Games of more than 1hour phase start as soon as seven players join. They don't wait until a start time. So it could start in 10 minutes if the seventh player joins. Also, you could be looking at a game that is already in progress but someone abandoned a position in.

Our FAQ will tell you more.

Normal is the phase length or turn length. The game starts as soon as 7 players sign up. Then each player has 24 hrs to make their orders. Rinse and repeat.

Thanks guys, your responses are helpful. :)

I read the Help/FAQ, it's really not so helpful for explaining how to play the computer version of the game, what a Phase is, and such -- how turns are taken, how to make your online moves, etc. Do we get email notices when a game starts? Or when it's time to make a move? Or anything like that?

Gen. Lee - so if the Phase is 24, we have 24 hours, but if it is 12, we have 12 hours to make our orders?

So there is a game started by Deckler, that says it is a 20 hour classic. In pregame.
It says it starts in 12 hours. And the phase is 20 hours. So sometime tomorrow around 11:20 am my time (maybe sooner if everyone signs up by then according to Draugnar, right?), I log into the game. I'll get a big map. And on that map I do something maybe? Then I check in every 20 hours and do something else. Because every move can be 20 hours. So the game doesn't end in 20 hours, each turn is 20 hours. Is that right?

thanks!

gameID=103853

This game has 12 hours left to get 7 players. If not it will not start, once the 7th player joins it starts. Once it starts you have 20 hrs to enter your moves and click save. Once in a game it's pretty easy to get the hang of entering moves.

Also notice the variants, right below the title of the game it might say public message only, or no messaging. These are variants of the classic game. If the game says winner takes all then if anyone reaches 18 centers they take the entire pot. The default is points per supply center at the end.

There are no email notifications, if you are in a 24 hour phase game then you just need to check the website once a day and enter moves.

Thanks thanks thanks! :)

Welcome Moondust!

The game is built up in years. Each year you'll have the following phases:

Spring: to enter orders and talk to other players. The game begins with a spring phase.
Retreats: if needed, for entering retreat orders.
Autumn: Same as spring. In order to obtain a supply center you must control it at the end of this phase (including retreats).
Retreats: if needed, for entering retreat orders.
Builds: If you have obtained or lost a center or more you can build or must destroy units. New units will usually be placed in your home (starting) centers, so make sure you've got enough room to build!

Each phase will have the same time limit. It may be useful for negotiation to wait out a phase while you have your retreat or build orders ready.

To add to Gen.Lee: when entering orders you've got the option of saving or readying your orders (also called finalizing). If all players finalize before the end of the phase it will go to the next phase regardless of the hours left on the clock. So if you have some short phased games, be sure to check regularly. Or, just save and your orders will be executed at the end of the phase.

Also, welcome, good luck and feel free to add more questions.

And checking in only once a turn is a nad idea. This game is called diplomacy because you are supposed to talk with the other players and plan your moves. So you need to check several times each turn and talk to the people in the game.

Sounds great! My game has officially started.

>>all players finalize before the end of the phase it will go to the next phase

How can I tell if the others have finalized and they're just waiting on me? Is there some icon or something somewhere that shows when others are done?

thanks!

Welcome to webDip, Moondust.

If you are new to the game, I suggest you join a game that has 24-48hrs/phase. This will ensure you don't accidentally miss a phase. In order to do well, you probably need to log in at least twice per phase.

In game, next to each player's name, will be a "!!", an grey "check mark", or a "green checkmark". "!!" means no orders have been entered, grey means they've entered some orders but have not finalized. Green means they've finalize. The game will process at the end of the phase, or after everyone has a green check next to their name.

Finally, if you could take a moment to familiarize yourself with the Site Rules, it would be appreciated (www.webdiplomacy.net/rules.php) On behalf of the mods, I hope you enjoy your time here.

abgemacht
Admin Emeritus

@Moondust, checking into the game twice per phase is really a minimum to do well. You need to be able to send messages and get responses and send more messages. If you check into the site 3 or 4 times a day, then 20-25 hours per phase is good. If you only plan on checking in one or twice a day then you might want to do 36 hour phases or 2 day phases or more.

Note that sometimes you won't have much to say on a given phase and you'll just be bored waiting because not everyone finalizes. Remember that while you don't have anything to say, others might so they may not finalize. They also may not finalize because of how they want the phase change to time with their life or other reasons. So don't expect everyone to always finalize.

Also, often times people play multiple games at once. One game gets to a bit of a boring spot where things are proceeding but it isn't hot and heavy and so you go and join another game. Be careful not to join too many games. Some people join what I consider a crazy number of games and do just fine. Three or four games is really my max for the time I have. It is nice to have games staggered so you aren't starting 2 or 3 at the same time but rather have one starting, one or two in mid-game and such.

I could just keep on typing but that's what I'll go with for now. Good luck and have fun!

Sorry, I'm used to playing gunboat (no in-game messaging) which only requires you to check it once per phase. They are right playing full-press you need to check more often or everyone will make plans without you.