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Tug of war is an easily organized, impromptu game that requires little equipment.

The Card Players, a 1895 painting by Paul Cézanne depicting a game of cards.

A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements. However, the distinction is not clear-cut, and many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports/games) or art (such as jigsaw puzzles or games involving an artistic layout such as Mahjong, solitaire, or some video games).

Key components of games are goals, rules, challenge, and interaction. Games generally involve mental or physical stimulation, and often both. Many games help develop practical skills, serve as a form of exercise, or otherwise perform an educational, simulational, or psychological role.

Attested as early as 2600 BC,^[1][2] games are a universal part of human experience and present in all cultures. The Royal Game of Ur, Senet, and Mancala are some of the oldest known games.^[3]

Definitions[link]

Look up game in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Ludwig Wittgenstein[link]

Ludwig Wittgenstein was probably the first academic philosopher to address the definition of the word game. In his Philosophical Investigations,^[4] Wittgenstein demonstrated that the elements of games, such as play, rules, and competition, all fail to adequately define what games are. Wittgenstein concluded that people apply the term game to a range of disparate human activities that bear to one another only what one might call family resemblances.

Roger Caillois[link]

French sociologist Roger Caillois, in his book Les jeux et les hommes (Games and Men),^[5] defined a game as an activity that must have the following characteristics:

• fun: the activity is chosen for its light-hearted character
• separate: it is circumscribed in time and place
• uncertain: the outcome of the activity is unforeseeable
• non-productive: participation does not accomplish anything useful
• governed by rules: the activity has rules that are different from everyday life
• fictitious: it is accompanied by the awareness of a different reality

Chris Crawford[link]

Computer game designer Chris Crawford attempted to define the term game^[6] using a series of dichotomies:

1. Creative expression is art if made for its own beauty, and entertainment if made for money.
2. A piece of entertainment is a plaything if it is interactive. Movies and books are cited as examples of non-interactive entertainment.
3. If no goals are associated with a plaything, it is a toy. (Crawford notes that by his definition, (a) a toy can become a game element if the player makes up rules, and (b) The Sims and SimCity are toys, not games.) If it has goals, a plaything is a challenge.
4. If a challenge has no "active agent against whom you compete," it is a puzzle; if there is one, it is a conflict. (Crawford admits that this is a subjective test. Video games with noticeably algorithmic artificial intelligence can be played as puzzles; these include the patterns used to evade ghosts in Pac-Man.)
5. Finally, if the player can only outperform the opponent, but not attack them to interfere with their performance, the conflict is a competition. (Competitions include racing and figure skating.) However, if attacks are allowed, then the conflict qualifies as a game.

Crawford's definition may thus be rendered as: an interactive, goal-oriented activity, with active agents to play against, in which players (including active agents) can interfere with each other.

Other definitions[link]

• "A game is a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome." (Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman)^[7]
• "A game is a form of art in which participants, termed players, make decisions in order to manage resources through game tokens in the pursuit of a goal." (Greg Costikyan)^[8] According to this definitions, some "games" that do not involve choices, such as Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, and War are not technically games any more than a slot machine is.
• "A game is an activity among two or more independent decision-makers seeking to achieve their objectives in some limiting context." (Clark C. Abt)^[9]
• "At its most elementary level then we can define game as an exercise of voluntary control systems in which there is an opposition between forces, confined by a procedure and rules in order to produce a disequilibrial outcome." (Elliot Avedon and Brian Sutton-Smith)^[10]
• "A game is a form of play with goals and structure." (Kevin J. Maroney)^[11]

Gameplay elements and classification[link]

Games can be characterized by "what the player does."^[6] This is often referred to as gameplay. Major key elements identified in this context are tools and rules that define the overall context of game and that in turn produce skill, strategy, and chance.^{[clarification needed]}

Tools[link]

Games are often classified by the components required to play them (e.g. miniatures, a ball, cards, a board and pieces, or a computer). In places where the use of leather is well established, the ball has been a popular game piece throughout recorded history, resulting in a worldwide popularity of ball games such as rugby, basketball, football, cricket, tennis, and volleyball. Other tools are more idiosyncratic to a certain region. Many countries in Europe, for instance, have unique standard decks of playing cards. Other games such as chess may be traced primarily through the development and evolution of its game pieces.

Many game tools are tokens, meant to represent other things. A token may be a pawn on a board, play money, or an intangible item such as a point scored.

Games such as hide-and-seek or tag do not utilise any obvious tool; rather, their interactivity is defined by the environment. Games with the same or similar rules may have different gameplay if the environment is altered. For example, hide-and-seek in a school building differs from the same game in a park; an auto race can be radically different depending on the track or street course, even with the same cars.

Rules[link]

Whereas games are often characterized by their tools, they are often defined by their rules. While rules are subject to variations and changes, enough change in the rules usually results in a "new" game. For instance, baseball can be played with "real" baseballs or with wiffleballs. However, if the players decide to play with only three bases, they are arguably playing a different game. There are exceptions to this in that some games deliberately involve the changing of their own rules, but even then there are often immutable meta-rules.

Rules generally determine turn order, the rights and responsibilities of the players, and each player’s goals. Player rights may include when they may spend resources or move tokens. Common win conditions are being first to amass a certain quota of points or tokens (as in Settlers of Catan), having the greatest number of tokens at the end of the game (as in Monopoly), or some relationship of one’s game tokens to those of one’s opponent (as in chess's checkmate).

Skill, strategy, and chance[link]

A game’s tools and rules will result in its requiring skill, strategy, luck, or a combination thereof, and are classified accordingly.

