2027 DBN Invitational Rules

The Diplomacy Broadcast Network (DBN) Invitational Tournament brings together the season’s top players from the face-to-face, virtual face-to-face, and extended-deadline Diplomacy communities in a post-season, winner-take-all competition. At the end of each season, the 28 highest-placed players are invited to compete to become the DBN Invitational Champion, a title that distinguishes the one player who not only performs well at qualifying events during the regular season, but also excels under the pressure of the Invitational itself.

Table of Contents

1.0 RULES & FORMAT

DISCLAIMER: These Rules are preliminary and subject to change until invitations for the season’s DBN Invitational are sent. Any changes to the Rules will be documented in the Change Log section at the end of this document.

1.1 Definitions

  1. Alternate: a player invited under Section 3.5 to replace a Qualifier unable to participate.
  2. DBN Invitational Regular Season (or Regular Season): the qualifying season described in Section 2.0.
  3. DBN Invitational Seed: a player’s position in the order established under Section 3.6.
  4. DBN Invitational Tournament: the post-season tournament described in Sections 3.0 through 6.0. Where “DBN Invitational” or “DBNI” appears in these Rules without qualification, it means the DBN Invitational Tournament.
  5. Game: a single game of Diplomacy played by one set of players. Also known as a “board.” Games are counted cumulatively across all rounds of an event.
  6. Game Manager (GM): a person designated by the DBN Board to run an individual Game. A Game Manager may not be a participant in the Game they run.
  7. Qualifier: a player invited to the DBN Invitational Tournament under Section 3.4.
  8. Winner: the player who wins a Game as determined under Section 6.1 during the DBN Invitational Tournament, or under the rules of the Qualifying Event during the Regular Season.

1.2 Rules

  1. The Rules of Diplomacy, 6th edition (Renegade Game Studios, 2023), shall be used in all Games of the DBN Invitational Tournament.
  2. Where the Rules of Diplomacy are adjudicated differently by the Backstabbr rules adjudicator, the Backstabbr rules adjudicator shall prevail.
  3. Where the Rules of Diplomacy or Backstabbr rules adjudicator have been clarified in these Rules, these Rules shall prevail.
  4. The DBN Board of Directors reserves the right to adjust these Rules at any point to maintain competitive balance in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
  5. Players who do not adhere to these Rules may be penalized at the DBN Board’s discretion.

1.3 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 Tournament may help organize the Tournament, but shall not participate in rulings once the Tournament begins until the conclusion of the DBN Invitational Championship Game.
  5. The DBN Board may designate a Tournament Director to act on its behalf in administering the DBN Invitational Tournament. References in these Rules to the DBN Board include the Tournament Director acting within the authority delegated to them.

1.4 Competition Format

  1. The DBN Invitational Regular Season is a year-long points competition in which players earn Placement Points based on their finishes at Qualifying Events (Section 2.0). The Regular Season is not part of the DBN Invitational Tournament; it determines which players are invited to the Tournament and how they are seeded.
  2. At the conclusion of the Regular Season, the 28 highest-placed eligible players in the DBN Invitational Standings are invited to the DBN Invitational Tournament (Section 3.0).
  3. The DBN Invitational Tournament consists of two stages: the Semi-Final Stage (Section 4.0) and the Championship Game (Section 5.0).
  4. The Winner of the DBN Invitational Championship Game is that season’s DBN Invitational Champion.

1.5 Player In Good Standing

  1. A participant who has not been suspended, censured, or otherwise deemed ineligible by the DBN Board is a Player in Good Standing.

1.6 Rookie of the Year

  1. The Edi Birsan Rookie of the Year Award shall be awarded to the Player in Good Standing with the largest Placement Points Total in the DBN Invitational Standings whose Rookie of the Year Season is the current Regular Season.
  2. A player is a Rookie until they have earned Placement Points at 3 Qualifying Events, counted cumulatively across their entire career, regardless of season or eligibility to participate in the DBN Invitational.
  3. The Regular Season in which a player earns Placement Points at their 3rd career Qualifying Event is that player’s Rookie of the Year Season. A player is eligible for this award only during that Regular Season.
  4. A player who earns Placement Points in more than one Regular Season without reaching 3 remains a Rookie throughout, becoming eligible only in the Regular Season their career total reaches 3. 
  5. Ties shall be broken in accordance with Section 2.7.

