N_omic Rule Graveyard

This is where we store rules that have been repealed, or amended into a different form.


Rule Graveyard current as of April 24th, 2001.

108 - Immutable - Initial Rule
Each proposed rule-change shall be given a number for reference. The numbers shall begin with 301, and each rule-change proposed in the proper way shall receive the next successive integer, whether or not the proposal is adopted.

If a rule is repealed and reenacted, it receives the number of the proposal to reenact it. If a rule is amended or transmuted, it receives the number of the proposal to amend or transmute it. If an amendment is amended or repealed, the entire rule of which it is a part receives the number of the proposal to amend or repeal the amendment.

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111 - Immutable - Initial Rule
If a rule-change as proposed is unclear, ambiguous, paradoxical, or destructive of play, or if it arguably consists of two or more rule-changes compounded or is an amendment that makes no difference, or if it is otherwise of questionable value, then the other players may suggest amendments or argue against the proposal before the vote. A reasonable time must be allowed for this debate. The proponent decides the final form in which the proposal is to be voted on and, unless the Judge has been asked to do so, also decides the time to end debate and vote.

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112 - Immutable - Initial Rule
The state of affairs that constitutes winning may not be altered from achieving n points to any other state of affairs. The magnitude of n and the means of earning points may be changed, and rules that establish a winner when play cannot continue may be enacted and (while they are mutable) be amended or repealed.

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202 - Mutable - Initial Rule
One turn consists of two parts in this order: (1) proposing one rule-change and having it voted on, and (2) throwing one die once and adding the number of points on its face to one's score.

In mail and computer games, instead of throwing a die, players subtract 291 from the ordinal number of their proposal and multiply the result by the fraction of favorable votes it received, rounded to the nearest integer. (This yields a number between 0 and 10 for the first player, with the upper limit increasing by one each turn; more points are awarded for more popular proposals.)

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203 - Mutable - Initial Rule
A rule-change is adopted if and only if the vote is unanimous among the eligible voters. If this rule is not amended by the end of the second complete circuit of turns, it automatically changes to require only a simple majority.

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205 - Mutable - Initial Rule
An adopted rule-change takes full effect at the moment of the completion of the vote that adopted it.

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206 - Mutable - Initial Rule
When a proposed rule-change is defeated, the player who proposed it loses 10 points.

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207 - Mutable - Initial Rule
Each player always has exactly one vote.

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210 - Mutable - Initial Rule
Players may not conspire or consult on the making of future rule-changes unless they are team-mates.

The first paragraph of this rule does not apply to games by mail or computer.

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212 - Mutable - Initial Rule
If players disagree about the legality of a move or the interpretation or application of a rule, then the player preceding the one moving is to be the Judge and decide the question. Disagreement for the purposes of this rule may be created by the insistence of any player. This process is called invoking Judgment.

When Judgment has been invoked, the next player may not begin his or her turn without the consent of a majority of the other players.

The Judge's Judgment may be overruled only by a unanimous vote of the other players taken before the next turn is begun. If a Judge's Judgment is overruled, then the player preceding the Judge in the playing order becomes the new Judge for the question, and so on, except that no player is to be Judge during his or her own turn or during the turn of a team-mate.

Unless a Judge is overruled, one Judge settles all questions arising from the game until the next turn is begun, including questions as to his or her own legitimacy and jurisdiction as Judge.

New Judges are not bound by the decisions of old Judges. New Judges may, however, settle only those questions on which the players currently disagree and that affect the completion of the turn in which Judgment was invoked. All decisions by Judges shall be in accordance with all the rules then in effect; but when the rules are silent, inconsistent, or unclear on the point at issue, then the Judge shall consider game-custom and the spirit of the game before applying other standards.

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308 - Mutable - Enacted December 20th, 2000
There are two types of Players, Labelled and Unlabelled.

When it is an Unlabelled Player's turn, it is the job of the Judge to select one label and stick it to the Unlabelled Player's forehead, making em a Labelled Player. Each label has a single word on it, chosen from a list of valid words. The Judge then must inform the other Players, except the one whose turn it is, what the word is, using a private channel such as direct email.