Games of skill include games of physical skill, such as wrestling, tug of war, hopscotch, target shooting, and stake, and games of mental skill such as checkers and chess. Games of strategy include checkers, chess, go, arimaa, and tic-tac-toe, and often require special equipment to play them. Games of chance include gambling games (blackjack, mah-jongg, roulette, etc.), as well as snakes and ladders and rock, paper, scissors; most require equipment such as cards or dice. However, most games contain two or all three of these elements. For example, American football and baseball involve both physical skill and strategy while tiddlywinks, poker, and Monopoly combine strategy and chance. Many card and board games combine all three; most trick-taking games involve mental skill, strategy, and an element of chance, as do many strategic board games such as Risk, Settlers of Catan, and Carcassonne.

Single-player games[link]

Most games require multiple players. However, single-player games are unique in respect to the type of challenges a player faces. Unlike a game with multiple players competing with or against each other to reach the game's goal, a one-player game is a battle solely against an element of the environment (an artificial opponent), against one's own skills, against time, or against chance. Playing with a yo-yo or playing tennis against a wall is not generally recognized as playing a game due to the lack of any formidable opposition.

It is not valid to describe a computer game as single-player where the computer provides opposition. If the computer is merely record-keeping, then the game may be validly single-player.

Many games described as "single-player" may be termed actually puzzles or recreations.

Types[link]

Games can take a variety of forms, from competitive sports to board games and video games.

Sports[link]

Association football is a popular sport worldwide.

Many sports require special equipment and dedicated playing fields, leading to the involvement of a community much larger than the group of players. A city or town may set aside such resources for the organization of sports leagues.

Popular sports may have spectators who are entertained just by watching games. A community will often align itself with a local sports team that supposedly represents it (even if the team or most of its players only recently moved in); they often align themselves against their opponents or have traditional rivalries. The concept of fandom began with sports fans.

Stanley Fish cited^{[citation needed]} the balls and strikes of baseball as a clear example of social construction, the operation of rules on the game's tools. While the strike zone target is governed by the rules of the game, it epitomizes the category of things that exist only because people have agreed to treat them as real. No pitch is a ball or a strike until it has been labeled as such by an appropriate authority, the plate umpire, whose judgment on this matter cannot be challenged within the current game.

Certain competitive sports, such as racing and gymnastics, are not games by definitions such as Crawford's (see above) – despite the inclusion of many in the Olympic Games – because competitors do not interact with their opponents; they simply challenge each other in indirect ways.

Lawn games[link]

Lawn games are outdoor games that can be played on a lawn; an area of mowed grass (or alternately, on graded soil) generally smaller than a "field" or pitch. Variations of many games that are traditionally played on a pitch are marketed as "lawn games" for home use in a front or back yard. Common lawn games include horseshoes, sholf, croquet, bocce, lawn bowls, and stake.

Tabletop games[link]

A tabletop game generally refers to any game where the elements of play are confined to a small area and that require little physical exertion, usually simply placing, picking up and moving game pieces. Most of these games are, thus, played at a table around which the players are seated and on which the game's elements are located. A variety of major game types generally fall under the heading of tabletop games. It is worth noting that many games falling into this category, particularly party games, are more free-form in their play and can involve physical activity such as mime, however the basic premise is still that the game does not require a large area in which to play it, large amounts of strength or stamina, or specialized equipment other than what comes in the box (games sometimes require additional materials like pencil and paper that are easy to procure).

Dexterity and coordination games[link]

This class of games includes any game in which the skill element involved relates to manual dexterity or hand-eye coordination, but excludes the class of video games (see below). Games such as jacks, paper football, and Jenga require only very portable or improvised equipment and can be played on any flat level surface, while other examples, such as pinball, billiards, air hockey, foosball, and table hockey require specialized tables or other self-contained modules on which the game is played. The advent of home video game systems largely replaced some of these, such as table hockey, however air hockey, billiards, pinball and foosball remain popular fixtures in private and public game rooms. These games and others, as they require reflexes and coordination, are generally performed more poorly by intoxicated persons but are unlikely to result in injury because of this; as such the games are popular as drinking games. In addition, dedicated drinking games such as quarters also involve physical coordination and are popular for similar reasons.

Board games[link]

Parcheesi is an American adaptation of a board game originating in India.

Board games use as a central tool a board on which the players' status, resources, and progress are tracked using physical tokens. Many also involve dice and/or cards. Most games that simulate war are board games (though a large number of video games have been created to simulate strategic combat; see "Video Games" below), and the board may be a map on which the players' tokens move. Virtually all board games involve "turn-based" play; one player contemplates and then makes a move, then the next player does the same, and a player can only act on their turn. This is opposed to "real-time" play as is found in some card games, most sports and most video games.

Some games, such as chess and Go, are entirely deterministic, relying only on the strategy element for their interest. Such games are usually described as having "perfect information"; the only unknown is the exact thought processes of one's opponent, not the outcome of any unknown event inherent in the game (such as a card draw or die roll). Children's games, on the other hand, tend to be very luck-based, with games such as Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders having virtually no decisions to be made. By some definitions, such as that by (Greg Costikyan), they are not games since there are no decisions to make to effect the outcome.^[12] Many other games involving a high degree of luck do not allow direct attacks between opponents; the random event simply determines a gain or loss in the standing of the current player within the game, which is independent of any other player; the "game" then is actually a "race" by definitions such as Crawford's.

Most other board games combine strategy and luck factors; the game of backgammon requires players to decide the best strategic move based on the roll of two dice. Trivia games have a great deal of randomness based on the questions a person gets. German-style board games are notable for often having rather less of a luck factor than many board games.

