Variation (game)
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Variation, in game design, is the process whereby the community of players, rather than any officiating authority, adapts the rules for informal play. If a variant becomes popular, it will often be published in a rules document like Hoyle's Rules of Games. It may supplant the original game. For example, Hearts is usually played with a variation whereby the Jack of Diamonds carries a -10 (desired, since points are penalty) point value, in a variant known as "Omnibus hearts".
