texts: What card game is this? 3 cards per player; always redraw from stack until end

texts:
A friend of mine introduced a card game to me she only knows by the name "Schweinemauzen" (we're in Germany, literally maybe "pig's meow"). Surprisingly, googling this word doesn't yield a single result. Maybe someone can help me in identifying the game if I give some basic rules:

Deck: usually standard 52-card deck, but can be played with 36 cards.
2-5 or even more players. First with no cards left wins.
Dealing cards:

3 rounds of 1 card, face down, per player; they are arranged side-by-side,
3 rounds of 1 card, face up, per player, each laid on top of one dealt before,
finally, 3 rounds of 1 card, face down, per player, which the players pick up.
The rest is kept as a stack.

Gameplay:

Some similarities to Durak.
A player plays one or more cards of the same rank.
The next player has to play one or more cards of the same or a higher rank.
If someone cannot play, they have to pick up all cards which were played before.
Ranks 2, 7, and 10 are special, they can be used to match an Ace and/or remove all cards on the "played" stack from the game, so that the next player who can't play doesn't have to pick those up.
Each player immediately redraws from the stack after they played so that they have 3 cards.
When the stack is empty, and no cards are left on the hand of a player, they use their face-up cards to play.
When those are empty, the face-down cards are used to play, at which point the game becomes quite random.

Here you see the stack, the played cards stack next to it, and face-down/face-up cards for two players:


texts: In Axis and Allies, Should Russia Head East, West, Or Stay Put in the Early Going?

texts:
Some Russian players like to send armies east. That is, to reinforce Allied outposts in Sinkiang and India. Maybe attack Manchuria on the first turn, if allowed. The theory is that Russia is strong enough to contain "only." Germany, so the need is to prevent Japan from becoming a swing factor in the game.

Other Russian players will launch spoiling attacks west as soon as allowed. Particularly in Norway, to open a window for Allied reinforcements.

A third strategy is "hedgehog." Push all the infantry into Karelia and Caucasus (roughly 2 to 1 in favor of the former) pull all the planes and tanks into Moscow for counterattack, and a last ditch stand. Then build 8 infantry each turn for about five turns. Here, the big worry is Germany. Let the Allies take care of Japan.

Which strategy do you prefer? East? West? or "Hedgehog?" And why?


texts: If my opponent casts a spell that exiles a card with flashback from my graveyard, can I play it in response to their spell?

texts: Say my opponent casts Purify the Grave on my Rally The Peasants in my graveyard. If I have enough mana available, can I cast the Rally the Peasants in response to their trying to exile it?


texts: Is the Catapult expansion as cool as it sounds?

texts: I've often heard of the Carcassonne Catapult expansion, and I'm wondering, is it actually cool to use, or is it one of those novelties that will quickly wear off? Please give me your experience with this expansion. Thanks!


texts: Can you pick up a locomotive if it's revealed as a replacement card?

texts:
In Ticket to Ride: Europe, on your turn you can pick up two cards from the face-down deck, two cards except locomotives from the face-up cards or one from each. When I pick up one card from the face-up deck, it gets replaced right away from the draw pile.

If the replacement card is a locomotive card, can I keep it because if I had picked up two from the face-down deck, it would have been mine?


texts: Is playing multiple money cards multiple actions in Monopoly Deal?

texts: Does playing three money cards to your bank counts as an one of your actions or all three of them?


texts: I joined a duplicate bridge group and was matched with a partner;  we are doing pretty well when it comes to points.  Question:  My partner sometimes criticizes not only me but also opponents, sometimes offers unsolicited advice, and is sometimes catty about other people playing in the room.  What is correct way to address this?  It is not constant an often subtle.  Am I being overly sensitive or is this something that should be addressed by me or by the director?


texts: Ral Zareks first Ability: Magic The Gathering

texts: Can I activate Ral Zarek's first ability (Tap target permanent, then untap another permanent) if my opponent has no "untapped" permanents? If so, will I get a loyalty counter, and be able to untap another permanent?


texts: How to play the Harbinger card in Dominion

texts: If I play a harbinger card, I draw from my deck and then have an action and am able to take a card from my discard and put it onto my deck.  Am I able to draw a card, then put one from my discard onto the top of my deck and then play an action card that allows me to draw that card right off the top and play it or do I have to wait until the very end of my turn to move the card to my deck?


texts: Can a player return a card to discard pile if they are still touching it?

texts:
My family believes that you may pick up a card from the discard pile and return it, as long as you are still touching the card, and then draw From the draw pile in the same turn. I disagree and think once the card is picked up it is yours to keep or discard and end your turn.

What is the correct rule?


texts: Replace exploration by skill, and then exploring in Pathfinder

texts:
If I use Kyra's skill (instead of the first free explore, I shuffle cards from the discard pile into someone's deck)

can I explore afterwards by discarding BotG?

According to the rule book, the free given exploration

  must be your first exploration for the turn.

If I don't do it, then I can't explore?


texts: Does exhausting a card with The Force activate its power?

texts:
In Star Wars: Empire vs Rebellion, the card "The Force" says the following:

  Exhaust 1 ready resource card of your choice of either faction.

Does exhausting the card mean that the power associated with the card gets activated, just like how it does if a player normally chooses to exhaust the card?

I could see it going either way. If the power is activated, then it is strategic to activate powers when the player doesn't want it activated (e.g. activating Diplomacy when they have a good hand). However, I can't see any situation when you would want to exhaust a card of your own faction (why not just exhaust that card normally?).

On the other hand, if you don't activate the power, then it would allow you to disable an opponent's card or strategically flip your own character without activating its power. But I'm concerned that this might make The Force a bit too powerful.

I can't figure it out from the rules (it only defines exhausting in terms of using the powers) and the FAQ doesn't describe it. Any clarification would be greatly appreciated.


texts:
As west, my partner opened 1 club; north, the TD, called one spade and in the east seat I replied 2 hearts.

Thereupon my partner alerted and advised the table that I was showing 5 hearts (a first reply in a major in our system shows 5 not 4 cards). The TD went into something of a flat spin and advised that there was no necessity for the alert because I had to have 5 hearts to overcall 2 hearts. After we'd finished playing she went to her rule book and demonstrated the rules of overcalls.

Was my bid actually what is defined as an overcall or merely a reply to my partner?


texts: What's the price difference in producing different quality game cards?

texts:
I've been a bit disappointed in the past the quality of game components, primarily the cards, in certain games.

For example Citadels and Timeline have cheap cardboard cards that look like they'll scuff easily.

On the other hand Pandemic has the best quality cards I've ever seen - they look fully plastic, you could spill beer on those things and just have to wipe them off.

I'm wondering what the decision making process is for the producers of these games are - are good quality plastic cards really so expensive as not make it worth while paying for them?


texts:
I've heard people mention the "Substance" keyword ability before, as an ability that has never been printed and does nothing. This seems…strange, to say the least. And searching Gatherer turns up nothing on it.

What is/was the point of Substance, if it has never been printed and does nothing? Did it ever actually exist? And if so, why?


texts: Can all players change roles with "New Assigment"?

texts:
In Pandemic On The Brink, the wording for the "New Assignment" special event card says:

  Any player (including the current player) may discard their current Role card and select a new one from the unused ones in the box.

Our reading of this card is that all players may chose to change their role cards when this card is played. Is this correct?


texts:
Obviously bluffing is an important element of poker, and bluffing too often, or not often enough will negatively affect your winnings, but is there a rule of thumb for how often you should bluff? For example, if I bluff once or twice an hour, is that too infrequent? If I bluff about once in a button cycle, is that too often? What's the optimum bluff frequency?

EDIT: I found these links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluff_(poker)#Optimal_bluffing_frequency
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot_odds#Bluffing_frequency

  According to David Sklansky, game theory shows that a player should
  bluff a percentage of the time equal to his opponent's pot odds to
  call the bluff. For example, in the final betting round, if the pot is
  $30 and a player is contemplating a $30 bet (which will give his
  opponent 2-to-1 pot odds for the call), the player should bluff half
  as often as he would bet for value (one out of three times).

and

  David Sklansky, in his book The Theory of Poker, states
  "Mathematically, the optimal bluffing strategy is to bluff in such a
  way that the chances against your bluffing are identical to the pot
  odds your opponent is getting."

So, if I generally bet half the pot, I should be bluffing 40% of the time; if I generally bet twice the pot, I should be bluffing 25% of the time. Sounds like a lot to me - how does this sit with everybody's experience?


texts: UNO Stacking a Draw 4 Card instead of picking up 4 cards?

texts:
Need clarification on the Draw 4 rule.
- Player 1 lays down a Draw 4 Card and says the color is Red.
- Player 2 does not have a Red card but has a Draw 4 Card.
Can Player 2 lay down his Draw 4 Card and have Player 3 draw 8 cards?


texts: Game of Thrones: When exactly to use the Valyrian Steel Blade when playing with Tides of Battle?

texts:
My question can litteraly be found in the errata/FAQ, but the given answer is still ambiguous.

Quoting the errata/FAQ:

  Q: When exactly is the decision made to use the Valyrian Steel Blade’s ability to either draw a replacement Tides of Battle card or receive +1 combat strength?

  A: If you are playing with Tides of Battle cards,
  there are two opportunities for a player to use his
  Valyrian Steel Blade:

  1) "Choose and Reveal House card" step: After each side draws a Tides of Battle card, but before they are revealed, he may decide to use the blade to draw a replacement Tides of Battle card.

  2) "Use Valyrian Steel Blade" step: If he has not used it yet this round, he may now decide to use the blade to add +1 to his combat strength.

The ambiguity is in the last sentence:

  [...] he may now decide to use the blade [...]

Well, when is now? I understand that first you will have to decide whether or not you want to use the Blade to draw a replacement Tides of Battle card. You will decide this after you look at your drawn card, before it is revealed. OK so far. Let's say I choose not to use it. OK so I still can use the sword to get +1 combat point. But when, exactly?? Before or after I see my opponent's Tides of Battle card?


texts: If a permanent turns into a(nother) creature, has it entered the battlefield?

texts:
I was playing a game last night with a guy who was playing a new Simic Gatecrash deck, and he claimed that if he made a land into a creature, it counted as entering the battlefield, thus triggering evolve (or other "enters the battlefield" abilities).

