I'm GM'ing. What do I do?

( Draft )

The Game Master (GM) is not a player, but an arbiter skilled in the rules serving as a neutral party that administers the game. They collect orders from players, determine their outcome and publish reports, maps and charts chronicling the games progress.

Expectations and Obligations

The GM is expected to...

adopt a set of house rules to handle situations that may arise during the game due to the playing environment. Running a game without any house rules can lead to frustration and inconsistent administrative decisions.
know their weaknesses in rules or the adjudication process, hence knowning when to seek assistance.
offer help according to their knowledge of the rules, when asked.
publish any necessary reports with in 24 hours of the published deadline or provide notice to the players should that not be possible.
have played the game before GMing for the first time.
read and reply to messages on their games daily.
be organized in the way they perform the job conveying consistancy in their method.
GM the game until it ends which is likely to take several months.

The GM is obligated to ...

remain neutral thoughtout the game even in areas involving the games management that do not involve orders such as absenses. For example, if you are missing a set of orders, state that a set of orders are missing from a player and not that you are missing orders from Turkey. In cases like this one, follow your written house rules as closely as possible.
set and change the deadlines and is obligated to adhere to them in accordance to any established houserules.
inform their players when they are unavailable for periods of time longer than 24 hours. Those GMs with work only access should tell players that, and then the period would be 24 hours (or 72 if it included a weekend).
publish all turn and End of Game reports for the game on the Cat23 list disignated for that game.
seek a replacement when unable to fulfill the duties of GMing for any reason by sending a message to the Cat23-GM and Cat23-Ngame lists.

Houserules

Houserules are guidelines that GM sets to manage the game. They represent a contract between the GM and the players on how the management of the game is going to be conducted. Setting many policy issues before the game even begins. Players should have an opportunity to read them before they join the game. That provides any player an opportunity to pass the game up should they find the terms unacceptable to them. Cat23 has put a special houserule file together that includes several of the topics and how they might be handled. You may use this file as guide to set up your houserules. You are not required to use it, but it is highly recommended by the Cat23 Community.

Model HouseRules

Getting a game number

A game nmber can be obtained from the CAT23 Game Number Database. This database records a few details like who is GMing the game, their E-Mail address, rather it is a Variant or Standard Game, and any special notes. A good note to include is the Web Address for the game your running, if you have one.nbsp; One of the nice features of this database is that you are able to search it for the recorded details on a game. It can also be updated should any of the information change during the course of the game. It is well documented and can be accessed by clicking on the link above.

Adjudicating

This is the GMs job. At least that is what most people thing of as the GM's job. As you do more you realize there is a lot more to GMing than the adjudication. But, the adjudication is the primary focus. At any rate, how you do this part of the job is not as important as accomplishing it in a timely, accurate way that provides confidence in your players.

Your first adjudications should be done manually. It may take longer, but you are likely to be more confident in the end result. That may mean you won't have a map to offer the players, perhaps you could find someone to make the map for the game.

One way to put together the adjudication section of the report

Adjudication software

I'm not the one to address adjuication software. However, I will comment. I use my own home made game management system that is not available. It doesn't adjudicate, I do that. Some day it might adjudicate and it might be available.

A GM that uses adjudication software needs to realize that most of them have bugs and they should not rely totally on them for producing an accurate adjudication. Using them without knowing the rules and checking the results can result in disputes from the players in the game. Hence, they should be used with caution.

Reporting Results

The reporting of results has been very lax on the Cat. This is an area that needs dramatic improvement. Why? Say I feel like studying a diplomacy game that has been completed. Perhaps its a Game where Austria won and I wanted to see how Austria did it because I just drew Austria in a the game that just began. Guess what? It is a difficult thing to do with the Cat23 reports. It might take days to gather all the reports needed and many of the turns will be missing. Why? Because their has been so much inconsistancy in game reporting. Even if I got a copy of all the reports, they may be different in the way they are formated and maps may not exist at all. Reports are a valuable resource for a membership to better understand the technical aspects of the game. You may think that your game is not important and that only the players need to see the reports. But, reporting is part of GM'ing on Cat23.

What should be in the report?

These Items should be in every report:

The Game Number
The Season being adjudicated
Players and assignments (including current E-Mail Addresses)
The Orders, their adjudication and any adjudication comments (i.e. You can't cut your own support, forbiden self dislodgment, complex situations that require enlightenment)
Ending positions
Clear deadline for the next season

These Items should be in reports as needed:

Retreats Needed
Supply Center Ownership Section
Adjustment Needs
Game ending proposals.
Voting Results

These Items are optional

You may have an optional item that you like, I,ve not included.

The report should be sent to the appropriate Cat23 list for all to enjoy. Items like maps can't be posted to the lists, but they can be uploaded in the files section.

Posting final game outcome

At the end of the game you should request the Players to post End of Game comments to the list that the game was played. The GM should prepare a final report to be posted on the list. It should report the outcome, show the final position, show the final supply center chart, perhaps it could contain a Ownership Count Chart by Country and a Historical Supply Center Summary, and any comments you might have about the GM'ing of the game.

Also at the conclusion of the game, the outcome should be recorded in the History of Cat23 EMail Diploymacy Games database. Towards the bottom of the page you will find a graph that says "Submit Changes to this page". Click on it an a form will appear. Fill in the information requested. Cat23 now has a bullitin board called the forum that is set up for reporting End of Game comments. You are encouraged to include your report in this area.

The Rules and The Diplomacy Player's Technical Guide (DPTG)

A copy of the rules can be found on-line at this site. You are invited to use them if you own a copy of the game. This link is new and may not be permanently available as the rules are protected copy right material by Hasbro.

A copy the Diplomacy Player's Technical Guide (DPTG) can be obtained from the Cat23-GM files section in a text, PFD and Word formats. An on-line version can also be found here. It could be used as a substitute for the rules when a copy is unavailable. The DPTG was put together based on on Avalon Hill's 1976 and 1982 versions of the Diplomacy Rulebooks. Today it is often being cited as the arbitrator in rules issues that may arise during the course of the game. To date only two issues have been cited causing interpretation problems. (Ray Setzer may be able to provide sound information about these issues, my personal knowledge about the DPTG is minimal as I use the 1976 rulebook with satisfaction).

General tips

Don't try to be something your not: Your credibility is at stake.
Don't empty your trash too soon. I keep my messages much longer than most. But, I have been saved numerous times come report time, because of my trash.
Always send out an order confirmation letter unless you are receiving the last of the orders and are going to adjudicate. This is important! I go one step further and tell the players to keep it until after the turn is adjudicated. That means, when I do get a missing orders situation, I can search my files for both the orders and/or the order confirmation. This addresses the argument, "But I sent you orders over a week ago for this turn." If you can't find their orders, you can ask them to send the confirmation back to you as a forwarded message.
Send out timely reports.
Remain impartial.
Log on often.
GM as many games you can handle (perhaps one less). Don't be tempted to take on one more game than you can handle.
A GM should post a list of the players and publish the houserules before the game begins. It is recommended that you ask at this time for the players to confirm their wishes to play. This can be done with or without knowledge of the country they are playing. By definition this process is called a Last Call.