The Strategy Gaming Society (SGS) membership has ultimate control over the club's direction, its organization, and its services. A person becomes a member by paying his annual dues to the Treasurer. Submission of payment for membership constitutes agreement to uphold the SGS Constitution and By- Laws.

I. Dues

A. Regular Membership

The dues for Regular Membership in the SGS shall be $11.99 for members living in the United States and those other places to which mail can be sent at the US domestic rate. Annual dues for Regular Members living elsewhere shall be $14 for surface mailing of the Strategist (S) and $19 for Air Mail mailing of the Strategist. Regular Members are entitled to all issues of the Strategist printed and published during the year of their membership.

B. Non-Subscribing Membership

Non-subscribing memberships are $2 per year. Nonsubscribing members must belong to an affiliate which is itself a member of the SGS. Non-subscribing members are Regular Members in all respects except that they are sent only a single issue of the Strategist each year, and they may not vote in SGS Elections. The Regular Members in the affiliate must guarantee their Non-Subscribing Members regular monthly access to his Strategist. Non-subscribing members must live in the US or Canada.

C. Family Membership

Persons living in the home of an SGS member may join the SGS for $1/year as 'Family Members'. Family members do not receive Strategist, but otherwise enjoy all membership rights.

C. Recruiter's Extension

For each new person recruited into the SGS, the recruiter's membership shall be extended by one month.

D. Contributor's Extension

Contributors to the Strategist shall receive a one month extension to their membership for each 2/3 page of their material which appears in the Strategist. Material written by officers as part of their duties shall not be given such credit.

E. Restoration

A person who has been expelled from the SGS must receive the permission of the Directorate to rejoin.

II. Committees and Services.

A. Branch Committees

Standing Committees are hereby established for each of the major branches of the hobby: boardgaming, miniatures, computer games, diplomatic games, science fiction, and rolegaming. These committees are to sponsor and support SGS activities in their respective areas.

B. Tournament Committee

The Tournaments Committee will run play-by-mail events and assist in running face-to-face tournaments. The SGS encourages its members to organize official SGS-sponsored tournaments at conventions. Such sponsorship shall consist of awarding SGS membership (or membership extension) as prizes. The tournament organizers shall send to the SGS an amount of money at least as large as the cost of such memberships and extensions.

C. Advertising Committee

The Advertising Committee is empowered to prepare and place SGS ads, either by trade or by expenditure of funds as voted by the Directorate.

D. Publications Committee

1. The Publications Committee will print and distribute wargaming literature as approved by the Directorate.

2. The Publications Committee is authorized to publish supplements to 'Jeff Pimper's All the World's Wargames 1953-77' without spending money out of the SGS Treasury.

E. Ratings Service

The purpose of the SGS Ratings Service is to rate members' ability to play wargames. The Ratings Chairman will make a list of games that are eligible for rating. If players wish to have their game rated under the SGS system, they must tell the Ratings Chairman at the start of a game. All SGS Tournament Games are automatically rated.

1. All participants in the Ratings System start with a rating of 1500. On completing a game, if the players have the same rating the winner will gain and the loser will drop 40 points. In addition, ten points are added to each players' rating for each of the first five rated games player during a calendar year. This bonus is reduced to five points for those rate 1800-2000 and to zero points for those rated 2000 and above.

2. If the player with the lower rating wins the game, he gains 40 points plus 10% of the difference between the two ratings at the start of the game. The loser's rating drops 40 points.

3. If the player with the higher rating wins the game, the fraction (400/(400+the positive difference between the two ratings at the start of the game)) of 40 points is added to the winner's rating and subtracted from the loser's rating. Round fractions of points to the nearest whole number.

4. Points won and lost in multi-player team games are determined by finding the average rating for each side and treating the ratings as if they were the ratings of two players. Each player gains or loses the same number of points as others on his side.

5. The Ratings Chairman may promote the system by conducting a yearly ratings tournament. The points won in this tournament will be the number of points one's rating has increased since the start of the tournament, plus 10% of this increase. The annual bonus is added after this adjustment.

6. Diplomatic multi-player games like Diplomacy, Starlord, etc. have a separate rating. First, find the average rating of the players involved. If the winner's rating was higher than this average, he is rated against this average. If the winner's rating was lower, he is instead rated against the highest rated player. All other players lose the same number of points, so that the total number of points gained by the winners and the total number of points lost by the losers shall be the same.

