The New Eleusis: An Induction Card Game

Eleusis was invented in 1956 by Robert Abbott of New York, who at the time was an undergraduate at the University of Colorado. He had been studying that sudden insight into the solution of a problem that psychologists sometimes call the "Aha" reaction. Great turning points in science often hinge on these mysterious intuitive leaps. Eleusis turned out to be a fascinating simulation of this facet of science, even though Abbott did not invent it with this in mind.

If 1973, Abbott discussed the game with John Jaworski, a young British mathematician who had been working on a computer version of Eleusis for teaching induction. Then Abbott embarked on a 3-year program to reshape Eleusis, incorporating all the good suggestions he could. The new game is not only more exciting, its metaphorical level has been broadened as well. With the introduction of the roles of Prophet and False Prophet the game now simulates the search of any kind of truth. Here, then, are the rules of New Eleusis.

The Basics

At least 4 players are required. As many as 8 could play, but beyond that the game becomes to chaotic. Two standard decks are used. (Occasionally a third one is required) A full game consists of one or more rounds with a different player dealing each round. The dealer is given such titles as God, Nature, Tao, Brahma, etc.

~ The Secret Rule ~

The Dealer's first task is to make up a 'secret rule'. This is simply a rule that defines what cards can be legally played during a player's turn. In order to do well, players must figure out what the rule is. The sooner the player does this, the higher his score will be. For the dealer to score well, the secret rule must not be too easy nor too hard.

A too simple rule will be "Play a card of a color different than the last color played". A better one will be "Play so that the primes and non-primes alternate". However, this might be to easy for math-minded people and too hard for everyone else. This one will be way too complicated: "Multiply the values of the last 3 cards, divide by 4. If the remainder is 0, play a red card or a card higher than 6. If the remainder is 1, play a black card or a picture card. If it is 2, play an even card or a card with a value lower than 6. If the remainder is 3, play an odd card or a 10." No one can guess that rule and the dealer's score will be low.

Here is three good rules for inexperienced players:

• If the last legally played card was odd, play a black card. Otherwise, play a red card.
  
• If the last legally played card was black, play a card of equal or higher value. If red, play one of a lower value.
  
• The card must be of the same suit or same value as the last legal card played.
  

The secret rule must deal only with the sequence of legally played cards. Of course, advanced players may use rules that refer to the entire pattern of legal and illegal cards on the table, but are much harder to guess. Under no circumstances should the rule be based on external circumstances of the cards, like rules that refer to the sex of the player, if God scratches his ear, etc.

The secret rule must be written down in unambiguous language, on a sheet of paper that is put aside for future confirmation. If desired as an optional rule, the dealer may offer a hint, like "the rule depends on the last two played cards" or "suits are irrelevant".

~ Plays ~

After recording the secret rule, the dealer shuffles the deck and gives each player 14 cards and none for himself. He places a 'starter' card at the extreme left of the playing surface. He then counts clockwise around the circle of players, starting on his left, not including himself, until he reaches the number on the starter card. That player begins the play, which continues clockwise.

A play consists of placing one or more cards on the table. To play a single card the player takes a card from his hand and shows it to everyone. If according to the rule the card is playable, the dealer says "Right". The card is then placed to the right of the starter card, on the 'main line' of correctly played cards extending horizontally to the right.

If the card fails to meet the rule, the dealer says "Wrong". In this case the card is placed directly below the last card played. Vertical columns of incorrect cards are called 'sidelines'. Thus consecutive incorrect plays extend the same sideline downward. If a player displays a wrong card, the dealer give him two more cards as a penalty, thereby increasing his hand.

~ Strings ~

If a player thinks he has discovered the secret rule, he may play a 'string' of 2 - 4 cards at once. To play a string he overlaps the cards slightly to preserve their order and shows them to everyone. If all the cards in the string conform o the rule, the dealer says "Right". Then all the cards are placed on the main line with no overlapping, as if they were correctly placed single cards.

If one or more cards in a string are wrong, the dealer declares the entire string wrong. He does not indicate which cards do not conform the rule. The wrong cards are left overlapping to keep their identity as a string and the entire string goes below the last card played. The player is then dealt twice as many cards as there are in the string.

Players improve their score by getting rid of as many cards as possible, and of course they can do this best if they guess the secret rule. At the start of a round there is little information to go on, and playes are neccessarily random. As the round continues and more and more information is added to the layout, the rule becomes steadily easier to guess.

~ No Plays ~

If a player believes then that he has no card that can be legally played, he may declare "No play". He shows his hand to everyone and if the dealer declares him right, one of two things happens. If he has 4 or less cards, the round ends. If he has 5 or more, ALL of his cards are returned to the deck and is dealt 4 FEWER cards than he had before.

If the player is declared wrong though, the dealer takes one of his correct cards and puts it on the main line. The player keeps the rest of his hand and, as a penalty, is dealt five more cards. So if a player has not figured out the secret rule, he would do better playing a card at random than declaring no play.

The above is good enough for a trial run if your learning this as a group. The rest of the rules are more advanced and explains the prophetic metaphor this game is known for.

Advanced Rules

~ Becoming a Prophet ~

When a player thinks he knows the secret rule, he has the opportunity to prove it and increase his score. He does so by declaring himself a Prophet. The Prophet immediately takes over the dealer's duties, calling plays right or wrong and dealing penalty cards when the others play. He can declare himself a Prophet only if all the following conditions prevail.

