Four depilated homes, four weeks of intensive renovations, and one pair of winners who will walk away with their fully furnished dream home—plus, a piece of land to plop it all onto.

Besides being an opportunity that the average Vancouverite would undoubtedly jump at (insert rant about real-estate prices here), this is also the premise of the cheekily titled Game of Homes, which debuted its second season on the W Network last night (April 12).

Much of the mechanics remain unchanged from the show’s inaugural season: four pairs of amateur designers and renovators are each assigned an uprooted house—one that’s in dire need of some TLC—and are tasked with renovating the crib room by room. Over the course of four weeks (technically eight if you’re going off the airtime), the teams must live and work through the renovation, as they aim to impress a host of celebrity interior designers, including new resident judges Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan and Love It or List It Vancouver stars Jillian Harris and Todd Talbot.

The public, however, gets the final say, when they decide who will ultimately become the new owners of their carefully crafted abode through an in-person vote.

This season takes place in the Toronto area and features Domenic and Michael, two buddies hoping to turn their hobby into a full-on renovation company; Shelley and Alex, a sweet mother-son duo; and two couples: Courtney and Tyler, engaged, and Kim and Harry, married with kids. Each episode begins with a mini-challenge that sees the pairs completing a particular task—like building stairs, for example—in order to get a leg-up on the competition in the renovation round.

“This year, we went a little more elaborate with those challenges,” executive producer Blair Reeke tells the Straight by phone. “They’re a little more daunting and there’s more stakes involved.”

Also new this season is the design den: a site filled with tools and interior design aids like paint chips, fabric swatches, and computers where floor plans can be visually constructed. However, it also allowed for more snooping amongst the competitors—a practice that last season’s players prevented by taping up their windows.

“We hadn’t done that before and it was interesting because people became very protective of their design plans,” says Reeke. “So they’d be madly trying to listen in on [their competitors]: ‘What were they going to do with that spare bedroom?’ or ‘What was their theme for the kitchen?’ ”

Living through a renovation is hard enough, but when it’s fast-tracked to wrap up within a month, emotions are bound to run high. While the duos were given between three to four days to renovate larger rooms like the kitchen, they had only 24-hours to complete spaces such as the guest room.

“They pretty much have to pull an all-nighter,” says Reeke. All this on one day of rest between each renovation, the bulk of which, as Reeke notes, were spent sleeping in their under-construction homes. Film trailers on set provided running water and food, which the players happily made use of by walking over in their pajamas and house slippers.

Considering the high-pressure environment and stakes, however, the results of the renovations are pretty impressive. Last night’s premiere, for example, saw Shelley and Alex installing an indoor tree planter into their living room floor, while Kim and Harry created a brick wall for their “joyful eclectic” space by painstakingly gluing each brick by hand—three times.   

“What people do in 24 hours when you give them that time is amazing,” says Reeke. As for what to expect on finale night? The producer remains tight-lipped, though he does maintain that we should be anticipating the unexpected.

“I think viewers will find it surprising,” he says.

Game of Homes airs on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on the W Network.