Rule 901/11
The Magic Potato
Sean Crystal
This rule creates a unique entity known as the Magic Potato. The Magic Potato will be given to a randomly chosen Active player each week. The responsibility of choosing the Player randomly will be left up to the Officer in charge of random things. There will exist only one Magic Potato at any one time. The Player that currently holds the Magic Potato will gain three extra points for each proposal of his that is accepted while he holds the Magic Potato.
There also exists the Great Tuba of Ackanomic, a unique entity. Whenever the Magic Potato is transferred from one player to another, the Great Tuba is given to the player who just lost the Magic Potato. The holder of the Great Tuba scores one extra point whenever one of his proposals passes.
Rule 903/5
Gumball
Simon Marty Harriman (Andy Swan)
There is a unique entity called the gumball which can be chewed only on alternate Wednesdays and Thursdays.
For the purposes of this rule, alternate Wednesdays and Thursdays are defined as the second and fourth Wednesdays and the first and third Thursdays of each calendar month.
Rule 905/9
The Blue Cross
Calvin N Hobbes (Thierry Joffrain)
1. Each player has a Blue Cross Rank; it is a non-negative integer. At all times, a player's Blue Cross Rank is equal to the number of non-Null proposals he submitted which have been accepted, plus an additional 10 if he has a Blue Cross Bonus. If a player has registered for the game and quit one or more times previous to his most recent registration, proposals he made under his previous registration(s) shall count towards his Blue Cross Rank if they were accepted, even if he wasn't a player when they were accepted.
2. Any time a player has more than one Blue Cross Bonus, all but one of his Blue Cross Bonuses are destroyed. Any time a rule requires that a player be given a Blue Cross Bonus, one is created with his name stamped in gold upon it, and it is given to that player. A Blue Cross Bonus is a nameless, nontradeable entity. Ruby Slippers, Gold Stripes, Silver Stripes, and Blue Crosses are nameless, nontradeable entities, and are medals.
3. When a President or Senator has ended a term in office by resigning, or due to his term of office expiring, and he has served at least 6 weeks in that office, then he is given a Blue Cross Bonus if he does not already have one, except in the case that the player resigned from the office of President or Senator while an Impeachment Paper was pending to remove him from that office.
4. a. A player with a Blue Cross Rank of 20 or more qualifies for a
Blue Cross.
b. For each 160 points of Blue Cross Rank above 20 that a player
has, he qualifies for a Ruby Slipper.
c. For each 40 points of Blue Cross Rank a player with a Blue Cross
has above that required for his Blue Cross and all his Ruby
Slippers, he qualifies for a Gold Stripe.
d. For each 10 points of Blue Cross Rank a player with a Blue Cross
has beyond that required for his Blue Cross and all his Ruby
Slippers and Gold Stripes, he qualifies for a silver stripe.
5. Any time a player has too many medals for his Blue Cross Rank, as defined by the previous section, then medals are taken from him and destroyed such that he no longer has too many. Any time a player has too few of any of these medals, the President, Proconsul, or Senator may award medals of the appropriate types to that player until he has enough of each type. The Frobozz Magic Medal Company, Ackanomic Division, performs the creation and destruction of these medals as medals are to be awarded or destroyed.
6. A player with at least one Gold Stripe or Ruby Slipper shall have the title "Officer of the Blue Cross." A player with one Ruby Slipper shall have the title "Commander of the Blue Cross".
A player with two Ruby Slippers may wear them on his feet; any two Ruby Slippers so worn are considered to be a spaceship. A player wearing a spaceship may click the two Ruby Slippers together to launch himself to Kansas, provided he obeys any other restrictions in the rules on spaceship launches.
Kansas is a moon of Acka; it is a location not in Acka, nor on either side of Acka. Ruby Slippers magically adjust to fit any feet as needed.
Rule 907/5
Bronze Torch
Malenkai (Randy Hall)
Bronze Torches are awarded as a recognition of merit to those players who have shown us the light through the stickiest of rule interpretation quagmires.
Bronze Torches are metallic entities. A Player may have at most one Bronze Torch.
Bronze Torches may be awarded by the President, the Proconsul, or a Justice. Each time one is to be awarded, it is created for the occasion by the Frobozz Magic Medal Company, Ackanomic Division. They may only be awarded to a player if that player is eligible to receive one.
Once a player has delivered a total of 15 verdicts on CFJs, CFCJs, or as part of (or all of) the Supreme Court or a Cortex thereof, they are eligible for a Bronze Torch. Verdicts which are still appealable, are currently under consideration by the Supreme Court or have been overturned do not count towards this total, nor do any verdicts other than True or False. A verdict which is upheld on an appeal counts for all Judges which have issued the same official verdict on that CFJ, including first round Judges and members of a Cortex which heard a first appeal when possible.
