Topic: Schoolyard Gambling for the Internet Age - Introducing FLINCH (Read 1237 times)

+1, I'll play. 

This game seems like an excellent way to waste small amounts of money for no reason.

I was thinking the same thing after I posted. You'd want to wait for at least one confirmation if the stakes get really high. But for the smaller transactions, blockchain.info will show them immediately as unconfirmed, which ought to be good enough. The time limits can be extended or done away with altogether.

You don't know how much BTC your opponent has, or how much he's willing to risk. Don't accept a challenge if you're afraid of being outclassed. Or accept it and, if you get outspent, at least you'll have his coins as a consolation prize. Or maybe he's playing you. The only way to find out is to accept the challenge.

Blocks take longer than 60 seconds to find, on average. So the mechanics of this game (as stated) will not work with Bitcoin.

Someone's going to flinch... eventually. You can give up early and win a few cents along with the reputation as a loser. Big deal. Even if you're willing to be someone else's bitch for cash you have to decide when to bail out. Stick it out for another round and you might bring in 4 times as much, or you might lose your winnings and then some. Can your opponent afford to keep playing? Can you goad him into pressing on? That's gambling, my friend.

Just so I understand, the loser gets to keep the bitcoins?

how is the issue resolved if one of the participants don't have enough bitcoin to double the current amount?  Is one a "loser" in the game of flinch for being less wealthy than a challenger?

Bitcoin was created by the people, for the people. So why does Bitcoin gambling so often involve a flashy website and a cut always going to the House? Screw that! We don't need a middleman to gamble. Introducing Flinch - the playground brawl with a crowd of your peers cheering you on, just like in the old days. Here's how it works:

One person (A) challenges another (B) to a game of Flinch. If the challenge is declined, (B) is declared a wimp and the community is free to ridicule them without mercy.

If the challenge is accepted, both (A) and (B) post an address where BTC can be sent.

(A) sends 1 bitcent to (B). Then they post to the forum, IRC, etc. to declare that BTC has been sent and challenge (B) to respond. (B_ must respond within 60 seconds. Bystanders can use blockchain.info to watch the action.

(B) sends double the challenge (2 bitcents) amount back to (A) and posts a challenge to respond within 60 seconds.

(A) sends double (4 bitcents) back to (B) and posts their challenge to respond within 60 seconds.

(B) sends double (8 bitcents) back to (A) and posts their challenge to respond within 60 seconds.

This continues until (A) or (B) loses their nerve and refuses to double. The winner claims victory and is declared a Bad-Ass. The loser who flinched is declared a Wimp. The winner is free to insult the wimp and refer to the message or chat log as proof of victory. The wimp is free to challenge the bad-ass to a re-match any time.

Now - who wants to play FLINCH!!