Command Index

Last revised: 9 June, 1994

Send comments or corrections (only for the HTML version of this file) to Doug Massey ([email protected]).


You can receive a copy of this file via E-mail by sending your local Judge a message with "get index" in the body.


This is an alphabetical list of all the commands that the adjudicator will process with a brief description. Each command is preceded by a who/where pair. This indicates who can execute the command and where the command can appear. The who options are:

any: Anyone can execute the command.
mod: Only the moderator in moderated games, anyone in unmoderated games.
adm: Only the administrator. These commands are listed to be complete, but should not be executed by nonadministrators. If there is any doubt, you are not an administrator.

The where options are:

any: Can appear either before or after a signon command.
pre: Must appear before a signon command.
aft: Can only appear after a signon command.
mac: Can only appear after a signon to a Machiavelli variant game.

Items in square brackets are optional, items in UPPERCASE are keywords and must be entered exactly as specified, items in lowercase italics are parameters and should have an appropriate value substituted in. Words separated by vertical bars (|) indicate a choice of one of the words.


Command Index

adm/pre ADJUST userid increment
The increment is added to the player's dedication rating.

any/aft BECOME MASTER
Allows the sole player signed onto a particular game to become the master/moderator of that game. See file master.

mod/aft BECOME power
Allows the master for a game to assume the identity of a particular power. See file master.

any/aft BROADCAST [options] ... [ENDBROADCAST|ENDPRESS|SIGNOFF]
To send a press message; options may or may not be specified, and the message may be terminated by ENDBROADCAST, ENDPRESS, SIGNOFF, or the end of the (incoming) mail message. See file press.

any/aft CLEAR
To clear any pending orders entered with the PHASE command.

adm/pre FIXID siteid site_name
Sets all players who have registered with the specified site name to have a siteid as indicated. By default all users get their area code times 100 as a siteid and must be fixed to some non- even multiple of 100.

any/any GET file
To get a particular file. For a complete list of files see file flist. See file info for a description of the more important files.

any/any GET DEDICATION
To determine the user's current dedication rating.

any/any GET PACKAGE
To get the "new user package" of files. These files are generally sent automatically to new users at the time they register with a Judge (see REGISTER command), but they can be specifically requested with this command. These files are the ones that all new users should read before attempting any Judge Diplomacy games.

any/pre HELP
The general introduction text file is returned. This is equivalent to the GET INFO command except that no other commands after the help command will be processed.

any/aft HELP
Equivalent to GET INFO.

any/any HISTORY [game] [FROM date] [TO date] [LINES n]
Retrieves the history information for the specified game for the time specified time period (in real time rather than game time). The history information is all the messages that an observer would have seen had he been signed on for the time period. The default period is 1 week ago to the present or 1000 lines whichever comes first.

Dates can be specified in the following forms (only spaces should be used to separate parts of a date, except a comma is optionally allowed after the day of the month):

a) Day of week (three-letter abbreviation)
b) Day and month (three-letter abbreviation), or month and day
c) Day, month, and year, or month, day, and year, where year can be specified either as 80-99 (= 1980-1999) or four digits.
Also, a time in hours and minutes (i.e., 'hh:mm' form, using a 24-hour clock) can be added after any of the above if desired; otherwise, the time defaults to midnight (00:00) of the specified day.

To get the earliest part of the history (or the whole history), use a date that is known to be earlier than the game start date; 1 Jan 1990 (or Jan 1, 1990) is usually sufficient for this purpose.

any/any IAMALSO address
To register a new email address. If your return address changes you can use the IAMALSO address command to tell the adjudicator that you are the same person without having to resubmit a complete form. The address specified must be one that was registered previously.

any/pre LIST [FULL|name]
If no optional name or keyword is specified a short list of the current games is generated. If the FULL keyword is specified a detailed report including the player list of each game is generated. If a name is specified, the full report for that game is generated along with unit positions and supply center holdings.

any/aft LIST
The detailed report of all players and units will be generated for the currently signed on game.

any/pre MAP name [n]
Send a postscript map of the current status of the game. Not all variants are supported. The n option sends the file in plain postscript format instead of uuencoded, compressed ps format. (This command may be disabled.)

