2023 DBN Invitational Rules

The Diplomacy Broadcast Network (DBN) Invitational is a year-long points competition between players in the face-to-face, virtual face-to-face, and extended-deadline Diplomacy communities, culminating with the DBN Invitational Championship Game. At the end of each season, the top 28 players in the DBN Invitational Standings are invited to compete to become the DBN Invitational Champion, which distinguishes the one player who not only performs well at DBN Qualifying Events, but also excels through the pressure of the DBN Invitational itself.

Table of Contents

RULES & FORMAT

Rules

The Rules of Diplomacy, 5th edition (Hasbro, 2008), shall be used throughout the DBN Invitational. Where the Rules of Diplomacy have been clarified in the 2023 DBN Invitational Rules, the 2023 DBN Invitational Rules shall prevail.

DBN Board of Directors

  1. The DBN Board of Directors (DBN Board) shall be the final arbiter of any rules dispute.
  2. The DBN Board may rule in areas not covered by these rules.
  3. The DBN Board may, at their discretion, disregard specific provisions of these rules in order to reach a result in keeping with the spirit and character of the game of Diplomacy, but shall do so only after concluding that less drastic alternatives would be unsatisfactory.
  4. Members of the DBN Board competing in the DBN Invitational may help organize the DBN Invitational, but shall not participate in rulings once the DBN Invitational Tournament begins.

Player Conduct

All players must follow the Diplomacy Broadcast Network Code of Conduct. Violations of the Code of Conduct will not be tolerated and may result in disqualification from this and future DBN events. Violations should be reported to the DBN Board as soon as possible. All communication will be strictly confidential. The DBN Board will mediate in good faith and take whatever action they deem appropriate to resolve the situation, including pausing a game, censuring players, or requiring players to leave the event.

Format

The 2023 DBN Invitational consists of a Preliminary Stage and a Championship Game. The Preliminary Stage consists of 4 semi-final games and 3 second chance games, for a total of 7 preliminary games. All games feature power selection by the Paris Method, with the Board Topper from each game in the Preliminary Stage advancing to the DBN Invitational Championship Game.

Awards

The winner of the DBN Invitational Championship Game shall be heralded as the DBN Diplomat of the Year.  No other awards shall be given.

ELIGIBILITY & SEEDING

Player Eligibility

In order to be eligible to play in the DBN Invitational, players must meet the following requirements:

  1. Play at least 1 virtual face-to-face game at a DBN Invitational Qualifying Event over the course of the season. The player must play the entire game and it must count in the standings for the event.
  2. Be eligible to play on the vWDC server at the commencement and throughout the DBN Invitational Tournament.

Qualifying Events

DBN Invitational Qualifying Events include significant Diplomacy events from the Diplomacy community, beginning in February and ending in January of the following calendar year. Each event is categorized by the DBN Board as a tournament, league, or extended deadline event and awarded a number of points based on the size of the event. The largest event by number of games played from each category is awarded maximum points, and other events in that same category are assigned an event score based on the number of games and players at the event.

Minimum Requirements

The DBN Board determines which events qualify for the DBN Invitational. Events must meet the following minimum criteria:

  1. At least 5 boards and 14 unique players
  2. A code-of-conduct deemed appropriate by the DBN Board
  3. Open and accessible to the general public
  4. A format that provides a sufficient level of competition as determined by the DBN Board
  5. Use the original Diplomacy map and contain negotiations, whether verbally or written
  6. Event organizers must provide DBN an electronic copy of their final standings, with player names and locations whenever possible
  7. Event organizers must agree to notify players the event counts towards DBN Invitational standings and advertise the DBN website and YouTube channel

Major Events & Automatic Invitations

Major events are events of sufficient size or importance that the winners receive an automatic invitation to compete in the DBN Invitational. Events that meet the minimum requirements plus one of the following criteria are classified as major events:

  • At least 9 boards and 28 unique players
    OR
  • Is a World Dipcon, Virtual World Championship, Online Diplomacy Championship, North American Dipcon, European Dipcon, or Asia-Pacific Dipcon.

