Kudos, Bucky
Reading Bucky’s post Shoping List take 2, I wondered about the legality of his action.
Basically, there are two points;
a) Can you buy a piece of motley that has not yet been added to the rules?
b) If the motley’s effect is later specified, will the previously bought motley have this effect.
Precedent says yes in both cases as exemplified by the tricorn hat and many other motleys, which were not specified at the time, and later gained a certain game effect.
This, of course, leads to a possible hoarding of motley which may gain a benificial effect if a certain proposal passes.
In this case, Bucky buys two weevils, which will gain a certain effect if the What’s a Weevil proposal passes. But since the proposal has not yet passed, there’s no rule against buying weevils at this point (of course, once the rule goes into effect, Bucky will have to get rid of one of the weevils, since he can only have one).
So, first, congratulations to Bucky for being a sneaky fella and second, should we do something about this?
Edit: I see the weevils have been confiscated by the Captain, but good show, Bucky.
Angry Grasshopper:
Interestingly, the way that I read it, rule 2.8 gives a list of Motley, but does not define the list as exhaustive. I think that the reading is ambiguous as to Motley not listed in 2.8.1 and 2.8.2—the wording is unclear.
As to acquiring Motley:
“Motley can be purchased at Port, or acquired as a result of Injury.”
so no trouble with that, as long as you are at Port.
As for being sneaky, heh, that’s a big part of the game. Players are encouraged to exploit loopholes (if they subscribe to that philosophy) if it helps them win. I can’t think of a Dynasty that I’ve played where someone didn’t pull off one scam or another. ;)