Gameplay
The game can be played face-to-face with as many written notes as are required, or through any of a number of Internet media (usually an archived mailing list or internet forum).
Initially, gameplay occurs in clockwise order, with each player taking a turn. In that turn, they propose a change in rules that all the other players vote on, and then roll a die to determine the number of points they add to their score. If this rule change is passed, it comes into effect at the end of their round. Any rule can be changed with varying degrees of difficulty, including the core rules of the game itself. As such, the gameplay may quickly change.
Under Suber's initial ruleset, rules are divided into two types: mutable and immutable. The main difference between these is that immutable rules must be changed into mutable rules (called transmuting) before they can be modified or removed. Immutable rules also take precedence over mutable ones. A rule change may be:
- the addition of a new mutable rule
- an amendment to a mutable rule
- the repeal of a mutable rule
- the transmutation of a rule from mutable to immutable
- or the transmutation of a rule from immutable to mutable
Alternative starting rulesets exist for Internet and mail games, wherein gameplay occurs in alphabetical order by surname, and points added to the score are based on the success of a proposed rule change rather than random dice rolls.
Read more about this topic: Nomic