texts: After playing a Wild card, must a player discard again?

texts:
According to Wikipedia,

  Wild - Player declares next color to be matched (may be used on any turn).

After this player discards a Wild card and announces the next color, must he discard another card, or does the player next to him proceed to discard?


texts:
How exactly were the rules contrived as to make False Summoning actually able both be a sorcery spell and a counterspell?

Has there been any official discussion as to how this came to be or how it worked, I know it happened years ago but I'm a little curious as to how this happened.


texts: Can I target Nicol Bolas, the Ravager/Arisen with its own -4 ability?

texts:
Lets say I have transformed Nicol Bolas, the Ravager into Nicol Bolas the Arisen, I activate his -3 to shoot a creature or Planeswalker for 10 and pass the turn, Bolas does not take any damage so on my main phase 1 I -4 Bolas to return target creature or Planeswalker from a graveyard to the battlefield under my control.

My question here is can I target Bolas (Bolas the Rrisen now the Ravager when it leaves play) in my graveyard and return him to play as the Ravager?


texts:
Can I Negate the instant/sorcery part of an adventure spell?
Say, someone casts Stomp from bonecrusher giant. Can I negate it?


texts: Interaction between Hexproof and "target of an opponent's choice"

texts:
There exist a small number of cards which have targets chosen by an opponent. While it is old, the most straightforward one I can find is Cuombajj Witches which has the ability:

  {T}: Cuombajj Witches deals 1 damage to any target and 1 damage to any target of an opponent's choice.

Suppose I have only one opponent, both players control a Hexproof creature, and I control a Cuombajj Witches. If I activate Cuombajj Witches' ability, I can choose to target my own Hexproof creature for one point of damage.

However, when my opponent chooses targets, are they also allowed to choose my Hexproof creature for 1 damage? Or are they allowed to choose their own Hexproof creature, as they could for their own spells and abilities? The first seems more likely to me, but I could see it either way.


texts: A question about flickering a stolen creature

texts: Some cards like Mistmeadow Witch and Ghostly Flicker specify under whose control the flickered creature will return. What happens when it isn't specified whose control the creature will return under? For example if I'd play Yannik, Scavenging Sentinel or Lumbering Battlement which doesn't specify that, would the creature return under my or my opponent's control?


texts: May I choose a planet to attack in an opposing system where I already have tokens?

texts:
Attacking a planet where you already have tokens would ordinarily make no sense, but I saw a player forced to do so recently because they already had tokens on all 4 planets (the 5th had earlier been blown up).

We did not see anything specifically prohibiting this in the rules, and we looked a little online, but could find nothing. So we decided that the player must choose a planet to attack, and if the defending player had no tokens there then the defender would have to defend with zero tokens, as usual. Winning obviously didn't help the player on offense, but the attack had to happen.

Is this the correct interpretation of the rules, or is a redraw of the destiny pile permitted in situations like this?

In this particular scenario, the player who was forced to attack under these unfavorable circumstances likely would have won if not forced to attack a system where gaining a base was impossible.


texts:
Question: If players are able to discuss strategy before playing Avalon, does the game have an optimal solution?

The strategy can be as convoluted as you want.  I just want to know if in principle this is a "solved" game.

The game rules are fairly simple and for reference the details of number of good vs evil players, and rounds can be read here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Resistance_(game)

If there are G good and E evil players, at the end of the game team evil can always just randomly guess Merlin to win.  So an optimal solution will be defined as:

for team good, a strategy in which (regardless of what team evil chooses to do) they can guarantee succeeding at least 3 missions and team evil can't do any better than 1/G chance of choosing Merlin
for team evil, a strategy which (regardless of what team good chooses to do) maximizes their chance of winning the game, with a chance greater than the trivial solution of guessing with chance 1/G

As far as I know, the rules are not entirely clear on what communication the players may do (besides forbidding just directly showing their character cards), for the purposes of this question, consider the following rule on communication (if playing by email, it would be equivalent to every message must be sent to all):

Cannot rely on 'under the table' note passing, texting, etc.  All statements made by a player must be public, in the sense that the every player has the raw message (even if not all players have enough context to derive the same meaning - ie. an Evil person stating he is Merlin is never confusing to an evil character since the evil characters all know each other, but can be misleading to a good character. Only the raw message itself must be public, asymmetric knowledge of intentions gained from a message is fine.)

I have a suspicion that despite not being able to trust any particular character is telling the truth, there might be a solution in favor of the good characters which takes advantage of the inherent asymmetry caused by the character Merlin and there always being more good characters than evil.

Can anyone think of a solution?


texts: Strategies for playing the Traitor in Shadows Over Camelot?

texts:
I've played SOC several times but I've never actually been the traitor myself, so when I was, it came as a bit of a shock. I tried to think about strategy in the first several rounds while pretending to be perfectly loyal to give myself time to think. Ultimately, it came down to the big question of if and when I wanted to be revealed. Whenever I was loyal, we usually tried not to reveal the traitor until the final few rounds of the game to minimize their power. But what does this mean for for the traitor?

If I played completely loyally, doing everything possible to help the loyal knights for the entire gameI could earn black swords from the other players false accusations and my bonus 2 white swords to black at the end for being undiscovered. But this doesn't seem very traitor like as I'd just be another loyal knight who happened to flip black swords at the end. This seems somewhat like what a traitor might actually do.

If I made it blatantly clear that I was the traitor, literally doing everything possible to stop the knights before I was revealed (just moving around and never playing white cards, always choosing the progression of evil that would hurt them the most, etc.), the other players would choose not to reveal me toward the end because I would be able to do more damage when revealed. This seems like a good strategy, but its definitely the most boring for everyone.

If I took a middle path and tried to halt the knights quietly until the end, it would seem like I would most be following what the traitor is 'supposed' to do. But it also seems like the weakest strategy. Its very difficult to secretly stop the knights as they will be able to see all of the face down cards I play eventually, and if I do anything obvious the whole jig is up, they will choose not to reveal me to the end, and I'll end up going with the second strategy. It just seems like the traitor has virtually no options to plot quietly against the knights without revealing himself.

Which of these strategies is best in terms of stopping the loyal knights? Which tends to be best in terms of making the game fun? Is there anything important I'm overlooking about the abilities, choices, and overall power of the traitor?


texts: Anything fairly priced will also work. Any suggestions?


texts:
I have a "Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Skull And Shackles" set.  One of my players is sick this week, so I've recruited a substitute.  We're partway through Adventure Deck 3.

I need to explain the rules of Pathfinder Adventure Card Game to my new player in a way that will bring him up to speed quickly.  Ideally I'd like to print out a cheat sheet.  I imagine it would say things like: "Here's the list of things you do in your turn" and "here's what happens when you reveal a card, display a card, recharge a card, discard a card, bury a card, banish a card".

I did some brief websearch and could not find a cheat sheet.  Does anyone know where I could find one?


texts: When my opponent plays several spells at once, can I counter them all together?

texts: My opponent has all these zero cost equipments and laid them all down at once and played some of his creatures spells without passing priority to me to see if I had a response. At the end of his whole thing I played a counter spell to counter all of it since he laid it all down at once. So was it all countered or not?


texts: What is the purpose of "underruffing" in bridge?

texts:
Sometimes declarer will lead a long suit from one hand, for a "ruffing finesse" in order to ruff with a void in the other. If the intervening opponent ruffs with say, the 9, the declarer might "overruff" to win the trick (and capture the opposing trump). If this opponent ruffs with the "master" trump, declarer might discard from a side suit instead.

If the declarer had ONLY trumps left, he would have to "discard" a trump (underruff) if the opponent ruffs with the master trump.

But there are times when the declare will "underruff" even when he can "overruff," or at least has a side suit card to discard. Why would that be? Would it be to "throw in" an opponent? Or might that side suit card have "strategic" value, such as for "transportation" to the other hand? How would that outweigh the value of the "wasted" trump?


texts: Are you required to search your deck when playing a search card?

texts: I had a miss click while playing arena and played a search card and it automatically showed me my deck.  In the paper magic could you play a search card and choose not to look at your deck if you had scry something to the top and you just want another affect of the card, I had Aetherflux Reservoir in play and mainly just wanted the life gain from playing a cheap spell.


texts: Recommendation for good Asynchronous Board Games a la Diplomacy?

texts:
Background

Looking to setup board game(s) in a 24/7 office environment. Players could end up working any time of day, or have any 2 days off - so the wait-time between turns has to be at-minimum 3 days (think play-by-mail style). As such, I'd imagine the following criteria will need to be met for this to work:

Simultaneous turns (players pre-plan their action, and all players actions are executed at the same instant)
Modest turn count for a full game

Question

  What board games play asynchronous, that can comfortably accommodate a 3-day-wait between turns?

Examples: Diplomacy, A Game of Thrones


texts: Card game with jokers and set completion

texts:
I was playing a game and no one knows the name, or origin of the game.

The game is played with normal playing cards. Anywhere from 3 to 13 players can play.

SETUP:

A single joker is used.
A single set of numbers per player is used. (4 cards, one of each
suit, all the same number)

All the cards are shuffled. Cards are dealt out until all are in players hands. One player will have 5 cards, the rest will have 4.

PLAY:

The player with 5 cards in their hand is the "playing" player.
That player now makes a series of offers to the next player (clockwise).

First, a single card is offered, if the card is accepted then the next player takes the card and becomes the current player and play continues.

If the first card is not accepted, another card is offered, it is added to the first card, and the next player may now choose either of the two offered cards.

If neither the first offer or the second offer is accepted, the current player simply chooses a third card and gives it to the next player.

A turn would look like this:

  Bob places a card face down on the table and offers it to Alice. Alice can accept the card, and then becomes the current player, who must then do a turn of her own with the next player, or can refuse it an ask Bob for another card. If she refuses it, Bob would then choose another card from his hand, and place it on the table next to the first one. Alice can now choose either of the two cards on the table. If she does, she will become the current player, and will have to play a turn with the next player after her. If she does not take either of the cards then Bob will choose a card from his hand and give it to Alice.

