texts: In chess, what is the name for the tactics when a piece makes an attack by itself but also opens line(s) of attack for a friendly piece(s)?

texts:
For example, let us look at the following chess diagram. It is white's turn. Until now, black queen and rook were safe, but white plays d6! White pawn makes an active attack on the black rook but also opens a2–g8 diagonal, which allows white bishop to attack the black queen (and the bishop is protected by the knight).

So, is there a separate name for this maneuver? I don't think it is a fork.


texts:
This is a Mindslaver Lock.

Mindslaver controls an opponent's next turn — all actions and decision-making, short of conceding outright — completely.
Ten mana (produced by the double-tower "UrzaTron", in this example) is used to cast and activate Mindslaver.
Academy Ruins (and 1U to pay for the activation) is used to put Mindslaver back on top of the library, to be drawn and activated again next turn.
Since resetting Mindslaver costs a draw step, no additional win condition is necessary: you'll eventually just deck your opponent (similar to how Stasis decks operate).

This is one of the more powerful locks in competitive Magic (used in the Modern format, to be precise), since it denies your opponent the ability to attack, access their lands' mana, or cast any Sorcery-speed spells.

But how absolute of a lock is it, exactly?

Assuming the player who set up the Mindslaver lock is using all of their resources to maintain it (as shown in the graphic above), what recourse does the player under the lock have for escaping it once it's already in place?


texts: Does "Mountainwalk" imply "Snow-Covered Mountainwalk"?

texts:
If I am playing a deck with Snow-Covered Mountains, does a creature with Mountainwalk become unblockable or do they require Snow-Covered Mountainwalk  (where "mountain" is interchangeable with plains, islands, swamps, forests and mountains)?  Conversely, if I had a creature with Snow-Covered Mountainwalk, is it unblockable if an opponent has only regular Mountains in play?

I lack the experience with the Comprehensive Rules to be able to conclusively go one way or the other.

  702.12a Landwalk is a generic term that appears within an object’s rules text as
      “[type]walk,” where [type] is usually a subtype (as in “islandwalk”), but can be
      the card type land, any land type, any supertype, or any combination thereof (as
      in “snow swampwalk” or “legendary landwalk”).

  702.12b Landwalk is an evasion ability. A creature with landwalk is unblockable
      as long as the defending player controls at least one land with the specified
      subtype and/or supertype. (See rule 509, “Declare Blockers Step.”)

I suppose the question boils down to this: is "Mountain" a supertype of "Snow-Covered Mountain"?


texts: Does a permament gain summoning sickness if it is turned into creature?

texts: If I have got, for example, a land, and it becomes land creature, does it gain summoning sickness? Can I attack with it the same turn it was turned into creature?


texts: The building of two districts should be considered as two separate action or as one comprehensive action?

texts:
Suppose that one player is a Scholar, an Architect, a Trader, a Seer or any other character that can build more than one district per turn. Suppose also that the Tax Collector is one of the character used in this game.

The rule-book states that:

  When the Tax Collector is one of the characters in the game, players are charged a property tax for building districts. Immediately after a player builds a district, he places one gold from his stash on the Tax Collector’s character token. [...] If a player builds more than one district, he is charged the property tax for each district built. If a player has no gold remaining in his stash after building a district, he is not charged a tax. [...]

Suppose that our player has 10 golds and 2 district of cost 5. Can he build both districts and pay no gold to the Tax Collector or should he build only one district and pay one gold to the Tax Collector?

Or, in other words, can the building of more than one district be considered as a single action?

Note This question is concerning Citadels 2016 edition. However, a similar question could arise when playing the editions of 2000 and 2004 even if there isn't the Tax Collector character. So, if your answer isn't valid for all the three versions of the game, then please explicit the valid version(s).


texts: Full explanation of how multi-phrase cards work

texts:
So, consider Snap or Subtle Strike

and generally other spells that do multiple things, whether as 1 sentence, 1 sentence with commas, 2 sentences, 2 separated sentences, etc. etc.

I struggle with understanding when failure to do or be able to do parts of a spell will stop other bits from happening. As far as I can tell sometimes the spell fizzles, sometimes you go "up to the bit you can't do", and sometimes you get to keep going anyway?

Obviously, for an individual card the gatherer errata generally tell you such things.

Is there a complete description of the rules for this.

Ideally a complete readable description, rather than "here are the 17 formal rules clauses that apply", though obviously having a record of those clauses would be a useful addendum, and might be the only viable answer.


texts:
I have a few questions below.

1) Do we play the character card to the center of the table (stacking on previous character)? or we place in front of us?

