1. DUPLICITY

Duplicity is a game in which players attempt to answer trivial questions in such a way that their answers match those of their opponents, irrespective of whether they're right or wrong.

It is a game for three or more Players, and is played over a number of Rounds. (Any member of the mailing list may declare their intention to become, or cease being, a Player, by announcing this fact to the list.)

2. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

During each Round, one Player is assigned the role the Questioner; the assigment of this role proceeds alphabetically from Round to Round, starting with the Player whose name is alphabetically before that of all other Players.

A Round begins when the Questioner posts a question to the mailing list with the subject line "Game G, Question Q" (where G is the current Game number and Q the current Round number).

While a Round is in progress, any Player other than the Questioner may privately email the Questioner with their answer. These answers should be as brief and specific as possible.

A Round ends when the Questioner has received answers from all other Players, or when two full days have elapsed, whichever occurs first. When a Round ends, the Questioner should compile the scores for that Round and post them, along with a list of all answers given, to the mailing list in a message with the subject line "Game G, Question Q Answers" (where G is, again, the current Game number and Q the current Round number).

The next-to-play Player becomes the Questioner when these answers are posted. If no answers are posted within one week of the Round ending, however, that Round is declared void and the next-to-play Player becomes Questioner.

3. SCORING

Scoring is as follows; at the end of a Round, each Player who submitted an answer receives points equal to the number of other Players who gave the same answer. (For example, if Aleric and Boris both answer "Escher" Celia answers "Munch", and Danford fails to answer in time, Aleric and Boris both receive a point, while Celia and Danford receive nothing. This is, it should be noted, entirely irrespective of what the correct answer may have been.) Deciding which answers match is left to the Questioner's discretion; typing errors and minor differences in phrasing should be treated kindly.

4. UNFAIRNESS

If a Player feels that a given Question is worded in such a way as to result in no matching answers (eg. "Truth is beauty. Discuss."), he or she may submit the answer "Unfair question." to signify disgust. (This means that an unfair question is likely to result in a lot of matching answers, thus foiling the Questioner.)

5. VICTORY

A game of Duplicity ends when the last Player in the Playing Order has posted answers to the mailing list, unless more than one Player is tied for highest score (in which case another series of Rounds are played). The Player with the highest score when the game ends is deemed the Winner.

Current Players and Playing Order

Mailing List