Nomic — change the rules as you play
In Nomic, a turn is proposing a change to the rules. The group votes, then you roll a die for points. What you are playing at the end may not be the game you started.
From Nomic, a game by Peter Suber.
What it shows a designer
Changing the rules is the move. It makes visible what every designer does between playtests, and shows that every rule serves someone more than others.
Credits
- Made by
- Peter Suber, 1982
- This version
- A short form: three starting rules, a target of 30 points and two turns each, in place of Suber's full Initial Set of 29 rules and 100 points
- Sources
- legacy.earlham.edu/~peters/writing/nomic.htm
legacy.earlham.edu/~peters/nomic.htm
What you need
- paper and pens to write the rules down
- one six-sided die
- paper for scores
How to play
- Start. Write the starting rules where everyone can see them: a turn is one proposal, a vote and a die roll; the first to 30 points wins; changes need everyone to agree. Number every rule.
- Propose. On your turn, propose one new rule or one change to a rule, in writing. Give it the next number.
- Vote. Everyone votes. In the first round a change needs everyone; after that, a simple majority.
- Roll. Roll the die and add it to your score.
- It takes effect. An adopted change applies at once. When two rules disagree, the lower number wins, unless a rule says otherwise.
- End. Stop when someone reaches 30 or after everyone has had two turns. The highest score wins; ties are shared.
After playing, talk about
- Which change made the biggest difference to how the game played?
- Did anyone propose a change only to help themselves? How did the vote respond?
- What would you change first if you played again?
Its blocks
How its blocks were checked against BoardGameGeek
- Nomic: partly checkable, nothing against it. change the rules: not checkable. most points: not checkable. chance with mitigation: not checkable. take turns: not checkable. try a rule: not checkable.
In boardgameBuilder, Open game puts its blocks on the canvas. Changed, the same file can come back here from Propose a game.