Ferengi Rules of Acquisition

The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition are a collection of two hundred and eighty-five sayings that form the basis of Ferengi philosophy. 

History of the Rules
The Rules of Acquisition were written by Gint, the first Grand Nagus of the Ferengi people. According to a dream Quark had (which may or may not have been accurate), calling them "rules" was a marketing ploy, as nobody would buy a book entitled The Suggestions of Acquisition. Also in this dream, Gint made reference to Rule #239, implying that at least that many had been written by Gint. 

According to some sources the rules were written out of order, and Gint only wrote Rule #162

In 2151, Krem stated that there were 173 Rules of Acquisition. This implies that the rules were not all created at once, and have been added to over the centuries. 

By 2370, at the latest, all 285 rules had been written. 

In 2371, Grand Nagus Zek re-wrote the Rules of Acquisition, giving them a more altruistic spin, after an experience with a Bajoran orb. The new rules were entitled The Rules of Acquisition, Revised for the Modern Ferengi. However, these revised rules were never published, and were only revealed to Quark and Rom on Deep Space 9. 

As part of the reform of Ferengi society instituted by Zek, the Rules of Acquisition were no longer taught to children. 

Questionable Rules

 * In 2151, Krem quoted the 6th rule slightly differently, and calls the 95th rule the 45th. He also says there are only 173 rules of acquisition. The discrepancies may all be the result of later changes to the rules, or he may simply be incorrect (he says himself he does not have the "lobes" for business).


 * The DS9 Young Adult novel Prisoners of Peace gives FRoA#3 as "I found it; it's mine".


 * TNG novel Balance of Power gives FRoA#60 as "Let's you and him fight", as well as coming up with a rule it says is #303..."The sheep want to be fleeced!".


 * DS9 Young Adult novel Highest Score simplifies FRoA#16 to just "A deal is a deal".
 * In DS9 episode The House of Quark, Quark recites "Rule of Acquisition 286, when Morn leaves, it's all over." When Rom asserts there is no such rule, Quark states that there should be.


 * In the Voyager episode False Profits, Neelix, disguised as the Grand Proxy, recites "Rule of Acquisition 299; After you've exploited someone, it never hurts to thank them. That way, it's easier to exploit them next time." The rules, naturally, did not exceed 285 at that time. While consulting the Rules of Acquisition, Arridor came across the statement "When no appropriate rule applies, make one up."