2015 Rule Changes

I.D. Distracting Speech or Behavior

First sentence: Remove words “or misleading”

II. General Principles

Changes:

Eliminate Adjudicating Unusual Situations

change II.C. to II.B. Observing Infractions change II.D. to II.C. Director’s Discretion with the following adjustment: (no new text, just combining two sections that are repetitive)

If a situation arises that is not explicitly covered in the rules, the Director has the discretion to extract what s/he can from the rule book to correct any irregularity in a fair and reasonable manner. The Director should keep in mind that no player should benefit from an irregularity s/he created, and no player should be harmed or potentially harmed by an irregularity s/he did not create. All players should be considered innocent of willful wrongdoing unless sufficient evidence exists to the contrary.

The goal of any remedy should be to eliminate to the fullest extent possible the impact of the irregularity on the aggrieved player. Such situations may be reported, along with the Director’s remedy, to the NASPA Rules Committee for discussion and possible inclusion in a future edition of the Rules.

Add:

II.D. Right to a Second Opinion

If a player feels that a Director has made an incorrect ruling, s/he has the right to request a second opinion from another Director or a Rules Committee Member, if either is available. If the two rulings differ, a third opinion may be requested.

III.A.2.Tiles

Add as 5th paragraph: Tiles that can be picked up easily from the board (e.g. due to thickness) are preferred over tiles that are difficult to pick up.

Rewrite:::

III.A.2. Tiles Move to 4th paragraph: Tiles that can be picked up easily from the board (e.g. due to thickness) are preferred over tiles that are difficult to pick up. Make what is now 4th paragraph the 5th paragraph and change wording to: One-piece tiles are always preferred over three-piece tiles (with a paper letter insert) unless the one-piece tiles are significantly faded or worn.

III.G.4 Poorly Positioned Tiles

Correct 2nd to last line to read: (including those described in “IV.H.1. Verifying the Play Score” on page 21) Change last line to read: may notify the Director either to receive one extra minute of playing time or to subtract one minute of playing time from the offending player.

IV.B.3 Loose Tiles

Change in third paragraph, fourth and fifth line: did not come from the board, the tiles will be returned to the bag. (If the bag is empty when a loose tile is discovered, see “V.C. Finding Missing Tiles Near the End of the Game” on page 27.)

IV.B.7.a End of Game Underdrawing

Rewrite first paragraph: Near the end of the game, if you fail to follow the designated procedure for completing a turn, including recording the cumulative score, and your drawing out of order results in your opponent having too few tiles remaining to complete his/her draw, then the standard overdraw situation will apply. (see IV.B.5.b Overdraw Procedure page…) However, if Player A draws too few tiles, and Player B’s…..

IV.H.1. Verifying the Play Score

Change last line to read: may notify the Director either to receive one extra minute of playing time or to subtract one minute of playing time from the offending player.

IV.C.2. Counting Tiles

Add to the end of first paragraph: However, if tiles are already in the opponent’s hand, but not out of the bag, s/he has the option to either pull those tiles out of the bag or to drop them back into the bag.

IV.F.2 Disputes

Reword second sentence of second paragraph: Should his/her opponent dispute the designation, the Director should take into consideration the claims of both players and, if offered, any third-party observations before making an official designation of the blank.

IV.I.2. Holding the Play

Courtesy Rule, line two. Change to read:

However, your opponent, after CLEARLY stating that s/he is doing so, may draw…

Courtesy Rule, line four. Add this line: … duration of the hold. When courtesy tiles are drawn, you are considered ‘on hold’ until your opponent CLEARLY states "I accept the play" or makes their play, starting your clock. If you make a successful challenge, your opponent…

IV.I.2 Holding the Play

Add as new paragraph at the end: Furthermore, should a player return the courtesy tiles to the bag without showing them to his/her opponent, his/her opponent will have the right to view X+2 tiles from the bag, where X is the number of tiles returned, or all of the tiles, whichever is fewer.

V.J. Recording the Game

Line 7 after ‘substantiate the adjustment’ add the line: In such a case, the Director must make the change. No changes need to be made, however, once the final round has been paired.

VI.A. Word Reference

Add: NASPA will adopt CSW2015 for Collins play on September 1, 2015