Rule 909/20
Steel Flea
Bascule (Matt Black)
Phoebe the Steel Flea lives in a matchbox. Phoebe the Steel Flea looks like a flea, feels like a flea and behaves like a flea most of the time. However Phoebe is a unique named entity that was created thousands of years ago by Acka-scientists who had access to advanced nano-technology that has since been lost in the mists of time. Likewise her matchbox is an ownable entity of indescribable mechanical complexity. Phoebe owns both herself and her matchbox.
Whenever Phoebe's matchbox is missing, the Officer in charge of random things randomly shall determine which lucky voting player has found the matchbox with Phoebe in it. It is a red and blue matchbox, very pretty, if a little battered. Phoebe's matchbox should be found within 3 days of it going missing.
The player who has found Phoebe's matchbox is very lucky, since she is very wise, having been built in an era of knowledge and wonder. In the week following eir marvellous discovery, e should open Phoebe's matchbox and listen to her make a statement of insight and wit. They should share this wisdom with the rest of the players of Ackanomic in a public message, and will gain 6 points for being so generous.
If any other voting player believes that this message is obviously fake and not clever or witty enough for the nanotech Phoebe, he or she may challenge the authenticity of the message. A Hearing is then called. The player who issued the challenge is the Hearing Harfer and is called the Nanotech Overseer while it is in session. Valid responses for the hearing are "Phoebe would not say anything so crass" and "Phoebe said much the same thing to me once". If the verdict is the former, then obviously the Player did not accurately report what Phoebe said, and e will lose the 6 points awarded previously, and will be fined another 6 points for selfishly keeping Phoebe's wisdom to emself. Such challenges must be made within 3 days of the wisdom being posted, and may only be made once per report.
If a message was posted within a week of the player finding Phoebe, that player is deemed to have carefully hidden her matchbox at the time of posting the message, and the matchbox is deemed to be missing.
If a message was not posted within a week of the player finding Phoebe, e is deemed to have lost the matchbox and is fined 3 points for being so careless. If this happens, the matchbox is deemed to be missing.
If Phoebe's matchbox is currently missing, and it is also the case that the most recent three (or more) players who found Phoebe's matchbox have all failed to post her wisdom, then Phoebe may decide not to be found by another player, and instead take a Leave Of Absence from the wisdom-dispensing business. The Officer in Charge of Random Things shall determine whether or not this happens, using whatever method e chooses. If e determines that Phoebe has decided to take a Leave Of Absence, then e must announce this fact publicly. (E is also encouraged, but not required, to post Phoebe's goodbye message at this time.) Upon doing so, Phoebe and Phoebe's matchbox shall immediately go Somewhere Else, and Phoebe's matchbox shall no longer be missing. Phoebe and her matchbox will remain Somewhere Else for a minimum of 30 days (and quite possibly much longer, perhaps even forever).
When Phoebe has been on a Leave of Absence for 30 days or more, then Phoebe may choose to end her Leave of Absence. The Officer in Charge of Random Things shall determine whether or not this happens; this determination shall occur not more than once per calendar week. If e determines that Phoebe has chosen to end her Leave of Absence, then e must announce this fact publicly. Upon doing so, Phoebe and Phoebe's matchbox will no longer be Somewhere Else, and Phoebe's matchbox shall immediately be missing. [And thus the Officer in Charge of Random Things should then determine which player finds Phoebe next....]
Phoebe's matchbox is a unique entity.
Rule 910/14
The Ackanomicon
Vynd (John McCoy)
This rule takes precedence over all other rules.
The Ackanomicon is a powerful book of magic, and the occult, aligned with Chaos. No man knows its age or author, although many speculate that it predates even the Codex of Kra. It is massive in size, fully 6 inches thick and a foot across, bound in leather and iron. It looks a lot like a Spell Book of Chorg, except meaner.
The Ackanomicon is kept in its own special room at the Library, called The Vault of the Book, or, sometimes, *that* room. It's not a very popular room, partly because it is well hidden, but largely because, well, people have a tendency to get hurt in *that* room. It is impossible to remove The Ackanomicon from this room, it likes it there.
Any Player may visit The Vault of the Book by going to the Library, and publicly announcing that he is entering The Vault of the Book, in search of forbidden knowledge. No player may visit The Vault of the Book more than once in a calendar month, or more than once in any given 14 day span. No player may visit the Vault of the Book if another player has visited the Vault of the book in the past 24 hours. Don't ask why, you don't want to know.
All players who visit the Vault of the Book will discover that they are irresistibly drawn to read The Ackanomicon, which is always open to a random page. No one ever gets past this first page that they read, but even one page of The Ackanomicon can provide one with great insight, or great pain.
Whenever a player visits The Vault of the Book, the Officer in Charge of Random Things will determine which page from the list below The Ackanomicon was open to, by selecting one page at random with (you guessed it) equal probability. Some pages are duplicates, however, or at least discuss the same material. Because of this, some results will be more common than others. Each entry on the list below specifies how many pages of its type are found in The Ackanomicon, if it does not, then there is assumed to be only one. The effects (if any) of reading a page of the Ackanomicon occur as soon as it is publicly knowable which page has been read.
