`Bartle Test for Nomic Players`

This is a personality quiz for Richard Bartle's MUD player taxonomy, with questions adapted to suit the game of Nomic. It's broadly based on Erwin S. Ahreasen's question set, with the "world" of Bartle's taxonomy taken to be the ruleset and its subgames.

This has written fairly generically for no particular Nomic model: players of BlogNomic should consider the term "subgame" to mean "dynasty".

A new subgame enacts. Which do you look forward to more?

Building on it Winning it

Would you rather be known for:

Performing clever scams Cleverly foiling scams

A rival player is approaching victory. How would you try to stop them?

Encourage everyone to work against them Check whether they've made any mistakes

Which would you rather have, permanently, in a game of Nomic?

A private communication channel A unique and prestigious title

Would you rather be known for:

Discovering loopholes Playing subgames well

A proposal will harm your position in the game. Do you:

Privately ask someone to vote it down Submit a counter-proposal

What's more important to you in a Nomic?

Good players Good rules

Which would you rather be known for?

Winning subgames Helpful proposal feedback

A new player joins. Do you think of them as:

Someone who can appreciate your knowledge of the game Someone who will be easily beaten

A player lets slip that they are planning a scam. Do you:

Try to work out what it could be Pre-emptively attack them

Would you be more proud of:

A good move A good scam

What's more important to you:

The quality of the storytelling The quality of the game mechanics

Which is more enjoyable to you?

Winning a subgame Talking about it afterwards

A rule you don't like much isn't working very well. Do you propose to:

Amend it Repeal it

Who would you rather team up with?

A player who discusses things A player who knows the rules well

A player misinterprets a rule without breaking it. Do you:

Correct them Say nothing

For a popular subgame, would you rather be thought of as:

Its winner Its chief creator

Another player has chosen to attack you, apparently arbitrarily. Do you:

Find out why, and try to make peace Plot your revenge

Which do you enjoy more?

Winning as part of a team Winning through a scam

Would you rather be seen as:

The player who has the best grasp of the rules The player who's in the lead

Which would you be more likely to vote for:

A proposal to disadvantage a rival A proposal to speed the game up

A proposal will unintentionally harm your secret plan. Do you:

Negotiate with the proposer to retract it Vote it down on some other pretext

Which is more exciting?

A well-written narrative post A hotly-disputed scam

Would you rather play a subgame that was:

Well-designed Broken

What would you rather learn about an opponent?

The actions they're planning to take How they regard each other player

Is it more fun to:

Have the highest score in the game? Have a higher score than a regular rival?

Would you rather have a mastery of:

The Nomic's older core rules The Nomic's newer subgame rules

Would you rather affect a vote's outcome by using:

A special vote-affecting rule Aggressive argumentation

You defeat another player in a round of a longer subgame. Would you rather:

Get a bonus for future rounds Have your opponent eliminated

Which is more important to you in Nomic:

Winning subgames Playing against friends

Thrown together by Kevan off the back of a BlogNomic discussion in 2025, from some very old code.