I came up with a new (I think) game on the way to work this morning. I’m calling it “Make or Break”. It’s pretty simple: make a rule, and provide five examples that fit the rule. Then someone else has to think of an example that breaks the rule, and make a new rule. If no one can come up with a example that breaks your rule, you win - if, and only if, you can provide a counterexample of your own. So the strategy is not just to create a rule with no exceptions (that would be pretty boring), but to create one with just one or two little-known exceptions that you hope no one else knows.
I’ll start with an easy one:
Rule: All fast food chains in the U.S. have names with at least two syllables.
Oh, fer cryin’ out loud. Way to go, me. I screwed up the game on the first round. ::rolleyes:: My counter-example was “Carl’s” - I even took Hardee’s off my list of 5 so as not to give a big hint. But of course, there is no “Carl’s” - only “Carl’s Jr.”
However, Paintcharge gave a perfectly acceptable answer with “Moe’s”, but unfortunately neglected to post a new rule. So here goes another shot:
Rule: No Spanish loanwords (or words of Spanish origin) in English begin with a vowel sound.
Not one of the ones I was thinking of (adios, avocado, hombre, etc.), but it works. So… what’s your rule? You broke the old one, now you have to make the new one.
Okay, I’ll give this one more shot, and then I will give up and leave you nice people alone. I promise.
Here’s how the game should go:
Got it? So let’s proceed with PITEWASS’s rule, “No conifers are native to the southern hemisphere.” Can you break it? And remember, if you do, you have to make a new rule.
Absolutely! Please feel free to research, both to make rules and break them. That’s how I’ve been coming up with the rules so far: I think of something that seems universal, and then if I can’t think of an obvious exception off the top of my head, I check to see if there are any exceptions. If not - or if there are a bunch - I modify the rule slightly.
Also, I realized I should put a time limit on breaking the rule; otherwise it could sit out there forever. So let’s say this: you’ve got 72 hours to break a rule. If it goes unbroken, that rule-maker wins, after they reveal their exception. Or, if you think there really are no exceptions, you can challenge the rule-maker at any time within those 72 hours. If they can’t break the rule, you win.