A Player of course cannot see eir own label, and can determine its word only indirectly, e.g. by logical deduction or by getting another Player to tell em.

When a new Player joins the game, the Judge must inform the new Player of the labels of all the Labelled Players except the Judge emself, using a private channel such as direct email. The Judge must also add one word to the list of valid label words, and announce it to all Players. The Player whose turn it is must inform the new Player of the Judge's label, if e has one, using a private channel such as direct email.

When a Player or Reyalp leaves the game, the Judge must remove one word from the list of valid label words, and announce it to all Players. Any Players having that word on their labels are informed of that fact, and become Unlabelled Players.

Labels may not be removed or altered except as specifically provided by the rules. The list of valid label words may not be modified except as specifically provided by the rules.

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310 - Mutable - Transmuted from rule 112 December 27th, 2000
The state of affairs that constitutes winning may not be altered from achieving n points to any other state of affairs. The magnitude of n and the means of earning points may be changed, and rules that establish a winner when play cannot continue may be enacted and (while they are mutable) be amended or repealed.

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313 - Mutable - Enacted January 13th, 2001
Each Player or Reyalp occupies a square on an infinite 2-dimensional grid.

Squares have integer coordinates (x,y).

Players and Reyalps may be moved from one square to another only as specified by the Rules.

The first Player to reach Row Zero (i.e., any square whose y coordinate is zero) without crossing it gains 100 points, and must immediately move all Players and Reyalps to squares (0, 20), (5, 20), (10, 20), ... ((n-1)*5, 20) (where n is the number of Players and Reyalps) in any order e chooses.

A new Player entering the game is placed on square ((n-1)*5, j) where n is the new number of Players and Reyalps and j is the mean value of the y coordinate of all the other Players and Reyalps, rounded to the nearest integer.

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315 - Mutable - Amended from rule 202 January 19th, 2001
A player's turn consists of three phases.

The first phase is the "Purchase" phase. Players automatically get to propose one rule change per turn, but additional rule change proposals may be purchased during this phase for 50 Groks a piece. The player announces such a purchase by sending a message to the other players indicating how many additional rule change proposals that they wish to purchase. The player must have an adequate supply of Groks in their possesion to make this purchase. Even if the player does not wish to purchase any additional rule change proposals, the player must still announce this to the other players.

The second phase is the "Proposal" phase. Players propose as many rule changes as they have arranged for in phase one. Each proposed rule change is a seperate entity, each with their own number. The combined proposed rule changes form one proposal. The individual proposed rule changes do not have to relate to each other in any way. If only one rule change is proposed the label of the proposal is "Propsal x" where x is the number of the proposed rule change, otherwise it is "Proposal x - y" where x is the lowest number assigned in the set of proposed rule changes, and y is the highest number.

The third phase is the "Voting" phase. The proposal from phase two is now voted on. If it is adopted, the proposed rule changes are enacted one at a time starting with the lowest numbered rule change, and ending with the highest numbered rule change. If any single rule change is found to be illegal according to the rules, that rule change, along with all higher numbered rule changes in that proposal, are discarded and not enacted. The player loses five points for each rule change discarded in this fashion. The player is awarded the number of points computed by subtracting 291 from the ordinal number of the highest numbered rule change and multiplying that result by the fraction of favorable votes the player's proposal received.

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316 - Mutable - Amended from rule 315 January 23rd, 2001
A player's turn consists of four phases.

The first phase is the "Purchase" phase. Players automatically get to propose one rule change per turn, but additional rule change proposals may be purchased during this phase for 50 Groks a piece. The player announces such a purchase by sending a message to the other players indicating how many additional rule change proposals that they wish to purchase. The player must have an adequate supply of Groks in their possesion to make this purchase. Even if the player does not wish to purchase any additional rule change proposals, the player must still announce this to the other players.

