Do you have what it takes? C-Diplo is for wimps. What's the deal with “points per supply center”? Three way draws are a dime a dozen; why award points for them in a tournament? Sum of the Squares? Needlessly complicated. Do you have a better idea? I did. I called that idea “Solo Derby”. The idea turned out to be so good that I proposed it as the scoring system for the Diplomacy World Cup… and it was approved. So what is Solo Derby? It is a rolling, full press, winner take all, team tournament format and the official format for the third Diplomacy World Cup. A rolling tournament has an extended deadline for registration. Registration for the DWC-III begins on January 7th, 2013 and continues even after the finals start. Full press means open communication. The Diplomacy World Cup is not a gunboat tournament. If you are going to win, you'll have to solo with the entire board conspiring against you. Winner takes all? Yes. Solos are worth a hundred points. Same as C-Diplo or Sum of the Squares. That's where the similarity to other scoring systems ends. Solo Derby awards zero points per supply center, zero points for top of board, zero points for surviving, zero points for a draw and definitely zero points just for playing. Winner takes all. It's that simple. Lastly, Solo Derby is a team tournament concept because the Diplomacy World Cup is a team tournament. You play to represent your nation. You support your team members with encouragement and advice. There might even be cross gaming. That's OK. You didn't get to the finals because of some top of the board finish and you didn't make the finals because someone else on your team did well in their game. Your team gets to the finals one player at a time with hard fought solos. You win the Cup by winning 5 solos as a team in the finals. So do you have what it takes? Are you a real solo threat? Can you represent your country in a winner takes all tournament? If you think so, then go to http://aqmn.asciiking.com and follow the 3 steps under "Do this first." Registration for the DWC-III begins on January 7th, 2013 and remains open until June 1st 2015 or the tournament ends, whichever comes first. Chris Babcock ([email protected]) If you wish to e-mail feedback on this article to the author, and clicking on the envelope above does not work for you, feel free to use the "Dear DP..." mail interface.