House Rules

Here's a hot topic. Some people love them, others hate them and some play them thinking they are the published rules. Worst of all, you're playing a game at someone elses place, you know the correct rules and before long you've unwittingly committed a cardinal sin and treated like a leper.

House rules are born from two things; a poorly written game or ignorance. Sadly one is as common as the other. A faulty mechanic is frustrating but ignorance causes 'rules' to undergo an odd journey. They may start as an omission or a lack of understanding, they become the norm and before long, it's law. Eventually they can destroy a game when players are at odds, especially if they are played unannounced.

Some games attract house rules like ants to food. Take Monopoly for example. It's probably the most house ruled game in existence but the majority of players have probably never played it as intended, I know haven't. I have to be honest when landing on others' properties, apparently Free Parking gets you money and since when do I have to pass Go before I can buy anything? Those are all add-ins but some rules are simply ignored like auctioning which is probably played by the minority. There's plenty more but even a few breaks the game.

However, some games need them like HeroQuest. It's a great game with a loyal following but it was poorly tested, released and supported which resulted in many ambiguities.  They don't kill the game play but it leaves players asking unanswered questions.  Fortunately, it's a game that responds well to things ranging from clarifications to expanded rule sets.

Each to their own but at the end of the day, the house rules. Be open about them but be careful too because they can make or break a game in ways you probably haven't considered.

Happy ruling

Ticket to Ride

If you're looking for a fun, casual board game, then Ticket to Ride might be it.  I must admit that we avoided playing it for a while but when we finally got around to it, we enjoyed it so much that we bought the original.  It's a well presented game with several versions and expansions available which introduce more maps and rules.

Your aim is to get the most number of points.  This can be done by putting trains on the tracks between cities, getting points for completing any destination cards in your hand or achieving titles like Longest Train or Most Destinations (depending on the game you're playing).  The game play is pretty straight forward.  You can either pick up train cards, put down trains or pick up more destination cards.  Longer destination cards and tracks attract more points and making an efficient network is worth achieving.  Decisive claiming of tracks helps as it's easy to become blocked, especially if the maximum number of players are involved.  Two and three player games may still get claustrophobic as double tracks can only be claimed by one player.

The board needs a little space while setup is pretty quick.  The simple mechanic allows short game times meaning multiple games are easily possible.

Happy connections

Liar's Dice

Here's a simple, fun yet addictive dice game.  Liar's Dice.  Family members first noticed it in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and looked it up.  It requires minimal equipment (a cup and five dice per player), we find the optimum number of players is around the four to six mark and is ideal for travel and camping.

The aim is to be the last one standing.  Players start with five die which they roll and keep the result hidden under cups from your opponents.  Everyone takes it in turns to predict the number of dice on the table between all players by calling a quantity of face numbers, say four sixes.  The calls keep going up in quantity or face value (when the face value is lower than the last call, the quantity must increase) and when the next player thinks the call is unrealistic they accuse the last player of being a liar.  At this point everyone reveals their roll to determine the outcome.  If there's less dice than the call, the caller loses a die, if there's more than the call, the accuser loses a die but if the number is equal, everyone but the caller loses a die.

But beware...  ones are wilds and may be called at half the quantity of the next even number (i.e. three ones if the call is say five sixes).  Also, people may bluff so think carefully when you follow another's call. The excitement builds as you're approaching the last two players (it's possible that the underdog can win) and when it's over, it's addictive so you'll want to play another round.

We love how it is a simple, fast flowing game and always features during camping.

Happy rolling

HeroQuest

HeroQuest is one of my favourite board games from my childhood.  Oddly enough, I hardly played it and it wasn't until my mid 30's that it started getting some regular use.  I've always been attracted to anything castle / fantasy related so when it arrived on the market, I poured over the box until I scored it as a gift.

It's basically lightweight role playing game which is played out on a game board with four characters exploring lost dungeons, hunting down monsters and taking their gold while protecting the Empire.  One to four players control their characters and take on a fifth player who reveals the map, traps and monsters in a series of quests following a simple storyline.  Along the way the characters gain gold which in turn allows you to buy improved equipment to strengthen your party.  Several quest treasures also appear which increase various abilities.  The RPG component is fairly low level with the mechanic tracking body points for endurance, using dice for attack, defence and movement as well as actions including attacking, searching and casting spells.

There's a bit of time required in setup but most games would take 45 - 60 mins and it needs a good amount of flat space.  These days it's surprisingly well represented in the online community (the Ye Olde Inn for example) which provides plenty of needed solutions to the ambiguity of some of the rules.  The game had several published expansions released and it's a perfect example of a game which responds well to user generated content and rules.

If you have it, get playing it as it's a gem.  If you try to source it these days, it's not a cheap, especially with some of the expansions which are listed online for the price of a house deposit.  However it is possible to print out all the published media for personal use for free.

Happy questing

Monopoly

Monopoly is one of the classic board games.  Anyone into gaming will know it and more than likely, have played it and I dare say it is the go to game for many families during those extended school holidays.  This brings me to an interesting point.  It's presented as a family game yet your aim is to bankrupt your opponents and force them out of the game... so inclusive!

The mechanic is straight forward.  You roll die to march around the board allowing you to buy properties, upgrade them, make money from them while trying to avoid falling foul of the board, the die and everyone else trying to do the same to you.  Acquiring a full set of a series of properties gives you possibilities to build houses and hotels meaning you can extract more rent from people caught on your street.  During the course of the game negotiations come into play to achieve the winning goal of being the last one standing.  There's also the chance you'll land in gaol although this can sometimes be a blessing in disguise.

There is another interesting point about the game, the rules.  Monopoly is probably the most house ruled game in existence to the point that it's likely that the minority of players have ever played the published rules.  As kids we never auctioned properties if we didn't want to buy it.  When we've played it elsewhere we've come across all sorts of house rules.  Some of which people think are genuine.  Others destroy the game play and take the fun out of it.

All in all it's a classic and continues to prove popular.

Happy buying

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