Proposals of Imperial Nomic Game 21

Access Count since Tuesday 11th March

Proposal P1 (Geppetto)

Proposal:
A person becomes a player in the game the moment a proposal he has submitted is approved. People who have not had a proposal approved in the game are not players.
Comment: This rule, as I interpret it, prevents players getting a score in the game at all until they have had a proposal accepted. I'm sorry, but sometimes good gameplay can overcome bad proposals - changing the rules yourself is not the only way to win.
Decision: Rejected.

Proposal P2 (Tivol)

Each player of Imperial Nomic XXI is associated with one Real-Life Person, where Real-Life Person is defined in the obvious and usual ways. No players may have the same name as Real-Life People, nor may they have the same name as any other player. Initially, each Real-Life person is responsible for two players.
Comment: Okay, but how do we determine the names of these two players? I currently have no way to determine basic names, unless I assign them randomly. If I do, things could quite easily get extremely silly. Still, that is what nomic is for.
Decision: Accepted.

Proposal P3 (Don - Geppetto)

Proposal:
A player may give any game unit or quantity of game units he possesses to any other player by notifying THS. A Real-Life Person may give any player he possesses to any other Real-Life Person by notifying THS.
Comment: It makes sense that technically the players are responsible for their own actions, and the ability to swap players around can make things very interesting.
Decision: Accepted.

Proposal P4 (Jiminy - Geppetto)

Proposal:
If a Real-Life person creates a new player, at least one of his players must submit a proposal and have it judged by TIE before he can create another one. A Real-Life person cannot create a new player if any of his current players' submitted proposals are awaiting judgment.
Comment: I think that this could quite easily get out of hand - creating players should not be a trivial thing to do, which this proposal implies if it does not state so explicitly.
Decision: Rejected.

Proposal P4a ("Clio" - Geppetto)

Geppetto tried to create a new player, and have them submit a proposal. For brevity this proposal has been omitted, but in accordance with my interpretation this proposal cannot be judged as the player submitting it does not actually exist.

Proposal P5 (War - Death)

Proposal:
A player becomes The Exalted Winner if at any time, it is the only conscious player.
Comment: Simple, so why not?
Decision: Accepted.

Proposal P6 (Famine - Death)

Proposal:
Once per Day (the period between the Emperor's judgements), each player may Bonk one other player. The Bonkee is unconscious for the next day, and the Bonker may not Bonk during that period.
Comment: This appears to mean once per day, but not on two consecutive days. I hope this is what you intended.
Decision: Accepted.

Proposal P7 (Lotiv - Tivol)

Proposal:
When a player is created, the Real-Life Person responsible for that player's creation may assign it a unique name, different from the names of all other players and all other Real-Life Persons in the game. Real-Life Persons may retroactively rename all the players in their possession which were named before the passage of this proposal.
Comment: Fair enough - my names were fairly arbitrary.

Decision: Accepted.

Proposal P8 (Lotiv - Tivol)

Proposal:
If a Real-Life Person submits an action which can only be taken by a player, and the Real-Life Person did not specify which of eir players would take the action, then all of the players until that Real-Life Person's control will take that action.
Comment: _Until_ that RLP's control? I think you mean under. Well, this might be an idea but then I'd have to judge the same proposal twice, and then there enters the question of which player submitted it first. I'm sorry but this may create more problems than you would think.
Decision: Rejected.

Proposal P9 (Volit - Tivol)

Proposal: In the rule "Automatic Queueing System", change the phrase "If a player has submitted two undecided proposals" to "If a player has submitted one undecided proposal".
Comment: This currently means two per Real-Life Person, so the 2 limit is effectively reintroduced. Great move!
Decision: Accepted.
Volit renamed Violet, Lotiv renamed Foxglove.

Proposal P10 (Don - Geppetto)

Proposal: Any pair of consenting players (consent being sent to THS by the players' RLP owners) can produce another player. Agreement on which parent player's RLP will get custody of the new player must be sent in advance along with the consent. If both players belong to the same RLP, TIE will determine via his infinite wisdom (and/or by rolling a six-sided die with a roll of one or two being a "yes") whether the new player is Inbred; an Inbred player can only take half as many actions as a regular player.
Comment: I'm sorry, this is not exactly what I had in mind with players - we'll be pupping them all over the place and this only serves to make the game more and more incomprehensible.
Decision: Rejected.