OBJECTIVE:

The game ends when any player who has 4 cards in his hand has a whole set of a single number, emphasis on 4 cards, he can not also have any other cards in addition to the 4, so if a player has 4 cards of the same number AND another card (meaning they are the current player) they must try to give their 5th card which is not in the set to the next player.

When any player completes the game like this, everyone wins except the player with the Joker - who loses.

In other words, players are trying to complete sets, and not be left with the Joker. So a player with the Joker will always try to get rid of it by giving it to other players.

Those are the rules, the way its played is that you play "cooperatively" by talking about your cards, and which cards you are giving the other player, of course, you are welcome to lie and trick people. And that is the game.

What is the name of this game? What is it's origin?

And, perhaps, maybe I remember the rules wrong, was told it wrong, or there are more rules?


texts: Am I allowed to shuffle my hand when ever I want?

texts:
A friend just told me I'm not allowed to, when he played a spell that lets him instantly chose a blind card from my hand to graveyard it.
As I played with my decks first card open, I knew which he wanted to destroy.
I was going to shuffle my hand to make it harder for him to pick the one I drew, but he said as it is instant, so I'm not allowed to shuffle my hand.

How is this dealt?


texts: Can you sacrifice a creature after it has dealt damage to a creature?

texts: Let's say, I have a 1/1 saproling token, a Thallid Omnivore, and my opponent has a 1/1 token of some sort. I attacked with a 1/1 saproling token and a Thallid Omnivore, and my opponent blocks it with his 1/1. Can I then sacrifice the token after it has dealt damage to the other token so that my Thallid Omnivore gains a +2/+2 while still killing his token?


texts: Damage distribution with Banding and Trample

texts:
This actually pertains to a deck I played long (about 15 years) ago, but I've always wondered as to the correct ruling.  The deck in question had lots of banding and trample creatures, so that in the end I would attack with a band that had a large amount of trampling creatures in it.  For sake of argument, lets say my band has 15 points of trampling damage and 5 points of non-trampling damage.

These bands would typically be blocked by more than one creature. Let's say I was blocked by a 1/1 and a 8/8. My rule of thumb for banding was that an attacking band get to distribute damage as it likes.  So I would assign all damage to the smallest creature (1/1).  That creature would absorb the 5 points of non-trampling damage and my opponent would take all 15 points of trampling damage.

Trampling specifies that only leftover damage after dealing lethal damage to  all blocking creatures would then trample over to the player, and banding is... complicated.

My question is: does the banding ability to choose how damage is assigned trump the trampling requirement that all creatures must be assigned lethal damage first?


texts: Some cards in my deck are heads down, can opponent force me to fix that?

texts:
Let's say I have deck without sleeves, and some cards in my deck are heads down(not upside-down, you don't see the images, but can recognize that some card backs are head down, while others not).

Can my opponent force me to look through my whole deck to fix that?

It happened in my club at least twice. I did not cheat, neither of us who were forced to do that make heads down cards on purpose(we shuffle like that, he insists that those cards may be lands or winconditions), but it eats lots of time to sort them back and is just annoying.

Can I at least force a player that don't like heads down cards(or judge?) to fix that instead of me, if it is in the rules?


texts: Player targeted by Executive Order card must obey the other player order?

texts:
The Executive Order card says:

  Action: Choose any other player. He may move his character and then take 1 action OR not move and take 2 actions.

This does not state that the player targeted by the Executive Order should do what the player who played the card order (or even if he can order something). So, this is the question: When someone use the Executive Order, he can order other player to do something or the card just let the other player do whatever he wants?


texts: Where is the Wizards of the Coast Offical Commander (General) banned list?

texts:
I just got destroyed in Commander (EDH).  Worst part of it is that the deck that killed me can do it over and over.  It has a guaranteed 4-5 turn win. (EVERY TIME)

It felt a bit broken to me, so I wanted to see if all the cards that were used to destroy me were legal for commander.

But the only site I can find is http://mtgcommander.net/rules.php.

Does Wizards let this external site dictate the banned cards for this format?


texts: King of Tokyo (2016 version): Psychic Probe

texts:
In the 2nd edition of King of Tokyo (2016 version), the Psychic Probe Power Card states:

Psychic Probe (Keep): You can reroll a die of your choice after the last Roll of each other Monster. If you reroll [heart dice symbol], discard this card.

There are also three Power Cards that let you change your own dice after the Roll Dice step:

Stretchy (Keep): Before resolving your dice, you can spend 2 [energy symbol] to change one of your dice to any result.
Plot Twist (Keep): Before resolving your dice, you may change one die to any result. Discard when used.
Herd Culler (Keep): You can change one of your dice to [1 dice symbol] each turn.

Does this mean that Psychic Probe must be used before Plot Twist, Stretchy, or Herd Culler?
For example, if a player uses Plot Twist, Stretchy, Herd Culler, or any combination thereof before another player with Psychic Probe has called out the reroll, does that then mean that the player with Psychic Probe has forfeited the ability to reroll that turn?


texts:
A relative has given us a Hasbro card game called Ratuki - the rules for which can be found here.

I just can't decide how the RATUKI cards are meant to work though.  In normal play, a stack must be started with a 1 card, and a stack can only be added to with a card one higher or one lower in value than the current top card.  If you play a 5 card to the top of a stack, you shout "RATUKI!" and claim that stack.

A RATUKI card "counts as any number you like" - so you can start a stack with it, and play it onto any stack.

My question is, does a RATUKI card once played keep the value it was played "as"?  e.g. if you start a stack with a RATUKI card, is the only valid play on top of that a 2 card?  If a RATUKI is played on top of a 2, do you have to specify whether it is a 1 or a 3 and does that information persist (possibly quite a challenge to enforce, in this fast paced game).

The other option is that a RATUKI card can be played as anything and immediately counts as anything.  But if this is so, can you essentially slam a RATUKI onto any stack, immediately shout "RATUKI!" and claim that stack?  If you start a stack with a RATUKI card, can you immediately claim that stack at the same time?

Are there any card games with an analogous mechanic that shed any light on how the designers probably intended this game to be played?


texts: How can I tell if these vintage boardgames are worth anything?

texts:
My grandparents passed away recently, and my mother is cleaning out their house. They have some vintage board games (ca. 1960's, maybe?) in their house, and she's wondering what to do with them. I don't know if any of them are collectible or not; she sent me a rather low-res picture in which a few are identifiable: Mille Bornes, Barrel of Monkeys, Flinch, Contack, Yahtzee, a few card games like Old Maid and Crazy Eights.

How would I go about finding out if there's a market for any of these? I tried checking BoardGameGeek, which shows what's for sale there and on eBay, but that tells me nothing about whether anyone is actually buying those games (well, in some cases it tells me a little; if there are a bunch of eBay auctions, all with no bids, there probably isn't much demand).

Is there any good way for me to determine if there's a demand for any of these games? Is there a good place I should try and sell them? Or should I just give them to the local thrift store, as it probably won't be worth the hassle of storing them and listing them for sale?


texts: If you disturb a Jenga block, can you push it back into place?

texts: In Jenga, when you are moving your block out and another block next to it moves, are you allowed to push the other block(s) back?


texts:
What is this kind of card shuffling called?

Its a grid of cards where you take 1 card at a time to create a grid of say 2 wide and 2 tall, (although it could be any number wide/tall)

ASCII Drawing;

[[Deck]] -> Add one card to create 4 stacks and repeat the process over & over.

[Card] [Card]
[Card] [Card]

As you take cards you add it to a random stack thus creating (in the above example) 4 stacks (or decks) of cards

What is this shuffle called?


texts: Can I use level/rank changing effects on Xyz monsters?

texts: I believe that there is Xyz monsters that consist of ranks and Monsters with levels. There are some cards out there that state that you can change the level of a monster on the field (such as raise the level of a monster by n). Can I do this on Xyz monsters?


texts: How do I identify the role of a singleton in a well-tuned deck?

texts:
In this instance, I'm looking at Matt Sperling's Pro Tour top 8 Boros Burn deck, and there's one thing I don't get--what's the single Eidolon of the Great Revel doing here?

  Creatures:

  4 Young Pyromancer
  1 Eidolon of the Great Revel
  4 Chandra's Phoenix

  Spells:

  4 Shock
  3 Skullcrack
  4 Lightning Strike
  4 Boros Charm
  4 Stoke the Flames
  4 Warleader's Helix
  4 Searing Blood

  Lands:

  4 Mutavault
  3 Sacred Foundry
  9 Mountain
  4 Battlefield Forge
  4 Temple of Triumph


texts: Failing an attempt to cast Mists of Releh

texts:
The card 'Mists of Releh' allows you to pass an evade check upon succesfull cast. Should your attempt to cast the spell fail, can you then proceed to do a regular evade check or does it count as failing the evade check?

The exact wording is as follows:

  Cast and exhaust to pass an Evade check. The casting modifier is equal to the monster's Awareness.


texts: Does a dedicated transport for a troops unit retain objective secured after the troops disembark?

texts: If I take a devilfish for my strike team in a combined arms detachment, will the transport have objective secured even after the unit has disembarked? If so, can I disembark the fire warriors on an objective and then take the devilfish to score at another objective?


texts: Can I combo Dismiss Into Dream with Living Inferno or Cauldron of Souls?

texts:
So, at the Prerelease this past weekend I pulled a Dismiss Into Dream from the packs I won.

I LOVE the flavor of this card and I think I could abuse it. I wanted to check on rulings though:

Dismiss Into Dream + Living Inferno: Would I be able to declare the targets and then they would all have to be sacrificed before they dealt damage to Living Inferno? And furthermore, could I choose any number and just have them all take 0 damage?
Dismiss Into Dream + Cauldron of Souls: Same sort of question: Could I target them then they have to be sacrificed before the creatures get Persist?


texts: Would Brink of Disaster destroy an already tapped permanent?

texts:
I'm aware this is very much like this question, but that question's answer does not answer my question.

Brink of Disaster reads:

  Enchant creature or land.
  When enchanted permanent becomes tapped, destroy it.

What happens if the enchanted creature is already tapped when Brink of Disaster is played? Is it immediately destroyed?

