An editing pass over the words around the game, and three corrections in the guide

The guide, the hall, the room page and the explanations after a turn
lose their closing aphorisms, most of their semicolons, the
statement-colon-example lines and the page narrating itself. The
tagline is one sentence, and 'a labor of love' is gone from the about
link. The chronicle's imagery and the in-world names stay.

Corrected along the way: a counter-spell does stop wound spells and
lightning (the guide said it did not); a shield is not the only defence
against a newly summoned creature; on the first turn a knife can hurt
you; a palm is no defence against a fireball; a goblin needs five turns
to match one; and only the offline duel lives in the browser.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_0141G6xqLeNRYEtviLWSB5Up
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Eric WagonerandClaude Opus 5.5 committed 2026-10-10 18:51:59 -04:00
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<header>
<a class="back" href="/">Back to the hall</a> · <a class="back" href="/guide">How to play</a>
<h1>How to duel</h1>
<p class="lede">Waving Hands is Richard Bartle's 1977 game of two wizards trading spells made of hand gestures. This page is a working reference; the original transcription is at the end.</p>
<p class="lede">Waving Hands is Richard Bartle's 1977 game of two wizards trading spells made of hand gestures. This page is a working reference, and the original transcription is at the end.</p>
<nav aria-label="Sections">
<a href="#turn">A turn</a>
<a href="#gestures">Gestures</a>
@@ -79,19 +79,19 @@
<section id="gestures">
<h2>Gestures</h2>
<p>Six magical gestures: <strong>F</strong> wriggled fingers, <strong>P</strong> proffered palm, <strong>S</strong> snap, <strong>W</strong> wave, <strong>D</strong> pointed digit and <strong>C</strong> clap. A clap needs both hands; a clap with one hand is nothing. A hand may instead <strong>stab</strong> with the knife (one point of damage, one stab a turn) or do <strong>nothing</strong>. Neither belongs to any spell, so a hand that stabs or rests starts its next spell from scratch.</p>
<p>There are six magical gestures. <strong>F</strong> is wriggled fingers, <strong>P</strong> a proffered palm, <strong>S</strong> a snap, <strong>W</strong> a wave, <strong>D</strong> a pointed digit and <strong>C</strong> a clap. A clap needs both hands, and a clap with one hand counts as nothing. A hand may instead <strong>stab</strong> with the knife (one point of damage, one stab a turn) or do <strong>nothing</strong>. Neither belongs to any spell, so a hand that stabs or rests starts its next spell from scratch.</p>
<p>A spell is a run of gestures made on consecutive turns by one hand. In the notation, a bracketed lower-case letter such as <strong>(w</strong> means that gesture made with both hands at once.</p>
<p>Both palms at once is <strong>surrender</strong>. It is not a spell and it ends the duel.</p>
</section>
<section id="overlap">
<h2>Overlapping spells</h2>
<p>A gesture can belong to more than one spell as long as each spell's run is unbroken. F-F-F is Paralysis; follow it with S-S-D-D and the last five gestures, F-S-S-D-D, are a Fireball. Another F after F-F-F is a second Paralysis. Each gesture can finish only one spell, so if two spells would end on the same gesture you choose one. Any finished spell may be let go harmlessly, except the storms, which rage wherever they are released.</p>
<p>A gesture can belong to more than one spell as long as each spell's run is unbroken. F-F-F is Paralysis. Follow it with S-S-D-D, and the last five gestures, F-S-S-D-D, are a Fireball. Another F after F-F-F is a second Paralysis. Each gesture can finish only one spell, so if two spells would end on the same gesture you choose one. Any finished spell may be let go harmlessly, except the storms, which rage wherever they are released.</p>
</section>
<section id="targets">
<h2>Targets and timing</h2>
<p>Every spell has a subject. Protection and summons are usually cast on yourself; attacks and enchantments on your opponent; but any spell may be aimed at any wizard or monster, and a spell aimed at something that no longer exists is lost.</p>
<p>Every spell has a subject. Protection and summons are usually cast on yourself, and attacks and enchantments on your opponent, but any spell may be aimed at any wizard or monster, and a spell aimed at something that no longer exists is lost.</p>
<p>Because everything is simultaneous, a monster killed the turn it appears still attacks that turn, a Resist heat cast in the same turn as a Fireball saves you, and a Remove enchantment cast in the same turn as a Fireball leaves you burned. <strong>Counter-spell</strong> stops every other spell cast at its subject that turn, except Finger of death and Dispel magic. <strong>Dispel magic</strong> stops every spell on the field, ends every enchantment and unmakes every monster after it attacks.</p>
</section>