The Official Rules of

DJINNVERSOCTOANNULAR
Being an ancient game of dice, or astaragali

Djinnversoctoannular, a.k.a. Djinnverso, is a game for any number of djinn players using a set of seven eight-sided elemental dice, or astaragali. Each astaragali is marked with Spirit, Time and Space, Fire, Earth, Air, Water, Wood, and Luck. Luck, Spirit, Time and Space, Wood, Air, Water, Fire, and Earth; the faces, as listed here, are in order of value with Luck being the best. The astaragali are rolled and offered to the next player along with a pokerstyle bid better than the previous bid. When a bid is challenged, the offerer or recipient loses a wish depending upon whether the bid was genuine or a lie. Each player has three wishes. A player exits the game when all three wishes are lost.

Play
Any number of djinn players sit around a convenient table so that a set of Djinnverso astaragali can be passed clockwise from player to player without disturbing the rolls. The game is best played with four to eight players, and in a tournament shall be played with four players only. The use of djinn power is strictly forbidden during a game of Djinnverso, and the astaragali shall be rolled inside a special crystal box, made of fluorite (which can be easily mistaken lechatelierite, a cheap, non-crystalline mineral that possesses no fluorescent or thermoluminescent qualities whatsoever, but still feels like fluorite- remember, a djinn is made of fire, and that is what makes the fluorite light up), that is designed both to conceal a players throw and to detect the illegal use of djinn power; thus, overcome by the players ability to bluff his or her opponents.

Any player found to be using djinn power shall be immediately expelled from a game. The starting player is determined by highest astaragali roll. Matching highest players re-roll to break a tie. In turn, each player rolls all/some/none of the astaragali at his or her discretion, usually hiding them from the other players view. The starting player must roll all seven astaragali. A player must state accurately how many astaragali he or she is rolling. This convention was queried when these rules were last discussed. The conclusion of the Ultimate Arbiter was that the rule stands. And it is now referred to as the Badroulbadour Rule. He or she then offers the hidden astaragali to the player on his or her left, stating a bid. This bid must improve on the pervious bid. The next player may either accept the astaragali and have his or her turn or challenge. A challenge is signified by the use of the word mendax. If challenging, the astaragali are exposed. If the hand equals or betters the stated bid, the recipient loses a wish and the astaragali pass to the player on the recipients left, who starts again. If the hand is worse than the bid, then the offerer loses a wish and the recipient becomes the starting player. The above procedure is often done in a confusing manner in order to make other players play harder. Each bid need not be fully specified (not everything seen must be included in what you bid), in which case it is deemed to be the weakest possible bid that meets the stated requirements. Better is a valid bid, as is Much Better, meaning Better than Better, etc. Should a player make an undercall, it is treated as Better. The undercall can be pointed out by any player at any point in the future of this hand, up to and including the exposure of a challenged set of astaragali. When the bid reaches Seven Luck (L, L, L, L, L, L, L), the player who needs to improve the bid must roll all and then may roll all/some/none of the astaragali twice more to achieve another Seven Luck. If the player achieves this, then no one loses a wish and the next player starts a new hand; otherwise he or she loses a wish. When a player only

has one wish left after losing his or her second wish, he or she rolls the astaragali again rather than the next player. Each player has three wishes and is out of the game when he or she has lost them all. The winner is the final player with one or more wishes. If a player is absent when his or her turn comes, the player is deemed to have accepted the bid and to be passing the astaragali, unrolled, as Better. This is the Cairo Rule.

Bids
There are no runs in astaragali. Getting progressively stronger, the types of bids are as follows: 1. Singleton 2. A Pair 3. Two Pairs 4. Magi: Three of a Kind 5. Three Pairs 6. Pentad: Three of a kind plus two of a kind, the three being more valuable 7. Barracks: Two triples 8. Square: Four of a Kind 9. Four of a Kind plus a Pair 10. Ark: Four of a Kind plus Three of a Kind 11. Aarons Silver: Five of a Kind 12. Five of a Kind plus a Pair 13. Ruby and Garnet: Six of a Kind 14. Bastion: Seven of a Kind 15. Djinnverso: Seven of Luck A bid is often just Better. You have to pay attention, since after three or four Betters in a row, it is easy to lose track of what level the bid has reached. There is no obligation for a player to repeat his or her bid to clarify a situation for any player once the astaragali have been accepted by the recipient.

You must be truthful about the number of astaragali that you roll. This is the Paribanon Rule. You do not have to be truthful about which astaragali you are rolling. This is the Solomon Rule.

Techniques
You do not have to look at the astaragali on your turn, though it is usually wise to do so. It is necessary to remember what the most recent bid is- even if this is determined by analyzing Betters. It is advisable to remember exactly what astaragali you passed to your left and how many astaragali each player has thrown since you saw them. Cooperation with the players to your left and right is a good strategy, ganging up on the players (or player) on the far side of the table.

Conduct
Swearing, bad language, and the insulting of players are not permitted. These are only permitted to spectators. Spectators may not threaten one another. A threat from one spectator to another shall be deemed to constitute an offense punishable by exclusion from the tournament.