Mao (thing)

Mao rules

(Well, it does. But that's beside the point.)

Here are several Mao rules I am familiar with, from playing the game in various locations:

• The Oh Darn Rule
• The I'm Sorry Rule
• The You're Forgiven Rule
• The Rule of Royalty
• The Rule of Twos
• The Rule of Threes
• The Rule of Fours
• The Rule of Excessive Force
• The Rule of Excessive Fours
• The Rule of Petunias
• The Rule of Sevens and Nines
• The Rule of Counters
• The Rule of the One-Minute Panic
• The Wombat Rule
• The Sandwich Rule
• The Chinese Fire Drill Rule
• The Combat Rules
• The Diplomacy Rules
• The Monty Python Rules
• The Rule of Elvis
• The Rule of Color-Blindness
• Ian's Rule of Clubs
  (Okay, so I don't know what this does or who Ian is, but the name of the rule is part of the collective Mao consciousness in any Mao setting where the dealer's test is performed.)
• The Rule of Grave-digging
• The Rule of Snow Crash
• The Rule of Evil

If any of these rules sound similar to rules of Mao you have experienced, send me a /msg - it could give some insight into the murky etymology of the game.