This article provides information about the how we run our games.
If you have any questions that are not covered, please do Get in Touch.
Processing Schedule
Standard Games
Standard games are generally processed in the morning (UK time) on the first working day after the due date shown on the results pdf. This is known as the process date.
The deadline for orders to reach us for normal games is 9am UK time on the process date. Versions of orders sent to after that risk not being used. We’ll always use orders that come in after 9am if we spot them, of course, but don’t rey on this…Emails take time to reach us, and games also take time to run – so just because you haven’t had your results doesn’t mean that the game hasn’t begun to be processed, in which case it is too late to change your orders.
If you send in turns by email or JOverseer, you will receive a receipt from us, so if you have not received this receipt we have NOT received the orders, in which case please try again. We also suggest that you keep your turn receipts, as this is your proof that we have received your orders.
Orders received after mid-day (UK time) on process date will incur a fee.
Reminders
If we have not received orders from you by the due date, we will send you a reminder by email.
If we have still not received orders from you by morning of the process date, we will send out a second reminder, and if it is a team game, ask your teammates if they can submit ‘shadow orders’ on your behalf.
Finally, if we have still not received orders from you by mid-day, we will issue another reminder, and delay processing the game until the next working day. Then, if we have still not received anything from you or your teammates, we will write some very basic orders on your behalf and use those. But please don’t leave it this late to send in orders, as delayed games spoil the enjoyment of other players.
Delayed Games
Every effort will be made to ensure that game results are sent out on the process date.
However, if we are missing any orders, we prefer to wait an extra day rather than run the game with orders missing. This is because running a game with orders missing can cause a great deal of harm to that side, and often cause a game to end. We’re aware that delays can be frustrating, but as most players have benefitted from the extra day over the years, we hope that you will be understanding.
If a game is delayed, we will send out an email informing you of this. So if you haven’t received either your results or an email by 8pm our time, please do get in touch.
Orders
Changes to Orders
If submitting updates to your own orders, please increase the version number.
JOverseer should do this automatically, but you can also do so yourself by saving the order file, altering the file name, then emailing it to us as an attachment. If you don’t do this every time, we can end up receiving a v1 of orders with a more recent time-stamp than a v2, which leaves us wondering which to use.
If submitting changes to someone else’s orders, we must have their permission.
We know this is a team game, and the chances are that if you submit a revision for a teammate, they will be happy for you to do so. But there have been cases where people on a team disagree about plans, leading to players sending unwanted changes to their teammate’s orders. So if you are going on holiday and are happy for your team to make changes to your orders, please drop us an email to let us know. You can even leave instructions that you are always happy for this to happen if you like. The exception to this rule is grudge games, where the team captain always has permission to make changes.
No matter what orders you are making changes to, always send us the order file.
Even if you are only making one small change, we need a new order file with an updated version number, not just an email saying ‘I’d like this character to do a 605 instead of a 620’. This isn’t just us being too lazy to make the changes at our end: every time we make a change manually there is a risk of an error, which no one wants to see happen. If you are submitting changes for a teammate and don’t know what version they have submitted, just send us a version 100.
Shadow Orders
Shadow Orders can be sent via JOverseer. Just click the ‘shadow order’ option when sending.
Game Costs
Click Hereto view our Game Costs.
Funding your Account
Please ensure that your account is always in credit! If your account is not in credit, it is known as in a Low Funds state. Turns will then incur an extra fee, and may be held back until payment is made (turns are still processed, but not sent out). Normally we only hold back the second turn that goes low funds, but we reserve the right to hold back the first low funds turn if we consider it necessary for consistent offenders. Please note that the correct balance is the one on the Front Sheet, not the one on the Result sheet. You should ONLY use the balance shown on your Front Sheet not on your Result sheet.
We only check for payments in once a day, at around 9am UK time. So if you need to send funds to cover your next turn, please make sure you do so a few days before the game is due to process.
When starting a new game, please try to ensure that you have enough funds in your account to cover your setup fee. If you are a returning player with a negative balance, we reserve the right to apply a small administration fee on joining.
If you require a VAT receipt for a payment made to us, please ask.
Payments under £20/$20 may incur an additional admin fee of £2/$2.
Ceasing Play and taking over Dropped Positions
If ceasing play, please let us know as soon as possible.
If for some reason you wish to drop a position in any of our games, please inform us and your team-mates as quickly as possible, so that other players in the game do not suffer. It only takes a minute and helps those who want to play on – players dropping without warning or letting us know can cause great damage to the games. Refunds of any remaining credit are available.
If a player misses a turn, we will attempt to contact that player and see if they wish to continue. If a player misses 2 turns in a row then we reserve the right to transfer that position to another player, and drop the former player from the game so that the rest of the team is not penalised. It only takes a minute for players to contact us, even in very busy periods of their life, and we find that if players miss one turn they are much more likely to miss the second turn, and if they miss the second turn then they are very likely to miss subsequent turns.
Playing Multiple Positions
The number of positions you can play in any particular game can be found in the game details – usually one, two or three. And at the start of a game, no player can run more than that number – please do not use a pseudonym to attempt to do so. However, if a player drops out, then we will often consider allowing an existing player on that team to take over their position, so that the game will not become unbalanced. Since this system is clearly open to abuse, we reserve the right to judge each case on an individual basis.
Aliases
Aliases, unless you have specifically been given permission, are not allowed. Some players have used this to enable themselves to play more than one nation under assumed names. We leave it to your own honour and sense of fair play to police this. But if we catch you we will penalise you.
GM Players
We run Middle-earth PBM because we love games. We’re all keen gamers, and so play in many of the games ourselves. But we will never make moderation decisions regarding a game we are playing in, view the results of other nations in that game, or in any way take advantage of our positions as GMs. If you do not wish to play in a game with a GM player, please let us know when asking to join a game.
Holidays
Turns will be run every week day including Christmas Day and Boxing Day, so please take this into account when sending in turns, else you may miss a deadline.
Emailing Us
When emailing us, please use the email address gsi@gamesystems.com, and include ME in the subject line.
Errors
If you think something has gone wrong and your results are incorrect, please do not panic, as we can sort out nearly any problem or mistake that may have occurred. Simply contact us as quickly as possible (if you leave it too late then we might be unable to fix the error and you will lose out), giving all the relevant information, including who you think it will impact upon. We will investigate, and if there has been an error in processing, we’ll fix it and contact the appropriate parties with the amendment to the results. Note that this is only if there has been an error on our part – if you made a mistake with your orders, then we are afraid that this is not something we are able to fix.
In the vast majority of cases, we are able to fix the error by making changes to the database and informing players of the changes. On rare occasions we may have to reprocess the game, but this will only be done as a last resort.
Sample Email Order Format
We recommend that where possible, you use our dedicated game-play software JOverseer to send in your orders. However, if you do need to send in orders in the body of an email, please make them as clear as possible. Below is an example of what for us is the ideal email turn format, and we would ask that you do your best to emulate this as closely as possible.
Subject: ME29/24
ME 29 Player: 24 Security Code: 1234 Due Date: 15th July 2002
Fred Bloggs A/c: 109999 Turn Number: 15
Alfred (alfre) @1234 (Com,Age,Emi)
810 MovChar 1235
900 FindArt 86
Beattie (beatt) @ 2345 (Com)
947 NatTran 1234 le 100
948 TranCar 2345 4321 go 10,000
And so on. Basically, please do your best to set out your orders as clearly as possible, with characters in alphabetical order (we won’t fix it afterwards if a player error occurs here and we don’t notice it) and without the orders either too close together, or too spread out.