February 20 2002 RussCon Report

News

Meta Party Game

It's been a while since we had one of those wacky always-active Meta Games...

To encourage polite sporting behavior, I present this week's Meta Game:

Participants receive 5 tokens upon arrival. (We will use Remi's old business cards for this purpose; they should fit easily into any pocket.) You may choose not to play, in which case you simply take get no tokens and don't play.

Whenever you make a request or command of any sort, you should say "please". E.g. instead of "Pass me the dice!" or "Can you get me a Fresca?" or "Take your turn!" you might something like say "Please pass me the dice!" or "Can you please get me a Fresca?" or "Take your turn, please!" If a participant doesn't remember to say "please" when asking for something, then any other participant may say so and request a token from the non-pleaser. In case several people all notice the lack of "please" and request a token, the first requester gets it. (Note that requesting a token from a non-pleaser is itself a request...) In case of tie, the non-pleaser may choose whom they give their token to. If you run out of tokens, you are eliminated and play no more. If a non-participant points out the lack of "please", there is no effect; a participant may then claim the token if desired. If no one points out a lack of "please", then of course nothing happens.

Asking an informational question is not considered a request. E.g. "Is it my turn?" or "Can I show all my dice?" is fine; one needn't ask "Please, is it my turn?" or "Can I please show all my dice?" (We will ignore philosophical questions of whether this is in fact a request for the listener to give you information. If you like, say that the only requests that count are requests for some sort of material action, and requests for information don't count.)

Of course honest sporting behavior is expected. In the exceedingly unlikely event that someone sincerely accuses someone of not saying "please", and the accused sincerely says they did say "please", the accuser is innocent. In the event of other uncertainties, ask the Meta Game Moderator or work it out yourselves.

Your score = # tokens you own when you leave (at which point your tokens go out of circulation); tell me, or write your score in The Book. High score wins. In case of tie, I will pick the person who seems more polite!

P.S. I will give you a bonus point if you give me a note during the evening that has the Evening's Soundtrack written on it.

Russ, your friendly Meta Moderator.

Rank ratings:
 1.0000 Jeffles (3 games played)   
 0.6429 Steve (5)
 0.5000 Clay (3)
 0.5000 MarkY (6)
 0.3636 RussD (3)
 0.2500 William (3)
 0.1111 PJ (4)
 0.0476 RussW (10)
-0.1667 Clayton (4)
-0.1765 Dan (5)
-0.2000 Carly (2)
-0.2273 JP (10)
-0.2727 Fina (3)
-0.4286 Matt (3)
-0.4545 Marty (3)
-0.5000 BobR (2)
-0.7500 Whindy (3)
-1.0000 Ben (3)
-1.0000 Whendy (1)

New Win ratings:
 1.0000 Jeffles (3)
 0.5000 Clay (3)
 0.4286 Steve (5)
 0.3333 MarkY (6)
 0.1111 PJ (4)
 0.0909 RussD (3)
 0.0909 Fina (3)
 0.0000 Carly (2)
-0.1250 William (3)
-0.1364 JP (10)
-0.1429 Matt (3)
-0.1905 RussW (10)
-0.2500 BobR (2)
-0.2727 Marty (3)
-0.2941 Dan (5)
-0.3333 Clayton (4)
-0.3750 Whindy (3)
-0.3750 Ben (3)
-1.0000 Whendy (1)