The second phase is the "Proposal" phase. Players propose as many rule changes as they have arranged for in phase one. Each proposed rule change is a seperate entity, each with their own number. The combined proposed rule changes form one proposal. The individual proposed rule changes do not have to relate to each other in any way. If only one rule change is proposed the label of the proposal is "Propsal x" where x is the number of the proposed rule change, otherwise it is "Proposal x - y" where x is the lowest number assigned in the set of proposed rule changes, and y is the highest number.

The third phase is the "Voting" phase. The proposal from phase two is now voted on. If it is adopted, the proposed rule changes are enacted one at a time starting with the lowest numbered rule change, and ending with the highest numbered rule change. If any single rule change is found to be illegal according to the rules, that rule change, along with all higher numbered rule changes in that proposal, are discarded and not enacted. The player loses five points for each rule change discarded in this fashion. The player is awarded the number of points computed by subtracting 291 from the ordinal number of the highest numbered rule change and multiplying that result by the fraction of favorable votes the player's proposal received.

The fourth phase is the "Movement" phase. A player may move along the Y axis for a cost of |(10 - y1) * (10 - y2) * 2 | + 10 groks, where the following is true:

i. y1 is the starting Y coordinate and y2 is the ending Y coordinate.
ii. (y1 - y2) < max (2, total number of players)
iii. (y2 - y1) < max (2, total number of players)
iv. 10 - y1 <> 0
v. 10 - y2 <> 0
vi. The player has the groks in eir possession to pay for the move.

The groks paid are given to the current player at the greatest Y coordinate. If more than one player is at the highest Y coordinate, the groks are evenly split between all such players (fractions are dropped).

The player announces the move by stating the move from (X1,Y1) to (X2,Y2), and the total grok cost. If any of the above conditions are false then the player does not move and loses no groks. If all conditions hold then the gamestate is updated to show the move and the groks subtracted from the player's total and distributed.

[[
Note that movement may be made in either direction along the Y axis as long as the movement conditions are met. The function "|x|" denotes the absolute value of X.

Example: A player at (10,5) could move to (10,3) for 80 groks.
Example: A player at (-1,5) could move to (-1,7) for 40 groks.
]]

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318 - Mutable - Amended from rule 313 January 29th, 2001
Each Player or Reyalp occupies a square on a 2-dimensional grid.

Squares have integer coordinates (x,y). The y coordinates range over all finite integers, positive and negative. The x coordinates range from 0 to (5*n-1), where n is the current number of Players and Reyalps.

"Row i" refers to squares with y coordinate equal to i. "File i" refers to squares with x coordinate equal to i.

Some Rows have Labels. When a new Label word is chosen, the person who chooses it must also select a Unlabelled Row between Row 1 and Row k+10 to Label with that word, where k is the new number of valid Label words, and announce that choice to all Players. No Label may be applied to Row 10.

When a Label word is removed from the list of valid Label words, the Row with that Label becomes Unlabelled.

No Row may ever have more than one Label.

Players and Reyalps may be moved from one square to another only as specified by the Rules.

Each Player who reaches Row 0 without crossing it gains 100 points, and must immediately move all Players and Reyalps to squares (0, 20), (5, 20), (10, 20), ... ((n-1)*5, 20) (where n is the number of Players and Reyalps), one Player or Reyalp per square, in any order e chooses.

When a new Player enters the game, files (n-1)*5 to n*5-1 are added to the board and the new Player is placed on square ((n-1)*5, j), where n is the new number of Players and Reyalps and j is the mean value of the y coordinate of all the other Players and Reyalps, rounded to the nearest integer.

When a Player or Reyalp leaves the game, each remaining Player or Reyalp whose x coordinate is equal to or higher than that of the departing Player or Reyalp is transferred to the square with the x coordinate reduced by 5 and the same y coordinate. [[For example, a Player at (12,3) gets transferred to (7,3) if the departing Player was on file 12 or below.]] Files (n-1)*5 to n*5-1 are then removed from the board, where n is the old number of Players and Reyalps.

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323 - Mutable - Amended from rule 316 March 12th, 2001
A player's turn consists of four phases.

