(1) No game of Weasel or any of the related games may commence without first playing the game of Creature.
(i) As the title of the rules suggests, the game of Creature is a game related to the game of Weasel, and is therefore defined under the International Rules for Weasel and Related Games rather than those for Creature. It is related because it is a necessary precursor to the game of Weasel and related games, although it may be played independently provided that no weasel is seen and thus declared.
(2) Creature is arguably a non-competitive game, unlike Weasel. That is, it is possible to compete in a general manner but not to win or lose the game of Creature, whereas the game of Weasel and resulting games may be won or lost in the course of normal game play. However, all games in this group rely entirely on the honesty and integrity of the participants in declaring the creatures that they see in an accurate, timely and sportsmanlike manner.
(3) The game of Creature and all related games commence by agreement of the parties of the first and second parts, along with any parties of the other parts who may also wish to play. They end by agreement of the said parties, whether of the first, second or other remaining parts.
(4) To play Creature, it is recommended that the participants have some reasonably accurate working knowledge of animals and their various identities, although an advanced knowledge of taxonomy, while advantageous, is not a necessary prerequisite. The game has conventionally been played in English up until the modern era, but there are no language restrictions except in so far as the participants should ideally be able, for convenience of game play, to be able to understand the languages of the other participants. It is best if all participants agree on a common language, though advanced players may wish to waive this conventional requirement by mutual agreement. Players must be capable of accurate speech (or similar effective communication with the other players) and perception in a manner and to a degree that enables them to accurately identify creatures, although this is a practical requirement and does not impose any automatic age restriction upon the players.
(5) In the game of Creature, upon seeing any creature as conventionally defined, a player MUST declare the name of the creature in question to the best of his or her reasonable ability. Good players will provide as accurate taxonomical detail as they feel is reasonable in the present game conditions, which will be a matter of discretion for that player and a topic of proper discussion for all the present players. However, there will be no absolute requirement to provide more than basic detail: for example, upon seeing a duck, a player may declare "duck" or may alternatively declare "Abacot Ranger". Both declarations, if (a) accurate or, alternatively, (b) if made incorrectly but declared in good faith in a sportsmanlike manner, will be considered valid declarations for the purposes of the game of Creature.
(i) To qualify as a creature, it is normal that a creature be alive and animate, given that its demise in any manner will result in it becoming a non-creature. However, experimental variants of the game may waive this rule, for example Dead Creature, which rely on a reasonable analysis of the identity and physical integrity of the dead former creature as evidence of its past animacy and vivacity.
(6) Normally, a player will declare the name of a creature as described in the previous rule, except if the creature in question has already been declared. In this case, there will be no further requirement to declare other examples of the same creature. The the event that a creature cannot be identified by a player, he or she is expected to declare simply "Creature", although this does not prejudice any future attempts to declare other members of the same class of creature by their proper names in the agreed language(s) of game play. If another player feels that a declaration was incorrect, sportsmanship requires that he or she consider whether or not a polite allusion to this error would be appropriate, where any detrimental affect on the feelings of other players can be avoided. However, it remains open to that player to correctly declare the creature later. It is normally expected that players will politely overlook any repetitions, accidental or otherwise, since these do not affect game play and because it allows players to play according to their personal convictions about the correctness of other players' declarations without creating unnecessary and unpleasant disagreements over their accuracy.
(7) There is no possible winner of a game of Creature. Instead, the aim is to play the game well and, by so doing, impress the other players to the extent that they feel that a particular player has triumphed, either through the accuracy of their declarations or, more importantly, through their dedication and sportsmanship to good and amicable game play within the framework of the rules.
(8) The game of Creature may come to a permanent or temporary end. It may terminate by agreement of all of the players, although any player may leave the game. If only one player remains, it is conventionally not regarded as a game within the normal meaning of the word, so it may be deemed to have ended in like manner. It may be suspended by a similar agreement, for any duration that may seem fitting to the players who wish to return to the game later: this suspension may be for any time period, whether mere minutes or decades, though significantly longer periods may be impracticable.
(9) The game of Creature is also suspended when a player sees a weasel. This begins the game of Weasel, which may only be won (or, in some circumstances, lost) by seeing another weasel. If no other mustelids are observed by any player prior to the declaration of "weasel", the player so declaring wins. It is then a matter for the players whether they wish to resume or end the game of Creature, whose suspension otherwise ends.
(10) However, if a player observes a stoat and is obliged by sportsmanship to declare it, the game may now be lost if another weasel is seen, at which point the player who sees it must, in good conscience, faithfully declare such observation. No player can now actively win the game of Weasel unless another stoat is declared, in which case the earlier situation is restored, i.e. the only means to win is by having the good fortune of not being the first player to observe and declare sight of a weasel. This switching process may continue indefinitely if a greater number of stoats is seen in succession. It is expected that players play fairly and avoid any possible delay in making declarations, even though they will lose the game as a result, since proper game play and the integrity of the international game depend upon good conduct.
(11) If an ermine is declared during the game of Weasel, i.e. a stoat which a player reasonably determines has a sufficiently white winter coat that it can be classified as an ermine rather than as a stoat, the next creature to be declared becomes equivalent to a weasel and a game of that name, e.g. Duck, Boa Constictor, Storm Pectrel, begins.
