The intended name of this tournament was "Lonesome George, more than just a symbol of the Galapagos" a line taken from the article "A farewell from a friend," reproduced in the spoiler below. That is, of course, too long for a tournament name, so we'll just call it "Symbol of the Galapagos" for short, or just "Symbol" if you're of a really, really impatient nature.
[spoiler=farewell from a friend]https://www.iucn.org/involved/opinion/?10248/Lonesome-George-a-farewell-from-a-friend
[/spoiler]Lonesome George, a farewell from a friend
26 June 2012 | Article
When I saw the news yesterday I was overcome with sadness and spent a great deal of time thinking about Lonesome George and all he had meant to both me personally and to the world of species conservation in general, says Anders G.J. Rhodin, M.D., Chairman Emeritus, IUCN Species Survival Commission's (SSC) Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group.
My first thought was that it was as if I had lost a personal friend or close and dear relative--someone who had become very special to me and about whom I thought often. I met him in 1982 when Peter Pritchard introduced me to him at the Charles Darwin Research Station. We had been allowed to enter the pen and I spent a long time in his company photographing and observing and examining him. Peter took our photograph together and I felt as if I had been looking into the eyes of a surviving relict of the age of dinosaurs. I hoped fervently that his race could somehow be saved from extinction.
That trip to the Galapagos and to see Lonesome George with Peter helped inspire me to become increasingly active in turtle and tortoise conservation, and I gradually increased my role in that world, culminating with Chairing the IUCN SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group and receiving the Sir Peter Scott Award for Conservation Merit from the IUCN SSC.
In some ways it was the inspiration of seeing Lonesome George that drove me to want to make a difference in the world of conservation. And now he's gone. Will his loss now inspire future leaders of conservation? I think back to how I felt long ago when I learned about the last Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) that went extinct, or the last Tasmanian Wolf (Thylacinus cynocephalus): my overwhelming sadness at the irrevocable loss of these magnificent species. And now the Pinta Island Giant Tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni) is also gone forever.
More than a just a symbol for the Galapagos, Lonesome George was a symbol of our global never-ending struggle to preserve the richness and diversity and beauty of the planet we inherited from our ancestors. This was now our legacy to continue to protect for our future and for our coming generations. And yet, somehow, we have let yet another magnificent species slip through our grasp into the dustbin of history, never to return. And this despite all of our global efforts at making a difference and to avoid any more extinctions. It fills me with sadness, especially knowing that there was still some slim hope out there for Lonesome George: the recent find of some hybrid tortoises on Volcan Wolf carrying 50% of George's genotype.
I hope that this loss will somehow catalyze our efforts to work even harder at securing a safe future for all the other turtle and tortoise species teetering on the edge of extinction. Of the 300+ species of turtles and tortoises in the world, approximately 50% are already threatened with extinction (more than most other large vertebrate groups), and our Top 25 most endangered turtles and tortoises of the world just became our Top 24--the most endangered one is now gone. Can we save the rest? Only by working hard and focusing our efforts will we succeed. But I believe in my heart that we can.
Since the time when Lonesome George was found in 1972, the global turtle and tortoise conservation community has made great strides in building an increasingly effective global network of like-minded organizations focused on saving these species. NGOs like Conservation International, Wildlife Conservation Society, Turtle Survival Alliance, Turtle Conservancy, and many others, are making major contributions towards saving turtle and tortoise species around the world. They all need our help, as do the turtles and tortoises themselves.
Let us make sure that Lonesome George becomes the very last turtle or tortoise species to die the lonesome death of final extinction.
Tournament Type: Terminator
The tournament is intended for 48 players, but I will adjust numbers and accommodate more if there is strong interest.
You must be premium to enter, as you will have at least four, and sometimes more, games at a time.
Map: Treasures of the Galapagos
Settings: All games will be Automatic, Sequential, Chained, No Trench, 24-hour, with a 30-round limit. Spoils and Fog status will vary as described in the spoilers below.
Phase 1 (Sunshine on the Islands):
[spoiler=phase 1]All games sunny in this round. You will play in four 8-player terminator games: 1 No Spoils, 1 Flat Rate, 1 Nuclear, 1 Escalating. All will be sunny.
I will not wait for Phase 1 to be complete, but I will wait until it is well advanced and some games have ended, before starting Phase 2.[/spoiler]
Phase 2 (The Fog Rolls In):
[spoiler=phase 2]All games foggy in this round. You will play in four 8-player terminator games: 1 No Spoils, 1 Flat Rate, 1 Nuclear, 1 Escalating. All will be foggy.
I will not wait for Phase 2 to be complete, but I will wait until it is well advanced and some games have ended, before starting Phase 3.
Scoring for first two phases: 1 point per kill, plus 1 extra point for the game win.[/spoiler]
Phase 3 (Two Reefs Bonus Round)
[spoiler=phase 3]All games foggy in this round. You will play in four 4-player (two reefs each) terminator games: 1 No Spoils, 1 Flat Rate, 1 Nuclear, 1 Escalating.
Scoring for phase 3: 2 points per kill, plus 1 extra point for the game win.[/spoiler]
Phase 4 (Special Achievement games, follow the Pinta Island Tortoise.)
Please read the Phase 4 rules carefully or you may be losing out on major points!
[spoiler=phase 4]Before we go to Phase 4, I will wait for all Phase 1 and 2 games to end, and anybody who has not scored at least 3 points in Phases 1 and 2 combined will be eliminated. I will be aiming for 6-player games in this phase, but depending on the number of people who qualify, there may need to be some 5- or 7- player games. You will play in four terminator games: 1 No Spoils, 1 Flat Rate, 1 Nuclear, 1 Escalating. All will be foggy.
Basic score will be 1 point per kill plus 3 points for the game win. However, if it is not a 6-player game, the points to win will be adjusted up or down, so that players in 5- and 7- player games will still have a chance to score 8 points.
In addition, there will be a Special Achievement bonus you can score. The Pinta Island Tortoise is believed to have originally evolved on Floreana. Later it somehow made its way to Pinta Island for which it is named. After the death of Lonesome George, who was believed to be the last, close relatives of his were found on the the north end of Isabela.
Pay attention closely. To score this Special Achievement, you must recreate this path. Step One: you must collect the bonus for holding Floreana. Step Two: on a LATER turn, you must collect the bonus for holding Pinta. You must complete the first two steps while a majority of players in the game are still alive. Step 3: on yet another later turn, you must collect the bonus for holding a reef plus Isabela North. This third step may be completed after there is no longer a majority alive. Step Four: you must (once the game ends) post your Achievement in the tournament thread. I will NOT go searching for Achievements in your game unless you have posted!
You will score 4 extra points for making a Special Achievement. You can score the Special Achievement in MORE THAN ONE GAME, but it can only be score ONCE in any single game. If more than one person claims the Achievement in a game, it will go to the one who first completed Step Two.[/spoiler]
Phase 5 (The World Looks On)
[spoiler=phase 5]Before the beginning of Phase 5 I will wait for all Phase 3 games to end, and anybody who has not scored at least 7 points in the first three phases combined will be eliminated.
All games sunny in this round. You will play in four terminator games: 1 No Spoils, 1 Flat Rate, 1 Nuclear, 1 Escalating. I will be aiming for 7-player games, but depending on the exact number of players who qualify, we may need to have some 6- or 8-player games.
Points will be tripled in this phase. You will score 3 points per kill plus 5 points for the win. 6-player games will score 7 points for the win instead of 5, and 8-player games will score 3 points for the win instead of 5. This will bring it to almost 23 points per game, with a slight adjustment for the difficulties of the 6- and 8-player versions.[/spoiler]
