The Assassins' Guild: May Week 2016 Rules

1.0 Introduction:

Assassins is a game of mock assassination for a large number of Players. In the May Week game, each Player has to try to kill as many of the others as possible as often as possible while avoiding the attempts of others to do the same. At the end of May Week, whoever has the highest score is proclaimed the winner.

Note that the May Week game is substantially different from the Assassins games which run in the Michaelmas and Lent terms. Players are encouraged to familiarise themselves with these rules, especially the conduct and area of play sections, as the Umpire will take a dim view of those who break them.

If you have any questions about these rules once you have read them thoroughly, the Umpire will be happy to provide clarification.

1.1 Signing up for the game:

The game is open to people who will be for most of the game within a five-mile radius of Great St Mary's Church, although others may be considered at the umpire's discretion.

Everyone who wishes to play should provide the Umpire with:

• Full name, indicating the name you are usually known by
• College or department (if you are a member of the University)
• E-mail address (full if not @cam.ac.uk, although your @cam.ac.uk address is preferred)
• Your official address (i.e. room number) and if different the address at which you will be living (i.e. sleeping and spending a reasonable number of hours at) during the course of the game. This address will be made public on the assassins website to enable other Players to find you. If you believe there is a real-life psychopath attempting to kill you, explain to the Umpire and you will be excused. However, it should be noted that if this is the case and you still wish to play Assassins you may be in need of psychiatric or police help.
• If you live relatively far from the city centre, brief details of a few city centre visits that you will make during the game. The Umpire shall use his discretion in deciding which details to make public. The aim is to involve outliers more in the game, since trekking out to Girton to kill another Player is usually only done by a few of the keenest assassins.
• The extent to which water-based weaponry is allowed in your room (see section 3.2). The options are no water (no water pistols or other water-based weapon may be used in your room), water with care (small water-based weapons may be used if the user is careful) and full water (anything goes). You may also let the umpire know of anything specific in your room which could be damaged by water; this information will be given to your assassins.
• An initial pseudonym. The May Week game has no secrecy, but many assassins enjoy the use of silly names anyway. You may change your pseudonym or create new ones as frequently as you like during the game.
• Anything else which your assassins should be informed of, such as any potentially relevant allergies, or that you live in a shared set and assassins should be wary of killing your roommate.

If your address is non-attackable, for instance a hotel or bed and breakfast, or you only wish to play on certain days, then include this information and you will be termed an "casual/social player". OoB regions will be included in a player's address fields. As such, casual/social players are unable to win the May Week game.

Anyone found to have supplied false or misleading details to the Umpire will be disqualified, but I'm sure it's not necessary to say that.

By signing up to play you are agreeing to report any assassins-related events which you are involved in for the period in which you remain alive. You are also giving permission for other Players to try to 'kill' you by any licit method (licit meaning allowed by these rules) and to enter your room without warning should you leave the door unlocked or the window open. You also consent for your name to appear on the Guild website now and in the future in connection with the events of the game.

1.2 How to play:

The game, in brief:

• When the game starts, a page will appear on the Assassins' Guild website with the list of people playing the game. If you see any of these people, try to kill them.
• Whenever you make an attempt on another Player's life, whether or not you succeed, submit a report by emailing the umpire at assassins@srcf.ucam.org. If someone tries to or succeeds in killing you, report that as well. The system will award you points when you are reported to have killed someone and take them away when you die.
• If you die, you are out of the game for the next four hours, and may not kill anyone, or pass information to live Players. Once the four hours are up, you are resurrected and can continue playing as before.
• At the end of the week, whoever has the most points wins the game.

1.3 Killing people:

The weapons rules describe the various weaponry you may use to eliminate other assassins. Note that due to legislation introduced in the UK in 2004, you are not allowed to use any toy gun that looks like a real gun, as this is illegal.

You may try to kill these licit targets:

• Anyone listed on the website as playing.
• Anyone who is clearly holding a weapon. (You cannot licitly attack someone who was holding a weapon a few seconds ago but has now hidden it again.)

Note that it is, of course, possible to attack people who do not fall into any of the categories above. Should you do so, you will be placed on the wanted list and penalised an increasing number of points for each that you kill. Killing enough innocent victims may cause you to be removed from the game.

If you kill a Player, you should take steps to make sure that they know this. If they are sleeping, you should leave a note attached to their person. You should usually leave your victim's corpse in unknowing slumber until they awake of their own accord, unless you have a good reason to wake them up. You should not shoot them again until five minutes after they are aware of your previous action. You may of course sabotage their weapons while they sleep.

