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Redscape Games!

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SuperAnt
Dignitary

Wed Jan 06, 2010 12:08 pm

Below you will find the tournament rules and structure for the successor to Patriot Games - the Redscape Games. Sign ups will start in early August and will begin in early September. I hope you enjoy!

Redscape Games

Redscape Games (RG) is the annual tournament that will be held every fall/winter here at Redscape. RG is an individually-based tournament that resembles a European football (soccer) league. Players will compete in one of two divisions, both of which have their own individual championships. At the end of each year, promotion or relegation between the divisions occur based on players’ performances throughout the year. Players will also have the ability to join together in teams of three and compete for the Redscape Team Championship. This is a friendly “extra” competition that has no bearing on the individual championship, promotion or relegation. In addition, a Tournament of Champions will occur over the summer featuring the best performers of each country throughout the tournament.

1 – Tournament Duration

RG signups will occur throughout August. The tournament begins in September and ends around the beginning of May. Within this time period, two games will be played: one from September until January (“Round 1”); the other from January until April/May (“Round 2”). These two games will be played until 1912.

Round 1 games will take a break over Christmas between December 22nd and January 3rd. In RG I, any Round 1 games that have not yet been completed will run concurrently with Round 2 games. In RG II and onwards, Division One will not begin the Round 2 until all four games have completed Round 1. Any Division Two games that have not been completed by the Holiday Break will run concurrently with the Round 2 games. If a Round 1 game reaches 1910, 1911 or 1912 and all remaining players and the GM agree, they have permission to speed up the game to complete it. A Round 2 game must be played out according to the originally set deadlines.

There will be four game progress checkpoints along the way: 1903, 1905, 1908 and 1910. All games must reach these checkpoints before the proceeding seasons are adjudicated in any game. This will ensure that there is no stalling in order to see how other games are progressing.

Games will be played with 5 days (120 hours) per major season; that is, spring/fall deadlines will fall 120 hours apart and any retreats/adjustments will be held in this time period. GMs should implement a conditional retreats system for fall-winter seasons in order to combine minor deadlines to save on adjudication time. Players should submit adjustment orders similar to the examples below:

Austria, Winter 02 orders
If Russian A GAL retreats to RUM, build A BUD
If Russian A GAL retreats to anywhere else, build A VIE

or

Germany, Winter 02 orders
If English F DEN retreats to BAL or SWE, build F BER
If English F DEN retreats to KIE, build A MUN
If English F DEN retreats anywhere else, build F KIE

When a game completes 1912, the game will end. If a solo has not been achieved, the game will be declared a draw.

DIAS (draw including all survivors) declarations are allowed between spring 1907 and fall 1912. All voting is by secret ballot and a unanimous vote of all surviving players is required to pass a DIAS proposal. Any player proposing a DIAS is considered to vote YES in favor of the proposal. A DIAS that passes is considered effective prior to the adjudication of the season it is being announced with. Any non-votes for the DIAS are counted as NO votes (wanting the game to continue).

2 - Scoring

The rules of Diplomacy state: “As soon as one Great Power controls 18 supply centers, it is considered to have gained control of Europe. The player representing that Great Power is the winner.” The scoring in this tournament is designed to reflect this by rewarding (1) solos and (2) survival in a draw, in that order.

If a player solos, they receive sixty (60) points. Every other player will receive zero points.

Eliminated players in any game receive zero points.

In the event of a DIAS, only surviving players receive points. Individual points will be allocated as follows:

1st place – 24 + 1 point per owned SC
2nd place – 16 + 1 point per owned SC
3rd place – 12 + 1 point per owned SC
4th place – 8 + 1 point per owned SC
5th place – 4 + 1 point per owned SC
6th place – 2 + 1 point per owned SC
7th place – 1 + 1 point per owned SC

If two players tie for a position, they will receive the average score for that position and the position below it. For example, if two players tie for 2nd, they receive 14 points each plus the number of SCs they control.

Eliminations have no effect on the number of points awarded for each place (ex. 5th place receives 4 points regardless of whether there are 5, 6 or 7 players still alive on the board).

