While there are many reasons why Jeff Probst is a special reality show host, one of the biggest is how open he is with the show's dedicated fans. After all, Jeff has openly revealed that a Survivor 50 player texted him to get on the season, and that the show's competitors don't have to be super fans. If that isn't enough, Jeff has also publicly revealed which former players he is the closest to in his personal life.
There are still some topics that even a lot of longtime Survivor fans don't know much about, including what happens before the game starts. Fortunately, Jeff also tends to be happy to reveal many pivotal behind-the-scenes facts about the reality show that has made him a legend. One example of that is the fact that Jeff recently spoke about what players go through during the pregame process.
Jeff Probst described the Ponderorsa pregame experience
Since 2023, a new episode of the "On Fire with Jeff Probst: The Official Survivor Podcast" has been released after each new episode of the TV show Survivor airs. In September 2025, the podcast episode that was released after the premiere episode featured a discussion about the news that two Survivor 49 players were removed during the pregame process. As a part of that conversation, Jeff Probst explained that the players spend time together during the pregame process.
"So what exactly is happening at Ponderosa? How does it work? All right. So the way it works is in the days leading up to the beginning of the game, all the players are together. They're at a place we call Ponderosa. And our casting team is there."
Based on that quote alone, it may seem like the players introducing themselves to each other when the game begins is a fake act they put on for the cameras. However, what Jeff explained next shows why those often awkward onscreen introductions are completely real. During the podcast episode, Jeff explained that, while they spend time together before the game starts, the players are not allowed to speak to each other at all. In fact, there are producers whose job during that stage of the game is to make sure that none of the players are breaking the rules by having conversations.
"So you have all of your competitors, but you're not allowed to talk. That's why we have so many handlers there to make sure nobody's talking. You can obviously look at each other. You can try to make eye contact. That might work for you. It might not... A lot of people scribble down assessments of their players. I think this, or maybe I'll get aligned with that person, whatever. The only thing is we have rules. And the rules are you cannot talk to each other for obvious reasons."
During Jeff's description of the pregame process, he left details of the experience out. For example, a People article states that before the game begins, players have to go through what is called "Survivor school."
Taught by one of the show's experienced producers, the lessons the players go through are designed to teach them things like how to avoid danger, maintain their hygiene, and the basics of living in the jungle. Throughout those lessons, the players still aren't allowed to speak.