game
a contest with rules to determine a winner
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
Researched by: Codex + Grok
Purpose and description
Enable an AI agent to recognise a rule-governed contest, assess its progress and validity, and determine which actions and outcomes its rules permit.
A game, in the contest sense, is a bounded activity in which participants accept a shared rule-set that constrains their means so that a ranking or winner can be produced from play.
It can be Check whether contestants and the starting configuration satisfy the governing rules.; Identify legal actions for a specified contestant at the current point in play.; Record a move or event and derive its rule-governed effect on contest state.; Assess competitive standing and test whether a termination or victory condition has been met.; Identify an irregularity and route it through the applicable correction or adjudication procedure.; Suspend, resume or finalise the contest when the rules and the agent's authority permit..
Distinguishing features
An applicable rule set provides a procedure for determining a winner; unstructured play without such a procedure does not satisfy this registry definition.
Contestants pursue an outcome through permitted participation; a demonstration or rehearsal without a contest outcome is not itself a game under this definition.
A particular game has identifiable participation and outcome boundaries; a tournament coordinates several such contests.
A game has an actual or proposed contest state; a rulebook or game software product supplies rules or capabilities without itself constituting that contest.
Completion and victory are distinguishable: reaching the end establishes a winner only when the applicable outcome rules say so.
Scope
+ Contest identity, boundaries and governing rule version
+ Contestants, opposing sides and eligibility to participate
+ Winning conditions, scoring and termination rules
+ Playable state, turn or timing structure and permitted actions
+ Rule enforcement, disputed play and outcome validity
- Tournament scheduling, brackets and standings across separate games
- Player biographies, enduring abilities and training programmes
- Design and publication of reusable game rules or software products
- Manufacture, ownership and maintenance of playing equipment
- Spectator services, broadcasting, betting and commercial operations
Characteristics
- Contest phase
- proposed, ready, in progress, suspended, ended, cancelled Determines whether participation, play, resumption or result processing is appropriate.
- Governing rules
- Applicable rule set, version and agreed variations Makes legality and outcome judgments relative to the rules actually governing this contest.
- Contestant configuration
- Individual opposition, team opposition, asymmetric sides, or unresolved configuration Identifies which participants compete together and which outcomes they share.
- Victory criterion
- Rule-defined objective, score comparison, elimination, adjudicated result, or combination Specifies the evidence needed to establish a winner.
- Competitive standing
- Rule-defined points, rank, remaining resources or objective progress; not applicable where absent Supports assessment of progress without treating every game as score-based.
- Action timing
- Turn-based, simultaneous, continuous, phase-dependent, or unresolved Determines who may act and when.
- Information visibility
- State elements visible to each contestant, adjudicator or observer Separates what an agent may know from the full underlying contest state.
- Remaining play time
- Seconds or rule-defined time units, recorded per contest or contestant; untimed where applicable Supports deadline, timeout and clock-expiry decisions.
- Outcome status
- Undetermined, provisional, disputed, confirmed, or void Prevents an apparent finish from being treated as a settled result.
Analytical facets
- substance
- activity
- origin
- conceptual
- agency
- inert
- mobility
- not-applicable
- scale
- not-applicable
- affordances
- observable
Also called
+134
Where this came from
oewn:2024 · CC BY 4.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 6 bundles · 11 layers · 11 findings · 21 questions.
Contest constitution What makes this a particular contest under an identifiable set of rules.
An agent needs a stable contest boundary and governing rules before it can judge any move or result.
Contest boundary
The unit of competition whose outcome this model records.
Unit of victory
Record which play belongs to this game and which rounds or enclosing competitions have separate outcomes.
- What sequence of play constitutes one game with its own result? boundary
- Are rounds, sets or matches internal stages here, or separate contests linked to this game? boundary
Governing rules
The rules and variations that determine valid play.
Applicable rule agreement
Record the rule version, local variations and basis for treating them as authoritative for this contest.
