History Main / ThereAreNoRules

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->--'''Hassan-i Sabbah''' (as quoted by Vladimir Bartol), ''Alamut''

* In ancient Greece there was a fighting sport called pankration or 'all powers', which had two rules: Rule 1: no eye gouging, number 2:no biting. You win when your enemy surrenders or is knocked out or dead, whichever happened first.
** However, small number of rules didn't mean they weren't taken very strictly. When a contestant raises his finger (a sign of surrender) and then kills the opponent, he still loses. Arrichion won his last fight that way.

->--'''Hassan i-Sabbah''' (as quoted by Vladimir Bartol), ''Alamut''

->--'''Hassan i-Sabbah''' {as quoted by Vladimir Bartol), ''Alamut''

->-- tagline, ''[=~Assassin's Creed~=]''[[hottip:*:(hint: not everything is permitted)]]

-->'''Will:''' You cheated!
-->'''Jack:''' [[ShapedLikeItself Pirate!]]

* In ''DragonHalf'' the Brutal Killer Martial Arts Tournament is like this. Any weapon or tactic is allowed. The winner must either kill his opponent or put the King's seal on his forehead.

-> ''"In short: there are no rules. And here they are."''

StockPhrase. When someone's describing a game unfamiliar to the audience - especially if it's a particularly dangerous game - they will say this. Usually preceded by "[[RuleNumberOne There's only one rule...]]" Occasionally, they will list two or three rules of the game which are [[ViewersAreMorons easy for the audience to remember]], and round it off by saying that "Apart from that, ThereAreNoRules!"

This is almost a DiscreditedTrope; if it crops up in media nowadays it'll at least [[LampshadeHanging have a lampshade hung on it.]] Although there are a few stray instances of it being played straight, even today.

Compare {{Calvinball}}.

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* Parodied in ''ButchCassidyAndTheSundanceKid''. Logan has challenged Butch to a fight for leadership of the Hole in the Wall gang.
--> '''Butch:''' No, no, not yet. Not until me and Harvey get the rules straightened out.
--> '''Logan:''' Rules? In a knife fight? No rules!
--> '''Butch:''' ([[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Gives Logan a kick]] GroinAttack, disabling him)
--> '''Butch:''' Well, if there aint' going to be any rules, let's get the fight started. Someone count 1,2,3 go.
--> '''Sundance:''' 1,2,3, go!

* ''Out Cold:''

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* Subverted in ''{{Friends}}'' in describing the Ultimate Fighting Champion tournament. At first Ross claims (in a very dramatic voice) "The only rule is 'there are no rules!'" When confronted with the absurdity of this, he admits that there are two rules: no eye gouging or fish-hooking (pulling out your opponent's cheek with a crooked finger).

* Happens in an episode of ''MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' where the MonsterOfTheWeek makes Tommy and Jason hate each other. They almost end up in a fight arranged by Bulk, who says "The only rule is - there are no rules!"
* Parodied in ''MalcolmInTheMiddle'' when Francis moved in with Richie for a while.
--> '''Richie:''' Welcome to Chez Richie. Rule number 1: There are no rules. Rule number 2: No shoes on the sofa.
* ''DarkAngel'' episode "Fuhgeddaboudit"
--> '''Dochnovich:''' All right, here are the rules. Well, there ain't no rules. Hitting below the belt's allowed... eye gouging's allowed...

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* 4chan /b/, though thankfully there aren't any rules for mods either so they can keep it from getting really illegal.

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* Subverted in ''CornerGas'' when Lacey describes her new bulletin boards. This phrase is met with complaints that if it has that rule then there are rules and it's decided that the new bulletin board is too confusing.

-->'''Wil:''' You cheated!

*** Unless malicious laughter breaks the 'ungentlemanly conduct' rule.
* Nomic games like [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1000_Blank_White_Cards 1000 Blank White Cards]] usually have very few permanent rules, although some player groups have house rules (like 'No writing "I win" on a card'). This troper's group uses "Don't be a dick" as the 'only one rule'.