I thought this was incorrect, being that the creature didn't actually enter the battlefield, it was just created.

Which of us was right?


texts: What is this game with multiplying aliens and random weapons?

texts:
I remember playing a game with my parents when I was a kid (in the mid 1990s) where you played either as the crew on a ship being invaded by multiplying aliens or as the aliens themselves.

The board was a series of rooms on the ship with the crew-members and weapons strewn all over the place. The part I remember most was that weapons had a random effect (picked from a pile), so you never knew if they would damage the aliens or cause them to multiply until you used one.

The goal of the crew was to escape the ship, and obviously for the aliens it was to kill the crew.

Does anyone know the game I'm talking about, or have I got my games mixed up?


texts: Can my opponent play a madness cost of 3 or below if "Brisela, Voice of Nightmares" is in play?

texts:
Let's say I have a Brisela, Voice of Nightmares and my opponent tries to cast Voldaren Pariah for its madness cost of BBB.

Would the rule in Brisela, "Your opponents can't cast spells with converted mana cost 3 or less" stop my opponent from doing that?


texts: Is Talisman the same as or associated in any way with Heroquest?

texts:
I've been looking into Heroquest as apparently its an amazing game, however I can't seem to find a copy of it anywhere. There is another game called Talisman which looks similar.

Does it just look similar or is it related in any way?


texts: Can I discard Funding anytime to remove a debt?

texts:
When can an investigator discard funding to remove a debt? Can he do it during anyone's turn anytime to remove it immediately?

Also, can he discard it after the mythos card reveals there is a reckoning coming? My thinking is no because the reckoning has been "declared" so there is no turning back at that point, but it is permissible right before the mythos card is drawn. Is there any documentation on when "discards" are allowed that refutes this?


texts:
If I play a Forge and for whatever reason choose "none" as the amount of cards trashed (say if I played it via Golem by accident), do I gain anything? I could see 2 possibilities:

Don't gain because nothing was trashed
Gain a cost 0


texts: How do Steam Vent and Esper Dash interact?

texts:
When Bal-Bas-Beta and Setsuki Hiruki are playing against each other, the moves Steam Vent and Esper Dash have directly conflicting actions.

Steam Vent:

  Start of your turn: Push an opponent from a dark space away from you one space. That opponent can't dashing strike on his next turn.

Esper Dash:

  You move: You may move again or dashing strike.

If I use Steam Vent against my opponent, can he move and use Esper Dash to dashing strike me anyway? Or, if he uses Esper Dash, is he required to take the extra move action, since he can't dashing strike?


texts:
I have yet to find a chess AI that plays like a human opponent at an amateur level. Most AIs seem to play a tactically perfect game but throwing in a really bad move every now and then.  Has anyone undertaken (and had any success with) the project of writing a chess computer that plays like a human?
To make the question precise, is there a chess-bot that would pass a turing test?


texts:
My opponent plays Wrath of God. In response I use Chord of Calling to get Selfless Spirit, so I can sacrifice Selfless Spirit and have all of my creatures become indestructible. Then my opponent responds to that action with Unsummon.

Would the Selfless Spirit's ability still resolves before the Wrath of God (and would it be sacrificed) - or - will Selfless return to my hand (and its ability will not resolve)?


texts: Why so many people use "house rules" in EDH/Commander?

texts:
Since I'm an Eternal player (Legacy and sometimes Modern) that has played just few times EDH/Commander I found difficult to understand why often players use a more strict banned list in their matches; I agree that Sorin Markov, Felidar Sovereign and Serra Ascendant are really good cards but if the authorities of French and Multiplayer Commander didn't think it was too good to be banned, why would a single group of friends ban it?

It's like I decide to play my Legacy games with my friends banning Show and Tell because it's a very strong card..


texts: Is an environment card a villain target?

texts: We've got Villainous Weaponry in play as our Environment, and my friend has Demoralization, which lets him deal one damage to each "villain target". Villainous Weaponry has HP, and it's not a hero; does it take damage?


texts: Are mission tokens considered Figures for sake of hero abilities?

texts:
One Hero has ability Covert that says "Hostile figures 4 or more spaces away from you do not have line of sight to you. You do not block line of sight for those figures." Side mission Indebted has Pulse Cannons marked by Imperial Mission Tokens. At the end of activation phase they shoot a Rebel in their lane of sight. It's not an attack, as they damage without giving any opportunity to defend and there's no range requirement. At one moment there was dispute if it can damage given hero, as it had unobstructed line of sight.

Rules Reference Guide defines Hostale Figure as follows: "All figures belonging to a player’s opponent are considered hostile." Unfortunately, the guide doesn't define figure per se.

My (Imperial player) opinion was it would damage it, as this ability was talking about figures, and the Cannon was not figure. It doesn't obstruct movement or LoS, you can end your move on tile with it's token.

Unfortunately given situation was critical for Rebels, it was win or lose. As I had four players yelling at me it's not allowed, including game owner, I could only accept their interpretation or leave table. I'm looking for citations or other examples of abilities that would work the way I am expecting it to do. (Or citations confirming they're right)


texts: Strategy for the game: I Doubt It, also known as cheat, B.S

texts:
Is there any known effective strategies for the game I Doubt It (Wikipedia)?
How can you maximize your chances of winning?
We play the variant where players must continue placing cards of the same rank until someone calls "Cheat" or everyone decides to pass a turn. Like for example, the first player plays 3') 5's claiming they are 3 9's, then the next player has to claim their card is also a 9(they can play any card).
If someone thinking he is bluffing, he can then call him out, and if he is correct the loser will take all cards played so far.
The next player can choose any rank as the cards to claim he had put down, it doesnt have to be sequential.


texts: What are the strengths and weaknesses of the factions in the Call of Cthulhu LCG?

texts:
What are the mechanics and playing styles that best suit each of the factions? What combinations of factions can offset each other's weaknesses?

I only have the seven factions in the core set, but feel free to comment on all eight. Also, feel free to limit the tips to things that are good for a beginner playing casual games only. You can assume I'm familiar with all the (core-set) rules, just not any strategies or particularly strong cards and card combinations.


texts: Is declining to win to burn time on the clock punishable?

texts:
Continuation of Is refusing to concede in the face of an unstoppable Nexus combo punishable?

Alice's board: Jace, the Mind Sculptor @ 5 loyalty, Counterbalance, 8 lands, bunch of counterspells in hand, Brainstorm in hand, Entreat the Angels on top of her deck

Bob's board: 3 lands

Bob is so locked out that he's effectively dead, but he refuses to concede, because Alice hasn't "won" yet. Per the linked question, he's allowed to do this. Meanwhile, Alice refuses to win: she can win quickly whenever she wishes to simply by casting Entreat the Angels for the miracle cost, but is continuously placing Entreat the Angels back on top of her deck with Jace's Brainstorm ability instead of casting it. It's not a hard lock like in the linked question, but if Alice ever feels threatened she'll cast Brainstorm at the end of Bob's turn, miracle the Entreat the Angels, and win.

It's game 1 and from Alice's point of view the best result is to wait until there's 2 minutes left on the clock, then miracle Entreat the Angels - she cannot lose the match then.

Is her behavior punishable? If the answer to this hinges on the fact that Entreat being on top of Alice's deck is not known to Bob, what if Bob already knew Alice had drawn Entreat earlier (e.g. via Thoughtseize), or perhaps even Alice had already made 6 Angel tokens, she's just passing the turn without attacking?


texts: If a creature takes non-lethal damage, turns into a non-creature, and then back into a creature, does the damage remain?

texts:
Sort of a follow-up to Can Hour of Devastation kill Heliod, Sun-Crowned?

Let's say my opponent has two Benalish Marshal and Heliod, Sun-Crowned. I cast Hour of Devastation. Per murgatroid99's answer, Heliod survives.

If my opponent next plays some flash creatures or enchantments that turn Heliod back into a creature, does it still have 5 damage marked on it (+ is no longer indestructible)?


texts: Citadels Bell Tower and end game conditions

texts: Can I put the bell tower card down if I don't have seven district's but another player does? I'm asking because I just played for the first time and I made this move and ended the game without wanting to be the winner by points.


texts:
While playing Coup I have often pondered whether you can target yourself with the assassin. This might seem counterproductive at first, but actually has several very exciting use cases:

Turn Skip. Allow time to challenge, and block with a Contessa. At a very high price of (most certainly) giving away some information on your cards and running a high risk of challenge due to board information known by others and paying 3 coins, you could potentially earn a turn skip.
Bluff opportunity. Especially when paired with a Contessa, but also when maintaining the expectation of using the Contessa afterwards, and in tight end-game situations, using the assassin against yourself can provoke others to challenge.
Threat management via loss. As a subclass of aforementioned strategies, you may want to give away information, or lose either a card and/or coins to be perceived as less of a threat.
Chaos. I love Coup so much just because it lets you to play with the minds of others. What could throw someone off balance more than this?


texts: What's the point of Xaxos' power in Aeon's end?

texts:
I've started playing Aeon's end lately, and on the base set there's one Mage that seems hardly fair, but somehow he ends up way too strong or way too weak, depending at how one interpret his power.

The power is written this way :

  Metaphysical Link (5 charges): Activate during any player's main
  phase: Allies collectively gain 4 charges. Reveal the turn order deck
  and return the revealed cards in any order

At first we tought it shuffled the turn orders with it , hence it allows a "semi" infinite loop since it would be almost self-sufficientand allowed you to chain ally turns until the monster is beaten.

Then, we thought this was too powerful to be left, as is, it must be only the turn orders not played this turn. Thus, the power is near useless since it needs you to play first or so in order for it to be somehow effective, otherwise you could have only the nemesis' turns left in the draw, or some of them + 1/2 ally. I hardly find this worthwhile especially since the power costs so much. The "give energy to the team" thing is quite good, but if you got spells or gems that give charges for free, it would be easier and more flexible to use it directly.

