Re: i know -- let's play bridge!

[tb@becket.net (Thomas Bushnell, BSG)]

Bushnell (I) said:
> Uh, that's fun?  Remind me not to bother playing bridge with you.
> Cheating is only fun for those who find the actual game too hard to
> bother with.

Tom Lord said:
> Si!

So maybe more comment is appropriate.

I take as a basic of playing games that everyone knows the rules.  So
you could easily have two games: the game of contract bridge as
generally known, and another, which Tom Lord claims to prefer, to see
"who can cheat best".  But in that latter game, of course, it's not
cheating at all to signal to your partner what your heart suit is.
Let's call these two "Real Bridge" (with limited information about
your partner's hand) and "Tom Lord Bridge" (where you can develop
whatever signalling method you like).  

Now Tom Lord Bridge has a curious property.  If everyone is playing
it, then the game rapidly becomes uninteresting.  It becomes a matter
of double-dummy bridge play.  (Actually, it's a *tad* more interesting
than that, but not by much.)  This produces a game which is not quite
as interesting as checkers.  Why bother?!

So why would Tom prefer the Tom Lord Bridge to Real Bridge, given that
the former is less interesting than checkers?

Because, I suspect, he doesn't want to play a game where everyone
knows and agrees to the rules.  I suspect he wants to play a game
where there are common and agreed rules (the rules of Real Bridge will
do), but in which Tom then proceeds to play as if the rules were
different (say, Tom Lord Bridge).  He survives in this game because of
the goodwill or simple mistake of others who think he is willing to
play by common agreed rules.

Now if this were just about cards, then it would be silly and stupid.
But it's bigger than that!  It's not just bridge--substitute any
common social enterprise for the word "Bridge" above, and the same
division between "Real X" and "Tom Lord X" will appear, with the same
notion that the best game is the one where you try and cheat as much
as possible out of people who don't realize that there are two very
different games going on simultaneously.

Tom, will you please tell us which rules you want to play by?  I'll
play just about any game you choose, but you seem to want to refuse to
play by *any* agreed rules!

Thomas

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