Ctss:Rules

From Ctss

Lexicon is a game of Collaborative World Building, which was designed to be played on Wiki. Basically, the players each write sections of the world they are building. At first, they have nothing to build off of, but by the end they are filling in the blanks left by the other 'scholars' they are working with.

Contents 1 Rules Summary 2 Complete Lexicon 2.0 Rules 2.1 Rule #1: Turns 2.2 Rule #2: Citations 2.3 Rule #3: Scoring 2.4 Rule #4: Conflicts 2.5 Rule #5: Quorum Rule 2.6 Extra Rule: Auxiliary Articles 3 Tips & Miscellaneous 3.1 Editing Etiquette 3.2 Glossary of Terms 3.3 Note: Phantoms 4 Rules Changes

Rules Summary

This section explains the basics of Lexicon 2.0 in super easy to understand terms. I mean, really dumbed-down kids stuff; it's even got examples using all your favorite animals. The basics are all you probably need to know to play the game, but once you've got them down it's recommended you read through the complete rules below to learn all the nuances of the game.

The game starts with the letter A, and each new turn is the next letter in the alphabet. On each turn, you will:

• Write an article on a topic that fits the theme and whose title begins with the letter of the current turn. If we were playing a game of Lexicon with animals as the theme, you might write an article on Aardvarks for the first turn, Bears for the second turn, then Cats, etc.
• Within the article or at the end of it, include linked mentions of other articles, called "citations". To create a link with wiki markup language, just put the title of the linked article in double square brackets. You have two options for these citations:
  1. One article in a previous letter and one article in a later letter. For our animal Lexicon, while writing the Elephants article, you might include mentions of Dogs and Hippos.
  2. Three articles in previous letters. For our animal Lexicon, while writing the Panthers article, you might include mentions of Giraffes, Lemurs, and Owls.
• Sign your (character's) name at the end of the article.
• Count the number of citations you made in your article, multiply that by 50, and add the total number of words in your article (not including your signature). That number is your score for the round.

When each new round begins, the person running the game will try to keep everyone updated on what phantom articles are in that letter and how many open spots there are. Phantoms are articles that have been used as citations in previous articles, but haven't been created yet. Try to fill in the phantom articles before you take up an open spot for a new article, especially if you feel inspired by the title of a phantom. Keep in mind that you can't claim a phantom that you used as a citation in one of your articles.

For instance, let's say we've just reached the E turn in our animals Lexicon, which happens to have three players. The host will announce that there are phantoms for Elephants and Eels--one person mentioned Elephants in the Dogs article, and another person mentioned Eels in the Frogs article--and that there is one open spot (three articles are the most we can have in E because we have three players). Fortunately for you, the two other players have already claimed the Elephants and Eels articles, leaving you free to write that article on Echidnas you've really been looking forward to.

Complete Lexicon 2.0 Rules

Rule #1: Turns

Each of the 26 turns consists of writing an article for that letter of the alphabet. On the first turn, everyone writes an article on a topic beginning with the letter A; on the second turn, the letter B, and so on. Automatically sign your name and date at the bottom of the article by typing "~~~~".

• There may only be as many core articles as there are players.
• While you have a scholar character within the setting that is being written about, your character is not of historical significance (yet), and it would be considered poor form to create an article about yourself; if you wish, you may create a biography for yourself on your user page (click on your username at the top right of the page). It is, however, acceptable to mention yourself or another contributing scholar within the body of an article on a different topic, if it is relevant.

Rule #2: Citations

Each article must contain at minimum, either within the body or included at the end, either of the following two options:

1. One reference to an existing article (earlier in the alphabet than the current turn) and one reference to a phantom article (later in the alphabet), or
2. Three references to existing articles.

A reference to a phantom article may be to a new phantom (create a new article title later in the alphabet) or to one that has already been referenced (use the same article title later in the alphabet that you or someone else has already created in another article).

In the game of Lexicon, unlike in real life, you may not cite yourself. A previous article that you wish to cite must be written by another contributor. Future phantom articles that you cite may not be filled in by you on the appropriate turn. (Do not cite every phantom article in a given letter, or you will paint yourself into a corner and be unable to contribute on that turn.)

• On the first turn, this requirement does not apply. You need only make a reference to one new phantom.
• This is the minimum requirement; once you've fulfilled either of these two requirements, you may include as many more references, either to existing articles or existing phantoms or other articles in the same letter, as you wish. You may not create additional new phantoms.

Rule #3: Scoring

Your score for each round is one point per word in the article, plus 50 points for each of the first five citations. Points are cumulative throughout the game. The winner of the game gets a nice ice cream. Everyone can compute their own score for each round; we'll use the honor system, but remember that at any time someone else can easily double-check you, so don't cheat. Keep track of how many points you've scored in some obvious place, such as an OOC section of your user page.

score for the round = (number of words in your article) + 50 * (number of citations, maximum 5)

• Optional scoring rule Peer Review: At the end of each round, players read all the articles in that round and by secret ballot vote for the best article for that round. Whoever wins the peer review gains double points for that round as a bonus reward for good writing. You may not vote for yourself for peer review. If two or more players tie, they get 150% points. If you don't vote for a peer review for that round and you win the peer review, you receive no bonus points. If no one gets more than one vote, no one wins the peer review.

Rule #4: Conflicts

The other players may have their own opinions and biases, but they are scholarly bound to tell the truth to the best of their ability. This means that you may never directly contradict information put forth by another player. You may, however, offer your own interpretation of the facts or introduce new information that colors the interpretation.