2.0 Conduct

It is important that players familiarise themselves thoroughly with this section. Breaches of the code of conduct can lead to becoming bountied (for minor or unintentional breaches) or disqualification from the game.

• 2.1. Above all, the assassins is meant to be a fun, inclusive and friendly game. It is meant as an opportunity to meet like-minded people. Anyone using the game as an excuse to bully, intimidate or behave in an otherwise unacceptable manner will be disqualified and potentially banned from society events.
• 2.2. Exercise common sense at all times. Players are entirely responsible for their behaviour. The Guild does not condone any course of action that leads to confrontation with people in authority. Avoid inconveniencing other people, especially Porters, Bedders, (real) Police, and the general public. If you are involved in an attempt in a public place with non-players present, please respect their wishes and allow them to pass in safety. Non-players are not to be used as cover.It is common practice to pause fights by calling "ceasefire" if large groups of people are in the way.
• 2.3. The assassins is not a game of Real violence. Any player or accomplice acting on behalf of a player found to be using violent method, or threatening violence, even with no intent to carry through the threat will be disqualified from the game immediately. There is no excuse whatsoever for pushing people around or forcing them out of your way. For this game, know you're welcome to approach the Umpire (Alexander Hardwick, ah768) if this unlikely occurrence happens to you.
• 2.4. The No-Force Rule: This is not a game about physical strength or violence and should never come down to tests of such. In any situation in which force may be used a player may instead call out (preferably clearly and audibly) "No Force Rule". In such situation no force may be employed, and you should never do anything likely to cause anyone (including yourself) injury. If anyone breaches this rule any subsequent in-game actions may be disallowed and sanctions may be taken against them. For example, if someone is holding a door open or shut, you should not attempt to move that door. A similar ruling applies to touching weapons other players are holding.
• 2.5. Be aware that the security forces, real police, and the public are particularly easily alarmed at present. Avoid behaviour that may cause them to mistake you for a stalker, burglar, murderer or terrorist: do not wear a balaclava or other suspicious clothing; avoid bearing weapons or fighting in public; remember that even toy guns can look real in the dark or on CCTV; where possible, do not lurk suspiciously; be particularly cautious anywhere outside central Cambridge, where students are less common. The assassins guild cannot condone or be used as justification for such activities.
• 2.6. To be involved in Assassins is to consent to be met. But not a card to intrude beyond welcome. However, many Assassins kill people by walking into their unlocked rooms - please note that by playing, you are consenting to this. If you don't want people walking into your room, lock your door - by the nature of the game, your killers are unlikely to knock and say who they are before entering.
• 2.7. You may enter a target's room through an unlocked door or an open window only. If the door is locked you may not make any kind of attack including firing shots or pushing any other item through keyholes, letterboxes or any other gap in, under or over the door. The same principle governs toilet cubicles.
• 2.8. Players should respect the safety of other players, especially some female Players, who may interpret some attacks as physically cornering people or entering their personal space. Personal safety concerns of anyone present ALWAYS take precedence over tactics or rules. Players are reminded not to photograph or video players without their consent. Players who endanger the safety of other players accidentally or purposefully may face disqualification from the game.
• 2.8.1. Players can request from the Umpire that other players are not allowed to lurk outside their residence between the hours of midnight and 7am. This is to ensure the safety of players and their neighbours such that they do not feel threatened or intimidated by players lurking late at night.
• 2.9. This game depends on players being honest for it to work. This is especially true of reporting to the umpire: Anyone knowingly giving false or misleading information to the Umpire will face severe penalties. However, Please inform the Umpire of anything assassin related that occurs to you, especially if you have been killed.. You must expect other players to have nefarious intentions at any time during the game. Players are at liberty to present false information to each other, providing the following rules are not violated :
• 2.9.1. You are not allowed to impersonate authority figures such as Bedders, Porters, College authorities (not including student union representatives) or the real police. This is so that players can take part in the game without aggravating their Bedders by refusing to let them into their room. By the same token you must not take advantage of Bedders unlocking the door to your target's room to break in and kill them.
• 2.9.2. You are not allowed to impersonate the Umpire, for the same reason. You are also not allowed to impersonate the Umpire indirectly by, for example, forging e-mail messages.
• You may use ruses to gain entry as long as such ruses do not involve impersonating an authority figure . Therefore if someone knocks on your door claiming to be the Umpire (or, for that matter, a Bedder or Porter), you may safely let them in.
• 2.9.3. Assassins should not swap their room numbers or nameplates for those of their neighbours. Also, players should not remove their names from the resident lists found attached to accommodation buildings which may contravene fire regulations.
• 2.9.4. You are perfectly at liberty to deny that you are an Assassin. However, you are not allowed to claim that you are a Dead Assassin and hence harmless. You may also not lie about the vital status of other Assassins who are immediately present. You must say, when asked, how long you have until you come back to life.
• 2.9.5. You may not lie about your out-of-bounds status.
• 2.9.6. You may neither use nor manufacture, nor lie about a fire alarm, security alert or medical emergency to gain an advantage in an attempt to kill a Player or gain information on them.
• 2.10. There are some places and circumstances which, for reasons of sanity and safety, are considered out-of-bounds (OOB).A full list of locations may be found in section 4.0. If a player has a location which they think should be out of bounds, they must contact the umpire.
• 2.10.1. A Player's room is usually only out-of-bounds for supervisions, society meetings and sports activities, as described below. If you believe your room should be made out-of-bounds for any other purpose, or are unsure as to its status, you should ask the Umpire.
• 2.10.2. Players should not abuse no-kill zones. You should not run into an out-of-bounds area primarily to escape an attacking assassin unless it was your intention to go there prior to encountering the other assassin.
• 2.10.3. If a Player is in obvious distress for a reason unrelated to the fact you are trying to kill them, or they are obviously dealing with someone else in distress, do not take advantage of this situation. This includes mandatory evacuation for fire alarms. In all situations, players should be allowed to return directly to whichever situation they were in before the emergency arose and will be out-of-bounds until such time.
• 2.11. The serious rules of safety, security and friendliness apply not only to game actions but also to how the game and society are organized.
• Most of all, remember that this is just a game. Do your best, but have fun. Please be friendly to other Players you meet during the game, even if they may be trying to kill you.

