International Netrek League Rulebook

1. The standard game length will be 60 minutes.
   1. Two captains may agree to play a 90-minute game instead of a 60-minute game. Both captains must agree to do this; a request by one captain need not be honored.
   2. The game will be considered won by the team that has at least 11 planets, if their opponent has no more than 8 (with one planet independent) at the end of regulation time.
   3. If neither team has won at the end of regulation time, all players will be obliterated and there will be a sudden-death overtime period of 30 minutes for a 90-minute game, or 20 minutes for a 60-minute game. If there is still no victor after the overtime period, the game will be declared drawn.

2. All games must be played using the Vanilla Server version 2.9pl7 or higher. The server is available from ftp://ftp.netrek.org/pub/netrek/servers/vanilla/
   1. The server will not be changed, excepting bug fixes, during the regular season.

3. All games must be played using a bronco-blessed binary from one of the FTP sites listed in the Netrek FTP List, or a binary compiled from source from one of said sites. Source must be unmodified; only modifications necessary to compile the client on a different platform are allowable. No combat or informational cyborgs are allowed.
   1. The following features are expressly illegal in INL games:
      1. Keys which turn your ship independently of the mouse
      2. Beep-Lite

4. At least 8 players must be listed on each team's roster.
   1. No player may be listed on more than one roster.
      1. a player may serve as a non-playing coach for a different team with the approval of the INL Council. Such a coach must be listed on the team's official roster.
   2. There is no limit to the number of players that may be listed.
   3. Roster changes within 24 hours of a match must be OK'd by the opposing captain.
   4. Players must play under their most recognizable name, or a substitute approved by both the INL Council and the opposing captain. Opposing captains may demand that players use their most recognizable name.
   5. Each season will have a trade deadline posted with the schedule. Before the deadline, players may switch teams according to the above rules. After the deadline, players may not change teams.

5. If fewer than 8 players show up for a scheduled game, the team may be expected to play short.
   1. The team may draft players, but only with the approval of the opposing captain.
      1. These players may not be members of other INL teams.
   2. The opposing captain must approve all substitutes drafted in this manner; he may decline to allow a particular sub, with no justification required.

6. Each team is allowed two observer slots for extra players or coaches.
   1. Players from other INL teams may observe an INL game, but:
   2. The opposing captain must approve any observers not on the official team roster.
   3. A team may allow its opponent to use extra observer slots, but is not required to do so even if an empty slot is available.

7. All games must be played by the deadline listed in the schedule.
   1. Games not completed by the scheduled date may be declared double forfeits.
      1. Appeals for deadline extensions should be mailed to inlcouncil@csua.berkeley.edu. Don't do this without a good reason, please.
      2. Scheduling games is the responsibility of both teams. Failure of one team to show up for a game does not absolve the other team of their responsibility; both teams must continue to try to schedule the game until the end of the season. A team will be awarded a forfeit only if they are able to show that they made good faith efforts to schedule the game, even after the first scheduled date fell through.
      3. Forfeits due to scheduling problems are decided only by the INL Council, and only at the end of the season.
      4. These rules are intentionally vague. If you don't want to worry about a double forfeit, keep trying to schedule your games.

8. Rules on server features
   1. Timeout: Each team has one timeout of 5 minutes.
      1. Timeouts may be requested at any time. Their effect is usually delayed, sometimes by as long as 5 minutes.
      2. Both captains may agree to continue the game before the 5 minutes of the timeout have expired.
      3. Neither captain is required to continue the game before the 5 minutes of the timeout have expired.
   2. Pause: Should be used only to stop the game to deal with server or network problems.
      1. The game should be continued as soon as the problems are solved.
      2. All pause requests should be honored by the opposing captain as soon as possible, allowing some time for completion of a given engagement.
   3. Pausenow: Same as Pause, but should be used only when Pause is insufficient (whole team busts, opposing captain busts, opposing captain is refusing to honor a reasonable Pause request).