Some great tips and couldn't agree with you more. Once that game lands on your doorstep, it's your game and you should play it in a way that brings you the most fun. That's the whole point of playing games after all.
Totally agree! I use house rules with hubby who is not a gamer to make games more accessible to him so that we have a wider variety of games to play together. I want a good time with him, not for him to feel bad. I give him freebies to even things out, too. House rules for games that aren't fun when too punishing but since I have paid for the game, might as well change it slightly if it means it will stay on the shelf otherwise. House rules for time: to make it longer or shorter is satisfying! I house rule when I'm too tired. I'm disabled and brain fog can be harsh which will make many games impossible to play if too complex. In those times, I allow myself to skip harder rules, redraw/reroll if bad luck made me draw a card or roll a dice that demands me to wipe my whole strategy (energy intensive). But other times when I am feeling great, I will go for those extra hard challenges so it all equals out.
Those are all very excellent ways to house rule. I like how you mention going for harder challenges when you want to or feel like it. House rules can go both ways, and tailoring the experience based on how you "feel" is important. Thanks for watching!
Where a cooperative game is very geared towards players combining abilities (like Earthborne Rangers) I allow myself a couple of lightweight house rules when playing solo - a bit of extra time for a mission. As I learn the game and improve I find myself dropping some of my earlier house rules and fudges.
That is a great way to approach it too. It's akin to "intro" or "beginner" modes of games like that which give you some allowances or extra actions. Great suggestion!
I love Lords of Waterdeep but a lot of the quests are only good if they're taken early (e.g. a bonus for the remainder of the game but much less Victory Points at completion). I put all of those in white sleeves along with a number of generic quests and we draw from that deck for the first 2 or 3 rounds. After that, we swap it out with the remainder of the cards in black sleeves. This keeps you from having quests that no one wants choking the board in the 2nd half of the game and it's worked really well for us.
That is a really good house rule. I have done something similar, splitting decks into tiered decks of different ranges of resource costs. Still slightly random, but gives you more of an idea of what you'll draw. Great suggestion!
I also prefer the base game of Roll Player rather than adding any expansions, Daniel, so you are not alone there. Thanks for the video! Lots of interesting ideas here.
What a great idea for a video, alerting people to house rules. The games you highlight are not on my shelf but it might prompt me to search. Other videos highlight other well-liked house rules would be welcomed by me, at least. I do like to 'beat' a game using the designers rules for solo, though. It's a mission. But, when playing competitively against others, house rules make perfect sense if you all agree and want more fun.
Thank you for this video! I am absolutely with you on this topic! Here in Germany house rules are controversially discussed, many board gamers absolutely hate house rules “……. a game has to work with the designer ´s rules, otherwise it is a bad game…..” or “……why should I play a game that doesn ´t seem to be finished yet and needs adjustments…..” - I too invented house rules for some of my games. Just - as most of the comments here say - : to make the game more fun for everybody! And most of your house rules are my house rules too 😅 especially not shuffling a deck before the next game or just playing one more round is what we do quite often. Or place an extra tile/extra card to choose from - so what ´s the harm it it when makes a game more enjoyable? You purchased the game, so play it the way you want to 🤷🏻♀️ Thank you for this video and all of the interesting comments that gave me new ideas for more house rules 🎉
Great video! I love following rules as written because I hope designers are very intentional with the way they designed their game. My group loves house rules, though, so we play with them all the time.
Great video! Wonderful list and reminders for people. Enjoy your games the way you want to play them whether that's by the books or with a few tweaks. Also, game designers should take note...some variations like drafting are easily added to the rules and gives players more agency.
My two favorite house rules with multiplayer games are: 1. Terraforming Mars: All players start with 1 production in all resources. (This easily shaves off thirty minutes from the game time.) 2. Feast for Odin: Create a display of five occupation cards. In the last phase sequence, the rightmost card is discarded, the display shifted and a new card placed on the left. (This minimizes getting useless cards and works through the massive deck faster.)
