A cooperative game of inductive reasoning and scientific discovery for 2-8 players.

Components:

• 60 12mm Dice, 20 each in 3 colors
• 20 double-sided Result Markers
• 4 Publication Tokens
• 5 Player Aid cards
• Laws of the Universe card deck ^{(For this protoype, a list will be provided)}

Setup:

1. Place the dice within easy reach of all players.
2. Decide which player will be the Universe. They will be responsible for creating a secret Law only they know. They take the Result Markers.
• Their goal will be to present the other players with a challenge while silently guiding them to success by providing helpful experiments.
3. All other players take on the role of Researchers. Place the four Publication Tokens within easy reach of them.
4. The Universe shuffles the Laws of the Universe cards and draws one.
• This card must be kept secret, but the Universe may refer to it at any time.
• Example Laws: "There must be at least one orange die." "White dice must not touch the table." "The sum of touching dice must be exactly 5." "There must be more odd dice than even dice."
• For rules governing creating a Law of your own, consult the "Creating Laws" section in the Variants Section. (floating side text)
5. To begin the game, the Universe builds 2 experiments, each using 4 or fewer dice: one that follows the secret Law described on the card they drew, and another that does not. The Universe then places the appropriate Result Marker next to each: O for follows, X for does not follow.
• An experiment is any grouping of dice created by a player.

Play:

• The active Researcher grabs any number of dice from the supply and arranges them however they like in front of them.
• Once the active Researcher is satisfied with the construction of their experiment, the Universe considers whether it follows or does not follow their Law, placing the appropriate Result Marker next it: O for follows, X for does not follow.
• Experiments remain in play for the duration of the game for reference.
• Dice are limited, but with the consent of all Researchers a previous experiment may be deconstructed for parts. The Result Marker from a deconstructed experiment is removed from the game.

• With the unanimous consent of all other Researchers, the active Researcher may spend a Publication Token to publish a Theory of the Law of the Universe.
• The active Researcher states their Theory aloud, and hands the Publication Token to the Universe. Before accepting it the Universe repeats back the Theory as they understand it, allowing the Researcher to adjust their language until everyone agrees on what exactly is meant.
• The Universe takes the Publication token and, if they can, disproves the Researcher's Theory by either:
• Building an experiment that follows the Researcher's Theory and marking that it does not follow the Law of the Universe.
• Building an experiment that does not follow the Researcher's theory and marking that it follows the Law of the Universe.
• If the Universe is unable to disprove the Theory, everyone (including the Universe) wins!
• The stated Theory does not need to exactly match the Law of the Universe. If the Universe cannot disprove it, then the two are likely logically similar.
• Ex: The Law "All dice must be divisible by 2" and the Theory "There must be no odd dice" are logically the same.
• Researchers may spend a Publication Token without providing a theory. In this case, the Universe may build any experiment they want. Use this as a helpline if stuck!

Talking:

• The Universe is silent and enigmatic. They may never verbalize their Law, offer clues, or provide direction to the Researchers. They may only ask or answer clarifying questions.
• Ex: Asking if one die in an experiment is meant to be touching another, or answering whether 0 is considered even. (It is!)
• Researchers are free (and encouraged!) to talk - discussing theories, advising on experiments they'd like to see, and bouncing ideas off each other.

Laws of the Universe:

• Fully Visible Top Dice Faces
• Number of Dice
• Color
• (Basic Set)
• Groupings (A group is one or more dice)
• Touching / Not Touching
• Stacked / Touching Table
• Patterns / Sequences
• (Intermediate Set)
• Majorities / Minorities / Parity
• Same / Different (Sharing or not sharing color/number with other dice)
• Even / Odd
• Mathematics (Products/Sums/Differences/Factors/Primes/Formulae etc.)
• (Full Set)

• Side Faces or Obscured Faces
• Result Markers
• Reference to Other Experiments
• Time
• Dice Directionality / Orientation
• Proximity to a Player
• Specific Areas of the Table or Room
• Distances Between Dice
• Cardinal Directions

Advanced Concepts:

• During play a Researcher might create an experiment with nothing in it. This is valid! Mark it as you would any experiment.
• This can be a great way to test whether a Law requires something to exist, or if the Law is a restriction on what can exist.
• Ex: The Null Experiment for "There must be at least one red die" would not follow the Law. The Null Experiment for "There must not be red dice" would follow the Law.

• If an experiment simultaneously follows and does not follow the Law, then the experiment does not follow the Law. (Partially following is not following)
• Ex: Consider the Law "All blue dice must be 5s." An experiment with a blue 5 and a blue 3 would not follow the Law.

