The following house rules are provided in addition to the overall rules for the 2024 Tournament Through Time. They are adapted from my standard house rules for games played on my server.

• NoPunIn10Did is the primary tournament director and GM, though other persons may GM some of the tables played at the TTT in rounds 1-3.
• Other GMs will largely follow these house rules as well, though some may need different scheduling than what is specified below.

Location of Play

Most, if not all, tournament games will take place on the NoPun Diplomacy Variants Discord server. Each table will receive a label like “24a” or “24b” to distinguish it from other tables running concurrently. In order to facilitate other GMs’ management of specific tables, a secondary Discord server may be set up to manage that game only, though all public communication and announcements will still occur on the NoPun Diplomacy Variants Discord server.

Order Submission Schedule

I will run a three-season rotation for orders submission: Spring, Fall, and Winter, with two seasons executed per week and retreats handled ad-hoc. When there are no delays, this works out to 3 weeks for every 2 game-years.

This schedule does not run on a standard days-per-phase model (e.g. 2/1/1 or 3/1/2). I find that adjudication is quicker, and NMRs fewer, when players are given a regular weekly schedule instead.
Remember, all orders must be submitted via Discord (using the designated private channel on my server).

Seasonal Orders: Movement & Adjustments

All seasonal orders (movement and adjustments) will be due two times weekly (usually Mondays and Thursdays) by 7:00 PM (19:00) New York Time, which is EDT (UTC-4) or EST (UTC-5), depending on the time of the year. This regular deadline may change, but I will provide clear communication if it does.

I will try to send out reminders the morning-of, but those are not guaranteed. If you live in a time-zone that makes this timing (particularly the reminders) inconvenient, please let me know ASAP, and we can work something out.

Any deadlines reported will be described in both EST/EDT and UTC (which is equivalent to GMT minus any clock-changing for the summer).

Reminders for seasonal orders are not guaranteed, and they may be less than 24 hours.

If everyone gets their orders in early, I can adjudicate much more promptly. However, I will not adjudicate movement or build turns earlier than the due date/time.

Up until I state “orders locked” for your table on Discord, you are allowed to make changes to your orders. However, if I have already acknowledged a list of orders by stating “recorded” or similar in your orders channel, please do not edit the existing message. Instead, submit the changes as a new message. If there are several changes, please re-submit the entire orders list to avoid ambiguity.

I do often accept late seasonal orders, especially since I generally can’t adjudicate immediately at 7 PM. HOWEVER, you should never rely on my leniency in this regard. I sometimes need to adjudicate immediately, and I may just have to give a player an NMR and move forward. This is entirely up to my own discretion; see the “Benevolent Tyrant” section below for more information.

Fast Winters

Once or twice per game, I have built in a “fast winter” turn as a precaution. A fast winter is a winter adjustments turn with a Saturday due date. It will follow a Thursday Autumn turn, with the subsequent Spring turn likely due on Monday.

These are primarily in place to dodge having certain turns land too close to known holidays as well as to leave room for extensions (so that a game shouldn’t have to bleed into the next round). I will be sure to give plenty of warning before any fast winter is approaching, and it’s possible that I may end up canceling them entirely, returning to normal scheduling.

Retreat Order Scheduling

All retreat orders are due within 24 hours of the adjudication report. If you happen to miss a retreat order, I do not always automatically disband those units. See the section below on missed retreats.

Unlike seasonal orders, I will report retreats as soon as I receive all of them for a given turn. You cannot mark retreat orders as “preliminary” and expect me to hold them until the deadline. Please do not delay submitting your retreat orders. If you need to alter your retreat orders, you must do so quickly and hope that I haven’t begun adjudicating them yet; I do not always publicly state that the retreat phase is “locked” as I do with seasonal orders.

As there may be times where fully editing the map graphics may not always be done in a timely manner, I may announce retreats to Discord initially without maps (but will re-announce when those maps are available).

Reminders for retreat orders might be given, but they might not. Do not expect them.

Extensions

I grant extensions at my own discretion. Please try to ask me about them as soon as possible. I don’t grant extensions for Retreat phases—only for Orders or Build phases.

At my discretion, if I grant an extension, I may amend the schedule for subsequent due dates. My goal will be to ensure any seasonal due date/time occurs at least 48 hours after the last season’s adjudication and at least 24 hours after retreats are reported.

Additionally, I will sometimes institute a delay or extension to compensate for changes in my own schedule.

Grace Periods

If I announce a 12-hour grace period policy for a turn of seasonal orders (never retreats), here’s how it works. The due date/time does not change: it’s still 1900 New York Time (EST/EDT) on Mondays & Thursdays (or whatever was announced).

However, assuming a grace period is in effect, I will accept missing orders up to 12 hours late. Orders that contain errors are not considered missing for this purpose.

