I believe the "
you do not talk about silent football"
rule originated on this page(http://fargo.itp.tsoa.nyu.edu/~ro251/burningman/cthulhu.html), and they also claim to have invented the great game. I've not heard of anyone else
claiming invention except for the oft repeated
YRUU legend that it was originally a
British drinking game. Either way, most groups I've played with refuse to provide any
rules for
newbies except for the
traditional explanatory chant (another
house rule I'm fond of is clapping your hands in time to the chant before the
customary tip of the hat)which is:
You can Zoom a Zoom, but you can't Zoom a Zoomed Zoom.
You can Fwap a Fwap, but you can't Fwap a Fwapped Fwap.
You can Shrug a Shrug, but you can't Shrug a Shrugged Shrug.
You can Shrodem a Shrodem, but you can't Shrodem a Shrodemmed Shrodem.
And you may never ever never ever never ever never ever
Shrug a Shrodem nor Shrodem a Shrug!!
Usually, this generates half the room shooting you strange looks and muttering words like "gibberish" and "ancient UU rituals", while the other half rushes over, screaming "Ooh! Let me in!" I rather think the general idea is if you can decipher the rules and intent from fifteen seconds of nonsensical chanting you are worthy of playing.
One other house rule that is rather important to extended games (three hours or more...dependant on the last time the dictator ate) is the renaming of all food items within the universe. This may not be a widely recognised rule, and it's entirely possibly it's exclusive the the groups I've played with. As Tekunokurato said, the social nuances for this game are incredbily complex, and house rules usually depend on how sadistic the dictator is feeling that day.