Players who read The Ackanomicon are encouraged to post (vague, perhaps) descriptions of the knowledge gleaned from its text, as well as the effects it had on them.
[This slightly odd set-up is intended to allow keep the really good and really bad effects from being too common, but still allow the addition of new pages without completely rewriting some probability chart]
The Known Pages of The Ackanomicon:
Arcane Trivia (15 pages): These pages contain many tantalizing but ultimately uneducating bits of information on all manner of things ancient and occult. They have no effect on the reader.
Vile prophecies (5 pages): These are pages describing all manner of terrible events that are to befall the reader in the near future. The reader of one of these pages suffers a loss of 5 points.
Inner workings (5 pages): These pages give glimpses into some of the basic workings of the universe of mortal men, at a price. The reader gains A$50, but loses 5 points.
Arcane Lore (5 pages): These pages describe ceremonies and rites used in the far distant past to gain special powers. A new Otzma card is created in the possession of the reader. The type of card shall be determined by the Speaker using the Probabilistic Method. If the type selected is at or above its instance limit, the Speaker will select a new type using the Deterministic method.
Terrorizing pages (3 pages): These pages inspire indescribable terror in all who read them, causing a loss of 15 points and 3 Sanity Points.
Ancient artifact (1 page): A page describing the workings of a powerful ancient device. The reader loses A$50, and receives a newly created random Qualified Gadget, which, if it's a mechanical Gadget, breaks when the reader receives it. This page has no effect on a player without sufficient A$.
Mutation (2 pages): The contents of this page warps the reader's mind and body. He gains a new Extra head, surly and mean-spirited in temperament.
Dark Domain (2 pages): Reading these pages opens a portal to a terrible realm of darkness and nightmare. The reader is treated as if he was in Gaol for the next 48 hours, except that he may not be released in any fashion before this period is up. The reader has not, however, actually committed a Crime, nor is he actually in Gaol.
Long lost treasure (2 pages): These pages describe the locations of long lost treasure troves. The reader gains A$250 and an Otzma Card of Type Map Shard, provided no Otzma limits would be exceeded. This card will be destroyed within 3 days of receipt if not used.
Forbidden Fruit (1 page): Knowledge no man was meant to know. The reader loses 20 points, and becomes Enlightened.
Catastrophe (1 page): Reading this page unleashes a Tornado into Acka, as described by the Rule Tornado. The reader is considered to be sheltered.
Not so Forbidden Fruit (4 pages): The player has an out of body experience in which he is transported to an primordial jungle where he is worshiped as a god by the natives. Upon waking up, he will find that all he has left to remember it by is an Amber Banana.
Ancient One (1 page): The player warps time and space with a terrifying incantation of power, summoning the Ancient Powers into his presence. The Chartreuse Goose is immediately transfered into his possession, and it's not happy. If the reading player was already in possession of the Chartreuse Goose, then it goes Somewhere Else (and is REALLY not happy).
Judgement Day (2 pages): These pages relate the days following the end of the world and impart to the reader the ability to judge eir fellows. The Purple Robe of Justice is transferred to the reader.
Rule 911/8
The Great Trombone of Ackanomia
Brinjal (Simon Clarke)
The Great Trombone of Ackanomia is hereby created. It is unique, and will always either be in the possession of one player, or be Somewhere Else. Upon the adoption of this rule, the Great Trombone is Somewhere Else.
Whenever the Great Trombone is Somewhere Else, the first player to make a valid public claim will take possession of it. A claim is only valid if the player concerned has had a publically knowable score of exactly 76 points at any time within the past 3 days.
Whenever the score of the player who possesses the Great Trombone exceeds 152 points, they lose possession of the Great Trombone, and it returns to Somewhere Else.
If the player who possesses the Great Trombone is On Ice, they automatically relinquish possession of it, and the Great Trombone is once again said to be Somewhere Else.
The Great Trombone is a unique entity.
Rule 913/6
Parades
Brinjal (Simon Clarke)
When the Tabulator distributes the voting results for a proposal whose number ends with the digits "76", and the proposal was accepted, an Ackanomic Parade shall be held, with the player who made the proposal as the Guest of Honour.
The Guest of Honour has seven days from the distribution of the proposal's voting results to publish an interesting description of the parade. Failure to comply with this requirement, if and when proved, will result in ten points being deducted from the score of the Guest of Honour.
All players will take part in the Parade, and will receive one point for so doing.
The player in possession of the Great Trombone of Ackanomia, if such an entity exists, will lead the Parade and receive not one but ten points.
Any vacationing player will be represented by an identical replica of themselves, provided for the occasion by the Ackanomic Institute of Genetic Replication, if such exists. Otherwise they will be represented by a cardboard cutout on wheels, which will lower the whole tone of the occasion, so any points they would have received as a result of the Parade will be withheld.
Rule 915/9
Prosthetic Foreheads
/dev/joe (Joseph DeVincentis)
There is an endless supply and an endless variety of Prosthetic Foreheads. Prosthetic Foreheads are tradeable entities.