3.0 More on how to play
Accomplices and non-Players

Players may, if they wish, make use of non-Player accomplices on their attempts. Any person with at least a basic knowledge of the Assassins Game acting to the advantage of a Player on their instruction, with their consent or by prior understanding is considered an accomplice. A Player should not induce one of the Authority figures described in the Conduct rules to be an Accomplice.

Non-Player accomplices cannot attack or kill anyone (but they can still be attacked). You are responsible for the safety of your accomplices, and should they be killed you will be held responsible, which means that you may be penalised. You should not allow your accomplices to be seen bearing weapons at any time; particularly, you should not use armed accomplices as decoys, and should you do so the kill may be disallowed. If killed, accomplices resurrect after four hours, as Players do. You should not encourage accomplices to do things you yourself could not do; in particular they should not use force. Accomplices should not directly attempt to stop Players, and should specifically not hold doors shut or block their way.

Attacking people not involved in the assassins game is strongly discouraged, and you will be punished for doing so. Players who do this persistently may be removed from the game.

3.1 Battle Events

• Battle Events exist in a bubble separated from the regular game where some rules related to gameplay mechanics are different. The same rules of conduct and safety apply.
• Deaths and resurrections outside of the bubble do not affect your vital status in the battle and vice versa.
• Battles are fought in rounds, all players resurrect at the start of each round.
• Some rounds may involve restrictions on weaponry in addition to those listed in the main rules; spare weapons will be provided.
• Non-assassins are welcome to participate.
• Any ways in which the game mechanics differ from regular assassins gameplay will be explained by the organisers.
• You score more points from participating in battles than you can lose by being killed en route.

3.2. Discussion Phase

If players are unsure about what happened during an attack, they may call a "discussion phase" to clarify who has been hit and who, if anybody, is dead. Once a Player has made a bona fide call for a discussion phase to sort out the facts of the incident, so long as it is not a direct interruption of the event, no Players involved in the discussion phase may kill each other during and shortly after the discussion phase is over (giving time for each Player to run away). All players involved in a disputed event are considered to be subject to a discussion phase, this includes any accomplices to the players involved. You may not directly follow another Player involved in the discussion phase immediately after it has finished, but you may of course make another attempt a short time later if you find them again. Players taking part in a discussion phase should take care not to expose themselves to other independent passing Players (as they will not be included in the discussion phase and will thus be able to kill anyone freely). Calling a discussion phase in order to gain an advantage in the game (e.g. to expedite your retreat) may result in sanctions. Assassins are strongly encouraged to reach a decision about the facts of an incident at the scene. However, do not be afraid to disagree over the outcome of the incident or the way in which the rules have been applied to events. If there is a strong element of uncertainty as to what the outcome should be, you should make a report to the Umpire as soon as possible and should avoid directly involving yourself in Assassins proceedings until you have received clarification. The Umpire will try to be understanding, however he will take a VERY dim view of people playing silly buggers with the rules, exploiting loopholes and edge cases. If you do this in the case of a dispute then you will be more likely to lose out. This is just a game and it is about having fun, not rules lawyering.

