2023 PBEM DWC tournament rules

A. TERMINOLOGY

• PBEM DWC: The Play-by-Email Diplomacy World Championship.
• Tournament Director (TD): The person responsible for organising and running the 2023 PBEM DWC.
• Game Manager (GM): The person responsible for organising and running each game in the 2023 PBEM DWC.
• Round (of games): A series of games involving players.
• Entrant: A player registered to play in the PBEM DWC.

B. ORGANISATION

1. The PBEM DWC will feature 5 rounds in 2023. Preliminary rounds will run in March, May, July and September. The Final will start in November.
2. Entrants register prior to the first Preliminary round, and will be expected to confirm participation before that round.
   (a) Should the number of entrants not be a multiple of seven, players will be prioritised on when they registered (assuming they confirm).
   (b) Players who are not selected for the tournament will be offered the option of going on a list of Reserves to replace players in any round of the tournament (see Rule D.2 below).
3. Entrants can play in one game per round.
4. Each round will feature a set number of games, based on the number of entrants to the Tournament.
5. Standings throughout the Preliminary rounds will be maintained by the TD and updated at the end of the round of games.
6. Once the last Preliminary round of games is completed, the top seven players in the standings will be invited to play in the Final. If one or more players decline the invitation to play in the Final, they will be replaced by the TD from the highest placed players outside the top seven.
7. The TD will also try to maintain a list of reserves to replace players who are removed from the tournament (see Rule

C. GAMES
PRELIMINARY ROUNDS

1. Registered entrants will be randomly placed in a game for the 1st Preliminary round. In following rounds, entrants will be placed randomly in games, except that no player will play against any other player more than twice in the Preliminary rounds.
2. Powers will be assigned randomly in the 1st Preliminary round. In following rounds, entrants will not play a power that they have previously played.
3. Deadlines for each game will be:
   Spring 1901: 7 days.
   Diplomacy Phase: 5 days.
   Retreats Phase: 1 day.
   Winter Phase: 1 day.
4. All orders must be sent to the GM by email. Players may send any number of sets of orders within a deadline; the GM will take the latest set of orders as the final set. Once the GM has started to adjudicate a phase, orders submitted after the adjudication has commenced will be ignored. In Retreats phases and Winter phases players may send just one set of orders.
   (a) If all players send a set of orders marked FINAL ORDERS in a single phase, the GM will end the phase on receipt of the last set of FINAL orders. The GM will notify players of the early end of deadline.
   (b) As with Rule C.4 above, players may send later sets of orders overriding any orders that were previously marked as FINAL ORDERS, if those orders are received before end of deadline.
5. The GM will notify players re: the format of orders. If the specified format is not followed, if the GM can interpret those orders they will be implemented.
6. Badly written orders: The GM will implement any orders that are badly written if those orders can be interpreted. Any orders the GM cannot interpret will be deemed illegal and the unit(s) involved will be issued HOLD orders.
   
7. Mis-orders: Any units ordered to move illegally, or given orders that cannot be complied with, will be issued HOLD orders. The GM will assume that a mis-order is deliberate.
8. Via Convoy: The 'Via Convoy' rule will be used in games. Any army that could be ordered to a space over land or by convoy will be assumed to refuse a convoy if that convoy is ordered by a foreign fleet, unless the army movement order is marked via convoy. This is not required if all convoying fleets are of the same nationality as the army.
9. Challenging the GM: If a player believes an adjudication is incorrect, they must challenge the adjudication before the next deadline has passed. The GM will suspend the game while the challenge is reviewed. The GM's decision in final.
10. Game End: Games will end if:
    - A player owns 18 or more SCs in a Winter Phase, or
    - All surviving players vote to concede the game to a single player (see Rule C.10(b) below), or
    - All surviving players vote to end the game in a draw (see Rule C.10(c) below), or
    - The game reaches Winter 1912 with no other resolution, in which case the game will end in a DIAS draw (see Rule C.10(d) below).
    All game end votes will be anonymous.
    (a) Definition of a 'surviving player' A player will be defined as surviving if they have:
    {i} a unit remaining on the board, or
    {ii} they own an SC on the board.
    (b) Concessionary win: All players may agree to award the game to a single player if:
    {i} that player has a minimum of 15 SCs, and
    {ii} that player has more SCs than any other player.
    To propose a Concession, a player must contact the GM by email proposing the concession. The GM will then invite all players to vote on this proposal, and will extend the deadline of that phase by one day. All surviving players must vote for the concession; any votes not received by the deadline will be counted as voting against the proposal. Only one concession vote will be allowed per deadline. A player who wins by concession will be deemed to have achieved a solo victory.
    (c) Draw proposals: All players may agree to end the game in a draw. To propose a draw, a player must contact the GM by email proposing the draw. The GM will then invite all players to vote on this proposal, and will extend the deadline of that phase by one day. All surviving players must vote for the draw; any votes not received by the deadline will be counted as voting against the proposal. Only one draw vote will be allowed per deadline.
    (d) Game End Date: If the game reaches Winter 1912, the game will end in a draw, with all survivors scoring.

THE FINAL
The Final round will feature the top seven players from the Preliminary rounds, subject to Rule B.6 above. The Final will be organised as in the Preliminary rounds, except for the following modifications:

1. Powers will be assigned based on preferences as follows:
   (a) The highest placed qualifier will get to choose the power they wish to play in the final first.
   (b) Other qualifiers will be asked to send preference lists, listing all powers they wish to play in order. No player will be informed that any power has already been selected.
   (c) The TD will assign powers based on preference lists, starting with the higher placed players. Should powers have been assigned previously, the TD will move down a player's list of preferences.
   (d) If players do not provide a preference list of all powers, and the powers they have provided are already assigned, the TD will set these players' lists aside and move on to other players.
   (e) Once all preference lists have been followed, any players not being assigned a power will be randomly assigned powers from those powers remaining.
2. There will be no Game End Date for the final.

D. MISCELLANEOUS

1. Missed Deadline (NMR): If a player NMRs, on the first two occasions in a game the player will be notified and be given 24 hours from when the GM sent the email to enter orders. On any subsequent occasion, the units of a player NMRing will be issued HOLD orders.
   (a) If a player fails to enter orders by deadline for three consecutive deadlines in a single game they will be removed from the tournament. A reserve will be sought if possible. A player removed from the tournament in this fashion will not be allowed to play in future rounds.
   (b) Should a reserve not be found to replace a removed player in future rounds, a power may be in CD in some games, subject to the following rules:
   {i} CD powers will be managed as if they were players for the purposes of tournament organisation. Some modifiers of this may be necessary as below.
   {ii} No player will play in a game with a starting CD power more than once, if possible.
   {iii} No more than one power will be a starting CD power in a game, if possible.
   {iv} Italy will be the first CD power in any game; Germany will be the second CD power if this is necessary.
2. Reserves and scoring. Reserves will score as a regular entrant for any game they replace another player in if they play for a minimum of 50% of that game. If they play in less than 50% of a game, they will be scored as below.
   (a) If a reserve player misses some Preliminary rounds, but remains in the tournament for all subsequent rounds, they will score the average points scored in games that ended in a draw in any rounds they missed.
   (b) If a reserve plays for less than 50% of a game they enter, they will score the average points for the power they played in that round.
   These rules are to incentivise reserves to play to the best of their ability, given a chance to score decent points in games and the tournament.