1.7 Regular Season Winner

  1. The Player in Good Standing with the largest Placement Points Total in the DBN Invitational Standings at the conclusion of the Regular Season shall be named the Regular Season Winner and awarded the John Boardman Banner. This title recognizes superior consistency and performance across Qualifying Events prior to the DBN Invitational Tournament.
  2. The Regular Season Winner is distinct from the DBN Invitational Champion.

1.8 DBN Invitational Champion

  1. The Winner of the DBN Invitational Championship Game shall be named the season’s DBN Invitational Champion, heralded as the DBN Diplomat of the Year, and awarded the Allan Calhamer Cup.
  2. The DBN Invitational Champion is determined by performance during the DBN Invitational Tournament, distinct from the Regular Season Winner.

2.0 DBN INVITATIONAL REGULAR SEASON

2.1 Regular Season

  1. The DBN Invitational Regular Season is the calendar year, January 1 through December 31, during which DBN Invitational Qualifying Events (Section 2.2) are played.
  2. A Qualifying Event is assigned to the Regular Season of the calendar year in which it begins.

  3. The DBN Board of Directors may assign a Qualifying Event to a Regular Season other than the one implied by its start date to resolve ambiguity or to maintain competitive balance.

2.2 Qualifying Events

  1. DBN Invitational Qualifying Events include events from the Diplomacy community that meet the Qualifying Event Minimum Requirements (section 2.3), held during the Regular Season, excluding the DBN Invitational Tournament itself.
  2. Each Qualifying Event is classified by the DBN Board as a DBN 60, DBN 80, or Major event and awarded a number of points based on the classification of the event. Rules for Event Classification are listed in section 2.5 below.
  3. The Event Score for each classification is listed below:
DBN 60 Event: 60 Points
DBN 80 Event: 80 Points
Major Event: 100 Points

2.3 Qualifying Event Minimum Requirements

DBN Invitational Qualifying Events must meet the following minimum requirements:

  1. At least 5 Games played and 14 unique players.
  2. A code of conduct deemed appropriate by the DBN Board.
  3. Open and accessible to the general public.
  4. Publicly available final standings. 
  5. A format that provides a sufficient level of competition as determined by the DBN Board.
  6. Use the original Diplomacy map and contain negotiations, whether verbal or written.
  7. Players must be notified the event counts toward DBN Invitational Standings, and event organizers must advertise the DBN website and YouTube channel.
  8. Event organizers must submit a DBNI Qualification Application for the event each season. The application need not include final standings.
  9. Organizers must submit standings as described in Section 2.4. 

2.4 Qualifying Event Standings Submission

  1. Organizers must submit final standings through one of the following: the standings section of the DBNI Qualification Application spreadsheet, the Diplomacy Tournament Visualizer (DipTV), or the World Diplomacy Reference (WDR).
  2. Standings must include player locations and player names.
  3. Standings must be submitted within seven (7) days of the end of the Regular Season or within seven days of the event’s conclusion, whichever is earlier. 
  4. Event organizers are responsible for ensuring the accuracy and completeness of all submitted information.

2.5 Event Classification

Qualifying Events that meet the DBN Invitational Qualifying Events Minimum Requirements are classified by the DBN Board as a DBN 60, DBN 80, or Major event based on the following criteria:

  1. DBN 60 Event: Does not meet the criteria for a DBN 80 or Major event.
  2. DBN 80 Event: Has at least 9 games played and 21 unique players.
  3. Major Event: The most prestigious event within a major category of play or events with unusual significance for the given season, as determined by the DBN Board. Examples include global or major regional face-to-face championships (such as the World Dipcon, the Asia Pacific Dipcon, European Dipcon, and North American Dipcon), virtual face-to-face championships (such as the Virtual Diplomacy League and the Virtual Diplomacy Championship), and extended deadline championships (such as the Online Diplomacy Championship). The determination of what constitutes the most prestigious event in a major category of play is subject to review each season.

