Jack007 wrote:NoPunIn10Did wrote:That’s as may be, but it’s not wrong. Dixie’s scoring system is one of the few tournament systems left that uses draw size as a component, but that’s still a type of variant.
Please explain.
First and foremost, the original
Diplomacy rules give no explanation or numerical value to the value of a draw as compared to a solo. Nor does it clarify whether one type of draw is better than another.
So, as a result, any scoring system applied to a game of
Diplomacy has to make judgment calls about the relative values of those results. Those judgment calls will shape trends in the way the game is played.
There are roughly three schools for how to score draws:
- Score based on the number of players in the draw.
- Score based on the supply centers owned by each player.
- Score based on the relative rank of players, with rank calculated by final SC count (and year-of-elimination for those no longer on the map).
PlayDiplomacy solely uses method (A) to score draws prior to Elo adjustments. Sum-of-Squares is a common scoring system that lands in the (B) camp. C-Diplo, popular in Europe, uses (B) and (C). Carnage, which has become popular in North American tournaments, uses (C), with (B) as a tiebreaker.
Dixiecon's scoring system is unique in that it uses
all three of those measures. (A) determines the biggest chunk of a player's points, but there's a reasonably sizable point-per-SC score that makes (B) more than just a tiebreaker. (C) is used to grant points to those who lose the game.