Board game groups include race games, roll-and-move games, abstract strategy games, word games, and wargames, as well as the trivia and German-style board games mentioned above. Some board games fall into multiple groups and even incorporate elements of other genres: Cranium is one popular example, where players must succeed in each of four main skills: artistry, live performance, trivia, and language skill.

Card games[link]

Card games use a deck of cards as their central tool. These cards may be a standard Anglo-American (52-card) deck of playing cards (such as for bridge, poker, Rummy, etc.), a regional deck using 32, 36 or 40 cards and different suit signs (such as for the popular German game skat), a tarot deck of 78 cards (used in Europe to play a variety of trick-taking games collectively known as Tarot, Tarock, and/or Tarocchi games), or a deck specific to the individual game (such as Set or 1000 Blank White Cards). Uno and Rook are examples of games that were originally played with a standard deck and have since been commercialized with customized decks. Some collectible card games such as Magic: The Gathering are played with a small selection of cards that have been collected or purchased individually from large available sets.

Some board games include a deck of cards as a gameplay element, normally for randomization and/or to keep track of game progress. Conversely, some card games such as Cribbage use a board with movers, normally to keep score. The differentiation between the two genres in such cases depends on which element of the game is foremost in its play; a board game using cards for random actions can usually use some other method of randomization, while Cribbage can just as easily be scored on paper. These elements as used are simply the traditional and easiest methods to achieve their purpose.

Dice games[link]

Dice games use a number of dice as their central element. Board games often use dice for a randomization element, and thus each roll of the dice has a profound impact on the outcome of the game, however dice games are differentiated in that the dice do not determine the success or failure of some other element of the game; they instead are the central indicator of the person's standing in the game. Popular dice games include Yahtzee, Farkle, Bunco, Liar's dice/Perudo, and Poker dice. As dice are, by their very nature, designed to produce apparently random numbers, these games usually involve a high degree of luck, which can be directed to some extent by the player through more strategic elements of play and through tenets of probability theory. Such games are thus popular as gambling games; the game of Craps is perhaps the most famous example, though Liar's dice and Poker dice were originally conceived of as gambling games.

Domino and tile games[link]

Domino games are similar in many respects to card games, but the generic device is instead a set of tiles called dominoes, which traditionally each have two ends, each with a given number of dots, or "pips", and each combination of two possible end values as it appears on a tile is unique in the set. The games played with dominoes largely center around playing a domino from the player's "hand" onto the matching end of another domino, and the overall object could be to always be able to make a play, to make all open endpoints sum to a given number or multiple, or simply to play all dominoes from one's hand onto the board. Sets vary in the number of possible dots on one end, and thus of the number of combinations and pieces; the most common set historically is double-six, though in more recent times "extended" sets such as double-nine have been introduced to increase the number of dominoes available, which allows larger hands and more players in a game. Muggins, Mexican Train, and Chicken Foot are very popular domino games. Texas 42 is a domino game more similar in its play to a "trick-taking" card game.

Variations of traditional dominoes abound: Triominoes are similar in theory but are triangular and thus have three values per tile. Similarly, a game known as Quad-Ominos uses four-sided tiles.

Some other games use tiles in place of cards; Rummikub is a variant of the Rummy card game family that uses tiles numbered in ascending rank among four colors, very similar in makeup to a 2-deck "pack" of Anglo-American playing cards. Mah-Jongg is another game very similar to Rummy that uses a set of tiles with card-like values and art.

Lastly, some games use graphical tiles to form a board layout, on which other elements of the game are played. Settlers of Catan and Carcassonne are examples. In each, the "board" is made up of a series of tiles; in Settlers of Catan the starting layout is random but static, while in Carcassonne the game is played by "building" the board tile-by-tile. Hive, an abstract strategy game using tiles as moving pieces, has mechanical and strategic elements similar to chess, although it has no board; the pieces themselves both form the layout and can move within it.

Pencil and paper games[link]

Pencil and paper games require little or no specialized equipment other than writing materials, though some such games have been commercialized as board games (Scrabble, for instance, is based on the idea of a crossword puzzle, and tic-tac-toe sets with a boxed grid and pieces are available commercially). These games vary widely, from games centering on a design being drawn such as Pictionary and "connect-the-dots" games like sprouts, to letter and word games such as Boggle and Scattergories, to solitaire and logic puzzle games such as Sudoku and crossword puzzles.

Guessing games[link]

A guessing game has as its core a piece of information that one player knows, and the object is to coerce others into guessing that piece of information without actually divulging it in text or spoken word. Charades is probably the most well-known game of this type, and has spawned numerous commercial variants that involve differing rules on the type of communication to be given, such as Catch Phrase, Taboo, Pictionary, and similar. The genre also includes many game shows such as Win, Lose or Draw, Password and $25,000 Pyramid.

Video games[link]

Video games are computer- or microprocessor-controlled games. Computers can create virtual spaces for a wide variety of game types. Some video games simulate conventional game objects like cards or dice, while others can simulate environs either grounded in reality or fantastical in design, each with its own set of rules or goals.