2.6 Placement Points & Standings

Players earn DBN Invitational Placement Points based on their finish at DBN Invitational Qualifying Events within the Regular Season. An emphasis has been placed on event wins. 

  1. Placement Points are awarded based on the player’s final ranking at a Qualifying Event using the following formula:
     Placement Points = 1.5 * (Event Score) / (1.5 + (Place-1)^1.17)

    This results in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place being awarded 100%, 60%, and 40% of the Event Score, respectively. Subsequent places are awarded decreasing scores, reaching about 10% of the Event Score at 10th place, about 3% of the Event Score at 28th place, and so on.

  2. A player’s Placement Points Total is the sum of their three largest Placement Points within the Regular Season. 
  3. The player with the largest Placement Points Total is first in the DBN Invitational Standings, the player with the second highest Placement Points Total is second in the DBN Invitational Standings, and so on until all players have been ranked. 

2.7 Tie Breakers

If two individuals have the same Placement Points Total, ties in the DBN Invitational Standings will be broken as follows:

  1. Largest number of Placement Points for a single Qualifying Event
  2. % TopShare of all games within all Qualifying Events
  3. Public Coin Toss

3.0 DBN INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT

At the conclusion of the Regular Season, 28 players will be invited to play in the DBN Invitational Tournament. Eligible players will be invited to participate in the tournament and seeded based on their performance during the Regular Season.  The Winner of this tournament will be crowned the DBN Invitational Champion.

3.1 Tournament Structure

  1. The DBN Invitational Tournament is a post-season tournament consisting of two stages: the Semi-Final Stage (Section 4.0) and the DBN Invitational Championship Game (Section 5.0).
  2. The Semi-Final Stage consists of seven winner-take-all Games played over four Rounds.
  3. The Winner of each Semi-Final Stage Game advances to the Championship Game.
  4. The Winner of the Championship Game is named that season’s DBN Invitational Champion.

3.2 Tournament Eligibility

To play in the DBN Invitational Tournament, participants must meet the following eligibility requirements:

  1. Be a Player in Good Standing (section 1.5)
  2. Play at least 1 virtual face-to-face game at a DBN Invitational Qualifying Event over the course of the Regular Season. The player must play the entire game and it must count in the standings for the event.
  3. Be eligible to play on the Virtual World Diplomacy Community (vWDC) Discord server at the commencement and throughout the DBN Invitational Tournament.
  4. Be available to play in at least one game of the Semi-Final Stage and the DBN Invitational Championship Game if they qualify.
  5. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the DBN Board in its sole discretion reserves the right to determine that an otherwise eligible player will become ineligible.

3.3 Player Conduct

During the DBN Invitational Tournament, all participants must abide by the following player conduct Rules:
  1. All players must follow the Diplomacy Broadcast Network Code of Conduct.
  2. Violations of the Code of Conduct will not be tolerated and may result in disqualification from this and future DBN events.
  3. Violations should be reported to the DBN Board as soon as possible.
  4. All communication will be strictly confidential.
  5. 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.
  6. Players may confidentially request not to be seated with a specific other player. The DBN Board shall consider such requests and may deviate from the assignment procedures in Section 4.2 to accommodate them. Requests and any reasons given shall be treated as confidential. The DBN Board is not obligated to grant a request where doing so would materially compromise the integrity of the assignment procedures.

3.4 Qualifiers

  1. 28 players shall be invited to play in the DBN Invitational Tournament. 
  2. Eligible players who 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. 
  3. 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.

3.5 Alternates

  1. Prior to seeding, in DBN Invitational Standings order, alternates shall be invited to participate in the DBN Invitational Tournament should one of the top 28 Qualifiers be unable to participate for any reason.
  2. Invitations shall be sent to 7 alternates using the same method listed in the qualification Rules above (section 3.4). 

