Re-stating your conclusion: To apply a handicap, you can change one (or more) of the following:
The starting conditions
The amount of out-of-game resources each player gets
The ending victory point count
Taking the example of the 100 yard dash:
Give one player a head start
One player has less oxygen to use (eg by doing 50 jumping jacks right before the race)
Add a fixed number of seconds to one player’s time Or the example of Magic:The Gathering:
Players have different decks
One player has to do a distracting thing while playing (eg, a second game of Magic with a 3rd player)
Play first-to-N wins, with different Ns.
Or you could change the game rules to something else, which is equivalent to playing a different (and hopefully more balanced) game.
Re-stating your conclusion: To apply a handicap, you can change one (or more) of the following:
The starting conditions
The amount of out-of-game resources each player gets
The ending victory point count
Taking the example of the 100 yard dash:
Give one player a head start
One player has less oxygen to use (eg by doing 50 jumping jacks right before the race)
Add a fixed number of seconds to one player’s time Or the example of Magic:The Gathering:
Players have different decks
One player has to do a distracting thing while playing (eg, a second game of Magic with a 3rd player)
Play first-to-N wins, with different Ns.
Or you could change the game rules to something else, which is equivalent to playing a different (and hopefully more balanced) game.