A computer or video game uses one or more input devices, typically a button/joystick combination (on arcade games); a keyboard, mouse and/or trackball (computer games); or a controller or a motion sensitive tool. (console games). More esoteric devices such as paddle controllers have also been used for input. In computer games, the evolution of user interfaces from simple keyboard to mouse, joystick or joypad has profoundly changed the nature of game development.^{[citation needed]}

There are many genres of video game; the first commercial video game, Pong, was a simple simulation of table tennis. As processing power increased, new genres such as adventure and action games were developed that involved a player guiding a character from a third person perspective through a series of obstacles. This "real-time" element cannot be easily reproduced by a board game, which is generally limited to "turn-based" strategy; this advantage allows video games to simulate situations such as combat more realistically. Additionally, the playing of a video game does not require the same physical skill, strength and/or danger as a real-world representation of the game, and can provide either very realistic, exaggerated or impossible physics, allowing for elements of a fantastical nature, games involving physical violence, or simulations of sports. Lastly, a computer can, with varying degrees of success, simulate one or more human opponents in traditional table games such as chess, leading to simulations of such games that can be played by a single player.

In more open-ended computer simulations, also known as sandbox-style games, the game provides a virtual environment in which the player may be free to do whatever they like within the confines of this universe. Sometimes, there is a lack of goals or opposition, which has stirred some debate on whether these should be considered "games" or "toys". (Crawford specifically mentions Will Wright's SimCity as an example of a toy.)^[6]

Online games[link]

From the very earliest days of networked and time-shared computers, online games have been part of the culture. Early commercial systems such as Plato were at least as widely famous for their games as for their strictly educational value. In 1958, Tennis for Two dominated Visitor's Day and drew attention to the oscilloscope at the Brookhaven National Laboratory; during the 1980s, Xerox PARC was known mainly for Maze War, which was offered as a hands-on demo to visitors.

Modern online games are played using an Internet connection; some have dedicated client programs, while others require only a web browser. Some simpler browser games appeal to demographic groups (notably women and the middle-aged) that otherwise play very few video games.^{[citation needed]}

Media audiences' characteristic has been changing in consequence of the social changes and development. They are becoming active and interact more than ever before. The players of the game in this phenomenon are just like the social formation in society. They are both self-regulating, creating their own social norms and subject to regulation and constraint through the code of the game and sometimes through the policing of the game by those who run it. The values that are policed vary from game to game. Many of the values encoded into game cultures reflect offline cultural values, but games also offer a chance to emphasise alternative or subjugated values in the name of fantasy and play. The players of the game at the new century are now apparently expressing their profound self through the game. When they can play with their anonymous status, they are found to be more confident to express and to step out from the position they have never been out from. It offers new experiences and pleasures based in the interactive and immersible possibilities of computer technologies.^{[citation needed]}

Role-playing games[link]

Role-playing games, often abbreviated as RPGs, are a type of game in which the participants (usually) assume the roles of characters acting in a fictional setting. The original role playing games—or at least those explicitly marketed as such—are played with a handful of participants, usually face-to-face, and keep track of the developing fiction with pen and paper. Together, the players may collaborate on a story involving those characters; create, develop, and "explore" the setting; or vicariously experience an adventure outside the bounds of everyday life. Pen-and-paper role-playing games include, for example, Dungeons & Dragons and GURPS.

The term role-playing game has also been appropriated by the video game industry to describe a genre of video games. These may be single-player games where one player experiences a programmed environment and story, or they may allow players to interact through the internet. The experience is usually quite different from traditional role-playing games. Single-player games include Final Fantasy, Fable, The Elder Scrolls, and Mass Effect. Online multi-player games, often referred to as Massively Multiplayer Online role playing games, or MMORPGs, include RuneScape, EverQuest 2, Guild Wars, MapleStory, Anarchy Online, and Dofus. As of 2009^[update], the most successful MMORPG has been World of Warcraft, which controls the vast majority of the market.^[13]

Business games[link]

Business games can take a variety of forms, from interactive board games to interactive games involving different props (balls, ropes, hoops, etc.) and different kinds of activities. The purpose of these games is to link to some aspect of organizational performance and to generate discussions about business improvement. Many business games focus on organizational behaviors. Some of these are computer simulations while others are simple designs for play and debriefing. Team building is a common focus of such activities.

Simulation[link]

The term "game" can include simulation^[14][15] or re-enactment of various activities or use in "real life" for various purposes: e.g., training, analysis, prediction. Well-known examples are war games and roleplaying. The root of this meaning may originate in the human prehistory of games deduced by anthropology from observing primitive cultures, in which children's games mimic the activities of adults to a significant degree: hunting, warring, nursing, etc. These kinds of games are preserved in modern times.^{[original research?]}

See also[link]

Sports and games portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Game

• Game classification
• Game club
• Game theory
• Gamer
• Girls' games and toys
• History of games
• Lawn game
• List of games
• Ludibrium
• Ludology

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Avedon, Elliot; Sutton-Smith, Brian, The Study of Games. (Philadelphia: Wiley, 1971), reprinted Krieger, 1979. ISBN 0-89874-045-2

Look up rule or ruling in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Rule and ruling usually refers to standards for activities. They may refer to:

Human activity[link]

• Business rule, a rule pertaining to the structure or behavior internal to a business
• School rule, rules part of school discipline
• Sport rule, rule that defines how a sport is played
• Game rule, rule that defines how a game is played
• Moral, a rule or element of a moral code for guiding choices in human behavior
• Norm (philosophy), a kind of sentence or a reason to act, feel or believe
• Rule of thumb, a principle with broad application that is not intended to be strictly accurate or reliable for every situation
• Unspoken rule, an assumed rule of human behavior that is not voiced or written down

Science[link]

• Norm (sociology), a term in sociology describing explicit or implicit rules used within society or by a group (i.e. social norms)
• Rule of inference or transformation rule, a term in logic for a function which takes premises and returns a conclusion
• "Rule X" elementary cellular automaton, where X is a number between 0-255 characterizing a specific model (e.g. Rule 110)
• Ruler, or "rule"; a distance measuring device

