101. All players must always abide by all the rules then in effect, in the form in which they are then in effect. The rules in the Initial Set are in effect whenever a game begins. The Initial Set consists of Rules 101-116 (immutable) and 201-213 (mutable).
102. Initially rules in the 100's are immutable and rules in the 200's are mutable. Rules subsequently enacted or transmuted (that is, changed from immutable to mutable or vice versa) may be immutable or mutable regardless of their numbers, and rules in the Initial Set may be transmuted regardless of their numbers.
103. A rule-change is any of the following:
- the enactment, repeal, or amendment of a mutable rule;
- the enactment, repeal, or amendment of an amendment of a mutable rule; or
- the transmutation of an immutable rule into a mutable rule or vice versa.
(Note: This definition implies that, at least initially, all new rules are mutable; immutable rules, as long as they are immutable, may not be amended or repealed; mutable rules, as long as they are mutable, may be amended or repealed; any rule of any status may be transmuted; no rule is absolutely immune to change.)
104. All rule-changes proposed in the proper way shall be voted on. They will be adopted if and only if they receive the required number of votes.
105. Every player is an eligible voter. Every eligible voter must participate in every vote on rule-changes.
106. All proposed rule-changes shall be written down before they are voted on. If they are adopted, they shall guide play in the form in which they were voted on.
107. No rule-change may take effect earlier than the moment of the completion of the vote that adopted it, even if its wording explicitly states otherwise. No rule-change may have retroactive application.
108. 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If a rule is repealed and reenacted, it receives the number of the proposal to reenact it.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 If an amendment is amended or repealed, the entire rule of which it is a part receives the number of the proposal to amend or repeal the amendment.
109. Rule-changes that transmute immutable rules into mutable rules may be adopted if and only if the vote is unanimous among the eligible voters. Transmutation shall not be implied, but must be stated explicitly in a proposal to take effect.
110. In a conflict between a mutable and an immutable rule, the immutable rule takes precedence and the mutable rule shall be entirely void. For the purposes of this rule a proposal to transmute an immutable rule does not "conflict" with that immutable rule.
111. 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.
112. 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.
113. A player always has the option to forfeit the game rather than continue to play or incur a game penalty. No penalty worse than losing, in the judgment of the player to incur it, may be imposed.
114. There must always be at least one mutable rule. The adoption of rule-changes must never become completely impermissible.
115. Rule-changes that affect rules needed to allow or apply rule-changes are as permissible as other rule-changes. Even rule-changes that amend or repeal their own authority are permissible. No rule-change or type of move is impermissible solely on account of the self-reference or self-application of a rule.
116. Whatever is not prohibited or regulated by a rule is permitted and unregulated, with the sole exception of changing the rules, which is permitted only when a rule or set of rules explicitly or implicitly permits it.
201. Players shall alternate in clockwise order, taking one whole turn apiece. Turns may not be skipped or passed, and parts of turns may not be omitted. All players begin with zero points.
In mail and computer games, players shall alternate in alphabetical order by surname.
In Lounge<C++> games, players shall alternate in alphabetical order by their usual nickname.
203. 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.
205. An adopted rule-change takes full effect at the moment of the completion of the vote that adopted it.
206. When a proposed rule-change is defeated, the player who proposed it loses 10 points.
207. Each player always has exactly one vote.
209. At no time may there be more than 25 mutable rules.
210. 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.
211. If two or more mutable rules conflict with one another, or if two or more immutable rules conflict with one another, then the rule with the lowest ordinal number takes precedence.
If at least one of the rules in conflict explicitly says of itself that it defers to another rule (or type of rule) or takes precedence over another rule (or type of rule), then such provisions shall supersede the numerical method for determining precedence.
If two or more rules claim to take precedence over one another or to defer to one another, then the numerical method again governs.
212. 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.
213. If the rules are changed so that further play is impossible, or if the legality of a move cannot be determined with finality, or if by the Judge's best reasoning, not overruled, a move appears equally legal and illegal, then the first player unable to complete a turn is the winner.
This rule takes precedence over every other rule determining the winner.
306. After expressing their interest in joining the game through the game medium in use at that time, and after all the votes on rules-change proposals undergoing debate or voting at that time are complete, newcomers can join the game as players. These new players start with zero points.
