Second draft. I'll start the process of making this an actual
contract in a couple days if there are no further comments.
1. This is a public contract called Red November. This contract is
intended to be a contest. The contestmaster CAN add axes to this
contract by announcement. The contestmaster CAN by annonuncement
remove any axis along which this contest neither awards nor
revokes points.
2. A contestant to this contract who is currently involved in an
ongoing game is known as a gnome. Within this contract, the phrase
"on the double" means "within 48 hours".
3. Any player CAN join this contract by announcement. Any contestant
who is not a gnome CAN leave this contract by announcement.
4. Whenever this contract is a contest, no game is ongoing, and this
contract has at least three contestants, the contestmaster CAN
start a new game.
5. To start a new game, the contestmaster selects three to eight
contestants, randomly assigns each a starting location within the
experimental gnomish submarine BFGS Red November, and awards two
randomly drawn starting items to each. E then announces each
gnome's location, as well as the time remaining to each gnome (as
laid out on the game board, see appendices). This announcement
begins a game.
6. When the contestmaster awards a randomly drawn item to a gnome, e
SHALL inform the gnome of the identity of the item on the double.
The contestmaster SHALL NOT reveal any gnome's inventory to anyone
except as required by this contract.
7. Each gnome has an intoxication level, an integer from 0 to 4,
inclusive. All gnomes begin the game at 0 intoxication. Each time
a gnome uses a grog item, eir intoxication increases by one, to a
maximum of 4. Each time a gnome uses a coffee item, eir
intoxication decreases by two, to a minimum of 0.
8. The heat, pressure, and asphyxiation disaster tracks are integers
from 1 to 10, inclusive, starting the game at 1. These tracks can
be advanced by events drawn throughout the game. If any of these
tracks reaches 10, the game is over, as described later. When one
of these tracks is reset, if the value is in the range 1-5, it is
set to 1; if in the range 6-9, it is set to 5.
9. Any gnome with more than zero minutes remaining CAN take a turn by
announcement, provided that all turns previously taken in the same
game have been fully resolved by the contestmaster. A turn
consists of a sequence of movement, followed by one action. A
gnome can also use items at any point in eir turn; once used, an
item is lost. Any time spent as required by this contract in the
course of a turn is deducted from the gnome's remaining time. A
gnome cannot spend more time in a turn than e has remaining. If a
gnome announces a turn that is in any way invalid or incomplete,
then the turn is entirely without effect.
10. A gnome's sequence of movement consists of zero or more iterations
of the following steps:
a. Spend one minute to open an unblocked hatch attached to the
room the gnome is in.
b. If one of the rooms connected by the open hatch is at high
water, and the other has no water, then water equalizes between
the two rooms; both become at low water. If the room that had
no water was on fire, the fire is extinguished.
c. Optionally enter a room or exit the sub through the opened
hatch. To exit the sub, or to enter a room at low water, one
minute must be spent. Additionally, to exit the sub the gnome
must have used an aqualung in the current turn. Rooms at high
water cannot be entered. A room that is on fire can be entered
only if the gnome has used a grog or fire extinguisher item in
the current turn.
d. The hatch automatically closes.
11. The action taken by a gnome during a turn must be one of the
following:
a. Unblock a blocked hatch connected to the room.
b. Extinguish a fire in the room.
c. Pump low water out of the room.
d. In room 1, fix the engine. If successful, this resets the
pressure disaster track and prevents all "Crushed!" timed
destruction events at the gnome's current time or later.
e. In room 2, fix the oxygen pumps. If successful, this resets
the asphyxiation disaster track and prevents all "Asphyxiated!"
timed destruction events at the gnome's current time or later.
f. In room 4, fix the reactor. If successful, this resets the
heat disaster track.
g. In room 7, stop a missile launch. If successful, this prevents
all "Missiles Launched!" timed destruction events at the
gnome's current time or later.
h. Outside the sub, kill a kraken threatening the sub. If
successful, this prevents all "Devoured by Kraken!" timed
destruction events at the gnome's current time or later.
i. In room 8, spend one to four minutes to gain the same number of
items. The contestmaster awards the items gained, drawn at
random, to the gnome.
j. In room 0, spend one or two minutes to gain the same number of
grog items. The number of grog items that can be gained in
this manner during a single game is limited to six.
k. In a room with another gnome, spend one minute to give any
number of items to that gnome. The recipient CAN then give any
number of items in return by announcement; this can only be
done before either gnome takes eir next turn.
l. Spend one minute to perform no action.
m. Outside the sub, spend all remaining minutes to abandon eir
comrades. This action is only available if, at the start of
the turn, all gnomes had fewer than 10 minutes remaining.
12. Performing actions a. through h. requires spending one to ten
minutes, chosen by the gnome. The probability of success is equal
to 10% times the sum of the number of minutes spent and any
modifiers to the action gained through items used during the turn.