Law and government[link]

• Law, which may informally be called a "rule"
• Government
• Rule of law, government that consists of rule not by one person but by laws, as in a democratic republic; no one person can rule and even top government officials are under and ruled by the law. In addition to this, in such a government, laws cannot be enacted which would undermine the rule of law via the setup of separate frameworks of rules for separate subsets of the population.
• Ruler, a monarch, the person who rules a country
• Procedural law, a ruleset governing the application of laws to cases
• Court order, a decision by a court
• Military rule, governance by a military body
• Monastic rule, a collection of precepts that guides the life of monks or nuns in a religious order
• In rulemaking by the federal government of the United States, a regulation mandated by congress, but written or expanded upon by the executive branch

Books[link]

• The Rules, a bestselling self-help book

Entertainment[link]

• Ja Rule, a hip hop artist
  • R.U.L.E., a 2005 greatest hits album by Ja Rule
• Rule (song), a song by rapper Nas
• "Rule/Sparkle", a song by Ayumi Hamasaki
• Rules (album), an album by the band The Whitest Boy Alive
• "Rules" (song), a KMFDM song
• "Rules", a Shakira song included on her album Laundry Service
• Rules: Pyaar Ka Superhit Formula, a 2003 Bollywood film
• The Rule, an American pop/R&B band
  • The Rule (album), self-titled album by The Rule

Surname[link]

• Albert Leroy Rule, World War I documentary film producer & director
• Ann Rule (b.1935), American true crime writer.
• Bert L. Rule (1891–1878), Tin Pan Alley composer & arranger
• Bob Rule (b.1944), American basketball player
• Christopher Rule (1895-1983), American comic book artist
• Elton Rule (1916—1990), American television executive
• Gilbert Rule (c.1629-1701), Principal of Edinburgh University
• Glenn Rule (b.1989, Birkenhead ), English soccer player
• Ja Rule (b.1976), American rapper, singer and actor
• Jack Rule, Jr. (b.1938), American professional golfer
• Jane Rule (1931–2007), Canadian writer
• Janice Rule (1931–2003), American actress
• Margaret Rule (b.1928), English underwater archaeologist
• Stan Rule (b.1924), Australian rules footballer
• Stephen Rule (b.1952), English Rugby Union and Rugby League player and coach
• Wendy Rule, Australian musical artist
• William Rule (American editor) (1839–1928), American newspaper editor and politician

Other uses[link]

• Rule (horse), American racehorse
• Rule, Texas, a town in Texas, United States
• Rules (restaurant), London's oldest restaurant

See also[link]

• All Wikipedia pages beginning with Rule of
• All Wikipedia pages beginning with Rules of
• All Wikipedia pages beginning with Rules for

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Ja Rule
Ja Rule with Jaid Barrymore in February 2005
Background information
Birth name	Jeffery Atkins
Born	(1976-02-29) February 29, 1976 (age 36) Queens, New York, U.S.
Origin	Jamaica, Queens, New York, USA
Genres	Hip hop, east coast hip hop, R&B
Occupations	Rapper, Actor, Songwriter
Years active	1993–present
Labels	Def Jam, The Inc., Mpire Music Group, Fontana Distribution
Associated acts	Irv Gotti, Ashanti, Jay-Z, DMX, Fat Joe, Mpire Music Group, Vita, Lloyd, Hussein Fatal, Caddillac Tah, Mary J Blige, Charli Baltimore, Black Child, Memphis Bleek, Jadakiss, R. Kelly, 7 Aurelius
Website	ruleyork.com

Jeffrey Atkins (born February 29, 1976),^[1] better known by his stage name Ja Rule or Mockaveli, is an American rapper, singer, and actor from Queens, New York City.

Born in Hollis, Queens, he began his career in the group Cash Money Click and debuted in 1999 with Venni Vetti Vecci and its single "Holla Holla". From 2000 to 2004, Ja Rule had several hits that made the top 20 of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, including "Between Me and You" with Christina Milian, "I'm Real (Murder Remix)" with Jennifer Lopez, "Always on Time" with Ashanti, "Mesmerize" also with Ashanti, and "Wonderful" with R. Kelly and Ashanti. During the 2000s, Ja Rule was signed to The Inc. Records, which was formerly known as Murder Inc. and was led by Irv Gotti. Ja Rule has sold over 30 million records worldwide and was the fastest selling rapper in 2001^{[citation needed]}. He is also known for some well-publicized feuds with other rappers (in-particular 50 Cent and Eminem).

Early life[link]

Atkins was born in the Queens borough of New York City.^[1] He was raised as a Jehovah's Witness by his mother, health care worker Debra Atkins,^[2] and grandparents. At the age of five his sister died from breathing complications, leaving him as an only child. He attended Public School 134 in Hollis, a school he has described as having a predominantly black student body. He has said got into many fights at the school because of his small size, so his mother transferred him to Middle School 172 in Glen Oaks, which he has described as a "white school".^[3]

Music career[link]

Atkins began his rap career in 1994 with his classic hip hop group Cash Money Click. told Curtis Waller of MTV News that his stage name "Ja Rule" came from a friend who addressed him by that name; other friends called him "Ja".^[4] In 1995, he made his first appearance on Mic Geronimo's "Time to Build" which featured Jay-Z and DMX, who were also in their early stages of their careers. In 1998, he was a featured guest on Jay-Z's hit single "Can I Get A..." along with Amil which Ja Rule wrote the hook, and was going to be a Ja Rule solo song, until Jay heard the track.

