Michigan League of Academic Games

The Phantom "No Goal"
By Christopher Holstein

The words “No Goal” are used incorrectly all the time. “No Goal” means this. EVERY goal that I can set does not have any solutions at all, period. Here are some examples: Case #1) In ‘Equations’ if a player rolled all operation signs, this is a “No Goal”. Case #2) If a player rolled one number and the rest were operation signs, this is a “No Goal”. Case #3) If a player rolled a 5 and a 6 and the rest of the cubes were operation signs, this is a “No Goal”. In each of these cases a goal and a solution to the goal cannot be written. In Case #1, a goal can’t be set at all. In Case #2, a goal can be set, but there isn’t a solution to the goal. In Case #3, if 5 is put in the goal, how would you make the 6 equal the 5? You can’t. In my 32 years experience in Academic Games, I have never heard of a real “No Goal” situation in ‘Equations’. The probability of one of these cases happening is 1 out of 2,175,782,336. That means players would have to play over 2 BILLION games of ‘Equations’ before a real “No Goal” came up.

Players mistake a Force-Out for a “No Goal”. For instance, in ‘Equations’ if two 7s were rolled and the rest were operations, you are forced to set 7 on the goal because the other 7 is your solution. This is a Force-Out on the goal. There is a goal of 7 and a solution of 7, but there would be no alternate move to set a different goal. That is why it isn’t an ‘A Flub’. “A Flubs” have alternate moves(goals) that would avoid the one cube solutions. In ‘On-Sets’ a player can have a ‘Force-Out’ on the goal. This happens quite often. Example: Three 5s are rolled. The universe has 6 cards. The only goals you can set are 5 and 0. 0 is 5+(-5). If 5 on the goal has a one cube solution like B=5 cards and 0 on the goal has a one cube solution like ? =0 cards, then the goal setter is being forced to set these goals because if there is a solution to the goal, you must move and set a goal. There aren’t any other goals that would avoid the 1 cube solutions except ‘P Flub” goals. This should be called a ‘Force-Out’ by the next player in line. “No Goal” means there are no solutions possible. Not in this example. There is a one cube solution in each case. This is a ‘Force-Out’ goal!

“No Goal” in ‘Equations is extremely, almost impossibly rare. It will never happen in ‘On-Sets”. I did see one in ‘Wff ‘N Proof’ two years ago. There are 14 upper case letters and 14 lower case letters in ‘Wff ‘N Proof. All of the lower case letters in this “No Goal”were i’s and o’s when the cubes were rolled. You need the single letter Wff’s, p,q,r,s, to make any type of a Wff to set on the goal line. There weren’t any.

What do you do when a player says “No Goal”?
When a player says “No Goal” after rolling the cubes, you should grab the flub ball and say,”I challenge your “No Goal”call. I can write a goal and a solution. “ The joiner should join and you now have two minutes to write a goal and a solution for your new goal. That is all you have to do to prove the “No Goal” caller wrong. Your solution to your new goal can be a one cube solution or more than one cube as long as the cubes are in resources. Because a “No Goal” is so rare you will be correct to challenge and you will win 10 points. Remember a real “No Goal” happens only if for every goal set, NO SOLUTIONS can be written . The scoring for a real “No Goal” is 8 points for everyone and the next person in line rolls the cubes for a new game.