G
Guy Macon
- Jan 1, 1970
- 0
classd101 said:
You win the prize for correctly guessing Guy Macon's
favorite card game.
From [ http://www.logicmazes.com/games/eleusis.html ]:
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Eleusis
Eleusis is a card game of inductive reasoning. It was
introduced by Martin Gardner in his Mathematical Games
column in the July 1959 Scientific American, and in 1963 it
appeared in Abbott's New Card Games. I later revised and
extended the game, and Gardner introduced this new version
in the July 1977 Scientific American. Also in 1977, I
privately published a booklet about the game called The New
Eleusis. This revised version is now considered to be the
standard version of the game, so I decided that it's time
I could drop "New" from the name.
Eleusis has a long publication history, and you can click
here [ http://www.logicmazes.com/games/eleusis2.html ] for
a list of the books that have included it.
Recently I came to realize something I should have known a
long time ago: it's very hard for a new group to get started
in this game. Several people have made suggestions on how to
make the game easier for beginning players. The main
suggestion is that the first few times a group plays this
game, the dealer should pick a "secret rule" from a finite
list of secret rules. I've revised my write-up of the game
and have included this idea - but it's only a suggestion,
not a requirement.
Below are the first few pages (slightly abridged) of my new
write-up. These pages present the suggestions for first-time
players. If you already know Eleusis, you might take a look
at these pages to see how the new suggestions work. If you
don't yet know Eleusis, these pages might act as a teaser to
get you interested in the game. The complete write-up is in
my booklet Auction 2002 and Eleusis, which is available on my
mail order page [ http://www.logicmazes.com/mailordr.html ],
[ http://www.logicmazes.com/games/booklet.html ].
Eleusis
The rules to the game follow. After the rules is a brief
section on strategy, then a discussion of the development of
the game. At the end are notes about what has happened since
1977.
Number of players: Eleusis is for four to eight players. It
is possible for three to play, but in this game no player
can become Prophet. More than eight can play, but a group of
this size might prefer to split into two games.
The stock: Enough cards should be on hand so that the stock
does not run out. Initially, shuffle together three 52-card
decks to form the stock. That should normally be enough for
a game, but if, after a play, the stock is down to four or
fewer cards, you should add another 52-card deck.
Object: A game consists of one or more rounds (hands of
play). A different player is chosen as dealer of each new
round. (Choosing the dealer is explained later under
Miscellaneous rules.)
All plays are made to a central layout that grows as the
round progresses. An example is shown above. A layout
consists of a horizontal mainline of cards that follow a
certain pattern. Below this are vertical sidelines of cards
that are exceptions to the pattern.
Players score points by getting rid of the cards in their
hands. In most cases they get rid of cards by playing ones
that are accepted on the mainline of the layout. Players
also score (and normally score higher) by acting as Prophet.
The dealer of a round does not play a hand that round. His
score is based on the scores of the other players.
The secret rule: Each round has a different rule that
determines which cards are accepted on the mainline and
which are rejected. At the beginning of a round, no player
knows this rule.
This secret rule is devised by the dealer of the round. He
does not tell his rule, but, when a card - or string of
cards - is played, he says whether it is accepted or
rejected. Cards that are accepted are added to the right of
the mainline. Cards that are rejected are put in sidelines
below the mainline.
Players attempt to figure out the rule by observing the
pattern that emerges on the layout. The closer a player gets
to understanding the rule, the better he is able to play.
The dealer should write his rule on a piece of paper that is
put aside to be examined later. Before the play begins, the
dealer may, if he wishes, give a hint about his rule.
However, once play begins, no hints should be given (unless
you're playing rather informally).
Samples of some easy secret rules:
If the last card was red, play a black card. If the last
card was black, play a red card. [In all these rules, "last
card" refers to the last card accepted on the mainline or,
if no card has yet been accepted, it refers to the "starter"
card.]
If the last card was a spade, play a heart; if last card was
a heart, play a diamond; if last was diamond, play club; and
if last was club, play a spade.
The cards on the mainline must follow this pattern: three
red cards, then three black, then three red, then three
black, etc.
