Lexicon How to Play Lexicon I found this game floating around the depths of the internet.  Sadly, the original page is only on Wayback, so I thought I'd re-write (a variant of) the rules here. From the original rules:
The basic idea is that each player takes on the role of a scholar, from before scholarly pursuits became professionalized (or possibly after they ceased to be). You are cranky, opinionated, prejudiced and eccentric. You are also collaborating with a number of your peers -- the other players -- on the construction of an encyclopedia describing some historical period (possibly of a fantastic world). The owner of the wiki should set the general subject of the Lexicon. I suggest that he or she make use of the technique of "open reference" when describing the historical period: "You are all revisionist scholars from the Paleotechnic Era arguing about how the Void Ghost Rebellion led to the overthrow of the cyber-gnostic theocracy and the establishment of the Third Republic." What a cyber-gnostic theocracy is, or what happened to the first two republics, or what the Paleotechnic Era is are all unknown -- they are named to specifically to evoke a mood and inspire the other players' creativity.
  1. Each player starts on a different letter of the alphabet - say the first letter of their name.
  2. An index for the lexicon is created, listing the titles of all the articles in the lexicon.  A wiki is suggested as a good medium in the original because of cross-linking.  If there are 6 players, there will be 6 slots for each letter in the alphabet (6 slots under A, 6 under B, etc.).  A slot can be empty, it can be a 'phantom article' (title but not yet any content), or it can be a full article.  Player are allowed to call 'dibs' on up to one phantom article at a time.
  3. Each turn (there are 26), each player writes an entry in the lexicon.  Each turn is associated with a letter.  If your name is Za3k, you will use the letter 'Z' the first turn, 'A' the second turn, 'B' the third turn, etc.  I predict scheduling will work out more easily if everyone starts on a different letter.
  4. On your turn, you can either add a flesh out a phantom article starting with that letter into a full article by adding content, or you can write a new full article if there are empty slots.  On the first turn, you always write a full article.  When writing a full article, you should choose a title beginning with the letter for that turn, and then write the article on that subject.
  5. Articles should be 100-200 words, and you sign your name at the end.
  6. At the end of an article, you cite two forward references to as-yet-unwritten articles in the lexicon.  If using a wiki, hyperlinks/wikiwords can be used in place of citations.  These phantom articles may already exist, or you may add them to the index as you make the citation (your choice).  One forward reference should be earlier in the alphabet, and one later in the alphabet.  (If the turn is A or Z, do two references earlier/later instead)
  7. Also, at the end of the article you should cite another article which has already been written, assuming it's not the first turn.
  8. It's an academic sin to cite yourself, you can never cite an entry you've written.
  9. Despite the fact that your peers are self-important, narrow-minded dunderheads, they are honest scholars. No matter how strained their interpretations are, their facts are accurate as historical research can make them. So if you cite an entry, you have to treat its factual content as true! (Though you can argue vociferously with the interpretation and introduce new facts that shade the interpretation.)