7. If two players play a pair of games under the same rules, and each player wins once, their ratings are only changes by the annual bonus.

F. Societies

A Society is a group of wargamers with a common and specific wargaming interest. The Membership Secretary will coordinate, encourage, and assist affiliated societies.

G. Regional Activity Committees

1. There shall be a Regional Activity Committee in each Region to assist in sponsoring activities from that region, with the Regional Director as its Chairman. 2. Each Regional Director is empowered to appoint Area, State, and Local Coordinators for SGS activities, based on the natural geographic divisions of that Region. The RD may delegate to the Area Coordinators the right to appoint Local Coordinators. 3. It is the duty of these Coordinators to establish contact with the local clubs, hobby stores, and other wargaming groups, advising them of the existence of the SGS and offering them such assistance as may be appropriate. Local Coordinators will maintain lists of such activities and pass them up to their Area Coordinator and RD on a regular basis. 4. Each RD will assure that a copy of such records is maintained so that loss of an Area or Local Coordinator will not cause the loss of all records about his area. The details of the record- keeping are left to the discretion of each RD.

H. Convention Advisory Board

1. The President shall appoint a Convention Advisory Board.

2. The Convention Advisory Board will offer advice on convention organization and planning. It will also advise the Directorate on SGS sponsorship or other involvement in specific conventions.

3. Copies of the SGS Guide to Running Wargame Conventions shall be sold for $1 and distributed gratis to people planning wargaming conventions.

I. Game Design Bureau

The Game Design Bureau's purpose is to help amateur game designers to design or produce their own games.

J. Matching

The Matching Committee shall assist SGS members in finding opponents for particular games.

K. Other Services

The SGS will act as a general information source for newcomers to the hobby and will provide such other services as its members may undertake,with the approval of the Directorate.

L. Non-Wargaming Committee

The structure and purpose of the Non-Wargaming Committee is to be determined by the Non-Wargaming Committee chairman.

M. Awards Committee

1. The SGS will award each year certificates or other tangible tokens to groups and individuals for their contributions to the hobby.

2. The following categories of Award will be given:

a. For promotion of novice participation in the hobby (for novice rules of advanced games or games for beginning gamers in the hobby) by a commercial interest.

2b. For innovation in the art of game design.

2c. For enhancing the prestige of the hobby.

2d. For outstanding service to the hobby.

2Other awards may be selected each year at the pleasure of the Directorate or may be added to the above list in the same manner as any By-Law.

23. These Awards will consist of at least one Certificate of Outstanding Achievement, when awarded, and may include three (lesser) Certificates of Merit in addition. The categories in which awards may be presented will be decided by the Directorate prior to January 15 of the year in which they are to be offered. The Awards Comn-dttee may decide not to present awards in any given category, and how many to present.

24. The recipients of the Awards will be chosen by a Committee of at least three and at most seven SGS members appointed by the President. The Committee shall render its decisions, print and write certificates, and transmit the award tokens to the President or his representative, by the day three weeks prior to the start of the Origins game convention each year. The Awards Committee shall have full power to determine its procedures and protocols.

N. Ad Hoe Committees

The President and other National Officers may create ad hoc committees to perform such tasks as are consistent with the purposes of the club, but which are not currently being performed. Ad hoc committees may not spend SGS money, or commit SGS funds to be spent.

III. Duties and Powers of Officers

A. The President

1. It is the President's responsibility to contact other organizations in general, the public, etc., and to advertise the SGS. No binding agreement may be made by the SGS without the approval of the Directorate.

2. The President shall report at least quarterly to the Directorate on projects and progress under his administration, including all areas under his jurisdiction.

3. All appointed officials other than the Elections Officer and his Assistant serve at the pleasure of the President and may be removed by him. Removing a Committee Chairman without reasonable cause is grounds for removal of the President from office under Article V of the Constitution. The Directorate may reverse any Presidential appointment by majority vote.

4 If a Regional Director's post becomes vacant, the President shall appoint an acting chairman for that Region's Regional Activities Committee, to serve until a regular or special election fills the post.

5. If the post of Vice President becomes vacant, the President shall appoint a person to perform all the duties of the Vice President other than voting in the Directorate. This person serves at the pleasure of the President.

