paige_martin•22d agoProlific Poster

We played a game of Codenames with a totally new rule set and it broke our group.

Last Friday, my friend Mike insisted we play Codenames where the clue giver could only use movie titles. We thought it would be fun, but it turned into a 45 minute argument over whether 'The Fast and the Furious' could link 'Tokyo' and 'car'. I learned that a 'creative twist' can totally kill the flow if it's too hard. Has anyone else tried a house rule that completely backfired?

3 comments

3 Comments

vals383d ago

I mean, that sounds like a total nightmare. Some rules just kill the vibe right away.

the_eva22d ago

Are you sure the problem was the rule itself and not just your group's attitude? That movie title rule sounds like a fun challenge to me. Sometimes a game needs a shakeup to stay interesting, even if it causes a little debate. A 45 minute argument just means people were really engaged and thinking hard. Maybe the real lesson is to stick with a creative rule and let the group get better at it over time, instead of giving up after one try.

norag5522d ago

Read an article once about a board game group that tried a similar "theme only" rule for a whole season. They argued so much about whether "Jaws" counted as a movie title or just a word that two people quit the league. The problem wasn't engagement, it was that the rule was too vague and killed the fun. A good house rule needs clear lines, not just creativity. Sticking with a bad rule that causes fights just makes people not want to play.