Rules

No More Jockeys ('NMJ') is a YouTube series by Alex Horne, Tim Key, and Mark Watson. The game can be be played at home, and several variations and 'house rules' exist. NMJ started life in 2002 when KEY and WATSON tried to name as many famous people as they could.  In 2009 some games called 'No More Women' were filmed as a spin-off to the trio's TV show We Need Answers. In the first UK COVID-19 lockdown, games began being uploaded to YouTube, and now here we are creating a fan wiki.

## Basic Rules - Two Player

From Alex Horne's 2009 write up.

1. Player order is determined by a coin toss.
2. Players take turns naming a person, generally a celebrity or other well known person, and a category that person fits.
3. Subsequent plays must not breach any of the categories.
4. The game continues until a player 'Challenges' that a name fits into an earlier category.
5. If a player concedes to a Challenge, the game is over and the challenger wins.
6. Following the naming of a category, a player can ask 'Name Another', to have their opponent name another person who falls into that category.
7. If a person fails to Name Another, they forfeit the game.

## Rules from YouTube

1. 'Key to Start' or 'Key to Play' - KEY makes the first move. Theoretically easy, since there are no categories to be challenged on. We are informed that it's more difficult than it looks. Umming and ahhing optional but preferred.
2. Women to Start - The first name is traditionally a woman.
3. Only the most recent name may be Challenged.
4. A Challenge can only be made after a category has been named. Until then players are at liberty to change their name.
5. A player is eliminated if they make three unsuccessful challenges.
6. Online research is only permitted after a challenge has been made. Generally done by the player who is neither challenging nor being challenged.
7. Online research must be concluded within 90 seconds to validly support a challenge.
8. The 'Name Another' doesn't have to be a valid play in itself (i.e. it can breach a previous category).

## Unspoken / Temporary rules

1. Although it's never explicitly mentioned, it is an unspoken rule that a new category should not deliberately eliminate everyone. For example, following "No more fictional" with "No more non-fictional" would eliminate all possible moves - but it's clear from the way the game is played that this would not be seen as a valid tactic (it's just plain rude, for a start!)
2. Because it's just a bit of fun, sometimes players are granted a "reprieve" when they're eliminated, allowing them to continue playing. This is usually when someone is eliminated very early on in the game, and is done on an ad-hoc basis.
3. HORNE often holds up a timer during the other player's turns, implying some sort of time limit in which names have to be given. However, this is never actually enforced, except for in Set 2, Game 10 where they experimented with a hard 3 minute rule (although even then, WATSON was allowed to go slightly over at one point).
4. In Set 3, Game 4, the concept of a 'reverse card' is introduced, which is a single-use "item" that can be used by a player to skip their current turn and reverse the play order (in the same way as in Uno). This is yet to make another appearance.

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tom Wiggins (2021-01-22). No More Jockeys: How a Lo-Fi Lockdown Game Took YouTube by Storm. Esquire. Retrieved on March 27, 2021.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Alex Horne (2009-11-30). No More Women.
3. ↑ Set 2, Game 1 - No More Jockeys [23.07.20], 19:40.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Set 1, Game 6 - No More Jockeys [04.06.20 - Wonder Thursday #1], 2:10.