Last revised: February 19, 1991
You can receive a copy of this file via E-mail by sending your local Judge a message with "get deadlines" in the body.
1) Introduction
Why read an article on being a GM? After all, you've played in dozens
of games and you know the rule book backwards and forwards. You even
have GMed in the past perhaps for your friends. So what else is there
to learn?
My answer is a lot. The problems involved in running a game between
friends are not at all the same ones you see when running a game over
the computer. Keeping track of your players over extending periods or
time, maintaining player interest and being excruciatingly impartial
are your main challenges.
I've run games over the table and by email. More recently, I've
started collaborating with the Diplomacy Adjudicator in my email
GMing. I think this cooperation makes me a much more efficient GM and
allows me to concentrate my time on some of the more challenging parts
of being a GM. The Diplomacy Adjudicator is constantly getting better
and better. Most people who left it early on for one reason or another
are back now. The DA still doesn't support all variants, but the list
is expanding. I recommend that all GM's use the DA if possible, and if
not then at least keep in touch with the DA and future improvements in
it.
In the comments below, some remarks only apply to DA games. I've
preceded these remarks by ">". Other remarks only apply to non-DA
games, and I've marked them as "<".
2) How to Start
You want to start a game of Diplomacy. In addition to deciding if you
want to use the DA, you should also decide if you want to affiliate
your game with the Electronic Protocol magazine. I recommend that you
do, since then you gets lots of free publicity, and the game will
automatically become part of the EP records. The house rules of EP are
fairly well written.
>If you are using the DA, be sure the get the DA version of the EP
>house rules. You can do that by sending [email protected]
>the command: GET EP.HOUSE.RULES
>You should also be sure you know all about how DA works by demand the
>help file (using the command GET INFO), and all the files mentioned
>in it (especially MASTER).
Tell Eric Klien (the editor of EP) what kind of game you want to run,
and eventually he'll send you some players. If you are not in a hurry,
then just wait. Otherwise, you should tell Eric to dribble in players
one-at-a-time until you tell him the game is filled while you start
your own little search. (Alternatively, you can tell the players to
signup with Eric indicating a preference to participate in your game.
However, that sounds like more work for the editor.)
>At the same time, create the game listing at the DA.
>
>It is possible to run a game on your personal copy of the DA.
>This gives you greater control over your game. For info on how to do
>this contact the programmer Ken Lowe ([email protected])
>for more information.
>
>To become a master for a particular game, you must be signed on as the only
>player and then use the "become master" command. Thus to create a new
>Youngstown variant game called "older" with yourself as master send the
>following text to the judge:
> signon ?older <password> youngstown
> become master
>
>If you want to limit your game only to "reliable" player, then
>you should tack on the command
> set dedict ###
>where ### (not zero) is the required level of dedication. DA
>players start with dedication of "zero", and then gain or lose points
>as they meet deadlines, or fall out of games.
Where does one find players? Don't look too hard at your university
(unless you are playing a "local" game in which case why are you using
computers instead of just some sheets pasted to the wall and a box in
which to put your moves). Seeing players on a regular basis entails
the risk that you will inadvertently give them important information.
Moreover, there is a limit of one person per city, so you can't get
many players there anyway.
If your game is interesting in some way, write an article in the EP
about it. Eric is happy to get new material. And this is a good way to
announce your game.
Also, consider posting an article in the REC.GAMES.PBM area of
usenet or on the [email protected] list of LISTSERV.
Of course the most useful method is word of mouth. Tell everyone about
the game and tell them to tell yet more people.
>When you start getting players, have them signon on to the DA
>themselves. If they can't do that, then they are better off in a
>non-DA game. If they are having trouble, then give them advice, but
>don't signon for them. In brief, tell them to send the message "HELP"
>to the JUDGE. Then they should fill out and return the form found at
>the end of the HELP file they receive. (Cute thing about this trick
>is that it FORCES them to read the help file.) They should also
>request a copy of the house rules if you are using EP house rules.
>After that they can sign on to your game using the command
> SIGNON ?<name of game> <password>
>
>Tell your players to be very careful with the password they chose.
>They should never tell their password to anyone but you.
>Moreover, you shouldn't tell their password to anyone else.
