A house rule is a rule that's not officially part of a game, but that people implement because it makes the game better, or more fun. One of the most popular games that people house-rule is Monopoly. Putting taxes on Free Parking? Not in the rules. And it makes the game last longer, when the point of the game is to force people into bankruptcy. Also, if someone doesn't buy an unowned property he lands on, there's an immediate auction. This also serves to speed up the game, but almost no one plays with that rule. So do you house-rule any games, and if so, which ones?

I generally like to play the rules as written, but there are a couple of games we mix up. In Aladdin's Dragons, the rules say to play the Magic cards facedown. But the cards are of wildly different usefulness, so we always play those cards faceup.

The other game we change up is one of my very favorite games ever: Time's Up. First, we always play with just two teams. Second, in the first round each team has one pass to use over the course of that round--so use it wisely... We also give the first team to go in a round only 25 seconds, rather than 30. And whichever team is losing gets to go first in each round. After many, many, MANY games of Time's Up, we've determined these just make the game better--at least for us.

So what about you? Let us know in the comments which games you house-rule. Thanks for reading!