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Diplomacy (DIP)
BEGINNERS WELCOME:
You may play if you have read the rules, played previously, or participated in a scheduled demonstration. The GM will be available for one hour in Exhibit Annex to teach the game. Be on time. The GM will remain for only 15 minutes if no one is present.

Demonstration: Friday @ 17 - Exhibit Annex Table 2

Round 1: Friday @ 19 - Hemlock
Round 2: Saturday @ 10 - Hemlock
Round 3: Saturday @ 19 - Hemlock

 

Thomas Haver: GM (5th Year)

GM Email:

 

 

 

 

Links:

BGG Link AREA consimworld gm consimworld Laurels Laurels

 

   

At the turn of the 20th century, the seven Great European Powers engage in an intricate struggle for supremacy. Military forces invade and withdraw, shifting borders and altering empires with subtle maneuvers and daring gambits. Form alliances and hatch your traitorous plots as you negotiate and outwit in a delicate balance of cooperation and competition to gain dominance of the continent! In Diplomacy, your success hinges not on the luck of the dice, but your cunning and cleverness.

The 21st Diplomacy Tournament at the WBC. The tournament will feature three rounds over multiple days. Best two rounds of three will count towards the tournament score. Best Country awards and tournament prizes will be provided by the GM. Firm time limits for negotiation and order writing will be followed to ensure expedient play for competitors with other events on their schedule. No experience required; rules taught.

Tournament Rules:

(1) Player Conduct

All players are expected to play in their own best interest and to behave in a sportsmanlike manner.

Players that demonstrate abusive or disruptive behavior contrary to the safety and comfort of themselves or the other players may result in that player being asked or forced by the Tournament Director to leave the round or the tournament.

In the event that a player must or chooses to abandon his position prior to the end of the game, the Tournament Director reserves the right to name a replacement player or declare the power in permanent civil disorder. If the previous player returns, it is up to the Tournament Director if he is allowed to take the position over. Any replacement player will receive credit for the round.

(2) Rules

2008 Hasbro rules (except where noted in this document)

(3) Rounds

Three rounds are scheduled. Players are under no obligation to play in any particular number of rounds, and should feel free to play in as few or as many as they please. The best two of three rounds will be used for scoring purposes

Round 1 - Friday, 7pm
Round 2 - Saturday, 10am
Round 3 - Saturday, 7pm

(4) Awards

1. WBC Diplomacy Champion
a. Determined by total point score for best two rounds.
b. In event of a tie, the following tiebreakers are considered:
i. The player whose highest single game score is greater.
ii. The player with the highest score obtained in any game in which the tied players opposed each other.
iii. The player whose average supply center count is higher.
iv. The player whose overall supply center differential was higher.
v. Discretion of the Tournament Director

2. Outstanding play of each power (Best Country Awards) -- determined by single-game score, with ties broken at the discretion of the TD.

(5) Board Assignments / Power Assignments

a. To be eligible to play during a round, players must check in with the Tournament Director prior to the published round start times

b. Board assignments will be determined by random draw or at discretion of the TD dependent on extenuating circumstances (family, health, etc.).

c. Power assignment will be determined by random draw.

d. A player should not be assigned the same power twice in the tournament.

e. In the event that the number of players checked in for a round is not a multiple of seven, the TD may ask designated players to sit out or play on two boards, or alternatively may play on one or two boards himself.

f. Players are not permitted to swap powers at a board. They must play the power they are assigned, unless they draw the same power from a previous round, in which case they must redraw.

(6) Game Timing

a. All boards will follow a central clock, with rolling negotiation periods of 18 minutes for Spring and 14 minutes for Fall. Each round will last a length of time four hours long, as determined by the GM.

b. Orders must be turned into the box at the deadline for each Turn. One grace period of one minute will be given to each player per game. Further grace periods will be awarded at the discretion of the TD. Anyone who fails to turn in their orders in a timely fashion will have their orders all hold; enforcement is at the discretion of the TD.

c. Once adjudication has been completed, all retreating units have been identified, and questions have been answered about invalid retreat options, there will be up to 30 seconds of silent writing time for retreats.

d. After Fall adjudication, silent writing time for adjustments will occur ON THE CLOCK. The Spring term is longer than the Fall turn to allow for adjustment writing during the Spring turn.

e. The clock will countdown continuously from Spring 1901 until end of Fall 1907. All games end at the END of Fall 1907.

f. If all orders are in early, adjudication may begin as long as all players on the board agree.

g. Breaks will occur on the clock. In the event of extenuating circumstances, the clock may be stopped by the TD