• If a Law imposes a restriction that is not relevant to an experiment, the experiment follows the Law.
• Ex: Consider the Law "All white dice must touch." An experiment with no white dice follows the Law.
• It is true that all Sphinxes in my game group love playing Infer. (There are no Sphinxes in my game group.)

• Researchers should keep a watchful eye on the overall pattern of results they're getting from experiments:
• If most experiments do not follow, the Law likely includes an "and" clause.
• If most experiments follow the law, the Law likely includes an "or" clause.

//Advice:

For the Researchers:

For the Universe:

//Notes:

• What if someone needs to leave or wants to join mid-game?
• Infer is very fluid regarding player count. It does not disturb an ongoing game if a Researcher needs to leave or a new player wishes to join. When Infer is on the table, everyone in the room is playing whether they realize it or not.
• What if an experiment gets accidentally nudged, moved, or changed?
• If someone accidentally changes an existing experiment, the Universe should pull back their Result Marker and say "This experiment has changed. Please re-create it." The Universe should then judge it as it is, even if it was put back incorrectly.
• Do the side faces of dice matter?
• No! Only fully visible top faces matter.
• Does the color of dice stacked under other dice matter?
• Yes! Only the faces of dice with other dice stacked on top are irrelevant. Colors matter!
• Are numeric sequences considered ascending or descending?
• Lines can be read both ways. There is no directionality in Infer. All experiments must be understandable by players regardless of where they sit around the table. Thus the sequence 1, 2, 3 is considered to be both ascending and descending. Depending on your viewpoint, both are true.
• What happens if we run out of Dice?
• Dice are limited, but with the consent of all Researchers a previous experiment may be deconstructed for parts at any time. The Result Marker for a deconstructed experiment is removed from the game.
• What happens if we run out of Result Markers?
• Result Markers are limited. If the Universe must place a Result Marker and cannot, everyone (including the Universe) loses.

• What is inductive reasoning anyway?
• Inductive reasoning is the act of developing a theory from individual data points. We make many observations, recognize a pattern, and infer an explanation to describe it. In some ways it is the opposite of deductive logic which starts with an assumed theory from which we makes specific observations. In the Scientific Method, inductive logic is used to form the hypotheses and theories that are then tested and applied through deductive reasoning.
• What is a Scientific Law anyway?
• A Scientific Law is an observation about the universe based on experimentation that the Scientific community has a strong understanding of how to model, but little ability to explain how or why. Our current understanding of the Law of Gravity is so detailed that we can accurately predict anything from the drop of an apple to the movements of entire galaxies... but we don't understand yet why mass bends space-time. We simply observe that it does.
• What is a Scientific Theory anyway?
• A Scientific Theory is an attempt to explain "How" and "Why" an element of the universe works the way it seems. The Theory of Evolution itself doesn't model the exact math of genomes or allow us to make precise predictions of the future. Rather, it describes the process of genetic selection and attempts to explain the systems that have shaped the natural world.
• I prefer competitive games. Is there a game like this that's head to head?
• Yes! Check out the fabulous Zendo by Korey Heath published by Looney Labs.

//Creating Laws:

• The Law you create and the experiments you build should present a challenge for the Researchers, but you do ultimately want them to win.
• It is tempting to make an esoteric Law to feel clever, but this frequently just leads to frustration.
• What may seem like a simple concept to one who already knows it often still proves a challenge for those attempting to understand it.
• Inductive reasoning is already a difficult exercise fraught with assumptions, over-complication and confirmation bias. A Law doesn't need to be complex to be challenging.
• Don't worry about difficulty, players frequently make life hard on themselves.

• You must write your Law down. Once the game begins, you may not edit it. *
• Use specific language such as "At least / Exactly / All / No" to define your Law.
• Ex: "There must be at least 2 Even dice."
• Do not use the words "and," "or," or "If...then."
• Having an implicit "and" or "or" in the logic of your Law is likely fine, but if you have to explicitly say it out loud, then your Law may be too complicated.
• Technically the Law "There must be a red 2" implicitly means "There must be at least one red die and it must be a 2."
• While building your initial 2 experiments, each must still only use 4 or fewer dice.
• If players need to iteratively build Experiments with 5+ dice, you'll run out fast.
• This also curbs complexity, preventing Researchers from being immediately overwhelmed.

