103 - Ghost

1. Equipment: none
2. Players: minimum -- 2; maximum -- the number of active players when an
instance of Ghost is initiated; Referees -- one 

When the rules specify that a player is removed from the game, it means
that he is no longer a player it that instance of ghost. It is not
necessarily a resignation, although a resignation does cause a player's
removal from the game. 

3. Beginning of game
An instance of ghost begins upon the referee sending the GamesMaster a
message expressing the intent to start a game of Ghost and listing the
players who will begin the game, and the GamesMaster publically announcing
the start of the game or as directed by other rules. 

4. Rules
The referee shall randomly assign each player a different integer ranging
from 1 to N, where N is the number of players in the game. Player 1 shall
play first, and after that, play shall proceed in order of increasing
number. Player 1 plays again just after the turn of the player with the
highest number. Each player's turn begins when the previous player's ends,
unless that player's play was a protest, in which case it begins when the
protest is resolved. Each player's turn shall last the lesser of three
days or until that player plays. 

At any time prior to the first turn of the player assigned the highest
number, players may be added to the game. One wishing to be added to the
game should inform the referee of their desire to do so; the referee shall
then inform all current players of the addition. The new player will be
assigned the number one greater than the highest number already assigned
to a player in the game. Before the beginning of the new player's first
turn, or three days after their addition, whichever comes first, the new
player may be removed from the game if any player already in the game
protests their addition. Players may not be added to instances of Ghost
being played as a Duel. 

Players in a game of Ghost are forbidden from using dictionaries or other
reference books to aid their play. They may use these references for other
purposes. 

In his turn, each player shall do one of the following: (1) begin a new
ghost word; (2) continue an existing ghost word; (3) protest the ghost
word; (4) resign. Plays shall be made by sending a message describing the
play to all players and the referee. 

(1) A player may only begin a new ghost word when there is no existing
ghost word. He shall do so by naming any letter of the alphabet. 

(2) A player may continue an existing ghost word only when there is an
existing ghost word. He shall do so by posting a string of letters
identical to the existing ghost word except for the addition of one letter
at either the beginning or the end of the ghost word. This string then
becomes the new ghost word. 

(3) A player who protests the ghost word shall do so by either by stating
that the ghost word is a word of four or more letters in the official
dictionary, or by stating that the ghost word cannot be found within any
word in the official dictionary. ("uperso" can be found within
"supersonic"; "spronc" cannot.) A protest is said to be made against the
player whose turn caused the ghost word to be changed to its present form. 

When a player protests the ghost word, play is suspended until the protest
is resolved. If the protest was on the grounds that the ghost word is a
word of four or more letters in the official dictionary, the referee shall
attempt to locate it therein and report his findings. If the ghost word is
a word of four or more letters in the official dictionary, the protest is
valid; otherwise it is invalid. Either way, when the referee reports the
validity or lack thereof of the protest, it is considered resolved; if the
protest was valid, the ghost word is destroyed. 

If the protest was on the grounds that the ghost word cannot be found
within any word in the official dicitonary, the player against whom the
protest was made has three days to post a word containing the ghost word.
If he does not, the protest is resolved as valid. If he does, the referee
shall attempt to locate that word in the official dictionary, and shall
report his findings. If the named word is a word in the official
dictionary, the protest is invalid; otherwise, it is valid. Upon the
referee reporting on the validity or lack thereof of the protest, it is
considered resolved; at the resolution of any protest of this sort, the
ghost word is destroyed. 

A player who makes an invalid protest is removed from the game; a player
who has a valid protest made against him is removed from the game. 

(4) A player who resigns is removed from the game. A player who does not
make a move within his turn is assumed to have resigned. When a player
resigns, the ghost word is destroyed. 

A player may remove themselves from an instance of the game at any time by
posting a message to that effect. If it was their turn, they are assumed
to have resigned. If they leave Ackanomic, they are assumed to have posted
such a message. 

5. Winning
If exactly one player remains in the game, that player wins. There are no
other winning conditions. 

When a winner is found, the referee shall receive 8 A$. If this game took
place as a Duel, the winner shall receive no additional compensation. If
it was not a Duel and fewer than four players began the game, the winner
receives four points. If from four to eight players began the game, the
winner receives points equal to the number of players that began the game.
If more than eight players began the game, the winner receives 8 points. 

6. The Referee
Upon request, the referee must provide the following information: the
players in the game and their order of play, whose turn it is, the current
ghost word, and a history of the game in progress. He may, but is not
required to, keep a web page with this information. 

If the referee resigns his position, goes on vacation, or leaves the game
of Ackanomic, he is no longer the referee. In this event, any player of
Ackanomic who is not a player of that instance of Ghost may become referee
by publically expressing his desire to do so. While there is no referee,
the game is suspended