Also, what if the enchanted creature was an untapped Steel Overseer? If I tap the Steel Overseer to put a +1+1 counter on my artifact creatures, does the ability work before the Overseer is destroyed?


texts: Unnatural Axe Santa vs. Elf and the Mummy card

texts:
In an epic Munchkin game with the Unnatural Axe extension, we had an Elf player encounter Santa. Santa is normally a level 9 monster, but that changes by -5 because Santa trusts Elves. Silly Santa.

That player was doing way to well, so someone added Mommy to the fight. Mommy can only be played on a monster of Level 5 or below, or one that is a Baby. We reckoned that since Santa was now a Level 4 monster against Elves, this card could be applied! Mommy adds another monster of the same kind but 10 levels higher.

The poor victim Elf player complained loudly in proper Munchkin fashion, but conceded that our interpretation of the cards was probably allowed.

Was our interpretation correct, and was Mommy playable here? We were going by Santa dropping down 5 levels for Elves here, but perhaps it should not have been allowed because normally Santa is Level 8 instead.

In case you feel sorry for that player, they survived (having slain a monster without help to get of Santa's naughty list) to end up with this hand about two rounds before winning, utterly unstoppable:


texts: If planeswalkers aren't creatures, how does Gideon's defeat work?

texts:
Gideon's Defeat says:

  Exile target white creature that's attacking or blocking. If it was a Gideon planeswalker, you gain 5 life.

However the rules also say:

  Planeswalkers are not creatures. Spells and abilities that affect creatures won't affect them.

If planeswalkers are not creatures, you cannot exile them with Gideon's Defeat, and thus you are not gaining any life from it?


texts: What happens when an undying creature takes damage from a creature with deathtouch?

texts:
Let's say a 2/2 creature with deathtouch attacks another 2/2 creature with undying.

As far as I can see there are two ways this could resolve:

Damage is applied, killing creature B. As the damage was enough to kill it deathtouch will not matter. The creature is then put back into play, alive, with a +1/+1 counter.
Damage is applied, killing creature B. It is then put back into play, but with its previous state, i.e. still having deathtouch applied to it, thus killing it and putting it into the graveyard.

I'd be grateful if someone could clear this up for me.


texts: What happens if you are unable to scry because your library is empty?

texts:
What happens to a player if they have to scry (for whatever reason), but are unable to scry a card because their library is empty? Does scrying an empty library trigger a loss?

Related to What happens if you are unable to draw because your library is empty?


texts: What can I do about uncounterable spells?

texts:
I cast Fling, sacrificing my only creature to kill my opponent.  My opponent responds with Last Word, which will win the game the other way.  Last Word says "This spell can't be countered."  What else can I do about it besides countering it to prevent my plans from being foiled?  (I'd really like to have the last word here.)

Historic Note: before of the April 2018 rules change, uncounterable spells with targets used to actually have different wording (still visible on the printed cards) implying that they still could be countered.  For example, Last Word said:

  Last Word can't be countered by spells or abilities.

Meanwhile Akroma, Angel of Fury said:

  Akroma, Angel of Fury can't be countered.


texts: Cheating with foils and card orientation

texts:
Foils are slightly thicker than regular cards, more stiff, and are usually a bit curved. Even with sleeves it's possible to tell if a face down card is foil by looking at it or feeling/bending it a bit. (Is there a legitimate situation where you could be given the chance to feel/bend a card that's not revealed?)

Another thing is whether the card (sleeved or not) is pointing up or down while in the library. I always sleeve my cards and make sure they are all facing the same direction, but as far as I know it's not required. It would be easy to turn one card upside down so I know when it's on the top of my library.

It seems like these two things could be used to cheat. Are there any rules about this? Is it even an issue?


texts:
So i've bought ASHES: Rise of the Phoenix born. I've played it with 3 of my friends which made a 4 player game with 4 pre-made Decks. Sadly the rules (at least in french) doesn't cover how it's supposedly played, half of the decks we had were designed for single play (Noah in particular, he's able to lock an opponnent but if there's a threat on the side he's likely to die first. In a lesser extent Meorin, with only 3 beasts couldn't really handle 3 turn of abuse on her beasts). So how is it done? Is it 2 players against 2 others? Is it that we should draft to even the odds?

Also, I really liked this game, but playing defensively is immensively hard to punish with 3 other players, it forces a stalemate that no one can break without dying, any tips to prevent that ever again?

Sorry for the long post, it might be hard to read, english is somehow not that easy for me..


texts: Do I still get to draw cards if I can't sacrifice Soul Ransom when its ability resolves?

texts:
Soul Ransom has an interesting ability:

  Discard two cards: Soul Ransom's controller sacrifices it, then draws two cards. Only any opponent may activate this ability.

I'm aware that the normal procedure for resolving abilities is "do as much as you can." The use of "then" in the card text is confusing me a bit, though.

If Soul Ransom is already in the graveyard when its ability resolves, because the affected creature has been killed by some other means, do I still get to draw two cards?

Scenarios where this matters:

I Soul Ransom a Thragtusk. At the end of my turn, my opponent discards two cards to activate Soul Ransom's ability. I have a Devour Flesh in hand, so it'd be real nice to give myself some life and a Beast token instead of just returning the Thragtusk. If I Devour-Flesh the Thragtusk in response, Soul Ransom will end up in my graveyard by the time its ability resolves. Will I still get to draw cards?
I'm playing a control mirror and my opponent Soul-Ransoms my Angel of Serenity. He only has 10 cards left in his library. Can I Sphinx's Revelation for 12, then put Soul Ransom's ability onto the stack multiple times to force him to draw himself to death? (Even though only the top-most instance will cause Soul Ransom to be sacrificed.)


texts: What is this card game called and it's rules

texts:
Does anyone recognize this layout? It's a home made board with arranged cards. I know it was played by 6 players, and pennies were placed by each player on the "kitty" that's shellacked on the board. Sorry, that's about all I remember. My parents and their friends played it on a regular basis circa 1970's.
Thanks for any input.


texts:
My opponent casts an Instant that does enough damage to kill me. (Hurricane, in this case, but any Instant would do.)

Priority passes to me.

I cast Simulacrum, to have the damage dealt to one of my creatures instead, giving me back the life lost...

But wait. If I cast Simulacrum before my opponents spell resolves, it lands on top of the stack... and resolves first, doesn't it?

If I wait for my opponent's spell to resolve, I am at 0 life... and have lost the game before I can cast Simulacrum?

Or have I gotten the stack / priority rules wrong?

(Please excuse me if the question is stupid, but it has been a loong time since I played, it seems much has changed, and anyway all the rules I had available back then was that miniature leaflet that was sold with Revised starter packs...)


texts: Has anyone had any experience with playing Munchkin with 2 players?  If so, what variant/house rules do you play with, and how do you feel the experience compares to 3+ player Munchkin?


texts: How does your opponent verify you have not more than 4 of a particular card in your deck?

texts:
Inspired by How does your opponent verify that you're able to cast a Companion card?

As of time of writing the top-voted answer basically says you don't verify that the opponent can cast a Companion card, until proven otherwise. So for example if opponent is playing Keruga, the Macrosage, then they can't play any 2-drops. They could conceivably draw them, but since they can't play them, there's no unfair advantage gained.

Let's say instead I'm playing a Fires of Invention deck, which is heavily reliant on drawing the Fires of Invention. So I play eight copies of it. That's illegal, but it doubles my chances of drawing the card. How is my opponent going to verify I'm cheating now? After all, they need to see five copies of Fires of Invention before they can verify that I'm cheating, and that's not very likely in a real game. Otherwise:

I can decline to play the fifth copy if I draw it (this works because I don't usually need to have more than one Fires of Invention in play at a time).
If opponent casts Thoughtseize, I can concede before revealing my hand. Same goes for opponent casting cards like Peek, Surgical Extraction, etc.
If opponent casts something like Glimpse the Unthinkable, I can put the cards in the graveyard one at a time, and concede if the fourth Fires of Invention is milled (thereby ensuring that the 5th-8th copies will never be milled).

I'm pretty sure I'm gaining a legitimate advantage by doing this, but since one can never prove that I'm cheating, one can't call a judge either. How is the opponent supposed to verify that I'm not cheating then?


texts:
Ron Hale-Evans mused about creating a benchmark game that could be ported to many different game systems as a design exercise. Do you think that would be a useful tool, and can you suggest a game that would be simple enough and flexible enough to fit in many game systems, such as piecepack, Stonehenge, Icehouse, standard playing cards, or even Decktet?

I think the benefit of the exercise would be that someone could compare several game systems by seeing how their differing components were used to implement similar mechanics.

Porting Games

Porting a game to a game system means to take an existing game and modify its rules so that it can be played with a multi-purpose game system. Some examples of game systems are piecepack, Stonehenge, and the others I mentioned above. Some games are trivial to port, such as Nim. (It just involves piles of objects and removing objects from one pile at a time.) But many games are quite a challenge, and can require elegance to bring the essence of the game without all the original equipment.

You can see some examples of porting games to the piecepack in the Good Portsmanship contest, and further discussion of porting games in the contest announcement.


texts: What happens when I sacrifice a creature when my Teysa Karlov is on the battlefield?

texts:
Let’s say my commander Teysa Karlov is on the battlefield, ready for action. Then, I sacrifice Resolute Watchdog. What happens? Can I give one or two creatures indestructible?

The relevant details of Teysa and the Watchdog, respectively:

  If a creature dying causes a triggered ability of a permanent you control to trigger, that ability triggers an additional time.

  1, Sacrifice Resolute Watchdog: Target creature you control gains indestructible until end of turn.

According to my more experienced friend my creatures need to die for Teysa to work. But doesn't sacrificing count as dying too, since they go to the graveyard?

Related:

What exactly "triggers an additional time" in the interaction between Afterlife and Teysa Karlov?


texts: Is there a way for Braille-Cribbage players to find each other?

texts:
It's already known that Cribbage can be played by blind people by using Braille-cards, but what I need to know is whether there is a database for Braille-players to get together in their local areas.

The Blind-Foundation here in Hawaii can not find any other blind-cribbage players, so I post here to hopefully find a blind-cribbage partner here in Honolulu.


texts: Why is real-money-betting necessary for poker to be fun?

texts:
Obviously, all games may be played with an ante, but it is often not mandatory for the game itself to be fun.

