{"id":284,"date":"2015-10-09T07:14:24","date_gmt":"2015-10-09T04:14:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/rules\/?page_id=284"},"modified":"2025-04-24T07:43:42","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T04:43:42","slug":"mtr4-1","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.magicjudges.org\/rules\/mtr4-1\/","title":{"rendered":"MTR 4.1 Player Communication"},"content":{"rendered":"

Communication between players is essential to the successful play of any game that involves virtual objects or hidden information. While bluffing may be an aspect of games, there need to be clear lines as to what is, and is not, acceptable for players to say or otherwise represent. This will confirm expectations of both sporting and competitive players during a game.<\/p>\n

While players are willing to do whatever they can to win, judges need to make sure players behave within the rules. Bluffing is okay, for example, but we cannot condone any behavior that crosses the line into cheating or other unsportsmanlike conduct.<\/em><\/div>\n

A player should have an advantage due to better understanding of the options provided by the rules of the game, greater awareness of the interactions in the current game state, and superior tactical planning.<\/p>\n

We do not penalize a player for understanding the game better than their opponent. Instead, we want to encourage players to learn the rules and understand the rules and policy documents.<\/em><\/div>\n

Players are under no obligation to assist their opponents in playing the game. Regardless of anything else, players are expected to treat opponents politely and with respect. Failure to do so may lead to Unsporting Conduct penalties<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sometimes a player might have an opponent of a drastically different skill level.\u00a0 That’s fine.\u00a0 You do not have to help your opponent beat you.\u00a0 You don’t get to be a jerk about it though. We do want players to be sportsmanlike and to behave respectfully toward their opponents.
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There are four categories of information: status, free, derived and private.<\/p>\n

Status information is information that must be announced upon change and physically tracked by the affected player. Methods for tracking must be visible to both players during the match. A shared method is acceptable as long as all players in the match have access to it. At Competitive and Professional REL, methods that can easily be accidentally changed (such as dice) may not be used. Status information consists of:<\/p>\n