From: kentborg@world.std.com (Kent Borg)
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 94 15:44:41 PDT
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Card Playing Protocol?
Message-ID: <199407152244.AA22734@world.std.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


Something that frustrates me in fighting about crypto issues is the
amazing quantities of ignorance available on the subject.  I wish
people knew more.  Yes, if they understood how a meet-in-the-middle
attack works that would be nice, but I would settle with something far
simpler:
 
It would be really nice if people had practical experiance *using*
cryptography in a friendly, innocent, and non-threatening way.
 
Familiarity breeds comfort.
 
How to do this?  What about a multi-player game which requires
cryptography to implement the play?  One possiblity would be a
cryptographic implementation of playing cards.
 
This has very obvious and easy to understand graphical
implementations.  So simple a small child can easily understand the
product--which means possibly even the ITAR police would get the
concept.
 
This "digital deck of cards" would be flexible enough to allow the
playing of most card games with the addition of the same manual
book-keeping as is needed with physical cards.  For assistance in
keeping score, bidding--or God forbid--betting, there would be a
journaled, low-bandwidth communication channel which would be--very
important here--in the clear.
 
The digital cards would be cryptographically strong.  
 
Players would appreciate that cheating could be accomplished by
cracking the codes, and yet no one seems to be able to cheat.  (Note,
cheating through collusion in a game like bridge would still be
possible.)
 
The cards would not be suitable for distributing porn, bomb making
secrets, or drugs, yet would drive the ITAR police *crazy*.  What if a
deck of the these cards were to be illegally exported from the
country?!?!?  Try telling all those Regular Citizens who are getting
on the net and discover they can play cards that the cards are
dangerous munitions.  What a wonderful way to make the ITAR police
look completely silly.  Oh, and to be sure they *do* get upset, make
the cards just open enough that they *do* constitute something more
general-purpose.  (Make calls to PGP, or let others make calls to the
crypto functions in the digital cards--something like that.)
 
 
Comments?  Suggestions for a game other than cards that would be
better or more suitable?  

Is anyone already working on a Card Playing Protocol?
 
 
-kb, the Kent who tries to cause trouble


--
Kent Borg                                                  +1 (617) 776-6899
kentborg@world.std.com                                
kentborg@aol.com                                      
          Proud to claim 32:00 hours of TV viewing so far in 1994!