Prosthetic Foreheads are unique. No two Prosthetic Foreheads are identical, nor for that matter are any two Prosthetic Foreheads substantially similar. Whenever a player describes a Prosthetic Forehead as a condition of buying it from the Treasury, any player who feels the recently purchased Prosthetic Forehead bears too great a resemblance to a previously existing Prosthetic Forehead may summon a Forehead Tribunal within three days of the offending Prosthetic Forehead's purchase. A single Prosthetic Forehead may be subjected to only one Forehead Tribunal; only the first call for a Forehead Tribunal on any given Prosthetic Forehead shall be considered valid.
A Forehead Tribunal is a Hearing. The player who summoned the Forehead Tribunal is the Hearing Harfer and is called the Top Cop while it is in session. The valid responses are, "Yes, 'is toppy's a copy." and "No, 'is peak's unique." If the verdict is that "Yes, 'is toppy's a copy.", the offending Prosthetic Forehead is destroyed and the player who described it loses two points. Otherwise, the player who called the Forehead Tribunal forfeits 5 A$ to the Treasury.
Any player may buy a Prosthetic Forehead at any time by paying A$7 to the Treasury, and posting publicly that they are doing so, and declaring the type of Prosthetic Forehead he is buying in this public message. A player may own any number of Prosthetic Foreheads at any time. If a player has a Rock To Wind A String Around (if such an entity exists), she may give it to the treasury instead of paying the A$7 in the above procedure.
A Player who is not already wearing a Prosthetic Forehead may wear any one e owns by announcing publicly that e is doing so and what type of Prosthetic Forehead is involved. A Player who is wearing a Prosthetic Forehead may remove it by announcing the action publicly. After a player removes a Prosthetic Forehead, his real head is sore for 48 hours and she may not wear a Prosthetic Forehead during this time.
Rule 917/6
Rocks, Walls, Facial Hair, Root Vegetables and Flavoured Shampoo
snowgod (Phil Ackley)
The following types of entities exist:
i) A Rock To Wind A String Around.
ii) A Wall Of Trombones.
iii) Santa's Beard.
iv) A Magic Radish.
v) A Bottle of Bubble Gum Flavoured Shampoo.
vi) A Large Box of Chocolates.
All of the above entities are collectively known as Venerable Entities and may be manipulated by vending machines, should such things exist. All of the above entities are Tradable.
Due to the complex field interactions between Venerable Entities in the same location, a player who possesses a least one of each type of the Venerable Entities may request a Boon of the Ancients, with a 10% chance of it being granted. However, invoking the Officer in Charge of Random Things in this manner, causes all of the Venerable Entities in eir possession to disappear in a flash of coloured light. A player may make no more than one such request per calendar month.
Rule 919/6
Brass Monkey
Techno (Jerome Herrman)
The Brass Monkey is a very large, unique, unownable entity with a low, booming voice.
A Streak begins when a proposal is accepted and there is no Streak already underway. The Streak includes the proposal that started it and all the accepted proposals that follow, until the next time a proposal is rejected. The Streak is then broken.
The ordering of proposals, for the purpose of determining a Streak, shall depend only on the numerical ordering of the Proposals. A proposal is considered to immediately follow another proposal either if the first's number immediately follows the second, or the only proposals which were assigned numbers less than the first and greater than the second were retracted or otherwise removed from voting consideration.
If ten or more proposals are accepted during a single Streak, it is a Chrome Streak. Chrome Streaks are Strange. When a Chrome Streak is broken, the Brass Monkey shall climb to the top of the tallest building in Acka Land and proclaim:
"The makers of the Chrome Streak shall be awarded 5 bonus points!"
With that, each Player shall receive 5 points for each proposal he or she submitted that was accepted during the Streak (including those that were accepted before it was Chrome), up to a maximum of 15 points per Player.
Rule 920/0
Fur-lined Shovel
two-star (Alexandre Muniz)
A named tradable entity called the the Fur-lined Shovel exists. The name of the Fur-lined Shovel is "The Fur-lined Shovel". A player who owns the Fur-lined Shovel may change the map to a single treasure that e buried by digging with it as a public action. When a player does this e must choose a trinket worth at least A$48 which e owns. This trinket is transfered into the treasure. It is considered good form to give a clue to the treasure when one does this.
When the Fur-lined Shovel is used in this manner, it is transfered to the treasury.
Rule 921/7
Acid Rain Dance
Techno (Jerome Herrman)
The following players may perform the Acid Rain Dance:
i) The Player who submitted a proposal since the most recent Acid Rain Dance whose number, when having its digits added together, equals exactly 28.
ii) Any player who possesses at least three Amber Bananas. All amber bananas in eir possession are destroyed upon completion of the dance.
The player performing the Acid Rain Dance shall post a public description of the dance. Immediately after the public description of the Acid Rain Dance, the Acid Rain shall fall, destroying the Amber Banana Tree(so that it goes Somewhere Else), unless the Amber Banana Tree is protected by the Bronze Umbrella. If the Amber Banana Tree was destroyed, the player who performed the Acid Rain Dance receives the Amber Banana Tree Seed.
