For those unfamiliar with the game of Survivor, this is how it works.  16 Americans are stranded in the middle of nowhere.  Every three nights, they go to Tribal Council and cast votes to get rid of someone.  The last man standing wins $1 million. 

    At first the contestants are divided into two teams, (or "tribes")  but about halfway through the game, they merge into one big tribe.  Prior to the merge, the teams compete together for rewards and immunity, but after the merge, the contests are free for all. 

    There are 2 challenges in every three day period.  The reward challenge is for a luxury, such as food.  The immunity challenge is more important.  A person or team with immunity can't be voted out. 

     Survivor Missouri used past votes in the case of a tie vote at tribal council, but Survivor Newfoundland uses the Marquesas method of randomly drawing rocks in the case of a deadlock.  The Survivors are given one chance to change their votes in a revote, and if they don't, everyone is vulnerable to go at the randomness of the rock. 

    The merge generally takes place after the sixth person is voted out.  There's usually a swap at some point before the merge.  Survivor Newfoundland's swap follows the Marquesas formula:  After three people have been voted out, all remaining Survivors are randomly reshuffled into two new tribes.  The tribes themselves keep the same names and numbers of people, but the individual members change. 

    Alliances are the heart of Survivor.  An alliance is a group of two or more people who vote the same way.  You can't get far in the game without an alliance. 

    This game, like the TV show, you the viewer have no control over what happens.  All you can do is hope each week that your favorite isn't voted out. 

    And I hope you find a favorite among these contestants.  They're based on real people, written in character as well as I possibly can. 

    All that said, it's time you kick back and enjoy Survivor Newfoundland.  Or else.
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