6. The President is responsible for arranging the SGS general membership meeting at Origins each year.

7. The President shall correspond with persons and organized groups who provide worthwhile services to the wargaming hobby, requesting reports on their activities suitable for publication in the Strategist, and determining what assistance the SGS might be able to provide these persons or groups, as well as how members of the SGS might take advantage of the service.

B. The Vice President

1. The Vice President shall edit and publish the Directorate Newsletter, which shall appear at least every six weeks, but not more often than monthly,

2. If a National elective office becomes vacant with less than six months remaining in the term of office, the Vice President is to perform the duties of that post for the remainder of the term. If more than six months remain, the Vice President will fill the post until a special election is completed.

3. It is the duty of the Vice President to enforce the By-Laws of the SGS pertaining to the operation of the Directorate. He may not rule motions out of order, fail to print motions of a Director, or postpone a vote on a motion, except by using his vote of "Challenge".

C. The Treasurer

1. The Treasurer and the Editor shall be signatories on the SGS bank account. The Editor may not draw on the account, other than through the Treasurer, unless the Treasurer's post is vacant.

2. A list of new members, their addresses, and the names of all persons who have renewed their memberships shall be printed every month in the Strategist. A complete membership list shall be printed very six months.

3. If the posts of President and Vice President shall both become vacant, the Treasurer assumes the duties of the President.

4. In the event that the SGS should cease to function, any remaining Treasury should first be used to pay any outstanding obligations of the SGS, and then shall be refunded to each member in proportion to that member's number of Strategist issues outstanding, less the costs of distributing the funds. This should not be construed to preclude the purchase of memberships in another recognized non-profit organization whose aims and goals are sufficiently similar to those of the SGS, as determined by the Directorate at the time of cessation, except that each member must be given the option of a refund.

D. Membership Secretary.

1. At least once a year the Membership Secretary shall contact each affiliate, requesting an update on the affiliate's activities. He shall not ask about the affiliate's finances. The affiliate's response is reported in the DN, with a summary sent to the Editor for the Strategist.

2. The Membership Secretary acts as the internal information officer of the SGS, keeping the membership informed of activities and political developments within the SGS.

3. The Membership Secretary maintains the record of current SGS affiliates, and handles all details concerning offers of affiliation, including advising other groups that they have been offered affiliation.

4. New members of the SGS shall be sent a current copy of the Constitution and By-Laws and information on current SGS projects and services. Current members requesting updated editions of the original membership packet may send a selfaddressed stamped envelope, business size with two first class stamps on it, to the Membership Secretary.

5. If the Presidency and the Vice Presidency shall both become vacant, the Membership Secretary is to assume the duties of the Vice President.

E. The Editor

1. The Editor of the Strategist is empowered to spend the funds necessary to print one copy of the Strategist for each member, and to mail those issues to the membership. The Editor may print up to 50 additional copies of each issue, plus such additional copies as are on hand for sample issues. Under no circumstances save explicit vote form the Directorate shall the Editor be reimbursed from the Treasury for costs of printing and mailing an issue of Strategist, in excess of the costs of printing and mailing sample issues for which payment has already been received, plus $1 per member.

2. The Editor is authorized to trade advertising space with other magazines on an equitable basis. The per page advertising rate for the Strategist shall be twice the cost, including postage, of printing that page and mailing it to the members. This shall be determined by the Editor and reported in the Strategist on a regular basis. Income from any advertising is to be placed in the Treasury.

3. Back issues of the Strategist shall be sold for $1.25/issue. Persons wishing to distribute sample copies of the Strategist, together with SGS recruitment fliers and the like, may have sample issues of the Editor's choosing sent to them for for the marginal cost of printing and mailing.

4. Calls for nominations, election announcements, and candidates' statements, as a body, shall appear on or begin on the first page of Strategist.

5. The Editor or Advertising Committee may distribute review and sample copies of the Strategist to conventions or magazines without charging for them.

F. Regional Directors.

1. Each Regional Director shall report at least once every six months to the Directorate on wargaming activities and services in his region.

2. If offices are vacant such that the By-Laws do not specify who becomes President, the Regional Director with the most time in the Directorate shall become President. If similar circumstances exist for the Vice Presidency, the Regional Director with the most seniority shall assume the duties of the Vice President.

