Equate-Master

Tips for Using Equate-Master

This page presents a few tips--not rules--that will make your Equate-Master experience more enjoyable.

• Combine your emails to Equate-Master and to your opponents - Rather than sending one email to Equate-Master with a Draw 5 command, and another email to your opponents telling what you played, you can send one email out to everyone. Equate-Master only reads the subject line (except with the Return command), so be sure to include the Game ID and command; but once it finds its command in the subject, it ignores everything else. So you can include everything Equate-Master needs to know, plus whatever you want to write to the other players, all in one email.

• Use your subject line wisely - There are only two items you must include in your subject line--the Game ID and the command--but putting more information can help when you run into trouble. I like to put what I played and my score; others include the coordinates of the play location, or maybe a "friendlier" name for the game so they can differentiate it from other games going on at the same time, without having to use the Game ID. Here's a sample subject line that's got most everything you'll need:
  Subject: "4 + 1/2 + 1/2 = 5", D5-J5, 34pts [EQ99-034-86334] Draw 7

  Why does this help? The subject line of every email you send to Equate-Master is included in the log for your game. If halfway through the game there's a dispute as to how many 5s are left, for instance, or where a particular play was made, having all that info in the log file can quickly solve the problem.

• Have fun! - Equate-Master can be used at a variety of levels, from competitions to a fun game with friends. When I play with my family we have a rule that with every turn you have to also say a little something about yourself, what you did today, or what's going on in your life. Take advantage of the fact this is played using email, to write something personal.