The Diplomatist: House Rules Part 1

House Rules Part 1: Game Rule Changes

Here are my 'House Rules' for PBEM play (on CAT23, Dip World and elsewhere, as the need arises). They are divided into two main sections:

Part 1 - Game Rule Changes: Contents

The page you are in now contains modifications or clarifications of the Standard Diplomacy Rules (1982). Links to the sections marked

are 'must sees'.

I.	Players and Countries
II.	Object of the Game
IV.	Diplomacy [see House Rules Part 2]
VII.	Orders
	A. Mechanics, Syntax etc
	B. No Moves Received (NMRs)
	C. Replacement Players
	D. Preferred Orders Format and Syntax for PBEM
	E. Phased/Conditional Orders
IX.	The Support Order
XII.	Convoy Orders
XIII.	Gaining and Losing Units

Part 2 - PBEM Mechanisms and Manners

Go there to see how I intend to run a game and how I'd like us all to relate to each other.

Part 1 - Game Rule Changes

Introduction

Part 1 is organised and numbered according to the standard rules. Good ideas kindly provided by other GMs (particularly from Cat23) in their house rules have been shamelessly incorporated. It is also written particularly with variants in mind, 'cos I also like (good) variants!

I. Players and Countries

A. Country assignments will take place when all players submit preference lists to me (unless a random selection is specified for that game). Each player should list as many powers as they wish of those available (seven in the standard game, where numbers differ in variants these will be specified in the variant rules), in the order in which s/he would prefer to play them. I will take preferences from '1' onwards, in order. Where an equal preference is tied between one or more players, a random selection will be made, those missing out moving onto their next preference. You don't HAVE to submit a preference, but please specify if this is the case. You will get what is left by the others - but then, every power can be a winner! Similarly, you could (say) submit a short list of preferences, which would default to 'no preference' if the short list is exhausted.

B. I will accept orders from any email address you provide me in the initial sign up, or subsequently from an address you provide from a previously registered address. If you like, you can lodge a password for use in emergencies (ie your server crashes and you wish to access from another email address). Otherwise, I would have no way of knowing whether a player signing on under a previously unknown email address is genuine or not and would have to treat such communication as unauthorised.

II. Object of the Game (Wins, Draws etc)

A. Unless specified differently for a variant, the game will be played until there is a winner, which is normally a majority of the supply centres (SCs) on the board (18 in the standard game). Alternatively, a vote can be taken by the players with pieces on the board in which a victor(s) is declared unanimously. All players with pieces on the board are eligible to vote and each surviving player gets one vote. The player proposing the draw/concession need not vote in the affirmative.

B. Calls for votes should be put to me direct, following resolution of the Fall move (including retreats, if any). Votes will only be conducted once a year, as part of Winter adjustments, using player status at that point. I will call for votes in the Winter report, which will have one or more clear propositions and a deadline. Only votes which are received by the deadline will be counted. Any vote to end the game (as a concession or draw) must be unanimous. A failure to vote by the deadline will be taken to be a vote AGAINST the proposition.

C. Voting on draws or concessions is anonymous. The breakdown of votes will NOT be published: only the result. Draws may only include players who have not been eliminated from the game (ie have no supply centers during the Winter adjustments). A concession vote will only ever be to concede victory to one power. Any other proposition is a draw, in which ALL SURVIVING PLAYERS share equally. Draws may not therefore give a finishing order such as 2nd place, 3rd place, etc. Players are either included in the draw or not. [This is deliberate, both to discourage 'lazy' draws and to keep the voting system from getting too complicated.]

D. I will reserve the right to terminate a game in a draw involving all of the remaining powers if it is clear that the position on the board has reached a stalemate. This will be determined arbitrarily by there being no changes to province ownership for a three game-year period. I will only ever initiate this as a last resort and would hope to be proved wrong. Any decision by me to start the three game-year clock would be made (and broadcast to all participants) one season prior to doing so. Even if at the end of that time no changes have occurred, if a player objects to the termination and can convince me that there is still play in the game then the game will continue.

IV. Diplomacy

A. Timings, deadlines, correspondence procedures and the expected standards of behaviour are dealt with in Section 2 of my House Rules.

VII. Orders

A. Mechanics, Syntax etc

A1. I am a bit old fashioned when it comes to the general concept of orders and 'correctness'. I will go strictly by the book (ie the standard rule book) where it comes to the expression of orders, except where specifically modified below. I will take orders and implement them as I see them. As an ironclad rule, I will NOT automatically query any player to seek amplification, clarification, highlight errors etc if I believe an error has been made. If I was to do this for one player and then miss it for another, I could be accused of erratic over involvement (at the least) or partisanship (at worst).

A2. However, if you have a specific question about an order, syntax etc, put it in your orders and I will get back to you. If you wish, you may also include a request for an acknowledgment of receipt (NOT of accuracy) of orders if they are submitted at least 24 hours prior to the deadline. Any instances of what I deem to have been incorrect, illegal, ambiguous etc orders will be so flagged in the turn reports. At that time, a player can make an initial appeal to me by claiming GM error (procedures dealt with below).