3.3. Time Out

In the event of an emergency, or suspected breaking of the rules (e.g. using a banned weapon) a player may call "Time-out" in order to bring an immediate halt to all game activities. The players and immediate surroundings are considered OOB until the issue is resolved. Unlike a discussion phase, this includes any independent players who come across the event. Like a discussion phase, once the issue has been resolved, players are given a short period to leave the surroundings or return to where they were before "Time-out" was called. Note that abusing the Time-out rule is very likely to result in a player going Wanted, or being removed from the game. If a fire fight is occurring across or on a road and traffic interrupts the fight, players should call timeout, move out of harm's way and cease fighting until the traffic has cleared.

3.4 Suicide and points farming

Suicide is not allowed in this game. If you wish to be removed from the game, please inform the Umpire who will make the necessary arrangements.

Allowing another Player to kill you for points is not allowed. The Umpire may nullify any kills where he thinks this has occurred, and serious offenders will be docked points. Backstabbing long-term allies should preferably not be done in the final day or so, and the Umpire may nullify such kills. Of course, if you have a good reason... Arranging to meet up to fight is allowed (this is not an official duel in the way that other people may kill you while you are fighting) however the Umpire reserves the right to disallow such if he believes the engagement is not an equitable one, especially late in the game.

3.5 May Week wanted list

Any players who commit "minor" offences (such as shooting innocents) will have a bounty placed on them for a set period of time, as well as losing points for their crimes.

3.6 Casual/social players

Some players may be listed as "Casual/social". Such players will have an out of bounds region around their address or will only be playing on certain days. As it is possible to gain an advantage from such a set-up, a 'casual/social' player is unable to win the May Week game. If such a player attacks you, or you come across them on a day during which they are playing, then they are a licit target.

This is not the same however as a generic player who is fully playing while not committing multiple hours to gameplay each day with a mind set on victory.

3.7 Scoring overview

The specifics of the points algorithm for this game will remain secret, but here is a brief taster:

4.0 The Area of Play:

There are some places and circumstances which, for reasons of safety and sanity, are considered out of bounds. No-one may kill anyone or be killed when they are out of bounds; any kills made in an out of bounds area will be annulled, and in severe cases the offender may be castigated by the Umpire.

4.1 Out of bounds areas

No-one may kill anyone or be killed when they are in an area or circumstance which is out-of-bounds, including the following:

Buildings, rooms & locations

• Lecture theatres are out of bounds, whether or not a lecture is in progress. Players are not expected to spend a large proportion of May Week in lecture theatres, and may be ridiculed for doing so.
• Seminars, supervisions, tutor or DoS meetings and the like.
• Practicals, laboratories and computer rooms. A computer room is any place where the public or any clearly-defined group, e.g. members of a college are permitted to use computers. This may include departmental common rooms.
• Hospitals, libraries, museums and sports halls.
• Churches, chapels, synagogues, mosques, temples, stupas or any other official place of worship. The Umpire will not allow any Player's room to be considered an official place of worship, no matter how inventive their excuse.
• The premises of government buildings, banks and building societies are out-of-bounds. Shops are in bounds but you must not use any kind of projectile weapon. The immediate vicinity of a shop till, bar (including people seated at the barside) or an ATM machine is out-of-bounds. This includes a queue for one. While you may usually take shortcuts through such places, none of the areas listed in this clause should, under any circumstance, be used as an avenue to escape pursuit.
• London is OOB, due to the density of OOB areas and security issues in London. Other towns that a player may travel to during the game, however, are generally in bounds and subject to the same OOB rules as Cambridge.
• Anyone working in a real proper job is out of bounds while at work. This includes graduate students working in a department, research institute or any kind of official placement. If this is a job which entails dealing with possibly vulnerable people, such as in a hospital or a school, then the out of bounds area extends to anywhere within sight of their work place. Anyone working for the St. John's Ambulance is out of bounds while they are in uniform. Anyone working at a college bar, ent, May Ball, the Bumps or similar is also out of bounds while they are working, but you are free to kill them if they have time off, etc.
• Clearly Marked Locations where sociological experiments are being conducted. Such experiments may be held outside of scientific labs, and rely on isolation of the subjects from external events to be objective.