Only the Amber Banana Tree can be destroyed by Acid Rain unless permitted by other rules.
Rule 923/9
The Amber Banana
Techno (Jerome Herrman)
The Amber Banana Tree(which, in this rule, shall also be referred to as the Tree) is a unique, mimsy, nontradeable entity capable of casting one vote on each Proposal whose number, when having its digits added together, equals exactly 28, 21 or 17.. Whenever the player who last performed the Acid Rain Dance is active, the Amber Banana Tree shall be in their possession. It shall go Somewhere Else if that Player is On Ice.
The owner of the Tree may once per calendar month direct the Tree to vote on a proposal in the following manner:
The owner sends a message to the Tabulator that e wishes the Tree to Vote on a specific proposal that the tree is capable of voting on, and the legal type of Vote that it should cast.
The Tree shall then vote in the desired manner.
Any player who has a proposal in the queue whose number, when having its digits added together, equals exactly 21 [ex. prop 777], shall have the right to purchase one Amber Banana from the owner of the Tree, if it is not Somewhere Else. The price for one Amber Banana shall be A$10, payable to the owner of the Tree. Amber Bananas are tradeable entities.
A player who owns an Amber Banana may publicly announce that e is eating the Amber Banana as "cows eat grass". Upon eating the Amber Banana(which destroys it), said player may inform the owner of the Tree how e must vote on a single proposal, which must be in the current queue and whose digits must also sum to 21. (It may be the same proposal as allowed em to buy the Amber Banana in the first place, but it need not be.) This effect takes precedence over any other Rules which may specify how the Tree's owner shall vote on that proposal. If two or more players eat Amber Bananas in an attempt to affect the Tree's owner's vote on a single proposal, then only the first Banana eating has the desired effect, all other eatings being ineffective. A player may only eat one Amber Banana per week.
If the Amber Banana Tree is Somewhere Else, then a player who would otherwise be eligible to purchase an Amber Banana may instead purchase an Amber Banana Tree Seed(also referred to in this rule as the Seed)by paying A$50 to the Ackanomic Institute of Genetic Replication(which had the foresight to preserve one so that the species would not die out), unless such a seed already exists. The Amber Banana Tree Seed is a unique, tradeable entity. At any time, the owner of the Seed may publicly declare that e is planting it. At that point, the Seed is destroyed, and in two weeks time, the Amber Banana Tree will appear in eir possession.
Rule 925/10
The Press
Bascule (Matt Black)
Starting a Newspaper is a public action. In order to fully specify this action, the player attempting it must state the name of the new Newspaper. This action will fail if the player does not own at least the Standard Harfer Fee. If the action succeeds then the Standard Harfer Fee is transferred from the player to the Treasury to cover start-up costs.
A player who owns a newspaper is allowed to post messages to an official mailing list with an indication that the message is an article of that newspaper. Such an article is then said to have been published in that newspaper.
A posting that is not sent to one of the official mailing lists is never considered to be a newspaper publication. In addition, no player may publish an article in a newspaper she does not own without the express permission of the newspaper's owner.
A newspaper must publish at least one article during each calendar month, or it will cease to exist. When this happens, the newspaper is said to have gone belly-up.
Newspapers are named, tradeable entities. When a newspaper is created, it belongs to the player who started it. To own more than three newspapers at any one time is the Crime of Media Baroncy. The owner of a newspaper may close it down. If he does so then the Newspaper is said to have 'gone bust' and ceases to exist.
News articles may be published without reference to a specific newspaper. Such articles are said to be the work of the Underground Press, or Samizdat organisations.
Journalistic pseudonyms are permitted.
It is the Crime of Lying In Print for a Player to refuse to publish, in a newspaper he or she owns, a correction of a clearly false statement that previously appeared in that newspaper, after a public request for such a correction has been made. Simply neglecting to publish such a correction for a period of three days or more after the request shall be taken as refusal to do so.
Rule 927/4
The Chocolate Frog
else...if (Henry Towsner)
There is an named, unique, ownable entity known as the Chocolate Frog. It is a small, golden statue in the shape of a lawnmower. It is the most valued possession in all Acka. Whoever owns it is known as The First Citizen. On the eleventh of each month, the Officer in Charge of Random Things will select an active player at random to receive the Chocolate Frog, and it will be transferred to that player.
Any players who vote against a proposal made by the First Citizen will lose 1 point if the First Citizen loses any points as a result of the proposal being rejected. Any player who publicly insults the First Citizen will be guilty of the Crime of Disrespect.
Rule 929/7
Baaa
this is not a name (Mike Epstein)
The unique entity called the Little Lamb exists. The Little Lamb resides on the common lands of Ackanomia.
Taking possession of the Little Lamb is a public action. This action will fail if the Lamb is currently owned by a player who has owned it for less than one week.