>Any violation of these rules should get the player kicked out of the
>game and out of all EP games.
>(The GM can find out the player's password by using the command:
> SIGNON M<name of game> <GM's-password>
> BECOME <name of country> )
Now you have a few players. When should you start? And what does it
mean by starting? By starting, I mean make country assignments with or
even without setting a Spring 1901 deadline. Once you make assignments
any player who comes in later will be at a disadvantage.
<Instead you should announce the list of players.
Any player who cannot communicate with the other players can quit at
this point. Also, check to make sure you didn't accidentally get two
players in the same city. This is not allowed by EP rules since it
gives an enormous advantage to those players.
>The Judge checks where the players come from, but it can't hurt to
>double check.
You should also check if there is any conflicts of interest (such as
family or business relationship or participation at the same time in
another diplomacy game or ...) between any of the players.
You should also make sure all of the players understand and approve of
the house rules you will be using. At this point, you should allow
them to quit without penalty or to vote for changes in they don't like
the rules. Of course, you as GM can also quit without penalty at this
point if it turns out you can no longer run the game or if you don't
like their proposed rule changes.
Once the country assignments have been made, everyone in the game is
making a personal commitment to finish it.
Once you've checked that everyone is ready to play, you might still
want to have people hanging around a backup players. By no means
should you turn a potential player away. Just tell them that there is
no opening AT THE MOMENT. In fact, you should encourage as many
observers as possible. Having observers will really increase the
quality and quantity of the press in your game.
Make sure that none of your players are on vacation when the game
starts. That way everyone will get a fair shot at the game. Otherwise,
players risk to arrive at the game with all the other players already
ganged up against him.
3) Spring 1901
There are many ways to distribute countries. The simplest is just to
distribute them randomly.
>This is what the DA does by default when the last player signs up.
I prefer this method since it will eventually give each player a
chance to player each position (whether he wants to or not).
Another way sometimes used is to let players trade countries. This is
absolutely to be avoided. It encourages life-long allies to maneuver
into positions where they can gang up against a target. This will
really make your game stale.
A reasonable way to allow your players to participate in the choice is
to use preference lists. Each player of the players submits a list of
countries in the orders he prefers them. (The lists need not be
complete). For example,
1: EFGRIAT
2: IATFR
3: IERFGA
4: FRAGIT
5: EAFGIRT
6: TRIGFEA
7: ET
Then give as many players as possible their first choice. In our
example, 4 gets F, and 6 gets T unopposed. I is given at
random to either 2 or 3 (say 3). E is given at random to either 1 or 5
or 7 (say 1). For the remaining players, redraw the preference grid
after eliminating any choices which are no longer possible.
2: AR
5: AGR
7: blank
We repeat the process. Here A is given to 2 or 5 at random. Let's say
2 gets it. On the next grid, we only have
5: GR
7: blank
That means 5 gets G and 7 gets R.
Remember that once a player exhaust all of his preferences he gets a
random pick from what is left over at the end.
>Country assignments can be done by hand either by Ken Lowe,
>or by you if you have installed DA on your machine.
Give people a little extra time for the first deadline especially if
they have yet had a chance to verify the email connection between
their account. There is a lot of diplomacy to do before Spring 1901.
If a player loses interest at all at this point get them replaced
before publishing the Spring 1901 orders. It is much easier to get a
replacement at this point (when he is really in a starting position)
then later on.
Once the Spring 1901 deadline has been set. Send the country
assignments to Eric Klien for his records. He will give you the name
of the Publisher in whose chapter your game will be appearing. Make
sure he gets regular reports of the progress of the game.
>On the DA, it suffices for him to be an "observer".
4) Taking Over
Another way to become a GM is to takeover somebody else's mess. In
that case, you should contact the previous GM and get his complete
records of the game. Also, John Litvin ([email protected]) as
EP's current archivist has records for EP games.
>In the case of a DA-game, Ken Lowe can also be contacted for records.
If necessary, you can get the previous results from players, but in
that case you should use two players in order to make sure you get
accurate results.
Similarly, you should get a copy of the house rules used and study
them. Any changes you make to the house rules should be approved
unanimously by the players. Of course, you have the right to not
accept the game if you don't like the rules.
