How to Play
The rules of the court, in about three minutes.
Lawmaxxer is the Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma dressed up as a lawsuit. You face one opposing counsel for a whole case. Every round, both of you secretly choose to Settle or Sue, and the choices are revealed together. Whoever has more points when the case closes wins.
1. Start a case
Sign in with Google, press Start Case and choose how long you want the case to be, from 10 to 100 rounds. The court then assigns you an opponent at random. You won't be told who it is: the opponent is shown only as “Opposing Counsel” until the verdict.
The real length of the case is within 25% of what you asked for, and you only find out it's over when the last round is played. That stops anyone from planning a sneaky final-round attack.
2. Settle or Sue
Each round you both pick a move. Points depend on the pair of moves (your points / their points):
| You | They | Points | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Settle | Settle | 3 / 3 | Both sides do well. This is cooperation. |
| Sue | Settle | 5 / 0 | You exploit them. The best single round you can have. |
| Settle | Sue | 0 / 5 | They exploit you. The worst single round you can have. |
| Sue | Sue | 1 / 1 | Both sides fight and both lose out. |
That's the dilemma: in any single round, suing scores more whatever the other side does. But if both sides keep suing, both end up with 1 point a round instead of 3.
Misfiles: courts make paperwork mistakes. Each round there's a 5% chance that a move, yours or theirs, gets filed as its opposite. When it happens to you, the round shows which move you chose and which one was filed. A good strategy has to survive the odd accident.
3. The verdict
- CASE WON (more points than them): you earn coins equal to the number of rounds.
- MISTRIAL (a tie): you earn a quarter of the rounds in coins, rounded down.
- VERDICT: GUILTY (fewer points): no coins, and you watch a short ad before your next case.
Win or lose, the verdict screen reveals who you were up against, how they decide their moves, a summary of the rounds, and the best way to beat them next time. Losing still teaches you something.
Leaving a case unfinished counts as a loss. If you start a new case while one is open, or leave one untouched for 30 minutes, the old one is closed as GUILTY.
4. Objection!
Once 3 rounds are on the record, you may object once per case and name the opponent you think you're facing. A correct call pays a bonus at the verdict equal to the rounds still expected (at least 3 coins), so calling it early pays more. A wrong call strikes 5 points from your total.
5. Motions
Each motion costs coins and can be used once per case:
- Subpoena (15 coins): Before you choose this round, see whether opposing counsel will Settle or Sue.
- Plea deal (10 coins): Your points next round count twice: 3 becomes 6, 5 becomes 10. If you score 0, you still get 0.
- Continuance (20 coins): Strike the last round from the record. Both scores go back and you replay it. They file the same move again, so now you know it.
6. The daily case
Once per day (UTC) everyone gets the same case: the same opponent and the same length (around 20 rounds). An abandoned daily case still uses up your attempt. Motions aren't allowed, so it's a fair comparison, and the best scores make the daily leaderboard.
7. Coins and the leaderboard
Coins are saved to your account, and the top players are listed on the leaderboard by coins, then wins. You can earn up to 3,000 coins per day. All scoring happens on our server, so the leaderboard can't be faked from the browser.
Want to get better? Read the strategy guide, or go straight back to the court.