Schedule

The tournament takes place at the St. Pauli Salon (Hechtstraße 32) at the Hechtviertel in Dresden.

Friday, October 16th

5:00 pm: Open tour through the historic city center of Dresden

7:00 pm: Meet up for dinner and open gaming at the Barneby board game café

Saturday, October 17th

9:30 am: Start teaching game and round 1

3:00 pm: Start round 2

8:00 pm: Informal meeting at a bar near the venue

Sunday, October 18th

9:00 am: Start round 3

2:00 pm: Awards ceremony

Tournament Rules

The main goal of this tournament is to create a fun experience for everybody. While striving to win is commendable, it does not define the success of the event. We encourage you not to let it define your personal experience either. Your enjoyment is partly influenced by the attitude you bring to the event, but it's also the responsibility of the organizers to foster a positive atmosphere. This overview outlines how we aim to achieve that.

The following hierarchy of priorities guides our approach to the tournament:

Highest Priority: Ensuring the safety of all attendees (and anyone else sharing the space).

Second Priority: Nurturing the Diplomacy player community.

Third Priority: Maintaining fairness and competitiveness in the event.

Please familiarize yourself with the Code of Conduct as well as the tournament rules beforehand! The Tournament Director reserves the right to override any rule if it is necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of all attendees.

Diplomacy Rules

The reference rule book is the 2023 edition of Diplomacy by Renegade games.

 

Game Endings

All tournament games end in one of the following cases:

- one player controlling at least 18 centers at the end of a year

- after reaching the year limit of Winter 1907 (for rounds 1 and 3) or Winter 1909 (for round 2) respectively

- after a unanomous draw, held secretely via a GM. In the case of a failed draw vote, the number of vetoes will be revealed by the GM

Diplomacy Periods and Adjudication

Negotiation is only allowed during spring and fall phases. Whilst adjudicating moves, winter, and retreat phases, no negotations are allowed. Each spring phase lasts 13 and each fall phase 15 minutes. A central clock will be used for all games. At the end of each spring and fall turn, there will be a two minute order writing period during which no negotiation is allowed anymore. If all players have submitted their orders already, the order writing period shall be used to start the adjudication of the orders. Otherwise, adjudication will be done on the clock of the next turn. After the end of the order writing period, no orders are allowed to be changed or added anymore. Every player is required to help ensuring that adjudication is taking place in a timely fashion as well as the submission of retreat and build orders.

Tournament Format

Three tournament rounds will be held. The final score of a player is determined by adding the two best individual scores plus half of the third best score. If the Tournament Director asks for volunteers to sit out, each of those will be treated as if they scored 7 points in their game of that round. If two players are tied for score, the first tie breaker will be the highest individual score. If those are equal as well, the average scores throughout the tournament of the countries the tied players have played will be added and compared. The one who played the countries with a lower average score will be ranked higher.

Filling Boards

In order to fill boards, the Tournament Director may play boards himself. His results will count neither for Best Country Awards nor for the general standings of the tournament. The Tournament Director may ask for volunteers to play two boards at once to fill a board. In this case, the scores from both games will count towards the Best Country Awards as well as the general standings.

Disputes

Players are encouraged to amicably resolve disputes without the intervention of the tournament director. Players may decide to give leniency to newer players or rectify mistakes in a manner they feel fair. The Tournament Director will only adjudicate disputes if called on to do so. Any ruling made by the Tournament Director will be binding and not subject to appeal. Missadjudications may only be called out during the current adjudication phase. Adjudiations will not be changed retrospectively even if errors are spotted in hindsight.