If the last card is an odd-numbered card, play an
even-numbered card; if the last is even, play an odd. [When
numbers are involved, ace is usually 1 (odd), jack is 11
(odd), queen is 12 (even), and king is 13 (odd). This was
the rule used in the round that created the sample layout
above.]
If the last card is among the cards ace to 7, play a card 8
to king. If last is among 8 to king, play ace to 7.
If the last card has a prime number, play a card with a
non-prime number. If the last is non-prime, play a prime.
[The next section explains why this rule can be considered
easy.]
Play a card with a number that is 1 higher than the number
of the last card. The numbers can "turn-the-corner," that
is, king is followed by ace which is followed by 2.
Play a card with a number that is 1 or 2 higher than the
number of the last card. The numbers can "turn-the-corner."
Advice to beginning players: Getting started in this game
can be hard. Learning the rules to the game isn't so bad.
It's the secret rules that cause all the problems. If
everyone in your group is new to the game, your first round
can easily turn into a disaster. One person might decide to
be dealer because he's come up with a rule that he thinks is
pretty clever. But then no one can figure out the rule and
the players are ready to banish the dealer from the game.
The dealer protests that he can't understand why no one can
figure out his rule, because it seems perfectly obvious to
him.
Beginning dealers - actually all dealers - should keep this
in mind: Whatever rule you come up with, it will always be
harder than you think it will be. Another problem is that
even if a dealer tries to create a simple rule, it is hard
to judge what is easy to discover and what is hard to
discover. After you've played this game a few times, you
should become better at making this judgement, but no one
becomes perfect at this.
So - if your group is playing Eleusis for the first time,
here is the best thing to do: Require that the dealer in the
first round either pick a rule from the table Samples of
some easy secret rules or create a slight variation on one
of the easy rules. It wouldn't hurt if the dealers in the
second and third rounds do the same.
Why are those rules easy? All the rules except the last
create rigid patterns on the mainline and these patterns are
easy to see. For example, the first rule creates the pattern
red-black-red-black. These rules also involve only one
variable, like red-black. More complex rules often use two
variables, like red-black combined with odd-even.
Okay, I see why the first rule is easy, but wouldn't this
rule be even easier: "Always play red cards; never play
black cards"? Yes, it is easier. I think a rule like that
makes for a dull round, but it's okay to use one like it
every now and then.
What about the rule that mentions prime numbers? That
doesn't sound very easy. Actually, you should never use a
rule like that unless you are sure that everyone in your
group knows what a prime number is. But the rule is still
easy because it does create a rigid pattern.
The final rule in the table above does not create a
completely rigid pattern on the mainline. But it does create
a pattern that is fairly easy to see.
The following table [
http://www.logicmazes.com/games/eleusmpl.gif ] shows
examples of hard secret rules. These are the sort of rules
you'll probably get into after you have played this game
enough. Of course, once everyone in your group has become
expert in the game, you can create rules that are unlike
anything anyone has seen before.
Samples of some hard secret rules:
If the last card is an odd-numbered card, play a red card.
If the last card is even, play a black card.
The card played must be the same suit or the same number as
the last card.
If the last card is black, play a card with a number that is
equal to or lower than the number of the last card. If the
last card is red, play a card equal to or higher than the
last card.
Divide the number of the last card by 4. If you get a
remainder of 1, play a spade; if you get a remainder of 2,
play a heart; if you get a remainder of 3; play a diamond;
and if you get no remainder, play a club. [This rule isn't
as hard as it looks. It's just hard to explain.]
If the card you play is the first card played of a suit,
then it is correct. Otherwise, refer to the last card on the
mainline that has the same suit. The card played must be 1
or 2 higher than the last card of the suit. [This rule is
very hard and if you use anything like it you probably
should give a hint.]
That's the end of the sample pages. As I mentioned before,
the complete write-up is in Auction 2002 and Eleusis, which
is available on my mail order page
[ $2.00 at http://www.logicmazes.com/mailordr.html ],
[ http://www.logicmazes.com/games/booklet.html ].
-Robert Abbott [ http://www.logicmazes.com/games/index.htm ]
