Hi everyone, and welcome again!
Game-Starts are out!  (last game starting momentarily)  You should have your GM, opponents, country, etc.  All moves are due next Monday -- in about 5 days -- at the time set by your GM.
 
For those interested, you can subscribe to the WB Forum - what this will do, much like the old Yahoo Group, is deliver all the WB related emails right to your inbox.  The results, press, banter etc get posted in this forum.  Visit http://www.diplomaticcorp.com/profile.php - then subscriptions - to have them forwarded right to you.  To post, you can do so from the website, or just write to blitz(at)diplomaticcorp.com. 
 
Remember to put your GM on your safe or approved senders list - these games move fast, so if you do not get a results email, it is up to you to find out what happened in time to make the next turn.  And if anything is ever wrong, you can only protest w/in 24 hours.  Once the 24th hour passes, the results will stand as posted -- even if you're away and can't contest w/in that time!  It's just the way these games work.  Those who turn in prelims will in general do well... The games get hectic and there will be NMR's -- so having your units ordered and not sitting around is key.  Also don't forget to cc to orders(at)diplomaticcorp.com.  Because moves will not always be confirmed by your GM, this is your proof of orders sent.
 
Enjoy!
-mike & garry
 
 









Hey everyone, and welcome to the 5th Annual Winter Blitz!
 
We are a bit behind this year but we are ready to roll nonetheless. We have a lower attendance but 7 boards with such short notice is still a phenomenal turnout. It isn't sheer numbers that make the tournament - it's the stabbing!  I will be one of your hosts - my name is Garry, and along with my Co-TD Mike we will be bringing you this little tournament.  If you have any questions, concerns, or even compliments, send them on to one of us and we'll get back to you ASAP (Garry = kielmarch(at)hotmail.com; Mike = mike(at)fuzzylogicllc.com)
 This year our tournament is going to be put on by 6 returning vets from previous WB tournaments (WB11 included), plus 1 new GMs for this year.  That's Christine, Cory, John, Chris, Hamish, Adam, and Jerome.  Remember to tip your GM!  They make WB possible for our community; Mike and I simply do the easy kickoff work.  Thanks to Jerome for joining the team this year; please let us know if you would like to be a part of a future WB team...
 
Now before we get started, a few things to go over...
 
* If you cannot play, now is the time to let me know! We should be able to find a replacement if things have changed.
 
* Remember this is a speedy tournament (for PBEM).  Time is of the essence.  GMs are not going to track you down for orders each turn, they will just put out the results w whatever they have turned in.  There is no Civil Disorder, so if you NMR, you are still in the game and can continue to play on!  Never give up - never surrender!
 
* If you ever spot a problem with an adjudication, it is imperative that you bring it up quickly.  There is a 24-hour hard cutoff for bringing up any issues in a game.  Once 24 hours passes, the window to bring up any errors in the adjudication is closed, and things will stand as adjudicated.  Also if you do raise a challenge, be able to respond readily to your email.  In order to keep the games on track, we have to close any issues shortly after we open them.
 
* When submitting orders, be sure to copy orders(at)diplomaticcorp.com every submission.  This can only help you, and failing to do so can only hurt you.  1) It is a backup, in case a GM cannot find your orders, to which we can look to see if something you sent just got lost.  And 2) it is there for when a GM is not available and we, your moderators, have to cover a turn for them.  In such cases, we will adjudicate with whatever orders we find were copied toorders(at)diplomaticcorp.com.  If yours weren't, they will not be counted in those cases!
 
* Winter retreats and builds are combined into one turn, every Friday.  Do not wait for retreats to turn in your builds, cuz once retreats come out, the build turn is done!  If you're not sure if you'll get a build or not, (a retreat could alter the course) then turn something in, just in case.  You can use conditionals, like "If he retreats here, build this, but otherwise build that."
 
* Each member has been subscribed to the Winter Blitz forum with a Weekly Digest.  This means each Saturday, you should get an overall email summarizing all the adjudications and everything that went on the past week.  If you *don't* want to receive this weekly email, you can adjust your subscriptions in your profile.  Note any press or general interest stuff that you post to the Winter Blitz forum will go out to all 70 members and our administrators in that weekly digest.  You can post two ways - either via email, to blitz(at)diplomaticcorp.com, or by visiting the site - but make sure you don't send your orders to the blitz forum!
 
Stay tuned, you should be hearing from your GM in the next day with your game starts. The tournament kicks off next Monday. I HIGHLY suggest that send in preliminaries immediately after receiving the email from your GM.


Enjoy,
-Garry B. and Mike S.