I've long wondered what makes poker so different from everything else: poker, when played without real money, instantly becomes boring and random. And what's even more curious is that even a very small amount of money in play (say, 1€ per player on an 8-player table) is sufficient to turn the game into a very interesting and very disputed battle.

Do there exist out there some other games that are meaningless when not played for money? I'm told that old timers always play backgammon with an ante, but I've played backgammon many times without, and found the game pretty interesting by itself.

So what's the big deal with poker?


texts: How does Fist of Suns work with my Commander?

texts:
I am working on a deck that features Progenitus as my Commander and started looking at Fist of Suns. Besides just being good because of the large number of high cost spells in the deck, I was curious how this worked with my Commander on every cast beyond the first. And honestly, I'm not entirely sure how to word this question.

For each cast of the Commander, the mana cost is increased by 2 colorless. The Fist of Suns Oracle text says

  You can't pay more than one alternative cost for a spell.

Does the additional colorless cost added after the first casting of a Commander count as alternative costs? Can I use Fist of Suns to make the cost of Progenitus WUBRG every time, or just the first time it is cast? I know that it can't be cast for WUBRG plus the additional colorless, since it seems unreasonable to combine mana costs like that.


texts: Name and official (?) rules for this cards game I half remembered

texts:
There is this card game I like to play whenever I have 5+ people around and the group includes some 'not so serious' gamers.  The problem is I have sort of forgotten the real rules over the years and I feel like I forget a few every time I teach new people to play.  Here is the basic idea:

Deal our all the deck.
Whoever goes first plays either a single card, a pair, triple, or 4 of a kind.
The player to their left then must play the same thing but with a higher number (if a pair of 4s was played the next person has to play a pair of 5's or higher).
2s are considered the highest card, playing one two at any time will 'win' the trick and let you lead a new card.
The first person out is the... president? Some title. At the start of the next round the last person out must give the president their 2 best cards, and the president then returns 2 cards of his choice.

Soooo what game am I playing?  Are there real rules for it I can brush up on?


texts:
From the Gatherer:

Does this mean it can counter anything? If so, what other counter spells are there?


texts: Fallout Board Game: How to resolve card 16

texts:
Card 16, "All Aboard", has a condition "Place the third shield on the map".

This is the condition to complete this quest, so how can I as a player complete this condition? What third shield? Place it how? Place it where on the map?


texts: What are my cards good for once they have rotated out of Standard?

texts:
So I'm a little upset, but I am realizing this is just part of MtG.  I spent some time last year putting together some nice decks and stocking up on quite a bit of the M13 cards.  And then work / life got in the way I didn't get to play as much as I thought.

Now, M13 has rotated out.  I can still use my RtoR and GC and I've already ordered a deck builder's set for M14 which should get here today.  I realize that I can still technically use M13 for casual gameplay, but not sure I want to continue investing time deck building with them.

Should I just sell them?  Do I gain anything by holding onto them?  Maybe just keeping the rare cards?


texts: Is it possible to bluff in board games like chess generally?

texts:
Let's think of games like chess or go, where everyone can see everything, but also games like uno where it's hard to predict what color or value the person has with one card. Can you bluff here? According to the definition

  .. an attempt to deceive someone into believing that one can or is going to do something.

it would be generally yes, but how can you bluff in e.g. chess? Would a move showing you are skilled, while you're not, be a bluff?

The definition just fits to every 'intention', so according to it.

  .. try to deceive someone as to one's abilities or intentions.

If the definition tells, that every move is a bluff, answer the opposite, is it possible not to bluff in a game?


texts: Is an artifact creature considered an artifact? For example, can I use Enlightened Tutor to search my deck for an artifact creature?


texts: How many cards can I gain in a buy phase with a single buy?

texts:
I was playing dominion this afternoon and I gained 4 cards during my buy phase with a single buy1, this was pretty impressive, however this got me wondering:  What is the theoretical limit to how many cards can be gained with a single buy?

Some ground rules to further clarify what I mean:

Only cards gained during the buy phase count.
As suggested by Joe W and GendoIkari only cards gained after you purchase something count.  (for example using loans to discard tunnels doesn't count as gaining)
You may only use one buy even if you have more.
We only count cards that are kept until the end of the turn. If a card is gained but trashed it does not count.
We care about only what is theoretically possible, not what is reasonable, so you can dictate:

What other players choose to do
Shuffling outcomes or any other source of randomness

But the result must still be possible, meaning that there must be some path through proper play that arrives at the turn and all moves in the turn must be legal.
You may choose to play with any number of players.
To keep the scope a little small I would also like to ignore black market.

Just thinking about this on my own I came up with a way to gain 75 cards now 141 cards in a single buy which I posted as an answer to get the ball rolling.  I had a lot of fun coming up with it but I'm sure someone who knows the newer sets can come up with something way better.

1: I bought border village, which allowed me to gain cache which gave be two additional coppers (which I ended up turning to silvers with my trader)


texts: Multiple effects causing extra phases in M:tG

texts:
Just checking that I understand rule 500.8 correctly:

  500.8. Some effects can add phases to a turn. They do this by adding the phases directly after the specified phase. If multiple extra phases are created after the same phase, the most recently created phase will occur first.

If multiple effects add extra phases before the current ones is over, these phases will run one after the other, right? If Medomai the Ageless attacks alone while Finest Hour is on the battlefield and then deals damage, I'll get two extra combat phases?

ETA:

Obviously I had a big brainfart, but I guess the question was answered anyway. For a more practical example with extra turns, it's safe to assume that if I connect with both Medomai and Wanderwine Prophets (and sacrifice a merfolk), I'll get two extra turns?


texts:
I’m playing Catan and my brother-in-law has 9 points with the longest road. I was sitting at 7 points and another player had a pretty long road with only 5 points.

So I gave that other player brick and wood so they could take the longest road. I ended up winning the game, and that was probably the only way I could have won.

Would that be illegal if I didn’t accept anything for the brick and wood? Would it be illegal if I accepted one sheep for say, two brick and two wood? I only did the trades on my turn.


texts: Dominion remodel card -can I trash a card already played?

texts: Can you trash a card that you have already played, when remodelling? E.g. I play a village, then a Worksop, then Remodel - trashing the Workshop I just played? It says from your hand, but am unclear if there is a distinction between hand and play.


texts: Can you tell if one board is balanced or not compared to the others?

texts:
I've been playing 7 Wonders for a while now and I really enjoy it. I've played the standard game and with Leaders, Cities and Wonder Pack extensions.

I'm amazed that the wonders are pretty balanced. I mean, I do better or worse with one or the other, but that depends on my skill and luck on that game.
So I assume a lot of effort was put into balancing them somehow.

I've also seen a pack that contains a lot of other wonders, for example the fan pack "Lost Wonders". Some of the wonders in this one seam pretty overpowered to me, or others seam weak. I don't have facts to prove this, it's just my opinion which can be biased by my skill level and style of play.

Is there a way to compute (mathematically) the fairness of a wonder? Or should I trust the creator (which may not be the creator of the game)?

I mean is there a way to transform a wonder into a number (or approximate number) or something that can be comparable so it can be compared to the others?

Let me offer an example.
Let's take the standard wonder Halicarnassus side B.
At a first glance being able to look 3 times (once for each stage of wonder) in the discarded pile would look pretty fair to me.
But the author added 3 extra victory points on it (2 for stage 1 and 1 for stage 2).
3 points don't seem to be that much, but I'm thinking there is a reason they were added, to keep the fairness compared to the others because otherwise it would be under-powered.

I'm asking this because I would like to check the fairness of a (non standard) wonder before including it in the game.

[EDIT]

I'm not asking about sides being balanced. But about a way to compare 2 wonders based on a score or a range of scores based on a formula or algorithm, if any.


texts: Can you pick up from the discard pile and hit in Phase 10?

texts:
When playing Phase 10, can you pick up from the discard pile to hit yourself or your opponent?
Any rules related to that (i.e. add to hand first, etc.)


texts: How do I decide if I should mulligan in MTG?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How can I tell when to take a mulligan in Magic?

Once a game has started, the first crucial decision is if you want to keep your hand or if you want to take a mulligan. This is always really hard for me because I have no idea what I should look for. I usually mulligan if I have 0, 1, 5, 6 or 7 lands or if I have 2 lands and only expensive cards that need 3 or more mana. I also mulligan if I play a deck that has more than 2 colors and I am lacking more than one color, especially if my ramp requires it.

These are usually my only thoughts in the beginning. How can I improve my decision making process? I could write down my starting hands during many sessions and analyze them afterwards, but I think I will need a huge amount of games to get any usable statistics out of this. This seems not practical for a hobby player.

What are other players looking for? Combos in hand? Specific cards for round 1 and 2, maybe even 3? Any advice is welcome.


texts: I remember a certain card game. What is its name?

texts:
I once saw a video of a guy explaining how to play a card game. The game was quite like MtG, with a few differences.
The "lands" were attached to the creatures. You paid for a creature by attaching the required number of "lands" to it, and I think you didn't get the "lands" back until the creature died. Damage dealt removed a number of the top cards of the damaged player's deck equal to the damage dealt, and you won by decking out your opponent.
I recall the cards having maybe a black or red border, and some of the cards looked vaguely like Hearthstone's bloated zombie.
It might have been a TCG or a CCG, but I think it might have actually been an LCG.


texts: Elbrus, the Binding Blade, is a Legendary Artifact - Equipment that transforms into Withengar Unbound, a Black Legendary Demon. Can I use Elbrus/Withengar as a Commander, and if I can, is my deck colorless or black?


texts: What does the comma mean in a card effect's cost?

texts: Some cards, such as Lurking Informant, have a comma seperating 2 costs for an ability. What does that mean? Do I pay one of the costs or both to use the effect?


texts: Am I allowed to take measurements before declaring an attack?

texts: During a Full-Thrust game, am I allowed by the rules to take measurements and check fire arcs before declaring an attack?


texts:
I know the question is really basic but I just started magic yesterday and I have this land card that I don't understand

On Wind-Scarred Crag, it's written that when the card is untapped I need to add a mana fire or light, from where should I add it ? from a land already in my hand?