Balls, parties & catering

• May Balls and June Events are out of bounds from the point at which the attendee's ticket is collected. May Ball/June event queues are in bounds as standard, however Players may elect to be out of bounds while queueing for a May ball/June event if they say so in their notes. For the out-of-bounds status to count, you must have this had added to your notes at least 24hrs in advance of queueing. Players doing this should not attempt to abuse this.
• Garden parties organised and advertised by societies, colleges, CUSU or similar bodies are in bounds, but no projectile weapons may be used (this includes bang kills).
• Any dining arrangement in which you are obliged to wait for the attention of staff in order to be seated, or College Formal Halls. Anywhere you get food yourself from a Servery, including informal halls and pubs, is in bounds but no projectile. College Formal Halls and the like are out-of-bounds.
  
  Society meetings
  
• Official university or college society meetings or regularly scheduled meetings of an unofficial society which take place in college grounds, including in Players' rooms. Players involved in these are out of bounds from the moment they step inside the rooms/halls where the event is being hosted and until 5 minutes after the meeting is understood to be concluded. Leaving this area means assassins may kill you, however assassins leaving the society may not kill each other until 5 minutes has elapsed (irrespective of where they are). Please note that participants of societies meeting outdoors (such as CSSW and TT) are out of bounds to each other from the moment they meet at the pre-arranged meeting-point and throughout the meeting until at least five minutes have elapsed after the meeting has been called to a close. Pubmeets are not out of bounds.
• Assassins carrying bulky or expensive items to and from society meetings may be out of bounds while doing so, but must have the Umpire's specific consent beforehand. If you are planning to attack someone near their society meeting, you may check with the Umpire as to whether there is any reason your target may be out of bounds. Any players hosting or taking part in unofficial society meetings during the game must warn the Umpire of these beforehand; players should not abuse this.
• Players cannot use Assassins as an excuse to crash, infiltrate or lurk societies they are banned from.
• Safer Space meetings and their vicinities are out of bounds and using Safer Space meetings to follow or otherwise find out more information about targets is banned.
• As a Safer Space activity, active CakeFaeries are out of bounds. In May Week, this means when they are chocolate-and-strawberrying the crowds around the cardboard boat race. CakeFaeries cannot use their position as a means to access someone for Assassins purposes. Similarly, no-one can pretend to be a CakeFaerie in order to access someone.
• The Cambridge University Wireless Society's Radio Shack is out of bounds.
  
  Sports
  
• Organised sports activities are out-of-bounds. This will usually be taken to mean tournament matches at inter-College level or higher. This does not include impromptu 'kickabouts'. However, pre-arranged training sessions of officially-recognised teams may be considered society meetings. Non-spectating participants are out-of-bounds for the duration of the match and during any preparations immediately before or after.
• Boathouses (whether belonging to College, University or Town boat clubs) are out of bounds.
• Persons engaged in 'serious' activities on the water, such as rowing or canoeing, are OOB. Similarly, they are out-of-bounds while transporting substantial, related equipment to or from such an activity. Punts and cardboard boats are not out of bounds.
• Players working with or riding horses are considered out of bounds.
  
  Entertainment
  
• Any persons performing/practising with fire poi/fire sticks/fiery juggling implements are considered to be have a rather large out of bounds area surrounding them which should encompass all those in the immediate vicinity who are primarily engaged in watching/teaching/heckling said persons.
• Auditoria of theatres/cinemas and concert halls are out of bounds during and immediately preceding/following a performance. Any area in which a scheduled public play is being performed (or any other similar scheduled event) counts as an auditorium. All concerts and recitals are out of bounds. Areas in which backstage preparation work is taking place are also out of bounds.
• The venue of the Rocksoc 'Wake up Screaming' is out of bounds, as are similar events hosted by music societies.
• The CUR radio station in Churchill College is out of bounds.
  
  Vehicles & transport
  
• Anyone in a car or other motorised vehicle is out of bounds and cannot attack or be attacked. Segways and electric skateboards however are in bounds.
• Public transport vehicles are out-of-bounds. The same is true of airports, train stations and their vicinities. The Drummer Street Bus Station in Cambridge is also out of bounds.
• Players on bicycles are in bounds only if they are not in the vicinity of other traffic (including other bicycles); please be careful only to attack if there is no possibility that you could cause an accident or injury. Players should must avoid firefights across busy streams of traffic (motorised or not), both to avoid risk of injury and to prevent aggravating drivers. Throwables are NOT permitted in the vicinity of a bicycle. If you wish to, you may request in your signup email that you're OOB whilst on a bike.