Proposal P11 (Jiminy - Geppetto)

Proposal:
Unconscious players cannot submit proposals. Unconscious players are also guarded against re-bonking; bonking an already unconscious player to keep it unconscious results in the would-be bonker being bonked instead.
Comment: Keeping a player down would be a dastardly act - your proposal indicates a level of care for other players that is rarely seen in Nomic :-).
Decision: Accepted.
Actions: Don bonks War. Jiminy bonks Famine.

Proposal P12 (Don - Geppetto)

Proposal:
The legality of a proposal, regardless of its acceptability, is judged using the rules as they stood at the beginning of the Day in which the proposal is judged. Proposals accepted during the day will not cause a proposal to become illegal if it was legal at the beginning of the day.
Comment: This is usually a constitutional convention I apply anyway, so thanks for writing it down.
Decision: Accepted.

Proposal P13 (Jiminy - Geppetto)

Proposal:
Add to rule 10: "The Exalted Winner is then removed from play, and the game continues. When all of a RLP's players have earned the title of TEW, the RLP is the winner of the game."
Comment: This is great! It will actually discourage new players being created by existing RLPs, and hence it keeps my job easier for a change. Great twist on the TEW definition.
Decision: Accepted.

Proposal P14 (Moonchilde - JT Traub)

Proposal:
Any conscious player may administer First Aid to an unconscious player thereby rendering the unconscious player conscious immediately. In return the administrator of the First Aid shall receive a Meritorious Conduct Award. (No player may offer first aid to someone they just bonked in order to receive this award, that would be sleazy :)
Comment: A just and reasonable proposal. Who wouldn't want to render First Aid?
Decision: Accepted.

Proposal P15 (Amythyst - JT Traub)

Proposal:
If a player receives 10 Meritorious Conduct Awards, that player shall be awarded the title of The Exalted Winner.
Comment: Hopefully this won't get too easy, but given what is needed for an RLP to win now, this should actually speed up the game a bit.
Decision: Accepted.
Actions: Amythyst offers First Aid to War, and Moonchilde offers First Aid to Famine.

Proposal P16 (Stan - Al-Istar)

Proposal:
The act of Bonking shall require the use of a Blunt Instrument. Blunt Instruments will break after a number of uses which shall depend on the particular instrument used. Available Blunt Instruments are: the Cosh (2 uses), the Club (5 uses) and the Bludgeon (10 uses). A Blunt Instrument may only be used by the Player in whose possession it is. Initially, no player possesses a Blunt Instrument.
Comment: I will assume that all existing Bonkings have not needed Blunt instruments - people's skulls were too thin to resist a punch or kick. :-)
Decision: Accepted. Modifies Bonking.

Proposal P17 (Alice - Al-Istar)

Proposal:
A currency (the Groat) shall exist in game 21. No game object (other than Groats, or subdivisions/multiples thereof) shall be possessed by a player unless it has first been purchased with Groats by a player.
Comment: Finally, a return to numeric games. It's been a while.
Decision: Accepted.

Here Endeth Day 4.

Proposal P18 (Moonchilde - JT Traub)

Proposal:
Every accepted proposal shall cause the player which proposed it to be awarded 2 groats. A proposal which is rejected shall cause the player which proposed it to be fined 1 groat. All players start with 1 groat, and all current players are given 1 groat in back pay.
Comment: Well, without Groat payments the Bonking will cease, so this proposal seems reasonable.
Decision: Accepted.

Proposal P19 (Amythyst - JT Traub)

Proposal:
The blunt objects are sold at The Thug Shoppe. The cost is 4 Groats for a Cosh, 10 Groats for a Club and 20 Groats for a Bludgeon.
Comment: This seems an awfully large investment given the lack of Groats. Sorry, but I need the prices reduced. Besides, where is the Thug Shoppe?
Decision: Rejected.

