Subject: MN: Year 2 Week 45 Proposals

From: dunx@l... (Duncan Ellis (Dunx))
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 23:34:19 GMT

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MORNINGTON NOMIC

Proposals for Voting on in Week Forty-Five
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Proposal 646 - When in range, do as the Rangers do [Enactment]

Any Action that requires the Player to be adjacent to another Player or
object may also be played if the desired target is at the station as the
Player. In other words, adjacency for Actions is implied by co-location.

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Proposal 647 - Time keeps on slippin'... [Multiple]

Repeal 1.5.8 (Moving and Shaking)

Reword 1.3.0 to read:

The Game of Mornington Crescent is divided into Turns, each taken
by different Player, in sequence. During each Turn, a Player may
make a Move, perform Actions and collect Tokens.

Moves, Plays, Rounds and Turns shall be defined as follows in combination
with
those definitions already extant:

* A Round is a sequence of Turns in which all Active Players Play. An
effect which is said to endure for one Round lasts from the point at which
the effect begins until the same point in the next Round (Turn Phases to be
rounded up).

Specifically, if something begins during the Post-Move Phase of a Player's
Turn and lasts for one Round, then that something stops at the end of the
Post-Move phase in that Player's next Turn or (if that Player Resigns or
goes Inactive) the point after which eir Turn would have been.

* A Player's Turn consists of the total set of changes that a Player makes
to the GSD when e takes eir Turn, including eir Play. This may be referred
to simply as 'a Turn'.

* A Player's Play is the section written against eir name at the bottom of
the GSD which includes the Player's Piece's Move and any Actions played.
This may be referred to simply as 'a Play'.

* A Piece's Move is its normal motion along LU lines, excluding all
Action-related changes to position. This may be referred to simply as 'a
Move'

Those Rules defining Line Velocity and changes of Line apply only to the
Piece's Move unless specifically stated otherwise.

{A slight reword, but mostly done to get all the parts of play time under
the one Rule.}

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Proposal 648 - Contracrostipunctus [Amendment]

Rewrite Rule 1.5.0 to read:

There are three ways for a Player's Piece Move to be Valid:

1) If the Move is either the word "Pass" or the word "Timeout", then this
is known as a Passed Move. The Move is Valid and the Piece stays at its
current Station.

2) If the Move uses one of the following Actions (only one of these allowed
per Turn):
* Home (Rule 1.12.1)
* Wild (Rule 1.11.1)
* Marmalade Sandwiches (Rule 1.4.16)
* Striling (Rule 1.7.12)
* Stubbery (Rule 1.7.33)
* Walking (Rule 1.7.10)
In this case, the Move is known as a Special Move. The Move is Valid, and
the Piece is moved directly to the specified Station without passing
through any other Stations.

3) Otherwise, the Move is known as a Standard Move. All Stations in the
Map currently under play (by default, the Map defined in Rule 1.17.1) are
Valid. The Player must then check through all the Rules and checks in the
following list to determine if any one of them makes the Move Invalid. 
Once the Move is Invalid, it cannot be revalidated by another Rule.

1. LV Checks

* If the distance between the target Station and the Player's
current Piece Location is not precisely the same as that Player's
LV, the Move becomes Invalid.

2. Trivial Fares

* Line Changing (Rule 1.5.11)

3. Blocks, Impediments and Gaps

* Blocks (Rule 1.9.1)
* Damaged Stations (Rule 1.11.3)
* The Podume of Infinite Darkness (Rule 1.4.24)
* Closed Lines and Stations (Rule 1.13.4)
* Other Players' Home Stations (Rule 1.12.3)
* Power Failures (Rule 1.7.8)
* Maelberg Variances (Rule 1.7.17)
* Gapminding (Rule 1.7.7)
* Bridges (Rule 1.8.3)
* Circle Line Polarisation (Rule 1.8.5)
* Construction Lines (Rule 1.5.10)
* Heathrow Traversal (Rule 1.5.7)

4. Loops and Cascades

* Dollis Hill Loop (Rule 1.8.1)
* Parks and Greens Cascade (Rule 1.8.2)
* Charge Spiral (Rule 1.19.5)

5. First Turn

* If this is the Player's first Turn in the Game, eir Home
Station is a Valid Move and all other Stations are Invalid.

6. Unused Actions

* If the Actioning Player performed a pre-Move Action to make a
particular type of Move Valid, and did not play such a Move,
eir Move becomes Invalid.

Stations "passed through" during a Move are all of those along the route
which the Player's Piece has taken, excepting the Station it started and
ended the Move at.

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Proposal 649 - Slight Chateau d'Eau fix [Amendment]

Amend Rule 2.7.11 to change the reference to not counting the section of
line 6 to refer to the corect line 2. It's line 2 that extends west of
Charles-de-Gaulle Etoile, not line 6 as is stated in the Rule.

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Proposal 650 - We Are Normal And We Want Our Freedom [Multiple]

{ Amending the questionable references to "normal" Moves. }

1. Move = Movement Motion [Amendment]

In Rule 1.5.8 (Moving and Shaking), reword the third bullet point to:-

* A Piece's Move is its motion during the Movement Phase of a Player's
Turn. This may be referred to simply as 'a Move'.

