The Politics Game

[costargh]

For the moment I have put this thread here because it would probably have the highest traffic.

I would like to know who would be interested in a hypothetical on-going game based on politics. It would work as such:

• We are living in a made up country that is currently without a government and it has been decided that parliament and government will be set up very soon
• There are 2 major political parties and then a minor political parties (each to represent real-world parties)
• People will be asked to nominate or run for a position in a political party
• Once parties are set up debate will commence on issues and their may be possible "events" that occur which the potential MP's would have to comment on (eg. 100 die mining accident in Australia)
• Then there will be an election and the political party with the majority will form government (with the leader of that party to take up Prime Ministership
• From here on we can continue the game with government formulating bills and seeking to to change the law

You don't have to have a heavily political background or interest in politics like some other members on this forum but if you think this would be a good idea let me know and we can work something out.

Also, members of a party will have portfolios (eg. Health) which you would be expected to be focused on.

So, thoughts?

[Collin Li]

Let's play a forum-based version of this game

Have a look at it, it's quite similar to your proposal. It has a default "constitution," (immutable rules) and it's a game based on changing the rules of the game.

[Collin Li]

I think your idea is good, but I think we could get the system we want the best through Nomic.

Have a look at the initial rules: http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/writing/nomic.htm

I think we should make some initial changes to the rules just to suit it for forum style:

105. Every player is an eligible voter. Every eligible voter must participate in every vote on rule-changes.

The second sentence should be removed. I propose that rule-changes should be voted on over a 24-hour period - people can miss out if they want.

We should also add a new Immutable rule: "All members of FSN (have an account on VCE Notes) are players"

We also need to omit/edit the section of Mutable rules where it talks about "players taking turns," I think.

Maybe the best way to achieve this is to start a small group (3-5 people) of players with the traditional rule-set of Nomic, and then vote on rule-changes that will encompass the rule-changes I've proposed above.

[costargh]

Wow that looks interesting. I've skimmed through the links but I'm a bit confused how it works.

[Collin Li]

Wow that looks interesting. I've skimmed through the links but I'm a bit confused how it works.

201. Players shall alternate in clockwise order, taking one whole turn apiece. Turns may not be skipped or passed, and parts of turns may not be omitted. All players begin with zero points.

In mail and computer games, players shall alternate in alphabetical order by surname.

202. One turn consists of two parts in this order: (1) proposing one rule-change and having it voted on, and (2) throwing one die once and adding the number of points on its face to one's score.

In mail and computer games, instead of throwing a die, players subtract 291 from the ordinal number of their proposal and multiply the result by the fraction of favorable votes it received, rounded to the nearest integer. (This yields a number between 0 and 10 for the first player, with the upper limit increasing by one each turn; more points are awarded for more popular proposals.) 

These are the two most important rules that drive the game (from the beginning, but of course, these can be altered ). I'm sure that if we're trying to mould the game towards a parliamentary system, we will quickly repeal the "points" and "dice" aspect of the game, and then introduce rules that eventually encompass all VCE Notes forum members as players (after we settle on a good system that replaces the turn-based system. Have a read through the other rules to get clarifications on how rule-changes are passed, etc.

[costargh]

Ok. But then don't we need a constitution to start with and statute laws to start with, so that they can be changed?

[Collin Li]

Nope. We can introduce them all in by playing the game. The "immutable" rules are not unchangeable, they just need a stronger majority (I think 67%).

[costargh]

Ok. Sounds good. So how do we get the game going?

[Collin Li]

We get 3-5 players that quickly organise this mess and establish a suitable "constitution" and bare rule-set, then we can allow FSN members to start voting and changing the rules. These 3-5 players will pretty much be the "founders," similar to the U.S. constitution, haha.

[costargh]

Lol. Part of history haha.

Well I'm in. I'd presume you'd be in?

[Collin Li]

Yeah. Get Brendan if he's interested plus 2-3 more and it's a game.

[costargh]

kk Give this 24 hours and see who shows up

[Collin Li]

Post here if you want to be a "founding father" (or mother).

We will only be taking the first few applicants so be quick - we want to set up the rule-set so that all of FSN can participate ASAP.

[costargh]

Don't feel intimidated that its in the politics board lol.
This is just a game and a bit of fun

[Eriny]

hehe, this sounds like fun. I want to be a founding mother!