3.6 Seeding

  1. Once all invitations have been accepted, Qualifiers shall be seeded from 1 to 28 and Alternates shall be seeded from 29 to 35 in the order of their DBN Invitational Standings at the end of the season. 
  2. A player’s position in this order is their DBN Invitational Seed. 
  3. Once seeding is set, DBN Invitational Seed governs all subsequent assignments, invitations, and replacements in the DBN Invitational Tournament. DBN Invitational Standings are used only to determine seeding. 
  4. During the DBN Invitational Tournament, an available higher seed shall never be passed over in favor of a lower seed when allocating seats.

4.0 DBN INVITATIONAL SEMI-FINAL STAGE

4.1 Semi-Final Stage Structure

  1. The Semi-Final Stage consists of seven winner-take-all Games played over four Rounds.
  2. Games 1–4 are First Chance Games, played in Rounds 1 and 2. Games 5–7 are Last Chance Games, played in Rounds 3 and 4.
  3. The assignment of players to Rounds and Games is governed by Sections 4.2 through 4.4.
  4. The Winner of each Semi-Final Stage Game proceeds to the DBN Invitational Championship Game.

4.2 Semi-Final Stage Assignment

This Section governs the assignment of players to Rounds and Games in both the First Chance Rounds (Section 4.3) and the Last Chance Rounds (Section 4.4).

4.2.1 General

  1. Before DBNI invitations are sent, the DBN Board shall publish the scheduled start time for each Semi-Final Stage Round.
  2. Each Qualifier or Alternate must be available to play at least one Semi-Final Stage Game, as required by Section 3.2.
  3. Seats in the Semi-Final Stage are allocated in seed order. A Qualifier or Alternate who is unavailable for a First Chance Game will not receive a Last Chance Game seat if all seats are filled by higher seeds.

4.2.2 Preferences

  1. When accepting their DBNI invitation, players must indicate, separately for the First Chance Rounds and the Last Chance Rounds, one of the following:
    a. Available for one Round only, specifying which
    b. Prefer one Round, available for the other, specifying which is preferred
    c. Available for either Round, no preference
    d. Not available for either Round
  2. Players without scheduling limitations are encouraged to select option (c).
  3. A player who selects option (d) for the First Chance Rounds shall not receive a First Chance seat. A player who selects option (d) for the Last Chance Rounds shall not receive a Last Chance seat.
  4. A player’s First Chance and Last Chance indications are independent and need not match.

4.2.3 Round Assignment

  1. Players available for only one Round shall be assigned to that Round in seed order. If more such players are available for a Round than that Round has seats, the lowest-seeded of them shall not receive a seat.
  2. Players who prefer one Round but are available for the other shall then be assigned to their preferred Round in seed order. If a Round’s seats are filled before all players who prefer that Round have been assigned, the remaining such players shall be assigned to the other Round in seed order.
  3. The DBN Board shall then assign the players available for either Round with no preference. In doing so, the Board shall first avoid, so far as possible, assigning a player to a Round immediately following a Round in which that player has already played a Semi-Final Stage Game, and shall then bring the average seed number of the two Rounds as close together as possible. Where more than one assignment satisfies both objectives equally, the assignment shall be random.
  4. Where a player cannot be assigned to a Round, the next highest-seeded player available for the Round with the unfilled seat shall be added to the pool, and items 4.2.3(1) through 3 applied again as necessary.
  5. The objectives of this procedure are, in order of priority: to honor players’ stated availability and preferences; to avoid assigning a player to a Round immediately following a Round in which they have already played a Semi-Final Stage Game; and to equalize the average seed number of the two Rounds. The second objective is a best-effort accommodation only. A player who is unable to play a Round must indicate this under Section 4.2.2.

4.2.4 Game Assignment

  1. A Round allocated one Game seats all seven of its players in that Game.
  2. In a Round allocated more than one Game, players shall be divided among the Games in seed order: the highest-seeded players in the Round, one for each Game, shall be distributed randomly among the Games; then the next such group distributed randomly; and so on.

