NationStates Jolt Archive

Hey, has anyone ever heard of this?

My girlfriend is currently working at a summer camp where everyone is going around asking people to play "The Hat Game," which they claim is some sort of logic problem.

She's not into this sort of thing, so she hasn't paid it much mind... and doesn't remember exactly how it works. But I'm the curious sort, so...

This is what she's told me:

The basic structure of the "game" is that people talk about passing around an imaginary hat and doing various things to it... trying it on, poking a hole in it, putting it on the ground, etc. It's an improv kind of thing, so it's different every time... but obviously if the conclusion can be deduced there is SOMETHING that stays the same.

Anyway, the formula seems to end, according to Erica, with a rather obvious conclusion. Something like, "... and then I give the hat to you. Who has the hat?"

The obvious answer should be "I do," but the "joke" of it is that the tellers insist this is not correct, and that if you think about it you will understand who really has the hat.

The only guess I have (having not actually heard it) is that in each "round" they always say something to the effect that "X gives the hat to Y, and Y takes the hat and....." Hence, since in every case the taking is stated, we are to assume that the formula "X gives the hat to Y" does not imply that Y takes the hat. Thus, if the final statement is "... and then I give the hat to you," the answer to the question "Who has the hat?" is "you"... since you never said I "took" it.

But, it's hard to really guess at these things without hearing the whole thing.

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

There is no logic to it. It's a noob taunting game. Whatever the new person guesses, they will be wrong. Eventually someone noobier comes along and you get to be in on it.

There is no logic to it. It's a noob taunting game. Whatever the new person guesses, they will be wrong. Eventually someone noobier comes along and you get to be in on it.Ah well, that would explain my unsuccessful attempts to make sense of her version of it. :)

What I am saying is a lie.
*explodes*

There is no logic to it. It's a noob taunting game. Whatever the new person guesses, they will be wrong. Eventually someone noobier comes along and you get to be in on it.

In other words, it's a lot like the card game Mao, except that Mao games can be confusing to more experienced players as well (like any game where the rules change as you go along).

The basic structure of the "game" is that people talk about passing around an imaginary hat and doing various things to it...


Anyway, the formula seems to end, according to Erica, with a rather obvious conclusion. Something like, "... and then I give the hat to you. Who has the hat?"

The obvious answer should be "I do," but the "joke" of it is that the tellers insist this is not correct, and that if you think about it you will understand who really has the hat.

If the game ends when the question "Who has the hat?" is asked then the correct response is 'nobody'. It was, after all, an imaginary hat, and so questions about ownership of the hate post-game make no sense. It is a bit like asking who is dominating the pitch after a game of football has finished.

If the game ends when the question "Who has the hat?" is asked then the correct response is 'nobody'. It was, after all, an imaginary hat, and so questions about ownership of the hate post-game make no sense. It is a bit like asking who is dominating the pitch after a game of football has finished.Hmm, that is a more logical response... but based on the group dynamics as described by my girlfriend, I strongly suspect that the "noob taunting" is closer to the mark as far as this set of idiots is concerned.

From a quick Google: http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=674514

From a quick Google: http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=674514Thanks... Out of curiosity, what search terms did you use? I tried everything (I thought) before coming to NS, but all I could come up with were logic problems about white hats and black hats... and red hats and green hats!!

Hmm, that is a more logical response... but based on the group dynamics as described by my girlfriend, I strongly suspect that the "noob taunting" is closer to the mark as far as this set of idiots is concerned.

My theory also requires the exists of two different hat games: one nested inside the other. The first is a sequence of statements about the imaginary hat, and finishes when the question "who has the hat?" is asked, but this question also starts the second game - the taunting of the outsider.

I agree with the "Noob Taunting" part. Me 'n my mates always play "The Game". In witch if you think of said game, you lose, and you must say "I lost.", which usually causes other players to lose, curse and stomp their feet, causing the elusive "fun". And if you win the game, you lose, because you thought of the game. The only rule is that you can only lose every half-hour, just enough time to forget. :p

Have fun.

I agree with the "Noob Taunting" part. Me 'n my mates always play "The Game". In witch if you think of said game, you lose, and you must say "I lost.", which usually causes other players to lose, curse and stomp their feet, causing the elusive "fun". And if you win the game, you lose, because you thought of the game. The only rule is that you can only lose every half-hour, just enough time to forget. :p

Have fun.

YOU! I hadn't lost for months!

...I lost.