>To convert a non-DA game to a DA game, you will have to either get
>the help of Ken Lowe or use your own DA. The procedure is to
>artificially enter all the orders for each turn played up to now into
>the JUDGE. (If desired, display of the adjudication of the orders can
>be suppressed.) The only tough part is if the original GM made errors
in his adjudication which you are asking the JUDGE to simulate.
>However, even these problems can be avoided.
>To take over a DA-game, you must first obtain the password of the old
>GM. Ken Lowe can help you there if necessary. Then send JUDGE the
>message:
> SIGNON M<name-of-game> <oldpassword>
> SET PASSWORD <newpassword>
> SET ADDRESS
Ask for a new copy of any orders sent to the old GM, and set a new
deadline. Now you are off.
5) Press
Press by players are of three types: black, white, and grey. White
press is "signed". Grey press is "unsigned". And black press may have
a name at the bottom, but it could be a fraud.
What types of press you allow should be decided before the game begin.
>On the Judge, if you allow various kinds of press, you should also
>specify the default using the commands:
> SET WHITE SET GREY
> SET GREY/WHITE SET WHITE/GREY
>The judge (in addition to allowing the master to permit the indicated
>author of a message to be fraudulant as above) allows the
>master to permit the indicated list of recipients of a message to be
>fraudulant:
>You can request full details on how press works with the Judge with
>the command
> GET PRESS
<Grey and Black press obviously must pass through the GM. White press
<can also be sent to the GM. The player should specify if he wants the
<press published immediately or with the next set of results.
>All kinds of press can be published by the player himself using the
>JUDGE. The only reason the player might need the GM to publish his
>press is if he wants to submit conditional press or delayed press, or
>if he is temporarily out of contact with the Judge.
>Players should submit even white press to the JUDGE instead of
>publishing it themselves in order to be sure of hitting all intended
>recipients including observers.
>Note that "Press" can be sent to a single recipient in which case it
>is a simple diplomatic message to another participant. Players can
>send their messages that way whenever they are having trouble with
>their normal communication or if they prefer having their message
>included in the official (and secret) game records.
In theory, the GM can also write press; however, the problem there is to
write press which is not biased. My solution to that is to start the
ball rolling with a single editorial sometime in 1901. It consists for
the most part of the "Player's Guide" (or some other neutral source of
information)'s interpretation of the Spring 1901 moves used. (You should of
course add you own comments on how well the following orders
corresponded to those predictions. The point is to create an example
of press with which to encourage your player's to themselves write,
and to supply any novice players with some commentary.
(For variant games, the Player's Guide will not be of much use.
However, you should be able to find equivalent material by comparing your
game to other games using similar rules.)
In following years the GM doesn't write any editorials (at least not
as white press). However, it would be a good idea if he kept
statistics on the game and published them once a year starting in
1902. The statistics should be kept in the following format:
----------------
Diplomacy Game Austerlitz statistics
Country 1900'01'02'03'04'05'06 Player Result
Austria 3 3 \ Mike Gianquinto resigned fall 1902
2 2 1 1 1 Ken Lowe
England 3 5 5 \ Peter Sweeney resigned fall 1903
4 4 4 5 Jim Pendergraft
France 3 4 5 6 6 6 6 Steve Tjin
Germany 3 5 7 7 6 6 6 Daniel Thomas
Italy 3 4 4 2 1 1 1 Eric Hyche
Russia 4 6 5 4 6 5 5 Rick Westerman
Turkey 3 4 5 *9 10 11 10\ Anton Krukowski replaced winter 1906
Roger Safian
* = number of units the following year was one less than number of SC
GM = Danny Loeb except for 1905 (Jamie Dreier).
Bel Bre Bul Den Gre Kie Lon Mos Nap Par Rom Ser Smy StP Tri Ven War
Ank Ber Bud Con Edi Hol Lvp Mar Mun Nor Por Rum Sev Spa Swe Tun Vie
1900 T G F A T E G E E F R G I F I R T R A I A R
1901 T F G E A T T G E G G E E F R G I E F I R R T F R R A I I A R
1902 T G G F R T T G E T E G E E F R G I E F F I R R T F R G A I I A G
1903 T G G F R T T G E T G G E E F G G I E F F I R T R T F R G A T A A R
1904 T F G F R T T G E T G G E E F R G T E F F T T T R T F R G T I A R R
1905 T F G F T T T G E T G G E E F R G T E F F T R T R T F R G T I T A R
1906 T F G F R T T G E T G G E E F R G T E F F T R T R T F E G T I T A R
--------------------
The entire file should be resent each year. That way players only have
to keep the most current version.