Players should not abuse no-kill zones. You should not run into an out of bounds area primarly to escape an attacking assassin unless it was your intention to go there prior to encountering the other assassin.

If you are not sure whether a given time or place is out of bounds or not, please contact the Umpire. Similarly, if there is something not mentioned on this list you think should be out of bounds, ask the Umpire to consider it.

Activities involving assassin weaponry

In the event that you wish to participate in any non-assassin-related activity that might lead to non-players/assassins getting killed by assassin weaponry (for example, a waterfight or snowball fight with friends), you may do so without the game getting in the way. Just tell any assassins also participating in the activity that you declare your weapon(s) to no longer count as assassin weapons. (You might also consider telling the non-players in case one of them is secretly an assassin). Then for the duration of the activity, your weapon will no longer count as a weapon.

Note that this means that everyone who heard you can't kill you for bearing while you are participating in the activity (although this does not extend to assassins you forgot to tell, since they have no way of knowing what you are wielding isn't a weapon). Also, if anyone makes an attempt on you while you are participating in such an activity, your weapon will regain its power so you can fight back.

Do not abuse this rule (for example, by attempting to use this so that you can have your weaponry out without it counting as bearing). This rule is made so that you don't miss out on fun activities like snow-ball fights, etc. , not as a way of survival.

4.2 Water status

In bounds areas may have restrictions placed on what sort of weaponry may be used in them, and are divided into three categories:

• No Water - No water weapons of any type may be used in this area.
• Water with Care - Only small water pistols may be used and they must have a low water output. As a rule of thumb, a weapon less than a foot long that fires only a thin directed stream may be classified as water with care, for instance any waterpistols smaller than the Storm 750. Any CPS, the Blazer, Aquapak, powerpak and similar weapons are full water only. All water weapons should be used with caution and restraint in this area. Any weapon larger than a Storm 750 not listed here should be checked with the Umpire in case its water output is too large. The Umpire will take a dim view of people who ignore this.
• Full Water - Any water weapons may be used in this area. Common sense should still be exercised.

Note that water weapons inappropriate for the water status of the area may not be fired into or out of such an area. For instance, you may not stand in a no water area and use a water gun to shoot a Player standing outside.

The following areas are always No Water:

• Any Player's room listed as No Water. If a water status is not listed, assume it is No Water.
• Any non-Player's room.
• All shops, pubs and college bars.
• A Player dressed in formal wear such as a suit or black tie is not an area, but is still No Water. The same applies for ladies' formal attire.
• Events, garden parties, May Ball queues and college ents.
• Players carrying electronic equipment or musical instruments.

The following areas are Water With Care:

• Indoor accommodation areas such as corridors and shared kitchens, unless specified otherwise. Players should be especially careful around electrical equipment, as may be found in kitchens. Also exercise caution as there is the likelihood that other residents, innocents and bystanders in the building could be in formal wear.
• Players' rooms listed as Water with Care.
• Players on bicycles may be shot with wwc guns but no throwables may be used.

The following areas are Full Water:

• Players' rooms listed as Full Water and the area immediately outside them (on the doorstep)
• Outdoor areas, unless specified otherwise.

The Umpire will take a dim view of people who wear formal attire for the entire game in order to escape assassination - the same goes for musical instruments or electronic equipment, as with any other situation which may make you temporarily out of bounds.

5.0 Reporting:

Whenever you are involved in any assassins-related incident, such as successfully or unsuccessfully trying to kill another Player or innocent, being attacked or killed or witnessing a killing, you should submit a report as soon as possible. You can report anything by emailing the Umpire at assassins-umpire@srcf.ucam.org. If anything odd happens and you are unsure of how to report it, email the Umpire.

Reports submitted by Players will be added to a list of events on the game news page. Reports are encouraged to be dramatic and creative and may also be intentionally misleading, although outright lying is frowned upon.

Players are advised to decide upon the time of the event precisely when it happens.

Players should try to avoid interactions immediately after either of them has respawned as this can cause arguments over precise times of death.

