[SUBMITTED] Bet Your Life? (issue 777 idea)

[Candlewhisper Archive]

DRAFT TWO:

[title]Bet Your Life

[desc]When @@randomname@@ was caught trying to tight-rope walk naked across the canyon between two financial district skyscrapers, the first question people asked @@HIM@@ was "Why?". It turns out, it was for a bet, or more accurately as the price of a wager in an illegal casino, where gamblers are allowed and encouraged to offer non-financial stakes beyond what most legitimate casinos allow. In these places a gambler can wager one or more kidneys, a dozen years of indentured servitude, an agreement to carry out criminal activities, various sexual services, or - as happened here - a commitment to carry out some entertaining and dangerous act.

[validity] adult only, legal gambling

[option]"You have to honour the stakes, or you get blacklisted from the casinos," enthuses the shivering gambler, seemingly showing no contrition for @@HIS@@ foolishness. "Honestly, you need to allow this sort of thing in legal casinos. It's a real thrill, knowing that the next turn of the card could win you thousands, or could literally cost you your balls."
[effect]you can bet your bottom dollar that gambling will cost you an arm and a leg
[stats]

[option]"This poor idiot is a victim, both of his own gambling addiction and of the criminal subculture that abuses that dependence to manipulate the weak-minded," lectures Police Chief @@randomname@@, as @@HE@@ posts a notice banning his officers from buying lottery scratchcards. "We need more police officers to crack down on illegal casinos, mental healthcare to help deal with gambling addiction, and social workers to help deal with the root causes of gambling. Don't play dice with our nation's future, @@LEADER@@."
[effect]flipping a coin to make a decision leads to a referral to Gambling Addiction Services
[stats]

[option]"You don't have to go to either extreme," says mobile phone game designer @@randomname@@. "Rather, there's a market-based solution here. Make monetary gambling more attractive by making legal casinos more exciting and more addictive. Subsidise casinos to give them the edge in electronic add-ons, psychologically-optimised games, and complimentary extras, like soda pop drinks laced with gambling-friendly amphetamines. Keep the customers coming back to proper casinos, and there won't be any market share for the illegal ones."
[effect]grinning punters say that casino roulette is the greatest high that life has to offer
[stats]

DRAFT ONE

[title]Bet Your Life

[desc]When @@randomname@@ was caught trying to tight-rope walk naked across the canyon between two financial district skyscrapers, the first question people asked @@HIM@@ was "Why?". It turns out, it was for a bet, or more accurately as the price of a wager in an illegal casino, where gamblers are allowed and encouraged to offer non-financial stakes beyond what most legitimate casinos allow. In these places a gambler can wager one or more kidneys, a dozen years of indentured servitude, an agreement to carry out criminal activities, various sexual services, or - as happened here - a commitment to carry out some entertaining and dangerous act.

[validity] adult only.

[option]"You have to honour the stakes, or you get blacklisted from the casinos," enthuses the shivering gambler, seemingly showing no contrition for @@HIS@@ foolishness. "Honestly, you need to allow this sort of thing in legal casinos. It's a real thrill, knowing that the next turn of the card could win you thousands, or could literally cost you your balls."
[effect]you can bet your bottom dollar that your neighbour's wife will sleep with you
[stats]

[option]"This poor idiot is a victim, both of his own gambling addiction and of the criminal subculture that abuses that dependence to manipulate the weak-minded," lectures Police Chief @@randomname@@, as @@HE@@ posts a notice banning his officers from buying lottery scratchcards. "We need more police officers to crack down on illegal casinos, mental healthcare to help deal with gambling addiction, and social workers to help deal with the root causes of gambling. Don't play dice with our nation's future, @@LEADER@@."
[effect]flipping a coin to make a decision leads to a referral to Gambling Addiction Services
[stats]

[option]"You don't have to go to either extreme," says mobile phone game designer @@randomname@@. "Rather, there's a market-based solution here. Make monetary gambling more attractive by making legal casinos more exciting and more addictive. Subsidise casinos to give them the edge in electronic add-ons, psychologically-optimised games, and complimentary extras, like soda pop drinks laced with gambling-friendly amphetamines. Keep the customers coming back to proper casinos, and there won't be any market share for the illegal ones."
[effect]grinning punters say that casino roulette is the greatest high that life has to offer
[stats]

[Caracasus]

Well I like the Thus Spake Zarathusa reference and the Player of Games reference...

Perhaps a reference to the mutilation and/or losing body parts in the issue effects for option one? Betting on a neighbour's wife seems a bit tame after you've told me that my citizens can gamble body parts...

Perhaps link to the idea of the very poor loosing kidneys trying to win enough to pay bills?

Or somehing cleaver about a blind ante in poker?

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Well I like the Thus Spake Zarathusa reference and the Player of Games reference...

Despite being familiar with both those works, I wasn't actually intentionally making a reference to either. Must have bubbled up from the subconscious.

