On Fri, 16 Jun 2006, Christopher Hickman wrote:
"Contains at least one vertical piece in your favorite color" is OK
if everyone is OK with player-specific metarules, and the favorite
colors of all players are well-known.
No. Spock doesn't know players' favorite colors. You can only base rules
on objectively observable characteristics of koans.
That's not a clear diagnosis. The actual problem is that "*your*" favorite
color is illegal; Spock doesn't know who is the guesser at any given
moment! A rule has to come out the same for everybody.
If the favorite colors of the four players are red, green, green, and
chartreuse -- and the Master knows this -- it would be valid for him to
formulate a rule as "Contains a piece in the favorite color of one of
these four people." Of course the players will wind up guessing "Contains
a red piece or green piece", which is equivalent (lacking chartreuse
pyramids). And it would be illegal for the Master to add "blue" to the
valid list, if I happened to sit down at the table in mid-game.
--Z
--
"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the borogoves..."
*
Bush's biggest lie is his claim that it's okay to disagree with him. As soon as
you *actually* disagree with him, he sadly explains that you're undermining
America, that you're giving comfort to the enemy. That you need to be silent.