3. If for any reason the President and Vice President are not publishing the Directorate Newsletter, it is the responsibility of the RD for Region I to publish it. If he does not do so, the duty passes to the RD of Region 2, and so on, so that the Directorate may continue to function.

IV. Initiatives and Elections

A. Initiatives and Referenda

1. A member may bring an initiative to vote by obtaining the written support of 5% of the membership or any four Directorate members. A member may send his proposed initiative directly to the Editor for printing in Strategist; with this he asks for letters of support from the membership.

2. When the Editor received the initiative and the written support of enough sponsors, the proposal is printed in the Strategist (issue #1). Opinions on the proposal are sent to the Editor, who is to print a fair sampling in the following issue of the Strategist (issue #2) along with a ballot. It the author of the proposal submits a statement it must be given priority for publication.

3. Ballots on initiatives are to be sent to the Elections Officer who tabulates the results and sends them to the Editor. Only ballots received by the elections Officer with 21 days of the mailing date of issue #2 of the Strategist are to be counted.

4. Results of the initiative are to be printed in the Strategist as soon as possible. If approved, the initiative takes effect one week after the mailing date of that issue.

B. National and Regional Elections

1. The SGS is divided into eleven Regions. They are numbered according to the first digit of the ZIP code, except that NY and NJ are entirely within region 1, all points not elsewhere specified whose ZIP codes begin with 0 are in Region 10, and all members living outside the States and the Federal District of the United States, including those with APO/FPO addresses, are in Region 11.

2. Nominations for all officers shall be called in the September Strategist. Any member may nominate or run for National Office. Any member may nominate a Regional Director, but only persons who reside in a Region for the majority of the year may run for its Regional Directorship. A person may nominate himself.

3. Nominations are due by the October Press date. Nominations are sent to the Editor and announced in the October Strategist. Late nominations received prior to publishing the November Strategist are valid.

4. Nominees have until the November Strategist, but at least two weeks from the mailing date of the October Strategist, to accept or decline nomination and send a campaign statement to the Editor. A campaign statement is a valid acceptance.

5. Endorsements for candidates may be sought and submitted to Strategist. Campaign statements may not exceed 500 words; endorsements longer than 100 words may be edited. All statements and a fair sampling of all endorsements, with the names of all endorsers, shall be printed in the November Strategist. The November issue will also include the list of all candidates and the ballot. All SGS ballots shall include instructions to send the ballot to the Elections Officer.

6. The deadline for the receipt of ballots by the Elections Officer is the day, at least three weeks after the mailing date of the November Strategist, before the Press date of the December Strategist, which date shall be announced in the November Strategist.

7. The Elections Officer shall tabulate all ballots and report the results to all candidates and present office holders. The Elections Officer will store all ballots for six months and then destroy them. Individual votes will be kept secret.

8. All members may vote for National Officers. Only residents of a Region may vote for its Regional Director. If a member votes more than once the most recently postmarked ballot shall be valid.

9. The term of office for all Officers of the SGS runs from January 1 to December 31, or until elections for a replacement shall have been completed, if at a later date.

10. To effect the transfer of office, it is the duty of the former officer to send all office records to the new officer, acquaint the new officer with them, and inform the new officer of any systems he may have developed, new business, etc.

11. A special election is called for a vacant office, if more than six months remain remain in the term of the office, as soon as a candidate is nominated and accepts the nomination.

C. Elections Irregularities.

1. If a person has elections problems he should first contact the Elections Officer and then the Directorate. The Directorate (excluding members in the election in question) shall investigate the irregularity. The Directorate may order the Elections Officer to turn the ballots over to the Vice President.

2. The Directorate may order the removal of the Elections Officer, the expulsion of members (by three-quarters vote), or (by three-quarters vote) may void the election and direct that a new election be held.

D. Elections Officer

1. The President shall appoint an Elections Officer and an Assistant Elections Officer. There will be a two month delay between the announcements of the appointments to the Directorate and the earliest date on which the Elections Officer may assume his duties.

2. The Elections Officer may not be a candidate for office in an election in which he is receiving ballots. The Elections Officer may be removed from office by membership initiative. A 1/3 vote is required for removal. The Elections Officer may also be removed from office by a 1/3 vote of the Directorate.

