[blml] Correction of a revoke [SEC=UNOFFICIAL]

[David Burn]

[ER]

* given that the laws of a game define its ethics

[DALB]

But that is precisely what the laws of a game do not, and should not, do.
Suppose we play a game of noughts and crosses, or ticktacktoe as I believe
it is called in the colonies. And suppose I put an X in the centre (center)
square, and my opponent puts an O in the square immediately above it (or
below it, or to the left or right of it).

I make my next move, and it dawns on my opponent that I am about to win. "Oh
shit", he says, "I shouldn't have made my first move. That was a mechanical
error (or "an irrational thing to do"). Obviously I would not have done it,
but for [some extraneous factor]. I want a ruling."

At ticktacktoe, he loses. At every other game under the sun in an analogous
situation, he loses. Only at bridge does he draw. Not only does he draw, he
might even carry a 60% score instead of a 50% score into the next round
(maybe the sun was in everyone's eyes, so both players get average plus).

David Burn
London, England