Each NMR will incur a three point penalty on the offender.

3 – League Format: RG I

In order to establish the rankings for RG II and beyond, RG I will be played out as one large division. All players who are interested in playing in RG will be placed in this division. The top 28 players at the end of RG I will be placed in Division One for RG II. All remaining players and any new RG entrants will be placed in Division Two for RG II.

RG I will consist of all players playing two games. Round 1 will be played from September to January; Round 2 will be played from January to May. Countries/boards will be randomly allocated. Scoring will occur using the system described earlier in these rules. After Round 1 is completed in December, players will be ranked according to their performances and re-allocated new game boards for the winter game based on their performance from Round 1, assigned in a snake-like method. The players’ cumulative scores from their two games will then be tabulated; and the top 28 players will be promoted to Division One for RG II.

4 – League Format: RG II and Afterwards

For RG II and all successive RGs, the top 28 players will play in Division One and all remaining players, new entrants and those relegated from Division One will play in Division Two. Promotion and relegation will occur at the end of each season as outlined below and in Section 5 of these rules.

Division One

28 players will compete in Division One. In September, all players will be randomly allocated a spot on one of four boards. These games will progress to completion. The top seven (7) players from this round will compete in the Redscape Division One Championship. All seven players are guaranteed safety in Division One and cannot be relegated, regardless of their results in the second round.

The remaining players (8th – 28th) will be ranked according to their first game’s results and systematically allocated positions on one of three boards based on their ranking in a snake-like format (8th place will play on Board A, 9th on Board B, 10th on Board C, 11th on Board C, 12th on Board B, etc.). After the boards have been allocated, each player will choose their country in the order of their rank from the 1st round. This will be done by a secret “preferences” ballot. These three games will then be completed and the 21 players will have their Round 1 and Round 2 scores compiled. The bottom ten (10) players will be relegated to Division Two of the following year. The top eleven (11) players from this group, along with the seven players in the Division One Championship, will remain in Division One.

Division Two

All remaining players, including new sign-ups, will compete in Division Two. Players in Division Two will be randomly allocated a position for both Round 1 and Round 2. Scores will be tabulated and the top ten (10) players in Division Two will secure places in Division One for the following year. The top player in Division Two will win the Redscape Division Two Championship.

In the event that Division Two grows larger than 56 players, tournament organizers reserve the right to expand the league to three (3) divisions. In this event, the ten (10) players who were relegated from Division One and the top eighteen (18) players who were not promoted from Division Two will compete in the following year’s Division Two. All remaining players and new sign-ups will participate in Division Three. Board allocation, promotion and relegation from the new Division Two will operate with the same format as Division One – with the exception that the top seven players from Round 1 would not play in their own game and receive a guaranteed promotion; all 28 players in Division Two would play on one of four boards in Round 2. The player with the highest cumulative score would win the Redscape Division Two Championship.

5 - Promotion / Relegation

At the end of each RG season, promotion and relegation will occur between the two divisions. The bottom ten players from Division One will be relegated to Division Two. The top ten players from Division Two will be promoted to Division One.

Division One will always have 28 players. During the sign-up period in August, the 28 players who are scheduled to play in Division One will be contacted to confirm their wish to play in Division One in the upcoming RG season. Should one of these players fail to confirm, or express their wish not to participate in RG that season, the next highest performer from the previous RG’s Division Two will be offered that slot in Division One. The player who failed to confirm for Division One will lose their priority and will have to re-qualify through Division Two in any successive years.

If there is a tie in scoring regarding promotion and relegation positions, total SC counts of both games will be compared. The player(s) having the higher total will qualify for promotion/avoid relegation. If more than one player is still tied for a promotion or relegation position, the final ranking of each player’s 12 opponents will be tabulated and the player with the lowest total (higher ranked opponents) will qualify for promotion/avoid relegation.