Any consentual house ruling that is lawful and ethical is ok in my book 🙂 It's entirely a question about what are the objectives of playing the game. Some times those objectives can come into conflict, and a bit of prioritization is needed. For me, a good experience for everyone involved is typically the main objective. Have a game with a run-away leader? Why not call the winner early, and instead of waiting for the inevitable, you get time to cram in another game or have a couple rounds with a filler. Have a game you never get to the table because it takes too long? Why not take a house-rule that offers a faster (yet still balanced) game experience. The best game is the one you actually play... not the never-ever-house-ruled one that is sitting on the shelf.
I have been creating things for a very long time. You just reminded me of the time I combined 3 different games to make a new game. SorryUnoOppoply😂😂😂😂 I don't remember what we were doing but I know we had fun. I am a BMX Flatland rider. I look at things differently. I see something and say what would happen if I did it this way. I love all your ideas. 😍😍😍😍
Love your channel! I appreciate that you cover lesser known games in addition to the very popular ones. The variety is excellent. What are your thoughts on Daimyo as a game and as a solo experience? It always catches my eye in the background of your videos, but I can’t find many good videos on the solo experience.
Thank you! Daimyo is one of my all time favorite games. The combination of dice drafting and action selection with area control and set collection really does well. The solo works well, but takes a few plays to get used to. I do think this game is much better multiplayer than solo, but that doesn't stop it from being in my top 20 solo games. I wouldn't necessarily recommend buying it at current costs (I think I've seen it at $100), as there are plenty of other great solo games for less.
I really like the draft for a big card game. Isle of Cats uses that for solo. I hadn’t thought about using it for other games but it would be great for Everdell solo. Although I just learned Mistwood and doubt I will ever play against Rugwort again, but maybe with the drafting I might. I could also see it for solo Wingspan (although Wyrmspan has pretty much replaced it for me). I will say I did not shuffle between games in Wyrmspan.
Amazing video! And I can't wait to see you play bloodborne! It's my favourite board game. I played the tonitrus hunter last. What campaigns and hunters do you prefer?
Thank you! I don't have a hunter preference, as I randomly choose every time. I prefer to do the Chalice Dungeon. I like the randomized setup and one-shot scenarios, as it is easier for me to table with my limited time/space. How about you tell me which hero I should play for my tutorial video? 😁
@@tabletopforoneOoh I would like to see the chikage hunter, she is my favourite mini! If you use multiple hunters feel free to pick and choose, there is fun variety. When playing the board game I have done some house rules with the time tracker and blood echoes but my favourite for solo play with one hunter is to play with extra turns and cards in my hand but give the bosses the 3 or 4 hunter stats, so my turns are longer and the bosses and enemies feel way more powerful ^^ I also give myself more than 2 caryll runes or hunter tools with the same idea that I can use as many as 3 or 4 hunters are using but on one character.
I’ll ignore a rule or add one from time to time if I feel to do so is reasonable. Not because I gain an advantage but because for me it makes the gameplay more rewarding. Believe me, I lose a lot of solo games, so I’m not looking for wins, I just want to enjoy the experience, win or lose.
Really good ideas. As a designer, these are good to keep in mind - what would make the game more enjoyable? As you said, that's why variants exist. Thanks!
I do like house rules and use plenty of houserules in my solo games. But I do think that first you should expierence the game a handfull of times before making house rules. I sometimes see posts where people complain about X being unbalanced and making houserules to change it, and then they only played it like 2 times. Maybe after playing the game more times and getting into different situations X is actually not unbalanced as you first tought. And maybe a house rule you can use for Warfighter, One house I really like to use for Warfighter is that I balance the action deck out before playing. By design you should just shuffle it. But I hate the the randomnes with location cards, like you could spent like 2 turns having your player soldier do nothing but discard & draw cards and get no location card. Or have a situation where your player soldiers hand is like all location cards. So I always balance the action deck out by spreading the location cards evenly through-out the deck so that if I spent 2 actions drawing action cards, I know there will be 1 location card. This adds some extra set-up time, but I normally do this when watching TV or RUclips videos.