The GM can if he wishes write Grey press but only on the condition
that he is not the only one to do so. The GM really shouldn't write
Black press.
Some GM's encourage their players to send them secret information such
as their plans and ideas each turn along with their moves. Such
information is held confidential until the end of the game when all
is revealed. If you ask your players to send you such information,
then you should print no press whatsoever except for the dry
statistics above. Moreover, if your players send you secret
information unnecessarily without you asking, you should warn them
that while you will try to keep it secret, they are risking
inadvertantly getting revealed in a possible editorial you write.
Of course whether you ask for secret information or not, players will
be sending in their moves and that certainly is secret information.
For that reason, it is best if the GM writes his editorial between the
moment results are published and the moment he reads the first set of
moves to come in.
Similarly, moves players sent in which eventually weren't used. Or
messages a player asked you to forward to another player because they
are having eMail problems should be treated with the utmost
confidentiality.
6) Collecting Orders
>Keeping track of orders the players send in is really easy on the
>JUDGE. In theory, the JUDGE does all the work.
>
>In practice, some players may have email troubles and send the moves to
>you during a short period of time instead of the JUDGE. In that case,
>you enter his moves using the BECOME command. The JUDGE will send
>a receipt of the move to him and to you.
>Proxy orders and particularly complicated conditional orders are
>handled on a similar basis.
>
>You should tell your players to send you a duplicate copy of their
>orders (or have the JUDGE forward it to you if the JUDGE is on your
>machine) so that you can proofread them for stupid errors.
>In any case, the JUDGE does reply to all mail the players send it:
>either with a receipt of the correct moves, or with an error message.
>The judge doesn't allow illegal orders to be entered.
>
>Mail which is sent only to the GM should be kept in archive.
>Other mail is automatically archived by the JUDGE and can be
>retrieved if necessary with the help of Ken Lowe.
<Collecting orders by hand is a little more complicated, but it isn't
<that bad if you stay organized.
<
<Use the previous turn's results as a template on which to type the
<orders. When you receive orders from someone, type them on to the
<template. (Avoid cut and pasting since you risk losing or adding
<units in the process.)
<
<Type in illegal orders but with an explanation of their illegality.
<Then copy the region in the template regarding the player, and
<send it to him as a receipt. This gives him a chance to correct your
<mistakes. After results are published, he can no longer hold you
<responsible for that sort of mistake.
<
<Nevertheless you should keep the original letter for safe keeping
<in case of any dispute.
<
<If the player changes his moves, he should repeat his entire move
<list indicating which moves have changed. Players who frequently
<change their orders should use "version numbers".
<
<Illegal orders should not be allowed UNLESS either the player
<specifically asked you to allow it (and gave a strategical reason)
<or if you did not notice that illegality until after results
<were published.
In order to maintain some suspense in the game, you should not allow
player to submit their moves and actually carbon copy them to another
player. Alternatively, you can allow players to do that, but also
allow them to possibly preced their message with a note asking you to
ignore their next message. The question is really how much work the GM
is willing to put up with.
Players should be told that they are expected to submit new orders as
soon as they can usually just after getting the old results. They can
later update their orders as negotiations cause them to change their
strategy. This avoids unnecessary delays.
Players might however be worried that you will proceed with their
tentative orders even before the deadline if all the moves are in.
<You can alleviate these fears by allowing players to write PLEASE HOLD
<on their orders. That means you will not use these orders until the
<deadline. If all the moves are in before the deadline, you would
<merely announce that all moves are in, and suggest that players who
<submitted a PLEASE HOLD tell you when they are ready.
>On the JUDGE, all of this is handled automatically using SET WAIT and
>SET NOWAIT.
The EP allows players to use certain kinds of special orders. First,
there are contigency or perpetual orders. These are special orders to
be used if the player cannot be reached. You should avoid using these
orders on a regular basis, but they could prevent the game from being
slowed down if you use them in certain circumstances.
