The Evolution Game: Call It Darwin?

Darwin can be played with cards, on a board, or perhaps SEGA.

The pieces include perhaps a dozen unknown aspirants (graduate students) in evolutionary theory. The rule book has quotations by icons such as Dawkins, Gould, Williams, Wright, Goodwin, Trivers, Hamilton, Margulis, Haldane, Maynard Smith, the Santa Barbara crew, and any number of other characters.

The objectives consist of letters received, trophies, plaques from scientific academies, knighthood, trips to Oprah, funding by Paul Allen, and a crypt in Westminister.

The aspirants occupy territory by applying rules from different icons. There is an exchange value such that 1 Gould = 3 Wrights; 1 Cosmides = 45 Brodys, 1 Academic = 5 non academics.

Icons are used through memos, articles, review papers, talks, interviews, plenary speeches, and books. Net homepages and postings have a discounted equivalence to hard copy.

Behavior weapons consist of selfish, spiteful, cooperative, and altruistic moves. The aversive acts include hooting, grimacing, eye rolls, snickers, guffaws, and/or intercourse with the enemy's sex partner (an objective of its own?). Weapons also include deceit, rumors, quoting without attribution, distortion, throwing objects, hitting, biting, kicking, twisting arms. Shunning is allowed but incurs a penalty cost when used if its user is found wrong for lack of information. Sneaky Pete is acceptable. Sneaky Pete increases a player's contribution by appeasing the dominant males in routine circumstances; Sneaky Pete then gets the alpha's wife pregnant when the alpha leaves momentarily. Differentiation (I'm not one of you, I'm harmlessly into sociobiology so leave me alone) is another possible ruse.

Altruistic gambits include succorance, mentoring, empathy, sympathy, grooming, warnings about a common predator, and caring for the competition's children (favorite thesis). Use of an altruistic move to gain territory is equal in value to aversive behaviors.

De Waal (1987, Chimpanzee Politics; also, Good Natured: The Origins of Right and Wrong in Humans and Other Animals.) are great sources for other tactics, altruistic, cooperative, spiteful, or selfish;

Alliances are encouraged. Succorance (shared research funding), pack hunting, group confrontation of an alpha, and mentoring are options. There is an immediate cost to the initiator who incurs an obligation for return favors from the recipient. Welshing is allowed but not after the 3rd exchange. Tit for Tat principles apply unless a player is soon leaving the game; at that moment, selfishness produces more points.

Players can use icons in combinations. The value of 2 icons combined is the product of their separate value if they are academics (e.g., Gould-Lewontin), the sum of their separate values if nonacademics. Things can be fudged for academic rank, tenure, number of publications, talks to the Royal Society, number of unanswered letters, and whether they get a reserved parking spot.

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