tournament rules/etiquitte question

by **Mec26** on Wed Jun 08, 2011 10:55 pm

In terms of tournaments- if a player A is asked to throw a game in order to manipulate who moves on (say, to get player B in the finals), is there a tournament-specific rule against player A doing it, and if not, how usual run-of-the-mill vs. frowned upon is this?

by **oldrisky44** on Thu Jun 09, 2011 4:05 am

Throwing a game is cheating. Private diplomacy is also cheating. Diplomacy in general is usually frowned upon in tournament games because it can affect the eventual outcome of the entire tournament.

Clicking on the "Rules" tab at the top of your display gets this ...
Rule #2: No secret diplomacy

Any form of diplomatic discussion between opponents must be posted in the game chat in English or in a language that all opponents understand. Diplomacy includes, but is not limited to: proposing truces, negotiating alliances, and coordinating assaults. Secret diplomacy can be hard to prove, but if you suspect it you should leave the players in question appropriate ratings. If you feel certain about players engaging in secret diplomacy consider reporting them in the Cheating & Abuse Reports forum by posting a new topic.

Without knowing the specifics of the incident you describe, I would say that you should tell player A that what he is suggesting is cheating and if he continues you will have to report him to the appropriate moderators.

by **SirSebstar** on Thu Jun 09, 2011 4:49 am

I'd like to improve on oldrisky44's reply.
all diplomatic actions must be in the game chat. This is paramount.
Next to that, some tournaments play multiple games where an overall score is kept. If you are in a game with your direct competitor for the top spot and all you have to do is let him be killed before you are killed, then doing (or trying) so is acceptable. I see this with escalating games where people will simply make the call to attack someone else;s stacks so those weakened players get taken out first where normally they would not do this.. But in doing so they can ensure that they will be taken out later or last. The result is loosing the game, but winning the tournament.

However, You may not simply throw the game and e.g. intentionally NOT take your turns and therefor deadbeat. You may NOT suicide into everybody and think you can get away with it. You may not THROW games, but note the difference between throwing a game and taking out/care of your opposition. Secret diplomacy is also not allowed.

Also note that many tournaments disallow even the site-legal diplomacy. Breaking a tournament rule is NOT allowed even if the site normally does allow it!

does this help?