(i) It has not yet been determined whether the stoat and ermine rules, and any other rules relating to mustelids (collectively but inaccurately known by convention as the "Polecat Rules"), remain in force during the new game, so a Constitutional Convention would be required to determine future game play. For instance, since a stoat is not in contradistinction to, for example, an Abacot Ranger, does the stoat rule remain in force or fall? This may also hold true for other mustelids since these are not, in this example, other types of duck. It is not known, if such a contradistinction were required, how it would be decided which types of creatures within a class such as ducks would be set to replace the stoat and ermine rules in particular. In such a class, there may be no creature with two names depending on the colouration or similar status of an individual such as exists in the case of stoats and ermines, again a matter for constitutional debate.
(ii) It would be a matter for the players to determine if they returned to, suspended, or concluded the game of Weasel once the new game came to completion: otherwise, however, it would be suspended by default.
(i) if, for example, the name of the new game were Abacot Ranger, this would be wholly appropriate within these rules.
(ii) when the game of, for example, Abacot Ranger, concludes, there will be no necessary precedent set that requires this game to be defined for the future, since it resembles the game of Weasel in all other regards and is therefore defined under the International Rules for the Game of Weasel, by proxy. However, if the matters arising from (11) (i) are resolved in favour of the new rules defining classes of creatures within new games arising from the ermine rule, permanent precedents may be required in order to record the decisions of Constitutional Conventions regarding the identities and roles of creatures within such a class. Could these be set whimsically by the players of the game in question at such a Constitutional Convention, since there is nothing in the present rules to restrict or define these otherwise? Presumably, if so, a superclass of, for example, ducks would be appropriate where a game happened to be called Abacot Ranger. Presumably also, this would then set a precedent for all other games named after creatures within the same class group.
(12) If another mustelid is seen and declared by a player, it is possible to play the Polecat Rules. Here, a player may define a new rule under the name of the declared mustelid, provided that all players agree that it is reasonably playable and within the spirit of the game(s): these discussions may precipitate a Constiutional Convention, although it is understood that the nature of the new rule lies within the discretion of the player in question, not the other players, subject to the provisos already stated. The convention so reached will be set for all future games under the International Rules, which should be here amended to reflect such development in future. When all playable (i.e. non-extinct) mustelids have been exhausted, the Polecat Rules will become effectively defunct, although of course it will be possible to play the polecat rule (singular) where a new rule, as yet undefined, will by then have been set for that particular mustelid. However, an outstanding issue to be resolved by a Constititional Convention is what may occur if a mustelid whose rule has already been set is declared after the declaration of a stoat, which may or may not allow for the rule relating to that animal to be replaced by a new rule: if this situation is deemed constitutional by a properly convened Constitutional Convention during a game of Weasel or its related games, this would render the former rule for that mustelid defunct but would continue a reduced role for the Polecat Rules.
(13) Constitutional Conventions may only occur during an agreed suspension of the game of Weasel or similar games (although there is no purpose in calling one during the game of Creature, whose rules are entirely set, unless it is to discuss an issue relating to Weasel or one of the related games) and may set new rules, limited to such circumstances that arise from ambiguity or doubt about particular new or unclear circumstances relating to existing rules, provided that no new rule conflicts logically with an existing part of the International Rules. Unanimous agreement by all present players is required. By convention, good players will usually agree to such discussions for the sake of the game and its present and future players, unless emergency or other difficulties prevent their participation. This, however, is not mandatory. To make unanimity possible, good players will normally withdraw from the game voluntarily if they would otherwise impede the effectiveness of such a Constitutional Convention.
(i) the accuracy of a declaration of a weasel, stoat, ermine or other mustelid, while critical for the game, is not a matter for a Constitutional Convention but must be agreed by the players present.
(ii) the declaration of an ermine must be reasonable, as agreed by the players present, but if any transitional example of mustela erminea has a significant area of white colouration, the discretion of the player so declaring it will normally be upheld over the opinions of other players, provided they can reasonably discern such colouration at all. Similarly, this is not a matter for a Constitutional Convention.
(13) It is possible to play Representational Creature, followed by Representational Weasel, where a representation of a weasel is seen during the game of Representational Creature. However, these games are variant, experimental games and do not carry the official sanction carried by the International Rules. In such games, the requirement that a mustelid should not be extinct, or even that it should be non-mythological, non-fictional etc, may be waived upon the agreement of all present players. The similar game of Dead Creature has been noted under section (5), sub-section (i) above.
To date, a very few games of Creature have been played under the International Rules, although no known instance of a game of Weasel has yet been reported or described and, as a consequence, no similar game could have been played that was named after a creature that was declared following the declaration of a weasel and an ermine in sequence; likewise, no rules have been set under the Polecat Rules.
This rendition of the agreed International Rules of the Game of Weasel and Related Games, as set following the first known game of Creature and a consequent Constitutional Convention, was written by Talat Chaudhri on behalf of the Society for Sundry Purposes. Talat and Naveed Chaudhri were the first known players of a game of Creature under these rules.
All players of Weasel, Creature or related games are invited to submit the results of their refinements of these rules based on properly constituted games and/or Constitutional Conventions.
For and on behalf of the Society for Sundry Purposes, MMXV