Additional game rules for "dogs": Saboteur, Oligo, Monopoly and Carcassonne

House rules , or additional rules of board games, can both give a special status to playing the game and make it a tradition in game nights with family or friends, as well as rekindle interest after the game has not left its place on the shelf for a long time. In the first case, these are usually rules introduced by the players themselves, in the second - rules borrowed from others.

Saboteurs - choose your game!

" Saboteur " is a classic and easy-to-carry board game for all ages, based on two very popular concepts - the presence of a mysterious anti-player in the team and mazes. Did you know that the creator of the game - Frederik Mojersen - chose to make rectangular cards so that when building a road, connecting its sections would not be obvious and therefore easy ? (You can learn more about the making of the game here )

Already during the development of the game, the first improvement occurred - if in the original version of the game there was only one saboteur, very soon the number of saboteurs was determined by the number of diggers, so that the chances of winning were more similar. Of course, this also made the game itself more interesting.

One of the first rules that added to the game at our house was the expansion of the field. The children, who were 5 and 6 years old at the time, loved building the maze so much that we doubled the size of the play area, and then doubled it again. The game isn't as fast anymore, but the larger area gives more opportunities to play more strategically, like delaying the moment to make the first exposed saboteur move, or trying to cooperate with one of the other players in the hope that the other is also a dwarf.

Krišjānis and Andrejs from the " Brain Games" team also shared their experience. Andrejs recommends playing this game in a wider circle, starting with five players, so that the role options are more equal. This tip is especially valuable if you also have the Saboteur 2 expansion of this board game at home or in your travel bag. When playing, in addition to the roles of the first set, it is possible to be a dwarf boss, a speculator, and a geologist .

The variant played by Andrej could make the " Saboteur" game a bit faster: "I once happened to play "Saboteur" (the basic game) in a company where people had come up with their own house rule to make the game harder for gold miners and easier for saboteurs. According to the official Saboteur rules, if players build a tunnel to a finish card and turn it over and find there is no gold, the game continues and they can build tunnels to other finish cards. On the other hand, the introduced additional rule provides that as soon as a tunnel is built to one of the finish cards, the game ends. If no gold is found, the miners lose. Therefore, saboteurs also try to build a tunnel to the finish line, unless they already know that there is no gold in it, and in this way they do not simply mislead the gold diggers, but actively bring their loss closer.

Additional rules of "Oligo" and "Monopoly".

Both board games are focused on the principles of financial planning, but sometimes the loss adds up very quickly. Some of the additional rules not only make the game more interesting, but also allow you to play it longer.

In player Elina's home " Oligo ", the money that is paid according to the rules of the game, for example in taxes or by going to jail, goes to the game table and whoever crosses the starting line first can take it. Elina says it gives a cool drive to the game and tends to help someone who is already on the verge of bankruptcy.

In March 2014, a vote was even held on the " Monopoly " house rules , as a result of which the five most popular additional rules of the board game were determined.

Ready to roll the dice?

One of the additional rules of Monopoly is very similar to the one mentioned by Elina: the money paid in prison, taxes and fees is placed in the center and is "earned" by the player who stops in the free parking space.

Other additional terms:

• you do not receive rental income while you are in prison;
• when crossing the starting field, 400 dollars/euro/rubles are issued, instead of the standard 200;
• to buy the first property, you need to make a full circle around the playing field once;
• if, when throwing two dice at the same time, you roll one and one ( Snake Eyes ), you get 500 extra coins.

Also, the creators of the game are constantly offering to buy and sell in a new way when working on new versions of the game. It mainly relates directly to the design of the game, but also includes new conditions. For example, " Monopoly: House Divided " is dedicated to the US election, where players buy states to get more votes.

" Monopoly: Fortnite " offers a choice between 27 different animated characters , which are the figures of this game. In addition, the player can play with several of them at the same time . One of the dice rolls determines what action you can take on your turn in addition to the classic number of spaces you can move forward, but one of the main risks is storm damage.

On the other hand, " Games of Thrones " fans might like the version of the game dedicated to this series.

More strategy when playing Carcassonne

Many families with young children begin their introduction to " Carcassonne " by allowing them to build imaginary maps from the playing fields. However, it cannot really be called an additional rule. By the way, currently " My First Carcassonne " is also available in the " Brain Games " store, which is especially suitable for children both in terms of design and rules. It is easier to connect squares , because any square can be adapted to any other, the task of the game is to build complete roads, the player who first places all the subjects on the playing field wins , and the game pieces are bigger, but the playing fields are thicker, thus more durable, more hearty playing .

Artur from " Brain Games " recommends taking a new square at the end of a turn , so that you have more time to think about how to play it better. However, it is not recommended to apply this rule in some of the add-ons, in which decisions must also be made during other players' moves: "Bridges, Castles and Bazaars", "Crop Circles" and "Catapult".

Another rule, in contrast, reduces the time in which to decide what to do next - at the beginning of a turn, two game squares are taken, one is used by the player himself, the other is given to the next player, going clockwise. It makes me think not only about how and if I would use this square myself, but also about what advantage or hindrance it would give to the opponent.

Another rule that probably already known to more experienced players is " All or nothing ". When playing this way, no one gets points for unfinished roads, monasteries, or cities at the end of the game (this rule does not apply to fields).

Some additional Carcassonne rules:

• The " Creepassonne " rule appropriate for the times of Covid allows new subjects to be placed only two spaces apart from a subject of the same color already placed on the square (the first subject is placed according to the basic rules);
• " Pokerssonne " - players are allocated three game squares which are not revealed, at the end of each turn they randomly pick up one of the squares and replace it with the square they just played (makes planning more difficult in the first three turns);
• " Closed fields " — if the field is completed during the game, the players count the points obtained for it and remove the subjects;
• " No fields " - the game is played without taking into account the fields, which makes it easier for small players;
• " Draft tiles " - each player has the choice during the game to buy any of the 5 game tiles placed in front of him with his points, starting with the first tile on the right, which can be taken for free (each subsequent tile to the left costs one point more than the previous one ).

These are far from the only games that can be played "your own way". But it's already clear that the supplementary rules also allow for ways to adapt the games, for example when the number of players or the age of the players is smaller than what the original rules are designed for. We will continue to share the house rules of various board games.

If you also have your own additional rules for one of these or another board game, please share them in the comments!