any/pre MAP * [n]
This command must prefix a LIST output from any judge and will produce a map based on that output. The "*" is real and is not replaced. The n option is as above. The LIST output supplied must not have any characters added to the beginning of the line. e.g: The comment (">") character. (This command may be disabled)

adm/pre NOCONTROL
Prevents broadcast message from actually being sent. For debugging.

any/pre OBSERVE xxxx password
To become an observer. This command is interpreted as a signon.

any/aft PHASE season year phase
To specify that any following orders should be held until the specified phase before processing. See the Conditional Orders and Submitting Orders for Future Phases sections of the file syntax for details.

any/aft PRESS options ... [ENDBROADCAST|ENDPRESS|SIGNOFF]
To send a press message; options must be specified, and the message may be terminated by ENDBROADCAST, ENDPRESS, SIGNOFF, or the end of the (incoming) mail message. See file press.

any/any REGISTER ... END
To register yourself. See file form.

any/aft RESIGN
To withdraw from the game. This must be the last command in the message to be effective; so if you want to broadcast a farewell message, do so before you enter the RESIGN command.

mod/aft RESUME
To restart a completed or terminated game

mod/aft ROLLBACK turn
Rolls the game back to the previously processed turn. See file master.

any/any SEND [ME] file
Equivalent to GET file.

mod/aft SET ACCESS ANY[-SITE]|SAME[-SITE]|DIFFERENT[-SITE]
To change what users can sign on. By default only people from different sites can sign onto a game.

any/aft SET ADDRESS [reply_address]
To change where your reports go. If you don't specify an address the address from the mail headers will be used. If you signon and your the address in the mail headers does not match the reporting address you will get two replies, one to each address. This can be fixed by using SET ADDRESS with no reply address specified.

mod/aft SET ALL PRESS
To request that all partial press be sent to you as the moderator of the game as well as to the intended recipients. Use SET NORMAL PRESS to disable this feature.

adm/aft SET ALLOW MASTER [-]address
Specifies the listed person as eligible to act as master on this Judge. The JudgeKeeper can specify a list of players who have permission to act as Masters. Using the '-' prepender will remove the player from the file, thereby removing this permission. See also, SET DENY MASTER.

mod/aft SET ALLOW PLAYER [-]address
Allows access to the game to the player specified. The Moderator can specify a list of players which will be allowed access to this particular game. Using the '-' prepender will remove the player from the file, thereby removing access to the game. See also, SET DENY PLAYER.

mod/mac SET [NO]ADJACENCY
Disables/enables optional rule that allows bribes from nonadjacent players.

mod/mac SET [NO]ASSASSINATIONS
Disables/enables optional assassination rules.

mod/aft SET BN|BNC [NUMBER] number
Sets the Boardman number for a game. This command should only be issued after receiving a number from the Boardman Number Custodian (BNC); at the time of this writing, the BNC for Internet games is Nick Fitzpatrick ([email protected]). The Boardman number takes the form YYYYAA, where YYYY is the year, and AA are combinations of letters between A and ZZ. Boardman numbers are only assigned to Standard games. The BNC number appears in the game's listing and summary.

mod/aft SET [NO]CD
Same as SET [NO]NMR.

mod/aft SET CENTERS number
Set the number of centers required to win the game to number. This will cause the game to end when the first player reaches this number of winning centers. If more than one player reaches this value, then it is advanced to one more center than the top players have. If a draw is acceptable then a vote is required using the SET DRAW command.

mod/aft SET COMMENT text
Sets the comment that appears in the brief listing format. The text string should be under 60 characters in length.

mod/aft SET COMMENT BEGIN
Sets the comment that appears in the full listing format. The full comment consists of the rest of the input mail message up to (an optional) SIGNOFF command.

mod/aft SET DEADLINE date
Changes the deadline for the current phase. See file deadlines.

mod/aft SET DEDICATION level
Restricts access to the game to those people with a dedication rating equal or greater than the indicated level. The indicated level can not be higher than the Moderator's current dedication rating. See file deadlines.

adm/aft SET DENY MASTER [-]address
Denies the listed player the permission to create/moderate games on this Judge. The JudgeKeeper can specify a list of players that are not allowed to act as Masters. Using the '-' prepender will remove the player from the file, thereby restoring this ability. See also, SET ALLOW MASTER.

mod/aft SET DENY PLAYER [-]address
Denies access to the game to the player specified. The Moderator can specify a list of players which will not be allowed access to this particular game. Using the '-' prepender will remove the player from the file, thereby restoring access to the game. See also, SET ALLOW PLAYER.

