Post by Mal_Arky on Sept 12, 2023 20:01:11 GMT
A. DEFINITIONS
Country: Identifier for each team.
Excellencies Game: A game involving the top seven individual scoring players.
Player(s): Entrants in the tournament.
Round: A set of games launched making up a stage of the tournament.
Stage: A collection of rounds in either Qualifying or the Finals.
Summit Game: A game involving the players who performed best for each individual power in a game.
Team(s): Groupd of players in the tournament.
Tournament: The whole of the World Cup of Diplomacy.
Tournament Director (TD): Person who runs the tournament.
B. REGISTRATION
1. Anyone can register to enter the tournament. When a player registers they will need to ensure that they are registered on the Playdiplomacy as well.
2. To register, players must go to the Registration section of the WCoD and sign-up under the section relating to the country they wish to represent. Players will decide the country they wish to represent based in an honest acknowledgement of one of the following three criteria (player's choice):
(a) Nationality: The nation-state (must be recognised by the United Nations as such) they choose to see as reflecting their nationality, based on personal nationality, or that of a parent.
(b) Citizenship: A nation-state for which they have 'citizen' status.
(c) Habitation: A nation-state they live in.
2.a. When registering, players must select one country to represent and cannot change that representation.
3. If there is already an existing section for registering to represent a country, players should register in that section.
3.a. If a section doesn't already exist for that country, players should register in the main section of the Registration forum, and - as part of the registration process - identify the country they would like to represent. The TD will create a new country section and transfer the post to that section.
3.b. Players may only register in one section of the Registration forum.
4. Details required on registration are:
- Username under which the player has registered on the HOST SITE (when different to the username used on the ARENA DIPLOMACY forum).
- If appropriate, the name of the nation-state they wish to represent (as under RULE B.3.a. above).
5. Some countries may be divided into multiple teams if a viable number of players identify themselves as representing a team; eg. the UK could be split into England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
5.a. If you could represent the UK you may identify which of the national regions of the UK you would wish to represent should this be feasible.
5.a(i). If you could represent the UK and Northern Ireland, you have the option of nominating Ireland as your team.
5.c. Regions not recognised by the UN as sovereign nation states (eg the Channel Islands, Catalonia, Quebec) will not be represented in the WCoD.
6. Registration will continue throughout the Qualifying stage and will cease when the final Qualifying game is started.
7. Registration is open immediately.
C. ORGANISATION
The WCoD will be organised into two stages. The Qualifying Stage will commence in 2024, starting in January 2024 and the Finals starting in 2025.
QUALIFYING
1. The Qualifying stage will run for 10 rounds, with a round each month from January 2024 to October 2024. (This will give a chance for the final round of Qualifying to be completed by 2025.)
2. Games will be created by need. One game will be created at the start point for each month; once filled, a second game will be created. This process will continue until the end date of the round is reached. If the final game in a qualifying round is not filled by the end date of that round, the TD will seek to fill it as described in C.3 below.
3. Players are allowed to enter one game per round, with the exception below.
3.a. Should the final game in a round not be filled by the end date for that round, the TD will invite any players eliminated from earlier games in the round to enter the game. Any registered players who have not entered a game in the round may still enter the game.
4. If the last game in a round is not filled by the start of the next round, the game will be declassified and not scored for the tournament.
5. Each Qualifying game will be scored (see SCORING below) and points be awarded to individual players and to teams.
5.a. Individual points are calculated for the purposes of the Excellencies game and the Summit game only.
6. Players from more than one team may enter the same game (but see GAMES below for anonymity rules).
7. At the end of the qualifying stage, the seven highest scoring teams will progress to the Finals. To calculate the positions of teams, the scores of the top seven highest scoring players only from each team will be used, with teams ranked on totals.
7.a. If any team does not have seven players in it, the scores of all the players will be used.
FINALS
8. The top seven highest scoring teams from Qualifying will progress to the Finals. Each team will have a Captain who will be responsible for inviting players from their team to participate in each game in the Finals.
9. Captains will be elected during the Qualifying stage. At the end of Qualifying Round 5, teams will be invited to nominate - select or elect - a Captain.
9.a. A week before the start of Finals Round 1, Captains will be asked to nominate players to participate in each game in the Round. They will be told which powers their team will control in which games.
9.b. In subsequent rounds, this process will commence a week before the Finals round commences.
9.c. Captains may nominate another representative of their team to perform this task if they wish.
10. The Finals will run for 7 rounds, with a round each from January 2025 to July 2025.
10.a. In the event the games from the Qualifying stage run into 2025, the start month will be February 2025, and the last month will be August 2025.