Proposal P20 (Don - Geppetto)

Proposal:
An entity known as The Imperial Weaponsmith (TIW) will be responsible for the production of Blunt Instruments and sale of same to players. TIW operates with a budget: his cost for making a Blunt Instrument is one groat per use the weapon will deliver. He will in turn sell these Blunt Instruments to players for whatever price he and they negotiate. TIW can produce one weapon per Day if he has the budget to do so, and cannot produce a weapon and Bonk in the same day.
Don offers his services as TIW.
Comment: Why does the TIW have to be a real person? Just let it be an NPC.
Decision: Accepted, but modified so that basically TIW will sell at cost price.

Proposal P21 (Jiminy - Geppetto)

Proposal:
Players may purchase Bonk Insurance at the rate of one groat per Day. If a player with Bonk Insurance is bonked, the bonking has no effect on him, though the Blunt Instrument nevertheless expends one of its uses.
Comment: While blocking Bonks is no doubt a fair idea, I think that insurance to completely eliminate any risk each Day is a little too easy. It might make Bonking obsolete!
Decision: Rejected.

Proposal P22 (Foxglove - Tivol)

Proposal:
TIE and THS, being mature individuals, above the immaturity and incivility inherent in violent acts, may not bonk nor may they be bonked.
Comment: How can I say no to this?
Decision: Accepted as Rule Amendment.

Proposal P23 (Violet - Tivol)

Proposal:
To bring Rules 14 and 16 into agreement, replace "Meritorious Conduct Award" in Rule 14 with "a reward of three Groats". Remove all MCAs from players who currently have them, repaying each player three Groats per removed MCA.
Comment: This appears to be turning into a nitpickers battle (see Nomopoly for more information). Anyone for a chorus of "Duelling Admins"?
Decision: Accepted.

Proposal P24 (Seahrel - Pabrowil)

Proposal:
I noticed that if I qualified for the title of TEW (by rule 13) then the game ENDS (by rule 10) even though I just get put on the sidelines and the game continues (by rule 13). Therefore, I propose that rule 10 be removed.
Comment: Removing it ends the way to end the game. Perhaps an Amendment would be a more sensible suggestion (hint, hint).
Decision: Rejected.

Proposal P25 (Avel - Pabrowil)

Proposal:
I propose that no single game object will cost less that 1 Groat or more than 23 Groats.
Comment: I see no reason why price fixing should be in place - it only risks a situation where market clearing fails to occur (stupid economic arguments, don't you hate them? :-))
Decision: Rejected.

Proposal P26 (Stan - Al-Istar)

Proposal:
A player may own a Dog. All Dogs have Fleas; initially a random number between one and ten. At the end of each Game Day there will be a Dog Show in which all Dogs currently owned will be entered. The Champion Dog will be that Dog with the least number of Fleas, and a Prize equal to the number of Fleas on the Champion Dog will be awarded to its owner. In the event of a tie for first place, the number of Fleas on one of the winning Dogs will be split between the owners of the winning Dogs, rounding up when necessary. One Flea from each of the losing Dogs will then move to each Champion Dog (Fleas wishing to inhabit the Best Dog).
Comment: This game has now officially gone to the dogs.
Decision: Accepted.

Proposal P27 (Alice - Al-Istar)

Proposal:
A Meritorious Conduct Award may be exchanged for five Groats.
Comment: Sorry, Alice. Too slow.
Decision: Rejected.

Here Ends Day Five

Proposal P28 (Amythyst - JT Traub)

Proposal:
Currently there is no way to purchase a dog, so I propose that a dog may be purchased for 2 Groats. NOW the game has gone to the dogs :)
Comment: Welcome to Nomicarians Hospital, the continuing stooooory of a game that's gone to the dogs.
Decision: Accepted.

Proposal P29 (Moonchilde - JT Traub)

Proposal:
Rule 10 really is redundant since Rule 13 states, "when all an RLPs players have earned the title of TEW, the RLP is the winner of the game". However, TIE wishes it explicit, so I propose that rule 10 be changed to read. "The game ends when an RLP is declared the winner of the game."
Comment: Okay, okay. I give in! :-)
Decision: Accepted.
Moonchilde and Amythyst both purchase Dogs, named Fluffy and Rover respectively.