Thank you


texts: When can I use a power of a Keeper in Adventure Time Fluxx?

texts: Some keepers have powers. Can these powers only be used during the turn that you play the keeper or every turn whilst the keeper is in play?


texts: Tapping a creature on the turn it enters play

texts: Let's say, for example, I summon a Gemhide Sliver this turn. Am I allowed to tap the Gemhide sliver for it's ability the moment it enters into the field, or is it affected by summoning sickness?


texts: How does the "Taken Over" event card impact buildings and zombie movement?

texts:
I played Last Night on Earth for the first time and I was playing the zombies.  I pulled the Take Over event card which states:

  Roll a Random Building and place a Taken Over marker on it.

  Place a Zombie from the Zombie Pool in each empty space of this
  building.  No Hero may enter this building or Search here.  If the
  building has already been Taken Over, Re-roll. Zombies placed here may
  not move this turn.

I have a couple of questions:

Does the building remain "Taken Over" even if all the zombies leave the building on subsequent moves?
How does Zombie Hunger effect the event rule of "Zombies placed here may not move this turn"?


texts: Newport has no costs on UK PowerGrid map - A misprint?

texts:
On the UK & Ireland / Northern Europe expansion map, the town of Newport has no 10 15 20 pricing.  The Expansion rules sheet makes no mention of this place having any special meaning.

I assume this is simply a misprint rather than that these sites are 'free' to occupy.

Is this a correct interpretation?


texts:
I’ve noticed Dovescape uses the specific word “cast” to trigger its ability, and I am curious about what effects circumvent its wording.

Will the following effects skirt through Dovescape?

Dualcaster Mage copying a not yet countered spell on the stack
Ral, Storm Conduit ’s [-2] ability which would copy the next spell you attempt to cast, the Copy being unaffected since it was not “cast”
Also related Spark Double (or Clever Impersonator) cloning an already in play Planewalker (Or any nonland/noncreature)
Feel free to include additional effects which would improve this question.


texts: Why is there a "no man's land" between 1NT 15-17 and 2NT 20-21?

texts:
I cannot find any info online or by talking with experienced players about this issue. I assume Goren set this up? Wouldn't this be more logical:

1NT=15-17

2NT=18-19

3NT=20-21


texts: Suppose Predator's Rapport's target has counters (for example, a few +1/+1 counters). Do the counters count when calculating the gained life? I thought power and toughness do not change after adding counters.


texts:
We were playing the Days of Wonder game Pirate's Cove earlier this evening; it's a lot of fun but the rules aren't exactly watertight, and more than once I felt there was considerable ambiguity in how they should be interpreted. Here's one that I remember:

You play the battle card that gives you a bonus of +6 to your Sails, when your Sails are the weakest aspect of your ship. Does this bonus only extend as far as letting you fire first in combat, i.e. if you get hit on your sails a couple of times are you still out for the count? Or do you have to be hit six extra times to be eliminated? I suspect the answer is the former, but as I've narrowly lost the game at least once because my Sails got speedily knocked down despite receiving the bonus from this card, I'd love to find out that the latter was true!


texts: Can "aggressive" or unusual play in blackjack get someone thrown out of a casino?

texts:
One example of such a play is "splitting tens." That is an agressive play that's usually foolish, except when someone is "card counting"? When suspected, card counters are "barred" from casinos (or worse).

Can casinos protect themselves against card counters by limiting bet variations in blackjack?

Card counters are usually identified by wildly changing their bet sizes. (That's mostly how they make their money, but they can make "a little" extra money by using card-counting to inform their play). Suppose someone "split tens" without making large bet variations. Would he still be "suspect?"

BTW, what is the rule for splitting tens? Do they have to be the same denomination (two tens, two jacks, etc.) or merely of the same value (e.g. king and jack).

Years ago, someone was harassed by casino authorities for hitting to an 18 and catching a 3 (usually a bad play that made 21 this one time). Upon questioning, this person told the casino that the dealer had a "tell" that said the dealer had 20, so the "heat" went on the dealer, not the player.

Could a player get into such trouble today under the new rules (the dealer is not supposed to look at his "hole" card, but merely turn it up after all the players have played)?

What other kinds of plays may draw "heat" and why?


texts:
When in Tokyo if I use Wings (Pay 2 energy to avoid damage until the end of the monster turn) to avoid damage can I still leave Tokyo and have the player that rolled the claw take my place?

Or do I need to actually take damage to be able to leave Tokyo?


texts: In what ways does a Commander in their Command zone influence the game?

texts:
Oloro, Ageless Ascetic has an ability that functions whilst in the command zone. As a newbie to the Commander format, that leaves me unclear about something:

Whilst a Commander is in their Command zone and remains there, what effect do they have on the game?

Are all of a Commander's abilities active? (e.g. Gahiji, Honored One)
Can they use their activated or mana abilities? (e.g. Sydri, Galvanic Genius)
Can they do anything else (apart from being able to be cast)?

I suspect all their abilities are active and can be used, but I've been told only the ones that specifically mention being in the command zone (e.g. Oloro's ability) are active.


texts: Does a Curse card count as a Victory card when playing the Bureaucrat?

texts: If I play a Bureaucrat and my opponent reveals a hand with a Curse card, does that Curse card go back on top of his/her deck?  Or does it not count as a "Victory card"?


texts: What do board game publishers do? What are the difference between them?

texts:
Board games are usually published by one of a variety of different board game publishers - such as Fantasy Flight or Z-Man Games.

My question is - what do the publishers do - and what's the difference between them?

Do board game publishers act much the same way to book publishers do? - ie. selectively publishing games from creators they think will be successful in exchange for a commission - or are their games developed in-house?

For example, I am interested in board game publishers responsibility in:

Manufacturing components. Do board games publishers manufacture components themselves, or outsource them?
Designing games. Do board games publishers design games 'in house' or are they merely publishers for external designers?
Acquiring copyright rights, for example for any games based on franchises (eg Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings), do board game publishers negotiate with the copyright holders themselves, or is that up to the designer?

I appreciate that answers are likely to be different for each board game publisher, so a good answer will give a general overview of what the primary role of board game publishers do, and give some examples of what some of the larger/more popular board game publishers do in respect to these questions.

A good answer might include and example of the size of a larger board game publisher, and outline all the roles each of the staff play.


texts:
A friend and I recently had a conversation around making a set of rules for a buy-in variant on Risk, and I wanted some help from experienced players to review them as they stand now. Risk is not a game that I know well, but well enough to ask some questions about.

The example we talked about splitting the pot on all 42 countries at $5 a piece; between 6 players, that's a $35 buy in. Players get their $5 bills (or chips that represent them) and must trade money upon losing/gaining territories at the end of each turn. As for quitting a game, a player can't quit unless they forfeit all of their money and walk away from the table, allowing for automatic defense rolls from the other players. To enforce fairness (and to avoid an annoying "winner take all" result each game), if all players from 2nd place until the current last place player all agree to "flag" their places and end the game, first place must then quit and take their money, as does all players.

With this approach, placing troops may result in one player taking all of their infantry on just a few territories; another may start with a larger amount of territories with less reinforcements. Would a French setup work better for this type of play? Are there other pitfalls that I may be overlooking? Anybody out there tried to add money to a game of Risk? What were the results?


texts: What cards can be used to cheat Eldrazi creatures onto the table?

texts:
I'm constructing an Eldrazi based deck and I'm thinking about possible ways of getting one onto the table. What I already considered:

Summoning Trap
Polymorph

Do you know any other cards like these?

Edit:
I'm talking about the "big three" Legendary Eldrazi -- Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre, and Kozilek, Butcher of Truth.


texts: In Elder Sign, can I use Jenny Barnes' ability to discard a spell when the mythos lingering effect bars investigators from using spells?

texts: Can I use Jenny's ability to discard a spell to gain the dice, because discarding is not the same as 'using' a spell?


texts: Does an Ebonblade Reaper holding a Quietus Spike kill players?

texts:
Ebonblade Reaper:

  Whenever Ebonblade Reaper attacks, you lose half your life, rounded up.
  Whenever Ebonblade Reaper deals combat damage to a player, that player loses half his or her life, rounded up.

Quietus Spike:

  Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, that
  player loses half his or her life, rounded up.

An Ebonblade Reaper hits a player while equipped with a Quietus Spike. Assuming no other effects, does the player lose the game?

My interpretation:

Ebonblade Reaper deals 1 combat damage to a player.
The Reaper and Quietus Spike triggered abilities are put onto the stack.
Each effect causes that player to lose half their life.
That player loses.


texts: In Go can you put a counter in a place that had a prisoner

texts:
I just purchased Go, I have read two different sets of instructions but are still unclear on two points.

If you surround a piece so all their liberties are taken, do you have to remove the prisoner there and then or not.
If you do remove it is that space dead for the rest of the game, or can they later on put something into that space if it that leads to enclosing some of your pieces.


texts: What difficulties occur in a three sided version of Space Hulk?

texts: The Space Hulk Campaigns book outlines Marine vs Marine rules. Is it possible to then play Terminators vs Chaos Terminators vs Genestealers or are there game mechanics that make this unworkable e.g. Overwatch over two turns?


texts: Can a blocking creature tap for its ability while blocking?

texts: I've declared my attack, and my opponent declares their blocker. I then use an instant that boosts and gives first strike to my attacking creature, then in the middle of combat they tap the creature to activate its ability. Can they do this?


texts: Are you required to buy items when you choose the Legendary Object options at the village?

texts:
The wording of the rules states that you must either peruse/buy the souvenirs or buy a legendary object, but what if you cannot afford the remaining legendary objects? To the letter of the rules, it would imply that you must only choose this option if you can buy a legendary object, so players should determine what's in the pile of unbought items (easily done) before making that an option. More hand-wavey, we could argue if someone mistakenly doesn't realize he can't afford any of the remaining items, then chooses to buy a legendary object and picks up the remaining cards, he simply is barred from buying anything or resorting to the souvenir option.