Another type of special order, really a special case of the above, is
the conditional order. A player can submit orders for a future season
on condition of the current season. For example, a player can have his
builds depend on the outcome of the retreats. Or have his Spring
orders depend on retreats and builds. He can even have his orders
depend on your interpretation of the rules. For example,
"I don't know how you would resolve the conflict below.
Turkey: A Bul-Ser, A Rum S A Bul-Ser
Austria: A Ser-Bul.
If in this situation, Austria keeps Serbia, then I'll order SER-BUL.
Otherwise, I'll order SER-GRE."
This saves you time since otherwise he wouldn't have been able to send
you orders until you had answered his question.
His orders can depend on all sorts of things such as whether or not
another player published any press before the deadline. Or whether or
not a certain other player was replaced. Orders which are not used
remain secret.
However, he is not allowed to have his orders depend on events that
happen at or after the deadline. For example, a player cannot say he
attacks Tunis if Italy didn't defend it.
Finally, there is the question of proxy orders. The simplest case of
this which you should always allow is that in which a player submits
various plans "A" "B" "C" etc.... (notice that the name of the plan
has nothing to do with the contents of the plan) and allows another
player to chose among the plans by its name. This allows a player to
have his ally chose among many options without having to request a
deadline extension. However, note that the ally could easily be
backstabbed since he doesn't know for sure what plan "A" is.
The non-used plans remain secret. Even the fact the ally helped chose
the plan is secret.
You might also consider allowing a player "A" to allow a second player
"B" to actually control a certain number of his units. You confirm to
"A" that you will allow that, but you don't say anything to "B". If
"B" attempts to submit orders for "A"'s units then you will use them.
But "B" cannot be SURE that "A" actually gave him the authority to
order his units. Generally, "A" is a player on the verge of losing and
he is acting as a puppet to "B". Alternatively, "A" and "B" could be
good allies, and "A" is going on vacation. This kind of proxy orders
is more extreme and should not be used merely to allow a player to
escape the obligations of following a game. If the player has actually
lost interest, then replace him.
One final note, you should accept new orders until the very moment you
actually send out the results. If the deadline is extended in order to
wait for Turkey's moves, then England's moves can be changed in the
meantime. In fact, if after all the moves have come in---while you are
typing the results---a change in orders comes in, then you should
accept it.
7) Resolving Orders
You might have thought this article would have been entirely about
resolving orders, after all that is the main job of a GM isn't it?
Well, first of all, there is no point in me writting an article on the
rules, since there is already the rulebook. Secondly, when you do make
a mistake it will sure be against the favor of one of the players.
This player will be sure to point out your mistake.
>Thirdly, the DA is very good at computing results. Obviously, we
>can't prove it never makes mistakes. However, when it does Ken finds
>the bug in the program and kills it. In fact, I would be surprised if
>the DA makes more than one error in every ten games nowadays...
Nevertheless, it certainly looks more professional not to have to
constantly issue "corrected results." I suggest you all have a
rulebook handy and read it carefully. I would have you pay particular
attention to the rules on when a convoyed unit is effective in cutting
a support (and in particular to the resulting "Pandora's Paradox"),
and to the rules on ambiguous convoys, beleagured garrisons, and
self-dislodgement prohibited.
<You should print up your results in a consistent format using the
<template you have already created. A column in the right should
<indicate the result of each order using the following notations.
< VOID: the supported or convoyed order was not made
< CUT: the support was cut by an attack
< DISRUPTED: one of the fleets in the convoy was forced to retreat
< BOUNCE: move fails but in so doing cause another players move
< to fail to support to be cut
< FAIL: the move had no effect whatsoever
< DISLODGED: the unit was forced to retreat
< DISBANDS: the units was forced to retreat but has no place to go
<
<Notations such as NO SUCH UNIT or NOT ADJACENT are not needed since
<you are supposed to avoid illegal orders. If an order in unmarked, it
<it is assumed the move was successful.
<
<Note that a DISBAND is not the same thing as a REMOVAL. Disbands are
<what you do instead of retreating. Removals are what you do when
<other people are building.
If you are running a game in which some of the players are novices,
you might want to follow the results with an explanation of all the
conflicts and how they were resolved.
