Nomic:Game 2005-04-02:Whether it is allowed to give oneself points

From Carls wiki

All rise.

Ok, right to business, I say. Can you give yourself points, like Jonas has done?

Short answer: no.

Long answer: I agree that it is interesting, because this fact is nowhere in the rules. However, I don't see how the game would be playable if setting your own score were legal. The first player who got the chance would just set his or her score to the required amount and win.

In fact, I was sort of waiting for someone to do this, so we could have a judgement about it. :)

Now, you may have noticed when creating new rules that it is difficult to cover all the corner cases that might occur. We all do our best to predict all possible situations, but we always end up having to bunch things into concepts so that they will be clearly expressible within the limits of natural language.

Or, in other words, some rules are hidden inside the words.

That's why you're not allowed to change your score just because you want to: because no sensible game works that way.

Here are some other things you are not allowed to do which are not explicitly in the rules:

Change other people's rule proposals or votes

Because of the silent agreement of a rule proposal or a vote belonging to a certain player.

Boot another player from the game

Because of the silent agreement that each player is responsible for his or her own participation in the game.

Remove all pages relating to the game

Because of the silent agreement that the game is its representation, and that removing it is equal to flinging a real-world board game into the air, ruining the game.

However, I'm amused by this attempt to win by just declaring oneself the winner. It is innovative, daring, and in case you missed it, also a topical comment in the debate about points. Something like "points are bad because I can do this".

So I am going to go eye to eye on this one. :) If you vote this judgement through, Jonas will

• have his score restored to the real value (currently -2). Actually it is just the number on the score page that will change — his score has been -2 all this time. In case his proposal is accepted before this judgement, his score will of course be changed accordingly.
• lose 5 life points upon acceptance of p310. This is the eye to eye part. Also, because Jonas is the proposer in this case, he is bound to vote yes by a previous judgement.

Court dismissed.