mod/aft SET [NO]DIAS
Disables/enables requirement that all draws must include all survivors. See file draws.

mod/mac SET [NO]DICE
Disables/enables optional rules that introduce random events into the game: Variable income, bank loans, assassinations, famine and plague.

any/aft SET [NO]DRAW [powerlist]
Cast a vote in an automated draw. See file draws.

mod/aft SET EP number
Sets the Electonic Protocol number for a game. This command should only be issued after receiving a number from the Electronic Protocol Number Keeper (EPNK); at the time of this writing, the EPNK is Sean Starkey ([email protected]). The EP number takes the form YY-NNN, where YY is the last two digits of the year the game started, and NNN is the number of the game within that year (e.g., 94-1 is the first EP game started in 1994). EP numbers are only assigned to games that follow the Electronic Protocol House Rules (send 'get house.rules' to any Judge to receive a copy). The EP number appears in the game's listing and summary.

mod/mac SET [NO]FAMINE
Disables/enables optional famine rules.

mod/aft SET GRACE date
Changes the grace period for the current phase. See file deadline.

mod/aft SET GREY [PRESS]
Sets press option to grey only. See file press.

mod/aft SET GREY/WHITE [PRESS]
Sets press option to grey by default with white allowed. See file press.

mod/aft SET LEVEL ANY|NOVICE|AMATEUR|INTERMEDIATE|ADVANCED|EXPERT
Restricts access to a particular class of player. The three official classes are Novice, Intermediate, and Expert. Amateur means either Novice or Intermediate, and Advanced means either Intermediate or Expert. Any of course means any class of player may play. Players can change their classification (if they feel their level has changed) by re-registering. See file form.

mod/aft SET LIST
Changes a game from unlisted to listed for generic list commands.

mod/mac SET [NO]LOANS
Disables/enables optional rules allowing players to borrow money from the bank.

mod/aft SET MN|MNC [NUMBER] number
Sets the Miller number for a game. This command should only be issued after receiving a number from the Miller Number Custodian (MNC); at the time of this writing, the MNC for Internet games is Nick Fitzpatrick ([email protected]). The Miller number takes the form YYYYAAAbb00, where YYYY is the year, AAA are combi- nations of letters between A and ZZZ, and bb00 is the designation for a specific variant, which is set by the North American Variant Bank (NAVB). Miller numbers are only assigned to non-Standard games. The MNC number appears in the game's listing and summary.

any/aft SET MODERATE
Changes a game from unmoderated to moderated.

mod/aft SET MOVE|RETREAT|ADJUST CLOCK|MIN|NEXT|GRACE|DELAY|DAYS value
To change the deadline calculation. See file deadline.

mod/aft SET NMR
Allows orders to be processed even if all powers have not yet submitted complete ones. See also SET NO NMR.

mod/aft SET NO FAKE [BROADCAST]
See file press.

mod/aft SET NO GREY [PRESS]
Same as SET WHITE.

mod/aft SET NOLIST
If a game is set NOLIST then only people who know about it will be able to see it. Useful for "by invitation only" games. See also SET LIST; and file master.

any/aft SET NORMAL PRESS
Disables the SET ALL PRESS option where all partial press is sent to you as the moderator of a game.

mod/aft SET OBSERVER ANY [PRESS]
Permits observers and alternates to submit press with the same restrictions as regular players.

mod/aft SET OBSERVER NO [PRESS]
Disallows press from observers and alternates.

mod/aft SET OBSERVER WHITE [PRESS]
Disallows observers and alternates from submitting grey press.

mod/aft SET [PRESS] NONE
Same as SET NOPRESS.

mod/aft SET NO NMR
Opposite of SET NMR.

mod/aft SET NO PARTIAL [PRESS]
Disables messages to individual powers. See file press.

mod/aft SET NO PRESS
Disables all press/broadcast messages. See file press.

any/aft SET NO WAIT
Clears the effect of SET WAIT.

mod/aft SET NO WHITE [PRESS]
Same as SET GREY.

mod/aft SET PARTIAL [PRESS]
Allows messages to be sent to individual powers. See file press.

mod/aft SET PARTIAL [FAKES [BROADCAST]] [BY DEFAULT]
See file press.

