The short story titled "Rules of the Game" was penned by Saladin Ahmed and included in the anthology titled Canto Bight. Sean Kenin lent his voice to narrate the story for its audiobook rendition.
Kedpin Shoklop found himself on the planet Cantonica after being awarded "Salesperson of the Year"; his reward being a luxurious two-week vacation, fully paid, to Canto Bight. Upon arrival, Kedpin faced some obstacles, the initial one being the absence of a sponsorship chip. However, two officers permitted him to proceed, considering the amount of paperwork his detention would entail. As he departed the spaceport, Kedpin was intercepted by an "acting gate agent" who requested his luggage pass. Unable to produce one, Kedpin was given the option of having his bags held or paying a fee for an exemption claim. Recognizing the potential predicament, Kedpin opted to pay the fee, and the agent offered to have his luggage delivered to his hotel.
In another part of the city, Anglang Lehet had been contracted by a criminal organization known as the Old City Boys to assassinate Brawg, a particularly ruthless officer within the Canto Bight Police Department. His strategy involved locating someone who would consume an explosive, get apprehended, and then, as Brawg interrogated them, Anglang would trigger the explosion, eliminating him. His contacts provided Kedpin Shoklop as the perfect candidate to ingest the device. Anglang located him without difficulty and began his observation.
The limospeeder dropped Kedpin off a short distance from his hotel, where he then encountered a "tourist droid." Kedpin anticipated the droid would guide him to his hotel, but instead, it led him to a mud bath, where he was unceremoniously tossed in by a large creature called Sweetheart, leaving him surprisingly clean. The droid absconded with a significant portion of Kedpin's money for the services, but did provide directions to his hotel.
From his vantage point at Café Raduli, Anglang observed the entire episode of Kedpin being ensnared in a scam by V-333. Kedpin eventually made his way to the Canto Casino Hotel, where he was greeted by a pleasant individual named Altovan who handled his check-in. During this process, Kedpin realized his luggage was missing, concluding it had been stolen. Despite this setback, Altovan ensured Kedpin felt welcomed and at ease, then escorted him to his room, where Kedpin rested for an hour. He was soon awakened by Altovan, who reminded him of his expressed interest in visiting Zord's Spa and Bathhouse, where he spent the remainder of the day relaxing.
As Kedpin departed the spa, he encountered two orange-skinned humanoids, one dressed in blue and the other in red. They informed him of an issue with his hotel room, but Anglang, realizing they were about to steal Kedpin's money and take his mark away from him, intervened to assist him, driving the two away. Anglang introduced himself using his actual name to lend credibility to his fabricated story, and offered to buy Kedpin a drink as a welcome gesture. Shortly thereafter, the two were enjoying drinks at Klang's Place, where Anglang initiated his plan by discreetly slipping an ingestible detonator into Kedpin's drink and attaching a small patch of counterfeit spice to his back. Anglang then excused himself briefly to inform the CBPD about Kedpin's alleged spice dealing, returning for a quick drink before claiming he had a five-minute business engagement. During this interval, Anglang observed as the CBPD arrived and forcibly removed Kedpin from the bar and into a police vehicle.
Kedpin was taken to the police station, where he was soon subjected to interrogation by Officer Brawg, a purple-furred, incredibly muscular figure. Despite Kedpin's attempts to assert his innocence, Brawg instead lifted Kedpin and threw him to the ground, proceeding to kick and punch him. Brawg demanded to know who Kedpin was collaborating with, prompting Kedpin to reflect on the disastrous day he had experienced. He recalled Anglang's peculiar gestures, patting him on the back and then departing shortly before the CBPD's arrival, leading him to suspect he had been framed. He also considered other instances where any of the individuals he had encountered throughout the day could have potentially set him up.
Meanwhile, Anglang, positioned in a room near the CBPD, monitored the audio feed from the detonator Kedpin had ingested. He awaited the opportune moment to detonate the device, but before he could act, Kedpin declared he would not betray anyone else to spare them from Brawg's abuse. Although Anglang had taken the lives of numerous innocents in his line of work, this was the first time someone had displayed such compassion. Despite the necessity of detonating the device to eliminate Brawg for a paid assignment, he deactivated it and resolved to rescue Kedpin.
Following the beating administered by Brawg, Kedpin realized he had lost consciousness and awoke in a cell. Outside, he overheard Brawg and Anglang conversing, where Anglang fabricated a story about his employers dropping the supposed offense, when in reality he utilized his advance payment to secure Kedpin's release. Kedpin and Anglang exited the CBPD together, where Anglang confessed his intention to detonate him in order to kill Brawg. As they proceeded down an alley, they were ambushed by Klatooinians who were, in fact, members of the Old City Boys.
The Old City Boys were incensed that Anglang had failed to complete the job and had come to eliminate him. Anglang instructed Kedpin to flee, which the Old City Boys permitted before engaging. As Kedpin ran, a skirmish erupted between Anglang and the Klatooinians. Although Anglang managed to subdue two of them, he was outnumbered and stunned by Uk, a Klatooinian wielding a stun stick. Hearing the commotion behind him, Kedpin paused and realized that while Anglang had attempted to kill him, he had also saved him. He mustered all his courage and charged back into the alley, knocking himself backwards from ricocheting off a Klatooinian. With the Old City Boys momentarily distracted, Anglang seized the stun stick from Uk and incapacitated the remaining members of the group. Anglang then emptied their pockets and offered some of the money to Kedpin to compensate for his luggage. Instead, Kedpin suggested they attend the races and savor the moment.
Kedpin, finally realizing his ambition of witnessing a live Fathier race, wagered all of the stolen money on a fathier named Kessel Runner, as suggested by Anglang. The two observed the race, where Kessel Runner emerged victorious by a narrow margin. Anglang and Kedpin celebrated enthusiastically, as Kedpin had won the equivalent of a full year's salary. To commemorate the occasion, Kedpin invited Anglang for a drink, and they both went to a more upscale establishment called Ubialla Gheal's nightclub.
Kedpin poured his winnings into a bowl, instructing Anglang to take half of the money as they had earned it together. After Kedpin declared he had never won anything in his life, Anglang reminded him of the trip he was currently enjoying. Kedpin confessed that the competition he had won was, in fact, rigged, with higher management or a favored employee named Laz Lazzaz consistently winning each year. Kedpin discovered this and, due to the age of the computer system used to select the winner, he successfully hacked into it, ensuring his own victory. Nobody at VaporTech confronted him about cheating the system, as doing so would have exposed the rigged nature of the competition, so they instead allowed him to proceed with the two-week vacation without any repercussions. The two finished their drinks and then parted ways.