Spoof (game)
Spoof is a strategy game, typically played as a gambling game, often in bars and pubs where the loser buys the other participants a round of drinks.[1] The exact origin of the game is unknown, but one scholarly paper addressed it, and more general n-coin games, in 1959.[2] It is an example of a zero-sum game. The version with three coins is sometimes known under the name Three Coin.
Gameplay
Spoof is played by any number of players in a series of rounds. In each round the objective is to guess the aggregate number of coins held in concealment by the players. At the beginning of every round each player may hold any quantity of coins, from zero to a maximum of three in their closed fist, extended into the circle of play. The coins may be of any denomination, and indeed the values of the coins are irrelevant: in fact, any suitable objects could be used in place of coins.
In general, the number "three" can be replaced with any other integer n ≥ 1, but all other rules are the same, except now each player chooses to hold any number 0, 1, ..., n of coins in hand.
For the first round an initial guesser is selected in some fashion. This first guesser has the initial advantage in that all possible sums are available for his guess, but also lacks insight into what the others might be holding, as indicated by their subsequent guesses. Play proceeds clockwise around the circle until each player has ventured a guess regarding the total number of coins, and no player can guess the same total as any other player. The call of "Spoof!" is sometimes used to mean "zero". After all players have made their guess, they open their fists and display their coins for the group to count the total. It is illegal to open your hand without calling out your guess. The player who has correctly guessed the total amount of coins is eliminated from the game and the remainder of the group proceeds to the next round. If no player guesses correctly, the entire group continues play in the next round. The starting guesser for each subsequent round is the next remaining player, clockwise from the starter of the previous round.
Play continues until all players have been eliminated except for one, whereupon that last remaining player pays the stipulated stakes to each other player. In some versions of the game additional rules such as "no gloating"; a leaving player is not allowed to celebrate, or left-handed play, are used.
The generalized (n-coin) two player version of this game was the subject of a paper in 1959.[2] It was shown that for every n ≥ 1 this game is a "fair game", i.e. each player has a mixed strategy that guarantees their expected payout is at most zero to his or her opponent.
Tournament Spoofing
The original national UK Spoof Championship celebrated its 41st anniversary in 2015 with the tournament held at Cambridge Rugby Club on 16 October. The current champion is Peter Horton of the East Kent Spoofing School.
The 2015 World Spoof Championship took place in London on 23rd October. The current World Champion is Geoff Walker, a prominent member of the Gentlemen Spoofers of Bangkok. The name of the runner up in the final is unknown. Mr Walker will defend his title with International Spoofers in Bangkok on 13th April 2016.
The 2015 European Spoofing Championships took place in Amsterdam on 23 May 2015. This is believed to be the only tournament that has commenced in one bar and concluded in another. The title was won by Ed Vant, a member of the East Kent Spoofing School. No details of the 2016 tournament have been revealed thus far.
Mr Vant was the first Absent Friends Memorial Spoofing Champion in 2012 when a Channel 5 film crew recorded the proceedings. The 4th AFMS was held in The Chapter Arms Public House In Canterbury on 22 October 2015, with victory going to David "Double Dog Dangerous" Durell (landlord, Chapter Arms) of the East Kent Spoofing School.
The 2015 Asian competition in the HSBC Spoofing World Series took place in Bali, Indonesia on 30 October and was televised on ESPN 12 worldwide. The competition this year was won by Mr. Giles Taarland representing the United Kingdom.
In July 2014, the Commonwealth Spoof Championships took place in Glasgow. The Gold Medal was won by Ashley Silverton, with the Silver Medal going to Roddy Grant and the Bronze to Dominic Graham. lThe renewal is scheduled for the Golden Coast in 2018.
The "Weald of Kent Spoof Championships" has been held annually at "The Bull at Benenden" in Benenden, Kent since 2007.[3]
References
- ↑ Simon Lovell, How to Cheat at Everything: A Con Man Reveals the Secrets of the Esoteric Trade of Cheating, Scams, and Hustles, Thunder's Mouth Press, 2006, pp. 63-69.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Benjamin L. Schwartz. "Solution of a Set of Games". American Mathematical Monthly, volume 66, no. 8 (1959), pp. 693-701.
- ↑ http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-26370764.html