Proposal P30 (Don - Geppetto)

Proposal:
An entity known as The Loathesome Scoundrel (TLS) exists in the form of an NPC. He enjoys demonstrating his avarice amongst the Righteous and Successful, easily identified by the approval of their proposals. Consequently he stalks the game and waylays a successful player each Day, bonking him. TLS is nevertheless avariciously fair, and will keep track of who he has waylaid: players that have been waylaid will not be waylaid again until all players have been waylaid, whereupon all players' waylaid status is cleared.
Comment: This sounds suspiciously like an NPC from Game 9 amongst others. Managing him led to far too many mistakes in the administration, so I'm afraid I can't let our fair nation be waylaid by such a scoundrel.
Decision: Rejected.

Proposal P31 (Jiminy - Geppetto)

Proposal:
If a RLP's player is bonked, the RLP's other still-active players (if any) have a first chance at healing the bonked player.
Comment: How long does the "first chance" last? If it lasts for a whole Day, then this would deny everybody else a chance to heal. If it lasts for less than a whole Day, then the RLP may be denied the chance through no fault of their own.
Decision: Rejected.

Proposal P32 (Stan - Al-Istar)

Proposal:
Add to Rule 17: The specified weapon will not become available to the player until the beginning of the day following its purchase, and may be used immediately.
Comment: This will set an assumption in concrete.
Decision: Accepted.

Proposal P33 (Alice - Al-Istar)

Proposal:
A player, who owns no Groats, and has a proposal rejected is sent to Debtor's Prison, until the Debt is paid off. A Debt is considered paid if, either the player concerned has a proposal accepted (in which case the player is released without funds), or if another player puts up Bail (in which case the Jailed player is released with a quantity of Groats equal to the amount of Bail, less the Debt). Due to the compassionate regime in Imperial prisons, an imprisoned player may neither Bonk, nor be Bonked. An imprisoned player has no access to possessions (Dogs, if owned, being Kenneled, and prevented from entering the Dog Show for the duration of the sentence).
Comment: I have decided magnanimously :-) to assume that the poor soul who cannot afford to get a proposal wrong does not deserve to be thrown in jail just for making a possibly careless mistake.
Decision: Rejected.

Proposal P34 (Violet - Tivol)

Proposal:
Committed to making sure the players don't go destitute, The Imperial Bursary will cover any player's debts, making sure that no player will be reduced to having fewer than zero Groats.
Comment: Just what I said before! Hey, are you reading my mind or something?
Decision: Accepted.

Proposal P35 (Foxglove - Tivol)

Here are some facts about the players' lives and how they relate to the other citizens of the fair Empire:
Players are members of the aristocracy and live in ornate houses; all players owned by one Real-Life Person will live in the same house. In fact, if it weren't for these ornate houses and the dinner parties the aristocracy throws, these players would never get the chance to bend TIE's ear with their kooky ideas.
On the streets, in fairly modest homes, live the middle and lower classes, unhappy that they cannot get TIE's attention. Occassionally one of these citizens catches the attention of a player, and players in the house think, "Gee, wouldn't it be nice if we could adopt this bright, young, and unfortunately middle-class citizen into our house so he could become a player and make proposals?"
It's easy to find such promising citizens, but somewhat easy to lift them into the aristocracy. If each player in the house signs an official Roommate Registry License Form in triplicate, then the citizen will be allowed to move into the house. However, these forms are quite expensive, and cost 10 Groats each. But, once the citizen gets moved into the house, the other players can dress him up, teach him some manners, and the citizen will soon be ready to act just as any other player, talking to TIE at lovely dinner parties.
Okay, so the long and the short of it is: If each player owned by a Real-Life Person pays 10 Groats, then that Real-Life Person will be awarded a new player. (Note that this allows a Real-Life Person with zero players to be given a new player immediately.)
Comment: For once a long proposal with a short result. I like it!
Decision: Accepted as new Rule.

Action 35A (Geppetto)

Geppetto gives Don to Tivol.
Geppetto gives Jiminy to JT Traub.
In Geppetto's words: Having no players left, I cite Rule 13, in that all of my remaining (zero) players have attained the title of The Exalted Winner. I am therefore the winner of the game.
TIE says: Well, there are ways around this should I wish to take them to stop such a neat, but sneaky, win. Firstly, we have a "division by zero" problem. Rule 13 can be interpreted as 100% of an RLPs players must be TEWs, after all, "all" is 100%. But is 0 100% of 0, or is it 0% of 0? Both are equally correct, and yet neither is correct, because 0/0 is undefined.
Secondly, I could invoke the new rule: As you have no players, and have played no groats, by Tivol's New Players rule you gain a new player immediately. Congratulations on adopting a new player! (hehe).
Personally, I think that the second situation is the better one. The game continues.

