# Posting the rules in game threads? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 19, 2008, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-the-rules-in-game-threads/446000 "2008-04-19T14:10:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-the-rules-in-game-threads/446000/1 "2008-04-19T14:10:56Z")
Y’know, some of those game thread continuations/sequels you guys post look kinda fun. 🙂 I just wish I knew how to play. Would it kill you guys to post the rules in sequel threads so us latecomers can join in on the fun? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-the-rules-in-game-threads/446000/2 "2008-04-19T14:25:58Z")
A reasonable request. Why don’t we post boilerplate versions here so people starting games can cut and paste? **Malapropagation** Person A posts a word and gives an incorrect definition of it that is actually the correct definition of a word that sounds like the word Person A started with. Person B says “no, [word that correctly fits the definition just given, and that in some way sounds like the previous word] means [new incorrect definition, to another word].” Use spoilers when you give the correct answer to the previous person’s clue. Sample game: _Person A:_ Cat: A piece of equipment in a baseball game. _Person B:_ No, actually a bat is another word for wager. _Person C:_ The odds are good that bet is what the athlete works up during a workout. And so forth. If someone guesses wrong on a clue you left and you get back to the game before another person goes, you can tell that person to guess again, but if a wrong guess is given and the game continues, just let it continue, though you can add a correction later for the record. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-the-rules-in-game-threads/446000/3 "2008-04-19T14:30:33Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] A reasonable request. Why don’t we post boilerplate versions here so people starting games can cut and paste? **Malapropagation** Person A posts a word and gives an incorrect definition of it that is actually the correct definition of a word that sounds like the word Person A started with. Person B says “no, [word that correctly fits the definition just given, and that in some way sounds like the previous word] means [new incorrect definition, to another word].” Use spoilers when you give the correct answer to the previous person’s clue. Sample game: _Person A:_ Cat: A piece of equipment in a baseball game. _Person B:_ No, actually a bat is another word for wager. _Person C:_ The odds are good that bet is what the athlete works up during a workout. And so forth. If someone guesses wrong on a clue you left and you get back to the game before another person goes, you can tell that person to guess again, but if a wrong guess is given and the game continues, just let it continue, though you can add a correction later for the record. [/QUOTE] Nicely done, **twickster** , and to address the issue(s) in the OP, we developed this set of rules over the course of two threads’ worth of trial and error. I did try to give links to those developmental threads in the OP of each new one. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-the-rules-in-game-threads/446000/4 "2008-04-19T17:35:36Z")
Just curious, **Agent Foxtrot** , but were there other threads you were asking about? Maybe some clues? ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-the-rules-in-game-threads/446000/5 "2008-04-19T18:18:37Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] Just curious, **Agent Foxtrot** , but were there other threads you were asking about? Maybe some clues? [/QUOTE] I can’t speak for him, but [this one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=464537) has me baffled on how to play. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-the-rules-in-game-threads/446000/6 "2008-04-20T00:25:03Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] I can’t speak for him, but [this one](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=464537) has me baffled on how to play. [/QUOTE] And I thought _that_ one was one of the better ones. Have you read **OtakuLoki** ’s reply to your post yet? It may help to know that if you double-click at any point in Google Maps, the map re-adjusts the centre as you zoom in, so you don’t have to have guessed it exactly right from step 1. Not that I want to play it, but since it pops up so often, I wouldn’t mind an explanation of this “[Mafia](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=461435)” business. In the interests of not being _completely_ helpless I’ve looked around a bit, but only found [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=456652), which is heavy reading and _still_ not very clear, and [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=464384) thread, which makes it sound like a version of Mornington Crescent. ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-the-rules-in-game-threads/446000/7 "2008-04-20T02:41:16Z")
[Mafia for Newbies](http://mafiascum.net/wiki/index.php?title=Newbie_Guide) ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-the-rules-in-game-threads/446000/8 "2008-04-20T17:21:57Z")
I think that the idea of a sticky thread of game rules (or perhaps just a FAQ) is a good one. Would anyone be willing to write, for example, a short blurb about what Mafia is (with a link), how Feud is played, and so on? Any other frequently asked questions or rule sets we should include? ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/posting-the-rules-in-game-threads/446000/9 "2008-04-22T05:57:34Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] Just curious, **Agent Foxtrot** , but were there other threads you were asking about? Maybe some clues? [/QUOTE] Mafia is the big one for me. Looks fun, but damned if I can figure out how to play it.