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* Subverted in ''{{Friends}}'' in describing the Ultimate Fighting Champion tournament. At first Ross claims (in a very dramatic voice) "The only rule is 'there are no rules!'" When confronted with the absurdity of this, he admits that there are two rules: no eye gouging or fish-hooking (pulling out your opponent's cheek with a crooked finger).
* Subverted in ''CornerGas'' when Lacey describes her new bulletin boards. This phrase is met with complaints that if it has that rule then there are rules and it's decided that the new bulletin board is too confusing.
* The trailer for ''Leatherheads'': "In the early days of Football, the rules were simple. There were no rules." Or something like that.
* Happens in an episode of ''MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' where the MonsterOfTheWeek makes Tommy and Jason hate each other. They almost end up in a fight arranged by Bulk, who says "The only rule is - there are no rules!"
* Parodied in ''MalcolmInTheMiddle'' when Francis moved in with Richie for a while.
--> '''Richie:''' Welcome to Chez Richie. Rule number 1: There are no rules. Rule number 2: No shoes on the sofa.

--> '''Butch:''' (Knocks out Logan with a two-handed punch)
* ''DarkAngel'' episode "Fuhgeddaboudit"
--> '''Dochnovich:''' All right, here are the rules. Well, there ain't no rules. Hitting below the belt's allowed... eye gouging's allowed...

* 4chan /b/, though thankfully there aren't any rules for mods either so they can keep it from getting really illegal.
** /b/ does have rules, they're just [[PiratesofTheCaribbean more like guidelines]]. Rules 1 and 2 are borrowed from FightClub and Rules 30 through 40 [[RuleThirtyFour mostly deal with porn]].

* RealLife example: {{Mao}} (the cardgame, not the dictator.) The only rule I can tell you is this one.
** Mao is definitely not an example. There ARE rules, but rule one says nobody is allowed to talk about rules two and higher. The point of the game is figuring out those rules for yourself (and then laughing maliciously at the next newbie who doesn't know them yet).
*** Unless malicious laughter breaks the 'ungentlemanly conduct' rule.

* In ''DragonHalf'' the Brutal Killer Martial Arts Tournament is like this. Any weapon or tactic is allowed. The winner must either kill his opponent or put the King's seal on his forehead.
* ''{{Buffy the Vampire Slayer}}'' series finale:
-->'''Robin Wood:''' Welcome to Sunnydale High. There’s no running in the halls, no yelling, no gum-chewing. Apart from that, there’s only one rule: if they move, kill them.
* From ''TheSimpsons'' episode "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation," in which Homer goes to a Rock 'N' Roll fantasy camp:
-->'''Mick Jagger''': Rule Number One: There are no rules! (''Crowd cheers'') Rule Number Two: No outside food.

* Nomic games like [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1000_Blank_White_Cards 1000 Blank White Cards]] usually have very few permanent rules, although some player groups have house rules (like 'No writing "I win" on a card'). This troper's group uses "Don't be a dick" as the 'only one rule'.
* Played with in ''KingdomHearts: Chain of Memories'', when Hades sets up a tournament to get Cloud and Hercules to fight each other so that Hercules will be weakened enough for him to take him to the underworld. When Sora steps in to fight him to save Hercules:
-->'''Hades''': Rule #6! There are no rules! Ha ha!
* The first page of the GM's Guide for the TabletopGame ''7th Sea'' says: "GM Rule #1: There are no rules. GM Rule #2: [[GameMaster Cheat anyway.]]"
* Captain Jack from the first ''{{Pirates of the Caribbean}}'' gives an entire speech to Will on how there are no rules when it comes to duels aside from any physical barriers.

* The live-action [[Film/{{Popeye}} Popeye]] with Robin Williams has an organized fight, where the gamesmaster announces, "Now, you all know the rules: there are no rules."

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* The tournament in the ''{{Merlin}}'' episode "The Shadow of the Sorcerer":

--> ''"Nothing is true. Everything is permitted."''

--> ''"In short: there are no rules. And here they are."''
--> -- '''Scott Mc Cloud''', Making Comics.

--> -- tagline, ''Assassin's Creed'' (hint: not everything is permitted)