In practical terms, this means that I will never adjudicate any earlier than 1900 EST/EDT, but after that point I will adjudicate as soon as I am able and have received orders from everyone (within that 12 hour window). I would advise you to be cautious before attempting corrections or changes to prior orders within that 12-hour window; while it’s not forbidden, it’s totally within my discretion to accept them or not (usually depending on whether I’ve started the adjudication).

Players should not use the grace period to negotiate. Please don’t try to game the system by waiting until the absolute last minute of the grace period to send orders. It’s meant to provide breathing room to the busy and the tardy, and I don’t take kindly to those who seem to be abusing the privilege.

Discord & Orders

Check out the #discord-and-orders channel on the server, where I’ll maintain a list of general best practices for navigating Discord and submitting orders. As patterns arise in a game, I’ll sometimes add new best practices to this list.

Adjudication Mistakes

If I make a mistake in adjudication, please point it out ASAP. The window to do this is until the next season’s orders are due.

This means that you can potentially spot an error from the Spring Movement adjudication after the Spring Retreats have been reported, but not once the Fall Movement has been reached.

Depending on the timing of the correction, I will probably declare an extension for players to revise their orders. I reserve the right to use my own judgment in applying such corrections.

The most frequent error I make, from experience, is that I’ve forgotten to draw a particular order on the map or move the icon for a unit to its final destination (even though the official adjudication report says the move succeeded). In this case, I will note the mistake publicly and fix the subsequent maps.

Missed Orders (NMR)

A player that does not submit seasonal orders to me by adjudication will receive an NMR (no moves received) for that phase. If you NMR during a movement phase, all of your units will hold. If you NMR during a retreat or build phase, I will provide orders for you in the manners described below.

Missed Retreats (NRR)

Unlike the standard Diplomacy policy of disbanding all missed retreats, if you miss providing retreat orders, I will retreat your dislodged units using the following priorities (from highest to lowest):

• Retreat to a province with another player’s SC.
• Retreat to a province with the player’s own SC.
• Retreat to a water space (fleets only).
• Retreat to a land/canal/coastal space with no SC.

If more than one possible retreat location has the same priority, I will use whichever region’s three-letter code (and coast abbreviation if applicable) comes first in alphabetical order. I will give no consideration for whether some other retreating unit (even your own) can retreat to the same space.

You will not be directly penalized for an occasional missed retreat, but you must accept the default retreat I make on your behalf.

Missed Winter Adjustments

Similar to normal Diplomacy, if you miss submitting Build orders for a Winter turn, you will forfeit the relevant build(s) that turn. If you don’t submit the required number of Destroy orders, I will destroy units using the following priorities.

1. Destroy units that are not occupying an SC.
2. Destroy units that are the furthest from your Home Supply Centers.
3. Destroy Fleets before Armies.

If units are still equal in priorities 1, 2, & 3, destroy units in alphabetical order, using their regions’ three-letter abbreviations.

Repeated Missed Orders & Player Replacement

If you miss turning in two seasons, especially if they are two in-a-row, I may replace you. Because retreats are intentionally handled over a shorter period of time, an NRR for a retreat phase is not considered as part of this count (though it may influence my decision as overall evidence of your disappearing).

If you miss turning in seasonal orders during the first Spring turn of the game, you will be ejected immediately, and the game will restart. If you miss the first Autumn orders, you may be ejected immediately, but the NMR will still be adjudicated.

I wish to avoid NMR’s in the first year of each game if at all possible, so I may use my discretion in that scenario to grant a grace period to the tardy. DO NOT MISS THE FIRST SPRING OR FALL ORDERS PHASES.

Mistakes & Missing Coastlines

If you make what appears to be a mistake in your orders, I may contact you to clarify. For mistakes where the intention seems unambiguous, I will state how I plan to interpret an order. However, I do this as a courtesy. Any mistakes not caught (or not corrected) by adjudication will stand.

For maps with regions that have split coastlines, I encourage you to always list the applicable coastline in your orders. If only one coast would ever be valid, I will fill that in when transcribing your orders. However, if the coastline actually matters, I expect you to provide it by adjudication time. I will likely attempt to contact the submitting player to clarify, but I am under no obligation to do so.

While I may auto-correct other unambiguous mistakes, I will not fill in a coast on your behalf when that coast would be required (unless that coast is present in another of your listed orders).

e.g. A move by a fleet from Napoli to Rome in Order of the Dragon always requires a coastline because Napoli borders both of Rome’s coasts. Likewise for any order supporting that move.

Because I run variant games, and the maps are not familiar to everyone, I am going to try to be especially lenient when it comes to mistakes. Ultimately, if I can’t figure out what your orders are, or they’re just plain illegal, I can’t do much about that. While early orders submission is not a guarantee that I will catch your mistakes, an error is far more likely to be caught 1-2 days before adjudication rather than 5 minutes before.

In general, the best policy is to submit some version of your orders early and then check back in periodically before the deadline to see whether I have any questions or have noticed any mistakes.

Endpoint for the 2024 TTT Games

Both playtests will end after 7 game-years of play, assuming they have not already ended in a solo prior to that point.