So I'm quite confused. Is this power supposed to be terribly effective ? Is this power supposed to be lackluster? In which situation would Xaxos be a good pick ?


texts: In Caylus what is the point of placing a worker at the gate

texts: In Caylus I can't see the interest of placing a worker at the gate (first fixed building along the road) unless you really can't decide what to do and prefer to let the choice to bad fortune.


texts: How long should a draft round last by official rules?

texts:
I'm making an app for assist player during Magic gameplay, and I'd like to add a section for drafting.
But I can't find anything official, the only official source about it, is inside the comprehensive rules document, in the paragraph about Conspiracy Draft.
It only say that a draft consists of three draft rounds, in which a player drafts one card in front of him, then passes the rest to the next player (in the first and third rounds the booster pack are passed on the left and on the second to the right).

And that's all.

Where I go to play, the tournament organizer has an app that sets a timer for each round, every "draft" from the same booster becomes progressively shorter, and the last two last no more than 5 s. Also, the third round is overall shorter than the first two (as a player now knows what deck he can build).

But I haven't found anything from Wizards about timing.

Are all these rules house rules or there are some guidelines from Wizards? I'd prefer to stick to those if they exists.
But if they don't, how do you manage timing in your drafts?


texts: Do I have to say if the face-down card I'm playing is a trap or spell, or is it enough to place it in the trap/spell zone?

texts: Am I obligated to tell my opponent whether the card I'm playing is a trap card or a continuous spell card that's placed face down, or is it enough to just place it in that zone and say "I'm playing a card face down"? Am I obligated to be specific?


texts: Does Kill Shot-ing a morph during combat prevent damage?

texts:
I just started playing Magic this year, so this might a super-newb question, but here it goes:

My opponent declares that he will attack with this 2/2 colorless morph.
I declare no blockers because I figure I can take 2 damage.
My opponent pays the morph cost to morph his attacking creature into a 5/3 Krumar Bond-Kin.
Then I decide to play Kill Shot.

What happens now? Do I take 5 damage? Do I take 2 damage? Can I even play Kill Shot?

Also, technically speaking, during what phases are the steps I've detailed above happening? I was under the assumption that you can morph whenever you want, but I've read that you can't morph during combat damage resolution, which leads me to believe that I take no damage.


texts: What is this tic-tac-toe like game with green and yellow balls?

texts:
I found recently this board game in my parents' home (Spain); it seems like it might possibly be a version of tic-tac-toe.
Does anybody know the name of the game or the rules?


texts: Do I have to physically cut into my Necron Overlord's Staff of Light to upgrade it to Warscythe?

texts:
I'm just double checking so that I don't ruin a $20 model.

Clarification:

I don't plan on playing in tournaments, however, I would like to stick to the rules as far as my army is concerned just to make casual games smoother. I'm new to 40K and I figure if I skimp too much on the rules that I won't actually learn the game.

My Necron Overlord finecast box did not come with a Warscythe, which the codex says I can upgrade him to in place of a Staff of Light. The model box does come with a Staff of Light, and the codex depicts a Warscythe as roughly a Staff of Light with one of the blades removed. If possible, I would like to keep the whole Staff of Light just in case I later decide to not use the Warscythe upgrade in my roster.


texts: What's the golgari stance on an "earth god" like Gaia?

texts:
From my understanding of Golgari philosophy Gaia would at least not be a problem/conflict. But in fact be a great symbol for what they believe in in the first place.
Reasoning: Things living and dying is part just part of Gaia's existence. Like the metabolism of god.
Is there any canon material on this topic?


texts: Trick-taking card game, where you aim to reach zero points?

texts:
My family has been playing this card game for years but no one knows what it is called.

You start by dealing out 5 cards to everyone, then flip the next card, which marks the trump suit. The dealer can pick up that card and discard one from his hand face down. Then you go around the table and say if you are in or out, but the dealer has to be in.

Scoring: you start with 21 points and every trick lowers your points. If you get skunked you get 5 points added to your score. You want to get to exactly zero.

What is the name of this game?


texts: In Takenoko, when rain falls on a segment that has the fertilizer improvement, how much does the bamboo grow?

texts: In Takenoko, rain specifically causes a selected segment to gain one piece of bamboo - but the fertilizer improvement doubles growth. So how much growth occurs as a result of rainfall on an irrigated segment with the fertilizer improvement?


texts: Can I change the order of cards stacked in each room?

texts: The first few times I played the game I've placed the cards in the rooms in the order that the Seed Cards reference tells me to, but I find that some cards at the bottom of each pile are supposed to be there to "unlock" access to the rest of the stacked cards within that room. Can I change the order each stack is placed on the board so it makes sense or do I need to follow the reference sheet which I find is wrong?


texts: Revised Farmers of the Moor expansion on the non-revised based set

texts:
I own the non-revised edition of Agricola.

I want to get the FOTM expansion - but it looks like only the expansion for the revised edition is available.

Would this expansion work with the non-revised base set?


texts:
Can't even do the solo game without a question!

Just opened and punched Castle Ravenloft.  Running the intro solo adventure.

Place Strahd's Crypt
Put your hero anywhere on the tile

I put my Hero right on the edge of the crypt.  After all, the further he can get from Strahd the better!

The turn order is

Hero phase
Exploration phase
Villain phase

So it appears that during my first turn, I have a 4x3 area on Strahd's Crypt to explore.  (There is nothing there).  I can find no rules on placing new tiles during your hero phase so I don't believe my hero can move off the tile edge and needs to wait for the exploration phase to place a tile.

Is this interpretation correct?

I feel like I have to be missing something here.


texts: Does Bom Boy Factory allow Crushinators effect come into play or was I forced to discard Bom Boy Factory and therefore not allowing Crushinators effect come into play? Take into effect Bottomless Pit and Recycling Center wordings also.


texts:
The example from Scrabble manual have the following picture illustrating the scoring:

  In the following, the words added on five successive turns are shown in bold type. The scores shown are the correct scores if the letter R is placed on the center square. In Turn 1, count HORN: in Turn 2, FARM; in Turn 3, PASTE and FARMS; in Turn 4, MOB, NOT and BE; in Turn 5, BIT, PI and AT.

But on turn 3 besides FARMS and PASTE the word ARMS is also formed, but I don't see it scored. Also, on turn 2 only FARM is scored while ARM is also there.
Why?


texts: Strategies for playing Fido in Cosmic encounter?

texts:
I've played about 7 games of Cosmic Encounter, and by now I've learned that you need to adjust your strategy to take full advantage of your alien power in order to get the best odds of winning. Most of the aliens had powers for which it was clear both why it was good and how I should use it to its maximum potential.

However, I still haven't been able to figure out how to best play my very first alien, Fido:

  You have the power to Fetch. After encounter cards are discarded at the end of an encounter, you may use this power to retrieve one of the discarded cards and offer it to another player. If the card is refused, you may keep it. If the card is accepted, the other player keeps the card, then you may either retrieve one ship from the warp or draw one card from the deck.

If I offer bad cards, I get stuck keeping them. If I offer good cards, my opponents keep them and all I get to do is draw a card. If I offer mediocre cards, I get a result somewhere in the middle. How do I take advantage of this power with maximum benefit to myself and minimum benefit to my opponents? How do I determine what cards to offer to whom? Is it just me, or is this one of the weaker powers?


texts: How does Mitotic Slime work with Devour?

texts: Say that I have a Mitotic Slime in play and then play Thromok the Insatiable. When I sacrifice the Slime due to Thromok's Devour ability, I get two 2/2 Slime tokens. Am I able to sacrifice those Slime tokens to Thromok as well, or do they not come into play until Thromok is completely resolved? Since the 2/2 Slime tokens make two 1/1 Slime tokens as well, could I potentially get seven devour triggers from this one creature?


texts: How to design a Ticket to Ride fan expansion?

texts: I want to design a unofficial map for ticket to ride. Is there a known formula how to create one, basic ground rules on what makes a playable board? How many cities is playable? What percentage of grey vs colored tracks? How many total possible train positions is too few, and too many?


texts: Are there any time limit per move in Ticket To Ride?

texts:
Is there a time limit for each person to make their move?

My wife (a scientist) is very analytical, always strategising (which is why she beats me most times) but she can take upwards of 4 minutes to make a single move (deciding what cards to take or what or where to build) and it drives me nuts!

Is there any rule or etiquette that says people should be quicker about their moves, say 60 seconds or less?


texts:
In my solo campaign I played the "Home teacher" (The card that shows Obi Wan) and chose that as my first fixed profession for the following rounds. The card says something like:

  At the end of the game you receive one bonus point for every profession you play after this one.

1 In the second game when I already have the teacher laying on the table and choose profession. Is that profession free or does it cost 1 food?

2 Also from the third game on I had the Teacher and other professions laying on the table from the start. Do all these professions give bonus points at the end or just the ones I actually play in that round?


texts: Can the extra players extension work with Seafearers or Cities and Knights?

texts: If I have the Settlers of Catan 5-6 player extension (for the base game), does that mean I can use the Seafarers or Cities and Knights expansions with 5-6 players?


texts: So my family and I were playing when one of us landed on the "Go to Jail" space. They went, on their second roll to get out he rolled a double, now since we are playing the advanced game, does he roll the speed die since he is no longer in jail because he rolled a double with the white dice and then move with all three or does he just use the double white dice without the speed die? In the rules it does state not to use the speed die to get out of jail, but he did roll a double without the speed die.


texts: Does Persist, Modular, and Hardened Scales give me an infinite loop?

texts:
First off, let me preface with that I do know that +1 and -1 counters cancel out.

Now, the cards for this play are:

  1 : Arcbound Worker(or any modular 1 critter)
  1+: Hardened Scales
  1 : Cauldron of Souls.

To set the field, all are in play, and Arcbound worker has 2 +1/+1 counters on it. (Achieved when it was brought into play, triggering Hardened Scales)

The question is, if I give the Worker persist, have it swing, and try to bring it back from the grave, does it come back with a -1/-1 counter and a +1/+1 counter, and an additional +1/+1 counter thus resulting in a possible loop? Or do the counters cancel out before I can say Scales triggers?


texts: Does copying a clue count as investigating?

texts:
Question regarding investigation. If I create a copy of a clue token (e.g. with Saheeli Rai), does that count as investigating for Erdwal Illuminator?

701.34a "Investigate" means "Put a colorless Clue artifact token onto the battlefield. It has ‘2, Sacrifice this artifact: Draw a card.'"

