NOP
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nop is an exciting game for two or more players, in which the object is to do nothing.
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Rules
The game can be started by any one of the players speaking the phrase, "The game of nop has started". At the instant the speaker completes the sentence, the game has begun, and any player that does anything is immediately eliminated. The last player remaining in the game is the winner.
Determination of the Winner
As the above definition of does anything can include actions such as breathing, thinking, or even existing, a typical game of nop tends to last an extremely short amount of time. This can make it difficult, maybe even impossible, to determine the winner. However, probabilistic techniques of determining the most likely winner exist.
The most important scientific discovery in the science of nop is the special theory of relativity. Given that any time a person "does something", it must have happened at a discrete moment in time, as well as the fact that an intertial observer will view events happening in a moving frame later than if the event occurred in his own frame of reference, it can be concluded that moving quickly will make any actions performed appear later in another player's frame of reference.
Strategy
Given the assumption that the game takes place in the frame of reference of the player who spoke the phrase to begin the game, a basic set of strategies can be inferred:
- Having a high velocity with respect to the player that started the game will increase one's chances of winning. Close to the speed of light is desirable if possible.
- Starting the game is generally a bad idea, as your velocity with respect to the game will be zero, thus assuring oneself an instant loss.
Organized play
As starting the game is disadvantegous to the player, finding a league or tournament can be difficult. By far the largest international organization is the International nop League (Inop). Currently the world's top rated player is Buzz Aldrin, with an ELO rating of 2954. There is speculation that the game will be included in the Olympic Games in 2040 as a demonstration sport.