I tend to lean toward the more forgiving option which is if a player can't afford anything, he just goes to the souvenir shop especially since the list of cards is public info obtained simply by looking at the players' holdings which are exposed.


texts: What is different between regular Catan and Simply Catan?

texts: I was recently made aware of Simply Catan, a re-implementation of Catan (formerly Settlers of Catan). I see that it is advertised as being faster, with only a 5 minute setup and 30 minute play-time. But what are the actual differences between these games?


texts: When is a Spell considered to be "Cast"?

texts:
Is a spell "Cast" when it is first declared and put on the stack?  Or when it resolves?

I used to think it was when it resolves.  But I think I am wrong.

For example, if my opponent puts a creature spell on the stack, then I put the spell Silence on the stack, it sounds like all spells on the stack will still resolve.  (I get that any other spells can also go on the stack and resolve until Silence resolves.)

So I guess that spells that use the word "Cast" mean when they are first put on the stack?


texts: Doctor Who Fluxx - do Dalek cards affect all doctors

texts:
Dalek card says "if the Doctor is anywhere on the table, during your turn you can discard both him and this".

So player 1 has Doctor #2, player 2 has Doctor #3, I have the dalek.  Can I discard the dalek and both Doctors?

Does The Doctor and him mean all the doctors on the table?  After all, they are all "The Doctor".  (I would read it differently if it said "if a Doctor is anywhere on the table, during your turn you can discard both him and this", but it doesn't).


texts: I'm creating my own card game and am currently designing the back of the cards I notice on a lot of packs there is a gap between the design and the edge of the card. Is this standardised anywhere?


texts:
I don't really draft at all.

My general question: In the scope of new sets (non-supplemental), what are generally good cards to draft?

Specifics:

-What P/T is good for a beater of X CMC? How many would I want/need?

-What P/T is good for an evasion creature of X CMC? How many would I want/need?

-What CMC is good for spot removal? How many would I want/need?

-What CMC is good for burn spells of X damage? How many would I want/need?

-What P/T and abilities/ability words are good for a bomb of X CMC?

-What kind of card draw/tutors are good at X CMC?

-What kind of disruption (counters, discard, combat tricks) is good at X CMC?

-How much mana should I be spending on different kinds of 2-for-1's? (ETB with removal/disruption, token generation, etc.)

-Of 2 or more optimal/preferred cards, which is the better pick?

-Is the BREAD strategy ("Bombs, Removal, Evasion, Advantage, Dudes" prioritized in that order) viable?

I realize that each cycle and block has different results for each of these questions. Feel free to use examples from any block with supporting pools as to why X card helps Y card. I love specific card references.


texts: Is the CMC of a creature that is enchanted the cost of the enchantment and the creature combined?

texts: Just started playing MTG and I have a Filigree Familiar of 3 cost enchanted with Marked by Honor with a cost of 4. Does the CMC of the Filigree Familiar equal 3 or the combined cost of 7? My opponent is using the card Fragmentize to destroy the Filigree Familiar, but we aren't sure what the CMC is equal to.


texts: Is there any way to turn a token into a nontoken?

texts: Is there anything in Magic that can turn a token permanent into a nontoken permanent?


texts: What is the Best Random Card Setup Tool?

texts:
In this question I received two different recommendations for iPhone specific apps to assist with Dominion setups.  My group uses a third (non iPhone specific).

Which is the best, and why?

Please, only one app per answer, thanks!


texts: Is there a way to play Munchkin Quest with 5 people without the expansion?

texts:
Given that there are 2 extra colors on the color die, and you can buy the pawns separately, is there a way to play Munchkin Quest without the expansion?

I realize there are no stands for the monsters, but would any of the rules be affected?


texts: Can I reveal a card from my hand whenever I want legally?

texts:
Is there a rule that would make it illegal to reveal a card from my hand as an intimidation tactic or incentive strategy?

If there is not, I still might not do it (and just stick to hoping people belive me when I say it). I just want to know if I could legally reveal my Group Hug cards from my hand and show the other players in my playgroup that I have things to benefit them.


texts: Can the Russia no first turn attack rule be realistically extended for more turns?

texts:
This is a reference to the Classic edition of Axis and Allies. One "alternate" (house) rule is that Russia is not allowed to attack the first turn. (But she does get her "income" of,say, eight infantry units.)

What if the rule were extended so that Russia were not allowed to attack Germany or Japan for one or more additional turns (unless attacked)? That would allow the Axis (32 IPCs for Germany, 25 IPCs for Japan) to initially concentrate on the U.S. (36 IPCs counting China), and UK (30 IPCs), making for a pretty balanced game. (The Axis do have the advantage of superior board position to compensate for fewer IPCs.)

1) Does this rule change accurately portray the "real life" dilemma faced by Hitler (and the Japanese) as to whether or not to concentrate on beating Britain and China respectively, before attacking Russia? Apparently, Russia was willing to refrain from attacking Germany for "some time," though not "forever." And she signed a 5-year peace treaty with Japan in 1941.

2) The original one-turn rule cuts the Allies' advantage by almost half (to 12 IPCs vs. 22). Could further limitations on Russian attacks on subsequent turns make the game an "even money" proposition?


texts: I was playing with a counter deck, and my opponent played Algae Gharial, which has shroud. Could I counter it?


texts:
Last turn, player A casted a Pact spell, and then a copy of Mindslaver's ability, controlled by player B, resolved while targeting player A.  In player A's untap step, player A untapped 5 basic lands of the type that corresponds to the Pact spell's color.  Tapping those lands for mana is the only way to tap those lands, and paying for the Pact spell's delayed triggered ability is the only way for player A to spend the mana which those lands can produce.

Can player B nonetheless choose to have player A not pay for that triggered ability?

The Pact spells do not make the payment optional, but there is precedent for players not being forced to pay costs.  (See the two sentences with the word "forced" in that link.)


texts: Should We Eliminate or Modify the "Factory Rule" In Axis and Allies?

texts:
The better players I know don't build industrial complexes "factories" outside of their home countries. It costs 15 IPCs (five infantry) up front, and offers an uncertain return. Far better, they would argue, to "stick to the knitting" and "go for the throat,"--of a war in Europe, which is already "overbuilt." What's worse, a factory in say India or Sinkiang can (and probably should be) captured by the Japanese, possibly giving them the momentum they need to win the war.

Other players argue in favor of e.g., a South African factory for Britain. A writer at Morrison Games likened to a two "supertransports" shuttling four zones between the UK and South Africa with two infantry on alternate turns, for similar costs in IPCs. Thus, factories do make the US and UK easier to play.

I (a newbie) don't mind some aspects of factories and dislike others. First, I think factories outside the main countries should be allowed to produce only infantry. I can imagine "local levies" of riflemen in India, China, or South Africa, but really can't imagine them producing tanks, ships or planes (and this was 70 years ago). And I wouldn't allow factories at all in landlocked territories like Sinkiang (which consists of Tibet and the Taklamakan desert. Camels, anyone?)

Also, three out of the five countries already have two industrial complexes. Only the UK and Japan have only one. Perhaps we should have a limit of two "factories" per country, meaning that only the UK and Japan can build new ones?

If "good" players don't like factories and intermediate players do, are factories necessary to the game? And if "unnecessary," should they be permitted anyway? With or without modifications?


texts: The travellers score sheets were not filled for two deals how is the scoring done

texts:
The traveller score sheets were not filled up for two deals
What is the scoring  for the two pairs


texts: What are Riggers and Contraptions in MTG and how do I assmble them? (Steamflogger boss question)

texts: I just saw this card called Steamflogger Boss today, but I've never heard of a Rigger, a Contraption, or an ability called 'assemble' in Magic. Am I missing something? Does this card refer to a very rare card type like locus of which there are only a few examples? It seems like the card would make perfect sense if I could only find something that could assemble a darn contraption...


texts: If I draw an enemy that is discarded because it cannot spawn, do I draw another encounter?

texts:
During the Mythos phase when each investigator draws an encounter card, if an enemy is drawn that spawns at a particular location that hasn't yet entered play, that card is discarded.

Do I then draw another encounter card in that situation, or did my investigator simply benefit from the lucky draw?


texts: Does immediately ending the turn cause mana burn?

texts: When cards such as Time Stop or Sundial of the Infinite that immediately end the turn are cast, are players subject to mana burn for excess mana in their mana pools?


texts: What is the hit effect multiplier in Campaign 1 for a Me-210?

texts:
In campaign 1, I got result 45 my next wave after bombing Paris.  The Me-210 coming in from 9 High was piloted by an Ace and got me good for 3 hits.

However on table 5-11 the only entry for a Me-210 is for campaigns 3-6.  Should this entry be used for campaign 1 as well?


texts: Can you take an Immortal Phoenix out of the game?

texts: I am a fairly new player and the person I have been playing with has a card called Immortal Phoenix and I was wondering if cards that say "destroy" wouldn't activate the Phoenix's resurrection feature.


texts: At the end of the game (bearing off), which of the following moves are valid?


texts: Can Brago's ability keep Traft's angel token around?

texts:
If I attack with Brago, King Eternal and Geist of Saint Traft, can I have Brago's ability flicker the Traft angel token so that it won't be removed at end of combat?

Related:
Can I flicker Traft and Brago as well so that they are untapped?

Related:
If I have a Pentarch Ward on Traft, can I flicker both the ward (to get another card) and Traft (to make him untapped) without losing the Pentarch Ward?


texts: Can you have the same Pokemon with different names

texts: I was thinking about a character in the TV show during one episode of sun and moon Ash meets a trainer who just loves Pikachu and I wanted to make a deck baced on her so I understand you can only have 4 with the same name but what if they had a different name like "Pikachu libre" or "detective Pikachu" or ex and gx


texts: How to resolve multiple "at the start of turn" effects when one changes another?

texts:
We were playing Betrayal on Saturday and the scenario required that the traitor and monsters lose 1 from all traits at the beginning of his turn.

The music box card was also in play and was left open in the same room as the traitor.  The music box requires any explorer or monster who starts their turn or enters the same room as the open music box to make a sanity roll and on a result < 4 become mesmerized.

