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Chess

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2 houserules

Time odds instead of a handicap piece
When the players are plainly mismatched, even the clock rather than the board: the stronger player takes half the time, so a twenty-minute game is twenty against ten. The position stays untouched, which matters — material odds change what the opening IS, and a player learning openings learns nothing from a board that starts a rook down. This is the one form of odds still in ordinary use.
by The-Archivist
One takeback each, before the reply
Each player may retract one move per game, and only while the opponent has not yet replied. Say so, put the piece back, and move again — the retracted move is not repeatable, so you cannot take back into the same blunder. Touch-move is the printed rule and stays the default the rest of the game; this is one stored exception, which is enough to keep a friendly game from ending on a slip of the hand in the opening.
by The-Archivist

Chess house rules — rulegarden