If there is still a draw, the players will participate in a penalty kick shootout, or a name will be drawn by one of the Tournament Committee members, whichever is easier to organize.

posts: 3904 | location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | joined: 24 Sep 2001 | medals: 5

SuperAnt
Dignitary

Wed Jan 06, 2010 12:10 pm

6 - RG Team Competition

At the beginning of each RG, players may form into teams of three in order to participate in the RG Team Competition. Participation in this team competition is optional, individuals may choose to participate in RG without joining a team in the team championship.

Team members may be from either division. Team members will not be placed on the same board, even if they are in the same division. The total points won by team members in both rounds will be tabulated. The team that accumulates the most points will win the Redscape Team Championship.

A list of individuals wishing to participate in the team competition will be kept by the Organizing Committee. At any time prior to the end of the registration period, players on this list may congregate themselves into teams of three and their names will be taken off the list. At the end of the registration period, the Organizing Committee will take all remaining players on the list and randomly assign them into teams of three.

If a member of a team drops out of the tournament for any reason, the team will inherit the replacement player that is found for the position of their ex-teammate. Teams may find a substitute player that is currently not participating in the RG tournament, although they must do so before the tournament committee finds a replacement (with the short deadlines, play cannot be halted for very long). Teams may not choose to disregard the score of their ex-teammate and simply adopt another player currently playing in RG on to their team.

7 – Best Country Awards

At the end of each RG season, awards will be handed out to the best results of a particular country. Three players will be chosen based on the top SC scores out of all games played in RG in that particular year, regardless of their division. Only SC totals will count for the best country awards, not the bonus points awarded for the place in which the player finished.

These players will then have the option to participate in the Redscape Tournament of Champions competition, played during the summer. The 21 qualified players (3 per country) will play in one of three separate games, with each player representing the country that they qualified with. The best results for each country in this competition will earn the title of Redscape Best Country Award for their country for that year.

In the event that one player qualifies for multiple countries for the Tournament of Champions, that player will choose which country they wish to play as in the competition. If this occurs, or if a player declines their opportunity to play in the competition, the fourth best result for that particular country will get the chance to play in the competition.

In the event that there are more than three solos for a particular country (creating a multiple-way tie for 1st), the three fastest-achieved solos will qualify for the Tournament of Champions. In the event that multiple non-solos tie for the best country positions, the combined final ranking of their opponents (as tabulated after both rounds) will be compared and the player with the lower total (higher-ranked opponents) will qualify.

8 - Orders

All orders must be written clearly and legibly. Any ambiguity in the orders will result in the order being declared void.

If a player does not send in moves (NMR), the player will be charged with an NMR penalty (three points) and all units will be ordered to hold. The GM should advise the tournament committee ASAP. If this is the player’s second NMR, they will be removed from the game and a replacement sought.

For the purposes of these rules, NMRs do not affect a player’s retreat or adjustment status. Players who NMR’d but still contact the GM with retreat/adjustment orders before the retreat/adjustment deadline will have those orders recognized.

If a player does not send in build orders (NBR), this will result in the builds being waived.

If a player does not send in retreat orders (NRR), this will result in the retreat going OTB.

If a player does not send in disband orders, units will be disbanded using the following formula until the number of disbands required is satisfied:

1 – Unit furthest from the player’s home SCs in a non-SC territory
2 – Unit furthest from the player’s home SCs in an SC territory
3 – Unit in one of the player’s home SCs

If two units are equidistant from the player’s home SCs or the player has to disband a unit in his/her home SCs, the unit that comes first alphabetically according to the province’s three-letter abbreviation will be removed first.

Player Responsibilities

If a player requires a temporary replacement, any other player on Redscape may fill in provided they have not played in the same game already (either as a temporary replacement or in any other capacity). The GM should be advised as soon as possible that the player will be using a replacement. Players who are on a team are strongly advised to seek another member of their team to replace them in the event that they requirement a temporary replacement.

No player may have a temporary replacement take their place for longer than two combined game years throughout the duration of a game.

If a player requires a temporary replacement for longer than one consecutive full game year (equivalent to 10 days), the tournament organizing committee must be advised.