In this case, which happens first?  Do the traits get reduced, then the music box triggers, or vice versa? It matters because if the traits are reduced first, the player has a reduced chance of resisting the music box.

In this case we gave the traitor the advantage in the situation based on game context (the traitor started at a severe disadvantage during the haunt given the outcomes of earlier item draws and omens), but what is the correct way?  Is there one?


texts: Is it possible to play Refreshing Walk (2 Move and 1 Heal) prior to a combat and then use the heal provided after the combat?


texts: Clarification on the Royal Garden from Puerto Rico expansion 2

texts:
The Royal Garden states:

  At game end, the owner of the occupied royal garden takes 1 VP for each noble on his island.  As each noble is normally worth 1 VP (whether on a building, plantation or in San Juan), with the occupied royal garden each is worth 2 VPs to that player".

Puerto Rico defines "island" as the twelve spaces at the bottom of the board to place plantation tiles; the Royal Garden states that you get 1 VP for each noble on his island (which I would assume means "nobles on plantations") but then goes on to state that nobles in San Juan and buildings are worth 1 extra VP as well.

So... which is it?  Do nobles on island tiles get the extra VP, or nobles on your entire board get the extra VP?


texts: Does the new specialist after a crew change retain saved unspent AP from the previous turn?

texts: The rules say "The player's Firefighter has the AP (less the 2AP required for a crew change)...." If I effect a crew change and had Action Markers from unspent AP on my previous turn, do I get to keep those for the new character I am using? The strict literal reading of the rules implies no, and the story aspect reasonably would argue no, but it would certainly help me save victims!


texts: What actions can be taken as a free action?

texts: I just got my first model for X-Wing Minis (an E-Wing) and received a card in the box called "Advanced Sensors". It's a 3-point card granting "...1 free action..." "Immediately before you reveal your maneuver,...". My question is What can I do as a Free Action using this card? All I can find in the rule book is that it is "something specified in a card or a game type" and nothing else.


texts: Marauding Raptor and Polyraptor - what happens when a loop has no exit?

texts:
Marauding Raptor has:

  Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, Marauding Raptor deals 2 damage to it.  If a Dinosaur is dealt damage this way, Marauding Raptor gets +2/+0 until end of turn.

Polyraptor has:

  Enrage - Whenever Polyraptor is dealt damage, create a token that's a copy of Polyraptor.

When my opponent had Marauding Raptor in play, and played a Polyraptor, the Marauding Raptor deals two damage to the original, then when a token copy was made the Marauding Raptor dealt to that, which makes another copy, which is also dealt damage, etc...

My question is, does this mean the game breaks and is over, or does the arbitrary loop stop of its own accord at some point?

(Neither of us were able to destroy or exile a Polyraptor token in response to the damage, to stop the loop.)


texts: When a creature is enchanted with 2 auras changing it's base stats, what happens?

texts: If Ensoul Artifact is attached to an artifact, then Lignify is later attached to the same artifact, does the base power of the creature you are targeting change to 0/4 even if Ensoul Artifact is still in play and effect, stating the creature to be a 5/5?


texts: What are the basic tactics for the heros in Last Night on Earth? (Zombies dominating)

texts:
I have been playing Last Night on Earth with my family after my daughter got it for Christmas.  So far we have played five games and the zombies have won each time.  We played "Die Zombies Die" and most recently "Defend the Manor".

We have switched around who played who.  Either things are out of balance or we are playing the heroes badly (or perhaps we misunderstand the rules).

What are some basic tactics that the heros should apply?

Generally our attempts so far have been along these lines:-

Run away from zombies and attempt to get some breathing space to search in a building,
If you get a gun, stand within range and pick-off the zombies,
If you get a hand weapon or other special bonus, perhaps try and fight a zombie or two

There's also been a bit of trying to heal each other, and luring of zombies away from the Manor House.

The zombies seem to be getting a lot more cards to play while the heroes lack useful items.


texts: Where to buy or how to cut blank hexes for own game prototype?

texts: Fellow board game player wants to test his game prototype, which uses a number of hex pieces (prefreably smaller than Catan or Eclipse ones). Is there a place to buy some blank ones? We could then use adhesive paper labels printed on inkjet printer. Or maybe there is a place to send full-hex graphic design and receive cutted pieces? Alternatively, do you have working DIY methods for cutting uniform hexes?


texts:
To which board games does this die belong?

It is a white die with 2 blank face, two faces with one pip, and two faces two pips.
Been wondering for a while.
Thanks in advance


texts: Is an Action card resolved before or after an initiated clash?

texts:
When an Action card initiates a clash, is this Action card resolved

when the clash ends, or
before the clash begins?

Background: The red card Lug Samildanach allows to take an Action card to your hand after it has been resolved. If player A plays an Action card that initiates a clash, and player B plays Lug Samildanach, can B use A’s Action card in this clash?


texts: Does it count as me landing the killing blow if a monster dies to a Wound that I inflicted?

texts: Some of the personal quests involve killing a certain number of monsters. The official FAQ has clarified that the character must be the one to land the killing blow in order for it to count towards the quest. What happens if I perform an attack that inflicts Wound on the monster, and they later die as a result of that Wound. Do I still get credit for killing that monster? We ruled that it did just because it seemed reasonable to give the character credit in that way, but I'm curious if there is an official ruling on this.


texts:
My question is for the case of two teams where two sequences are needed to win the game. Say team Blue built a sequence and team Green hasn't.

The rules say:

  If you are playing the game which requires two SEQUENCES to win, you may use any one of the spaces from your first SEQUENCE as part of your second.

So does this mean team Blue can place chips over the first sequence chips, but team Green CANNOT place chips over team Blue's first sequence. Right?


texts:
Treasure Card pictured.

If used as a special as noted.  A base is scoring off.  Can someone use this card to move a minion TO that base?   They currently do NOT have a minion on the base about to be scored but want to use the special on this card to move TO the scoring base.


texts: How to deal with damaged cards from a MTG booster pack?

texts:
I bought a Magic the Gathering display box today with cards from the new edition Innistrad. Unfortunately one of the cards in a booster pack was damaged. It is not just a simple scratch - one corner is bent and a small part of the card is missing. According to different trading platforms this card would be worth about 6 Dollars minimum in mint condition. So it is not really expensive but also not totally worthless.

What can I do about this? Can I obtain a replacement card from the producer (WotC) or from the store I bought it from? How can I prove that the card was damaged when I opened the booster pack? I am sure I am not the first person who got a damaged card from a booster pack. How are such issues usually handled?


texts: The Special Event cards all indicate they may be played "at any time". Are there any restrictions to "any time", i.e. in the middle of someone's turn? Suppose an epidemic card has been drawn -- can the airlift card be played while the epidemic steps are being applied?


texts: Anyone got any info on this coin obstacle course game from Micki Gemla Sweden?

texts:
I found this old coin obstacle course game from Micki Gemla Made in Sweden?

There where no hard cover so can anyone help me with the name of this game?
And also maybe give some more information about it?


texts:
If a side misses an alert and the other side protests, the tournament director
must decide if the missing alert is a disadvantage for the protesting side.

It is not possible to check, if the situation is prepared by the side or not,
so the tournament director must decide, if this is the case or not.

Is it true that making a "strange" bid twice in a row without alert leads to the assumption that the situation is prepared ?


texts: Where can I sell my Magic: The Gathering cards?

texts:
I played for quite a few years and have a ton of cards that I want to get rid of. I have a mix of all editions before 2007. 7th, 8th, etc...

So the question is where can I sell them effectively. And if it is better to just get all rares out, and then sell the rest as a lot at a common hobby store.

Thanks for the feedback!


texts: What is the ruling for Warhammer base size when GW has not produced an official model?

texts:
I understand this ruling, which is pretty normal for Tournaments:

•Models must be played on the bases provided with them.

In my specific case, there are quite a number of Tyranid Special Characters that have never had a model created for them.  For some of these monsters, it seems fairly straightforward:  The Doom of Malantai would have a Zoanthrope Base, the Tyranid Prime would have a Warrior Base.

There are also some existing models that used to be released with smalled bases:  The old Hive Tyrants (Square base, and warrior size base) would up-size to the the current Hive Tyrant large base.

For models like the Harpy, Parasite of Mortrex; I'm not sure about.  The flavour for the harpy says it's a lighter Monstrous creature, that is related to the Trygon.  Would it use a Trygon base?  or a Hive Tyrant base?    Is the Parasite of Mortrex a Gargoyle base?  or a Warrior sized base?

I've never seen any official ruling on this.  Since these models are all custom conversions, it seems somewhat open to interpretation.

What size base should I be using for models where the base size is not clearly defined?


texts: Does having protection from Grapeshot work against the storm copies?

texts:
Do storm copies have the same name as the original card? If you name Grapeshot with Runed Halo, do you have protection from the copies as well?

I remember back in the day you could not have protection from faerie rogue tokens because they where not cards and was wondering if it is the same with storm copies.


texts: What set of attributes can be used to describe, compare and contrast various board games?

texts:
A recent question about a good mix of board games got me thinking about how one could even objectively define "a good mix".

My idea is to try and define a set of attributes that could describe, compare, and contrast various board games. I hope this exercise will help me discover some attributes unrepresented by my gaming experience and achieve better insight into the common elements of my favorite games.

An example attribute might be inter-player cooperation, which would slide along a continuum from fully co-operative to team-based to free-for-all, with arkham-horror axis-and-allies and risk being examples of each type, respectively.

I think answers could either work as one-per-attribute (with votes for ones that make sense) or as a comprehensive set of attributes (with votes for the most thorough and complete answers). Comments seems like a good place to flush out the pros and cons of each approach.


texts: Why does Rhizome Lurcher see itself in the graveyard as it enters the battlefield? (GRN spoilers)

texts:
Rhizome Lurcher is a new card in Guilds of Ravnica that says:

  Undergrowth — Rhizome Lurcher enters the battlefield with a number of +1/+1 counters on it equal to the number of creature cards in your graveyard.

It has a ruling that completely surprises me:

  If you return Rhizome Lurcher from your graveyard to the battlefield, its undergrowth ability counts itself.

