Hey all,
 
I'm John, your friendly neighborhood GM for your first round of the Blitz. I'm sure we have quite a wild ride ahead of us, and I'll do my best to keep us moving toward the finish line. Exactly what happens along the way, however, depends completely on you. I've been on the DC website for a few years now, and an active dip player for years before that, so I'm excited to see so many faces I don't recognize. In fact, I think I've only played against one of you before. 
 
I know you guys want the GM to stop yacking and get to the country assignments. So go ahead and take a look:






ID


Country


Name


Email


Location


baron003


France


Andrew Davidson


lebaron0819(at)yahoo.com


lower sackville, NS, CA


chessman121212


Russia


brian miller


chessman121212(at)gmail.com


NY, US


DancingQueen


Italy


Dancing Queen


dance.scholar(at)gmail.com


Tak Park, MD, US


jerome777


England


Jerome Payne


jerome777(at)ymail.com


Peterborough, CAMBS, UK


jhack16


Turkey


Joe Hackett


jhack16(at)gmail.com


Dublin, IE


Paga25


Austria


jeremy waters


ihatehairyspiders(at)hotmail.com


Stratford-upon-avon, WARKS, UK


TheFinalCountdown


Germany


Matt Barnes


mlb767(at)aim.com



I assigned these using the random number function in Excel, so blame microsoft if you don't like what you got!
 
Now for a couple very important points:
Deadlines - Spring deadlines on Mondays, Summer retreats on tuesdays, Fall deadline on Thursdays, and Retreats/Winter COMBINED on Fridays. Unless I specifically say otherwise, all deadlines are at 8:00 AM CST (This is, I believe, 6 hours behind GMT). We appear to have quite the international group here, so I'll do my best to list deadlines in CST and GMT times. However, if there is ever a discrepency, the CST will be supercede the GMT time. Also, I will do my best to send out deadline reminders to you guys, BUT it is ultimately YOUR responsibility to turn in moves regardless of whether a reminder is set out.
 
Orders(at)diplomaticcorp.com - This little email address is your best friend. ANY time you send moves/builds/retreats/revisions/etc to me, you should also be sending it to that address as well. The reason being, if I am unable to adjucate after being attacked by rapid were-hamsters, one of the tournament directors will adjucate using the orders you sent to this address. Also, if I have no record of your moves for some reason, and you just *know* you sent them in, this address will be your last and best defense to avoid the dreaded NMR.

 

Prelims - Prelims are your second best friends. I'd suggest turning them in immediately after receiving the adjucation. You can always change them, but you never know when something will come up and you will be unable to turn in moves. I even accept Contingency plans (especially for retreats and builds). So feel to even send those in advance too, just in case!
 
Rule questions - I will follow the most recent rules published for diplomacy (5th edition, wizards of the coast). When unclear, or when deemed necessary in my sole opinion, my judgement supercedes the rulebook. During Blitz games, DC houserules generally take precedence as well, and blitz rules trump everything. For example, there are NO replacements in the Blitz. If you drop out, your country will NMR every turn, but you can start playing again at any time until your last piece/center is eliminated/captured. If you have any questions about how I will treat any specific issue, just ask. This is also a good time to repeat the 24 hour cutoff. If you have a complaint or issue with an adjucation, you have 24 hours to report it to me. If you don't, the "wrong" adjucation stands.
 
Press and proper play - This game is black press, which means you can submit comments for inclusion in the adjucation from you, purporting to be from another player or country, or anonymously. However, no one may at any time, in press, private communication with other players, or for any other reason, impersonate me or the tournament directors. Doing so is grounds for immediate explusion from the game.

 

Ok, enough will all the rules. Let's get this show on the road! Our first deadline is MONDAY, JANUARY 10th at 8:00 AM CST (2:00 PM GMT).

 

Feel free to share you strategy and goals with me. I can't comment on them for obvious reasons, but it helps me feel a bit more a part of the game to see things from a player's perspective in addition to the bird's eye view GM's are often left with.

 

Now I'll step aside and let the stabbing commence!!!!

 

John