For all purposes, these newcomers are only considered players since the moment they join the game.
Regardless of the number of turns taken by each player, when a player completes his turn while being the last in turn order a "full circuit of turns" is then complete. (This prevents ambiguity, confusion, and general messy interactions with rule 203.)
Players that previously forfeited the game can rejoin the game under the same conditions, if at least three votes have been completed since their forfeit. Rejoining players retain the same score they had at the time of forfeit.
307. Proposal voting period may begin no sooner than 24 hours, and shall begin not later than 48 hours, after the first revision of the proposal is posted for consideration. The voting period shall last until all eligible voters have expressed their votes, or until 48 hours passes, whichever happens first. The voting period starting date may not be changed once the voting begins.
Any eligible voter that does not express a vote within the voting period is considered to have participated in the vote by voting against the proposal, and shall receive a medium absence penalty.
If the player posting the proposal fails to announce the voting period within 48 hours of posting the first revision of the proposal, the voting period shall be assumed to begin 48 hours after the first revision of the proposal is posted.
Next proposal must be posted within 72 hours of the voting period closing. If player responsible for posting the next proposal fails to do so in time, it shall be assumed that they have posted a proposal for rule-change identical to the most recently proposed one that was not adopted, with any amendments dictated by other rules.
313. Rules can specify penalties that are assigned to players when certain conditions are met.
A penalty is defined as a combination of a category and a severity. The number of possible categories is unbounded and specified by other rules. The possible severities are: minor, medium, severe.
Rule that specifies a penalty must define at least one condition that causes said penalty to be assigned to the player ("assignment conditions"); it can also define any number of effects caused by the penalty being assigned ("immediate effects"), any number of effects caused by the prolonged possession of assigned penalties ("long-term effects"), and any number of conditions that the player can fulfil to remove an assigned penalty ("removal conditions").
Only one rule may define conditions and effects for any given penalty, unless the defining rule explicitly delegated the definition of further conditions or effects to other rules. Usual precedence rules shall be used to determine which conditions and effects are currently active.
Immediate effects are applied to players once, at the time of the penalty being assigned. Long-term effects may be applied to players no sooner than 2 turns after the penalty is assigned, and no later than after the penalty is removed.
A player that rejoins the game after forfeiting retains all the same penalties that were still assigned to them at the moment of forfeit.
318. One turn consists of two parts in this order:
- proposing one rule-change and having it voted on, and
- adding a number of points to the one's score equal to the base scoring rate multiplied by the fraction of favorable votes the proposal received, rounded to the nearest integer.
The base scoring rate shall be defined by regulations. If no regulation defines a base scoring rate, it shall be 15 points.
319. Every player may start one parallel turn at any time when one of their parallel turns is not taking place, so that at most one parallel turn from the same player is run at any given time. A parallel turn may be canceled within an hour from the moment it is started and shall, therefore not count towards the number of parallel turns a player is allowed to have simultaneously. After an hour from the moment a parallel turn is started, the player shall receive a medium "parallel turn" penalty and shall lose 5 points.
320. Rules may delegate responsibility for the definition of certain parameters to regulations.
At any time when a regulation-change is not being voted on, any player may propose a regulation-change. A regulation-change can be the enactment, amendment, or repeal of a regulation. Once a regulation-change is proposed, it can be voted on. Every eligible voter can vote and has exactly one vote.
A proposed regulation-change is adopted if, after the regulation voting period has elapsed since the the moment it was proposed, a simple majority of favourable votes was obtained from a quorum of two thirds of all the eligible voters. The regulation voting period shall be defined by regulations. If an immutable rule delegates any parameters to a regulation, proposed regulation-changes for that regulation are adopted if and only if the vote is unanimous among eligible voters.
Each adopted regulation shall be given a number prefixed by the letter 'R' for reference. The numbers shall begin with 100 and each regulation adopted shall receive the next successive integer.
To the extent that the rules then in effect require it, players must abide by the regulations then in effect. If a regulation conflicts with a rule, the rule takes precedence.
322. The winner is the first player to achieve the target score defined by regulations.
R100. The base scoring rate is 15 points.
R101. The regulation voting period shall be 48 hours.
R102. The target score is 500 points.