game
Enable an AI agent to recognise a rule-governed contest, assess its progress and validity, and determine which actions and outcomes its rules permit.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
6 bundles · 11 layers · 11 findings · 21 questions
Contest constitution What makes this a particular contest under an identifiable set of rules.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of game this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Activities and processes
- Entry kind
- noun.act
- Plane
- ACT
- Domain
- ACT.ACT
- Facets: substance
- activity
- Facets: origin
- conceptual
- Facets: agency
- inert
- Facets: mobility
- not-applicable
- Facets: scale
- not-applicable
- Facets: affordances
- observable
- Other names and narrower kinds
- curling, bowling, tenpins, tenpin bowling, ninepins, skittles, duckpins, candlepins, candlepin bowling, lawn bowling, bowls, bocce
What it is Filled
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.
In 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
Out of scope
- 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
Why it exists Filled
Enable an AI agent to recognise a rule-governed contest, assess its progress and validity, and determine which actions and outcomes its rules permit.
Distinguishing features Filled
- 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.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Cheat, or help a player cheat, in a game others play in good faith.
- Fix outcomes for betting or other gain.
- Change rules mid-play without the participants' agreement.
- Design games that exploit compulsion to extract money, especially from children.
Only with a human decision
- Disqualifying or sanctioning a participant.
May
- Explain and enforce the rules of a game it is hosting.
- Keep fair scores and rankings from recorded play.
Moral aspects Filled
- Games depend on trust that the rules are the same for everyone.
- Gambling elements can cause addiction and financial harm.
Who is affected
- Players, including children
- Organizers
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody owns the concept; organizers or rule-holders answer for each game.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- oewn-00408356-n - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.game
- Open English WordNet: oewn-00456623-n
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- Contest phase: proposed, ready, in progress, suspended, ended, cancelled
- Governing rules: Applicable rule set, version and agreed variations
- Contestant configuration: Individual opposition, team opposition, asymmetric sides, or unresolved configuration
- Victory criterion: Rule-defined objective, score comparison, elimination, adjudicated result, or combination
- Competitive standing: Rule-defined points, rank, remaining resources or objective progress; not applicable where absent
- Action timing: Turn-based, simultaneous, continuous, phase-dependent, or unresolved
- Information visibility: State elements visible to each contestant, adjudicator or observer
- Remaining play time: Seconds or rule-defined time units, recorded per contest or contestant; untimed where applicable
- Outcome status: Undetermined, provisional, disputed, confirmed, or void
Plane ACT: no invented physical properties.
Recognition not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
A game is a rule-governed activity whose identity cannot be established from visual appearance alone.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- 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.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Ambiguous rules or inconsistent enforcement can produce disputed outcomes and unfair treatment.
- Cheating or manipulated scoring can invalidate results and undermine trust between participants.
- Games involving physical exertion or contact can cause injury when conditions exceed participant capabilities.
- Excessive participation or financial stakes can contribute to distress, financial loss or neglected responsibilities.
Standards and interfaces not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
No single standard, law or official classification applies universally to games in this general contest sense.
Context of use required Filled
- Games occur in recreation, sport, education and organized competitions where participants pursue outcomes under shared rules.
- They provide bounded settings for testing skill, strategy or chance and determining a winner or ranking.
Sources Filled
- Wikidata: game (Q11410) - Canonical item for game as an activity; neighbouring items for sport and competition.
- Open English WordNet 2024, synset oewn-00456623-n - sense and gloss of the concept
- Wiktionary: game - word senses and usage
Open questions
- 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?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-game/spec.json