If you cannot be sure what happened in an attack, you may agree upon a "discussion phase" with the other assassins involved in order to clarify who was hit, who is dead, etc. Players involved in the original incident (this includes, for example, nearby allies of one of the combatants) cannot kill one another while in the "discussion phase", although any entirely different assassins who might happen to be passing may attack you with impunity. Players whose vital status is in dispute are not allowed to fight back during a "discussion phase". Players are advised to conduct discussion phases in a safe area.

Since the game news is updated automatically by computer, it is important that you resolve exactly what happened in a particular incident with all those involved before you leave. If a consensus cannot be reached, you are advised to contact the Umpire. If he is not immediately available, you may arrange a duel or other equitable means of deciding. Players duelling to resolve a dispute in this way cannot be killed by other Players for the duration of the duel (although arranging 'duels' which last for hours in order to become invincible will not work). Duels should be held with weaponry that is as fair as possible.

The automated reporting system adds reports to the website as soon as they are submitted. However, if anything is wrong with the reports on the website, let the Umpire know and he will fix it.

When submitting a report for ingame kills, the killer concerned should submit a report detailing all those killed (players & innocents) and the numbers of accomplices (playing & non-playing) present within 100yds of the event at the time.

5.1 Pseudonyms

There is no secrecy in the May Week game; the list of all assassins is available on the website at all times along with all their pseudonyms and other statistics. However, whenever you submit a report, you may do so under a pseudonym for general amusement value. There is no limit to the number of pseudonyms a given Player may use, and you may select a new one at any time.

The theme for the May Week 2016 game is "Myths and Legends". Players are warmly encouraged to select pseudonyms in accordance with this theme - although this is not compulsory.

6.0 Dead Players

After being killed, you are deemed to be "dead" for the next four hours. While you are dead you should refrain from interfering with the game, meaning that you should not point out the presence of other assassins or pass on information to live Players. You should not encourage your accomplices to do things that you cannot.

7.0 The Umpire:

This game's Umpire is Alexander Hardwick, who may be contacted by emailing assassins-umpire@srcf.ucam.org.

The primary method of contacting the Umpire is through email. If you would like to visit the Umpire in person, he lives in Flat 3 above La Mimosa restaurant on Thompson's Lane. The Umpire's building (and its immediate vicinity) is blanket OoB: nobody may be killed within this area, and uninvited entry to the premises is strictly forbidden. Players are discouraged from running to the Umpire in order to escape an attacker: the Umpire will take a dim view of this type of behaviour.

Any queries about the game can be emailed to the Umpire, or you are welcome to arrange a meeting in person. Try to resolve any queries before they become a matter of life or death (yours or anyone else's).

Attempting to take items from the Umpire's pigeonhole or break into his computer account is strictly forbidden. Impersonating the Umpire is also forbidden; see Rules of engagement.

Player-Umpire communications may be made public at the end of the game for everyone's enlightenment and amusement. If you do not wish a certain communication to be made public, please tell the Umpire.

It has come to the Umpire's attention that the idea of killing him is alarmingly popular (May Week 2016). Hence: players are, within reason, allowed to kill the Umpire if they really really want to: however, Players should be reminded that this is not the point of the game. As such, you will not gain any points from killing the Umpire; moreover, the Umpire is entitled to defend himself from any such attempts using appropriate in-game methods. Players who are killed by the Umpire in self-defence will not incur any points penalty, but will take the normal 4 hours to respawn.

The Umpire's decision is absolutely final. There is no right of appeal against decisions made by the Umpire.

8.0 Administrivia:

It is the responsibility of Players to check their e-mails and read the news to see whether there is anything important of which they should be aware. Anything published on the website or emailed to Players is assumed to be known from then on, and claiming that you did not read it will not be a valid defence.

8.1 Web pages:

The game website is at http://www.srcf.ucam.org/assassins; you are probably reading these rules there now. During the game, the news will be published on the website along with any updates to the rules, news of upcoming special events or social events, etc.

8.2 IRC Channel:

There is an IRC channel #assassins on the SRCF server (irc.srcf.ucam.org, port 6667). All assassins, potential assassins or ex-assassins are welcome to join and discuss the game or anything else. See Adam Biltcliffe's updated Assassins FAQ for more details on both the newsgroup and IRC.

