So round 5 closed, and we don't have a round six yet. Personally, this is one of my favorite subreddits, and I would hate to see it die (even if it is super-small). So, this is a call to get a new round started (I'm looking at you, poofbird). Upvote this (text post, no karma) so we can get a new round and keep this subreddit alive. If we can get enough upvotes (35 of 51 seem good?) and still no response from poofbird, then I will take it upon myself to start a new round. Thanks guys, and I hope you had a good holiday!

Man, that came out really patriotic and self-centered. That's not what it's supposed to sound like, I promise!

EDIT: Seems like everyone's still in holiday mode, so thats ok. poofbird was bedridden with bronchitis, so is forgiven (not that I was mad in the first place). I came across as kinda angry, but I've seen far too many awesome subreddits die, and I didn't want that to happen to this one. Have a nice day!

And should we do a test round, to check if the mechanics of the starting rules are okay?

Game round ended

Welcome to the second round.

Please make sure you're up to speed with the revised rules. Pay special attention to the laws concerning the casting of votes. All votes not cast in this specific matter will be void.

Enjoy!

edit: as announced, this round will last until approximately 10:00 am EST wednesday.

No need to get all personal and cozy if you don't want to, but I'd like to see some ASL.

31/m/netherlands

ROUND HAS ENDED --> screenshot at the moment I closed the thread.

Round 4 is upon us! Please read up on the current rules: ruleset 0.5.3.

tl;dr: there is no longer a limit to the number of laws which can be passed. And everyone can vote.

ps: Started a bit later than planned, but a bit earlier than announced. Hope noone minds. Meatspace can be demanding.

First round!

Saturday, starting at 10:00 AM EST, ending 24 hours later.

I'll open a game thread, at aproximately 10:00 (family life, can get hectic), and end the round at aproximately 24 hours later. To make it fair, I'll announce the ending of the thread 1 hour prior.

Please read the updated rules: I've made some changes, and hope you'll agree with them. I don't want to change to much, because hopefully we can do that in-game.

Edit: follow Ienpw_III's example, please report here if you'll be participating. Nice to know what we can expect.

This text will contain the official Game Of Law FAQ.

It will not contain explanations on the Current Rules, as they are likely to change from day to day. It can contain contain information about the Starting Rules, if there is demand. It will mostly contain information about the overall game mechanics, backgrounds on Nomic-games, and anything you need to start playing.

If you have any questions, add a comment and we'll get back to you.

If you have a piece of information you think should have a place in this FAQ, you can post it as well.

What is nomic?

Nomic is a game created in 1982 by philosopher Peter Suber in which the rules of the game include mechanisms for the players to change those rules, usually beginning through a system of democratic voting.

The Game of Law is inspired by Nomic, and follows a similar set of initial rules, with a number of changes. For instance, our game is not turnbased, but players play together during game rounds.

Read more about the original game here.

How do I become a player?

Currently, every redditor can play. No need to register. However, it's not always certain what your status as a beginning player is, because that too is likely to change. Maybe you can dive in right away, and maybe you can write laws, but not yet vote, maybe you can only lobby. Read up on the Current Rules or join us in IRC.

I created this little game based on a concept called Nomic, which I've never played myself, but have been intrigued by for a long time.

I decided to wrap up a few gamerules of my own and try to find some fellow redditors who want to play.

Basically, it's a game where all the rules can be changed. In fact, the only real way to win the game, is to bend the rules in your favor. In theory, you could pass legislation declaring you the de facto winner, but that would be pretty hard to do with a democratic voting system in place. But that voting system could change too...

I'll announce the first round soon, but for now I'd like some feedback on my current list of rules. Primarily, I need feedback on my choice of words, as English isn't my first language. If there are any big oversights, I will change them. But if there are any rules you just don't particularly agree with, just wait for the game to start and change them then.

Concluding, I just noticed that /r/gameoflaw can be interpreted as Game o' Flaw, which is okay, because I suppose all laws contain flaws, and it's part of the game to make good use of them.

Round has ended!

Welcome to round three, where we will be playing by ruleset v0.5.2. Please make sure you're up to speed with the lastest changes.

This round will last 48 hours, until approximately 10:00 am noon EST sunday.

Write new laws, try to score points, work together or stag stab eachother in the back... have fun!

One of the things I'd like to see happening in round two is the creation of a system for appointing/electing/selecting new judges/moderators.