Oh yeah. I probably should have mentioned it, but I agree house rules should come after quite a few plays. Thanks for the recommendation on Warfighter!
Thanks! Indeed, that's where they start. Many house rules and variants created by fans become official variants or expansions as well. The creativity of coming up with new/different ways to play games should be encouraged.
I am not a fan of house rules as for me each game is a challenge to overcome all good and bad things that game is throwing at you. General point of house rules as far as I am concerned makes the game easier and I do not want a game to be easier. I want the game to hit me everytine with more and more problems to solve. Maybe I just enjoy loosing 😀
I think it's great that you know which kind of games you enjoy, and specifically the level of challenge you enjoy. Sometimes people buy games they think they will enjoy, but end up being too difficult for their tastes. So, some house rules can be used to adjust the game for a more enjoyable experience (much like difficulty levels do). However, there are indeed some games that I try to make more difficult when using house rules. Thanks for watching!
Some great tips and couldn't agree with you more. Once that game lands on your doorstep, it's your game and you should play it in a way that brings you the most fun. That's the whole point of playing games after all.
Thank you so much!
Nice video! I find number two especially interesting!
Thank you!
Good video. So many people take issue with house rules but all that matters is that have fun with your games.
100%! Enjoy the way you want to 🙂
Totally agree! I use house rules with hubby who is not a gamer to make games more accessible to him so that we have a wider variety of games to play together. I want a good time with him, not for him to feel bad. I give him freebies to even things out, too.
House rules for games that aren't fun when too punishing but since I have paid for the game, might as well change it slightly if it means it will stay on the shelf otherwise.
House rules for time: to make it longer or shorter is satisfying!
I house rule when I'm too tired. I'm disabled and brain fog can be harsh which will make many games impossible to play if too complex. In those times, I allow myself to skip harder rules, redraw/reroll if bad luck made me draw a card or roll a dice that demands me to wipe my whole strategy (energy intensive). But other times when I am feeling great, I will go for those extra hard challenges so it all equals out.
Those are all very excellent ways to house rule. I like how you mention going for harder challenges when you want to or feel like it. House rules can go both ways, and tailoring the experience based on how you "feel" is important. Thanks for watching!
Totally agree on Terraforming Mars, especially if you're going for microbes and using all expansions
Oh yeah, 100%. I haven't used all the expansions, but that would make for too large of a deck.
Where a cooperative game is very geared towards players combining abilities (like Earthborne Rangers) I allow myself a couple of lightweight house rules when playing solo - a bit of extra time for a mission. As I learn the game and improve I find myself dropping some of my earlier house rules and fudges.
That is a great way to approach it too. It's akin to "intro" or "beginner" modes of games like that which give you some allowances or extra actions. Great suggestion!
I love Lords of Waterdeep but a lot of the quests are only good if they're taken early (e.g. a bonus for the remainder of the game but much less Victory Points at completion). I put all of those in white sleeves along with a number of generic quests and we draw from that deck for the first 2 or 3 rounds. After that, we swap it out with the remainder of the cards in black sleeves. This keeps you from having quests that no one wants choking the board in the 2nd half of the game and it's worked really well for us.
That is a really good house rule. I have done something similar, splitting decks into tiered decks of different ranges of resource costs. Still slightly random, but gives you more of an idea of what you'll draw. Great suggestion!
I also prefer the base game of Roll Player rather than adding any expansions, Daniel, so you are not alone there.
Thanks for the video! Lots of interesting ideas here.
You're welcome, and thanks for helping me feel not alone 😁
What a great idea for a video, alerting people to house rules.
The games you highlight are not on my shelf but it might prompt me to search.
