House rule

House rule

House rules are rules applying only in a certain location or organization. Bars and pubs in which games take place frequently have house rules posted. For example, it is a house rule in United States Air Force officers' clubs that if an officer enters the club wearing headgear and is officially noticed (i.e., the bell near the bar is rung), the entering officer must buy a round of drinks for the bar.

Gaming

A common use of the term is in role-playing games to signify a deviation of game play from the official rules. The usage of house rules is encouraged in a number of official game materials, as a way to personalize the game. Many other games do not explicitly encourage house rules, although house rules are commonly used in casual settings. Games that are played in tournaments typically have very explicit official tournament rules that obviate the need for house rules. The anime-based RPG Mekton refers to house rules as "changing the laws of physics."

House rules can range from the tiniest of changes or additions to substantial deviations that alter the entire game play, depending on the imagination of the players. Most groups have house rules to some extent. In miniature wargaming, house rules may be used to represent equally unofficial miniature conversions, or can be used as scenario specific rules. House rules date back to the earliest days of role-playing; the original RPG, Dungeons & Dragons, was originally written as an add-on rules set for the Chainmail historical wargame and as such required the Chainmail rules set to be fully complete; many players who purchased D&D did not own a copy of Chainmail, and simply made up rules to cover the holes in D&D; many of these house rules became the basis for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Even more confusingly, it also required the Avalon Hill game, "Outdoor Survival" (at the time, Avalon Hill was a huge company and competitor to the tiny Guidon Games, later Avalon Hill and Guidon's successor, TSR, Inc., would both be absorbed by Wizards of the Coast)

Most house rules are made up by the members of a particular group of players, and are never published. Generally, the companies that produce wargames allow their use alongside official rulesets as long as it is non-commercial, as is the case with Games Workshop. [http://uk.games-workshop.com/legal/canandcant/1/ Games Workshop Intellectual Property] :
"We encourage fellow hobbyists to invent rules that work for them. There is no need to stick precisely to the published rules. However, if you are thinking about making your own Codex" [eg.] "for your Space Marine chapter (in addition to following the other guidelines in this policy), please avoid making it look official as this may confuse gamers and amount to a challenge to our trademarks. Also, do not copy our official publications or documents."] Nevertheless countless of them have been posted on the web or published via other channels, such as the Games Workshop Online Community. In fact, any rule book which is not a part of the core rule books, even if it ultimately comes from the original publishers of the game, could be seen as being house rules.

House rules are sometimes used in board games such as Monopoly as well.

Footnotes and References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • house rule — house′ rule′ n. gam a rule in a gambling game used only in a certain casino or among certain players • Etymology: 1945–50 …   From formal English to slang

  • house rule — noun A rule adopted by a particular establishment. A house rule was put into effect which set aside certain hours when the hall was to be used by white patrons only …   Wiktionary

  • house rule — noun : a rule applying to a game only among a certain group or in a certain place (as a gambling house) * * * a rule that is used in a game only in a specific place, as a particular casino, or only among a certain group of players. [1945 50] …   Useful english dictionary

  • house rule — noun Date: 1947 a rule (as in a game) that applies only among a certain group or in a certain place …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • house rule — a rule that is used in a game only in a specific place, as a particular casino, or only among a certain group of players. [1945 50] * * * …   Universalium

  • Chatham House Rule — The Chatham House Rule is a core principle that governs the confidentiality of the source of information received at a meeting. Since its refinement in 2002, the rule states:[1] When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House… …   Wikipedia

  • Chatham House Rule — Die Chatham House Rule (zu Deutsch: Chatham House Regel) stammt aus dem Royal Institute of International Affairs in London, auch bekannt als Chatham House . “When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Chatham House Rule — When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed. The… …   Law dictionary

  • man-in-the-house rule — A regulation that was formerly applied in certain jurisdictions that denied poor families welfare payments in the event that a man resided under the same roof with them. Dictionary from West s Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005. man in the house… …   Law dictionary

  • Chatham House Rule —  Not Rules. A rule of confidentiality formulated in 1927 at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, or Chatham House, London. Under it information gathered at a meeting may be used, but the source may not be disclosed …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”