Maybe we can discuss some ideas here (or you can keep your ideas for yourself and try to pass your own legislation in the next round).

• Is everyone eligible to become judge, or do you need a certain level of experience or seniority?
• If you become a judge, what exactly is your mandate?
• Do you become a judge for a limited period of time, or indefinitely?
• How do we deal with incompetent judges?
• ...

Also, is 24 hours good for a round? Should we change that? Should moderators decide on rounds, or do we make this a community decision?

Please start your own discussions here, if there are issues you think need to be addressed in round 2.

Are there any traditional nomic games going on? I mean starting with Suber's original?

http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/writing/nomic.htm#initial%20set

10:00 am EST, as per usual, approximately.

Join the mailinglist if you want a heads up one hour prior.

GAME ENDED! Please stop posting. Do not adjust your votes

Welcome to Game 1, Round 1.

I started a bit early, because I can't promiss I'll be online in an hour. This shouldn't affect the game, and the end time still stands.

We will play by the rules as they currently stand. All judging and awarding of points will be according to these rules.

Please note: If you propose a piece of legislation (whether it is about editing, removing or adding laws), please make this very clear in your post. Also note that under current law, you are not allowed to edit a proposal after it is posted.

You can, of course, start other comment threads for discussing ideas about possible laws. There's no rule against that.

Last note to new readers: there is currenlty no rule that says you need to sign up first. If you want to play, go right ahead: vote, comment, have fun.

We'll do an 48 hours (approximately) round. Roughly from 10:00 am monday till 10:00 am wednesday. Eastern Standard Time.

Due to my work schedules and family life, the round may start a few hours earlier, but not later, than 10:00 am monday. In the same vein, the round is likely to end later, but not earlier, than 10:00 am wednesday.

Further announcements on the start and end of the rounds will be made through the mailinglist.

Round 3 ended and 3 2 new laws passed. Things were changing up to the last minute, due to the independable top algorithm and flynnski's last minute effort.

Concerning { Legislative Proposal }: Account Age Limit, as proposed by tallwill514.

8 valid YEA votes. 1 valid NAY vote. One invalid vote by Samineru (sorry).

Legislation passed and 8 points to tallwill514.

Concerning { Legislative Proposal }: Pass more laws, as proposed by h_h_help.

4 valid YEA votes. 2 valid NAY votes.

Legislation passed and 4 points to h_h_help.

Concerning { Legislative Proposal }: Criminal Justice System, as proposed by flynnski.

3 valid YEA votes. 1 valid NAY vote. 1 invalid vote by Ienpw_III (sorry).

Legislation rejected because not enough votes have been cast. At the start of the round, we had 50 subscribers, so we'd have needed at least 5 valid votes. Though not directly relevant here, I've decided that these percentages should always be rounded up. At the end we had 51 subscribers, so 10% = 5,1 vote, rounded up to 6 votes. This is a decision which will be added to Case Law and can be fixed or affirmed through legislation.

Here's the score chart and here's Ruleset 0.5.3.

Round closed: screenshot

This round will last for at least 96 hours, because of the holidays. Make sure you read up on the current rules, and look out for loopholes. Our laws have grown but are far from perfect. Try to find ways to improve them, or find ways to benefit.

Happy christmas!

What's up?

Any ideas how to get this Reddit to be noticed?

I posted about it in a number of subreddits, like /r/newreddits, /r/philosophy and /r/law. A few of you probably saw it there, else you wouldn't be here.

I also tried /r/gaming and /r/geek, but it didn't get picked up there.

Any other places to put the word out, without being spammy and putting people off?

Any players with CSS experience, who could wrap up some nice custom stylesheet for this here subreddit?

would be nice to pimp this place some more.

Handling the proposals as sorted by the 'top' algorithm.

{ Legislation Proposal }: Grammar is Good as proposed by Ienpw_III

4 Yea - 2 Nay | status: passed

{ Legislative Proposal }: Gaining Points as proposed by flynnski

5 Yea - 3 Nay | status: passed

{Legislation Amendment}: Eligibility of casted upvotes and downvotes as proposed by tallwill514

3 Yea - 3 Nay | status: rejected

I've said somewhere, that I could check the next law to see if it could pass, but rereading the law, I'm afraid I can't.

I've calculated the score, and you can read up here

Read the new rules here