Standings

Players earn DBN Invitational placement points based on their finish at DBN Invitational Qualifying Events. Points are awarded based on a combination of the number of boards played at an event and the player’s final ranking at the event. An emphasis has been placed on event wins. The amount of points awarded drops rapidly with lower placements. The formula for player standings is:

Player Placement Score = Event Score * Place Multiplier
  1. First place gets 100% of the event points, second place gets 60%, third place gets 40%, and so on
  2. A player’s points total is the sum of their three best placement scores from qualifying events

Tie Breakers

If two individuals have the same player placement score in the DBN Invitational Standings, ties will be broken as follows:

  1. Higher head-to-head score if the individuals competed at the same event
  2. Highest individual event score
  3. % TopShare
  4. Coin Toss

Qualifiers

At the conclusion of each season, 28 players shall be invited to play in the DBN Invitational. Eligible players that win a major event are automatically invited to participate in the tournament. Any remaining tournament slots shall be offered to players in order of their DBN Invitational Standings at the end of the season. If a player is unable to participate, the player with the next highest position in the DBN Invitational Standings shall be invited until all 28 slots have been filled.

Alternates

Invitations shall be sent to 7 alternates using the same method listed in the qualification rules above. In DBN Invitational Standings order, alternates shall be invited to participate in the DBN Invitational Tournament should one of the top 28 players be unable to participate for any reason.

Seeding

Once all invitations have been accepted, Qualifiers shall be seeded from 1 to 28 and Alternates shall be seeded from 29 to 34 in the order of their DBN Invitational Standings at the end of the season. The highest ranking participant will be the first seed, the second highest participant will be the second seed, and so on until all Qualifiers and Alternates have been assigned a seed.

PRELIMINARY STAGE

The Preliminary Stage is a group play “best of” bracket across seven games of play. The Board Topper from each game shall automatically proceed to the DBN Invitational Championship Game. Games 1-4 are “Semi-Final” games. Games 5-7 are “Second Chance” games.

Semi-Final Games

The top 28 players or their alternate shall play one game each during the Semi-Finals (Games 1-4) and the Board Topper from each game shall automatically proceed to the DBN Invitational Championship Game. After these games, there is a cut to the top 21 players remaining in the tournament.

Semi-Final Games are scheduled for the following rounds:

  • Round 1: Friday, Feb 17, 6p EST / 12a CET / 10a AEDT (Saturday)
  • Round 2: Saturday, Feb 18, 10a EST / 4p CET / 2a AEDT (Sunday)

Players shall submit their preferred round to the DBN Board and be assigned to Round 1 or Round 2 by preference in seed order. The lowest seeds shall be moved to make multiples of 7. Within each round, the boards shall be divided randomly by pot (e.g., if there are 3 games, then the top three seeds in the round shall be distributed randomly, then the next three seeds distributed randomly, and so on).

Second Chance Games

Of the remaining 24 players, the top 21 players by seed shall advance to the Second Chance Games (Games 5-7) played between Rounds 3 and 4. The remaining 3 players become first alternate players.

Second Chance Games are scheduled for the following rounds:

  • R3: Saturday, Feb 18, 6p EST / 12a CET / 10a AEDT (Sunday)
  • R4: Sunday, Feb 19, Feb 10a EST / 4p CET / 2a AEDT (Monday)

Players shall submit their preferred round to the DBN Board and be assigned to Round 3 or Round 4 by preference in seed order. The lowest seeds shall be moved to make multiples of 7. Within each round, the boards shall be divided randomly by pot (e.g., if there are 2 games, then the top two seeds in the round shall be distributed randomly, then the next two seeds distributed randomly, and so on). In seed order, an attempt will be made to prevent players from playing on the same board as someone they played with during the semi-final games, however, due to the small number of players in each round, this may not be possible.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Finalists

The 7 players who topped their boards in the Semi-Final Games and Second Chance Games shall advance to the DBN Invitational Championship Game.

The Championship Game is scheduled for one of the following two times:

  • Option 1: Saturday, Feb 25, 10a EST / 4p CET / 2a AEDT (Sunday)
  • Option 2: Saturday, Feb 25, 1p EST / 7p CET / 5a AEDT (Sunday)

Players who qualify for the Championship Game shall discuss amongst themselves which of the above start times they prefer. If players cannot agree on a start time, then the DBN Board shall select one.

Seeding

The Championship Game shall be seeded based on performance during the DBN Invitational Preliminary Stage. Players shall be ranked as follows:

  1. Solo in semi-final game
  2. Solo in second chance game
  3. Top in semi-final game
  4. Top in second chance game
  5. DBN Invitational Seed

Alternates

The remaining 21 players who did not top their boards will also be ranked based on performance during the Preliminary Stage according to these criteria:

  1. Played 2 games
  2. Average center count (losing to a solo counts as 0)
  3. DBN Invitational seed

If a player who qualifies for the Championship Game is unable to play, alternates will be invited in the order of this ranking. Alternates will be seeded below the other players in the order of this ranking.