11. In the Finals, players may play in more than one game per round; there is no restriction placed on the number of games a player plays in the Finals.
12. Each game in the Finals will be scored as in C.5 and C.5.a above.
12.a. Scores from Qualifying have no impact on the Finals.
13. At the end of the final game in the Finals, the team with the highest score will win the WCoD.
D. GAMES
1. All games will be played on Playdiplomacy.
2. Games will end when:
- A player achieves a solo victory; or
- All surviving players agree to end the game in a draw; or
- The game reaches the 1912 Winter phase, in which case all surviving players will be deemed to have achieved a draw.
3. All games will feature the same format:
- Standard Diplomacy.
- Fully anonymous (see below).
- Deadlines will be 2 days for the Diplomacy phase (4 days for Spring 1901), 1 day for the Retreats phase, and 1 day for the Winter phase.
- Players will be able to finalise orders.
- Communication will be allowed in the Retreats and Winter phases.
4. Anonymity must be preserved within the game. This is important in the Qualifying stage where players are scoring for their team but playing as individuals and no control is provided over which players enter each game (other than games will only be open to registered players).
4.a. Anonymity does not prevent players from speculating on the identity of players or teams controlling powers; players may not identify themselves, however.
4.b. In the Finals, players within each team will know which player is playing which power in which game; this information may not be shared within games.
5. Anonymity must be preserved on the Forum. No player may identify themselves on the forum as playing in a game.
5.a. Players may speculate on the Forum as to which players and teams are involved in games but this may not be confirmed.
6. When a game ends, the identity of players will be revealed, and this will narrow down the options which players are in on-going games. This cannot be helped, and will not prevent scoring from being compiled.
7. Should a player leave a game before they have been eliminated:
- In Qualifying the player will not be replaced.
- In the Finals, a player from the same team may be nominated to replace the absentee player. Games will not be paused to allow this to happen.
7.a. Should this happen in a Qualifying game, the player will be penalised (see SCORING) and this penalty will affect the team's score.
7.a(i). Should this happen in a Finals game, the player will be penalised but the penalty will not be reflected in the teams's score.
7.b. Games will not be paused for any reason once started. If you are unable to play in a game consistently, you should not play the game.
7.b(i). If a player in the Finals finds they cannot play the game for whatever reason, they should ask their Captain to find a substitute.
7.c. There will be no grace periods. Orders must be entered by the deadline.
E. SCORING
Country: Identifier for each team.
Excellencies Game: A game involving the top seven individual scoring players.
Player(s): Entrants in the tournament.
Round: A set of games launched making up a stage of the tournament.
Stage: A collection of rounds in either Qualifying or the Finals.
Summit Game: A game involving the players who performed best for each individual power in a game.
Team(s): Groupd of players in the tournament.
Tournament: The whole of the World Cup of Diplomacy.
Tournament Director (TD): Person who runs the tournament.
B. REGISTRATION
1. Anyone can register to enter the tournament. When a player registers they will need to ensure that they are registered on the Playdiplomacy as well.
2. To register, players must go to the Registration section of the WCoD and sign-up under the section relating to the country they wish to represent. Players will decide the country they wish to represent based in an honest acknowledgement of one of the following three criteria (player's choice):
(a) Nationality: The nation-state (must be recognised by the United Nations as such) they choose to see as reflecting their nationality, based on personal nationality, or that of a parent.
(b) Citizenship: A nation-state for which they have 'citizen' status.
(c) Habitation: A nation-state they live in.
2.a. When registering, players must select one country to represent and cannot change that representation.
3. If there is already an existing section for registering to represent a country, players should register in that section.
3.a. If a section doesn't already exist for that country, players should register in the main section of the Registration forum, and - as part of the registration process - identify the country they would like to represent. The TD will create a new country section and transfer the post to that section.
3.b. Players may only register in one section of the Registration forum.
4. Details required on registration are:
- Username under which the player has registered on the HOST SITE (when different to the username used on the ARENA DIPLOMACY forum).
- If appropriate, the name of the nation-state they wish to represent (as under RULE B.3.a. above).
5. Some countries may be divided into multiple teams if a viable number of players identify themselves as representing a team; eg. the UK could be split into England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
5.a. If you could represent the UK you may identify which of the national regions of the UK you would wish to represent should this be feasible.
5.a(i). If you could represent the UK and Northern Ireland, you have the option of nominating Ireland as your team.
5.c. Regions not recognised by the UN as sovereign nation states (eg the Channel Islands, Catalonia, Quebec) will not be represented in the WCoD.