1. There must be / There must not be
2. At least / At most / Exactly / All / No / More / Fewer
3. Color / Number (fully visible top faces) / Number of dice / Touching / Groupings / Majority / Minority / Stacked / Same / Different / Unique / Pattern / Evens / Odds / Greater than / Less than / Sequences / Mathematics

///Variants:

• At the beginning of the game, give the Universe 6 Highlight stones, 3 each in two colors.
• At any point, if the Researchers appear to be stuck and new ideas are no longer flowing, the Universe may begin placing Highlight stones next to experiments that they feel are particularly noteworthy.
• The two colors represent two different lines of communication.
• For example, the Universe might highlight two experiments in blue to draw attention to the way they compare, and another group of three experiments in red that they feel are worth looking at for a different reason.
• This is a subtle and silent way for the Universe to provide hints to the Researchers, giving them direction when they've lost momentum without taking away their "Aha!" moment.

• Add a 10 minute timer to the game, extended by five minutes each time the Researchers publish a theory. Pause the timer as the Universe considers and constructs Theory Disprovals.
• If the timer runs out, everyone (including the Universe) loses.
• This represents the publish-or-perish nature of scientific endeavors, and the scramble to produce results before funding runs out and/or media interest wanes.

• For the duration of the game no player may speak except while Publishing a Theory.
• Researchers are free to communicate non-verbally: pointing at experiments that they feel are important, signaling numbers or colors they'd like the active Researcher to consider, and so on.
• Before Publishing a Theory, the active Researcher must first point at the Publication Tokens to ask for permission to Publish. If all other Researchers give a thumbs up, they may pick up the token and state their Theory following the standard rules. Otherwise, they may not publish.
• As part of this process, they may make gestures or point at elements of existing Experiments to give an indication of the Theory they want to Publish.

• New component! A compass rose that sits in the middle of the table and is never moved after initial placement.
• Each experiment is a self-contained universe, and cardinal directionality is relative to the rest of the experiment, not its position on the table.
• "There must be a Blue die in the north." Requires other dice present in the experiment for a blue die to be north of.
• But is the blue die in the north, or are the other dice in the south?
• All directionality Laws should be phrased " X North of Y". Since each experiment is contained, direction is relative. Law must define coordinate. "There must be a blue die to the North of another die."

• Infer can be played asynchronously over time!
• Setup the game as you would normally, choosing a secret Law of the Universe and building one experiment that follows it and one that does not, leaving them out on the table.
• When a Researcher gets a free moment, they can consider the table and build a few experiments in a row, leaving them out for the Universe to judge at a later time. Play continues as normal, with players updating the game state as convenient.

///Cheater:

1. Shuffle the Identity Deck and distribute one card face down to each player.
2. Each player looks at their card now, and may refer to it at any time as the game goes on.
3. The player who received the Teacher card reveals it to the table. Everyone else must keep their role a secret from all other players for the duration of the game.

1. Tell all other players to close their eyes.
2. Shuffle the Law of the Universe deck, draw one card, read it, and place it face up on the table in front of the other players.
3. Close their eyes and tell the player who received the Cheater Identity Card to wake up and read the face up Law of the Universe.
4. Count back from 10 before telling the Cheater to close their eyes again.
5. Open their eyes and take the Law of the Universe card, flipping it face down.
6. Tell all players to open their eyes. Both the Teacher and the Cheater should now know the secret Law of the Universe.

• Start a 10 minute timer.
• All players cooperate to learn the Teacher's Lesson by Building Experiments and Publishing Theories following base Infer rules.
• Each time a Student publishes a Theory, add 5 minutes to the timer.
• If the Students spend their last Publication token without succeeding, or if the Teacher has no remaining Result Markers and must place one, or if the timer runs out, everyone (including the Teacher and the Cheater) loses!
• If the Teacher is unable to disprove one of the Student's Published Theories, stop the timer and move on to The Vote.

• Start a 2 minute timer.
• In this phase all players (including the Teacher) openly discuss how The Class went, and who they believe is the Cheater.
• When time is up (or if everyone want to call it early) all players vote. On the count of three each player points at the person they think is the Cheater.
• The player with most fingers pointing at them reveals their Identity Card. Ties are broken by whomever the Teacher is pointing at.
• If that player is the Cheater, everyone except the Cheater (including the Teacher) wins!
• If that player is not the Cheater, the Cheater wins alone!

• For the Student team (including the Teacher) to win, both the Teacher's Law and the Cheater's identity must be correctly guessed.
• For the Cheater to win, the Teacher's Law must be guessed, but the Cheater's identity must not.