4.3 First Chance Games

  1. The First Chance Rounds are Round 1 and Round 2. Two Games are played in each Round: Games 1–2 in Round 1 and Games 3–4 in Round 2.
  2. Each First Chance Round consists of 14 seats, for 28 seats in total.
  3. The 28 highest-seeded available Qualifiers or Alternates form the First Chance pool. Each shall be assigned to one First Chance Game in accordance with Section 4.2.
  4. The Winner of each First Chance Game shall advance to the DBN Invitational Championship Game and shall not play in the Last Chance Rounds.
  5. All other players, including players not available for either First Chance Round, remain eligible for the Last Chance Rounds.

4.4 Last Chance Games

  1. The Last Chance Rounds are Round 3 and Round 4. Three Games are played across the two Rounds, for 21 seats in total.
  2. Following the acceptance of invitations, the DBN Board shall allocate the three Games between Round 3 and Round 4 so as to seat the greatest number of Qualifiers or Alternates in their preferred Round, provided that at least one Game is allocated to each Round. Where two allocations would seat the same number, the additional Game shall be allocated to Round 4.
  3. The 21 highest-seeded available Qualifiers or Alternates who have not already advanced to the Championship Game form the Last Chance pool. Each shall be assigned to one Last Chance Game in accordance with Section 4.2.
  4. Following the conclusion of the First Chance Games, players in the Last Chance pool shall be assigned to Rounds in accordance with Section 4.2.3.
  5. Game numbers 5 through 7 shall be assigned once the allocation under item 3 is complete.
  6. The Winner of each Last Chance Game shall advance to the DBN Invitational Championship Game. All other players remain eligible to fill Championship Game vacancies under Section 5.3.

4.5 Semi-Final Stage Vacancies

  1. If a player assigned to a Semi-Final Stage Game is unable to play, the highest-seeded available player who is not already assigned to a Game in that Round shall be invited to fill the seat.

5.0 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

5.1 Finalists

  1. The 7 players who won their Semi-Final Stage Games shall advance to the DBN Invitational Championship Game.
  2. Before the start of the DBN Invitational Tournament, the DBN Board will provide at least two start time options for the Championship Game. 
  3. Players who qualify for the Championship Game shall discuss amongst themselves which of the provided start times they prefer. 
  4. If players cannot agree on a start time, then the DBN Board shall select one.

5.2 Championship Game Seeding

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

  1. Solo in First Chance Game
  2. Solo in Last Chance Game
  3. Top in First Chance Game
  4. Top in Last Chance Game
  5. DBN Invitational Seed

5.3 Championship Game Alternates

  1. If a player who qualifies for the Championship Game is unable to play, the highest-seeded available player who is not already in the Championship Game shall be invited, and so on until the Championship Game has seven players.

6.0 DBN INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT GAME RULES

6.1 Objective

All games in the DBN Invitational Tournament produce a single Winner: 

  1. The player controlling 18 or more supply centers at the end of Fall (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.

6.2 Procedures

  1. All games in the DBN Invitational Tournament shall use the Paris Method for power selection as described below. 
  2. Each game shall be conducted on Backstabbr with voice negotiations on the Virtual World Diplomacy Community (vWDC) Discord Server. 
  3. Games shall be run by a Game Manager (GM). The DBN Board has granted authority to the GM to arbitrate individual games in the DBN Invitational. A Game Manager’s rulings during a Game are final for that Game. The DBN Board may review a Game Manager’s ruling after the Game concludes. If a player has any concerns, they should notify the GM immediately. 
  4. Players shall check in with the GM 30 minutes before a game’s scheduled start time. 

6.3 Power Selection (Paris Method)

  1. Determine selection order: In reverse 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: In Selection Order, players shall choose any unselected and eligible power as noted below.
    1. The person who is first in selection order can choose any eligible power.
    2. The person who is second can pick any remaining eligible power, and so on until all powers have been selected.
    3. In the Last Chance games of the Semi-Final Stage, a player may not select the power they played in their First Chance game unless that is the only remaining power.