So to turn it around: if I put a colorless clue artifact token on the battlefield have I not "investigated"?


texts:
We recently picked up MTG to try out. It is fun but the rules are quite vague. It is not clear whether a player can attack more than once (with different cards) in a turn. It isn't clear how tap abilities of cards related to attacking (if one attacks does one also get the tap ability - if so can it be used without attacking, and can it be used if not ones own turn). It isn't clear when a card says "for each creature under your control" whether that count includes creature tokens (which are "creatures" but are often treated separately in the text of cards). Does life link only count damage to the other player or all damage to any creature? The list goes on.

Is there a more precise version of the general rules for MTG?


texts: Good set of cards for teaching beginners

texts:
We have 1 or 2 new people who are interested in joining our lunch Dominion games where I work.

We'd like to teach them about the various rules unique to each of these sets: Base, Intrigue, Seaside, and Prosperity.

Can anyone recommend a card set that will teach all the important game rules?

Note: We've stopped using Alchemy's potions in our games and instead replace a card's potion cost with a 3-coin cost.


texts: In Stratego, what happens if in the setup a player puts all six bombs in the front row but not behind the lakes?

texts:
Imagine a situation which is highly improbable in practice but still possible theoretically. A novice player in Stratego, when making his/her initial setup, has put all his/her six bombs in the front row. No bombs behind any of the two lakes, however. So, in other words: two adjacent bombs are on the left flank, two bombs on the right flank and two in the center.

I had been playing wonderful game of Stratego for a long time, but I am so afraid of the above mentioned setup I never dared to try it. Still, I wonder what the game rules say about it. Is this an immediate loss?


texts:
With the "Loss of Vision" mythos card, can the keeper play additional mythos cards that require the investigator to be in a room with darkness for any room that investigator is in?

I interpreted as yes, but only effecting that specific investigator though it's caused some debate amongst our group.

We'd appreciate any insight.


texts: When playing the road building card, can a settlement be built between a free road and a free ship?

texts: In Catan seafarers expansion, when playing the road building card, can a settlement be built between building a free road and building a free ship?


texts: What's the probability of having a combo on the first turn in MTG?

texts:
I'm creating a combo deck, and I'm interested in the probability of having a certain combo on the first turn.

For this combo, I need 4 different cards. There are 4 copies of each of these cards in the deck. The deck has 60 cards.

What is the probability of seeing these 4 cards in the starting hand of 7 cards?

I read How do you calculate the likelihood of drawing certain cards in your opening hand?, but my question is a little different and I don't know how to calculate this probability.


texts: Can a creature with protection from all colors be targetted with a damage spell when it is still on the stack?

texts:
A friend of mine casts a card that has protection from all colors.

I know that I can counter it, but can I simply kill it by dealing damage to it while it is on the stack?


texts:
I played a game tonight with Storyteller and Alms. Storyteller says:

  +1 Action
  +1 Coin

  Play up to 3 Treasures from your hand. Pay all your coin; +1 Card per coin paid.

Alms is an event that costs 0 coin. It says:

  Once per turn: If you have no Treasures in play, gain a card costing up to 4 coins.

I had a turn where I played the three coppers in my hand to get +4 cards, after which I had no more treasure cards in hand but multiple buys. I was going to buy two silvers with Alms, but the other players said I couldn't because of the treasures I had paid to draw cards with Storyteller. I argued that those cards weren't in play since I used them. Are treasure cards spent by Storyteller still in play?


texts: Can two Enduring Scalelords create an infinite loop?

texts: With two Enduring Scalelords, is it possible to create an infinite loop by putting a +1/+1 counter on a creature, then because of that, place a +1/+1 counter on both Enduring Scalelords, and because of those gaining +1/+1 counters, they get a +1/+1 counter for the other Enduring Scalelord?


texts: Master of Cruelties Spiteful Returned Combo

texts:
If I enchanted Master of Cruelties with Spiteful Returned, would this create a potential one–hit combo?
If your opponent doesn't block it, then the Master of Cruelties would drop your opponent to 1, and then the Spiteful Return as an enchantment would deal 2 damage.


texts: What tactical/strategic decisions can you make in D&D: The Legend of Drizzt board game?

texts:
There are a couple of decisions you can make, like what starting powers you want for your character, and which character you choose, but everything else seems like it is already predetermined or random.

If you don't explore edges of the cavern, you get an encounter card. If you do explore the edges of the cavern, you reveal monsters that attack you first (I suppose you sometimes get to determine which player the monster attacks).

Choices for which Item/Daily Power are equally as obvious (the weapon with the highest chance deal damage). Perhaps the only choice that requires any kind of difficult decision is when to use your Daily Power.

Am I missing something, or is there little if any strategy/tactics in this game?


texts:
Whilst looking for new dice I have noticed that the sizes differ.

What is the standard size of D6 dice in table top, card, and ball games?

My assumption is at least 15mm add it seems to be the most common for sale.


texts: A card game that has an ultimate skill for each character

texts:
I can't really recall what is this board / card game.

I am not sure is it a werewolf, vampire, some other social deduction game, or it's a different one from what I have mentioned.

Each character card will have an ultimate skill. In order to use the skill, you need to reveal your role card.

Anyone can figure out what is this game?

Sorry for the small amount of details.


texts: Can I play on other people's buildings in Belfort?

texts: I assumed that I can only play on my own buildings.  Are you allowed to play on others' buildings as well in Belfort?


texts: Is it feasible to do a Yu-Gi-Oh! booster draft?

texts:
Magic: The Gathering has a Booster Draft format in which each player opens a booster pack, picks a card to keep, then passes the rest to the next player. After this is repeated a number of times, players add basic lands so that they have a deck they can use in a tournament. The designers of new Magic sets make sure that the cards and their distributions will be fun to play in a Booster Draft.

Is it feasible to do a booster draft with similar rules in the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game? If I have players open booster packs and pass them around following the same rules as the Magic Booster Draft format, would it create playable decks and a satisfying experience?

I'd prefer an answer based on experience from someone who has attempted this. If nobody has tried it, I will accept a detailed analysis of why it would or would not work.


texts:
What constitutes a completed city.
My son and I have been playing for a little while, and we can't agree if a city is complete when it has attached cities sections which aren't.


texts:
When building a prestige building by using the 4th row of the royal favours table (e.g. after winning a royal favour as the player who built the most houses on the castle) that gives you more favours, is it permitted to use these very favours to construct another buidling? In other words, is it considered "building" the blue building, part of the same phase? I know that in general, during the same phase you're not allowed to use the same row.
Let's say I've already placed my marker at the first column of the 4th row at the royal favours table. After I win another favour, am I allowed to advance my pawn to the 2nd column, even if I don't have the materials to build a wooden building?


texts: What general approach should be taken opening hands with 3=1=4=5 and 1=3=4=5 shape?

texts:
If my hand is not good enough to reverse, what should I do with a hand like

Kxx
x
KJxx
AQxxx

That is, a minimum opener with a singleton major, 4 diamonds, and 5 clubs (assuming that I'm playing Standard American or 2/1 with a strong NT opener)?

Should I open 1D or 1C? What's my rebid if partner bids my singleton?


texts: Pokemon tcg knock out attacks versus effects

texts: Is the Amazing Destruction (Yveltal) knock out an effect or part of the attack?


texts:
Why is there no ruling to offset Mandatory Loops?

As pointed out in a recent question: Marauding Raptor and Polyraptor - what happens when a loop has no exit?
Which states this ruling

  721.4. If a loop contains only mandatory actions, the game is a draw. (See rules 104.4b and 104.4f.)

Now I understand within the confines of the game that certain cards have been created and balanced with mandatory actions that once cast can not be deviated from. This is part of card design- which is a whole different topic, but sometimes these have the unintended consequence of looping forever.

Non-optional unintended loops are presumably outside of the preferred intended play by the designers, and it leads me to wonder if any effort has been done to investigate outs for when these situations arise (eg. after a mandatory-loop, loops x100 then remove any further triggered/replacement effects.)

Allowing a hard break to certain loops might allow some niche decks to arise, perhaps this might lead to a negative impact on certain formats, which might be why this decision was done?

So ideally I am looking for any sources which point to why they have decided to leave this rule as such, and for so long. Has any past attempts at reanalyzing this rule come up?

Disclaimers:
Mainly looking for reasons within sanctions tournament rules, or other official events, but creditable sources outside that may be acceptable answers.


texts: If the intervener is overcalled by a responders to the 1NT what are the options for the advancer in addition to the standard responses. Is he now allowed to pass meaning partner I cannot help.


texts: Does non-combat damage affect Commander damage?

texts:
Do the effects of a Commander that deal (non-combat) damage, such as  Obzedat, Ghost Council, count towards Commander damage?

I have not been able to find whether or not it has to be, specifically, combat damage, or simply damage dealt by the Commander.


texts: Can a player attach multiple alteration spells to the same unit? If so, can a player attach multiple alteration spells of the same type?


texts:
I've got an expansion for a semi-popular board game that my friends and I have been having a lot of fun with.  I was wondering if I could package and sell the expansion to the game without consent from the original publisher.  I know I'd need to create all of my own materials (artwork, text, etc.) but I wasn't sure if I could market it as "Third party expansion to X".

Are there any pitfalls I should be wary of?  I don't want to rip off the company or cause problems with them, but ideally I wouldn't need to have a lot of contact with them either (since they may not like it, even if it is perfectly legal.)


texts:
In Doomtown Reloaded, Grifters are characters who allow you to look at your starting hand and, if you don't like them, boot them. For instance, Travis Moone allow you to boot him and then redraw your hand.

Recently I played a game where both of us had Grifters and it was important to know whose Grifter went first. Basically, my opponent was on the fence about using his Grifter and wanted to know if my Grifter was going to start the first round booted.

Since Grifters activate after the initial hand draw but before the first lowball round, we didn't have an established way to decide whose Grifter went first. So whose Grifter goes first? Or do you just count to three and decide simultaneously?


texts: Monopoly Deal: My Bank Pile - Private or Public Information?

texts:
When we play with more than two people on Monopoly Deal, we have devised a rule:

Your only exposed card in your bank pile is the top card. All other cards
may remain hidden, as to add an element of strategy during action card play.