Just as cows eat grass, the Little Lamb also eats grass. Therefore, any player who possesses the Little Lamb will be charged A$10 each time e takes possession of the Little Lamb. The fee will be paid to the Orkatass Lawn Care Company and Motor Inn for reseeding the common lands (which is then immediately transferred to the Treasury, as the OLCCaMI is a not-for-profit entity).
But while a player possesses the Little Lamb, e has three times the normal probability of receiving the Magic Potato, and e may purchase a Wool Sweater from the Treasury for A$10.
Any number of Wool Sweaters may exist at one time. They are created by the Orkatass Lamb Products Company when purchased. A player may put on a Wool Sweater if e possesses one. However, players wearing Prosthetic Foreheads may not put on a Wool Sweater, because Wool Sweaters will not fit over Prosthetic Foreheads. Wool sweaters are tradeable, mimsy garments.
Rule 931/4
Garments, Especially Hats
Malenkai (Randy Hall)
A class of entity known as a Garment exists. Garments are tradeable, unless the rules for a particular Garment specify otherwise. The owner, and only the owner, of a particular garment may don that garment if he is currently not wearing that garment, or remove it if he is currently wearing it. The location of a garment that is being worn is the same as that of its wearer These actions, when legal, are accomplished by publicly announcing them. The owner of a particular garment is said to be wearing it only from such time as he dons it until such time as he removes it or no longer owns it; no player is said to be wearing any garment he does not own. Garments may be worn and unworn, and these actions, with respect to a particular garment, may only be performed by the owner of the Garment. Only those entities explicitly designated by the rules as Garments are Garments.
Hats, which may also be referred to as headwear, are a class of garments. A player may wear at most one hat. This rule defers to any rule describing the the number and type of hats a player may wear.
Rule 933/3
Purple Robe of Justice
Malenkai (Randy Hall)
The Purple Robe of Justice (Robe) has [just] been discovered in the catacombs beneath the Courthouse. It is unique, and quite valuable, and the older it gets, the more valuable it becomes. The Robe is a mimsy, non-Tradeable, Garment.
Whoever is wearing the Purple Robe of Justice has their odds of being selected to judge a CFJ trebled. This clause takes precedence over R 212 inasmuch as the random process is affected in the way described above.
If the owner of the Robe is ever penalized some number of points for failing to deliver a verdict on a CFJ, failing to respond to a CFJ, or for having a CFJ overturned, they immediately lose the priceless Robe, and it goes Somewhere Else.
The value of the Robe is price that was last paid for it, plus A$15.
Any player (other than the Robe's owner), may buy the Robe, thus becoming the new owner, regardless of where it is, provided they pay its current value to the Treasury, and all of the following are true:
a) It is not currently being auctioned.
b) Its current owner, if a player, has had it at least 1 week.
c) Its current owner is not judging a CFJ.
d) Its current owner is not a judge-designate for a pending CFJ.
Other rules may designate other ways in which ownership of the Robe may be transferred. This rule defers precedence to those, including the fact that the above conditions need not necessarily be met, unless the other rule specifies such.
A player losing ownership of the Robe never receives monetary compensation for losing it.
When a player receives a Bronze Torch, if they possess the Purple Robe of Justice, it goes Somewhere Else
Rule 935/0
Souvenirs
Mr. Tambourine Man (Tom Walmsley)
There exist nontradeable garments each known as an I Got Stoned For Your Sins And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt (hereafter T-Shirt). Any player wearing a T-Shirt can never have a Stoning called against em, and may ignore all effects of being Stoned if e so chooses. This paragraph of this Rule takes precedence over Rule 1145, "Rainy Day Women #12 & #35."
Rule 940/2
Quarantine
The Gingham Wearer (Tom Walmsley)
Gingham is the national fabric of Ackanomic. A Gingham Dress is a type of nameless garments. Any player may purchase a Gingham Dress for A$20. However, if a player has suffered a concussion due to capsizing while white water rafting on the Ackanomic River then e will automatically receive a Gingham Dress, since it is appropriate to eir insane behaviour.
Rule 943/0
Hula!
Alfvaen (Aaron Humphrey)
Muumuus are Garments. Any player may create a Muumuu by going to the Wilds of Ackanomic and eating an Amber Banana.
A player wearing a Muumuu and no other Garments(except, possibly, Hats) may hula dance as a public action, even on the town hall steps; this takes precedence over any Rule which would prohibit such dancing.
Rule 950/7
Ackanomic Sound System Rule Suite
Slagothor (Eric Plumb)
I. Ackanomic Sound System & Songs
There exists a unique, unownable entity known as the Ackanomic Sound System (hereafter, for purposes of the Rules in this Rule Suite, known as the ASS.)
There exists a class of named unownable entities known as Ackanomic Sound System Songs (hereafter, for purposes of the Rules in this Rule Suite, known as Songs.) Songs may be either Mundane or Esoteric, but not both.