The first phase is the "Purchase" phase. Players automatically get to propose one rule change per turn, but additional rule change proposals may be purchased during this phase for 50 Groks a piece. The player announces such a purchase by sending a message to the other players indicating how many additional rule change proposals that they wish to purchase. The player must have an adequate supply of Groks in their possesion to make this purchase. Even if the player does not wish to purchase any additional rule change proposals, the player must still announce this to the other players.

The second phase is the "Proposal" phase. Players propose as many rule changes as they have arranged for in phase one. Players may choose to create a proposal of their own, or compose a proposal using one or more of the suggestions currently present in the suggestions list. If the player chooses to use the suggestions list they may not use their own suggestion. In order to use the suggestions list, there must be present enough suggestions, excluding the player's own, in order to fulfill the number of rule change proposals the player arranged for in phase one.

If the player is using the suggestions list, they must use the same number of suggestions as the number of rule change proposals they arranged for in phase one, and the suggestions must be used exactly word for word what they are currently in the gamestate. Once the proposal has been proposed, all of the suggestions that were used are removed from the suggestions list, the player gains 100 Groks plus an additional 25 Groks for each proposed rule change beyond the first, and the player becomes the proponent of the entire proposal. For every suggestion used in this manner, the player who originally made the suggestion gains 25 Groks.

If the player is not using the suggestions list, they must create as many rule changes as they have arranged for in phase one. The player cannot use suggestions to come up with rule change proposals.

Each proposed rule change is a separate entity, each with their own number. The combined proposed rule changes form one proposal. The individual proposed rule changes do not have to relate to each other in any way. If only one rule change is proposed the label of the proposal is "Proposal x" where x is the number of the proposed rule change, otherwise it is "Proposal x - y" where x is the lowest number assigned in the set of proposed rule changes, and y is the highest number.

The third phase is the "Voting" phase. The proposal from phase two is now voted on. If it is adopted, the proposed rule changes are enacted one at a time starting with the lowest numbered rule change, and ending with the highest numbered rule change. If any single rule change is found to be illegal according to the rules, that rule change, along with all higher numbered rule changes in that proposal, are discarded and not enacted. The player loses five points for each rule change discarded in this fashion. The player is awarded the number of points computed by subtracting 291 from the ordinal number of the highest numbered rule change and multiplying that result by the fraction of favorable votes the player's proposal received.

The fourth phase is the "Movement" phase. A player may move along the Y axis for a cost of |(10 - y1) * (10 - y2) * 2 | + 10 groks, where the following is true:

i. y1 is the starting Y coordinate and y2 is the ending Y coordinate.
ii. (y1 - y2) < max (2, total number of players)
iii. (y2 - y1) < max (2, total number of players)
iv. 10 - y1 <> 0
v. 10 - y2 <> 0
vi. The player has the groks in eir possession to pay for the move.

The groks paid are given to the current player at the greatest Y coordinate. If more than one player is at the highest Y coordinate, the groks are evenly split between all such players (fractions are dropped).

The player announces the move by stating the move from (X1,Y1) to (X2,Y2), and the total grok cost. If any of the above conditions are false then the player does not move and loses no groks. If all conditions hold then the gamestate is updated to show the move and the groks subtracted from the player's total and distributed.

[[
Note that movement may be made in either direction along the Y axis as long as the movement conditions are met. The function "|x|" denotes the absolute value of X.

Example: A player at (10,5) could move to (10,3) for 80 groks.
Example: A player at (-1,5) could move to (-1,7) for 40 groks.
]]

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327 - Mutable - Enacted March 29th, 2001
When a proposal is announced, a period of discussion regarding that proposal begins, as defined by the rules. During the discussion the proponent must either continue to refine the proposal by announcing new revisions to it, or announce the final form of the proposal. Even if no discussion takes place, the proponent must still announce what the final form of the proposal is, even if it is the same as the originally announced version. Any votes received before the final form of the proposal has been announced do not count unless the player who made the vote specifically states otherwise.