2. Deviant Straddling [Amendment]

In Rule 1.7.6 (Straddling Nancy), replace "A Player may, after Moving eir
Piece normally," with "After Moving, a Player may".

3. Conservation of Energy [Amendment]

In Rule 1.19.2 (Charge), replace "Charge is modified by normal Piece movement"
with "Charge is modified by any Piece movement that takes place during a
Player's Movement Phase"

{ Wilding and whatever else should have the same effect on Charge as a Move
"merely" affected by LV+X or a Baguette, if only to stop the easy abuse
of the Charge Win. Although whilst on the subject... }

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Proposal 651 - Electroplate Blues [Amendment]

{ The fiddly maths of a Charge victory have always troubled me, and Paul's
talk of a two-turn victory only fuel these troubles further. The idea of a
sudden surprise win is very unappealing, particularly since the only real
defence against it is to sit down and do some trivial sums for every
Player,
every Turn, just to check (and even then, you probably won't notice
anything suspicious until it's too late).

I know we've not had a spate of ridiculous victories through Charging to
the Crescent, but I suspect (and such is the case for me, at least) that
it's just a matter of apathy; I can't really be bothered to work out a
suitable sequence of Moves.

Still. A Proposed replacement - the ability to turn Bronze Tokens into
Golds, if your Charge is at least fifty more than everyone else's. I think
this is a reasonable implementation - bearing in mind how awkward it isto
get Bronzes in the first few Turns, quick victories shouldn't be an issue,
and once someone starts Electroplating, it shouldn't be too hard for at
least one person to up their Charge enough to stop it. (And the Drone will
most likely remain at zero for a long time, anyway.)

In a roundabout way, actually, this acts as a Token Running substitute - a
way to collect Golds which requires Players to move away from the centre of
the board... }

1. Electroplate Blues [Action]

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Action Phase Rule Dur Cost Gain
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Electroplating] Neut 1.7.x -1 Br +1 Go
------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Player may perform the "[Electroplating]" Action, if eir Charge is at
least fifty more than that of every other Player. Upon performing this
Action, the Actioning Player gains a Gold Token.

2. Run Away! Run Away! [Repeal]

Repeal Rule 1.19.3 (Charge of the Heavy Brigade).

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Proposal 652 - Through a Podume Darkly [Amendment]

{ The reworked Podume of Infinite Darkness from the other Week had some
nice ideas, but an alarming number of dangerous wordings, and quite a
few over-complicated aspects. For your perusal, a new slant on the
thing - similar in implementation, but with a few differing effects. }

1. Darker Side of the Force [Amendment]

Reword Rule 1.4.24 (The Podume of Infinite Darkness) to:-

There exists a Unique, Indestructable Possession known as the Podume of
Infinite Darkness, which may be present on the Map; a PoID's presence is
indicated as a Token Stack with the text "PoID", at that Station (the
PoID is not, however, a Token, and it may coexist with a Token Stack).It
may be placed on a Station or picked up from that Station (with the
Actions of [PoID on <Station>] and [Collecting PoID] respectively) by any
Player who has passed through that Station during eir Turn, or who rests
at it. The PoID may also be Shunted as if it were a Token Stack, using
the name "PoID".

If there is no PoID in play, any Player may perform the Action of
"[Forging PoID]" to bring the PoID into play, in eir Possession,
provided that e is not located at a Holy Station, and that Game Time is
outside of Peak Hours. If performed at midnight, this Action's cost is
halved.

If a Player is carrying the Podume of Infinite Darkness, dark forces
protect em from the attentions of other Players; if a Player's Move
involves passing through or Moving to a Station which contains a Player
who carries the Podume, that Move is Illegal.

All power comes at a price, however - at the end of each of the Turns
of a PoID-carrying Player, e should select two Tokens from those e is
carrying (selecting as many non-Black Tokens as possible), and replace
them with Black Tokens.

If a Player carrying the Podume of Infinite Darkness ever passes through
or rests at a Holy Station, or the Podume itself rests at a Holy Station,
the Podume is instantly destroyed.

If the Podume of Infinite Darkness rests at a Station, all Players act
as if they were carrying it. In addition, at the start of each Player's
Turn, the top Token of every Token Stack is replaced with a Black Token.

If the Podume should rest at Mornington Crescent, its effects are
worsened; Tokens are destroyed rather than being blackened. In addition,
the Player responsible for placing the Podume at Mornington Crescent
should should roll a single 295-sided die after submitting each of eir
Turns. The next Player to take eir Turn should look this number up on
the Venbacker Table; if it equates to a Holy Station, nothing happens.
Otherwise, the relevant Station is wracked by a terrible explosion, with
the effect of a Suspect Package being detonated at that Station.

If the Podume is ever at Mornington Crescent and there are no Tokens
left in the Game, the Game is abandoned with no Winner (all Players are
considered to have Lost).

2. Dropped Action [Amendment]

Add the following Action (for it seems to be missing):-

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Action Phase Rule Dur Cost Gain [1]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[PoID on <Station>] Neut 1.4.24

And make "[Collecting PoID]" a Neutral Action.

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Dunx
--
Ceci n'est pas un .sig

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