1. He has just played (correctly or incorrectly), and the next player has not played.
   
2. There is not already a Prophet.
   
3. At least two other players besides himself and the dealer are still in the round.
   
4. He has not been a Prophet before in this round.
   

When a player declares himself a Prophet, he puts a marker on the last card he played. A chess king or queen may be used. The Prophet keeps his hand but plays no more cards unless he is overthrown. The play continues to pass clockwise around the player's circle, skipping the Prophet.

~ Playing the Prophet ~

Each time a player plays a card or string, the Prophet calls the play right or wrong. The dealer then either validates or invalidates the Prophet's statement by saying "Correct" or "Incorrect". If the prophet is correct, the card or string is placed on the layout - on the main line if right or on a sideline if wrong - and the Prophet gives the player whatever penalty cards are required.

If the dealer says "Incorrect", the Prophet is instantly overthrown. He is declared a False Prophet. The dealer removes the False Prophet's marker and gives him five cards to add to his hand. he is not allowed to become a Prophet again during the same round, although other players may do so. The dealer takes over his former duties, completing the play that overthrew the Prophet. If the card is wrong, however, no plenty cards are given to that player.

This exception is meant to encourage players to make unusual plays - even deliberately wrong ones, in hopes to overthrow the Prophet. The religious symbolism is obvious, but as Abbott points out, there is an amusing analogy here with science: "The Prophet is the scientist who publishes. The False Prophet is the scientist who publishes too early." It is the fun of becoming Prophet and of overthrowing a False Prophet that is the most exciting feature of New Eleusis.

~ The Prophet and No Plays ~

This get more complicated, although it seldom happens. You might want to skip this until the need arises. There are four possibilities. If the Prophet and the dealer says...

1. Right / Correct - The Prophet simply follows the procedure described in the basic rules.
   
2. Right / Incorrect - The Prophet is automatically overthrown. The dealer takes over and handles everything as usual, except that the player is not given any penalty cards.
   
3. Wrong / Incorrect - In other words, the player is correct. The Prophet is overthrown and the dealer handles the play as usual.
   
4. Wrong / Correct - In this case the Prophet picks the one correct card from the player's hand and put it on the main line. If he does this correctly, he deals the player the five penalty cards and the game goes on. It is possible, however, for the prophet to make a mistake at this point and pick an incorrect card.. If so, the Prophet is overthrown. The wrong card goes back into the player's hand and the dealer takes over with the usual procedure, except that the player is not given penalty cards.
   

~ Finishing the game ~

After 30 cards have been played and there is no Prophet in the game, players are expelled from the round when they make a wrong play, that is, if they play a wrong card or make a wrong declaration of no play. An expelled player is given the usual plenty cards for his final play and then drops out of the round, retaining his hand for scoring. If there is a Prophet, expulsions are delayed until at least 20 cards have been laid down after the Prophet's marker.

Chess pawns are used as markers so that it is obvious when expulsions is possible. As long as there is no Prophet, a white pawn goes on every tenth card placed on the layout. If there is a Prophet, a black pawn is used. When a Prophet is overthrown, his marker and all black pawns are removed.

A round can therefore go in and out of the phase when expulsions are possible. For example, if there are 35 cards on the layout and no Prophet, Smith is expelled when he plays incorrectly. Next Jones plays correctly and declares herself a Prophet. If Brown then plays incorrectly, he is not expelled because 20 cards have not yet been laid down after the Prophet's marker.

A round can end in two ways: when a player runs out of cards or when all players (excluding a Prophet, if there is one) have been expelled.

Scoring

The greatest number of cards held by anyone (including the Prophet) is called the 'high count'. Each player (including the Prophet) subtracts the number of cards in his hand from the high count. The difference is his score. If he has no cards, he gets a bonus of 4 points.

The Prophet, if one exists, get a bonus for himself. The number of mainline cards plus twice the sideline cards that follows his marker is his bonus; that is, a point for every correctly played card and two points for every incorrect card played after he becomes a Prophet.

If there isn't a Prophet, the dealer's score is the highest score of any player. If there is a Prophet, count the number of cards, right and wrong, that precedes the Prophet's marker and double it. If this is smaller than the highest player score, he takes this smaller score instead.

If there is time for another round, a new dealer is chosen. Ideally, every person should be a dealer before the game officially ends. If this can't be done, those who never was a dealer gets a 10-point bonus. A person's ultimate score is the sum of all the rounds plus any 10-point bonus.

~ Example ~

A round has just ended with 5 players. Smith was the dealer. The round ended when Jones got rid of her cards. Brown was the Prophet and ended with 9 cards. Robinson was expelled earlier with 14 cards. Adams had 17 cards at the end of the round. The high count then is 17.

• Adams score is 17 - 17 = 0.
  
• Robinson score is 17 - 14 = 3
  
• Jones score is 17 - 0 = 17, plus a 4-point bonus for having no cards, or 21.
  
• Brown score is 17 - 9 = 8. In addition, he had 12 mainline and 11 sideline cards after his marker. That results in a Prophet bonus of 11 x 2 + 12 = 34 points. His final score then is 42.
  
• The highest score is Brown's 42. There is 25 cards before the Prophet marker, or 50 points. The smaller, Brown's 42, is then also the dealer's score.