Solace-Avish Game

The Solace-Avish Game is an IRC game played in #xkcd between Solace and Avish. Other names for the game include "The Random Game," and possibly more.

Origin and History

The game has no clear origin. It was created spontaneously out of nothing, as all great things do. Not much is known about the Solace-Avish Game, except that Solace is to blame for it.

Rules

The Solace-Avish Game has no clear set of rules. However, by examining game sessions, one can infer the following set of pseudo-rules.

Initial Setup

1. Both players must be in the channel.
2. One of the players begins a game session by playing his or her turn.

Playing the Game

1. Each player, in their turn, addresses a word to the other player.
2. The word may or may not be followed by a question-mark.
3. The other player responds by playing a word of his or her own.
4. The word played each turn doesn't have to relate in any way to any of the other words played in that game session, though it might.
5. The game continues indefinitely with each player addressing words to the other player as described above.
6. The players are free to engage in other conversations in the channel while playing.
7. Any player may pause the game on his or her turn by simply not playing until they feel like it.

Winning the Game

1. There is no apparent rule regarding the ending of a game session.
2. Consequently, the game can never be won.
3. Note, however, that the game also cannot be lost.

Example

Here is an example session, exhibiting most, if not all, of the above rules (unrelated conversation in the channel omitted for brevity).

[21:41:48] *** Avish has joined the channel.
[21:47:38] <Solace> avish: mushroom?
[21:48:19] <Avish> Solace: sunglasses?
[21:48:30] <Solace> avish: television?
[21:48:38] <Avish> Solace: high-heeled boot?
[21:48:49] <Solace> avish: car key?
[21:49:16] <Avish> Solace: your sister?
[21:49:21] <Solace> avish: candle?
[21:49:24] <Avish> (damn, she's hot)
[21:49:31] <Avish> Solace: taskbar?
[21:49:50] <Solace> avish: my sister is a wicked person. I advise you to stay away from her. 
           She eats souls, and dates frat boys.
[21:50:03] <Solace> Avish: number?
[21:50:09] <Avish> Solace: concept?
[21:50:20] <Solace> Avish: retail?
[21:50:33] <Avish> Solace: Solace?
[21:50:47] <Solace> Avish: architect?
[21:52:55] <Avish> Solace: IceKarma?
[21:53:07] <Solace> Avish: manifest?
[21:53:46] <Avish> Solace: Point?
[21:54:14] <Solace> Avish: pencil?
[21:54:40] <Avish> Solace: callvirt?
[21:55:13] <Solace> Avish: corazon?
[21:55:17] <Avish> Solace: cortizone?
[21:55:52] <Solace> avish: firebend?
[21:56:08] <Avish> Solace: woodpecker?
[21:56:22] <Solace> avish: tomato plant

[22:41:07] <Avish> Solace: eyebrow?
[22:41:39] <Solace> Avish: highlighter
[22:43:11] <Avish> Solace: terminal velocity?
[22:43:32] <Solace> Avish: cranioscopy?
[22:43:59] <Avish> Solace: stopwatch
[22:44:19] <Solace> Avish: manpower
[22:45:16] <Avish> Solace: digital video disc.
[22:45:40] <Solace> avish: obsydian
[22:46:32] <Avish> Solace: backronym.
[22:46:46] <Solace> Avish: toilet seat.
[22:47:47] <Avish> Solace: hippopotamus
[22:48:43] <Solace> Avish: blue.
[22:49:37] <Avish> Solace: shirt button
[22:49:50] <Solace> avish: bic lighter.
[22:52:28] <Avish> Solace: overflow
[22:53:00] <Solace> Avish: pineapple
[22:54:17] <Avish> Solace: Dyed Moroz.

Note how, when the game ends, neither player has won, but the entire channel has lost (not shown).

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Dating frat boys is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if they go to an engineering school and visit places such as XKCD and the wiki we are posting on. However, when of the drop-out persuasion, a keen look at their IQ and SAT/ACT test scores is highly recommended. If the score in any of the mentioned testing methods is < 65% of the total score possible, the odds of the frat boy in question being a poor suitor and person overall are rather high, and the idea of engaging in romantic exploits is discouraged simply due to the lack of pizazz available from the candidate.