(7) Orders

All orders, including retreats, builds, and disbands, must be written. Implicit orders are not allowed.

a. Unordered units are treated as a hold order regardless of other implied actions. Unordered units or units in civil disorder may receive support in holding. Units given an impossible order are treated as holding. A unit ordered to a distant location shall be considered as an impossible order and held. It is not necessary to designate Army or Fleet except in build orders on coastal provinces. Orders for wrongly designated units are still followed.

b. Poorly written orders that allow for only one reasonable reading (ignoring intentionally miswritten orders as a possibility) are to be followed. However, no direct change in the implied individual order is to be made.
Standard abbreviations are acceptable. Liv and Nor are NOT valid abbreviations for any province. Leeway may be given if the order is unambiguous.

c. A convoy will always move by its own position's fleets if ordered and possibly ignoring alternate routes offered by other powers, unless otherwise specified in the order for the army. Unwanted convoys are not permitted. In the event that an army can move to an adjacent coastal province via land or sea, it shall be assumed that the army is moving by land unless otherwise specified in the order (e.g. A Bel --> Hol via Nth convoy). In the case of a valid convoy attack from one coastal province to an adjacent coastal province, the attack will be considered as coming from the fleet for the purposes of retreat, thus allowing the dislodged unit to retreat to the province of the attacker.

d. Failure to indicate a coast on a Fleet St. Petersburg build order will result in a waived build. Any fleet move or retreat order from Portugal to Spain, from the Mid-Atlantic Ocean to Spain, or from Constantinople to Bulgaria, must include a coast designation. In all other cases, failure to specify a coast will not invalidate the order.

e. If more than one power has a retreat order, they must be written down. If only one player has retreats, he may move the piece on the board. Retreat orders are due within 30 seconds. Disbanding is always an option on a retreat and needs not be stated.

f. In the event a dispute arises, the Tournament Director or his designee has final discretion to determine the validity and intent of written orders.

(8) Ending the Game

a. The game will end in a solo victory if a single power controls 18 or more supply centers at the end of a Fall move. Solos may not be conceded.

b. The game will end in a non-solo resolution if (i) all powers remaining in the game agree to end the game, (ii) the TD calls the tournament at the predetermined call time (end of Fall 1907 turn), or (iii) by vote.

c. The vote shall be conducted in secret in a manner determined by the TD or designated assistant. All votes must be unanimous. Only ONE vote may be held per spring or fall phase, at the discretion of the TD. The clock DOES NOT STOP for draw votes. All players with at least one supply center are eligible to vote. If a player has abandoned the game or chooses not to vote, he is considered to vote for all proposals.

(9) Scoring

C-Diplo

The points are awarded as follows:
1 point for playing
1 point per Supply Center
38 bonus points for topping the board
14 bonus points for 2nd place
7 bonus points for 3rd place

In case of a tie for placement the bonus points are shared. The sum total for any board is 100 points, hence "C" as in 100-Diplo. A solo victory scores the entire 100 points and everybody else scores zero.

The final tournament score will be determined by the sum of each player's score in their best two rounds. Players need only participate in one round to be eligible for awards. The Tournament Director is ineligible for awards and for ranking purposes shall be listed in last place as nc.

(10) Tournament Director / GM

If necessary, the Tournament Director/GM will play a round to fill out a board, but only to complete a board for play. In this event, the Tournament Director must appoint an assistant GM from another board. The GM must inform every member of that board the game deadline for that round.

If the GM needs to be away from the boards for any length of time, an assistant GM will take over any and all duties assigned to the GM, in his absence.

The Tournament Director is ineligible for awards and for ranking purposes shall be listed in last place as nc.

The Tournament Director cannot take over the position of an abandoned power on a board for which he has conducted a draw vote.

The Tournament Director reserves the right to police deadlines, issue warnings to offending players, and end a game at any time, if necessary.

I will be providing best country awards for each of the competitors that demonstrate outstanding play for the seven powers. The best country awards are: Best Austria, Best England, Best France, Best Germany, Best Italy, Best Russia, and Best Turkey. Pictures shown below:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26210189@N06/2660220322/in/set-72157607805038912

I will also be providing boardgame prizes for select competitors new to Diplomacy or for outstanding tournament play (top 3). Example below:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26210189@N06/5875475902/in/set-72157627055852720

Pictures from the 2012 WBC Diplomacy Tournament:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26210189@N06/sets/72157630921205630/

Additional Prizes: Same as prior year: Food & drinks provided each round. Snacks on Friday evening, Coffee+Doughnuts on Saturday morning, and pizza on Saturday evening.


 
 
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