6.4 Timing Rules

  1. GMs shall use Backstabbr’s native clock to measure timing. Grace periods shall be enabled. 
  2. GMs 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. Players abusing grace periods will be given one warning by the GM. If the behavior continues a second time, the GM will process as if no moves were received for the abandoned power. If the behavior continues a third time, the player abusing grace periods shall be removed from the tournament and an alternate player will be found using the Rules for Civil Disorder and Replacement Players. 
  4. The timing Rules listed in the table below shall be used:
StageYearNegotiation PeriodsAdjustments / Retreats
Semi-Finals1901 - 191315 Minutes3 Minutes
Championship1901 - 191615 Minutes3 Minutes

6.5 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.

6.6 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 every player that controls a supply center agrees to end the Game in accordance with the draw procedure in Section 6.7.
  3. Semi-Finals stage Games shall end in a forced draw if no power has achieved a solo victory by the end of 1913.
  4. The Championship Game shall end in a forced draw if no power has achieved a solo victory by the end of 1916.
  5. 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 to avoid triggering this rule, the GM may, at their discretion, end the Game in a forced draw.

6.7 Draw Procedure

  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.

6.8 Civil Disorder and Replacement Players

  1. If a player is not present within 15 minutes after a game’s scheduled start time, the GM shall seek out the the highest-seeded available player who is not participating in any Game then in progress to serve as a replacement player.
  2. If a player is present but experiencing technical issues that prevent them from participating in voice negotiations via Discord or entering orders in Backstabbr for a period of time that exceeds one hour, the GM shall seek out the the highest-seeded available player who is not participating in any Game then in progress to serve as a replacement player. At the GM’s discretion, if the original player’s technical issue is resolved before the replacement takes over, the original player may continue play. 
  3. If an emergency dictates that a player must leave the game early, the GM shall seek out the the highest-seeded available player who is not participating in any Game then in progress to serve as a replacement player.
  4. In the situation where a replacement 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.
  5. A replacement who takes over a power is a full participant in that Game for all purposes. The result of the Game belongs to the replacement player exactly as it would have belonged to the original player.
  6. A replacement player inherits the replaced power’s position in the Selection Order for the purposes of breaking ties (Section 6.1.2).
  7. A player who has been replaced is not eligible to participate in any further games in this year’s DBN Invitational Tournament, and may be disciplined or disqualified.

CHANGE LOG

Changes from Previous Rules

REORGANIZATION: Regular Season and Tournament are now separate

The 2026 rules mixed the two throughout. Section 2.0 was titled “Eligibility & Seeding” and held both Regular Season mechanics (qualifying events, classification, points, standings) and Tournament entry mechanics (player eligibility, qualifiers, alternates, seeding). A reader could not tell from the structure which rules governed a qualifying event and which governed the Invitational.

The 2027 rules divide them:

  • §2.0 DBN Invitational Regular Season: how events qualify, how they’re classified, how Placement Points are earned, and how the Standings are built. Nothing else.
  • §3.0 DBN Invitational Tournament: eligibility, player conduct, qualifiers, alternates, and seeding. Everything about entering and competing in the Tournament.
  • §1.4 Competition Format now states plainly that the Regular Season is not part of the Tournament; it determines who is invited and how they are seeded.

Three related changes follow from this:

CLARIFICATION- §6.0 was renamed from “Game Structure” to “DBN Invitational Tournament Game Rules.” In 2026 this section opened “All games in the DBN Invitational shall use the Paris Method… conducted on Backstabbr,” which, read literally, applied Backstabbr and the Paris Method to every Qualifying Event. It is now scoped to Tournament games only. Requirements for Qualifying Events live in §2.3.

NEW- §1.1 Definitions is new, and establishes that “DBN Invitational” or “DBNI” used without qualification means the Tournament among other clarifications.

NEW – §4.2 Semi-Final Stage Assignment: The 2026 rules stated the round-assignment and game-assignment procedures twice, once for First Chance (§3.1.1–3.1.2) and again for Last Chance (§3.2.1), and the procedures were inconsistent with each other. One procedure now governs both stages, and §4.3 and §4.4 carry only what is different between them.

A full section mapping appears at the end of this log.