This does introduce a possible element of cheating, as a player who wishes to deposit two or more bank cards in a single play would have little trouble concealing their effort by stacking their cards directly on top of each other, and then burying those cards in a nice, straight pile that no other player can gauge value on. Of course, we're all friends at the Monopoly Deal table, so cheating would just be a silly waste. In order to pay a fine, a player may pick up their entire bank, and select without revealing its contents to the others.

As you can imagine, this creates a new element of strategy to the game. At one point, I was about to win, and was charged money by everyone on the table. The person before me had no idea I was holding the $10M bill, and I survived the ordeal and won out. Had they known sooner, they may have pinched my bank previously, and I would have had a harder time winning.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Official responses? Does anyone else do this besides me?


texts: What distribution of ICE should I have in my deck?

texts:
When building Corporation decks for Android: Netrunner, I've been finding it difficult to get the balance of ICE in my deck right. For instance, in my most recent deck, I've found that I've put a little too much in my deck resulting (to some extent) in dead draws.

What proportion of my deck should be ICE? I expect it varies by strategy too, so what should I take into consideration when deciding whether I should go slightly higher or lower than the "correct" proportion?

And, once I know how much ICE I'm using, how should it be distributed with respect to barriers/code gates/sentries? Should I have an even variety of the three, or is it feasible to have more of some types than of others?


texts: Are any special rules added if you are playing with more than one expansion?

texts:
Are there rules governing playing more than one expansion? Arkham Horror has a couple rules when there is more than one side board attached, but I haven't seen any documentation on modifications to Eldritch Horror rules.

For an example of what I'm wondering, here is an excerpt from the Innsmouth Horror expansion for Arkham Horror, page 6:

  The rules are unchanged when using more than one expansion city, except that the number of players should be counted as being one less for each expansion board in play beyond the first. So, if six players are playing a game using both Dunwich and Innsmouth (for a total of two expansion cities), they are counted as having one less player, for a total of five players. This modified number of players is used for such things as the monster limit and the maximum number of gates that can be open at once, and it reduces the level of difficulty for the players since they have so much more ground to cover.


texts: I have a Gliscor card from the Rising Rivals Pokemon set which says it's an 'Elite Four's Pokemon' but on the top left-hand side it's written GL (Gym Leader) instead of the usual Elite Four icon (see picture below). Would this be a misprint?


texts: Can I use sleeve protectors for Dominion cards and still fit them back into the box?

texts:
I am considering getting card protectors for my dominion game. Do the cards still fit back into their slots in the box?

The ones I was thinking about were the ones advertised in the box with dominion from Mayday Games.


texts: Can a Hero Event be used on another Hero player?

texts: Can a hero player use a Hero Event card to help out another hero player's character, or must they only use Hero Events on their own character?


texts: Are (un)tapped permanents still legal targets for "(un)tap target permanent" effects?

texts:
So I noticed that many cards with tap-effects ship with a clause specifying that they can only be used on untapped permanents, such as Earthcraft and Crackleburr.

So here's my question:

Doesn't that imply that, given the right situation, one can legally tap an already tapped permanent?

I'll give an example of the kinda scenarios this is relevant for: Can Tamiyo, the Moon Sage activate her first ability when no untapped cards are around? Or, thinking untap-effects, could I bounce a forest with Scryb Ranger even when there isn't a tapped creature available?

Notice that, unlike the previous batch of examples, the wording on these lacks the clause restricting their use to un/tapped permanents - does that mean that they aren't?

Any kind of clarification would be greatly appreciated here.


texts: Best game for two couples, median age 20?

texts:
I'm looking for some nonstandard board games that don't take more than two hours to complete and don't take less than thirty minutes. By nonstandard I mean other than monopoly, risk and cluedo.

I've been doing a lot of research on the internet the past two days and I've narrowed it down to four games which I think might fit the bill - Dominion, Agricola, Puerto Rico and Settlers of Catan.

The primary idea is for me and my best friend to play this with our girlfriends, so the game shouldn't be too aggressive, but I also have to keep in mind that my friend is a huge Total War fan.

Now, I have almost 0 experience with real board games, and I'm pretty sure the other three have absolutely no experience, but all four of us are very enthusiastic about starting.

Personally, I feel Agricola might be the best for us, but I'm currently collecting opinions from all around, and I would like to hear the pros and cons of these four games (as well as any other you think might fit the bill), in regards to our gaming group. Replayability should be the highest concern.


texts:
In Principato two basic resources are gold and food. When 4 people play the game the bank runs out of these cubes pretty quickly. The rule book says nothing about this.

First question: I assume that it is so on purpose to give players more options to play against each other. Is that correct? Or should we have as much food and gold as we want?

One observation I've made is that it becomes very different when 3 players play. Availability of cubes is much better and I expect that with 2 players it's not a problem anymore. It changes the mechanics of the game.

Second question: Shouldn't cubes' availability be limited in some way when only 2 or 3 players play? I haven't found anything on this in the rule book but my feeling is it would make sense.


texts: If a blocking creature leaves the battlefield, is the attacker still blocked, or will it damage the opponent?

texts:
Suppose Player 1 has a Dragon on the table and Unsummon in hand, while Player 2 has two Spiders on the table.

Player 1 chooses to attack with the Dragon and Player 2 chooses to block with one of the Spiders.  Before combat damage is to be dealt, Player 1 uses Unsummon on the blocking Spider.

Does Player 2 take any life damage from the attacking Dragon?


texts: Board game that you set up each time differently with little cards

texts: I played it in probably early 90s. You had little cards and each time you played you put down the cards or tiles along the spaces on the board so each time you played it was different. They were like go back 3 spaces or go forward 2 spaces. I remember I had played it so much I knew the best way to set the board up. It was essentially a make it yourself game. This is driving me crazy! I thought it was similar to grape escape or splat BC I thought maybe it came with playdough but I'm not sure if I'm just remembering wrong. Please help me.


texts: Designing a Yu-Gi-Oh! like card game - the game phases

texts:
Yu-Gi-Oh! has 6 phases, of which only 4 are actually visible to a player playing in real life.

Main phase 1, battle phase, main phase 2, end.

I personally do not like the way these phases work, and am considering designing new rules that allows players to play without these phases being visible, so that there's only 1 phase where you can attack or play magic cards (and then end turn).

The one problem that my friend has pointed out to be is that this changes the effectiveness of certain cards like Call of the Haunted.

If I have no monsters on the field and the opponent has a panoply of monsters on the field, I would normally be able to save myself with Call of the Haunted. As a trap, I can activate it when the opponent attacks, and revive a strong monster to defend myself. However if the opponent has a magic card such as exiled force, they can kill my strong monster immediately, something they wouldn't be able to do in the attack phase of normal Yu-Gi-Oh! rules.

Now my solution to this is to add special exceptions to cards like Call of the Haunted, so that they or the monster they summon cannot be targeted by magic cards within the same turn as their activation.

Would that fix the problem of trap card balance? Are there any problems with my proposed system?

Some context: This is a new rule set based on Yu-Gi-Oh! rules. I don't intend to try to get anyone to play Yu-Gi-Oh! with my rules.

Thanks.

Edit:
Some more context: Not working on existing cards, I have new cards.

Here is a video demonstrating what I mean:

In this new game note that there are no attack/main phases, just one END TURN.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL1KS-qQrPw


texts:
I'm creating my own version of risk and I'm now on to printing the cards.

My printer can use up to 250gsm paper, but before I purchase some I want to know if it will be suitable.

What is the standard for cards and card games?


texts: Tapping Active Abilities when they have summoning sickness?

texts: If I put a Goblin Fireslinger onto the battlefield, which would have summoning sickness, can I tap it that turn to use its ability or do I have to wait an extra turn to use it?


texts: Is the belt in Munchkin Quest the hand, or is it a pile of cards face up on the table? Which cards counts to your hand?


texts:
Normally the game rule book provides balanced setup to play with different extensions. We just bought Cornucopia, but the French rule book did not provided a setup to play with Prosperity.

We would like to know if there is any idea on an interesting setup to use with these two extensions.

We use the Dominion Intrigue as our base.


texts: What happens to target creature when Essence Scatter is played?

texts: When one plays Essence Scatter, does the target creature go back to the opponent's hand, or does it go to their graveyard?


texts: Are the names of guilds in Ravnica protected intellectual property?

texts:
I don't see a TM symbol anywhere and some searches of the interwebs reveals nothing but laughing cats...

I'm not wanting to infringe, just not step on toes.

(Very big, powerful toes)


texts: Do Increasing Vengence and Swerve form an infinite combo?

texts: Okay, so say you play an instant or sorcery spell and then play Increasing Vengeance targeting it could you then play Swerve changing the target of Increasing Vengeance from the random instant or sorcery to itself?


texts:
In igo, when I plan dan-level players, they often make two-space approach moves like the one shown in the figure below:

I have many of the standard books on go and they generally only discuss one space approach moves, so I am not sure how I should regard two-space approach moves from a strategic point of view.

So, here if White had played at C, I would play at B or one space to the right of B, I know that from books. But after the two-space approach, how does that change things? Is it better to pincer now at D or play A maybe?

What is the direction of play when the opponent makes "soft" moves, like two-space approaches?


texts: Drawn through gate during an Arkham encounter

texts:
Two investigators were in the same location in Arkham. The first investigator drew an encounter 'A monster and gate appear!'. He resolved that encounter by fighting the monster and then getting drawn through the gate. The second investigator also got drawn through the gate before having an encounter.

We also said that the two investigators did not have an Other World encounter as they were 'delayed' as they were drawn in to the gate. This ended up with the second investigator not having any encounters on this particular turn.

Was that the correct ruling?


texts:
I ran across a critique of the game Diskwars that I did not quite follow.
"There was an easy way to basically teleport a good unit to the far side of the battlefield, then decapitate the enemy force on their starting line."

What creatures/spells make this possible?


texts: How does Dreadhorde Arcanist interact with split cards?

texts:
If I have a Dreadhorde Arcanist with a +1/+1 counter and a Collision // Colossus in my graveyard, what can I do? Can I play one of the split cards, neither or both?

If I play Colossus on a Dreadhorde Arcanist and attack with it targeting Collision / Colossus, can I play both or only one of them?