A3. Having said all that, the rules do state: "A badly written order, which nevertheless can have only one meaning, must be followed." I interpret this to mean that the intention must remain clear and incapable of misinterpretation, but that certain basics are still mandatory (ie this does not mean that 'anything goes'). I suspect it was largely to cover poor handwriting in FTF games! Here are a few old chestnuts where you can rest assured that an omission/mistake WILL result in a failed (ie = hold only) order (ie the order will be considered 'illegal', rather than 'badly written'):

All units must be identified as an Army (A) or Fleet (F).

When supporting another country's unit, that must be in the order - Judge players beware! For example - FRANCE: A Tyr S ITALIAN (or 'ITA') A Ven-Tri.

When convoying another country's unit, the other country's identity must be in the order. For example - FRANCE: F Eng C GER A Bel-Lon.

Provinces with the same three starting letters should either be spelled out to avoid confusion or, if abbreviated, use only the three letter abbreviations from the standard rules as augmented below for the standard board (or any additional designated variant abbreviations). If in doubt, spell it out in full.

Province Name	Abbreviation
Gulf of Bothnia	Gob
Gulf of Lyon	Gol
Liverpool	Lvp
Livonia	Lvn
North Africa	Naf
North Atlantic Ocean	Nat
Norwegian Sea	Nrg
North Sea	Nth
Norway	Nwy
Tyrolia	Tyr
Tyrrhenian Sea	Tys

A4. Orders for units containing ambiguous or incorrect province names or abbreviations (either for the origin, the destination or for support or convoy orders) will be interpreted strictly. The order will be deemed invalid (illegal - unit holds), rather than 'badly written'. However, misspelt province names or abbreviations which can only have one possible meaning (ie literal meaning, not deduced intent) will be evaluated on a case by case basis as 'badly written orders'. Nonetheless, if the misspelling makes it at all ambiguous - ie 'admits of two meanings' per Rule VII.4, the order will be considered illegal, even if logically only one outcome could be interpreted as the intended move. For example, for a unit in Burgundy, I'd allow 'Bergundy-Ruhr', but not 'Ber-Ruh', even if the ordering player had no unit in Berlin. I'd take the latter to be a mistaken rather than 'badly written' order under Rule VII.4. Other examples of mistaken (invalid) orders might be those which confuse Rum and Rom, use Nor instead of Nrg or Nwy, Liv instead of Lvp or Lvn, Tyr instead of Tys, and so on.

B. No Moves Received (NMRs)

B1. A much vexed question, so I'll go into a bit of detail. I'll specify at the start of a game whether NMRs will be allowed. In some games (say, a play test of a new variant etc), it may be that playing NMRs would be too disruptive or would otherwise invalidate the test. Generally, however, if NMRs are being used, I prefer to play them by the book. If you NMR, you will go civil disorder (see Standard Rules XIV.3 and 4). Two consecutive NMRs, from one game phase to another where you were required to submit orders, will result in abandonment, leaving the country open to be advertised for a replacement (ie two strikes and you're out). NMRs separated by submitted orders are not cumulative during the game under this rule (although they are cumulative in the memory of everyone else). A standard NMR warning will be recorded in the posted player results and I will simultaneously send a direct email to the same effect to the NMRed player, advising either a warning in the first instance or an advice of abandonment for the second in a row. The other players will be advised as part of the report whenever a player has NMRed.

B2. Note: this is not meant to be unduly harsh, but reflects some of the flavour of face to face diplomacy and seeks to keep the game going, including through periods of inconvenient domestic turbulence - quite a realistic provision, I've always thought. Look what happened to Russia in WW1! NMR could be used as a deliberate tactical or diplomatic ploy. So, I won't speculate in reports as to why an NMR has happened (though of course I may be told by the player or try to find out myself, depending on the circumstances), only that it did. Its up to the other players to determine what the motivation behind the NMR actually was, not me.

B3. So, as others have said, it is always a good idea to be safe and submit preliminary orders as soon as your get that turn's results and send retreats as soon as you receive the movement results. You may change your orders as often as desired before the deadline. If you wish, you can label orders as "Final", which would allow the early processing of a turn if the orders from all players are so marked. The last valid order for a particular unit will be honoured. If no order is received for a particular unit it will be listed in the reports as "h - N/R", meaning "hold, no order received". Illegal orders will be reproduced verbatim and flagged 'illegal', with a brief reason. While I may send out a general reminder that some orders have not been submitted, players should not rely upon it. So if your server crashes, try to keep my email address handy and get a message out on another system to let me know what has happened and either provide the orders or seek an extension (noting that I will be on guard for any possible forged orders). Otherwise, be prepared for temporary bouts of civil disorder!