Other videos highlight other well-liked house rules would be welcomed by me, at least.
I do like to 'beat' a game using the designers rules for solo, though. It's a mission.
But, when playing competitively against others, house rules make perfect sense if you all agree and want more fun.
Thank you!
Just have to say I really liked your thumbnail, you have a warm, inviting face and that's why I clicked.
Thank you! 😊 I tried out something different, and I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for this video! I am absolutely with you on this topic! Here in Germany house rules are controversially discussed, many board gamers absolutely hate house rules “……. a game has to work with the designer ´s rules, otherwise it is a bad game…..” or “……why should I play a game that doesn ´t seem to be finished yet and needs adjustments…..” - I too invented house rules for some of my games. Just - as most of the comments here say - : to make the game more fun for everybody! And most of your house rules are my house rules too 😅 especially not shuffling a deck before the next game or just playing one more round is what we do quite often. Or place an extra tile/extra card to choose from - so what ´s the harm it it when makes a game more enjoyable? You purchased the game, so play it the way you want to 🤷🏻♀️ Thank you for this video and all of the interesting comments that gave me new ideas for more house rules 🎉
You're welcome! I'm glad you found the list helpful to give you some new ideas. Thanks for watching!
I am so thankful that I found your channel!
I'm glad to be your friend, Mark
Great video! I love following rules as written because I hope designers are very intentional with the way they designed their game. My group loves house rules, though, so we play with them all the time.
I'm glad you enjoy the games the way you do
Great video! Wonderful list and reminders for people. Enjoy your games the way you want to play them whether that's by the books or with a few tweaks. Also, game designers should take note...some variations like drafting are easily added to the rules and gives players more agency.
Thanks, Liz!
My two favorite house rules with multiplayer games are:
1. Terraforming Mars: All players start with 1 production in all resources. (This easily shaves off thirty minutes from the game time.)
2. Feast for Odin: Create a display of five occupation cards. In the last phase sequence, the rightmost card is discarded, the display shifted and a new card placed on the left. (This minimizes getting useless cards and works through the massive deck faster.)
Those are great house rules (although I think the Terraforming Mars one is in the rulebook). Thanks for sharing!
@@tabletopforone I believe the +1 production for all resources is only for Beginner corporations.
@SimpleRoad I think you're right. It's been a 100 plays since I've used those 😅
Any consentual house ruling that is lawful and ethical is ok in my book 🙂 It's entirely a question about what are the objectives of playing the game. Some times those objectives can come into conflict, and a bit of prioritization is needed. For me, a good experience for everyone involved is typically the main objective. Have a game with a run-away leader? Why not call the winner early, and instead of waiting for the inevitable, you get time to cram in another game or have a couple rounds with a filler. Have a game you never get to the table because it takes too long? Why not take a house-rule that offers a faster (yet still balanced) game experience. The best game is the one you actually play... not the never-ever-house-ruled one that is sitting on the shelf.
Great thoughts and ideas on the topic. Thank you for watching.
I have no problem with house rules, particularly if the rule book is unclear or vague on particular scenarios.
I have been creating things for a very long time. You just reminded me of the time I combined 3 different games to make a new game. SorryUnoOppoply😂😂😂😂 I don't remember what we were doing but I know we had fun. I am a BMX Flatland rider. I look at things differently. I see something and say what would happen if I did it this way. I love all your ideas. 😍😍😍😍
Love your channel! I appreciate that you cover lesser known games in addition to the very popular ones. The variety is excellent.
What are your thoughts on Daimyo as a game and as a solo experience? It always catches my eye in the background of your videos, but I can’t find many good videos on the solo experience.
Thank you! Daimyo is one of my all time favorite games. The combination of dice drafting and action selection with area control and set collection really does well. The solo works well, but takes a few plays to get used to. I do think this game is much better multiplayer than solo, but that doesn't stop it from being in my top 20 solo games. I wouldn't necessarily recommend buying it at current costs (I think I've seen it at $100), as there are plenty of other great solo games for less.