mod/aft SET PARTIAL MAY [BE FAKED]
See file press.

any/aft SET PASSWORD new_password
To change your password.

mod/mac SET [NO]PLAGUE
Disables/enables optional plague rules.

any/aft SET PREFERENCE list
To establish a preference list for power assignment. Should appear immediately after an initial signon entering a forming game. Can be modified up until the powers are actually assigned.

mod/aft SET PRIVATE
Equivalent to SET NOLIST.

mod/aft SET PUBLIC
Equivalent to SET LIST.

mod/aft SET [NO]QUIET
Sets/unsets the QUIET flag. This flag prevents announcements about power abandonment, power takeovers and such from being broadcast to the other players or observers. Its purpose is to prevent information from being disclosed in gunboat games, particularly tournaments where multiple games may lose the same player.

mod/aft SET RATED
Changes a game to rated. By default moderated games are rated and unmoderated games are unrated. Unrated games will not affect the players' dedication rating.

mod/aft SET [NO]REVEAL
If a gunboat game is set NOREVEAL, the player list will not be revealed in summary output after the game terminates. This flag is useful for gunboat tournaments where player lists may be the same in multiple games.

mod/mac SET [NO]SPECIAL
Disables/enables optional rules that allow double strength units.

mod/aft SET START date
Sets the earliest start date for the current phase. See file deadline.

mod/aft SET [NO]STRICTGRACE
Disables/enables enforcement of grace period as an absolute time interval after the deadline. If disabled (default), then grace periods will always end on an appropriate order processing day.

mod/aft SET UNMODERATE
Changes a game from moderated to unmoderated.

mod/aft SET UNRATED
Changes a game from rated to unrated. Unrated games will not affect the players' dedication rating.

mod/aft SET VARIANT variant [options]
To change the variant of a game. This can only be done before the powers are assigned and before the requisite number of players for the new variant type have signed on. For a complete list of valid variants and options use the "SIGNON ?name password XXXX" command (where XXXX is any invalid variant name).

any/aft SET WAIT
Specifies that orders should not be processed until the deadline. See also SET NOWAIT.

mod/aft SET WHITE [PRESS]
Sets press option to white only. See file press.

mod/aft SET WHITE/GREY [PRESS]
Sets press option to white by default with grey allowed. See file press.

any/aft SIGNOFF
To indicate the end of useful text. The SIGNOFF command is used to prevent your signature file from being interpreted as orders and/or being sent out as part of a press message.

any/pre SIGNON pxxxx password
To sign onto an existing power that you own or to take over an abandoned power.

any/pre SIGNON ? password
To enter the next available game that is forming.

any/pre SIGNON ?xxxx password [variant]
To enter a particular game that is forming.

any/pre SUMMARY name
To get an historical summary of the specified game indicating who took what power over when and which supply centers each power owned throughout the game.

any/aft SUMMARY
To get the summary report for the signed on game as above. The master in a gunboat game will get a slightly different summary that includes the actual player names and addresses rather than the generic "someone@somewhere".

mod/aft TERMINATE
To declare the game over.

any/pre VERSION [level]
To see the current version of the software. If the optional level is specified, the log of all enhancements since that level will be retrieved.

any/pre WATCH name password
Equivalent to OBSERVE xxxx password.

any/any WHO user [user ...]
Equivalent to WHOIS user [user ...].

any/pre WHOGAME name [full]
Retrieves WHOIS information for all players associated with game name. Note that this command can only be used by the master (and only after he signs on) if the game is gunboat. The optional full argument will return information for observers and alternates as well, while the default only returns information for the players and the master. See also WHOIS user [user ...].

any/aft WHOGAME [full]
Retrieves WHOIS information for all players associated with the currently signed on game. Note that if the game is gunboat, only the master can use this command. The optional "full" argument will return information for observers and alternates as well, while the default only returns information for the players and the master. See also WHOIS user [user ...] below.

any/any WHOIS user [user ...]
To retrieve registration information for particular players. All registered people with mail addresses that start with a prefix that matches any of the user words specified will be listed. Thus the command WHOIS will list all users who have an email address that starts with a "P". The entire database can be retreived with the GET WHOIS command.

any/aft WITHDRAW
Equivalent to RESIGN.


* Diplomacy is a trademark of Hasbro, Inc., Used with permission.