[edit] Venni Vetti Vecci (1999)

His debut album Venni Vetti Vecci was released in 1999. Singles included "Holla Holla", "It's Murda" with Jay-Z & DMX, and "Daddy's Little Baby" with Ronald Isley. "Holla Holla" reached #35 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #2 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart.^[5] Venni Vetti Vecci was certified platinum by the RIAA on July 12, 1999.^[6]

[edit] Rule 3:36 (2000)

Ja Rule returned in 2000 with his new single "Between Me and You", which featured Christina Milian. "Between Me and You" reached #11 on the Hot 100, and "Put It On Me" reached #8 on the Hot 100.^[5] Ja's second album, Rule 3:36, was released on October 10, 2000. Rule 3:36 debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified triple platinum.^[6]

[edit] Pain Is Love (2001)

During the late summer of 2001, Ja Rule released his third studio album, Pain Is Love. "Living It Up", featuring Case, reached #11 on the Hot 100, and "Always on Time", which featured Ashanti, reached #1 on the Hot 100.^[5] Like its predecessor, Pain Is Love topped the Billboard 200 and was certified triple platinum.^[6] By 2007, 3.6 million copies of Pain Is Love had been sold.^[7] Ja Rule could also be heard on Artists against AIDS Worldwide's single "What's Going On."

[edit] The Last Temptation (2002)

The Last Temptation, Ja Rule's fourth album, was released on November 19, 2002. It featured the two Billboard Top 10 singles "Thug Lovin'" (#8) and "Mesmerize" (#2), another duet with Ashanti.^[5] The Last Temptation debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200.^[8] The Last Temptation was certified platinum in December 2002.^[6]

[edit] Blood in My Eye (2003)

Blood in My Eye although intended to be a mixtape, was his fifth album and the last released under the "Murder Inc." label, which renamed itself "The Inc." several days after the album release. It spawned the one and only hit "Clap Back" which reached #5 on the Top 100 and won him the Source Awards'"Fat Tape" song of the year. It peaked at #6 on the Billboard 100 and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart selling 139,000 copies in its first week of release. It has since sold over 468,000 copies in the U.S.^[8] In October 2003, Ja Rule met with Minister Louis Farrakhan, who wanted to intervene and prevent escalating violence in the feud between Ja Rule and 50 Cent.^[9]

[edit] R.U.L.E. (2004)

Ja Rule's sixth studio album R.U.L.E. was released in November 2004 debuting at number 7 selling 166,000 copies in its first week of release. Its lead single was "Wonderful" featuring R. Kelly and Ashanti which peaked on the Billboard Top 100 Singles at #5. The single was followed by the street anthem "New York" featuring Fat Joe and Jadakiss which charted at #27. The third single was the love song "Caught Up" featuring Lloyd and Ashanti which charted at #15. The track "The Manual" was also a single in the UK where it peaked at #9. The RIAA certified R.U.L.E. Gold on January 14, 2005,^[6] and by October 2007, the album had sold 658,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.^[7]

Hiatus, departure from Def Jam and leaving The Inc. Records (2005–2009)[link]

Ja Rule performing in Fort Hood, Texas, May 13, 2005

On December 6, 2005, The Inc. released Exodus, a greatest hits album whose only new tracks were the song "Me" and intro and outro tracks. Exodus was the last album on Ja Rule's contract with The Inc. After the release of this compilation, Ja Rule took a hiatus from recording music.^[1]

In 2005, The Inc. Records came under investigation because of drug trades by Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, who was associated with Irv Gotti.^[10] This led to Def Jam Recordings refusing to renew The Inc.'s contract. From 2005 to 2006, Gotti searched for other labels until finally reaching a deal with Universal Records (ironically part of the same company as Def Jam).

In 2009, Ja Rule recorded a new song with Brazilian singer Wanessa, "Fly", sung entirely in English despite the singer's nationality. The song also received a version named "Meu Momento", also featuring Ja Rule, in which Wanessa sings in Portuguese.^[11] "Fly" was released as a single in Brazil in April. The song was ranked number #1 on Crowley/Brazil,^[12] and it was nominated in the "Hit do Ano" ("Hit Song of the Year") category at the 2009 MTV Video Music Brasil awards show, where Ja Rule and Wanessa performed together for the first time.^[13]

Ja Rule also ended his long running feud with his former Def Jam labelmate DMX at VH1's 2009 Hip Hop Honors in September.^[14] Ja Rule announced that he was no longer signed to The Inc. Records, the label he has been with since its beginnings in 1997.^[15]

[edit] The Mirror and Mpire Music Group (2009)

After leaving The Inc. Records in 2009 Ja Rule set up Mpire Music Group and recruited new artists while still maintaining friendship with Irv Gotti. The Mirror was to be Ja Rule's seventh album and set for a 2007 release date, however, due to poor reception to singles partly believed to be due to his beef with 50 Cent it was pushed back. Eventually tracks from the album leaked online leading Ja Rule to re-record the album only afterwards deciding to release it as a free download in 2009.