Dog Show 35B

The only two dogs are Fluffy and Rover, and Fluffy wins with 4 Fleas, earning JT Traub 4 Groats.

End of Day 6

Point of Order P36 (JT Traub)

Point of Order:
Meritorious Conduct Awards were removed, but they are still referenced in Rule #13.
Comment: Yes, they were removed, but not from rule 13. I could fix it, but there's nothing to stop them being reintroduced in a different way. (Hint hint).

Actions P36A (Moonchilde, Amythyst, JT Traub)

Moonchilde buys a cosh. Amythyst tries to buy a cosh, but TIW is too busy!
I give Jiminy to Geppetto saying, "Keep your players to yourself VARLET!"
Some Bonking was attempted, but the cosh has not been delivered yet.

Proposal P37 (Amythyst - JT Traub)

Proposal:
If a player A bonks a player B, no other players belonging to the same RLP as player A may provide first Aid to player B.
Comment: Nice loophole closure!
Decision: Accepted.

Proposal P38 (Moonchilde - JT Traub)

Proposal:
If a player has more than 20 Groats, and that player has at least twice as many groats as their nearest rival, that player shall earn the title of TEW.
Comment: Well, this does advantage you significantly given your current cash, but it is nevertheless a reasonable restriction.
Decision: Accepted.

Point of Order P39 (Geppetto)

Point of Order:
I beg the humblest of pardons from Your Worship, but I am moved to cite rule #15 regarding your rejection of my claim to victory, which states proposals enacted during a Day will not affect other proposals made on the same day. As Tivol's New Player rule was adopted on the same Day as my claim to winning the game, it cannot apply to my claim.
Comment: If you look at Rule 15 carefully, you will note that it only affects the legality of a proposal. What you did was to commit some game actions, so your transfer of players did not constitute a proposal. As a result, Tivol's rule was allowed to affect your actions. Rule 15 was introduced only in order to prevent players' proposals from becoming invalid through no fault of their own, not to prevent actions from being modified.

Proposal P40 (Stan - Al-Istar)

Proposal:
A Bonkee may be Robbed by the player who Bonked them. Any possession, other than a Dog may be taken. If the Bonkee owns a Dog, the Dog will Bark at the Bonker, preventing Robbery. If the Bonker also has a Dog, the Dogs will fight to the death, the Dog with the greater number of Fleas winning. The Fleas from the losing Dog then transfer over to the winner. During a fight, the Bonker may Rob the Bonkee. The winning Dog will not be in a fit state to enter that Day's Dog Show. In the case of players having more than one Dog, the Dog with the greatest number of Fleas will fight, the other Dogs merely Barking.
Comment: It seems that Crime may well pay in this Nomic.
Decision: Accepted.
Action: Stan buys two Dogs, names them Benji and Lassie, and gives Benji to Alice.

Proposal P41 (Alice - Al-Istar)

Proposal:
Delete from Rule 13 the sentence 'A player also becomes TEW on receipt of their tenth Meritorious conduct Award.'
Comment: Okay, okay. I get the idea.
Decision: Accepted.

Dog Show D41A

Four dogs in the dog show this time - and the winner is Rover, owned by Amythyst. Rover only had 4 Fleas.

Additional Note AN41B

Seahrel was interested in paying THS to record the history of the realm. Rest assured that the history of the realm is well in hand, and besides the extra work would drive THS under :-).

End of Day 7

Actions A41A

Serves me bloody well right, it does.
Moonchilde bonks Don and performs daylight robbery for a groats. Technically, as I have not specified that there are pieces other than single groats, only a single groat can be a possession. Amythyst transfers 9 groats to Moonchilde, making Moonchilde a TEW. RLP JT gives player Amythyst to Geppetto.
JT Traub has won! Serves me right for not spotting that he would have enough money to win. Ah well, for once I've run a short game!

SUBMISSIONS PLEASE!

Cover Sheet Ruleset Proposals Directives Scores

This page by Duncan Richer, duncan@smug.student.adelaide.edu.au.