In the Un'Altra Cosa fanzine we dedicated a whole article to house rules: when you play a game for a lot of time, you happen to “know” the dynamics too well and to try to improve the game, or to realize that there is some mistake that the play-testing hadn’t discovered yet, or to have some problems (you haven’t got a piece, or time, or cards are in Klingon…), so you make your own personal rules!
My favourite house rule is the one Stefano Luperto proposed on GiocAreA for “The Settlers of Catan”: flash Catan, a good method for every game.
Shortly, if you are waiting for something, or if you don’t want that the game is too long, choose a “sound” that ends the game (the bell ringing, a kitchen timer randomly set, a song in a long CD): when you hear that sound, the game immediately ends. The player who was playing his turn immediately loses; the one with the top score among the others is the winner.
Nice, uh? We used it for Junta the other night… and I lost – so, changing my mind, it is a bad house rule!
(DDG)

GiocAreA OnLine #20 - June 2006
next issue: 1 August 2006

 

Chief of the House:
Domenico Di Giorgio
House DJ:
Silvano Sorrentino
House Rulers:
Annalisa Sciarra,
Roberto Corbelli
In the House:
Luca “The Flaming” Iennaco,
Luigi Saggese,
Silvano Sorrentino.
Many thanks to:
DM Magazine.