If the case is that I can play only one, can I spend mana to play the second?


texts: Is upgraded icebreaker strength per subroutine

texts: If I pay credits to upgrade the strength of my ice breaker do I have to pay to do that for every subroutine or does the upgraded strength last for the whole encounter?


texts: Can players at other locations play multiple cards to help you in combat?

texts:
A player using Kyra didn't have a weapon or spell in his hand to help defeat the Hill Giant that came up during his Explore action. Valeros, in a separate location, played a Shortbow and a Heavy Crossbow to add two dice to the combat check.

Is this allowed? The rules state you can't play more than one card of the same type during a check; Kyra's player's argument was that it should be allowed, because it technically wasn't Valeros' combat check.


texts: Four Player Card Game Where Players are Kings

texts:
16 years ago I was taught a four player card game and I was never told the official name of it, and I have forgotten most of the rules.  I also might be remembering parts of this incorrectly too...
Rules:

The player with the most points by the end of the last set was the winner
The card game consists of 4 sets of 5 rounds where each player gets a turn at being the king of a set.
Each round the cards are dealt out so each player has 13 cards in their hand (much like Hearts)
After seeing his (or her) hand the king decides between 5 different games that will be used to determine the rules for that round
Each game is played once and only once for a set.
1 of the 5 games players could gain points while the other 4 you lost points.
At the end of each set if all the points were done correctly all the players score could be added together and it would equal zero, which served as a type of checksum.
So no matter what by the end of the set first place would always be in the positive while fourth place would always be in the negative.

The games that lost points:

Each of them had different set of cards that would lose points (similar to Hearts where certain cards gained points).
The King would start the first round and it would go clockwise around the group where each player would play a card similar in rules to that of Hearts.
From there whomever won/lost that round would start the next round much like in Hearts
One might have been called Queens, and you did not want to get the four queens
One might have been called Diamonds, and you did not want to get any diamonds

The game that netted points was different from the other four:

For this one the goal was to empty your hand first.
Whomever emptied their hand first got the most points, and it would continue till the second and third person emptied their hands, and they would get respectively less points.
There was four piles one for each suit and you played counting up much like in Solitaire.
If you could not play a card you passed.
King started and it would go clockwise around with each player playing a card or passing.
Common strategy was to holdout on a suit to force the other players to play the suit you needed in order to empty your hand first.  Also if you were the King and you looked at your hand and saw you had lots of face cards you typically would avoid this one, since they are the last cards to be played.

So what is the name of it and what are the rules?


texts: What do we do if we need to place a large minion and all minion entry spaces are occupied?

texts:
In Mice and Mystics, we entered a tile and had an encounter which dropped several rats and a spider (which is large).  On the very first turn, the minions ended up defending against an attack and rolling another cheese, triggering a surge, which was a centipede (which is also large).

Large minions are supposed to be the only things that fit on their spaces, but unfortunately every minion entry space was already occupied (either by our mice, rats, or the spider).

What should we do with this newly spawned centipede when he can't fit anywhere?

(What we ended up doing was having him eat a rat and take the rat's spot, but we were looking for something a little more official.)


texts: What is the difference between an artifact and a creature?

texts:
My opponent (we're both beginner players) casts a Renegade Freighter, which is an Artifact — Vehicle. Can he attack me with it on his next turn? They are attacking me with it like it is a creature, but this doesn't seem right to me.

Also, it says "Crew 2", which, when enabled, turns it into an artifact creature. What is an artifact creature?


texts: Why would someone want to use Pot of Desires, other than to draw 2 cards?

texts:
Pot of Desires allows you to banish the top 10 cards of your deck, facedown, and then draw 2 cards.

Why would someone do this? Is gaining 2 cards worth it?


texts: Is there a site to solve tsumego online?

texts: I'd like to solve tsumego online, not having to install a program or app locally. Are there any sites that allow this? How about for smartphones?


texts: Does Hedron Link Device remove the original faction from constructs?

texts:
When Hedron Link Device is in play, if I also play Avatar Golem, is the original faction of a construct (e.g. Void, Enlightened, Lifebound) still applicable, or is it now removed?

(This is in comparison to MTG rules, which normally stipulate "... in addition to its other types" for effects like this.)


texts: Under what conditions can I cast Panglacial Wurm from my Library when my opponent controls an Aven Mindcensor?

texts:
My opponent controls an Aven Mindcensor.

  If an opponent would search a library, that player searches the top four cards of that library instead.

I have a Panglacial Wurm in my deck.

  While you're searching your library, you may cast Panglacial Wurm from your library.

I cast a Rampant Growth (or any other card that allows me to search my library).

What is the ruling on my ability to cast the Panglacial Wurm?

I can see one of three possible answers.

You cannot cast Panglacial Wurm.  You aren't searching your library, you're searching the top four cards of your library.
You can cast Panglacial Wurm, but only if it's in the top 4 cards of your library.  Aven Mindcensor prevents you from looking any further into your library, and if you can't find Panglacial Wurm then you can't cast it.
You can cast Panglacial Wurm, regardless of where it is in your library.  It's in your library, and you're searching your library.

I have a feeling it's either 1 or 3, but I'm unsure.  What is the correct ruling?


texts: Non-team variants for four or more players in Mille Bornes?

texts:
Has anyone come across variant rules for Mille Bornes where the players don't play on teams?  I've seen rules for 2 player, 3 player, 2 vs 2 and 3 vs 3, but nothing for four or more solo players.

For whatever reason, sometimes we'll have a group of four or more who feels like playing, but all playing solo.  The problem is, someone always ends up running out of fuel or getting a flat tire, and then never seeing a Petrol or Repair card for the rest of the game.  They end up just sitting there, which is pretty non-entertaining.

It is quite possible that the deck just isn't suitable for more than three players, and playing with two decks is the only way to have more than three solo players, but I'm open to suggestions.


texts: Can I target my own planeswalker with Angrath?

texts:
Angrath, Minotaur Pirate's oracle text for its +2 ability is different from its card text to differentiate 'opponent' versus 'opponent or planeswalker an opponent controls'.

Can Angrath target a planeswalker its controller controls with its +2?

I assume so, but the ruling on gatherer leaves me confused:

  Angrath’s first and last abilities target only the player. Creatures with hexproof that player controls will be affected.


texts: Why is the card Earthcraft banned in legacy?

texts: A similar card called Cryptolith Rite never did anything in legacy why is Earthcraft banned. Now I do understand you can tap summoning sick critters to the Earthcraft, but it can only untap basic lands so it cannot give you rainbow mana as the rites do, I do think they are comparable in power level, I really cannot understand that ban.


texts:
I think I know the answer to this but was just hoping someone could prove me wrong... Let's say you're casting Psychic Shriek against a mob of 15 Boyz. Psychic Shriek states "Roll 3d6 and subtract the target's leadership," while Mob Rule states "...may always choose to substitute the number of Orks in their mob for their normal Leadership value." Do you roll the 3d6 against their Ld value of 7 (for Boyz), or can they choose (per the mob rule) to substitute Ld 10 for this? It's not a Ld test, nor does it require any intervention by the Ork player which might give them an opportunity to decide to substitute it, but the wording of mob rule is just vague enough that it seems they can do it, literally, whenever they want.

The counter-example is that they should be able to do it whenever their intervention is required, such as for a morale/pinning test, but not when something is comparing to their base leadership stat. I know that's pretty weak, but it holds just enough logic that I feel clarification is in order.

BONUS QUESTION: Does Mob Rule still apply to a character in a challenge? Granted I've heard rumors that the new codex will make Orks immune to challenges but figured I'd ask anyways.


texts: What are the differences between American Megafauna and Bios: Megafauna?

texts:
The idea of a detailed board game simulating evolution sounds awesome. I understand that Bios: Megafauna is a more recent reworking of American Megafauna, but I'm quite unclear on the differences. From my limited reading, it also sounds like these games are part of a larger gaming arc, since I've heard mention that it's possible to combine these games with others by the same designer. That's all I know though, and I'm interested in picking one of these up for Christmas. So:

What was the intention with the reimplementation?
What are the principal differences?
Are there specific reasons to prefer one over the other?
How can these games be combined with others, or expanded?


texts:
I don't think I understand State Based Actions (SBA) and how they work with Immortal Coil.

I understand that at ANY time I have Immortal Coil on the battlefield with no graveyard, I lose.  I understand that I cannot "cast a spell" and have it resolve in time to be put in the graveyard.

However, I saw this question about Sacred Mesa and responding to the trigger by tapping mana, which made me think about Immortal Coil and how I can respond to it.

If I have a Bazaar Trader in play, and play Immortal Coil with no graveyard, can I respond to the triggering of the SBA and tap Bazaar Trader to give it to my opponent?  Or do I lose before I can respond to it, because I have no graveyard?


texts: Can you use Trader to gain a Silver instead of a Farmland, but still get the buy side-effects of Farmland?

texts:
Can I buy a Farmland, trashing a card from my hand and gaining one costing up to 2 more, but then reveal Trader, and gain a Silver instead of the Farmland?

I always think of the "buy" operation as containing a "gain" operation, so any cards that trigger on gain also trigger on buy, but not vice-versa.  However, when does the "gain" reaction actually occur?  Is it after you have already resolved the "buy" reactions or operations?

A follow-up question is this:  because I converted the Farmland to a Silver, can I still put my Treasury cards back on my deck at the end of this turn?

I predict that the "correct" answer is going to look like the following algorithm, but I'm not 100% on this, hence my question here:

You "buy" a Farmland.
That triggers any "buy" reactions or actions on the card, using Farmland, (e.g. you can trash a Gold from your hand and gain a Province)
Add Farmland to the set of cards you "bought this turn".
You then "gain" the Farmland.
You reveal Trader, and gain a Silver instead.
That triggers any "gain" reactions, using Silver (e.g. Watchtower, to put the Silver on deck)
(Note, this does not trigger any gain reactions using the Farmland, e.g. imagine a new reaction card like Fool's Gold, except it triggers whenever anyone gains a victory card)
Add Silver to the set of cards you "gained this turn".
On cleanup, you cannot put your Treasury on deck, because the "cards bought this turn" includes a Farmland, which is indeed a victory card.
The next player will be able gain Silver via Smugglers because the "cards you gained last turn" includes a Silver, but it does not include a Farmland, so they will not be able to gain a Farmland via Smugglers.


texts: Bet process when 2 players and Big blind is all in on the Pre-Flop

texts:
as I understand when 2 players playing no Limit Hold-em

dealerButton is smallBlind
bigBlind goes All-In at the preflop.
smallBlind opens the game and he CALL.

how does the game move forward? (does the smallBlind have the option to see the flop-turn-river by keeping checking or betting on his own sidepot?) or does the game end as soon as the smallBlind makes his first choice?


texts: Havengul Lich on Reassembling Skeleton - can the Lich cast itself for 1B this turn?

texts:
Havengul Lich says

  1: You may cast target creature card in a graveyard this turn. When you cast that card this turn, Havengul Lich gains all activated abilities of that card until end of turn.

