Idea for new endgame/victory condition(s) - declarations & objections

[Corbeau]

How about this?

Let's forget the land/tech etc, endgame conditions. It's about declarations again, and it boils down to: game ends when people want to stop playing. But with a twist.

Firsty, it applies to score games, meaning no alliance victory.

Any player can announce endgame at any moment. For further reference, he will be called the Announcer.

Naturally, if no objections are made in the following 7 days, game ends. Also, any other player can make two types of objection:

Objection to Score. This is a general objection. If it happens, the game continues normally. For example, if the endgame announcement was in effect a victory declaration, currently non-victorious players may still want a chance to take a jab at it.

Objection to Endgame. This means that the Objector does not object to the Announcer's Place In The World (or score), but simply wants to keep playing, either simply for the sake of playing the game or because he wants to improve his position on the ranking table compared to someone else without challenging the Announcer.

If Objection to Endgame happens, the Announcer has a choice:

1. Leave the game with his current rank. If this happens, the rank is noted and no other player can have this rank. For example, if the Announcer is 1st, he has effectively won and everybody else comes ins 2nd, 3rd etc. even if the Announcer's empire has been torn apart after he left. If the announcer was, for example, 2nd at the time of his announcement, and no Score Objection was filed, no other player can take the 2nd place, all remaining players take the 1st, 3rd, 4th etc.

2. Continue playing, either for fun or because he has made obligations to allies. But in this case, his announcement is nullified and he is susceptible to change in rank.

No-bullying rule. A player can Object to Score only if he is weaker than the Announcer, not if he is stronger. Of course, this rule can be played by a stronger player persuading weaker players to object, but this is strong out-of-game behaviour and is effectively unfair manipulation. The Announcer may be in a fight against stronger opponents, this in effect may be his surrender and it should be allowed and honoured.

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For now, this is just a proposition. Feel free to discuss.