MAJOR CHANGE – The Regular Season is now the calendar year: §2.1

The qualifying season runs January 1 through December 31. Previously it ran February through January of the following year (2026 §2.2). An event belongs to the season in which it begins, and the DBN Board may assign an event to a different season to resolve ambiguity or maintain competitive balance. This is particularly relevant for long extended-deadline events that span a year boundary, events that happen in December and January, or in instances where the rotating nature of the host for the event would result in an event being held twice within the same calendar year.

NEW – Three season awards, where there was one: §1.6, §1.7, §1.8

The 2026 rules (§1.5) recognized only the Championship Game winner and stated that no other awards would be given. The 2027 rules establish three:

  • Edi Birsan Rookie of the Year Award (§1.6) – best Regular Season performance by a Rookie
  • Regular Season Winner, awarded the John Boardman Banner (§1.7) – highest Placement Points Total at the end of the Regular Season
  • DBN Invitational Champion – awarded the Allan Calhamer Cup and heralded as DBN Diplomat of the Year (§1.8)

Rookie of the Year previously existed, but was not defined. The Regular Season Winner is completely new  

MAJOR CHANGE – Rookie of the Year has been redefined: §1.6

A player is now a Rookie until they have earned Placement Points at three Qualifying Events, counted cumulatively across their whole career. The season in which they record their third is their Rookie of the Year Season, and only that season’s results count toward the award.

Under the 2026 rule (§2.10), a single qualifying event, even one played in the last weeks of a season, ended a player’s rookie status, which penalized anyone who entered the hobby late in a season. It no longer does.

MINOR CHANGE – Round preferences: six options instead of four: §4.2.2

When accepting an invitation, players now choose from six options for each stage, separately:

  • Available for one Round only
  • Prefer one Round, available for the other
  • Available for either Round, no preference
  • Not available for either Round

The 2026 rules (§3.1.1, §3.2.1) offered only “Round 1, Round 2, no preference, or decline,” which forced players to claim a hard scheduling conflict in order to express a preference. This did not align with the survey sent out so the 2027 rules were updated to match practice. First Chance and Last Chance answers are independent and need not match. This is the same as what we have done in previous years, the rules are being updated to align  

MINOR CHANGE – The “lower average seed” request has been removed (§4.2.3). Balancing the two Rounds is now the Board’s stated objective, applied to players who select “no preference.” In the two years that this was offered, only five players used this as a preference. It added considerable rules weight so it has been removed to streamline the process. 

MINOR CHANGE – The Semi-Final Stage formally has four Rounds: §4.1, §4.4

Games 1–4 are First Chance Games in Rounds 1 and 2. Games 5–7 are Last Chance Games in Rounds 3 and 4. The 2026 rules were inconsistent, describing three rounds in §3.0 while §3.2.1 referred to Rounds 3 and 4.

NEW – The number of Games in each Last Chance Round is set after invitations are accepted, based on player preferences, with at least one Game in each Round (§4.4).

This helps players plan their schedule. 

CLARIFICATION – Seed governs everything after seeding: §3.6

For purposes of the DBN Invitational Tournament, DBN Invitational Standings have been clarified to determine seeding and nothing else. Once seeds are set, seed order governs every assignment, invitation, and replacement for the rest of the Tournament, and an available higher seed is never passed over in favor of a lower seed.

This is consistent with how we have done things previously, we just were mixing terminology in a few places  the 2027 rules make this language more precise. 

The practical consequences:

  • A vacancy in a Semi-Final Stage Game goes to the highest-seeded available player, not only to Alternates seeded 29–35 (§4.5). This is consistent with past practice, the rules as written did not support this. 
  • A vacancy in the Championship Game goes to the highest-seeded available player who isn’t already in it, whether or not they played a Semi-Final Stage Game (§5.3). This edge case is nearly impossible, but the cleaned up language removes any question. 
  • Last Chance seats go to the 21 highest available seeds who haven’t advanced, including players who did not play a First Chance Game (§4.4). A player who is unavailable for a First Chance Game may end up with no seat at all if the Last Chance seats fill with higher seeds (§4.1, §4.2.1). Again, just making the rules language consistent with past practices. 