GAME STRUCTURE

Objective

All games in the DBN Invitational produce a single winner: 

  1. The player controlling 18 or more supply centers at the end of a fall turn (a solo).
  2. The player controlling the most supply centers at the time of a draw.  If two or more players are tied for the most supply centers, the winner is the player who selected their power last among the tied players.

Procedures

  1. All games in the DBN Invitational shall use the Paris Method, as described below, for power selection.
  2. Each game shall be conducted on Backstabbr with voice negotiations on the Virtual World Diplomacy Community Discord Server. 
  3. Games shall be run by a Game Manager (GM). The DBN Board has granted full authority to the GM to arbitrate individual games in the DBN Invitational. If a player has any concerns, they should notify the GM immediately.

Power Selection (Paris Method)

  1. Determine selection order: In seed order, players select the order in which they pick the power they shall play. 
    1. The second lowest seed chooses whether they pick before or after the lowest seed (the lowest seed has no choice). 
    2. The next lowest seed chooses whether to pick first, last, or between other players.
    3. Selection continues in this manner from lowest to highest seed until the selection order is finalized. 
  2. Select powers: Using the newly determined selection order, players choose which power they shall play. The person who is first in selection order can choose any power they like. The person who is second can pick any remaining power, and so on until all powers have been selected.

Timing Rules

  1. GMs shall use Backstabbr’s native clock to measure timing. Grace periods shall be enabled. 
  2. GM’s shall keep the health and well-being of players in mind. Players may request games to be briefly paused which the GM shall allow at their discretion. 
  3. If the GM finds that a player is intentionally abusing grace periods or pauses to create an advantage or frustrate other players, it shall be considered a code of conduct violation. 
  4. The timing rules listed in the table below shall be used:
YearNegotiation PeriodsAdjustments / Retreats
1901 - 190915 Minutes3 Minutes
1910+10 Minutes3 Minutes

Negotiations

  1. All negotiations shall be held within Discord voice rooms, with the exception of typed messages, which are allowed. Players shall always be present in a Discord voice room, whether it is a negotiation room or the Game Table. 
  2. All players shall return to their assigned Game Table voice channel during adjustments, retreats, and draw results​. Negotiation during these phases are not allowed. Players are permitted to speak socially, but shall not negotiate during these phases. This is an honor system request, but please respect it.
  3. When using Discord voice channels, it is acceptable to briefly drop into a negotiation room where other players are communicating, request to speak to one or more players, and then immediately leave the channel if requested. Players are under no obligation to speak to one another. Players are permitted to drop-in more than once during a negotiation period if necessary, but this should not be abused. 
  4. Performing actions that intentionally prevent someone from having a private conversation in a negotiation room, such as following someone around or refusing to leave if asked, is considered a code of conduct violation.
  5. Players who have been eliminated from the game may no longer communicate with players remaining in the game, whether verbally at the Game Table or via direct messages. They shall not enter any of the negotiation rooms.

Ending The Game

  1. The game shall end in a solo victory if a single power controls 18 or more supply centers at the end of a Fall turn. Solos cannot be conceded.
  2. The game shall end in a draw​​ if all powers remaining in the game agree to end the game. 
  3. The game shall end in a forced draw if no power has achieved a solo victory by the end of 1916.
  4. In the event that there has been no exchange of centers for at least three consecutive years, the GM, at their discretion, may end the game in a forced draw.  If the GM determines that players are exchanging centers merely in order to avoid triggering this rule, the GM may, at their discretion, end the game in a forced draw.

Draw Proposals

  1. Beginning in Spring 1907, players may propose a draw once per Spring or Fall season by announcing their intent to draw in the game table, and then requesting the GM to adjudicate the draw. Once everyone is in the Game Table, the GM shall give players the opportunity to openly veto the draw. If the draw is openly vetoed, it does not count as the draw vote for that season. If it is not openly vetoed, each player shall head to their assigned voice room and confidentially cast their vote to the GM. 
  2. If a player proposes a draw, and one or more players decline to congregate in the Game Table, those players shall be considered to have openly vetoed the draw. The GM shall not force players to go to the game table for a draw proposal.
  3. For a draw vote to be successful, every player that controls at least one supply center at the time of the vote must vote in favor of the draw. The GM shall not divulge who voted in what way, or how many players voted for or against the draw.

Civil Disorder and Replacement Players

  1. If an emergency dictates that a player must leave the game early, the GM shall seek out an alternate to serve as a replacement player. 
  2. In the situation where an alternate player cannot be found, the GM shall process standing “hold” orders for the abandoned power and assume a vote in favor of all draw proposals
  3. Players replaced by an alternate may be disciplined or disqualified from the tournament. 
  4. Alternates serving as a replacement player shall receive full points as if they had played the entire game.