3. The Assistant Elections Officer will assume the duties of the Elections Officer when the Elections Officer is unable to perform them. The Assistant Elections Officer must have gone through his two-month waiting period before he may assume his duties.

4. The Elections Officer must use the current membership list to ensure that only current SGS members are allowed to vote.

5. The Elections Officer must do his best to ensure that the election is fair. If he believes that something is unfair he may ask the Directorate (less the candidates involved) to take action.

6. When the Editor has the final list of candidates, he shall advise the Vice President, who is to send the most recent Directorate Newsletter to each one.

E. Ballots

1. All ballots for office will have a place for a write-in and for a 'No' vote. The candidate with a plurality of the votes is elected. If there is a tie for first place a run-off election is held between the leading candidates. If 'No' receives a plurality or ties the leading candidate, a new election shall be called. 'No' votes do not count in second elections. If zero votes are received for a post it becomes vacant and a special election is called.

2. In an election in which there is only one candidate, and that candidate is self-nominated, if no votes of 'No'or write-in votes are received, that candidate shall be declared elected.

V. The Directorate

A. The Directorate Newsletter

1. Directorate business is transacted by means of the Directorate Newsletter, published by the Vice President with necessary finds being drawn from the Treasury. The Directorate Newsletter is distributed free to Directors, Advisors, and Committee Chairmen, and at cost to other interested parties.

2. General material may be submitted to the Directorate Newsletter by any Director, Committee Chairman, or other Member. Statements of Directors will be published; other material may be printed at the discretion of the Vice President, who may edit all general material.

3. The Vice President shall send to each person newly elected to the Directorate the most recently published issue of the Directorate Newsletter.

B. Directorate Votes

1. Any Director may place a motion before the Directorate, the text of which shall appear in the next Directorate Newsletter.

2. The Director making a motion may specify in which issue of the Directorate Newsletter his motion is to be put to a vote. In the issue of the Directorate Newsletter in which a motion is put to a vote, the text of that motion shall appear together with a ballot.

3. The allowed votes on any motion are 'Yes', 'No', 'Present', and 'Challenge'. Ballots will be tabulated by the Vice President and reported in the next Directorate Newsletter.

4. Unless a later date is specified by its proposer, a Motion is automatically voted upon in the issue of the Directorate Newsletter in which it first appears. To pass on this immediate vote, a 2/3 vote of all Directors voting 'Yes' or 'No' is required. Motions which fail to pass on this immediate vote are automatically voted upon in the next issue of the Directorate Newsletter.

5. Except for immediate votes, or as elsewise specified, a majority vote of all Directors voting 'Yes' or 'No' is required to pass a motion. A vote of 'Present' indicates that a Director has responded to a ballot without taking a stand; votes of 'Present' do not count in determining whether a Motion has passed.

6. If a vote of 'Challenge' is received, the vote on that motion in that issue of the Directorate Newsletter is set aside, a fresh vote being taken in the next issue. A Director may not challenge a Motion more than once. Votes on a particular Motion may only be set aside twice.

7. In Challenging a Motion, a Director may simultaneously vote 'Yes' or 'No'. If the side favored by the Challenging Director would have succeeded, had the Director not Challenged the Motion, then the 'Challenge' vote of that Director is ignored.

8. A motion may only be withdrawn at the request of its author, but only if it is the Vice President's interpretation that this withdrawal reflects the clear consensus of the Directorate as reflected in a vote.

9. If a Director questions the interpretation of a motion, the Vice President shall indicate a binding interpretation at the time the vote is taken. The Vice President shall first try to ascertain the interpretation of the maker of the Motion. If, prior to a vote, the Vice President and the maker of a Motion each give an interpretation, the maker's interpretation takes precedence.

10. Once a motion has been proposed by a Director in the Directorate Newsletter, it may not be withdrawn until a vote has been taken or Challenged. Nor, having specified a time for a vote on his motion, may a Director cause a vote to be delayed other than by a Challenge. Once a Motion has been made by a Director, it shall be printed in the next issue of the Directorate Newsletter, and votes on it shall be carried out in accordance with these By- Laws, except that a Director may alter the text of his own material prior to its appearance in the Directorate Newsletter.

11. No person may vote more than once on Directorate motions, even if he holds more than one office.

C. Face to Face Meetings.

The Directorate may hold face-to-face meetings at which SGS business may be discussed. However, no votes may be taken or other business transacted at face-to-face meetings. Directorate motions may only be passed by mail via the Directorate Newsletter.

