Edit - History

Card-Based Nomic

A Nomic is a game in which the rules of the game can be modified within the game, usually by some form of democratic vote. The following rules define a Nomic using ordinary playing cards as the means of voting. Any of the rules (including these base rules) can be changed within the game, so there is no specific goal: Any condition for winning can be removed or modified at any point in the game.

  1. At the beginning of the game, place a standard, shuffled 52-card deck face-down in the center of the table. This pile will henceforth be known as the "draw pile". Each player should then draw a five-card hand, which they may look at, and one player chosen beforehand is given a token.
  2. Next to the draw pile there is a discard pile, which at the beginning of the game contains zero cards.
  3. A proposition is an intended change to the rules of the game. A proposition may add, remove, or change one rule, but the changes will only come into effect after it has been ratified. Before being ratified, the proposition is "under vote".
  4. If no proposition is under vote, the player with the token must choose to either create a proposition or pass the token clockwise.
  5. After a proposition has been created, the player who created the proposition places one of his or her cards face down next to the draw pile, starting a "for" pile, and draws one card from the draw pile to replace it.
  6. When a proposition is under vote and the proposing player has started a "for" pile, every other player may choose to place one of their cards face down in either the "for" pile or an "against" pile (which is created only if any players place cards there), and then draw one card from the draw pile to replace it. Players may choose not to place any cards, in which case they will also not draw any replacement cards.
  7. If the draw pile is empty when a player needs to draw a card from it, he or she shuffles the discard pile and uses it to replace the draw pile.
  8. When a proposition is under vote and all players have either placed cards or chosen not to, the proposing player picks up the "for" and "against" piles, sums the values of the cards in each pile, and announces the totals. If the "for" pile has a strictly greater total value, the proposition is ratified, otherwise it is rejected. The proposing player then places all the cards from the "for" and "against" piles into the discard pile, face down.
  9. If a proposition is under vote and not all players have placed a card or chosen not to, a 5-minute time limit may be created by a verbal majority consensus among players (including those who have not yet played). When the time limit expires, any player who has not placed a card will be assumed to have chosen not to.
  10. When a proposition is ratified, the changes it describes are implemented in the rules immediately and play continues.
  11. When a proposition is rejected, the proposing player must pass the token clockwise and the changes to the rules proposed are not implemented.
  12. The value of a number card (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) is simply the number on the card.
  13. The value of an Ace card is 1.
  14. The value of a Jack card is 11.
  15. The value of a Queen card is 12.
  16. The value of a King card is 13.
  17. If there is a dispute or conflict because of conflicting or ambiguous rules, a new rule which resolves the conflict or ambiguity may be created immediately by a verbal majority consensus.
  18. If a proposition is ratified which prevents further modification to the rules, the player who created the proposition wins the game.

Log in -