From squash@math.ufl.edu Wed Dec  7 10:58:41 CST 1994
Article: 12901 of sci.math
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From: squash@math.ufl.edu (Jonathan King)
Newsgroups: sci.math,sci.physics
Subject: Re: WANTED: Rules to Eleusis
Date: 05 Dec 1994 22:41:20 GMT
Organization: University of Florida Department of Mathematics
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To: kieran@brigit.nhn.uoknor.edu (Kieran Mullen)
In-reply-to: kieran@brigit.nhn.uoknor.edu's message of 2 Dec 1994 17:38:53 GMT
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Here is a version of Eleusis rules (in AMSTeX; you'll need to lightly edit it
to get it to run on your system) given to me by a student a Berkeley.

\magnification=\magstep 1
%  \input amstex

\documentstyle{amsppt} \input stylechanges.ams

			%%% Modifiers %%%
\xdef\titlename{Eleusis --- the game of oracles}
    \def\filename{Problems/eleusis.ams.tex} \def\touchdate{Tue Jan 18, 1994}
			%%% End Modifiers %%%
%
%**end of header	%Do not remove!
%
    \topmatter
  \title \titlename \endtitle
  \abstract
This is a typed version of the rules given to me by (name deleted), a student
in my H50 class at Berkeley.  It has been lightly edited, but it needs more
editing.
    \endabstract
      \endtopmatter
%

		\document
  Eleusis is a card game played by 4--7 people, with lots of decks of standard
cards.
%
(One deck per $1.5$ people is usually right, but for now we're going to pare
it down a little, so one deck for every two people is fine.)
%
At the beginning of each game, one person is designated \df{God}, and everyone
else is dealt ten cards.  Whoever is God rotates from game to game.  God
decides upon a \df{rule} for his game.  Then the mortals, in turn, lay down
one card at a time.  After each card is laid down, God says whether the card
was right or wrong.  If the card is right, the next mortal lays down a card.
If the card is wrong, the mortal who laid the card picks up two new cards from
the collective decks, and then the next mortal goes.  The game ends when some
mortal runs out of cards.

Let me clarify now what a ``rule'' is.  God's rule must decide whether the
card is right or wrong based on any of the following properties:
%
			\roster
\item
the card's suit (or color)

\item
the card's value

\item
the card's position in the sequence (in relation to previously laid correct
cards' suit or value).
			\endroster
%
Also, a rule must cover all possibilities: any card laid down must be
considered either right or wrong.  A few examples of rules:
%
				\group\sl
			\roster
\item
The first card laid down is always right, and after that, the colors must
alternate.  {\rm (If the $2\clubsuit$ was first laid down, the next card would
be correct if it were a diamond or a heart, and incorrect if it were another
club or spade.)}

\item
Only even cards (counting the queen as even) are correct.

\item
The cards must be the digits of $\pi$, starting after the decimal point (ace
four ace five nine\dots).
			\endroster
				\endgroup
%
The rule \emfu{cannot} depend on who laid the card, how he laid it, which deck
the card came from, whether the card is \ae{}sthetically pleasing at the
moment or not, etc.
%
Only the suit, value, and position in the sequence determine its rightness or
wrongness.


Where is the fun in that, you say?  Just wait.  You may have realized that one
of the goals of the game is to figure out the rule.  Once someone does that,
he \df{declares~prophecy}.  You can declare prophecy at any time, regardless
of whose turn it is.  A marker is put on the card where the prophet declared,
and the prophet puts down his cards; they will never again be used.
%
Only one player can be a prophet at a time.  The game continues as before,
except that the prophet says whether a card is right or not, and God says
whether the prophet is right or not.  So long as the prophet is right, the
game continues; but when the prophet is wrong, he becomes a \df{false
prophet}.  The card on which the prophet fell from grace is marked, and the
false prophet waits until everyone else is done with the game.  As soon as the
prophet is cast into flaming perdition, another mortal may declare prophecy.

Some other twists on the play of the game:
%
If you, a mortal, so desire, you can lay down several cards at one time.  This
is good, because it gets rid of a lot of cards --unless you're wrong.  If any
part of the sequence is wrong, the whole sequence is wrong, and you don't find
out where.  You also receive two new cards for each card you tried to lay
down.

Also, if you believe that none of the cards in your hand are correct, you can
show the world (God and the other mortals) your hand, claim that you have no
correct cards, and the prophet or God (if there is no prophet) will confirm or
deny this claim.  If you are right, you throw in as many cards up to seven
that you can, and pick up new cards so that you lose a total of four cards.
If you are wrong, you pick up four new cards.

	\head
Scoring
	\endhead
This is where strategy comes in.

    \subhead
Normal mortals
    \endsubhead
One point for every card less than the number of cards held by the normal
mortal who, at the end of the game, has the most cards.  So the mortal with
the most cards scores~$0$, the mortal who ran out gets points equal to the
unlucky guy's cards, etc.

    \subhead
Any Prophet
    \endsubhead
Three points for every card played (during his term of prophecy, of course)
whose validity he determined correctly.  So he get no point for the card after
which he declared prophecy, nor for the card upon which he fell from grace.

    \subhead
God
    \endsubhead
God's score is that of the highest scoring mortal (which might have been a
prophet).
%


		\enddocument