@@tabletopforone wow thank you for your response!
I really like the draft for a big card game. Isle of Cats uses that for solo. I hadn’t thought about using it for other games but it would be great for Everdell solo. Although I just learned Mistwood and doubt I will ever play against Rugwort again, but maybe with the drafting I might. I could also see it for solo Wingspan (although Wyrmspan has pretty much replaced it for me). I will say I did not shuffle between games in Wyrmspan.
Yeah, it can definitely be adapted to Everdell. That game suffers from lack of cycling the deck for sure. I'm glad you enjoy Wyrmspan so much.
Amazing video! And I can't wait to see you play bloodborne! It's my favourite board game. I played the tonitrus hunter last. What campaigns and hunters do you prefer?
Thank you! I don't have a hunter preference, as I randomly choose every time. I prefer to do the Chalice Dungeon. I like the randomized setup and one-shot scenarios, as it is easier for me to table with my limited time/space. How about you tell me which hero I should play for my tutorial video? 😁
@@tabletopforoneOoh I would like to see the chikage hunter, she is my favourite mini! If you use multiple hunters feel free to pick and choose, there is fun variety. When playing the board game I have done some house rules with the time tracker and blood echoes but my favourite for solo play with one hunter is to play with extra turns and cards in my hand but give the bosses the 3 or 4 hunter stats, so my turns are longer and the bosses and enemies feel way more powerful ^^ I also give myself more than 2 caryll runes or hunter tools with the same idea that I can use as many as 3 or 4 hunters are using but on one character.
I’ll ignore a rule or add one from time to time if I feel to do so is reasonable. Not because I gain an advantage but because for me it makes the gameplay more rewarding. Believe me, I lose a lot of solo games, so I’m not looking for wins, I just want to enjoy the experience, win or lose.
That is the best approach. Thanks for watching!
Really good ideas. As a designer, these are good to keep in mind - what would make the game more enjoyable? As you said, that's why variants exist. Thanks!
You're welcome and thank you!
I do like house rules and use plenty of houserules in my solo games.
But I do think that first you should expierence the game a handfull of times before making house rules.
I sometimes see posts where people complain about X being unbalanced and making houserules to change it, and then they only played it like 2 times. Maybe after playing the game more times and getting into different situations X is actually not unbalanced as you first tought.
And maybe a house rule you can use for Warfighter,
One house I really like to use for Warfighter is that I balance the action deck out before playing. By design you should just shuffle it. But I hate the the randomnes with location cards, like you could spent like 2 turns having your player soldier do nothing but discard & draw cards and get no location card. Or have a situation where your player soldiers hand is like all location cards.
So I always balance the action deck out by spreading the location cards evenly through-out the deck so that if I spent 2 actions drawing action cards, I know there will be 1 location card.
This adds some extra set-up time, but I normally do this when watching TV or RUclips videos.
Oh yeah. I probably should have mentioned it, but I agree house rules should come after quite a few plays.
Thanks for the recommendation on Warfighter!
Good ones! I don't get the hate for house rules, every rule in the history started as a house rule.
Thanks! Indeed, that's where they start. Many house rules and variants created by fans become official variants or expansions as well. The creativity of coming up with new/different ways to play games should be encouraged.
I am not a fan of house rules as for me each game is a challenge to overcome all good and bad things that game is throwing at you. General point of house rules as far as I am concerned makes the game easier and I do not want a game to be easier. I want the game to hit me everytine with more and more problems to solve. Maybe I just enjoy loosing 😀
I think it's great that you know which kind of games you enjoy, and specifically the level of challenge you enjoy.
Sometimes people buy games they think they will enjoy, but end up being too difficult for their tastes. So, some house rules can be used to adjust the game for a more enjoyable experience (much like difficulty levels do).
However, there are indeed some games that I try to make more difficult when using house rules.
Thanks for watching!