While Reassembling Skeleton has

  1B: Return Reassembling Skeleton from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped.

So the question is, when I target Skeleton with Lich, does the Lich gain "return skeleton to battlefield" or "return lich to battlefield"? Would it be different if it said "return this card to battlefield"?


texts: How to prepare for a Mansions of Madness session efficiently?

texts:
I own the core game, and the Forgotten Alchemy and the Call of the Wild expansions. That means a lot of cards.

That also means that before every session, there is a lot of preparation. The worst part is sorting out the necessary Exploration cards. I love the game itself, but this preparation slowly drives me into madness... Well, this might have been the designer's intention in the first place.

Is there a way to organize everything in a way that results in less preparation time?


texts: Does the "Tea" card apply to a multiple set of cards from a single player?

texts: If Chris has a "Tea" card and his largest set are 2 "Temaki," 2 "Edamame," and 2 "Pudding" cards, does he only score 2 points for the "Tea," or 6 points?


texts:
My four-and-a-half year old son is learning chess.  He's got the moves of the pieces down and understands how to checkmate with two rooks (or rook and queen).

I've read some good suggestions in this question for how to teach chess other than by playing games.  This question is more concerned with how to make a normal game between the two of us fun for both players.

So, what are some ways that I can handicap myself so that I can play as best I know how, but still not win every game we play?  I've tried starting without some of my pieces, and that seems to work well, but I've read in a couple of places that this is not a good idea -- why?  The other option I've considered but not tried is a very short time limit for my moves.

Note: I'm hoping for answers that will apply to two adults with varying skill levels as well.


texts: damage triggering a simultaneous modifier of damage

texts: Earl of Squirrel and Griffin Protector both deal combat damage to player. As Earl of Squirrel creates squirrels will it trigger the effect on a Griffin Protector before the Griffin deals damage to the player? Or will the griffon only receive it's bonus after it has delivered it's damage to the player...


texts: Can the Powder Tower be used while its owner is bewitched?

texts:
I played as Witch and bewitched Thief. The Thief has previously built the Powder Tower and would like to use it at the turn he's bewitched.

Can the Thief or the Witch use the Powder Tower this turn?


texts: If an opponent's creature attacks my defense position creature and in response I destroy it with a trap or spell, do I still have to flip my creature?

texts: I have a creature in face down defense position. I also have a trap that destroys an attacking enemy creature at the time of its attack. If my opponent attacks my face down creature and I destroy her attacking creature with my trap, do I still have to flip my creature at all?


texts: Roll dice to see who goes first in Monopoly

texts:
In Monopoly, at the start of each round players roll the dice to determine who goes first. But what if the highest number are the same for 2 or more players?

Let's say player 1 got 12 and player 2 also got 12 while others got less than that. Does the official rule states if everyone has to roll the dice again or just the highest players?


texts: Dominion: what happens when I play Throne Room on a Feast since Feast gets trashed when played?

texts:
Throne Room: "Choose any action in your hand and play it twice"

Feast: "Trash this card and gain a card costing up to 5$"

So I use the Throne Room and play Feast twice. The first time it gets played it gets trashed and I gain a card up to five. The second time its played the Feast card is in the trash, and to play a Feast it needs to get trashed to gain a card.

I recall the rules say something like when you play an action you must follow as many of the rules as you can, so I assume you would just trash the one Feast and gain 2 cards up to 5$. Is this correct?


texts: How does Pithing Needle work with abilities on the stack?

texts:
If I get Pithing Needle onto the battlefield in response (giving it flash or getting it out at instant speed) to an activated ability being activated, and chose the thing that's activated ability is being activated, what happens?

Example:

Enemy activates Teferi, Hero of Dominaria's ability.
I cast Whir of Invention in response.
The stack starts to resolve, and my Whir of Invention grabs me my Pithing Needle.
I name Teferi, Hero of Dominaria with my needle.
What happens?


texts: Is the card "Outshine Them All" from the MLP CCG useless?

texts:
In the MLP CCG there is a card from the Twilight / Applejack theme deck called "Outshine Them All": http://mlpccg.wikia.com/wiki/Outshine_Them_All_(Premiere)

You have to pay one action token to use it, and it only gives you any action token profit if there's a troublemaker in play.

Is it useless?

(Also, if you feel like giving an opinion:
Should it give you two action tokens for winning a faceoff?
Or should it be one point (vs action token) for winning a faceoff?)

I'm mainly interested in whether or not it's useless and why/why not.
Perhaps even a reason it could even be useful if it's not useless.


texts: In Bridge, Which Forms of Deception Are Ethical? Does This Include "Moodying?"

texts:
Playing in a casual game of bridge, holding JTx of trumps, I "falsecarded" on the second trump lead with the J. Believing that he had drawn them, declarer stopped leading trumps.

Later, I trumped one of his tricks with the T. Declarer protested, saying that I should have followed "in sequence." My partner agreed with him, but dummy just said sagely "My partner forgot to count trumps."

I wasn't "wrong" was I, even though I was "deceptive"?
But I've been told that there are limits. For instance, is "moodying" allowed (act strong when weak, act weak when strong) even though this is a critical element of say, poker?


texts: After being drawn into a gate during an Encounter, do you have an Other World encounter in the same turn?

texts:
The encounter phase is split into two, 1st the locations, then the otherworlds. So you do all the locations, then after that you do all the otherworlds.

So, if you are drawn through the a gate in the Arkham Encounter phase, do you also draw a 2nd otherworld encounter card?


texts: Examples of board games with good/interesting rules for trading?

texts: Trading is in my opinion often an overlooked aspect of rules for board games. The lack of such rules often results in players modifying or making up these rules themselves. While making up the rules can be part of the fun I was wondering if you know of any games that already have good such rules/mechanisms? Any examples of games that make trading and the interaction between multiple players when doing so an interesting part of the gameplay would be appreciated.


texts: How can creatures with indestructible end up in the graveyard?

texts:
How does a creature with indestructible end up in the graveyard?

I have been trying to figure this out for a little while.


texts:
How should one compare the value between the two main options of Jokers?

In Yomi, Jokers have two primary purposes: Gold Burst, which allows one to gain aces, and Time Rewind (also affectionately known as Blue Burst), which acts as a "combo breaker" when being hit.  There are also other minor uses, such as using them for pumping fodder in extreme cases.

Being so rare and having powerful effects, Joker's are extremely valuable.  As such, it becomes important to judge the opportunity cost of the two options against each other.  It seems to be a general guideline that Blue Burst is substantially more valuable than Gold Burst in the broadest strokes, but it is not a hard rule.

What is the estimated mathematical value between the two options?  In what situations or character match-ups does it significantly change?  If one is playing for winning in the long-term over multiple games, as one might do in Poker, what is the most conservative way to value these cards?


texts: My brother found a d6 die that had numbers 50, 100, 200, 500, 50 and 200 instead of normal 1-6. Which game is this die from?


texts:
The Shadow Mage is summoned once one player uses his entire hand. However, in the vast majority of two-player games I have played we get so stocked up on weapons, shields, and treasure that we become invincible and never run out of cards.

We usually just summon the Shadow Mage once the deck pile is emptied out to get the game over-with.

Is this game properly balanced for two-players?


texts:
Does Graft's triggered ability use the stack?
What happens to the +1/+1 counter if the creature that graft was offloading to gets removed? Does it stay on the Graft permanent?

Example:

Llanowar Reborn is on the board. A player summons a Nyx-Fleece Ram, Llanowar Reborn Graft ability gets triggered and the player decides to move the +1/+1 counter to the Nyx-Fleece Ram. A rival player Dismembers the Nyx-Fleece Ram.

Can the rival player dismember in this case? (I assume so)
What happens to Llanowar Reborn's +1/+1 counter?


texts: Necroskitter and clone/ board wipe interaction

texts:
I had Necroskitter out and my opponent has Clone which cloned some 3/3 monster. I play Puncture Blast to kill it. I believe that I get Clone card because of the following steps

Cast puncture bolt
Target Clone creature
Opponent has no response so there for it dies
Because it has -1/-1 counter when it was sent to the graveyard it triggers my Necroskitter
I get to put Clone into my battlefield

I believe I am right but my friend says that [Clone][2] comes back as 0/0 as therefore dies. Who is right?


texts: How many cards per booster pack in the Core M12 Sealed Booster Box?

texts:
I want to buy a booster box to hold some office drafts.

I remember booster packs as having 15 cards per pack, which is in line with what Wikipedia says:

  Starting with the Shards of Alara block, booster packs for both Core Sets and Expansions began to contain 1 land, 10 commons, 3 uncommons, either 1 rare (7/8 chance) or 1 mythic rare (1/8 chance)

But the Amazon page for the Core M12 Sealed Booster Box says that there are "10 Cards/Pack".

Did something change, or is the Amazon page wrong?


texts: In Chariot Race, do you incur a cornering penalty on being knocked back onto a numbered space after ramming?

texts:
We came across a curious situation in a game of Chariot Race where our reading of the rules seems to be curiously non-thematic. The situation was like this:

The red chariot is going to use its last movement to swerve and ram the green chariot. The rules on ramming say that when you ram someone as the final movement of your go, place the red chariot in the first unoccupied space behind the rammed chariot:

  If the ramming chariot ends its movement on a space
  with a rammed chariot: the ramming is completed as
  described above and the ramming chariot is placed on the
  first unoccupied space in the same line behind the rammed
  chariot. The rammed chariot stays in its space

However, the first unoccupied space behind the green chariot is a numbered corner space (3, obscured by the caltrop - sorry!). We were unsure about whether being bumped back onto that corner space would incur the penalty for cornering too fast. (The red chariot was travelling at a speed above 3.)