 

Misconduct

A player may be judged guilty of misconduct if, in the Tournament Director’s opinion, they have:

- contravened the Rules of Diplomacy or of the tournament and Code of Conduct

- behaved in an unsporting manner

- deceived or misled the Tournament Director (outside a game of Diplomacy)

- disrupted the tournament

- physically assaulted or restrained another person at the tournament

- threatened or heavily insulted another person at the tournament

- damaged property belonging to another

The Tournament Director has complete discretion to impose any penalty for any type of misconduct. Whether the misconduct was intentional or unintentional will be taken into account by the Tournament Director when deciding the appropriate penalty. Possible penalties include:

- warning for first offences

- invalidate the last valid non-hold order

- invalidate all orders for that season

- deduct points from the player’s tournament score

- disqualify player from that round

- disqualify player from the tournament

Players will usually receive a warning from the Tournament Director for a first offence, but more serious penalties may be applied immediately for more serious instances of misconduct. Misconduct involving physical assault, damage to property, deception of the Tournament Director or deliberate disruption of the tournament may result in immediate disqualification from the tournament. Players disqualified from the tournament must leave the premises immediately and will not be refunded their entry fee.

Scoring System

The tournament will be scored via the Bangkok Pike scoring system:

- 3 points for having at least 1 supply center at the end of the game

- 1 point per supply center at the last winter phase of the game

- The board topper (player with the most centers) receives a 6 point bonus.

- If two players or more are tied for the top, they each receive a 4 points bonus instead of 6.

- Each player who finishes at exactly one center less than the board topper(s) receives a 4 point bonus. If there is a lone board topper and nobody finishes within one center of that player, the board topper also receives this 4 point bonus.

- Each player who finishes at exactly two centers less than the board topper(s) receives a 2 point bonus. If there is a lone board topper and nobody finishes within one or two centers of that player, the board topper also receives this 2 point bonus.

- Eliminated players receive 0.1 points for each game year they played.

- In the case of a solo, the winner receives a total of 60 points. All other players receive points as if they had been eliminated.

Code of Conduct

The goal of this Code of Conduct is to ensure that every participant of the Hechtstechen Diplomacy tournament has a pleasant time and feels safe and comfortable while attending the event. The Code of Conduct is to be respected at all times during the tournament and the activities which are offered along with it.

We recognize that Diplomacy is an emotional game. Tensions may run high and betrayal may happen. Nevertheless, there exist some norms of behavior that must be respected at all times, on and off boards. At all times for the entire duration of the tournament, whether during games or not, every participant must:

1. Treat everyone with respect, regardless of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, age, or any other category of personal identity;

2. Refrain from discriminating against other participants on the grounds of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion age, or any other category of personal identity;

3. Refrain from behavior that disturbs the ability of other participants to enjoy themselves or that disrupts activities unrelated to the competition. This includes but is not limited to verbal abuse, threats of violence, unwanted physical contact, and any form of sexual harassment or unwelcome sexual attention;

4. Make good faith efforts to support the safety of other participants, the community as a whole, and to follow the rules.

Players are encouraged to report any believed violations of the above provisions to the Tournament Director or the Wellbeing Officer. All communications will be handled confidentially. The Tournament Director or the Wellbeing Officer will mediate in good faith and take whatever action they deem appropriate to resolve the situation.

Diplomacy often involves some level of on-board player contest. Players are free to choose who they do or do not work with for any reason - however this should always be done in line with above provisions, and must not be on the grounds of an individual's identity in any way. Choose your allies based on how they play, not who they are.

Any attempt to abuse the Code of Conduct in order to gain advantage in any competition will be considered a violation and should be referred to the Tournament Director or their representative for review.

Travel and Contact

The venue of the tournament is the St. Pauli Salon at the Hechtstraße 32 in Dresden. It is in walking distance of the train station "Dresden Bahnhof Neustadt".

Dresden has a small airport, however finding a suitable direct flight might be difficult. If you want to fly in, you might also want to consider booking to Berlin, Leipzig/Halle, or Prague. All of those places are well connected to Dresden via train and bus.

There are numerous places to stay at in walking distance of the venue. Here a few examples which might worth considering:

- an affordable hotel nearby is the Best Western Macrander

- cheaper but also with a bit worse ratings: ibis Styles

- if you something that is closer to a backpacker hostel, you might want to check out the Gästehaus Mezcalero

If you have any questions regarding the tournament or travelling and accomodation, feel free to write me at robschuppe@posteo.de!

More information can be found on the official website of the tournament.