CHICAGO — Ahead of the upcoming season of “Survivor” on Feb. 25, CBS has added an interactive element for viewers with a nationwide hunt for an immunity idol, one hidden in each of the 50 states. Those who successfully find the idol will be able to enter a sweepstakes where the winning prize is a trip to attend the “Survivor” Season 50 finale and reunion.

The Illinois clue will be revealed Friday, with the window of opportunity to find the idol itself on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., according to eagle-eyed fans on Reddit, who have analyzed the website code and posted their findings in spreadsheets and more.

Assuming CBS wants to rope in as many participants as possible, it’s likely the Illinois idol will be located in Chicago. Some have theorized it will be somewhere in the Loop.

“Survivor” has never done a promotion like this before, according to Andy Dehnart, the founder of Reality Blurred, a digital news outlet focused on reality TV. “At the beginning of Season 41 — the so-called ‘new era’ — they had on-screen puzzles that viewers could do, but they have never done anything in-person, so this is definitely new and a pretty incredible undertaking because it’s so wide in scale.”

Here’s how it works:

After registering for notifications at survivor50challenge.com, participants will receive a clue, in the form of a riddle, indicating the idol’s location. Anyone who successfully finds it can scan a QR code and submit a photo of themselves holding the idol, which serves as entry to the sweepstakes.

“People will probably solve the clue the second it goes live, so if people are looking to find it, I’m sure they can just hop onto Reddit or somewhere else and see what people are saying,” according to Dehnart.

When near the actual location, he recommends looking for something resembling a set with “Survivor” branding and flags. In other words, the immunity idol won’t be unobtrusively hidden somewhere. It should be fairly obvious where it is once you’re in the vicinity.

The cast of “Survivor 50” is made up of participants from previous seasons returning to compete once again. Because of COVID, the show abandoned its live finale format several years ago, switching instead to filming everything on the island. That’s been standard ever since, but for Season 50, the series is reverting back to the live finale, which is why the sweepstakes might be uniquely appealing for fans.

Dehnart says the live finale for this season is probably a one-off. “They’re saving a lot of money when they shoot it right in Fiji. Jeff Probst (the show’s host) has been clearer more recently that, even though fans want them to bring the live show back, this is a budget issue and they’re not going to do it.”

If you can’t make it out to find the immunity idol, CBS is offering a 51st state option — meaning, anyone can enter the sweepstakes online and one person from that pool will also be selected to attend the finale. “You will have just as much of a random chance to be selected as someone who went out to find the idol,” says Dehnart.

©2026 Chicago Tribune. Visit chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.