Punters and Gatherers
by Howard Bishop
Overview
This is a game of bookmaking and gambling. At intervals through the course of the game, The GM will present the players with a number of "events". For each event, the players can choose not to gamble (sit that event out) or to assign a value for the odds that they would be willing to offer on that event. Once the event is over, the bookies either collect or pay out.
Start-up
Each player starts the game with £5000. Players can join in (with £5000) after the game has started.
What happens in a turn
The GM will give you some events to gamble on or sit out. Each turn's events will have a deadline for offering odds, but some of the events may have a timescale which stretches beyond the next (and subsequent turns). For each separate event that the players want to gamble on, they must submit odds that they would be willing to offer the other players. They can only select odds from the following list:
|
Evens |
5/4 |
3/2 |
7/4 |
2/1 |
|
9/4 |
5/2 |
11/4 |
3/1 |
7/2 |
|
4/1 |
5/1 |
6/1 |
7/1 |
8/1 |
|
10/1 |
12/1 |
14/1 |
16/1 |
20/1 |
|
25/1 |
33/1 |
40/1 |
50/1 |
66/1 |
|
80/1 |
100/1 |
150/1 |
200/1 |
250/1 |
|
300/1 |
400/1 |
500/1 |
750/1 |
1000/1 |
Whichever player(s) offer the longest odds for that event will be the bookmaker(s) for that event. All other players automatically put up a £60 stake. Events will be of three types: the result of some competition (e.g. winner of a sporting trophy), the status of something at a fixed point in time (e.g. the value of the FTSE index on a particular date), or whether a particular event has occurred during a pre-defined timeframe (e.g. Elvis reincarnated). Once the event can be adjudicated, the bookie(s) will share the stake(s) of the punters, unless the bet was successful in which case, the bookie(s) share the responsibility for paying out to the punters based on the odds that they specified.
For example:
The event is "Houllier to be sacked before Xmas 2004". Neil and Paul offer Evens, David offers 2/1 and Pete and Clive offer 5/2. Pete and Clive are the bookies. If Houllier survives then Pete and Clive will receive £90 each (£180 total stakes split 2 ways). If Houllier gets the boot, then Neil, Paul and David receive £150 each (+ their £60 stake). Clive and Pete have to pay £225 each (half of £450 winnings).
NMR and bankruptcy
If a player submits no odds, they sit the out the events for that turn. If a player cannot cover their debt they go into the red. Any player in the red can not be a bookie until he has cleared his debt, although he can be a punter. The odds he submits are the shortest odds he will accept as a punter.
The End
The GM will arbitrarily choose when to end the game but will give two turns notice to the players. The winner is the player with most cash when all events are completed.