<After Fall retreats (or moves if there are no retreats), print a
<summary of the supply centers (possibly in the form of the
<statistical summary shown above). And indicate how many builds or
<removals everyone will be making.
<
<Finally, you should indicate the names and addresses of the players
<each turn. In case of turnover, this is a good way for players to
<keep track of the game.
Some GM's follow the results with a table of the current location of
all units. I find that this practice leads to some players not reading
the previous turns orders, and that it is susceptible to errors by the
GM while creating the table. It is up to you to decide if you want to
use such tables.
8) Variants
Obviously the way you generate results is greatly affected by the
variant you are using. However, since there are so many variants
there is little I can say.
One should be very clear while forming the game what the rules will
be. A copy of the rules should be sent to each player.
>On the Judge, the rules are available via the command
> GET INFO.<name of variant>
If the game is played on an alternative map, copies of the map should
be sent to all players either electronically or by regular map.
>On the Judge, list of province connectivity (which is no substitute
>for a real map) is available via:
> GET MAP.<name of variant>
>Graphical maps are also available as follows:
> GET MAP.PS standard map---postscript format
> GET MAP.TOP standard map---text graphics
> GET YOUNGTOWN.PS Youngstown (10 player) map---postscript format
Players can then photocopy the maps as need be.
>The first time you (or a player) signons on to a variant game,
>they should specify the name of the variant. For example,
> SIGNON ?FONTENOY CHAOS
>This is to prevent players from joining weird games accidentally.
Gunboat games are variants in which the identities of the players are
unknown except to the GM. The Judge will soon be able to support these
games. In Gunboat games, all negotiation is done via public press, so
pay special attention to the press section above.
>Make sure to set the DA option to forbid partial Broadcasts.
You must continue to make sure that the identity of players remains
secret. For that reason, even replacements should be done secretly
when necessary. After the game is over, the identities are revealed
possibly along with the identity of the author of the various bits of
grey press used.
If you find two players working closely together without the necessary
public press, it may be that they have discovered each others identity
and are communicating secretly. That is a violation of the game
rules, and they should be kicked out of the game and reported to the
editor of EP.
If a player accidentally learns the identity of another player, then
he should immediately report this fact to the GM who will replace him
without penalty.
Blind variants are those inwhich players are not completely aware of
what occurs on the board. Special rules are used to determine what is
reported to each player. Typically you know what goes on in areas
which you "control", or were "involved" in, or had your "spy" move to.
If used, the spy is a third type of unit governed by its own rules.
Since each player gets a different report, there is really nothing for
an observer to see except the press while the game is going on.
Complete reports are written up nevertheles to be published as an
end-of-game summary.
If you make a mistake in a blind variant, none of the players is
likely to catch your error. For that reason, you should really be
careful while running such a game. In fact, I suggest that the game
be run by *two* GMs. Orders are sent to each GM. The two GMs
independantly compute the results. The results are then compared for
verification. If they are identical, then they are released to the
players.
>At the moment the Judge doesn't run blind variants. However, you can
>use the Judge or any of a number of other programs to help you
>compute results nevertheless. Create a game of diplomacy as normal
>with you as GM. Then specify
> SET UNLISTED
>so that noone finds out about the game you created. Submit orders
>for the countries as they are sent in (using the BECOME command).
>When you get back results, forward to the players only the portions
>which they are allowed to see.
9) Rulings
No matter how careful you are you are bound to make mistakes
occasionally. Players should send their appeal of your decision to
you. Unless they carbon-copied their appeal to the other players,
assume that he wanted to discretely make an anonymous appeal.
If you think you have made a mistake, then release corrected results
along with an explanation of the error. Resend the complete results so
that player can simply replace the old results with the new ones.
If the results are corrected several times, then it might be helpful
to use version numbers.
Players have the right to the full negotiation period after the
correction. However, if the correction is made rapidly or is not very
important, then you need not change the deadline unless someone asks
specifically for you to do so.
When you reject an appeal, you make your reasoning public, and you
should politely ask if players have arguments for or against the
appeal.
Of course, when you accept an appeal, there might be similar comments
asking you to reverse your course.