13. If a room is on fire, the only available action in that room is to
extinguish the fire. A gnome attempting this action SHOULD
indicate one iteration of movement to be performed if the action
fails. Otherwise, the contestmaster SHALL perform one iteration
of movement for the gnome at eir discretion when resolving the
turn, if possible, if the action fails.
14. If a room is at high water, the only available action in that room
is no action.
15. If a room as at low water, all actions except no action and
pumping water require spending an extra two minutes.
16. After a gnome takes a turn, the contestmaster SHALL resolve that
turn by announcement on the double. The announcement must include
the following steps:
a. The success of the action, determined according to the
probability assigned by this contract, if necessary.
b. If the gnome's location is on fire or at high water, or if the
gnome is outside the sub and did not use an aqualung this turn,
e is killed.
c. Determination of whether the gnome has fainted. If the gnome
is still alive and used at least one grog item during the turn,
the contestmaster draws an event card. If the card drawn shows
a faint check number that is less than or equal to the gnome's
intoxication level, e faints and loses ten minutes. A fainted
gnome remains fainted and cannot take another turn until all
other gnomes have fewer minutes remaining than em.
d. Events spawned by the turn. The contestmaster shall draw event
cards and award randomly drawn items to the gnome for the event
markers and draw item markers passed by the gnome on the time
track during the turn, in order. If a room with a fainted
gnome catches fire or floods as a result of the events drawn, e
is killed.
17. Some events impose hand limits upon one or all gnomes. When this
happens, the affected gnomes CAN discard items down to the imposed
limit by announcement, and cannot take a turn until they have done
so.
18. When a gnome successfully resets a disaster track during eir turn,
the contestmaster SHALL award em 2 X points on the double. When a
gnome successfully prevents at least one timed destruction event
during eir turn, the contestmaster SHALL award em 3 X points on
the double.
19. If an unfainted gnome has more than zero minutes remaining and has
not taken a turn in four days, the contestmaster CAN kill em by
announcement. E SHOULD do so if and only if e deems it necessary
to keep the game moving. In particular, the contestmaster SHOULD
NOT use this paragraph to kill a gnome who is merely waiting for
other gnomes to take their turns so that e can abandon ship.
20. When a gnome is killed, e loses all eir remaining minutes and
loses the game.
21. If the heat, pressure, or asphyxiation track reaches its maximum
value; or if all gnomes pass a timed destruction event on the time
track without preventing it; then the sub is lost and all gnomes
who have not abandoned their comrades lose the game.
22. If no surviving gnome has any minutes remaining, and the sub has
not been lost, then all surviving gnomes who have not abandoned
their comrades win the game.
23. A gnome who abandoned eir comrades wins if all gnomes who did not
abandon their comrades lose; otherwise e loses.
24. The game ends when one or more gnomes win, or when all gnomes have
lost. When one or more gnomes win the game, the contestmaster
SHALL award them the maximum possible number of Y points, split
evenly between the winning gnomes, on the double.
25. The contestmaster shall resolve disputes pertaining to gameplay.
In doing so, the contestmaster SHOULD follow the spirit of the
rules of the board game Red November, where possible.
26. The contestmaster CAN amend this contract without the objection of
any contestant.
Appendices
----------
A. An image of the game board is available at:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/445645
The time track circles the edge of the board, providing a
visualization of when events occur relative to the gnomes'
remaining time. Red stars on the time track denote times when
events happen during turn resolution. White stars denote times
when the active gnome is awarded a random item during turn
resolution.
B. With 3-5 gnomes, each gnome begins with 60 minutes. With 6 gnomes,
each gnome begins with 55 minutes. With 7 gnomes, each gnome
begins with 49 minutes. With 8 gnomes, each gnome begins with 46
minutes.
C. The initial pool of randomly available items and their effects
when used are as follows. If a gnome would gain a random item and
no items remain, all discarded items are shuffled back into the
item pool.
Grog x6*: May enter a room on fire. Get +3 bonus to all actions.
Toolbox x3: Get +3 bonus to fix engine, oxygen pumps, or reactor.
Engine Manual x4: Get +4 bonus to fix the engine.
Pump Manual x4: Get +4 bonus to fix the oxygen pumps.
Reactor Manual x4: Get +4 bonus to fix the reactor.
Deactivation Code x3: Get +4 bonus to stop missile launches.
Crowbar x6: Get +3 bonus to unblock a hatch.
Fire Extinguisher x5: Get +3 bonus to extinguish a fire.
Water Pump x6: Get +3 bonus to pump water.
Coffee x1: Reduce intoxication by two.
Aqualung x2: May leave the sub.
Diving Gun x2: Get +4 bonus to kill the kraken.
Lucky Charm x2: Ignore the first three events spawned by the turn.
* Not including the 6 Grog items initially available in the
Captain's Cabin (Room 10).
-root
