Welcome to the Genetess V1.02 Rules Startup.
When a new game of Genetess V1.02 is ready, it will be given its own game homepage on this website. An example game homepage is shown below.
The game homepage contains all the information required to join, play, and review the specific game. The details contained on the game homepage will probably make more sense to new players once they have read the rest of the rules, but are summarised here for you to come back to.
Game Name
The Genetess game name is shown in the page title and on the top line. For our example above it is Riot.
Game Number
The Genetess number is shown in the page title and after the # symbol on the top line. For our example it is 9999. A genetess game can be referred to either by its game name or game number.
Link to join game
When clicked on this link will create a blank e-mail to the game administrator in whic you can request to join the game. Once a game has started this link is removed as no additional players can then join.
Game Launch Date
This is the earliest date this game will launch, although the game could launch significantly later than this date if it take a long time to recruit enough players. If a game reaches its launch date and has too many players signed up, preference will be given to those currently playing fewer live Genetess games.
Latest game update
Prior to launching, this indicates how many players have signed up to date for this game. After launching this indicates the latest round the game is in.
Current Players
This will be blank until a game launches, after which it will list the pseudonyms of all players currently still in the game.
Eliminated Players
This will be blank until a game launches, after which it will list the pseudonyms of all players that have been eliminated from the current game. Note that players who have lost a King but still have Ronin pieces on the board count as eliminated for this purpose.
Starting Number of Kings
This indicates how many pieces containing a K (King) code each player starts the game with. This is nearly always set to 1.
Number of Starting Positions
This is the total number of possible starting positions in the game. It is always equal to or greater than the number of players in the game. Each player bids for their preferred starting position in round 0 of the game. This value also sets the maximum number of players a game can support.
Minimum Number of Players to Start
This game will not launch until it has at least this many players signed up. Note that it will never lauch before its Game Launch Date no matter how many players sign up.
Genetic Codes in Play
Some games do not allow all the genetic codes defined in the rules to be used. This parameter indicates which codes (from A to Z) are in play for this game.
Specials Definitely in Game
Although the skeleton board for a new game does not show which specials are where, this parameter can be used to indicate if a specific type of special is definitely located somewhere in the game.
Specials Possibly in Game
Similarly, this parameter can be used to indicate which specials might be located somewhere in the the game. If a type of special square is not listed in this parameter nor the previous parameter then it is definitely not used in this game.
Piece Creation Allowed
This is nearly always set to yes, but a few Genetess games do not allow new pieces to be created in which case this will be set to no.
Do Specials Relocate After Use
When set to yes, all specials in this game randomly relocate to another part of the board as soon as they are activated. They will always relocate to an empty square inside the outer edge of the game.
Turn Around Time in Hours
This is the number of hours a player has in which to reply to their turn sheet when it is their move. At the end of this time their stored move will be processed, or if they do not have a stored move they will be timed out and the game will move on to the next player. Being timed out has no other side effects - when it is that player's turn in the following round they will again be given the same amount of time to respond. Time outs are indicated on the turn sheets however, so other players will be able to see if someone isn't concentrating. The holiday action (new to Genetess V1.02) allows players to suspend a game when they know they are going to be unavailable.
Holiday days per Player
As of Genetess V1.02 players can issue a holiday order which will suspend the game until either they issue a replacement order, or they use up their allowed number of holiday days. This parameter specifies how many holiday days each player receives when the game starts. Holiday days are always used in whole numbers and their use is rounded up (so a holiday of 2 days 3 minutes will cost 3 holiday days). Holiday days are replenished in the game at a rate of 1 for every 10 game rounds completed.
Decode Fog of War in Game
This is usually set to yes for most Genetess games and indicates that players can only see the genetic codes used by enemy pieces through the use of an F (decode) code in their own pieces. If it is set to no the F (decode) code will not be needed.
View Fog of War in Game
This is again usually set to yes for most Genetess games and indicates that players can only see the parts of the board visible to their pieces. If it is set to no the D (view) code will not be needed.
Skeleton Map Shows Internal Walls
If this is set to yes the skeleton map on this page shows all internal walls. If set to no it will show no internal walls.
Skeleton Map Shows initial Special Locations
If this is set to yes the skeleton map on this page shows the initial starting locations of all special squares, although not which type of special square exists. If set to no it will show no special squares.
E Gained by Kings per Turn
At the beginning of every turn, every players gains this amount of E per King (piece containing the K code) they own.
Starting E per King
This is usually set to 10 in most Genetess games and indicates how much E each player begins the game with per King they start the game with. Some, all, or none of this value can then be used in the round 0 gambles, with the remainder carrying forward into the round 1 proper of the game.
Skeleton Map
The skeleton map indicates at least the exterior walls that make up the boundary of the map for this game, and the available starting positions for players. In most Genetess games it also indicates the location of the interior walls and the starting location of special squares. The skeleton map is also included in every turn sheet issued.
Round 0
Round 0 in every Genetess game is a special round in which players do not make a move, but instead gamble against each other for preferred starting position, order of play, and piece colour. Players can gamble up to the total amount of E they start the game with, but any E they do not gamble with is carried forward into round 1 proper of the game. The options when gambling are summed up in a special Gamble worksheet that will be included in the round 0 turn workbook all players receive. An example of this worksheet is shown below.
Round 0 is also the only time in Genetess when speed of reply can have any bearing on the game. If two players gamble the same amount for the same parameter (for example to go 1st in the order of play) the reply received first will have priority. For example if in our four player game we received the following gamble instructions, listed in the order they arrived.
The game administrator would sort them by the amount of E gambled, then by the time they arrived.
Which would result in the following allocations for the game.
The other allocations, including all those for the 4th player who didn't enter a gamble at all, will be completed randomly. Some players like to spend a lot of their starting E during round 0 to ensure they start the game exactly how they wish. Others never spend any, preferring instead to keep their E for round 1 proper. Finally a note not to forget the benefit of a 0E gamble. Although it will lose out to anyone who gambles 1E or more on the same paramter - if no-one else does this it is a free way of getting your preferred parameter when the game starts.
