Lexicon (game)
Encyclopedia
Lexicon is a computer-assisted role-playing game invented by Neel Krishnaswami and popularised by the indie role-playing game
community. As originally proposed, it is played online using wiki
software. Players assume the role of scholars who write the history
and background of a particular fictitious time, setting, or incident. As the game goes on, the players collaboratively create an elaborately interwoven account.
Each game
is a series of 26 turns, keyed to the letters of the alphabet
from A to Z. On the first turn, each player must write an Encyclopedia
-style entry beginning with the letter A, citing and linking to two entries that are not yet written. These are called "undefined" entries. Undefined entries must begin with a letter later in the alphabet.
The 25 subsequent turns proceed consecutively through the letters of the alphabet, one letter per turn. In a turn, each player writes one entry that begins with the turn's specified letter. If one or more undefined entries are available that begin with the letter, a player must choose and write an undefined entry before any new entries can be created under that letter. A new entry must create and link to two undefined entries, and must also link to an entry written on a previous turn. Near the endgame, when sufficient undefined entries exist to occupy all players for the remainder of the game, no new undefined entries may be created.
Many variants exist, such as covering two or three letters per turn, or starting each player on a different letter. Some games permit other players to post comments or expansions of earlier entries. The optional "Rule of X" treats X (or any other appropriate letter) as a wild card; entries for the X turn may begin with any letter. "Telephone pad" is a shorter variant with 8 turns (corresponding to the letters on a telephone keypad) instead of 26 turns (one per letter of the alphabet).
Indie role-playing game
An indie role-playing game is a role-playing game published outside of traditional, "mainstream" means. Varying definitions require that commercial, design, or conceptual elements of the game stay under the control of the creator, or that the game should just be produced outside of a corporate...
community. As originally proposed, it is played online using wiki
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
software. Players assume the role of scholars who write the history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and background of a particular fictitious time, setting, or incident. As the game goes on, the players collaboratively create an elaborately interwoven account.
Each game
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
is a series of 26 turns, keyed to the letters of the alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
from A to Z. On the first turn, each player must write an Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
-style entry beginning with the letter A, citing and linking to two entries that are not yet written. These are called "undefined" entries. Undefined entries must begin with a letter later in the alphabet.
The 25 subsequent turns proceed consecutively through the letters of the alphabet, one letter per turn. In a turn, each player writes one entry that begins with the turn's specified letter. If one or more undefined entries are available that begin with the letter, a player must choose and write an undefined entry before any new entries can be created under that letter. A new entry must create and link to two undefined entries, and must also link to an entry written on a previous turn. Near the endgame, when sufficient undefined entries exist to occupy all players for the remainder of the game, no new undefined entries may be created.
Many variants exist, such as covering two or three letters per turn, or starting each player on a different letter. Some games permit other players to post comments or expansions of earlier entries. The optional "Rule of X" treats X (or any other appropriate letter) as a wild card; entries for the X turn may begin with any letter. "Telephone pad" is a shorter variant with 8 turns (corresponding to the letters on a telephone keypad) instead of 26 turns (one per letter of the alphabet).
External links
- Lexicon: An RPG — the original idea for Lexicon.
- Lexicon Rules — A collection and clarification of the original rules, combined with a compilation of almost every variant.
- An (old) list of Lexicon games