A Mundane Song is one that has no trigger or game effects defined in a Rule in this Rule Suite. An Esoteric Song is one that has a Trigger and Effect defined in a Rule in this Rule Suite.
II. Description and Usage
Nobody knows for certain the location of the ASS, for its music is audible at exactly the same unobtrusive volume throughout the whole of Ackanomic. It is said that those who wish not to hear the music of the ASS may place one or more of their heads inside it. Unfortunately, doing so will not exclude them from the music's effects.
The control panel for the ASS is located in the Ackanomic Library. Any entity which is in the Library may play a Mundane Song on the ASS as a public action simply by stating the name of the song and the artist or artists who perform the version of the song they wish to hear. If the ASS is not currently playing an Esoteric song, the requested Mundane song will begin playing after a pause of an infinitesimal amount of time to switch tracks.
Any entity which is in the Library may play any Esoteric Song as a public action. To do so, that entity must state the name of the Song it wishes to play and place either an amount of A$ equal to the Song's Cost or a single Token into the banna-shaped slot on the ASS's control panel. This action fails if the entity does not own sufficient A$, or has no Tokens. If the action was successful, the Esoteric Song requested immediately begins playing as described below, with full effects, unless there is already an Esoteric Song playing on the ASS. When this happens, any A$ placed into the slot is transferred to the Treasury, and any Tokens placed into the slot are destroyed.
III. Office of DeeJay.
The Office of DeeJay is an Optional, Political Office. If this Office is not filled, or if the player holding this Office is absent, no Esoteric Songs will be played on the ASS.
The Duties of the DeeJay are:
a) To monitor the game state and determine when Esoteric Songs begin and cease playing, and to post a public message naming the Song in question and its effects, if any, whenever either happens.
b) To maintain a record of whether an Esoteric Song is playing on the ASS, and if so, which Song and its effects. The preferred medium for this Duty is HTML.
c) To publically announce when a player has been awarded a Token as described below, in section IV.
The Privileges of the DeeJay are:
d) To declare a Moment of Silence lasting no more than one Acka week in which no Songs may be played on the ASS. This Privilege may not be exercised if it has been exercised within the past forty days, or if an Esoteric Song is currently playing on the ASS.
On the first day of any calendar month whose ordinal number is evenly divisible by three, the player holding the Office of DeeJay shall step down from said Office as described in Rule 401 section vii.
IV. Creating And Playing Esoteric Songs
Esoteric Songs are defined by sub-rules of this Rule Suite, and nowhere else. A Rule that is part of this Rule Suite may define more than one Esoteric Song. Any definition of an Esoteric Song must include at least the following four lettered attributes of the song:
Any player who submits a Proposal which successfully adds one or more Esoteric Songs to this Rule Suite shall gain one Token upon the acceptance of such a Proposal. This Token shall be created in eir possession upon the announcement of this fact by the DeeJay. Tokens are tradeable Entities. The act of placing a Token into the banna-shaped slot of the ASS' control panel destroys that Token.
a) Title: the title, or name, of the Song.
b) Artist: the artist or artists who wrote and/or performed the Song.
c) Trigger: a condition referring to the Ackanomic game state that can, at any time, be easily and unambiguously identified to be either true or false. [e.g. "Four or more players have a score of above 300."]
d) Effect: the effect, if any, that the playing of this Song has on the game and/or game state of Ackanomic.
The definition is encouraged, but not required, to include these three attributes also:
e) Cost: The amount of A$ which must be placed in the banna-shaped slot in the ASS' control panel to play this Song. If the Cost is not specified, it defaults to Infinite; i.e., the Song cannot be purchased with A$ as described above.
f) Duration: The length of time for which the Song will play if not interrupted. If this is not included, it defaults to three days.
g) Explanation: The player submitting an Esoteric Song is encouraged to explain why the game effects pertain to the title or lyrics of the song.
An Esoteric Song will begin playing immediately upon its Trigger becoming true as long as the Office of DeeJay is filled by an active player. In this case, the Esoteric Song will begin playing regardless of any other Song that may be playing on the ASS. The Song will continue playing until one or more of the following become true:
- its Duration is expired and its Trigger is not true, or
- another Esoteric Song's Trigger becomes true,
upon any of which it will stop playing. All game Effects described in the Song's definition will begin instantaneously when the Song starts to play, and cease immediately when the Song stops playing, unless specified otherwise in the Rule creating the Song.
If a rule defining an esoteric song is created and that song is currently being played as a mundane song then the song instantly ceases to be being played and instead the song Barbie Girl by Aqua is played [to encourage people to change it as quickly as possible].
V. Scope
Rules defining Esoteric Songs may also define entities other than those Songs. However, an entity defined in a Rule defining an Esoteric Song may never change the game state in any way unless that Song is currently playing on the ASS. The entity will go Somewhere Else as soon as the Song ceases playing, and any effects that its presence has on the game state will cease.
However, any permanent changes made to the game state by a Song or an entity defined in a Song will not be lost once the Song stops playing.
