The "expectation" of house rules

[Berandor]

I always expect house rules. When I play a game with other people, I make a point of summarizing the rules beforehand, and every time people chime in with "no, that's not how we do it", be it D&D, Monopoly, Risk, or a card game ("We play seven card stud" - "I'm only interested in five card draw" - "all right, but only the dealer pays the ante" - "and full house beats a straight" etc.)

With the amount of rules and the amount of areas still not covered by rules that come up in a RPG, I might even hesitate before joining a group that claims has no house rules whatsoever (and usually, that's not true, but they don't regard it as house rules).

 

[Jonny Nexus]

Sometimes I do run into people who have a Monopoly House Rule, but very rarely

I can't believe that. I've never met anyone who actually plays Monopoly as it's written in the rules. Because no-one ever reads the rules: instead they play a set of "cultural rules" that are handed down as a kind of oral tradition.

In particular the rules (as I recall) say that if you land on a property you have the right to buy it at the listed price, but that if you don't it is auctioned off to the players, all of them, including yourself. I believe, although I couldn't be sure about this, that it doesn't even have to go for the listed price.

The reason why Monopoly often seems like a very slow game, with it taking ages for players to get all three properties in a colour group, so that they can start building houses, is because people don't play this rule.

So the house rules that people talk about (putting fines under Free Parking for instance) are actually differences not from the printed rules, but from the shared "cultural rules".

 

[diaglo]

Anyone playing 3.5 is playing a house-ruled version of 3.0...

bah, they are playing a house ruled version of OD&D.

OD&D(1974) is the only true game. All the other editions are just poor imitations of the real thing.

 

[jasper]

I expect house rules. But there are limits. One sheet of house rules either hand written or type on typewriter no problem. A huge military 3 ring binder overflowing with paper. This gamer runs away quickly.
Uno is a game where my players do play by the rules. Why? When we first sat down to play when had 4 different house rules sets. Opps one house rule. Slapping the table twice with the palm of your hand counts as you saying "uno". This comes from a game where I had cold and had trouble speaking.

 

[Umbran]

bah, they are playing a house ruled version of OD&D.

OD&D(1974) is the only true game. All the other editions are just poor imitations of the real thing.

Bah. Anyone playing OD&D is playing a house-ruled version of "Let's Pretend".

The imagination is the only true game. All other games are just straightjacketed imitations of the real thing

 

[Aust Diamondew]

1) Everytime I've played monopoly people have played it slightly differently.
2) There are litterally hundreds of variations on chess, some bearing little resemblance to on another.
3) People constantly make mods. to all sorts of video games. What came first to my mind was Civilization 3 one of the easies to mod games.
4) Card games, there are dozens of ways to play poker and dozens of different card games with their own variations. Buy they all use the same deck of cards, shouldn't there only be one card game?
5) I remember all sorts of rules variations we use to use when I played various sports as a kid (not on a team just with the nieghborhood kids for fun).
6) There are many variations to the rules of Risk.
7) Checkers, so many ways to play I quit playing it when I was a kid 'cause people would change the rules half way through.
8) Axis and Allies: Europe, Pacific or Standard; take your pick and don't forget to take your pick of the house rules they list in the rules books them selves.
9) Every other RPG. People make house rules in just about every other RPG I've played.
I think you get the idea. I guess all of his friends follow only the RAW for every game (a real problem for chess, which version is the original?).

He probably just avoids playing cards.

As long as the GM makes what the houserules are clear, and they are well thought through and add to the game I don't care how far it takes me away from the RAW or D&D as long as they are good, fun and serve their purpose.

BTW Why'd I play GURPS or another more generic system when I could just use d20? He doesn't even mention that. This guy is like d20 only for D&D or something.

 

[Quasqueton]

Anyone playing the "3.5" is playing the full, complete, and up-to-date version of the game.

Dungeons & Dragons [current edition] is the one true game. All previous editions were just attempts to achieve this level of excellence.

Quasqueton

 

[Henry]

In particular the rules (as I recall) say that if you land on a property you have the right to buy it at the listed price, but that if you don't it is auctioned off to the players, all of them, including yourself. I believe, although I couldn't be sure about this, that it doesn't even have to go for the listed price.

I've been playing monopoly for 20 years easily, and have NEVER READ THIS RULE. I can't believe I've never seen it, yet in a net search, there it is, plain as day. JN, thank you! My wife and I may be playing more Monopoly, now, between other games.

 

[Quasqueton]

However in a game like 3.X, if someone were to claim to play pure Rules As Written I'd walk all over the GM.

If a GM ever claimed to follow the rules straight up, I'd feel obligated to use those rules straight to my advantage.

As such someone without the imagination to alter/change the landscape occasionally doesn't (in my opinion) have the imagination to PLAY the game, much less run it.

Wow. What a . . . bad person.

Quasqueton

 

[Quasqueton]

I've been playing monopoly for 20 years easily, and have NEVER READ THIS RULE. I can't believe I've never seen it, yet in a net search, there it is, plain as day. JN, thank you! My wife and I may be playing more Monopoly, now, between other games.

Yeah, I played Monopoly for the first time in 10+ years a few weeks ago. When we reread the rules to refresh our memory, we saw this rule that we never knew of. It was so unusual to how we've always played that we, as a group, decided to ignore it. It's not that we didn't/don't like it, it's just so completely "out of left field" that we didn't know what to think about it.

Quasqueton