myers@uwmacc.UUCP (Jeff Myers) (01/18/85)
Thanks to all who commented on the first set. This version is vastly revised as far as moderator involvement goes, and in the way retreats and builds are handled. I plan to use conditional retreats, with builds sent in with the following turns moves. Apparently European pbm games use my original suggestion of conditional retreats and conditional builds, while in the US it is common to send both the previous turns retreats, conditional builds, then conditional moves in all at once (except for hairy situations). More comments welcome! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Suggested Ground Rules for Usenet Diplomacy Jeff Myers Players & Countries: If all players agree, countries will be determined by preference lists submitted by the players (each country ranked from most preferred to least prefered); otherwise, countries determined by lot by the moderator. Players must submit a list of all the ways in which they are willing to be contacted by others in the game to the moderator before the initial diplomacy period. You will want to list your electronic mail address(es), US Mail address(es), and phone number(s) with area code. If you do not want to be accessible by US Mail or by telephone, don't supply that information. Victory Conditions: Victory levels determined by the number of supply centers controlled after n (say, 12) moves, or when all players agree to end the game. Civil Disorder: If a player is compelled to drop out of a game and cannot find his or her own replacement, a replacement will be supplied from a list of alternates, if possible. Otherwise the standard Civil Disorder rules will apply. Players who need to drop out are encouraged to continue to receive the move results, even though they are no longer actively involved in the game. This also goes for players playing an eliminated country. If you only need to miss one turn, you may have a friend act in your stead for a single turn (excluding the player of another country). If you miss a turn, a call will be put out for an alternate to take your place; if you then miss the next turn, the alternates move will apply, and you'll be out of the game. Deadlines: Moves must be postmarked by midnight each Thursday. Results will be mailed before midnight on Sundays, hopefully much before this. This may not leave alot of time for diplomacy for those far apart in usenet routings, but three months is a long time for a game to hang together, especially for the students in the crowd. Writing Moves: The moderator will follow the rules faithfully, especially with regard to ambiguous orders; make them as complete as possible. Retreats and Builds/Teardowns are a problem in a pbm game if you want to get a fair number of moves in. This problem will be resolved by forcing the players to submit these actions with their moves. Retreats should be submitted in a conditional manner with your move. Builds/Teardowns for turn x are to be submitted together with your move for turn x+1. For all units which might possibly retreat in a turn, you should specify whether that unit should be retreated or disbanded. If you would like it to be retreated, you must submit a prioritized list of provinces to retreat to. If the situation warrants something more complex (multiple conditional retreats), you may qualify your orders however you wish, as long as you are clear. Diplomacy: Diplomacy can go on at any time. Remember that you can communicate with other players separately, in small groups, or via broadcast messages. The moderator can be used to help *broadcast* communiques, or act as a random number generator :-). The moderator will not become actively involved in the game in any other manner. Since the moderator is not actively involved in the game, it would greatly increase his or her enjoyment of the game if all diplomatic messages are carbon copied to the moderator. The Usenet: During Diplomacy, usenet foulups can enhance the flavor of the game by simulating the "fog of war" :-}. However, the problem is more serious when you are trying to get moves to the moderator, or get results out to the players. The moderator will immediately acknowledge all mail -- you should immediately acknowledge the receipt of move results or other important communications. You may also wish to use different paths, or mailings at different times of day.