The latest date at which an appeal can be accepted is just before
publication of the *next* set of results. Once that has happened any
mistake is fixed, you can acknowledge your error, but you shouldn't
change anything. This is a specific example of the more general rule
that a turn should never be played over. That is to say, if the
results were incorrectly computed or if the wrong moves were used,
then a new set of results are sent out, but under no circumstances
should a player be allowed to resubmit orders for a turn for which
results have been sent out---even if by mistake.
If one of the players don't agree with your verdict, he can speak to
your superiors which would be the chapter publisher and editor if you
are running an EP game. If they still don't get satisfaction, then
they could agree to arbitration by the Diplomacy Ombudsman who is a
person elected every year by the snail mail Diplomacy community to
handle such disputes.
Note that the GM never gives the players a chance to vote. While
voting for house rules is allowed BEFORE the game begins, questions
and proposed changes are not allowed to be voted. The jobs of the GM
is to decide. Not to take opinion polls. Otherwise, one can imagine
that a losing alliance might enact rule changes to achieve a victory
that would otherwise be impossible.
Nevertheless, the players if they are unanimous in their opinion are
allowed to overrule the GM. It is their game after all in the final
analysis. However, the GM is not required to run a game with rules he
doesn't like, if his ruling is overturned, he is allowed to quit
without penalty. Similarly, if the editor doesn't like a certain rule
change, he might declare that it is no longer an EP game, and refuse
to supply a replacement GM.
10) Replacement Players
Since games can last for several months, it is inevitable that some of
your players may need to be replaced. If a player doesn't turn in
orders, the GM is not allowed to proceed without them. He must wait or
replace the player.
Clearly the best way to deal with this situation is to avoid it in the
first place. Make sure your players are aware of the commitment they
are making, and then keep them interested in the game. When a player
is out of town for a brief period of time allow him extensions of up
to a week. For longer absences by a single player, arrange a
replacement (or you choice or his) or use conditional orders together
with a short delay. (It is the decision of the replacement however
whether he wants to give back the country at the end of the vacation.)
When large groups of players are on vacation at the same time create a
table listing the days players are available. Arrange the deadlines as
best you can while ensuring that each pair of players can communicate
at least once before each MOVEMENT phase.
Unexpected absences or system crashes can be preempted through the use
of contingency or provisional orders entered as soon as possible.
Otherwise, all the GM can do is leave his phone number and require the
player to call him.
Even given all the above, you might be in a situation where a player
is late. Obviously, the best thing to do the first time is just to
send out a warning.
>Such warning are sent out automatically by the JUDGE, but you
>might want to add your own personal message.
Find out if other players have heard from him, and
check your records to see if he is maintaining interest in the game.
After a sufficient long absence or a series of short delays you will
have no choice but to replace him. The question in your mind should be
whether the game is better off with the continued disruption of the
original player or with the disruption of a change of command.
Generally, the balance weighs in favor of finding a replacement if one
is available especially early on in the game.
Nevertheless, you should allow the original player to return if he
does so before the replacement has had any of HIS moves used and
printed in the results, and if the original player apologizes and
gives a reasonable explanation of his absence.
You should tell Eric Klien about the replacement and its reason.
Normally, a player being replaced is kicked out of all EP games unless
his absence is for a reason completely out of his control.
When you replace a player, you should try to get the original player
to send complete records of his diplomacy to the replacement. In any
case, you should give him the current position, house rules, and a
statistical summary of the game. Tell him that if he likes you can
send him the results for previous turns, and tell him that he can ask
for an automatic one-week extension. This one-week extension is
applicable on the current deadline. However, if the replacement is not
involved in the current deadline (because he has no unit to retreat
for example), then he could instead opt to use the one-week extension
on the next deadline. In any case, this extension is optional.
It is a good idea if possible to have a standby backup player around.
First of all, the players know he will be the backup if necessary, so
they can speak to him whenever they believe that one of the current
players has vanished. Secondly, the backup player has been following
the game, so he can make a quick replacement without the need of an
extension. Such a replacement could even submit orders for all
countries "just in case." The GM could tell him just before the
deadline which countries still have orders outstanding. The player
would mark his orders clearly as backup orders so the GM won't confuse
them for real orders. The GM would announce such a replacement with
the results.
Other than lateness there might be other reasons to replace a player.
Occasionally, a player might become abusive and threaten other players
or intimidate them. You should replace him.