[edit] Pain Is Love 2, Prison and Renaissance Project (2012-Present)

In February 2011, It was announced that Ja Rule is working on another album called Pain Is Love 2, naming it after the original 2001 triple platinum album (Pain Is Love). It will feature production from the producers on the original Pain Is Love album in order to "recreate magic". He had planned on releasing it June 7, although later decided to delay the release date in order to allow more time to perfect the "level and quality of the records" and to avoid "doing an injustice to his fans."^[16][17][18]
Pain Is Love 2 was slated for an October 11, 2011 release date but had been pushed back yet again, this time to February 28, 2012.^[19] To make up for the delay Ja Rule released a new track called "Falling to Pieces" which was produced by 7 Aurelius. The song samples The Script's "Breakeven".^[20][21] On October 2, 2011, another track released called "Spun a Web" which was also produced 7 Aurelius and samples Coldplay's "Trouble". The following day a teaser music video premiered on YouTube and the official music video was released on October 11.^[22] Pain Is Love 2 was finally released on February 28, 2012, while Ja Rule was serving a two-year sentence in jail for gun possession. Renaissance Project is the upcoming eighth studio album by Rule. Recording sessions for the album took place primarily at Mpire Studios in NYC Studio during 2008 to 2011. Production was handled by Rule and several others, including Benzino, 7 Aurelius and Buck 3000. Most of the tracks that were meant for the Renaissance were transferred over to Pain Is Love 2. Rule is set to be released from prison in December 2012, he is then set to go out on his tour, "40 days, 40 nights tour

Acting career[link]

During his break from rapping, Ja Rule had an appearance as a street racer in The Fast and the Furious. In 2004, he appeared in several movies including Back in The Day with Ving Rhames and Pam Grier and Half Past Dead as Steven Seagal's co-star. He also starred in the movie The Cookout with Queen Latifah.

See Filmography

Personal life[link]

Family[link]

In April 2001, Ja Rule married Aisha Murray on a C.^{[23][24][25][26]}

Legal issues[link]

In 2003, he allegedly punched a man in Toronto, who later sued Ja Rule. The issue was settled out of court.^[27]

In 2004, police investigated whether a feud involving The Inc. led to fatal shooting outside a nightclub party hosted by Ja Rule and Leon Richardson where they thought he shot Proof of D12.^[28][29]

On July 1, 2004, Ja Rule was arrested with Don Rhys for driving with a suspended license and possessing marijuana.^[30]

In July 2007, Ja Rule was arrested for gun and drug possession charges along with Lil Wayne, and Don Rhys who served eight months in prison during 2010 for attempted possession of a weapon stemming from the arrest.^[31][32][33] New York Supreme Court judge Richard Carruthers rejected Ja Rule's argument that the gun was illegally obtained evidence.^[34][35] On December 13, 2010, Ja Rule received a two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to attempted possession of a weapon after the aforementioned 2007 concert. On March 8, 2011 Ja Rule's surrender date for his two year prison sentence was set for June 8.^[36] His publicist said that Ja Rule will turn himself in to authorities. He will go to Rikers Island first, then be sent to a state facility in Upstate New York.^[37]

In July 2011, Ja Rule received an additional 28-month prison sentence for tax evasion, failing to pay taxes on more than $3 million in earnings between 2004–2006.^[38]

Feuds[link]

50 Cent/G-Unit Records[link]

Before signing with Interscope Records, 50 Cent engaged in a well-publicized feud with Ja Rule and his label Murder Inc. Records. 50 Cent claimed that the feud began in 1999 after Ja Rule spotted him with a man who robbed him of his jewelry.^{[citation needed]} However, Ja Rule claimed the conflict stemmed from a video shoot in Queens because 50 Cent did not like Ja Rule "getting so much love" from the neighborhood.^[39] A confrontation occurred in a New York studio where rapper Black Child, a Murder Inc. artist, stabbed 50 Cent, which resulted in him having three stitches. .^[3]

In his book, 50 Cent details how Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff tried to resolve the conflict between him and Ja Rule. Allegedly, McGriff asked 50 Cent to leave them alone because of the money involved. 50 Cent insinuated the conflict had something to do with the shooting where he was ambushed and shot.

Since then, Black Child publicly insulted 50 Cent twice in, "There's a Snitch in the Club", and "You the Wanksta". In both songs, Black Child details violent actions directed toward 50 Cent^[3] The exchange of insult tracks released from both parties culminated in Ja Rule releasing Blood in My Eye, which was an album that returned additional insults to 50 Cent. Ja Rule eventually tried to squash the feud with 50 Cent by using minister Louis Farrakhan in a televised interview. However, the attempt at peace lost credibility as the interview was scheduled a day before Blood in My Eye was released. As a result, most fans, along with 50 Cent, dismissed the interview as a blatant publicity stunt. Because of the ongoing feud between the two, 50 Cent's labelmates Eminem, Dr. Dre, Obie Trice, D12, DMX, and Busta Rhymes also became involved and released tracks which insulted Ja Rule.^[3]

Ja Rule later released R.U.L.E. with the successful single, "New York", featuring Jadakiss and Fat Joe in which Ja Rule took subliminal shots at 50 Cent. This single prompted 50 Cent to enter a feud with the two featured artists (see article on "Piggy Bank" for details).

Although it seemed that the feud was over, Ja Rule returned with a track entitled "21 Gunz".^[40] In response, Lloyd Banks and 50 Cent released the track "Return of Ja Fool" on Lloyd Banks' mixtape Mo Money in the Bank Pt. 4, Gang Green Season Starts Now.^[40] 50 Cent claimed in 2010 that Ja Rule's beef with him and Shady/Aftermath has ruined Ja's career saying "We just ripped the nigga apart and he hasn't & can't come back from it".