This rule makes it so that later articles may never contradict earlier articles, but it may occasionally occur that two players submit articles for the same round that offer conflicting information. To avoid this, be sure to read all articles already submitted for the current round before submitting your own. In the cases where this does happen, it is expected that once they realize the mistake or are informed of it, the two players will work out which of them will correct their article or else come up with a compromise where both will change their articles.

If no agreement can be reached, a third player will act as an arbitrator to determine which of the two articles is in need of correction. The arbitrator will by default be the person who initiated the game of Lexicon, unless this person is one of the two players involved, in which case it will be a randomly selected or first available player. The criteria for arbitration are left up to the arbitrator, but they should consider who submitted their article first (look at page history for the exact times and dates) and who put more effort and detail into their article.

Rule #5: Quorum Rule

There is no strict time limit during which you must have your article submitted. Rather, take your time but please don't keep the rest of the players waiting on you.

For those who need more time than others, a quorum rule will be in practice. Once three quarters of the players are done with the current letter, the next letter becomes active as well. Those left out of the quorum should complete the current letter before submitting an article for the next letter.

If you are left out of the quorum on three consecutive letters and haven't had time to catch up, you will be considered to have dropped out of the game. You are free to rejoin the game when you have time.

Extra Rule: Auxiliary Articles

Once a letter is completed (see below), auxiliary articles may be created for that letter. These articles do not count toward the maximum allowed for a letter, like core articles do. These articles are also not entirely bound by the same rules as core articles but should follow the rules to the best of your ability; they should include citations, but may not create new phantoms, and they may not contradict the core articles.

Auxiliary articles do give you points, and are a good way to make up a few extra points to catch up to other players. However, they are scored differently from core articles. You only get one point per ten words, and ten points per citation (maximum 5 citations). Also, only one auxiliary article per letter counts for points, but feel free to write as many auxiliary articles for each letter as you want.

auxiliary score = ((number of words in the article) / 10) + 10 * (number of citations, maximum 5)

Tips & Miscellaneous

Editing Etiquette

Use the Wikipedia Cheatsheet to help you format your articles. Important terms are typically bolded when they first appear in an article.

For the names of people, alphabetize by the first letter of their last name, ignoring any first names or titles. "Dr. Albert Einstein" is an E article and must wait until round E; don't try to submit it as an A or D article.

It is against the rules to edit another contributing scholar's articles, except for minor edits--such as punctuation or spelling--which must be marked as such (check the "This is a minor edit" checkbox above the "Save page" button on the edit page). It is also considered highly impolite to edit another contributor's autobiography (user page).

You may, however, always use the discussion tab (talk page) for an article or user page to discuss the contents, either in character or out of character. Out of character discussion should be prefaced by "(OOC)", or otherwise designated as such. Always sign your comments with "-~~~~", and indent a reply immediately beneath the comment you are replying to with one or more ":" as needed.

Glossary of Terms

Each letter is considered to be in a different "state" depending on how the game is progressing. Here are the different states and their explanations.

Ready: At the beginning of the game, all 26 letters of the alphabet start as ready. This is merely the default state and means that the letter is accepting new phantoms.

Current: On the first turn of the game, the letter A becomes current (or active), meaning that players are writing articles that have titles beginning with the letter A. Once all the players have submitted articles for a letter, the next letter becomes current.

Completed: Once all players have submitted an article for the current letter, it becomes completed.

Full: If there are as many empty phantom articles for a letter as there are players, that letter becomes full, meaning that no new phantoms may be created for it.

A couple other terms:

Phantoms: Citations to articles later in the alphabet that do not exist yet are considered phantoms. These will be filled in on the appropriate turn.

Open: If a letter is not full, then it still has open spots. (i.e.: In a three player game we have two phantoms for the letter B, "bridges" and "beetles". The letter B has one open spot.)

Note: Phantoms

It is generally understood that exactly who fills in the phantoms on a given turn will be determined by gentleman's agreement. However, here are a couple tips. These aren't required rules, but they are considered polite and make things easier.

• If a letter has a mix of phantoms and open spots, and you want to use one of the open spots for a new article, wait until all the phantoms have at least been claimed. If you end up waiting for a while, it may be that other people to use the open spots. You may have to bite the bullet and write a phantom; you can always come back once the letter is completed and submit your article as an auxiliary!
• If you see a phantom you want to write, but that letter isn't yet active or you haven't got the time to write the article, go ahead and claim it! Phantoms will usually exist as a red link in existing articles; click on the link to edit the phantom and type "Claimed by ~~~." It is impolite to claim a phantom unless that letter is either full or next to be active.
• Be sure to thoroughly research all pages that cite the phantom you are writing. You will likely have some pre-established context to work within. While editing the blank phantom, you can always use the "What links here" link in the left column to find out what other articles link to your current phantom.

Rules Changes

Why did I make these changes to the rules? Why did I make the game competitive? For a copy of the original rules, issues found with those rules, and the reasoning behind the changes for 2.0, see the old rules page.

These rules are a work in progress! Have you found an issue with the new rules? Have a complaint to make? Point it out in the discussion page! I realize these new rules might also be flawed, so I am completely open to changing them. I have also tried to formalize the rules as much as possible, but if you think they need to be put into terms that are easier to understand, please point it out. I have tried to word everything to be as clear and unambiguous as possible. CtSS is acting as the testing bed for these new rules.