Do not NMR. If a player NMRs twice in one game, they will be removed from the tournament and a replacement will be sought.

If a player notices a loophole in these rules, they should consult the Tournament Organizing Committee. These rules were written with a specific intention in mind and the rules have not yet been tested. If there is a dispute regarding a technicality in these rules, the Organizing Committee will take the intent of the creators and the spirit of the game as the basis for the ruling until the rules have been tested thoroughly. As such, for the player’s protection, a player who believes they have found a technicality in the rules should consult the Organizing Committee. The OC will answer the concern in confidence unless it requires a change in the rules.

GM Responsibilities

Adjudicate every major season within 6 hours of the advertised deadline. It is suggested that GMs set a deadline just prior to a time of the day they are usually able to adjudicate. This will allow the game to progress at the desired rate.

GMs will be divided into teams of three based on their time zone and likely time of adjudication. GMs should monitor the two other games of their “teammates” to ensure they are being adjudicated within the 6 hours of the deadline. If a game has not been adjudicated on time, “teammate” GMs may adjudicate the game. While GMs are only responsible for adjudicating their game, helping each other out will ensure the tournament progresses smoothly.

Advise the Organizing Committee immediately of NMRs or any other concerns you may have. Err on the side of caution – we would rather hear from you than not!

Ensure that the rules of Diplomacy are applied uniformly.

Utilize the provided adjudication forms and maps to ensure that all players are receiving the same high quality experience.

Organizing Committee Responsibilities

Maintain a list of replacement players ready to step in when a current player drops out of the tournament.

Ensure that all games are being adjudicated in a timely manner. Adjudicate a game if is more than six hours past the deadline.

Produce standings every four game years (1904, 1908 and 1912).

If there is an issue requiring OC involvement, the members of the OC will discuss and vote upon the matter as quickly as possible in order to allow the games to continue. As soon as 3 members of the OC cast a vote, the majority of votes will become the OC’s official decision.

In the event that there is an issue requiring OC involvement which affects a member of the OC in any way (for example, the issue involves them, is on their board, or involves one of their teammates), that member will abstain from voting in that decision.

posts: 3904 | location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | joined: 24 Sep 2001 | medals: 5

SuperAnt
Dignitary

Wed Jan 06, 2010 12:16 pm

(Reserved for special announcements and features regarding the tournament)

_________________
Obstacles are only the things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.

posts: 3904 | location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | joined: 24 Sep 2001 | medals: 5

Sharur
Dignitary

Thu Jan 07, 2010 2:02 pm

I've got a question about the scoring system. It seems like you get 24 points + SCs for a non-solo 1st place regardless of the number of players in the DIAS. There is, as such, very little incentive for shrinking the size of a DIAS by eliminating players, aside from the possibility of picking up the extra SCs for one's self. Is that the intention?

I'm also curious as to why solos do not get SC credit, but non-solos do.

_________________
Russia, FD
France, GBM
Italy, TE
Russia, INYIM
History

posts: 750 | location: St. Louis, Missouri | joined: 29 Aug 2003 | medals: 3

SuperAnt
Dignitary

Thu Jan 07, 2010 2:28 pm

Sharur wrote:

That is somewhat correct. First, the way you read how the scoring works is exactly right. However, the interpretation is only half-right. It wasn't the "intention", but with that said, we were well-aware of the possible repercussions and that is one of them. We ran through many possible scenarios of what players may or may not do with a particular scoring set-up. In any scoring set-up, players will interpret them and possibly create strategies based on it. For this particular set-up, your assessment is correct in that the scoring does not create an incentive for shrinking the size of the DIAS. However, the opposite it also true, the scoring does not create an incentive for keeping 6 or 7 players in the DIAS. The determining factor of keeping/eliminating an enemy/ally on the board will be how the game evolves which is what I think is the idea behind the game of Diplomacy.

Quote:

I'm also curious as to why solos do not get SC credit, but non-solos do.

