Games - Mao

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	Games - Mao

Mao (also sometimes called Chairman, Dictator, Maul or Maui or, in Mongolia, Mangarti) is a card game that is popular among hackers. Since it is forbidden to say Mao's rules; new players are often told only "the only rule I can tell you is this one." As such, the rules of the game are discovered by playing or watching the game. A player that breaks a rule is penalized by being given an additional card from the deck. The person giving the penalty must state what the incorrect action was, but must not say the rule itself. As one might suspect, with a game of this nature, there are many variants of Mao in existence. While beginners sometimes complain that the dealer and other experienced players are simply making up possibly inconsistent rules (as in the game Mornington Crescent), the rules of Mao are consistent within each game and can be followed correctly.

Groups that frequently play together sometimes have universally accepted, differentiated sets of rules by which to play Mao. These can be stated at the beginning of the game, and in fact some groups have a rule that at the beginning of a game the dealer (or "dictator", or "Mao") must state the name of the variation he/she wants to play. An example of this would be that as Mao deals the cards, he/she says, "This is Four-Card Sour Cream Mao" in order to declare that a specific set of rules is in play for the game.

History

The earliest possible reference to Mao the game is in a short story called The White People written circa 1899 by Arthur Machen which contains the following passage:

:"I must not write down the real names of the days and months which I found out a year ago, nor the way to make the Aklo letters, or the Chian language, or the great beautiful Circles, nor the Mao Games, nor the chief songs."

The name is often taken, probably spuriously, as a reference to Mao Zedong. (Under the theory that the game of Mao is a parody of Communist China, where nobody purportedly knows the laws until they break them and are penalized. The idea of changing the rules without telling anyone is also part of this parody.)

Mao is more probably descended from the German game Mau Mau, or from Eleusis, which was published in Martin Gardner's column in the Scientific American in June 1959; both of which share similar principles.

Mao began gaining popularity in the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford around 1975, though it was probably first invented some time before then. Mao is also popular at Center for Talented Youth camps. The Mao Page at John Macleod's card games site also points out an interesting link to a passage from an Arthur Machen short story written in 1899.

Another, likely apocryphal, story is that Chairman Mao played this game with his prisoners, but instead of penalty cards, they lost a finger when violating the rules.

Other inductive games in which not all players know the rules include Eleusis, Penultima and Zendo; however, the secret rules in those games are made up at the start of play and disclosed at the end of each round, and the scope and subject matter of Eleusis, Penultima or Zendo rules may be more explicit and closely circumscribed. The game of Mao has a distinct aesthetic and sense of humor, so that some players consider it reminiscent of Calvinball, from the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip.

The game of Mao is alluded to in the title of The Mao Game, a 1997 novel written by (and a 1999 film directed by) Joshua Miller.

Regarding writing down the rules

Most Mao players feel that the enjoyment of players everywhere is enhanced both by the fact that the rules are not known in advance to new players, and by the growth and variety of differing versions through the oral and demonstrative tradition. Both of these are inhibited by the wide circulation of written sets of the rules. These players would argue that the rules should not be written down and disseminated publically. On the other hand, some Mao groups have used (or abused) the secrecy of the rules as a way to humiliate players unfamiliar with game, and these players may wish to disseminate what they've learned to prevent it from happening to others. Finally, a description of the rules may be used by an individual who is unfamiliar with Mao to start a game when no experienced players are available. Some people feel that while a description of the rules is inappropriate, describing an example game would be a reasonable compromise.

In any case there cannot be such a thing as an authoritative written description of the rules, so any descriptions or example games that are publically available may be inaccurate or suboptimal.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Mao (game) ]

Games - Mao

History

Regarding writing down the rules

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