C. Replacement Players

C1. If a player who has abandoned gets in touch with me before a replacement is found, s/he may be allowed to continue in the game. If you resign but can provide a replacement prior to the next deadline (any season, including retreats and adjustments), this will be accepted immediately (a peaceful and orderly change of Government). Otherwise, I will only replace an abandoned/resigned player during the diplomacy period for a movement phase. Where a country remains abandoned at the end of a movement phase, civil disorder will continue through the subsequent retreat and (if after a fall phase) the winter adjustments. This reflects the ongoing military and economic effects of serious civil disorder caused by the collapse of Government. If a replacement is made, a deadline extension may be given, if requested by any player (including the replacement). Eliminated players may not re-enter the game to replace an abandoned or resigned player. Replacements can (on request) be provided with a full history of the game's GM reports.

D. Preferred Orders Format and Syntax for PBEM

D1. To help 'automate' my reporting as much as possible, I'd like you to use the format and abbreviations (if you use them) below when presenting your orders. This is encouraged but optional, so any legal variations from this format/syntax will still be accepted, of course, especially if you are unsure and wish to spell a province name in full. When submitting orders, please include in your subject line the game number, country, season and year.

Five possible PBEM phases per year:
Spring Move
Spring Retreats (aka Summer)
Fall Move
Fall Retreats
Fall Adjustments (aka Winter, will normally be combined with Retreats unless a retreat might substantially affect adjustments, and/or at player request)

Game Dates:
Season/Year/Phase Format (ie S1902M, F1902R, F1903W, etc)
Seasons: Spring = "S", Fall = "F"
Phases: Move = "M", Retreat = "R", Winter Adjustments = "W"

Units:
Army = "A"
Fleet = "F"

Locations and Identities:
Power Name: First three letters = "XYZ"
Province Name. Standard three letter abbreviation = "Xyz"
Coast = "(nc)", "(sc)" or "(ec)" (north, south or east coast respectively)

Actions:
Move = "-" (in move OR retreat orders)
Holds = "h"
Support = "s"
Convoy = "c"
Proxy = not allowed
Disband = "d" (same meaning as "Remove")
Build = "b"
Waive = "#w" (used for waiving a build, # being the number of builds waived)

Some examples of some orders for a country in the different phases follow:

Orders S1904M
AUS
A Vie-Gal
A Bud s A Vie-Gal
A Tyr s FRA A Bur-Mun
F Ion c ITA A Apu-Gre
A Tri h
F Aeg s ITA A Apu-Gre

Orders F1904R
RUS
A Gal-War
F Gob-Stp(sc)
d A Fin

Orders F1906B
(Assuming England has two builds, but wishes to waive one for some reason)
ENG
b F Lon
1w

E. Phased/Conditional Orders

E1. Phased orders submitted in advance for a subsequent spring or fall movement phases will be accepted but are not encouraged. If you are going to be away, I'd rather you asked for an extension, which can be granted within reason, or provide a temporary replacement. Exception: I will happily accept 'conditional' and/or preliminary retreat and adjustment orders submitted with spring or fall movement orders. But do be sure to state clearly if they are just preliminary. If you had no retreats, you may submit your adjustment orders as usual, before the retreat results are posted where these phases are being processed separately. Similarly, if you have retreat orders to provide, you may issue the adjustments with them, if you want to save time and are unconcerned about what others may do in a separate retreat phase.

IX. The Support Order

a. Clarification: based on the second statement after XIV.5, IX.7 does not apply if either or both of the dislodged or dislodging unit is convoyed.

XII. Convoy Orders

a. These changes are taken pretty much verbatim from the Judge House Rules, because I think convoys can be a GM's worst nightmare!

XII.1. Armies intending to use a convoy must specify the convoy route in their movement orders as in the examples:

A Lon-Eng-Bel,
F Eng c A Lon-Bel

or

A Lon-Eng-Mid-Wes-Tun
F Eng c A Lon-Tun
F Mid c A Lon-Tun
F Wes c A Lon-Tun
A Naf s A Lon-Tun

XII.4. Since convoy routes must be specified, there will never be any ambiguity.

XII.5. This rule when taken literally can have some unintended results. I will adopt the five Judge adjudicator 'passes' to determine what support gets cut:

Normal non-convoyed movement cuts support.

Any armies being convoyed by fleets that would be dislodged without further support cuts are flagged "maybe no convoy".

Any convoyed armies without the "maybe no convoy" status cut support provided by units in their destination provinces.

Any armies being convoyed by fleets that still would be dislodged are flagged "definitely no convoy".

Any armies still flagged "maybe no convoy" status cut support of units in their destination provinces. The "maybe no convoy" status is cleared.

XII.6. This rule is known to be vague and lead to certain paradoxes when a unit is given the choice between a land route and a convoy. However, this does not apply here since an army must specify its convoy route if it is to be convoyed.

XIII. Gaining and Losing Units

A. Abridged, from the Judge House Rules: Rule XIII.2 is a bit vague. Is the rule book saying that a player must disband units and may build units because s/he can always disband units but is not always able to build units? If not, why is the rule book saying that s/he must adjust his/her units to be equal to the number of supply centers that s/he controls? My interpretation is that you don't have to accept all possible builds. Possible builds not being used should be specifically noted using the waive order to avoid confusion.

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Note: The Hasbro copyright to Diplomacy is acknowledged throughout.
These House Rules can be amended at any time.
This page was last modified on 10 May 2001.