Solos do get SC credit, it just isn't as evident. They are getting all 34 SC points and 26 bonus points. Perhaps they should have received 34+24 to keep the bonus points the same, but 60 is a nice round number Razz

posts: 3904 | location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | joined: 24 Sep 2001 | medals: 5

SuperAnt
Dignitary

Sun May 09, 2010 8:24 pm

Bumping - now that PG is winding down, a post-mortem analysis on PG may contribute to thoughts for RG.

posts: 3904 | location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | joined: 24 Sep 2001 | medals: 5

GMTom
Administrator

Mon May 10, 2010 6:17 am

As one of those who helped run PG
I am both sad and happy to see it go. It had a long and glorious run but ten years is a long time and to be honest, outside of the organizational period, my interest was near zero. Thank God for Keith and his continued interest!

That being said, you can learn something there, I did very little after it was set up each year. Expect the set up and organizing to take the most time, it doesn't exactly run itself after the initial set-up but the time commitment is a great deal less. I can not speak for Keith on his daily/weekly workload after it got running but to start things rolling took a lot of effort from several people to basically just the one after that start.

posts: 8593 | location: Rochester, NY, North Coast USA | joined: 14 Feb 2000

der Blaue Reiter
Dignitary

Tue May 11, 2010 6:01 pm

How do no-shows in successive tournaments impact promotion/relegation?

Presumably if I'm #20 in division 1, and #14, #15 and #16 opt not to return in the successive year, I stay in Division 1? Or is the pick list from Divison 2 extended to 11 players instead of 10?

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RUFFHAUS 8
Sovereign

Wed May 12, 2010 4:55 am

Interesting question. Offhand I would think if you elect not to play in a given season/session it would follow that you then score zero points, and your new score would be reflective of your prior points/score/standing plus zero.

_________________
"May your heart be so pure, it's one that God wants to know."

My Redscape Game History: http://www.redscape.com/forum/.....233#107233

posts: 1776 | location: The Old Dominion | joined: 10 Oct 2002 | medals: 6

SuperAnt
Dignitary

Wed May 12, 2010 9:40 am

(Randy, I think you misinterpreted his question)

This is what was written in the rules above:

Should one of these players fail to confirm, or express their wish not to participate in RG that season, the next highest performer from the previous RG’s Division Two will be offered that slot in Division One. The player who failed to confirm for Division One will lose their priority and will have to re-qualify through Division Two in any successive years.

Now, that is up for debate, of course. I think this was a situation where I just wrote a rule that seemed more logical to me - there was no real rationale. From your post Fred, I take it you disagree?

posts: 3904 | location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | joined: 24 Sep 2001 | medals: 5

SuperAnt
Dignitary

Tue Jul 27, 2010 11:12 am

Registration will start within the next week. We will be looking for GM volunteers!

The final rules are posted above. Here are the changes to the previous copy:

[b]In the opening section:[b]

These rules should be read in conjunction with the Redscape House Rules and the Diplomacy rulebook. In the event of a contradiction, the order of precedence is as follows: (1) Redscape Games Rules, (2) Redscape House Rules, (3) Diplomacy rulebook.

[b]In Section 1:[b]

Clarification[i]
In RG 1, any Round 1 games that have not yet been completed will run concurrently with Round 2 games. In RG 2 and onwards, Division I will not begin the Round 2 until all four games have completed Round 1. Any Division II games that have not been completed by the Holiday Break will run concurrently with the Round 2 games.

[b]In Section 8:[b]

[i]Addition
For the purposes of these rules, NMRs do not affect a player’s retreat or adjustment status. Players who NMR’d but still contact the GM with retreat/adjustment orders before the retreat/adjustment deadline will have those orders recognized.

and

If a player does not send in disband orders, units will be disbanded using the following formula until the number of disbands required is satisfied:

1 – Unit furthest from the player’s home SCs in a non-SC territory
2 – Unit furthest from the player’s home SCs in an SC territory
3 – Unit in one of the player’s home SCs

If two units are equidistant from the player’s home SCs or the player has to disband a unit in his/her home SCs, the unit that comes first alphabetically according to the province’s three-letter abbreviation will be removed first.

posts: 3904 | location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | joined: 24 Sep 2001 | medals: 5

orange
Foreign Minister

Thu Jul 29, 2010 4:23 pm

Sounds like fun, Dave! Looking forward to seeing how it works out.