You should also replace players who are no longer following the game.
You can tell that sometimes because they are entering silly moves. Of
course you should be very careful to tell the difference between
moves you don't think are the best, and silly moves. Sometimes players
who are no longer following the game act as puppets. It could even be
that they have no interest in the game at all nor do they even know
the rules, but they submit orders for another player as a favor. You
must investigate to tell such a situation apart from a simple case of
being a puppet. Sometimes a player has no choice in order to survive
except to do what another player says. However, if a player seems
capable of standing on his own but doesn't, and if he submits his
orders at the same time and in the same format as another player (or
by using proxy orders), then you should be suspicious. Telephone the
player in question (possibly collect), and ask them about the game. If
they have no idea what is going on then they should be replaced.
If several players need to be replaced at the same time, you should
try to figure out what is wrong with the game. Perhaps, people have
lost interest in the game in which case you might be better off killing
the game. Or perhaps the game is getting into a stalemate (see the
section below). In any case, check the status of your game before
looking for replacements. There is no need to waste this valuable
resource for a game that is doomed anyway.
One final note: although it is preferable to get new people as backup
players, it is permissible to have a player that has been eliminated
return as a backup player. See below for the definition of
elimination.
11) Draws
The rules of diplomacy stipulate that "draws include all survivors."
(DIAS) However, some people do play non-DIAS variants. A player is
considered eliminated at the end of a fall retreat phase if he has no
supply centers under his control. A player can also be eliminated at
the end of the fall movement phase if he has no unit needing to
retreat that can affect the game in any way, and he has no supply
center under his control.
I believe that DIAS is the best way to play diplomacy. The interesting
part of diplomacy is that in order to win you must make alliances, but
that in the end you will have to backstab your ally. The only way to
get a two-way draw is to clear the board and split it 17-17. But at
that point, it requires a small push to make a 18-16 win. In theory,
two player draws should never exist under DIAS.
Under non-DIAS, sometimes players who could otherwise affect the game,
will vote for a draw just because they are discouraged.
In any event, your DIAS or non-DIAS decision should be voted on before
the game begins and made clear at that point. However, you should
remind the players about these matters the first year in which very few
supply centers change hands.
Draws are voted on by the players. The votes must be sent secretly to
the GM. (In the case of non-DIAS, the voter must specify what draw he
is voting for.) Unless specified otherwise, the vote is valid only
until the next set of results are posted.
The GM calls for votes at the request of a player, or out of his own
decision. The GM must specify how he will consider NO-VOTE-RECEIVED
(NVR): default = yes, default = no, or grounds for possible
replacement. The numerical results of the vote are released by the
identities of the players are not.
If a draw is unanimously accepted by the surving players, then the
game is over. Any orders that may have been sent in for future turns
can be ignored. Results are sent to the editor of EP in summary form
to be included in his magazine and forwarded to the Boardman Number
Coordinator.
The GM can also declare his own draw. Such a draw should be based on a
mathematically valid stalemate line which has been held for a couple
of turns. Or based on a lack of "significant" supply center turnover
through a period of several years.
Players when deciding whether or not to vote for a draw might ask you
how much a draw is "worth". There is no absolute answer; it is up to
each player to decide on his own what his objectives are.
Nevertheless, the formula used by the Diplomacy eMail Hall of Fame
could be of use. It awards to each winner a number of victory points
equal to the ratio of the number of losers to winners. That way in
total one point is awarded per player eliminated. In this way, a solo
victory of a diplomacy game is worth 6 points. A 2-way draw is worth
2.5 points each, and a 7-way draw is worthless.
The above describes my opinion on how draws should work. Of course
other GMs do thing a bit differently on occasion. Such difference
include:
(a) only allowing draws to be voted on during certain seasons
(usually winter).
(b) revealing the identities of players who vote against draws
(c) allowing "weighted" draws in which a unequal percentages of the
victory are awarded to the survivors.
Decide what kind of draw rules you will allow before the game starts!
12) Conclusions
I hope I haven't bored you all by now, nor scared any of you from
being GMs. I feel that their are many details of GMing which are often
ignored. By efficiently using the Diplomacy Adjudicator, GMs can
concentrate their time on improving their quality.