I. GM Discretion, Rulebook:

(1) GM Discretion:

The GM shall have the discretion to disregard specific provisions of these House Rules in order to reach a result in keeping with the spirit and character of the game of Diplomacy, but will do so only after concluding that less drastic alternatives would be unsatisfactory.

(2) Rulebook:

4^th Edition 2000 rules, published by Avalon Hill will be used. In the event of incompleteness, ambiguity, or conflict in the rules, if the matter is not covered in these House Rules, the Diplomacy Player's Technical Guide will be followed. A link to the rulebook is here: www.diplomaticcorp.com/downloads

II. Order Writing, Generally:

(1) Interpretation of Orders:

Order sets and individual orders will be strictly construed for purposes of determining ambiguity or illegality.

(2) Abbreviations and Typographical Errors:

Spelling out province names and other words used in orders is preferred, but any abbreviations that are not ambiguous, in the sole opinion of the GM, are acceptable. A typographical error that is nonetheless unambiguously understandable by the GM shall not serve to invalidate an otherwise valid order.

(3) Status of Orders:

Submission of preliminary orders is strongly encouraged, but not required. All orders will be considered preliminary unless marked "Final".

(4) Identification of Order Sets:

All order sets submitted must contain the following information and/or adhere to the following format in the Subject line of the e-mail: Game number, season, year, and nation. The GM may, but is not required to accept order sets that do not meet these requirements, nor shall the GM be required to search for nonconforming order sets.

(5) Orders Submitted by Proxy:

Orders submitted by proxy will not be permitted.

(6) Contingent Retreat or Adjustment Orders:

Retreat or adjustment turns shall be separate from movement turns. Contingent retreat orders are not required, and negotiations are allowed prior to a retreat or adjustment turn.

(7) Multiple sets of orders:

The last set of orders submitted before the adjudication takes place will be used. In the event a partial set of revised orders are submitted, previous order sets will be disregarded when the GM receives a revised order set. The GM shall not look to an earlier order set to fill in missing orders in a revised order set.

III. Interpretation of Specific Orders:

(1) Movement Orders:

Any unit adjudged by the GM to have been ordered illegally will be presumed to have been ordered to hold, and may receive support to hold. A unit will not be adjudged to have been ordered illegally, if, before the turn was adjudicated, such movement would have been possible with the aid of other units on the board, irrespective of nationality of such other units. If an order set has been submitted, an unordered unit or units will be considered to have been ordered to hold, and may receive support to hold.

(2) Multiple Orders for Units:

In the event that a unit is ordered more than once within the same set of orders, the unit shall be deemed to have been ordered ambiguously and shall be considered to stand if any of the orders for that unit were movement orders, and shall be considered to have been ordered to hold if none of the orders for that unit were movement orders. Duplicate orders will be treated as a single order for purposes of adjudication.

(3) Omitted Designations:

An omitted designation of the type of a unit (A or F) will not invalidate the order unless there is another order with the correct designation of the unit in the same order set.

(4) Inaccurate Designations:

An inaccurate designation of the type of a unit (A or F) will not invalidate the order unless there is another order with the correct designation of the unit in the same order set.

(5) Omitted Nationality of Units:

An omitted designation of the nationality of a supported or convoyed foreign unit will not invalidate the order unless there is another order with the correct nationality of the unit in the same order set.

(6) Inaccurate Nationality of Units:

An inaccurate designation of the nationality of a supported or convoyed foreign unit will not invalidate the order unless there is another order with the correct nationality of the unit in the same order set.

(7) Omitted Specification of Coast in Movement or Holding Orders:

An omitted specification of the coast of a province having two coasts in an order for movement or holding of a fleet will not invalidate the order if legal movement to only one coast of the province is possible for the fleet.

(8) Omitted Specification of Coast in Support Orders:

An order for support of a fleet to, from or in a province having two coasts, in which there is no specification of the coast of the province will be a valid order for support of the fleet being supported, from or in either coast.

(9) Non-Corresponding Specification of Coast in Support Orders:

An order for support of a fleet to, from or in a province having two coasts, in which the coastal specification does not correspond to the coastal specification of the order for the unit being supported will invalidate the order.

(10) Excess Builds or Disbands:

If a player attempts to build or disband more units than the position would allow, the builds or disbands will be followed in order, from top to bottom of the order set until the correct number of builds or disbands are reached.

(11) Multiple Builds in a Center:

If a player attempts to build more than one unit in a single turn in the same supply center, no unit shall be built in the center if the build orders are for different types (A or F) of units, but duplicate orders will be treated as a single order for purposes of adjudication.