OK, I'm willing to believe that. But why does it count itself? I would have thought that as it enters the battlefield it's no longer in the graveyard and would not count itself. What's going on in the rules for this interaction that have it work out this way?


texts: Battlestar Galactica vs. Shadows over Camelot

texts:
I've seen these games compared very often, with steadfast advocates on each side. link1 link2 link3  I'm mainly concerned with:

depth of strategy
suitability for new players (length of time to explain, etc.)
overall feel of the game
what situations you would recommend playing each of them in.
anything else you think should be included in regards to comparing and contrasting them

Some things I've noticed:

Shadows supports more and fewer people better, and seems to be easier to understand.
Both are Cooperative with the traitor mechanic.
Battlestar seems to be the 'improved' version of Shadows. (What's really improved that was 'wrong' in Shadows?)


texts: In the board game "Sorry!", can I use a 7 card split moving one pawn 6 spaces around the board and 1 pawn 1 space from "Start"?


texts: Instant and sorcery lifelink multiplied by targets or just casting?

texts: If I give an instant or sorcery lifelink, like in the case of Firesong and Sunspeaker, and it hits multiple creatures, in the instance of Fiery Cannonade, would that be a lifelink value of 2, or 2 times however many creatures are effected?


texts: Seedborn Muse & Sands of Time on the stack

texts:
If an opponent has Seedborn Muse out in play, I cast Sands of Time, then the opponent's turn comes back around.
How would the stack resolve between these two cards on their turn?
Does Sands of Time trigger resolve first or does Seedborn Muse? Or does the opponent pick which happens first since both trigger onto the stack at the same time?


texts: Where do you put the reward you gain when attacking Draco/zombies?

texts:
When you attack a zombie or Draco, you earn some ressources.

Do you store them immediately (or on the Town hall building if you don't have storage room)?
Do they stay "somewhere in your gaming zone" (for instance witht he units you used to attack) waiting for the storage phase to be added to the storage building?

The latter would mean than no-one can get them by attacking you or by stealing them...

Sorry if I don't use the correct wording for game elements, I have the French version of the rules...


texts: Back in Kamigawa Block, Gifts Ungiven was a very popular card, showing up in a good percentage of blue decks.  I don't understand why it's considered useful.  What made this card so popular?


texts: In Puerto Rico, does it make sense to shift to a corn-based strategy mid-game?

texts:
One of the disadvantages of corn is that it doesn't "trade" (sell) for as much money as other crops. This point became clear in this question:

On the other hand, corn is cheaper to produce than other crops, and you don't need to build a production facility for it. And corn can be shipped for as many victory points as other crops.

Does it make sense to go for higher yielding cash crops in the beginning, use the money to buy the buildings you need (or want), and then shift to producing corn (for the victory points) about mid-game?


texts: Polymorphous Rush targeting Young Pyromancer and X Tokens

texts: If I cast Polymorphous Rush targeting X tokens, turning them all into copies of a Young Pyromancer, do I get an elemental token from each copy, similar to Scapeshift with Valakut on the battlefield?


texts: Do multiple Eternal Thirst give a creature multiple copies of the same triggered ability?

texts: If I have a creature with two copies of Eternal Thirst on it, and a creature my opponent control dies, do I get one or two +1/+1 counters?


texts: Why is "All that remains" banned from Android: Netrunner World Championships?

texts:
The Android: Netrunner tournament rules say the choice of banned cards is up to the tournament organiser.  With the single exception of banning "All That Remains" at world level.

  Authorized Cards

  All Android: Netrunner cards produced by Fantasy
  Flight Games are legal for tournament play (unless banned). No other
  cards or proxy cards are permitted. In North America, cards are legal
  upon their release. Competitors outside North America should check
  with their TO to determine which cards are tournament legal.
  Exception: All That Remains is not legal for the World Championships

What's so special about "All That Remains"?


texts: Identify the Game: reach the other side of the board, while avoiding barriers

texts:
I was at a friend of a friend's house last weekend and played a cool game.  Here is what I remember:

The game is played on a square board
2 or 4 players
The goal of the game is to reach the opposite side of the board from which you start (before your opponent(s))
On your turn you may

a) Move you piece forwards/backwards/left/right (not diagonal)
b) Place a barrier which you and your opponent cannot cross.  A barrier is a length two piece that goes between squares.

Anyone know the game?


texts: Does Lady Vix's Level Up force her to lose her current face-up Item?

texts:
Last night, while trying out the expansions for Boss Monster, my opponent triggered Lady Vix's Level Up ability and stole my Cheat Code. However, she already had a face-up card that she wanted to keep face-up (she mainly wanted to take Cheat Code from me, not use it for herself). This is where a discrepancy came up.

According to Lady Vix's Level Up, she must take a face-up Item Card and place it face-up in her scorekeeping area, but there is nothing explicitly stating that she is able to have two Item Cards face-up as a result. In contrast, the additional Boss monster for the Alien Artifact treasure in this expansion has a Level Up that explicitly states he is able to have two face-up Item Cards for the remainder of the game, so this seems like an ability unique to him.

  Lady Vix
  Bandit Queen
  Level Up: Take a face-up Item from a Hero in town or another player. Place it face up in your scorekeeping area.

When Lady Vix's Level Up is triggered and the player is forced to take an Item Card, is the player also forced to turn their existing face-up Item Card face down to make room for the stolen Item Card? Or is the player able to use two Item Cards during that turn?


texts: Is there a standard name for the card game "kabou"?

texts:
The game is played with french cards (4 colors: ace, 2 - 10, Jack, Queen, King; jokers). You need at least 2 players, but you can have more. A game of Kabou has arbitrary many rounds. In each round, each player gets an integer amount of points (which might be negative). The less points, the better.

One round

Each player gets 4 cards (hidden) in front of him. The order may not be switched. There is a order among players in which they get to play their turns. Each turn consists of:

(a) Drawing a card or (b) taking the top most card of the stack
If you drew a card, you may either (a) play it (put it open on the stack) or (b) exchange it with one of the cards in front of you.

When you exchange it, you put the exchanged card open on the stack.
When you play it some effect happens, depending on the card (see below)

When the card is put on the stack, the turn of one player ends and the next begins.

In every situation, players may put a card they know (from the ones lying in front of all players) on the stack, if the value (ace, 2-10, jack,queen king, joker) is the same. If they put it on the stack from another players cards, they can give that player one of their cards.

When a player thinks he is in a good situation, he can say "Kabou" right before he does anything in his turn. He skips his turn, the game goes on until he would get his turn again. Other players may not exchange cards from him, but besides that the turns are just normal.

Card effects

7, 8: take a look at one of your cards
9, 10: take a look at another players cards
Jack, Queen: Exchange 1 card from another player with 1 of your cards. Don't look at any of them.
heart king: Take a look at one card of another player. Then decide if you want to exchange that card with one of your cards.

Card values

higher is worse

joker: -1
black king: 0
Ace: 1
2 - 10: Card value (2 - 10)
Jack: 11
Queen: 12
red king: 13

What is the name of this game?


texts: What happens when you flicker a double-faced card?

texts: If I were to cast  Restoration Angel targeting  Ravager of the Fells, What side would Ravager of the Fells be on when he came back into the battlefield?


texts: Should I trash Copper or Silver with Mine?

texts: Assuming I've got both Copper and Silver in my hand, which is better to trash in general and why?


texts: Dominion: When to use Platinum and Colony

texts:
I recently acquired Dominion: Prosperity (yay Christmas) and came across the Platinum and Colony Cards which are designed to be new Basic Cards (like Estate, Copper, etc...).

My question is, should I (or do you) always play with Platinum and Colony even when you're not using Prosperity kingdom cards? Or do you only play with them if you're doing a Prosperity only game? Or do you use them whenever some (or certain) Prosperity cards are chosen as kingdom cards but otherwise you leave the Platinum and Colony to the side?


texts: If something happens to a vehicle, what happens to the creatures that crewed it?

texts:
I'll give an example of my vehicle. It is Conqueror's Galleon a 2/10 with crew 4, but when it attacks it'll be exiled.

During your  next untap phase it'll return as Conqueror's Foothold what happens to crewed creatures?


texts: The Nexus - when does its ability resolve?

texts:
I'm confused about the base from the Science Fiction Double Feature expansion.

  The Nexus (19; 3, 3, 2): The winner replaces this base with a base of his or her choice from the base discard pile, if possible.

I'm unclear about the timing of the replacement. Does this ability resolve before or after the base scores?

If it's before, what is the point of printing victory points on the card? Its value would always be dictated by the base that replaces it.

If it's after, why isn't this ability worded similar to The Mothership and other bases in the base set, something like "After this base scores, the winner replaces this base with..."?

I play it as after, though the change in wording caused me to doubt my interpretation.

Also, what happens if there are no bases in the base discard pile, does the base get replaced from the base draw pile as usual?


texts: If I cast Reality Ripple with Eon Hub out, is the target Permanently phased out?

texts: Reality Ripple reads, "Target artifact, creature, or land phases out. (While it's phased out, it's treated as though it doesn't exist. It phases in before its controller untaps during their next untap step.)" This seems to indicate to me that it phases in during the untap step. If a player skips their untap step, from an effect such as Eon Hub, does this mean that whatever is phased out just stays phased out?


texts:
In playing a two player variant of sheepshead, the group I play with decided that it wasn't that much fun. So I simplified it, and taught it to my niece (5 years old) as a start to learning about trick taking games.

The game goes like this:

Deck of 4 suits, 2-9 (32 cards)
Deal out a 4x4 grid face down
Deal out a 4x4 grid on top of the face down cards face up.
Each player plays the face up cards from the 8 stacks closest to them at the start of the game.
Follow suit lead if possible, diamonds are trump
When a face down card is uncovered, at the end of the trick, flip it over.
Player who takes the most tricks wins.

It's a rather straight forward game.  Its about learning how to follow suit and what to throw off when you can't.

And while we believe that there is a first player advantage to this, how does one quantify that amount to determine if a handicap for the second player (beyond winning a tie) is necessary?


texts: Sarkhan the masterless +1 ability. It becomes a 4/4 dragon with flying. Can it attack that turn? Does it depend if the planeswalker was on the field already or just played?