In an interview with MTV He stated that his new album, The Mirror, will not be continuing any past feuds that he has engaged in. He said:

There was a lot of things I wanted to say, and I didn't want there to be any bitter records on the album. Because I'm not bitter about anything that happened [in the past few years].^[41]

Eminem[link]

The conflict started after 50 Cent signed to Shady Records and Aftermath. Ja Rule stated that he had a problem with Eminem and Dr. Dre for signing someone he disliked.^[42] On November 19, Ja Rule and Irv Gotti were special guests on Star and Bucwild's morning show on Hot 97 NYC. Irv Gotti had some legal documents stating the order of protection 50 has on him.^[43]

Ja Rule threatened that, if 50 Cent released any songs with defamatory or insulting lyrics directed at him, he would take legal action towards both of them.^[42][43] However, Dr. Dre was the one who produced 50 Cent's track "Back Down" in 2003 from the album Get Rich Or Die Tryin', which made derogatory comments toward Murder Inc., and Ja Rule's immediate family members. "^{[44][dead link]}

Busta Rhymes joined the conflict when he was featured on the track "Hail Mary 2003", with Eminem and 50 Cent. The song, a remake of Tupac Shakur's song "Hail Mary", was done partially as a response to Ja Rule's remake of another Tupac song, "Pain" (retitled "So Much Pain"). The rappers felt that Rule could never amount to Tupac, and so made the track, mocking him for trying to "imitate" the deceased rap icon. Eminem prevented Ja Rule from appearing on any of the "new" Tupac songs he produced, including those on Loyal to the Game.^[43]

The conflict escalated when Ja Rule released, "Loose Change" (actually released before "Hail Mary"), in which he insulted 50 Cent, called Eminem by the name "Feminem", falsely announced Dr. Dre as "bisexual", and claimed that Suge Knight knew of Dre "bringing transvestites home".^[44] The song also includes lyrics that insulted Eminem's mother, Debbie, his then ex-wife, Kim, and even referenced his then 8-year-old daughter, Hailie. "^[42]

These lyrics offended Eminem deeply, causing him to immediately get his rap group D12 involved, as well as the major part of his label, including Obie Trice, his close friend.^[44] Eminem then made the track "Bully", and together, he and Trice responded with a song titled "Doe Rae Me" (aka "Hailie's Revenge"). Eminem also made a reference to Ja Rule's insult toward Hailie in "Like Toy Soldiers", by saying:

"I need to be the leader, my crew looks for me to guide 'em, if some shit ever does pop off, I'm supposed to be beside 'em. That Ja shit I tried to squash it, it was too late to stop it. There's a certain line you just don't cross and he crossed it. I heard him say Hailie's name on a song and I just lost it."

Since then the feud has cooled down.^[42]

DMX[link]

Ja Rule started off as friends with DMX, as well as Jay-Z. DMX, Jay-Z and Ja Rule were part of a group at the time named Murder Inc. (The name was later used by Ja's producer Irv Gotti for his record label.) They recorded songs under the name together. DMX and Jay-Z also guest starred on Ja Rule's first album on the track "It's Murda". He released a track on Cradle 2 The Grave Soundtrack called Go to Sleep with Eminem, Obie Trice were they all took shoots at Ja Rule. Eventually Ja Rule's feuds with Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre, and Eminem went away.

The two rappers waged a war of words for years after DMX accused Ja Rule of copying his hardcore style on records.^[45] DMX admitted that he initially wanted to end with his rap rival when he was released from jail in 2005 before making peace: "Gotti came to me in jail and said I want to make peace with you and him", said DMX, "I was like, 'Alright Gotti, let's do it. But I need five minutes in a room with your man. I got to put my hands on him.'"^[45]

DMX and Ja Rule finally ended their feud at VH1's 2009 Hip Hop Honors.^[46]

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• 1999: Venni Vetti Vecci
• 2000: Rule 3:36
• 2001: Pain Is Love
• 2002: The Last Temptation
• 2003: Blood in My Eye
• 2004: R.U.L.E.
• 2012: Pain Is Love 2^[47]
• 2012: Renaissance Project^[47]

Other albums

• 2005: Exodus
• 2008: The Mirror
• 2012: Icon

Awards and nominations[link]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ja Rule

• Official website
• The Inc. artist website (archived)
• Ja Rule on Myspace
• Ja Rule at MTV
• Ja Rule at the Internet Movie Database

Fat Joe
Joe performing in April 2011
Background information
Birth name	Joseph Antonio Cartagena[1]
Born	(1970-08-19) August 19, 1970 (age 41)[1][2][3] New York City, New York, U.S.
Genres	East Coast hip hop, mafioso rap, hardcore hip hop
Occupations	Rapper
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Terror Squad Entertainment, Relativity, Atlantic, Imperial, E1
Associated acts	Big Punisher, Terror Squad, D.I.T.C., DJ Premier, Kool G Rap, Apache, Grand Puba, R. Kelly, KRS-One, Raekwon, Jadakiss, Big L, N.O.R.E., DJ Khaled, Kill All Rats
Website	www.myspace.com/fatjoe

Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper, CEO of Terror Squad Entertainment, and member of musical groups D.I.T.C. and Terror Squad.

Fat Joe's first album was Represent, released in 1993, followed by Jealous One's Envy in 1995. From 1998 to 2006, he was signed to Atlantic Records, releasing four albums under the label, Don Cartagena in 1998, Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E.) in 2001, Loyalty in 2002, and All or Nothing in 2005.^[1] Around the release of All or Nothing, Fat Joe became involved in a highly publicized feud with another New York City-based rapper 50 Cent, who attacked Fat Joe in his song "Piggy Bank". His most popular song in which he performed was his Remy Ma duet "Lean Back" with Terror Squad. The song was a number-one hit in the summer of 2004.