6. Registration will continue throughout the Qualifying stage and will cease when the final Qualifying game is started.
7. Registration is open immediately.
C. ORGANISATION
The WCoD will be organised into two stages. The Qualifying Stage will commence in 2024, starting in January 2024 and the Finals starting in 2025.
QUALIFYING
1. The Qualifying stage will run for 10 rounds, with a round each month from January 2024 to October 2024. (This will give a chance for the final round of Qualifying to be completed by 2025.)
2. Games will be created by need. One game will be created at the start point for each month; once filled, a second game will be created. This process will continue until the end date of the round is reached. If the final game in a qualifying round is not filled by the end date of that round, the TD will seek to fill it as described in C.3 below.
3. Players are allowed to enter one game per round, with the exception below.
3.a. Should the final game in a round not be filled by the end date for that round, the TD will invite any players eliminated from earlier games in the round to enter the game. Any registered players who have not entered a game in the round may still enter the game.
4. If the last game in a round is not filled by the start of the next round, the game will be declassified and not scored for the tournament.
5. Each Qualifying game will be scored (see SCORING below) and points be awarded to individual players and to teams.
5.a. Individual points are calculated for the purposes of the Excellencies game and the Summit game only.
6. Players from more than one team may enter the same game (but see GAMES below for anonymity rules).
7. At the end of the qualifying stage, the seven highest scoring teams will progress to the Finals. To calculate the positions of teams, the scores of the top seven highest scoring players only from each team will be used, with teams ranked on totals.
7.a. If any team does not have seven players in it, the scores of all the players will be used.
FINALS
8. The top seven highest scoring teams from Qualifying will progress to the Finals. Each team will have a Captain who will be responsible for inviting players from their team to participate in each game in the Finals.
9. Captains will be elected during the Qualifying stage. At the end of Qualifying Round 5, teams will be invited to nominate - select or elect - a Captain.
9.a. A week before the start of Finals Round 1, Captains will be asked to nominate players to participate in each game in the Round. They will be told which powers their team will control in which games.
9.b. In subsequent rounds, this process will commence a week before the Finals round commences.
9.c. Captains may nominate another representative of their team to perform this task if they wish.
10. The Finals will run for 7 rounds, with a round each from January 2025 to July 2025.
10.a. In the event the games from the Qualifying stage run into 2025, the start month will be February 2025, and the last month will be August 2025.
11. In the Finals, players may play in more than one game per round; there is no restriction placed on the number of games a player plays in the Finals.
12. Each game in the Finals will be scored as in C.5 and C.5.a above.
12.a. Scores from Qualifying have no impact on the Finals.
13. At the end of the final game in the Finals, the team with the highest score will win the WCoD.
D. GAMES
1. All games will be played on Playdiplomacy.
2. Games will end when:
- A player achieves a solo victory; or
- All surviving players agree to end the game in a draw; or
- The game reaches the 1912 Winter phase, in which case all surviving players will be deemed to have achieved a draw.
3. All games will feature the same format:
- Standard Diplomacy.
- Fully anonymous (see below).
- Deadlines will be 2 days for the Diplomacy phase (4 days for Spring 1901), 1 day for the Retreats phase, and 1 day for the Winter phase.
- Players will be able to finalise orders.
- Communication will be allowed in the Retreats and Winter phases.
4. Anonymity must be preserved within the game. This is important in the Qualifying stage where players are scoring for their team but playing as individuals and no control is provided over which players enter each game (other than games will only be open to registered players).
4.a. Anonymity does not prevent players from speculating on the identity of players or teams controlling powers; players may not identify themselves, however.
4.b. In the Finals, players within each team will know which player is playing which power in which game; this information may not be shared within games.
5. Anonymity must be preserved on the Forum. No player may identify themselves on the forum as playing in a game.
5.a. Players may speculate on the Forum as to which players and teams are involved in games but this may not be confirmed.
6. When a game ends, the identity of players will be revealed, and this will narrow down the options which players are in on-going games. This cannot be helped, and will not prevent scoring from being compiled.
7. Should a player leave a game before they have been eliminated:
- In Qualifying the player will not be replaced.
- In the Finals, a player from the same team may be nominated to replace the absentee player. Games will not be paused to allow this to happen.
7.a. Should this happen in a Qualifying game, the player will be penalised (see SCORING) and this penalty will affect the team's score.
7.a(i). Should this happen in a Finals game, the player will be penalised but the penalty will not be reflected in the teams's score.
7.b. Games will not be paused for any reason once started. If you are unable to play in a game consistently, you should not play the game.
7.b(i). If a player in the Finals finds they cannot play the game for whatever reason, they should ask their Captain to find a substitute.
7.c. There will be no grace periods. Orders must be entered by the deadline.
E. SCORING