9.0 Comments:

• By signing up to the Game, you agree that you are responsible for your own actions, and any consequences thereof. The Guild will not take responsibility for the actions of its members. Individual players may not speak for the Guild as a whole, and as such not use our rules as an excuse for their behaviour.
• You play the game of Assassins entirely at your own risk. Neither the Umpire nor any other member of the Guild, past or present, can accept any liability for personal injury, loss of, or damage to, property or other loss incurred during the game. Nothing contained in these Rules should be taken as encouragement or permission to break the Law.
• Due to security concerns, colleges may request to know which of their own members are playing. By signing up to the Game, you consent to this information being passed on to your college, in the event of their requesting this information.
• We have neither the resources nor the inclination to make the rules completely watertight. Hence, although the precision of the wording is often of import, your attention is drawn more to the spirit of the rules than their content. The Umpire will not be bound by the rules if he feels that someone is attempting to exploit a loophole. If in doubt, e-mail the Umpire with your question. Damn you, Montesquieu.
• The Umpire wishes to ensure that every participating player has read the rules. As such, please include the w ord "citadel" in your sig nup ema il, to prove that you have done so.
• People who break serious rules of safety, security and friendliness, and lie to the umpire or to a deputy appointed to investigate these breaches, may be banned from the society.
• Note that by signing up to play you are agreeing to report any assassins-related events which you are involved in for the period during which you remain alive, including your death. You are also giving permission for other players to enter or attempt to enter your accommodation should you leave doors unlocked or windows open and to make attempts to 'kill' you, acting in good faith and utilising such methods as described elsewhere in the Rules

History

The history of this set of rules is thought to be:

• Initial author unknown.
• Typed in by Paul Roberts (PER10).
• Later history unknown.
• Used by CUSFS for a while.
• Martin Hardcastle (MJH22) made some modifications.
• Julian Birch (JMB29), some modifications and clarifications.
• Richard Fairhurst (RJF1001), further modifications and clarifications.
• Ben Jameson (BFJ1000), yet more modifications.
• Jim Cameron (JC10007) and Elizabeth Pringle (EMPP1), more, mistyped, modifications.
• David Allsopp (DNA1000), surprisingly, made some modifications.
• Paul Menage (PBM1001) was Easter 1995 Umpire, and initiated 3 targets per Player.
• Nigel Harris (NJH27) made modifications.
• Ben Harris (BJH21) changed even more things, notably the bomb blast radius formula to be based on a cube root.
• Chuan-Tze Teo (CTT20) modified still more rules.
• Martin Read (mpr22) corrected the text of the bomb rules, and set a (semi-)codified timing rule (after a few shoutings, getting the wording right).
• Lynnette Dray (lmd21) modified a few more things, surprisingly.
• Tom Oinn (tmo21) htmlified the whole thing.
• J. Doe made some modifications to counter the more modern forms of organised crime endangering the game's status.
• Nadim Nehmé (nn211) incorporated J.'s changes into Tom's html form and declared a different form of Necromancy.
• Matthew Wakeling (mnw21) was the May Week 1999 Umpire, and completely rehashed the scoring method.
• Alex Churchill (gaec2) hasn't modified much yet.
• Claire Bordenave (cb302) modified the rules for May Week 2001.
• Ed Nokes (emn23) made a brand new May Week program.
• Päivi Pasi (pap26) made some changes for the May Week 2002, with contributions from Simon Ford.
• Jonathan Hogg (jdh41) made some changes for the May Week 2002.
• Adam Biltcliffe (amgb2) restructured all the rules to look a bit more like the main game ones again, and changed the weapons rules a bit with some input from Ed Allcutt (ema29).
• Adam Baird Fraser (asb47) made some small changes for May Week 2005.
• Tom Booth (tjgb2) fiddled with a few things and made some structural changes for May Week 2006.
• Michael Wallace (mpw36) and Christian Fletcher Warran made a few changes for May Week 2007 (particularly regards scoring).
• Simeon Bird (spb41) relaxed a few rules for May Week 2008, and instituted another new scoring system.
• Will Brooks (wb236) made computer rooms OOB, made ball queues optionally OOB, restricted what innocents should do and introduced another scoring algorithm
• Christopher Powell (cp398) tweaked some things, added bread-based weaponry and continued the change of scoring algorithm trend.
• Daniel O'Brien (dgwo2) closed a loophole or two and renamed 'eventers'.
• Thomas Ruddle (tjr45) added some stuff about safety and Safer Space, with input from Alison Madgwick and Cheryl Weedon.
• Cheryl Weedon (clw68) made the best edit yet.
• Alexander Hardwick (ah768) made several extremely minor edits, and clarified the rules for those with a worrying desire to kill the Umpire. He also updated various aspects of these rules (mainly OoB rules) in line with recent edits made to the main rules for Michaelmas/Lent games.

[Back to assassins index]
[Weapons Rules for this term]

Home / Email