Draw Procedure

For typical games played on my server, I provide a method for setting secret standing votes for draws (that include all survivors). For this tournament, due to the brevity of each round, we are skipping draw votes altogether. Unless a game ends in solo victory, each game will end after the Autumn phases resolve in the seventh game-year, terminating in a ranked draw that includes all survivors.

Metagaming

It is expected that each player will approach each game as a new entity. Players are prohibited from establishing pre-arranged alliances before a game has started.

Players are prohibited from using more than one Discord account to fraudulently represent themselves as two or more separate players.

It is understandable that a given opponent’s general Diplomacy reputation may color one’s diplomatic efforts and choices. Likewise, an opponent’s tournament scores from prior rounds may be impossible to ignore. However, I encourage everyone to keep an open mind with each round, playing it to the best result you think you can achieve (or, if necessary, the worst result for your opponents).

The GM is a Benevolent Tyrant

It is not fun to play with an inconsistent GM. Players need to be able to trust that the GM will act as an honest judge, enforcing the rules of the game correctly and fairly. The purpose of having House Rules in the first place is to describe a GM’s policies in reasonable detail: the players should know what to expect, and I can refer back to the document to remind myself how I said I would behave in certain circumstances.

Interpreting Ambiguous Game Rules

In the rare instance that an ambiguity arises in a variant’s game rules, I may have to make a rules interpretation judgment call mid-game. That eventual decision is final and binding for the duration of the tournament, even if it is later clarified in a future edition of the variant’s rules.

Overall, if you think you don’t understand something, ask. I tend to be very responsive to questions, particularly if they are posed well in advance of a deadline.

Applying House Rules to Ambiguous Scenarios

While a variant’s game rules are usually complete enough to provide a consistent code for adjudication, the House Rules that govern meta-game behavior often come up short. It is not uncommon for scenarios to arise that are not covered by the House Rules, or that could be encompassed by multiple conflicting House Rules.

In such ambiguous scenarios, I will try to make decisions consistent with the principles of fairness, consistency, and grace. You are invited to respectfully challenge those decisions, but keep this in mind: the GM makes the final ruling.

Summary

The GM is not a clockwork automaton, only acting according to a list of programmed instructions.

The GM is a benevolent tyrant.

I am in charge of the game. I will endeavor to enforce and follow all rules I have set forward, but I must be ultimately free to interpret and execute those rules as best as I see fit.

Addenda

Addendum 1: Screenshots & Whatnot

Surveillance and espionage have long been a feature of warfare, diplomacy, and Diplomacy. Screenshots are therefore permitted in my games, to an extent.

Where things go awry is with communications between yourself and the GM. In past I have allowed players to screenshot their orders and send them to each other. Normally this isn’t an issue; a player can always come back and submit new orders immediately after.

While this alone isn’t always an issue, occasionally a group of players will want to create a sort of regime where they require such an extensive history of screenshots that they’re essentially trying to remove a game feature: the confidentiality of orders submission and (where applicable) draw votes.

To avoid this issue entirely, I no longer allow any screenshots of communications sent via the private GM-to-player Discord channels. This most importantly includes orders and draw votes. You are free to copy and paste the text, but do not screenshot. A single infraction won’t get you booted from the game, but if I find out that you’re regularly doing so, I will boot you.

However, screenshots of inter-player communications are perfectly fine.

Addendum 2: Throwing Tantrums

On at least two different occasions, I’ve had players that are effectively quitting the game but take steps to try and prevent another player from replacing them. This is normally accompanied by a temper tantrum and the cutting-off of most/all communications between that player and other players. Then, said player proceeds to submit orders such that their power is effectively in civil disorder (or deliberately performing some other suicidal move).

This is a murky situation to say the least. I do allow players to engage in chainsaw Diplomacy and kingmaking tactics. A player may even wish to drive their own power into oblivion to make a point. However, if you do this while also cutting off communications with the other players, you’re not really playing the game any more. Frankly, you’re just being a dick.

If you don’t want to play the game, let me know, and I will work to find a replacement; that’s totally fine. I much prefer it to someone just disappearing. But if you clearly aren’t playing the game any more, but you are taking steps to prevent me from replacing you? I won’t put up with it. There are no hard-and-fast rules on this, but I may exercise my authority as a Benevolent Tyrant to make a decision for the health of the game at my discretion.

Addendum 3: Please Actually Talk to People

I don’t expect every player to be chatty at all times. Even if you’re only checking in once a day or thereabouts, that’s often ample to play the game. There will probably come periods in the game where you’re not talking to everyone as often, and that’s fine.

But for some reason, in the early turns, I frequently end up with a player or two that goes nearly radio-silent from the get-go. It doesn’t make a bit of sense, as that usually leads to a quick demise. But in the first year or two of play, that can be extremely disruptive. Please don’t do this. Talk to people, and play the game. Normally I don’t kick people for being bad at the game, but going silent or near-silent during early turns may be grounds for being replaced.