[For example, if the Magic Potato were defined in such a Rule, its owner would no longer get its bonuses once it left, but would keep any points e had gained from it while the Song ("Don't pick it up, pick it up, pick it up") was playing.]
VI. Precedence
This Rule takes precedence over any Rules which state or imply that the playing of a Song on the Ackanomic Sound System can have no effect on the game and/or game state of Ackanomic.
All Rules that are part of this Rule Suite defer precedence to any Rules with which they might conflict, except as stated explicitly in a Rule that is a member of this Rule Suite.
VII. Custodianship
The DeeJay is Custodian of the Ackanomic Sound System Rule Suite (the 950.Y rules).
[Ackanomic Sound System Rules.]
Rule 975/4
Yes Virginia
Vynd (John McCoy)
The Voting Gnome of Ackanomic (hereinafter referred to simply as the Voting Gnome) is a unique, non-tradeable entity. The Voting Gnome owns himself. He acts only as described in the Rules.
The Voting Gnome has a home. It is located on a plot of land at the extreme northern end of Ackanomic called the North Stick. The home itself is a cozy building, with a 40 meter tower that looks suspiciously like a chimney. It is named The Voting Gnome's Workshop. The North Stick and The Voting Gnome's Workshop are both Locations, but they are not common locations. They are both owned by the Voting Gnome. Whenever the Voting Gnome's location is not otherwise specified, he is in his home.
On every August 28th, at exactly noon, the Voting Gnome visits the rest of Acka, bearing harf and good cheer. He returns home at midnight. August 28th, known as Gnomesday, is a Holiday, and a time of great happiness and jocularity for Acka. No player may be challenged to a Duel on Gnomesday. The reason for all this goodwill is that the Voting Gnome gives gifts to the players of Acka on this day. Exactly what gift depends on certain conditions, described below. No player receives more than one gift, if he qualifies for several then he receives only the first gift listed that he qualifies for.
I. If the player is in Gaol, he receives a Lump of Coal. Lumps of Coal are non-tradeable entities, and they are depressing. So long as a player owns a Lump of Coal, he may not participate in parades, and is instead represented by a cardboard cutout, with all attendant penalties. He may not chew the gumball. Furthermore, the description of his home is immediately changed to the sentence: A one room apartment with no window, cinder block walls, a plain wooden bench, and a pile of rags in one corner for a bed. This description may not be altered so long as the player owns a Lump of Coal.
A Lump of Coal is destroyed if the player who owns it is Enlightened, at which point that player ceases to be Enlightened. If a player is burned as a Heretic, or shot with any kind of laser, any Lump of Coal in his possession is destroyed. If a player is in possession of a Lump of Coal for a full 12 months, it is destroyed, and that player gains A$2500 (in diamonds).
II. If a player is vacationing, he receives a Silly Vacation Hat. Silly Vacation Hats are non-tradeable entities. When that player becomes active, he has seven days to post a name and description for his hat. If he fails to do so, then at the end of the seven days the Hat in question is destroyed.
III. If a player is in the Wilds of Ackanomic, he receives a Rock to Wind a String Around.
IV. If a player is in his home, and his home has a tower, he receives a Bonus Vote. If this would give the player more Bonus Votes than he can legally own, he instead receives a Blue Cross Bonus. If the player already owns a Blue Cross Bonus, he instead receives the Purple Robes of Justice. If more than one player would qualify to receive the Purple Robes of Justice in this method, then one of them is randomly selected to receive it. The other players who qualified to receive the Purple Robes of Justice but did not receive them shall receive a Bronze Torch. If the player already owns a Bronze Torch, then he shall receive the Chartreuse Goose. If more than one player would qualify to receive the Chartreuse Goose in this manner, then one of them is randomly selected to receive it. Those players who qualified to receive the Chartreuse Goose but did not receive it shall receive a Chartreuse Goose Egg. If the player already owns a Chartreuse Goose Egg, then he shall instead receive the Huge Gaudily Wrapped Present. If more than one player qualifies to receive the Huge Gaudily Wrapped Present, none of them receive it, and they all receive A$1 instead.
The Huge Gaudily Wrapped Present is a unique tradeable entity, if at any time it is not owned by a player is is Somewhere Else. It is never in the Treasury. A player who owns the Huge Gaudily Wrapped Present may open it at any time as a public action. When he does so, one of two events occurs, exactly which one is determined randomly. He either: 1) Receives two pairs of dress pants; or, 2) Achieves a Winning Condition. In either case, the player ceases to own the Huge Gaudily Wrapped Present.
V. If a player is in his home, but his home does not have a tower attached to it, then he receives a Santa's Beard.
VI. If a player is at the Ackanomic Institute of Genetic Replication he receives a Boon of the Ancients, provided he has been there for at least three days.
If a player does not meet any of the above qualifications, he receives a pair of dress pants. Pairs of dress pants are Garments.
This Rule takes precedence over all Rules numbered 200 or lower.
Timestamp: Fri 02 Oct 1998 08:13 EDT