Rules

Basic Info

• This is a game of Lexicon.  The basic rules of the game can be found in the linked blog post, with some questions raised and addressed in the comments.  Below I describe the specific rules used in this playing of the game.

Structure of the Game

• The basic idea of the game is that the players are scholars constructing an encyclopedia of a specific aspect of a fictional world.  On each turn, each player writes an entry for a given letter, starting with A on the first turn and ending with Z on the last.
• At the end of each article, the author must cite a certain number of other articles, all of which must be written by other players.  That is, citing oneself is strictly forbidden.
• The number of articles under each letter of the alphabet must be equal to the number of players.  This means that on the first turn, all of the articles cited are phantoms--they have not yet been written, since they start with letters that have not been reached yet in the game.
• On the first turn, each article must cite two phantom articles.  On subsequent turns, each article must cite one completed article and two phantom articles.  These phantom articles need not all be newly invented; they can also be references to articles previously cited but still unwritten.  On the second-to-last turn only one phantom article need be cited, as there will not be enough time to complete two new articles by the end of the game.  On the last turn, no phantom articles should be cited.
• When a phantom article is created, it should be added to the list of phantom articles on this page.  Players can consult that page when choosing phantom articles to write or cite on subsequent turns.
• When an article is written, it should be added to the article index.
• Players can call "dibs" on a phantom article (though not, of course, on one they have cited themselves) by going to the phantom articles page and writing "dibs" and their name next to the article in question.  This rule, which I have adapted from this page of Lexicon variations, should prevent multiple players from writing the same phantom articles.
• Articles can be as long or as short as the author likes.  This is a change from the guideline of 100-200 words per article from the original version, but I see no reason to restrict the length of articles.
• Each turn will last two days.  Play will be simultaneous on each turn; players can write their articles at any time during the two-day period.
• When the number of phantom articles for a given letter reaches the number of players, no more phantom (or non-phantom) articles can be created.  All the articles written on that turn must be from the phantom article list.

Theme

• The subject of discussion in this game is the rise of Targhandism and its relationship to the fall of the Uzdumalian Empire.  What that means is up to the players to decide.
• The world in which the game takes place is fictional but not fantastic.  That means no references to real-world people or places, and no magic or anything like that.
• Although games of Lexicon often focus a lot on the role-playing aspects and the personalities of the scholars, in this one I'd like the emphasis to be more on the content of the articles.  Players are free, of course, to create distinctive personae (and names, backgrounds, etc.) for their characters, but this is hardly a requirement and they are free to play under their real names (or established pseudonyms) as well.