- Which rule set and variations govern this game? definition
- What record establishes their adoption, and who may resolve conflicting interpretations? provenance
Contestants and start Who competes, how sides are formed and what makes the game ready to begin.
A contest cannot be evaluated reliably without knowing who can win together and whether its starting conditions are valid.
Competitive sides
Contestant identity, side membership and eligibility.
Eligible opposition
Record competing sides, their members and any rule-defined restrictions on participation or replacement.
- Which contestants form each side, and which sides compete for distinct outcomes? definition
- What eligibility or substitution conditions must be satisfied before a participant may play? action
Initial conditions
The setup from which valid play may commence.
Valid starting position
Record required resources, positions, role assignments and any procedure for allocating initial advantages.
- Which positions, resources and role assignments define a valid start? definition
- What setup checks and allocation procedures must finish before play can begin? action
Play and information How the game changes through actions, timing and access to information.
An agent must distinguish legal moves from available physical actions and reason from the information its role may access.
Action entitlement
Which actions are permitted at the current point in play.
Legal next play
Record active players, current phase, action prerequisites and rules for resolving concurrent actions or chance events.
- Who may act now, and which moves satisfy the current position, phase and timing rules? action
- How are simultaneous actions, action conflicts and any chance events resolved? definition
Position and visibility
The contest state and its visibility from each participating role.
Role-visible position
Record the current position, relevant play history and visibility restrictions while preserving uncertainty about hidden information.
- Which current state elements and prior events are needed to determine legal play? definition
- Which elements may this agent observe, and which remain hidden or uncertain from its role? boundary
Progress and victory How play advances toward an ending and how a result follows from it.
Agents need to distinguish a competitive advantage, an end of play and a justified winner.
Competitive progress
Rule-relevant measures of each side's standing.
Standing and objectives
Record scores or other objective progress, including the rules that make them relevant to victory.
- Which scores, remaining resources or achieved objectives affect the eventual result? measurement
- How are those measures updated, and when does an apparent lead fail to imply victory? definition
Termination and result
Conditions that stop play and determine its outcome.
Justified outcome
Record the ending trigger, result calculation and treatment of ties, concessions, forfeits or unfinished play where rules provide for them.
- Which condition ends play, and how does it determine a winner or another permitted outcome? definition
- What must happen when play ends with a tie, concession, forfeit or interruption? action
Adjudication and continuity How irregular play, interruptions and contested results are handled.
An agent needs a rule-grounded way to recover valid play and avoid presenting disputed outcomes as final.
Irregular play
Detection and disposition of alleged rule violations.
Violation and remedy
Record the alleged violation, supporting play evidence, adjudicating authority and permitted remedy.
- Which recorded action or condition allegedly violates which governing rule? provenance
- Who may decide the issue, and what correction, replay or penalty may they apply? action
Resumption and finality
Requirements for continuing interrupted play or confirming a result.
Authorised continuation or close
Record the preserved contest position, outstanding rulings and conditions for resumption or final confirmation.
- What position, clocks and information conditions must be preserved or restored for valid resumption? action
- What confirmation or dispute-resolution conditions make the recorded result final? definition
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Kinds and varieties
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- sport (physical contest under an agreed code)
- board and table game
- card game
- mind sport (e.g. chess, bridge, go)
- electronic/esports contest
- field and court team game
- game of chance versus game of skill
- match, fixture, or tournament instance
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of game this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Sources
- Wikidata: game (Q11410) - Canonical item for game as an activity; neighbouring items for sport and competition.
What the second pass must settle
- Does the registry intend game to cover both a reusable game type and an individual contest, or should this model own only the individual contest?
- How should solo and cooperative games fit the definition when success is judged against an objective rather than an opposing contestant?
- Does having rules for determining a winner suffice when those same rules permit a draw, or does the registry require a narrower boundary?
- What authoritative boundary separates a game from neighbouring race, sport, match and competition entries?
- Which existing Vercy world models already own parts of this concept and should supply links instead of duplicated modelling?