The rules on cornering say:

  Cornering at a wild gallop is not really a bright idea! High
  speeds mean significant damage in corners. All numbered
  corner spaces indicate the maximum safe speed when you enter
  these spaces. Ending your movement in such a space counts
  as entering the space. For each point of speed exceeding this
  value you must take 1 point of damage. Adjust your Damage
  Track accordingly.

My reading of this is that entering the space even when being placed back onto the space after ramming another chariot would incur the penalty. This doesn't seem to me to make much sense thematically, though - the penalty on cornering too fast would seem only to make sense when you're careering through a corner making forward progress, rather than when being bumped back one place after ramming someone.

Does anyone know if there's any official ruling on this, or how the rules on this should be interpreted?

(As a side note, we were also assuming that the red chariot would take damage from the caltrop on being bumped back into it, which does make sense thematically to me.)


texts:
For example if I bet $5 and get a blackjack that pays 3:2, this means that I should get payed 7.5.

The problem is that the there is no $0.5 dollar chip. How this situation is handled in the casinos?


texts: Does a player need to complete a full turn (i.e. 4 actions, pickup, infect) if during the action portion the final disease was cured? I only ask because there was only 1 player card left in the deck and I wouldn't have been able to complete a full turn, which in the rules, signifies that players have lost. However, I knew that I could cure the final disease in one action.


texts:
This is along a similar vain to What happens when I cast a spell incorrectly? but only in that it created a further question.

At what point is it possible to decide that you don't want to cast a spell?

It's a very bad habit i know but i often find myself taping mana for a spell then thinking better of it. I've always just gone along with it after that, i followed through the action even if i see a better option but would it be right that i could change my mind and untap my land to carry out a different action?

What if i don't tap my land but simply drop a spell from my hand to the table without saying anything? Is the casting of that card implicit or would it be right that i could return the card to my hand?

Example - I have 3 cards in hand and 4 untaped land. I tap 3 land for a spell, then without saying anything or placing a card on the table i decide that really i want to cast a spell that only requires 1 land to be taped. Would i be allowed to untap either 2 and cast my 1 mana spell or all 3 land and start again?

Sorry that's more than one question! Thanks, 7's


texts: What happens with continous trap/spell cards when they get negated by Light and Darkness Dragon?

texts:
I'm pretty sure they would get destroyed, but people have argued that they stay on the field negated, since the card does not explicitly state "the card gets destroyed and sent to the graveyard."

In my defense I state that it makes no sense that a card never be activated (since LaDD prevents activations) and still remain face up on the field.

They respond that since it never got activated it gets set again, and therefore they think they can get away with activating it every turn to weaken my LaDD.

I'm looking for hard evidence that I can show these kids the next time we have this comes up.


texts: Is it ever better pass and not hit in backgammon?

texts:
I'm learning how to play Backgammon with GNU Backgammon and I noticed that the hints sometimes give better odds for a move WITHOUT a hit. Can anybody explain this for me?

1. Cubeful 2-ply    13/7                         MWC:  88.89%
   0.889 0.294 0.022 - 0.111 0.006 0.000
    2-ply cubeful prune [world class]
2. Cubeful 2-ply    13/12*/7                     MWC:  87.11% ( -1.78%)
   0.871 0.457 0.048 - 0.129 0.005 0.000
    2-ply cubeful prune [world class]


texts: Fury of Dracula 3rd Ed. Stake vs Seduction

texts:
In a game I played last night, it came up that a hunter using a stake found a vampire and I, as Dracula, played a seduction event card.  Which resolves first: is the vampire encounter discarded from the stake effect?  Or is the hunter bitten as per the seduction event?

If the stake would resolve first, was I required to play the seduction card?  I don't have the text in front of me, but it says something like "Play after a hunter has searched to reveal a vampire encounter" which sounds like it may be required to be played when that condition is met.


texts:
I am with a group of friends and we want to play Diplomacy. However we don't have the map, or a printer.

So I was thinking that maybe there is some app or website in which there is the map and we can all play on. However if I search online for Diplomacy, all the websites are online multiplayer versions of Diplomacy. I am looking for something that serves just like a board game version, where the moves for all the players are done manually.


texts: Can proliferate be used on life counters?

texts: Can you use proliferate to add life counters to a player to give them life?


texts: I was playing Uno, and the card was a yellow 4.  As I didn't have a yellow nor a 4 in my hand.  I played the draw 4 card.  Now should I have been challenged, I would have won the challenge.  But my friend behind me in the rotation, jumped in with another draw 4, making it a +8.  Now that he has played a +4, I am no longer challegeable, but would you be able to challenge him?  I don't think you would be able to, since it wasn't his turn so technically he didn't have to play anything, plus it was a jump in.  So can you challenge a jump in draw 4 card played?


texts: Bioroid 2.0 Ice: can runner spend 2 clicks more than once?

texts:
The text of the Heimdall 2.0 (https://netrunnerdb.com/en/card/03015) says: "The Runner can spend 2 clicks to break up to 2 subroutines on Heimdall 2.0".

Is this a one-time use perk or something the runner can use several times, for example, spending 2 clicks twice (as two different actions)?


texts: Playing exploding kittens and the game is unclear about the effect of nope cards mid attack. If a player has already drawn one of their attack and it's a nope, can they play it? What happens?


texts: Are you allowed to play a 5 of a kind in Exploding Kittens to add an Exploding Kitten to your hand?

texts: My friend discarded 5 different cards to add a card from the discard pile to his hand, but he chose the Exploding Kitten. Is that allowed, and what happens to it after?


texts: Alternatives to the Sympathiser in Battlestar Galactica

texts:
I'm a big fan of Battlestar Galactica, but have an issue with games with an even number of players. For these games, the game recommends replacing a Cylon with a Sympathiser to help balance it.

For the unfamiliar, at the half-way point, the Sympathiser basically becomes a (weaker) Cylon if the humans are "winning" (i.e. all stats are above half-full) or remains a human (but is brigged) if the Cylons are winning (i.e. when any stat is below half-full). This helps to balance the game since having an extra full-privilege Cylon would be really tough on the humans, but having a human makes it a bit of a cake-walk.

It's not a bad mechanic, but in games my group plays with a Sympathiser, I find there's a lot of meta-think and the humans intentionally allow one stat to drop (normally one that's not too tough to raise or keep steady like Morale) to ensure that the Sympathiser is on their side.

Has anyone faced (and hopefully overcome) this issue before? Does anyone know of a good house-rule alternative to the Sympathiser?

I've been tempted to use a full Cylon but use some method to make things a little easier for the humans (e.g. have the second loyalty distribution come a little later, or ensure that at least one Cylon card has to wait until the halfway point), but I'd love to hear others' solutions.


texts: Is it advisable to play Legacy without having played Pandemic before?

texts:
My group and I are planning to start playing Pandemic Legacy.

While we haven't played Pandemic before, we're accustomed to decision making games like Dead of Winter or Small World.
As I understand it, a normal round of Pandemic is hard enough to win for beginners, so the question came up if starting with Pandemic Legacy would be an enjoyable experience for us at all.

Without to many spoilers:
Would we possibly be able to grasp the concepts of Pandemic while playing the Legacy version, even enough to win a percentage of the games?


texts: In Faro how do players indicate/remember their call of the last three cards ("Calling the Turn")

texts: I've been trying to learn how to deal Faro. Online sources such as Wikipedia and Wizard of Odds mention that when three cards remain players can 'call the turn' stating the order they think the final three cards will be turned up. I cannot find any mention though of how the players' call(s) should be indicated; there doesn't seem to be any place to show it on a standard Faro layout, and pen and paper seems clumsy even in a casual home game. At the same time, with a number of people wanting to call the turn and the dealer and players needing some aid to remember, I'd be interested if anyone knows the 'real' way, or has a suggested way to track this. It doesn't seem like any casino at any time would allow this to be done simply verbally, so it strikes me there must be a way to handle it concretely.


texts: Multiple Ordeals of Nylea on one creature

texts: I have 2 counters on a creature, with 3 Ordeal of Nylea attached, and then attack, what in all (preferably step by step) happens next?


texts:
Income Tax curse:

  Discard one item of your choice. Every other player must now discard an item or items, totaling at least as much value as the item you discarded. If they don't have enough to pay the full tax, they must discard all their items and lose a level.

The Halfling ability:

  You may sell one item each turn for double price (other items are at normal price).

So the question is:

When the Income Tax curse is played, can a halfling use its 'double price' ability when discarding?


texts: What size card sleeves should I buy for Penny Arcade - Gamers vs. Evil?

texts:
Just picked up Penny Arcade The Game: Gamers vs. Evil.

I like sleeving my card games.  What size sleeves should I get for these?

(I just compared them vs. Dominion, and they're slightly shorter and slightly wider, but I don't know if that's a standard size or what.)


texts: When playing phase 10, If I have a skip card in my hand and it’s my turn to play, do I have to pull a card before I play my skip card?


texts: Can the Wildlings attack twice in a turn?

texts: In Game of Thrones, Second Edition, if the revealed event cards have both sufficient Wildling symbols to bring the Widling threat to 12 and there is a "Wildlings Attack" event, do the Wildlings attack once or twice?


texts: Can you use one card on multiple obstacles?

texts: I'm just started playing shadowrun crossfire prime runner, and I had a question about if you can play one black market card on two or more obstacles. Like if a black market card has a face damage and mana damage it it's damage category in the top left. Can I use the face on one obstacle, and the mana on another obstacle? Thanks


texts:
I played a variant of Solitaire long ago (20+ years) but don't remember the name of it or the specific rules.

It was played with a single deck of cards, which you held in your hand face down. You drew 4 cards face up, keeping them in that same hand. Cards were removed / discarded through some matching criteria (which I don't remember), and if no cards could be removed, new cards were drawn one at a time. Each time a new card was drawn, the matching criteria were applied again. This repeated until the deck was empty. You won if you were left with no cards in your hand.

I remember it being quite difficult to win, but it was neat in that you didn't need a table or other flat surface. The game was played entirely in your hand(s).