Jorge Arroyo wrote:
The problem I see with many 2 player variants is that the master has
something to gain if the player doesn't guess the rule soon. This
encourages the use of very difficult rules.
How about this:
Student picks a number, X.
The master picks a rule that they think will take the student X turns to
figure out.
The Student gets points for guessing in less than or equal to X turns.
(1 point at X, 2 at X-1, etc.)
The Master gets a point if it's solved in exactly X turns.
If the rule is still not known after X turns, the rule is too hard, it
is divulged, and the next round begins.
The result: make a rule too easy and you end up giving away points.
make a rule too hard and get nowhere. Do it just right and get a bonus!
(You can't make the bonus more than 1, because then the scoring would
motivate the student not to guess correctly at exactly X, as the master
gains more points than the student when that happens.)
-Dale