Rules

OGame's ruleset is as follows, paraphrased from the forums.

Accounts
Account Sharing - Allowing other players to share your account is not allowed, unless they are account sitting.

Account Sitting - Account sitting is allowed, but both players must follow several regulations. First, No account can be sitted for over 48 continuous hours; afterwards, the account must be placed into vacation mode. Second, a player may sit only one other account at any given time. Both accounts can be located in the same universe. After the account is returned to its owner, both players must allow a period of seven days to pass before they can have the same account sitted, or sit another account. Also, the account's information, such as the player's password or e-mail address, cannot be changed. Lastly, an active fleet cannot be maintained at any time; this means no raiding, transfer of resources between planets, or fleetsaving to a foreign planet or debris field. Fleetsaving from major attacks, however, is allowed, as long as it is to a planet under the player's control. Any violations to the account sitting rules will be punished as if the player was multi-accounting.

Multi-accounting - Each player may only have one account per universe. If players are found with multiple accounts, they will be blocked from the game. Creating an account for the sole purpose of pushing another account, such as a raid target, is also considered multi-accounting. As such, sending resources to or attacking a player with an identical IP address is grounds for being blocked. Also, if two players sharing an IP attack the same player at the same time, they will both be blocked.

If two different players share the same IP, such as through a network, those players may need to prove they are different people.

Account Exchange - Any created account is tied to the account's fixed e-mail address, usually the one that players signed up their account with. If two players decide they wish to trade accounts, they should contact a game operator so they can ensure the accounts are traded safely. Otherwise, the game operators will not be responsible for traded accounts, and will not process complaints or requests unless they are sent from the fixed e-mail address. They will also not backup or rescue the traded accounts.

Deactivating the IP Check - If an account without the IP-Check is lost or stolen, the Game Operators will not retrieve the account for the player due to the inability to verify that the person is, in fact, the original user.

You are free to have IP check enabled or disabled as you prefer since.

Bug Abuse (Bug-Using)
The exploitation of errors of any sort in the game's programming is prohibited under any circumstances. Any bugs found by the players should be reported to the game operators immediately. Both players who exploit a bug, and those who fail to report a bug, can be blocked for any period of time meeting or exceeding one day.

Creating planets with special characters in their names is classified as bug abuse due to the fact that it can be judged as a way to avoid espionage or attacks.

Gameplay Modification
Interfering with the game's original mode of play, such as methods that cause excessive server traffic or methods impairing to gameplay, should be avoided. External scripts, such as macros or hacks that interfere with the game's inner workings, are grounds for an immediate and permanent block from the game. The Administrators reserve the right to claim damages or costs for administrative expenses.

Extortion
Any extortions or threats to a person's physical being are grounds for being blocked for any period of time, limited or unlimited. This also includes blockage from the OGame Forums.

Bashing
Definition - Bashing is defined as more than 6 attacks on one planet/moon in a single day. For more information, see the article on bashing.

Exceptions - There are two exception to the bashing rule. The first is if the attacker's alliance is at war with the victim's alliance. The war must be declared in the OGame "Area of Diplomacy" Sub-Forum at least 12 hours before the attacks in question. Wars cannot be waged against individuals, but a declaration of war does not need to be acknowledged by the opponent. {C}The second exception is if the victim of the attacks insulted him in a message. In this case, the attacker needs to send a message to a Game Operator, and save the message so that the Operator can check if the player's complaint is legitimate. After the Operator verifies the message, the attacker can bash the other player until a period of time, set by the Operator, elapses.

Special Cases - If a player attacks another player to the point that the other player cannot continue to advance, the attacker can be banned.

Pushing
Definition - Pushing is the act of sending resources to other players without anything in return. To prevent good samaritans from becoming blocked simply for helping their fellow man, sending resources is allowed to players under the sender's score.

Other types of pushing include:


 * Sending resources to another player, only to get them back through raiding.
 * Attacks with a weak fleet in order to produce a debris field.
 * Other ways to get greater amounts of resources without anything in return (excluding raiding, of course).

"Banks" or "Resource Depots" are to be reported to a Super Game Operator (SGO) or Game Administrator (Admin). The player is required to prove that there is a return service, sending the return to the planet not simultaneously with the original loan. Such actions as paying back creditors and bounty hunting are to be done at the players' risk. Sending resources harvested from a debris field to the player that caused the debris (sharing recyclers) isn't allowed, except in alliance cases, when such loaners should be given some credit.

Exceptions - Sending weak fleets to a planet without a moon in order to produce a moon is allowed, so long as the debris field does not exceed 2 milion resources (a 20% moon chance, the maximum). Also, a player in need of support from its alliance mates can receive resources from them, as long as an admin is informed in advance of any shipments and the total resources does not exceed the total the player lost.

Withdrawal of Previous Penalties
Actions done by an operator or admin of any sort can be reversed by another game operator, so long as the first operator agrees. This is why submitting a ticket is so important.

Refunds

 * If a player loses resources, ships, or planets from programming errors or other problems, the person is not usually entitled to the retrieval of his losses (i.e. a rollback).


 * If a player attempts to circumvent a previous decision by contacting another operator of similar or lesser status than the original operator, the player can be permanently removed from the game. An exception is contacting an authority higher than the original operator's status (ex. the superiors of the game operator are the super game operators and administrators).

Banning
Any breach of these rules will be penalized with a ban for as long as the operators see fair. Bans are also used in situation to penalize players when there is no clarification of a rule. The ban is issued first and the players must submit tickets and ask for clarity. When there is no clarity, the player can ask that the ticket be escalated to the Community Manager. The game operators may decide to clarify the rule at a later date. This ban can also be extended to beyond the player's account (such as the forums, IRC channels, and the rest of the universes). The operators agree to fully present the offending case according to their knowledge and their beliefs.

Miscellaneous
Players that cannot adhere to the game's rules due to their nationality, age, etc. are presented with the rules using an internal interpretation of those rules as an addition. This way no legal binding of the player to the general rules of operation is established; however, an equal judgement of all players is guaranteed. Unless the GO's aren't feeling it that day.