The Scorpion Houserules

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[1] The 4th Edition 2000 Rulebook (pdf-file) will be used. Apart from some very minor changes concerning convoys it's the same as the 1971 rulebook. For clarification in ambiguous situations, the GM will use the Diplomacy Players Technical Guide by Kristie Black and Thaddeus Black (ed.). In case of a discussion about the interpretation of the rules the GM's decision is final.

[2] No impersonation of the GM is allowed. Deception of the GM will have severe consequences.

[3] Players who wish to join a game should fill out the waiting list form.

[4] The GM's will not accept orders from another adress than the one you specified on the waiting list form and a fallback-address. We all know that mail servers can crash at the most inconvenient of times. It is therefore advised that every player submits an alternate e-mail-address to be used if the standard e-mail-address fails. This fallback-address will be stored by the GM for reference purposes and not published. If you want to change address, you should inform the GM via the adress we know.

[5] We only play the UK two-season game here. This means that retreats (conditional or otherwise) are sent in with the spring and autumn movement orders, and builds (conditional or otherwise) are send in with the autumn moves. There is no seperate winter adjustment season. It is possible to submit more than one retreat order for any one unit in the order of relevance.

[5 a] Be careful with conditional retreats and builds. Make sure that every eventuality is included, and, if not, finish with "otherwise build...". Without that, you may end up with no retreat or build at all. Do not make anything conditional on things like "If Austria attacked Italy..." because this is subjective.

[6] Dislodged units for which has not been written a retreat order will be disbanded.

[7] If two or more players retreat to the same space they will bounce and will be disbanded.

[8] If a player fails to submit removal orders in an autumn move (or the country is in Anarchy) then the GM will disband units which are not in supply centres as necessary. The distance of any such unit from the nearest home sc will be calculated and the furthest unit removed. In the event of a tie units in sea spaces are removed first, then units outside the home country. In the event of a tie, fleets are removed before armies and if all else fails disbands are made alphabetically. Thus, England would remove F(HEL) and F(SKA) before A(Pic), but A(Pic) would go before F(ENG) or F(NTH). A(Bel), F(Hol) and even A(Ank) would not be removed because they are in supply centres.

[9] The only press displayed by the GM will be the press on the last set of orders sent in. Press correcty identifying the author (white press) and press to be published anonymously (gray press) will be accepted. Press attributed to another person (black press) will not be accepted. Authorship of gray press will not be disclosed. Press submitted may be conditional on the season's moves. The label 'GM' is reserved for the GM. The abbreviations of the seven capitals (Lon, Par, Ber, Rom, Vie, Con, StP) or of the names of the countries (Eng or GB or UK, Fra, Ger, Ita, Aus or Aut or A-H, Tur, Rus) are reserved for the seven players. Press that insults another player on a personal level will not be published.

[10] ORDERS : A player may send in new orders at any time (of course before the deadline). Only the last set of orders that reaches the GM before the deadline will be used. So send in a COMPLETE set of orders every time. If you need an extension of the deadline, notify the GM and deliver a good explanation. Under certain circumstances the deadline may be extended.
All sets of orders should contain the following information: The name of the game, the country you are playing, and the season the order is meant for. It would be most convenient if you would put this all in the subject line (e.g.: DARK SIDE - RUSSIA - s1901). Do not just reply to an adjudication, because this would have the wrong season in the subject line.

[10 a] In case there are multiple orders for one unit in your set of orders, and they are identical, they are valid and count like one order. If, however, they are different (e.g. A War - Lvn and A War - Ukr), the unit will stand, and can be supported only if all orders are hold- and support-orders (see [10 b]).

[10 b] A unit ordered to move will not be allowed to receive support to hold, irrespective of wheter the unit is able to move in the manner stated. For example, an army in Rome ordered to move to Vienna, or a Fleet Barents Sea ordered to move to Tahiti, may not receive support to hold. A misorder not implying movement, for example, Army Rome eats pasta or Fleet Barents Sea goes fishing, will be adjudicated as an order to hold. All unordered units will be considered to have been orderd to hold, and may receive support to hold.

[10 c] Spain, Bulgaria and St. Petersburg have two coasts. An order with an omitted specification of Coast in Movement or Holding orders will still be valid if there is only one coast possible. Specifying the wrong coast will result in a misorder. An omitted specification of the coast in support orders will also be legal as long as there is only one coast possible.

[10 d] Build orders: You can write excess orders and conditional orders to build. The GM will follow your list from top to bottom, until all the builds you are allowed are complete. If there are different orders for one sc (e.g.: build f con, build a con), the first in your list will be considered valid, the second will be ignored.

[11] We strongly advise you to send in provisional orders upon receiving the adjudication. That way you can be sure that you have orders in.

[12] In case of an NMR all your units will stand, but can be supported. You also don't get any builds. A dislodged unit will be disbanded.

[13] After two successive NMR's your country will be placed in Anarchy (or Civil Disorder). This means all your units will stand, but can still be supported. Dislodged units will be disbanded.

[14] The GM won't adjudicate if there's an NMR in spring 1901. So don't NMR in spring 1901! Instead, we will look for a replacement.

[15] The GM will accept orders that are unambiguous, however badly written. Failure to specify the unit type (A or F) will always result in a misorder. Specifying the wrong unit, too.

[16] If an adjudication is incorrect, the GM should be notified immediately. If this has not happened before the next adjudication, it will be treated as correct. Thus, the game will move on as if the error was correct.

[17] We advise you to use the correct abbreviations, because it makes life easier for the GM. An abbreviation which is incorrect but leaves no doubt which space is meant, will be treated as correct. The use of the abbreviations Nor or Liv is always a misorder. For the right abbreviations, take a look at the abbreviations list or the map at the bottom of this page.

[18] A game may be ended at any time on any term proposed by a player (or the GM). The vote must be unanimous. Failure to submit a vote will be treated as a vote in favour of ending the game.
A permanent change of deadline (like, from a 2-week-game to a 3-week-game) is also possible by unanimous decision of the players. A failure to submit a vote will be treated as a vote against the change of deadline; countries in anarchy may not vote.
Proposals may be made to change any specific house rule or rules. All players remaining in the game must agree - any uncast vote or abstention will defeat the proposal.
Votes, in any case, will be due with the next deadline for orders. All votes are secret. The results will be published with the adjudication or instead of the adjudication.

[19] Any player may at any time write a proxy for one or more of his units. Only the GM and the player concerned will be informed. A proxy can be made for a preset period of time or indefinitely. The player who assigned the proxy may cancel the proxy at any time without notifying the player concerned. (Of course, the GM must be informed).

[20] Games will have a map with them, but they can be incorrect. The GM won't have any sympathy with a player who misorders on basis of an incorrect map, when the Game Report is correct.

[21] In case of supporting a foreign unit, the nationality of the unit must be specified. Otherwise it's a misorder!

[22] It's only a game, keep a sense of humour.

[23] At the beginning of a game, the players may vote for one, two or three week deadlines. The GM may not vote. A game ends when any one nation conquers the 18th supply centre (Spring or Autumn) - this is called a "solo". Otherwise all surviving nations may agree on a draw.

[24] Don't insult your fellow players. Respect is rule one! (although it's last in the list)

Notes: (Some details that often cause misunderstandings)
Sweden, Denmark, Kiel and Constantinople have only one coast. An army in Denmark can march to Sweden on foot. Spain does not border North Africa. St. Petersburg does border Norway. Tyrol does border Piedmont. The Skagerrak does not border the Baltic Sea.