IV. Deadlines, Length of Turns, NMRs:

(1) Order Submission:

It is the responsibility of each player to make sure that a set of orders is submitted as required before the deadline for each turn. Time of submission of orders shall be considered to be when the GM receives the orders, not when the orders were sent, however, the GM shall have the discretion to accept late orders if it is proven to the satisfaction of the GM that the orders were sent prior to the deadline. Individual and/or broadcast reminders may be given, but the lack of a reminder will not serve to excuse failure to submit orders.

(2) Timing of Adjudication:

Adjudication of a turn will never take place before the deadline.

(3) Orders After Deadline:

Orders will not be accepted after the deadline.

(4) Length of Turns

At least four days will normally be allowed for each movement turn. At least two days will normally be allowed for each retreat or adjustment turn, if there are separate retreat and adjustment turns. The GM may speed up or slow down the timing depending on the perceived complexity, to the GM, of the game situation, but will adhere to the original schedule if a faster pace is a hardship to any player.

(5) Delays:

Requests for delay received before the deadline will generally be granted. The GM reserves the right, after a warning is given, not to grant further delay requests if the play, in the sole opinion of the GM, is being unduly or excessively disrupted. The GM may replace any player whose extended absence, or repeated absences, in the sole opinion of the GM, would unduly or excessively disrupt the flow of the game.

(6) NMRs and Replacement of Players:

The GM will adjudicate with orders missing from one or more powers, but will grant a one-time grace period of 24 hours to each player to attempt to prevent what would otherwise be the first NMR for that particular player. The grace period shall begin at the deadline for submission of the relevant order set. The GM may, but is not required, to notify the non-submitting player that the grace period is in effect, and the GM shall not inform the other players as to the reason for any delay in adjudication. Players failing to submit orders must contact the GM within 24 hours of the deadline plus the grace period if applicable, or the GM will arrange for a replacement. The GM will normally attempt to contact the NMRing player publicly and privately before arranging for a replacement, but the GM, in the sole discretion of the GM, reserves the right to immediately replace an NMRing player after one or more NMRs.

V. Adjudication Correction, Review:

(1) Players discovering errors in adjudication can bring them to the attention of the GM, who shall correct any errors. However, if another adjudication is published, without correction of an error, the error shall stand.

(2) Review of GM Decisions:

If a player feels that an adjudication error has not been corrected after having made a request for correction, the GM, in the sole discretion of the GM, may publicly or privately request advice from one or more persons of the GM's choice who are not involved with the game, but the GM shall not be bound by the opinions of the persons giving advice.

VI. Press:

(1) Acceptable Press:

The GM, in the sole discretion of the GM, reserves the right to refuse to publish a piece or pieces of press for any reason. In general, press correctly identifying the author (white press), press to be published anonymously (gray press), and press attributed to another person (black press) will be accepted. The GM shall publish all press in a section of the adjudication separate from the orders of the individual players.

(2) Disclosure of Authorship of Gray, Dark Gray or Black Press:

Authorship of gray, dark gray or black press will never be revealed by the GM.

VII. Votes, Draws and Concessions:

(1) Wins:

Wins may be conceded only to a single player. All players remaining in the game must agree upon a concession unanimously. A single negative vote will defeat the proposal. All games are presumed to continue until a player wins by reaching eighteen supply centers, so an abstention or an uncast vote counts as a negative vote and defeats the proposal, however, a player for whom a conceded win is proposed shall be held to have voted for the proposal.

(2) Draws:

Draws may or may not include all survivors, but must be agreed to unanimously by all players remaining in the game. A draw that does not include all survivors presumes the elimination of the players not included in the draw. All games are presumed to continue until a player wins by reaching eighteen supply centers, so an abstention or an uncast vote counts as a negative vote and defeats the proposal.

(3) Changes to House Rules:

No proposals may be made to change any of the house rules.

(4) Confidentiality and Limitation of Proposals:

Votes will be due simultaneously with the next due date for orders. All votes will be secret and the result will be published instead of the relevant adjudication if the proposal is approved, or together with the adjudication, if the proposal fails. All votes may be submitted confidentially, players may submit revised votes, and the GM shall not reveal any information regarding the specific votes of an individual power, or the total of votes for or against any proposal. The GM, in the sole discretion of the GM, may refuse to conduct votes on repetitive or humorous proposals.

Players may vote for or against proposals that they submit.

VIII. Ownership of Communications, Integrity of Identity and E-mail Systems

(1) Forwarding of E-Mails:

E-mails and other communications are the intellectual property of their author, but the GM and players, by virtue of agreeing to GM or play in the game, freely give permission for the use of those e-mails and communications by other participants as part of the play of the particular game for which the e-mails or other communications were sent, subject to the restrictions of this Section.

Forwarding of e-mails will not be restricted by the GM.

(2) Impersonation of Players or GM, Subversion of E-Mail Systems:

Impersonation of one player by another, attempted deception or impersonation of the GM, or subversion of the integrity of the e-mail system of the GM, another player or a third party will be grounds for immediate replacement.