A few questions...

Quote:

Is there a potential conflict of two (or three?) players on the same 'team' ending up in the same division or worse - the same board? Would coordination between these players with the intention of doing well as a team be a conflict of interest, or perfectly acceptable (and expected) within the scope of the tournament? Would coordinating against these players for that reason also be allowed/expected?

Also, not a loop hole per se, but just want to note...

Quote:

1 – Unit furthest from the player’s home SCs in a non-SC territory
2 – Unit furthest from the player’s home SCs in an SC territory
3 – Unit in one of the player’s home SCs

If #1 has been satisfied, #2 & #3 can never occur.

Consider a French player who owns France + Iberia, and has units in Brest, Paris, Marseilles, Spain, Portugal, Mid-Atlantic Ocean, Ruhr, and Piedmont in a fall season. The player is 5 SCs, 8 units and must disband 3. The disbands would be Ruhr, Mid-Atlantic Ocean, and Piedmont (all one move away from a home SC). This is #1. #2 cannot occur because they are (in a sense) occupying the very supply center that supports them.

I would think that what you would want would be an 'alphabetical' rule for equidistant units (As before Zs, for example)

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TOC9 Terminal Engagement - France

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Guapo
Dignitary

Fri Jul 30, 2010 5:57 am

and I'm pretty sure it should be the centers FARTHEST from...

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Danivon
Ambassador

Sun Aug 01, 2010 4:07 am

Guapo wrote:

and I'm pretty sure it should be the centers FARTHEST from...

both 'furthest' and 'farthest' are valid and synonymous. But it should be 'centres' Smile

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P 16(3) W 0 D 3 S 6(1) L 7(2) NMR 5
History

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SuperAnt
Dignitary

Tue Aug 03, 2010 7:00 am

orange wrote:

There is a pretty good chance that in future seasons, the teams would end up in the same division. Since we develop friends here at Redscape, a lot of the regulars who might end up in Division 1 would want to be on the same team. That's part of the reason why we limited it to three players per team. That way tournament organizers can ensure that no teammates are on the same board. So to answer that first question more succinctly - yes, they will inevitably be in the same division but no, they will never be on the same board (Exception: If two teammates get into the Divsion 1 Championship game...in which case I suspect that we will have to figure something out, but we have a full year to deal with that!)

The other question - would other players be able to coordinate against a team - well, yes and no. They CAN coordinate against them, but it may or may not do them any good. If an individual wants to attack someone on their board for team reasons, they may be sacrificing their own game at the same time. Since this is an individual tournament, that is not a good idea. Even for the players who score 0 in the first round, they have to try and avoid relegation. Consider this - if a player in Division II scores 0 in Round 1 tries to manipulate their Round 2 board for team purposes, they risk finishing at the bottom of the Division II standings. If we receiving more than 56 entries for Division II in the following year, that player gets relegated to Division III! Would you take that risk?

There are a lot of factors that come into play and it might create an interesting dynamic or two in some games. I suspect that if we get in a situation where two players are on rival teams, that information will be leaked around the board pretty quick, so everyone is on equal playing terms once again.

Quote:

Also, not a loop hole per se, but just want to note...

Quote:

1 – Unit furthest from the player’s home SCs in a non-SC territory
2 – Unit furthest from the player’s home SCs in an SC territory
3 – Unit in one of the player’s home SCs

Heh, good point. Actually, the main point of this rule was to mimic the RHRs but in simple language. Randy pointed out another technicality that occurred when I ddi this. My head isn't clear at the moment, but I will re-write them today to make sure that it is in line with the RHRs.

Danivon wrote:

both 'furthest' and 'farthest' are valid and synonymous. But it should be 'centres' Smile

Oh bite me Razz

Do you know how hard I had to focus to write like an American for these rules?!?!

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