Perhaps a reference to the mutilation and/or losing body parts in the issue effects for option one? Betting on a neighbour's wife seems a bit tame after you've told me that my citizens can gamble body parts...

Perhaps link to the idea of the very poor loosing kidneys trying to win enough to pay bills?

Or somehing cleaver about a blind ante in poker?

Good point. Let's try this:

[effect]you can bet your bottom dollar that gambling will cost you an arm and a leg

[Australian rePublic]

Good issue. Though, I do think you need to mention Russian Roulette

[Zadar B]

so how do you know that someone is an adult?

[Australian rePublic]

so how do you know that someone is an adult?

You don't. It means not for school children who use the website as part of their studies

[Caracasus]

Well I like the Thus Spake Zarathusa reference and the Player of Games reference...

Despite being familiar with both those works, I wasn't actually intentionally making a reference to either. Must have bubbled up from the subconscious.

Perhaps a reference to the mutilation and/or losing body parts in the issue effects for option one? Betting on a neighbour's wife seems a bit tame after you've told me that my citizens can gamble body parts...

Perhaps link to the idea of the very poor loosing kidneys trying to win enough to pay bills?

Or somehing cleaver about a blind ante in poker?

Good point. Let's try this:

[effect]you can bet your bottom dollar that gambling will cost you an arm and a leg

Yeah, that's good!

To be honest, I've had a lot of extended reading time due to travelling more - probably why I picked up on the references... mind you, there's an obvious overlap between player of games and the entire concept of the issue anyway.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

As that's my favourite book from that author, and as he's one of my favourite scifi authors, I'll take that as a good thing.

[Caracasus]

As that's my favourite book from that author, and as he's one of my favourite scifi authors, I'll take that as a good thing.

I've recently discovered the Culture series, they're really very good. I did enjoy Player of Games - as the author said the Culture itself isn't that interesting as everything is kind of perfect there - so seeing how Culture agents act without the Culture is always fun. I did like the short story that deals with Culture agents and Earth in state of the art...

But yes, great books.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Shame he passed away: that was the second saddest author death of recent times for me, just after Terry Pratchett. Prior to those two an author death hadn't registered with me emotionally since Douglas Adams.

Anyroads, I love the Culture novels: they go beyond great sci-fi for me, in that they've not only entertained, they've also helped inform my position on the political spectrum.

To quote: "Money is a sign of poverty."

[Caracasus]

Same. They are a fascinating read, and an interesting hypothetical society. I kind of hope that the future of our planet is a lot more Culture and a lot less Fallout. If you enjoyed the Culture series from that angle, you should probably read The Dispossessed - if you haven't already.

And yes. Sucks that he died. My favourites were always the crazy names the ships gave themselves. Like the two ships that name themselves I blame my mother and I blame your mother.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

My favourite one is Mistake Not..., which doesn't sound like a great name till the Ship explains it is short for Mistake Not My Current State Of Joshing Gentle Peevishness For The Awesome And Terrible Majesty Of The Towering Seas Of Ire That Are Themselves The Mere Milquetoast Shallows Fringing My Vast Oceans Of Wrath, immediately before demonstrating that ire.

[Caracasus]

My favourite one is Mistake Not..., which doesn't sound like a great name till the Ship explains it is short for Mistake Not My Current State Of Joshing Gentle Peevishness For The Awesome And Terrible Majesty Of The Towering Seas Of Ire That Are Themselves The Mere Milquetoast Shallows Fringing My Vast Oceans Of Wrath, immediately before demonstrating that ire.

Ahh, I'm only on Excession - at this point the Culture and the Affront are at war (sort of) and the traitor culture ship that instigated it has just blown itself into atoms...

Anyway, back to the issue! It's looking good.

[Australian rePublic]

Option 3, I can't tell you with absolute certainty, but I'm pretty sure that legal casinos ALREADY do that. Besides, offering free soft drink does nothing. Offering free booze entices people to gamble more, as it impairs judgement. For that reason, it is actually illegal in (this part of) Australia

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Option 3, I can't tell you with absolute certainty, but I'm pretty sure that legal casinos ALREADY do that. Besides, offering free soft drink does nothing. Offering free booze entices people to gamble more, as it impairs judgement. For that reason, it is actually illegal in (this part of) Australia

Right, it's a reasonable option to some nations, and not to others, as evidenced by the real world.

Amphetamine-laced sodas is pure NS, of course.

[Australian rePublic]

Option 3, I can't tell you with absolute certainty, but I'm pretty sure that legal casinos ALREADY do that. Besides, offering free soft drink does nothing. Offering free booze entices people to gamble more, as it impairs judgement. For that reason, it is actually illegal in (this part of) Australia

Right, it's a reasonable option to some nations, and not to others, as evidenced by the real world.

Amphetamine-laced sodas is pure NS, of course.

I see