TL;DR: Alternate runs highest distance wins, or simultaneous split-screen if supported; otherwise pass-and-play with three agreed attempts each and honor score tally on paper.
Pass-and-play classic
Player A three runs, Player B three runs, compare best or average—simple party rule.
Simultaneous start verbal
Both count down, both play separate devices synced by “go” call—async comparison not real-time duel unless game adds multiplayer.
Handicap system
Experienced player uses hard mode, novice easy—normalized fun match.
Coach mode
One watches audio cues calls warnings—training not competitive scoring.
Double elimination bracket
Party of eight, bracket chart on whiteboard—March Madness social event.
Team relay
Continue run from partner’s death distance ghost marker if house rule invented—creativity ok if pre-agreed.
Dispute resolution
Screenshot distance meter; no screenshot replay round—prevent arguments.
Remote friends
Discord screen share run parallel starts—latency fair enough for casual not esports.
Canonical site agreement
Both use same URL version—fork sites skew difficulty.
Celebrate both
Winner sets next house rule variant—keeps loser engaged second round.
Three attempts each pass-and-play
Simple party rule—compare best or average pre-agreed.
Handicap easy vs hard mode
Novice vs expert fair match without same difficulty.
Discord parallel start
Countdown voice sync—async comparison casual not LAN esports.
Screenshot dispute rule
No screenshot replay round—prevents arguments at birthday party.
Winner picks next house rule
Loser engaged second round—maintains party energy.
Paper tally for three attempts each, same keyboard
Pass-and-play needs a paper tally before the first run: three attempts each, same keyboard, best landmark wins, ties broken by a fourth attempt only for the tied players. Write the names in the order they will sit. The person who is waiting does not coach. Coaching from the couch changes the game into a team sport and then the tally is a lie. Silence while the other person plays is part of the rule. You may speak between attempts.
Use landmarks you both can see, not a private feeling of “I got farther.” If you disagree about the hallway, point at the screen and agree the name of the spot before attempt one. A disagreement invented after a loss is not a measurement. The name on the tally should be a word you agreed, such as “banner” or “cone.”
Turn swap that includes a hand-off of the chair
Swap the chair position, not just the keyboard, if one seat can see the lamp more clearly. Otherwise the second player inherits a glare and you will call it skill. Both players get ten seconds to put their hands where they want them. The ten seconds are in the rules so nobody is rushed into a bad posture and then told they lost. Start the timer for those ten seconds. An untimed setup becomes a five-minute negotiation.
Fourth attempt only for a tie on the banner
If both players reach the banner, the tie-break is one more attempt each, not a sudden-death that you invent to be exciting. Sudden death favors the person who just played and still has warm hands, which is usually the second name on the list. One more attempt each, same rules, then stop even if they tie again. A repeated tie can stand. A tournament that cannot tolerate a tie will invent rules until someone feels cheated.
Tally kept even when someone quits after one attempt
If a player quits after one attempt, the tally shows one attempt and a forfeit of the other two. It does not show an average that pretends three attempts happened. The forfeit is a line, “stopped after cone.” That line lets you resume another day without rewriting history. Erasing a quit to be kind makes the next session start from a false best. Kindness is offering another day. It is not cooking the paper.
Agreed landmark words written before attempt one
On the tally, write the three words you both accept: cone, hallway, banner. If the game shows different art today, rename them before play, not after. A new background that hides the hallway means you pick a new middle word, such as “arch.” Both players initial the three words. Then the tally uses only those words. A player who says “I reached the statue” when statue was not on the list is telling a story. Stories do not win. The list wins.
Quit line written in the quitter’s hand
The player who stops writes “stopped after cone” themselves. The winner does not write it for them. A line in the winner’s handwriting becomes an accusation. A line in the quitter’s handwriting is a statement. This takes five seconds and saves a friendship. If they refuse to write it, the tally notes “declined to sign” and the session ends. You do not need a signature to know what happened. You need it to keep the paper from becoming gossip.
Statue and arch banned if they were not initialed
If a player describes progress with a word that is not cone, hallway, banner, or the renamed middle you both initialed, ask them to point and then use the list word. Do this the first time, gently, and the tally stays a shared language. If you let “statue” onto the paper once, every later session will grow a private vocabulary and the wins will be incomparable. The list is a courtesy. It lets both people lose without feeling mistranslated.
