Rules of Acquisition

The Rules of Acquisition were a numbered series of aphorisms, guidelines, and principles that provided the foundation of business philosophy in Ferengi culture. They were first written by Gint, the first Grand Nagus. In the mid-22nd century there were 173 rules, and by the 24th century there were 285. In theory, every Ferengi business transaction strictly followed all 285 rules. (ENT: "Acquisition"; DS9: "Rules of Acquisition", "The Maquis, Part I"; VOY: "False Profits")

There was also a short-lived revised edition of the Rules written by Grand Nagus Zek after having his state of mind changed by the Bajoran Prophets. These rules were almost complete opposites of the original rules and promoted honesty and charity. After Zek recovered, he ordered all copies of the new rules to be destroyed. (DS9: "Prophet Motive")

Official rules Edit

Unofficial rules Edit

The following sayings were either not given a number, not explicitly stated to be a Rule, or were not part of the generally-accepted Rules by the Ferengi Commerce Authority.

Notes Edit

1. ↑ As late as 2151, the rule was quoted as being slightly different. "Never allow family to stand in the way of profit" (where profit replaces opportunity). (ENT: "Acquisition")
2. ↑ Legends of the Ferengi concludes Rule #16 with "...until a better one comes along."
3. ↑ In the first draft script of "Body Parts", the seventeenth rule was said to simply be, "A contract is a contract is a contract," without the added clause involving species.
4. ↑ Legends of the Ferengi concludes Rule #31 with "...insult something he cares about instead."
5. ↑ Brunt stated a variation of this rule (without referring to it by number) with: "It's never too early to suck up to the boss".
6. ↑ Quark stated a corollary: "only from a distance, the closer to the front lines, the less profitable it gets"
7. ↑ Although spoken before the production staff's creation of the Rules of Acquisition, Par Lenor stated something quite similar to this rule: "Peace is good for trade ... unless you happen to be an arms merchant!"
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Rule of Acquisition #95 was quoted as Rule #45 in ENT: "Acquisition". It might be possible though, that in the roughly two hundred years between the two episodes, the arrangement of the Rules of Acquisition slightly changed. Alternatively, it may have been decided that the rule bears repeating. Indeed, this may be self-referential.
9. ↑ This rule was interrupted before it could be finished.
10. ↑ This rule was actually only called "one of the high numbers" by Quark; he only thought it was rule 194.
11. ↑ In DS9: "Body Parts", it is suggested in a dream of Quark's, that the Rules of Acquisition themselves are merely guidelines, and the book was mislabeled by Gint so as to sell more copies than the "Suggestions of Acquisition." However, this may be no more than Quark trying to justify breaking rule #17, since this rule is obviously higher than ENT's "original" 173 rules. It could also be noted that the Grand Nagus has the power to change the Rules of Acquisition, so it is still possible this rule changed position over time (DS9: "Prophet Motive").
12. ↑ Though not given a number, this rule was clearly official, among the first 173, and considered "the most important one" by Krem.
13. ↑ Personal rule of Quark's. Rom noted there was no such rule, to which Quark replied that there should be.
14. ↑ May be a purely fictional rule, as it was quoted by Neelix, who had no previous contact with Ferengi, and it did not exist by the time the target Ferengi became stranded in the Delta Quadrant, although he claimed at the time that the Ferengi he was confronting had been away for a long time to suggest that new rules had been written.
15. ↑ Arridor and Kol taught the Takarians this saying. It was not stated whether it was an official rule or not.
16. ↑ According to Arridor.
17. ↑ Invented by Arridor.
18. ↑ This saying was quoted by Brunt to Quark. It is unknown whether it was an official rule or not.
19. ↑ Not quoted word for word, but when Sisko asked if such a rule existed, Quark acknowledged that there was. Quark may have been referring to the apocryphal Rule 218 (see below).
20. ↑ A personal rule quoted by Nog despite its direct contradiction to rules 94 and 229.
21. ↑ As told to Odo by Quark when the latter illegally used replicators in empty crew quarters. He seems to have been paraphrasing the apocryphal Rule 52 (see below).
22. ↑ Quark told the Wadi delegation visiting his establishment that this was an old Ferengi saying.
23. ↑ This un-numbered "rule"'s provenance derives merely from Janeway quoting it as something "the Ferengi say". It may not, therefore, have been a genuine Rule. The apocryphal Pocket DS9 title The Long Mirage, however, explicitly describes it as a Rule, but does not give it a number.
24. ↑ Rom said this to Quark when urging him to complete a very important mission that could end with the two being killed. From the implicit understanding Quark displayed, and the lack of prior reference to any "written" materials, it's likely that this was in fact a Rule, probably referring to the finality of a business contract, here used out of this original context.

Appendices Edit

Background information Edit

The Rules of Acquisition were invented by executive producer-writer Ira Steven Behr at the beginning of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (beginning with "The Nagus") (Star Trek Encyclopedia (4th ed., vol. 1, p. 267)) and were mentioned throughout the Star Trek spinoffs.

In the first draft script of "Rejoined", the eighty-first or seventy-first Rule of Acquisition (Rom wasn't sure which) was said to be, "What's good for the boss is good for the worker."

Similarly, in the first draft script of "Body Parts", the 153rd rule was stated to be, "People will buy anything... especially junk."

The authors of the Star Trek Encyclopedia (4th ed., vol. 1, p. 267) identified "Exploitation begins at home.", from the episode "False Profits", as one of these rules.

Apocrypha Edit

Deep Space Nine writers Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe expanded upon the Rules and Ferengi culture in the non-canon books, The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition and Legends of the Ferengi. A number of additional rules have also appeared within Pocket Deep Space Nine titles.

The following rules are derived from non-canon sources:

External links Edit

• Rules of Acquisition at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Rules of Acquisition at Wikipedia