CLARIFICATION – Replacement players can now win: §6.8

A replacement who takes over a power is a full participant in that Game, and the result of the Game belongs to them exactly as it would have belonged to the original player. The 2026 rules (§5.8) addressed only “points,” which was residual language from the first seasons of the DBNI that had been overlooked. 

NEW – For event organizers: §2.3, §2.4

  • A DBNI Qualification Application must be submitted for each event, every season (§2.3). The application does not need to include standings. 
  • Final standings may be submitted through any of three channels (§2.4): the standings section of the Qualification Application, the Diplomacy Tournament Visualizer (DipTV), or the World Diplomacy Reference (WDR). WDR is no longer the required route.
  • Standings are due within seven days of the end of the Regular Season, or within seven days of the event’s conclusion, whichever comes first (§2.4).
  • Publicly available final standings are now an explicit minimum requirement (§2.3).

These rules are designed to reduce the administrative burden of the DBN Board to add events and update standings. As both the number of events in the Diplomacy Hobby, and the number of events who want to participate in the DBNI have increased, this has made normalizing the data and ensuring accuracy challenging. Standardizing the workflow while still providing flexibility to organizers will improve the speed and accuracy of the standings. 

NEW – Two levels of eligibility: §1.5, §3.2

Player in Good Standing (§1.5) governs Regular Season awards. Tournament Eligibility (§3.2) governs playing in the DBN Invitational Tournament itself. The 2026 rules used a single eligibility list (§2.1) for both.

This was necessary for the new Regular Season Winner award and simplified the eligibility rules language  

NEW – Confidential seating requests: §3.3

Players may confidentially ask not to be seated with a specific other player. The Board will consider such requests and may depart from the normal assignment procedures to accommodate them, and will treat the request and any reasons given as confidential.

This was a past practice that has been formalized in the rules. 

CLARIFICATION – Schedule has moved out of the rules: §4.2.1, §5.1

Specific dates and times are no longer written into the rules; the 2026 rules embedded them in §3.1, §3.2, and §4.1. The Board publishes the start time for each Semi-Final Stage Round before invitations are sent (§4.2.1), and offers at least two Championship Game start time options before the Tournament begins (§5.1).

CLARIFICATION – Terminology: §1.1

“Board Topper” is now Winner. “Board” is now Game, and Games are counted cumulatively across all rounds of an event. A new Definitions section collects these.

Section mapping

20262027
—1.1 Definitions (new)
1.1 Rules1.2 Rules
1.2 DBN Board of Directors1.3 DBN Board of Directors
1.3 Player Conduct3.3 Player Conduct
1.4 Format1.4 Competition Format (expanded in 3.1 and 4.1)
1.5 Awards1.6 Rookie of the Year, 1.7 Regular Season Winner, 1.8 DBN Invitational Champion
—1.5 Player in Good Standing (new)
2.0 Eligibility & Seedingsplit into 2.0 Regular Season and 3.0 Tournament
—2.1 Regular Season (new)
2.1 Player Eligibility3.2 Tournament Eligibility
2.2 Qualifying Events2.2 Qualifying Events
2.3 Minimum Requirements2.3 Minimum Requirements and 2.4 Standings Submission
2.4 Event Classification2.5 Event Classification
2.5 Placement Points & Standings2.6 Placement Points & Standings
2.6 Tie Breakers2.7 Tie Breakers
2.7 Qualifiers3.4 Qualifiers
2.8 Alternates3.5 Alternates
2.9 Seeding3.6 Seeding
2.10 Rookie Eligibility1.6 Rookie of the Year
3.0 Semi-Final Stage4.0 Semi-Final Stage
—4.2 Semi-Final Stage Assignment (new, governs both stages)
3.1 First Chance Games4.3 First Chance Games
3.2 Last Chance Games4.4 Last Chance Games
3.3 Semi-Final Stage Alternates4.5 Semi-Final Stage Vacancies
4.0 Championship Game5.0 Championship Game
5.0 Game Structure6.0 DBN Invitational Tournament Game Rules