Wildcard Saturday: House Rules
I enjoy* playing board games. What's even better than playing board games is taking a board game and getting a little meta, creating new rules for a board game, to help sand off the boring or slow parts.
*i mean, usually, and nowadays it REALLY depends on the game.
Here's some favorites:
General rules
Calling Jumanji
If you accidentally roll your dice off the table, you can call "Jumanji" before they stop to accept your fate instead of re-rolling
Cocked Die
If you roll a die and it lands cocked, if you can balance another die atop it, your interpretation of the roll is valid (if not, re-roll). Doesn't work for pop-o-matic games.
Fool of the Game
Anyone who makes a particularly blunderous move or bongrip maneuver is named the Fool of the Game and has to wear a goofy hat until they're either outdone by someone else, or the game ends.
The Contempt Button
Inspired in part by the Staples "Easy" button: get a recordable button, write "CONTEMPT" on it, and record someone saying the word "Contempt". When another player makes a move you'd want to complain about, just hit the button instead. The nuances of your complaint are not critical to the table and just bring down the mood, so announcing your contempt via an automated means lowers the amount of negative communication present on a game night.
Catan
"Breaking Hearts"
If you roll a 7 and there is a spot the robber can move that doesn't steal from anyone, you must move the robber there. Taken from the card game 'Hearts'.
Number Swapping
When moving, take the number on the space the robber moves to and put it on the space the robber moved from.
2 = 12
Rolling a 2 or a 12 means 2-spaces and 12-spaces both collect.
Ticket to Ride
Social Wilds
If there is ever the same number of face-up wild cards as there are the number of players, everyone gets a wild before play continues (repeat as necessary for the replacement cards).
Clue
Two Dice
Movement in Clue is too slow. Roll two dice to determine your move.
What Mr Boddy Knew
Include a non-player pile when dealing out cards (the "mystery hand"). It stays face down on the side of the board. When you roll doubles (if playing with two dice), end your turn outside of a room (if playing with one die), or make a suggestion no-one can disprove, you may trade one card from your hand for one card from the mystery hand.
Trading Information
When disproving someone else's suggestion, you must trade that card to them in return for one of theirs.
Sorry!
Play with a Hand
Sorry! is a simple board game but runs into a similar determinism problem as Candy Land, where your only choices are which piece to move. Starting everyone with a hand of 4 cards (newer 3-pawn version or older 4-pawn/44-card version) or 5 cards (4-pawn/55-card versions) gives players more choices, more viable plays, and more agency. Players choose a card from their hand to play for their turn, and draw until they have the appropriate number of cards afterwards. This was originally proposed by Elliot Evans on his blog.
King of New York / King of Tokyo
Starting Power Up
At the start of the game, everyone gets a card, facedown. They cannot look at it. It costs 1âš¡ to buy.
Power Up Market Anytime
You can buy cards (or clear the market) at the start and end of your turn.
Scrabble
Free Challenge
Everyone gets one free challenge to use during the game. If you use your free challenge and are correct that the other player played a non-word, the challenged player may retake their turn.
Trouble
Out on 1
You can move out of the starting area on a 1, but you don't get another turn (like you would rolling a 6)
