toes.”

What Is the First Test on Survivor: Island of the Idols?

The first ambassador to the Island of the Idols will meet the Rob and Sandra busts, Survivor‘s version of Mount Rushmore. The real deals will then come out and explain that they are the idols that have been so heavily speculated. They’ll then receive their first lesson of the season in making fire, a staple of the franchise to the point that it’s now become the focus of the Final Four round.

“The additional twist is that after you learn a lesson, you then get a chance to test what you’ve learned,” explains Probst. “After the person makes a fire, they’ll then say, ‘How confident are you? Because you’re willing to take Rob on in fire, you have a chance of winning an advantage. If you beat me, you can go back to camp with an idol, good for the next Tribal. If you lose, you lose your vote.’ Whatever the advantage is, the player will either feel confident enough to take the bet or walk away.”

Related: Survivor Legends Return in New Mentor Role for Island of the Idols Season

Can Rob and Sandra Negotiate Challenges?

To push their Survivor students to accept the presented challenge, Sandra and Rob have been given room to maneuver. They’ll be able to negotiate the terms of the test or the reward to entice the player. In the fire making competition, for instance, they can make the idol prize good for two Tribal Councils instead of just one, or give them a two-minute head start ahead of Rob. Turning down an offer from two of the franchise’s smoothest talkers will be even tougher to do with these new stipulations.

“Everything here is a test,” Probst says. “The player who agrees to take on Rob in fire making probably just made a bad decision. And when they lose, they lose their vote. Rob and Sandra will say, ‘Now you’ve learned another lesson. You know how to make fire, and you know how to listen to your gut.”

Why Do Survivor Players Have to Lie?

Whether they leave the Island of the Idols with an idol or missing a vote, the player is going to face a big question: What do they tell their tribe about what they just experienced? Do they disclose the boot camp exercise they just ran, or do they lie? Probst believes that decision will also come from the suggestion of the mentors. “That’s going to be on Rob and Sandra,” he says. “They want to remain a secret; they have more power when people are surprised. But it’s up to them to convince a player not to tell anyone. Rob and Sandra aren’t competing for a million dollars, but they’re playing their own version of a game.”

The Future of Island of the Idols

Much like the method of sending people to Island of the Idols, the tests and advantages will change throughout the season. The players will sometimes face off against one of the idols in a competition. Other times, they’ll be given a task to complete in the game that is related to the knowledge they just gained. The prizes they’ll gain can range from game advantages like idols and extra votes to helpful items around camp. “Sometimes it will be very basic,” says Van Wagenen. “But other times, people will not even realize that the test has begun. It’s like boiling a frog slowly.”

Probst provides an example. “They can say, ‘We just taught you a skill that’s used in the next challenge. If you can insert yourself in this position in the challenge and you win, you earn an advantage.’ What you’re testing there is your ability to persuade. You have to go back to your tribe now and convince them to put you in the hero spot when you might not be the obvious choice. It’s this multi-layered thinking.”

NEXT: Meet Dan Spilo