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Game Rules

Zendo

A meditative game of inductive reasoning.

Players: 3+.
Assorted Pieces.
Game by Kory Heath.

This game can be played with cards or random knickknacks. I have a set made of colored dice, pyramids, and 4-color playing cards. The current retail version has three different shapes of blocks in three different colors.

It’s also helpful to have black and white stones for marking which koans have the Buddha Nature and which do not.

Rules

Terms

Koan
A distinct collection of objects arranged on the table.
The Buddha Nature
A binary rule which each koan unambiguously does or does not follow.

The Master Determines the Rule.

Before the game begins, one player is designated as the Master. They choose in secret a simple rule which determines whether koans have the Buddha Nature.

This rule must refer to some “self-contained” property of the koans. The rule may refer to the number, type, and relative positioning of pieces, whether they touch the table, etc. But the rule may NOT reference things outside of the koan, such as time, player actions, other koans, absolute positioning, etc.

The Master begins by building two koans – one without the Buddha Nature and one without. The Master indicates which is which.

The Students Seek Enlightenment.

All other players are Students, and take turns.

Each turn:

  1. Build a koan.
  2. Ask the Master or test your knowledge.
    • Say “Tell me” to ask if the koan has the Buddha nature. The Master answers truthfully.
    • Say “Mondo” to guess whether the koan has the Buddha Nature.
      • All Students guess yes or no simultaneously.
      • The Master indicates whether the koan has the Buddha Nature.
      • All Students who guessed correctly gain a guessing token.
  3. Spending Guessing Tokens to Guess the Buddha Nature
    • Make a guess. Describe what you believe the Buddha Nature to be.
    • If this guess is contradicted by the koans already on the table, you get a refund (but are deeply ashamed.)
    • Otherwise, the master must build a koan to disprove your guess. This may be:
      • a koan which follows your rule but lacks the Buddha Nature, or
      • a koan with the Buddha nature which does not follow your rule.
    • If the Master is unable to disprove your guess, you have achieved enlightenment.

Note that you don’t have to guess the exact wording or the Master’s rule to win. You are investigating a property of the koans, not of the Master’s word choice.

Game by Kory Heath. Original Rules here.