D. Updating

The Constitution and By-Laws shall be up-dated by the Membership Secretary at least every January, at which time objections to the phrasing may be raised and additions or deletions proposed. Funds are hereby allocated for annual distribution of the Constitution and By-Laws to all members via the Strategist.

E. Advisors

1. The purpose of Advisors is to gain experienced counsel and ideas for the SGS. Advisor's opinions shall be printed in the Directorate Newsletter.

2. To appoint an Advisor, a person's name is presented to the Directorate and a motion is passed.

3. Advisors receive their Directorate Newsletter, Constitution, and By-Laws free of charge.

F. Fiscal Control

1. Club assets may only be expended by specific authorization of the Directorate or as specified in the By-Laws.

2. All proposals or policies voted on by the Directorate or the General Membership should indicate any increased revenue or costs inherent in their passage.

G. Constitutionality

The constitutionality of motions or actions shall be determined by a majority vote of the Directorate.

H. Documentation

Proposals or policies voted on by the Directorate or the General Membership should, if applicable, reveal the Constitutional or By- Law changes required to implement their passage.

VI. Affiliation

A. Affiliation

1. Amateur wargaming clubs and magazines may be offered affiliation freely, except that clubs with WWII/Germanic/Nazi/Other Totalitarian names will not be offered affiliation without prior Directorate approval.

2. Amateur groups offering services for pre-paid fees (e.g Diplomacy magazines with game fees) will in general only be offered affiliation if- they have been in operation for a year or more, their fees and/or services are secured against default by a Gamesmaster's guarantee agreement or trust fund, and they are in operation in a manner which does not suggest that they will probably default.

3. Commercial operations such as hobby stores will generally be offered affiliation only if they offer discounts to SGS members. Clubs associated with a hobby store are still considered to be amateur. Over-the-counter operations are in general qualified for affiliation. Mail order services, cornmercial gamesmastering services, professional magazines, and similar groups must have been in business for at least three years, should not be subject to doubts as to the integrity of their operation, and should offer SGS members an appreciable discount. These conditions may be waived under special conditions by Directorate vote.

4. Organizations with at least 30 SGS members may be given subsidiary status by vote of the Directorate. The subsidiary will have the right to edit up to one half page of the Strategist every month (or up to one page every other month). Space not used by the subsidiary will revert to the SGS. It is recognized that a subsidiary's material could contain material that is not of interest ot the SGS membership as a whole. The SGS Editor does reserve the right of final proof-reading and may remove material which is clearly inappropriate or offensive in nature. All subsidiary submissions must be prepared to confirm to standard Strategist format. Additional subsidiary materials which could be of interest to the membership as a whole may be accepted for printing in the Strategist at the Editor's discretion. The SGS recruitment bounty will not apply to the ini~tial merging of a subsidiary into the SGS but will apply to any new members recruited thereafter.

C. Chapters

The SGS shall issue charters to local clubs, to be known as 'Chapters'. Charters are issues either to local clubs which already exist or to persons wishing to start a local Chapter. It is not the intent of the SGS to establish local Chapters in hostile competition with pre-existing local groups. Charters shall not be issued on an exclusive geographic basis. If several competing groups exist in a single area, Charters shall be available to each of them.

1. To be recognized as an Active Chapter of the SGS the Chapter must satisfy the following conditions:

a) At least one Officer of the Chapter must be a Regular Member of the SGS.

b) Every year, the Chapter shall submit to to the Membership Secretary a list of the names and addresses of all of its members.

c) In June of every year, together with its Membership List, the Chapter shall pay to the SGS a registration fee. This Registration fee shall be equal to the number of Chapter Members who are not SGS members, multiplied by the current First Class postage for one ounce of mail.

d) The Chapter shall also furnish to the Membership Secretary the times and places of its meetings, special interests, and such other material as it may wished published about itself in the Strategist.

Mergers

On majority vote of the Directorate, other wargarning groups may be merged into the SGS, the memberships of those other groups receiving memberships of a length determined by comparing the SGS's applicable membership rate to the funds transferred in their name to the Treasury. If no funds are transferred, such persons may receive SGS material on such a basis as is determined by the Directorate.