2) I also understand from the rules that the assassinated character suppose to act stupid upon their character is called. Question here is, at the end of the round, does the king have to verify who are the assassinated character is? or it's like poker where u can return the card without revealing yourself?

3) Can we purposely skip our character (act like it's assassinated to avoid tax collector)?

4) When the last character is called and someone still holding non-assassinated character, how should we deal with such situation?

Thanks for clearing my doubts :)


texts: Does Trespasser il-vec still deal damage after giving itself Shadow?

texts:
Scenario

I attack with a 4/4 beast token
My opponent chooses to block with Trespasser il-Vec
After declaring blocker, my opponent uses Trespasser's ability to discard Fiery Temper and pay madness cost to deal 3 damage to my beast creature.

Does Trespasser still deal his combat damage to my beast token, even though he now has shadow and is an illegal blocker?


texts: BSG Exodus: What happens with a damaged base star on launch raiders?

texts:
We played the Exodus expansion with the Cylon fleet option for the first time last night.

We had a situation where there was a single basestar on the main board, and we'd damaged it with the "can't launch raiders" token.

Then, the crisis told us "Basestars launch raiders".

What happens?
a) Nothing
b) Raider appears on cyclon fleet board


texts:
So what i wanted to ask is this... Kozilek, Butcher of Truth goes to graveyard and I have Stonecloaker in hand!
My queston is can I exile Kozilek with my Stonecloaker before Kozileks ability resolves ?


texts: How many players realistically possible in Pandemic Board Game 2nd edition

texts:
I love playing Pandemic, but the one of the biggest holdups for me is how you can only play 4 players. However, in the box there are 7 roles! (Scientist, Researcher, Medic, Quarantine Specialist, Dispatcher, Operations expert, Contingency planner).

Has anyone had experience or would like to hypothesize playing with 5, 6, or all 7 players at once? If so, what additional rules do you incorporate (if any) to keep the integrity of the game (i.e. starting cards, number of actions, etc.)?

I'm aware that there are only so many city cards to use so 7 players would really make you be super sensitive in how you use the cards. And I'm sure there are other things to consider also.

I'm just very curious to know what all of your experiences are! Thank you for your time.


texts:
If I have a Conduit of Ruin on the battlefield and say that I will be casting Endless One for 10 mana, will the cost reduction of 2 mana from the Conduit of Ruin's effect reduce the X so that the Endless One is 8/8 or will it remain 10/10?

My thinking is going with X = 10, but I need to make sure.

Then, expanding on that:

If I have 4 x Conduit of Ruin on the battlefield, could I cast an 8/8 Endless One for "free", using only the total cost reduction of 8 mana (from the 4 x Conduit of Ruins) as the "X" casting cost?


texts: What position takes the most moves to solve for the jail puzzle (Klotski)?

texts:
For full details on the puzzle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klotski#Khun_Chang_Khun_Phaen

May only use the legal pieces available in the original puzzle.  A move is counted as moving any piece on square in any direction.

The minimum number of moves for the original puzzle is 81.
2442
2442
0330
2112
2112

This position for example takes a minimum of 126 moves to solve:
4420
4420
1233
2212
2112

Where 4 is the main piece, 2 is the vertical pieces, 3 is the horizontal pieces, 1 are the single square pieces and 0 are the gaps.  The exit is at the base of the puzzle.

What is the positions which takes the most moves to solve?


texts:
I started playing Canasta this past weekend with some of my relatives. We played with four people, two teams of two. I understand most of the strategy for the game, but freezing the pile generally seems like a terrible idea.

I noticed that, in general, the team that froze the pile wasn't the team that ended up picking it up. What it did create was large discard piles, and whoever picked it up got a lot of points that hand, along with the wild card that the other team used to freeze the pile in the first place.

In some cases, the reason a player froze the pile was to avoid discarding something that the other team had already melded, but it still seems more beneficial to dump a card on a relatively small discard pile that you know will get picked up. Plus you wouldn't be losing a wild card in the process.

I also understand that this gives you some leeway in discarding; suddenly you're able to discard cards that have been melded and are on the table since there is a low chance that the opposing team is still holding onto them.

I feel like I might be overlooking some other benefits of freezing the discard pile. When is it beneficial to freeze the discard pile? In what circumstances might this be a good play?


texts: Dragon Ball Z TCCG (old style before GT came out) collectors sales costs

texts:
I have have a collections of many dragon ball z tccg cards since they started to come out. I have them in a collection as well as personally played with ones (collection ones aren't played with).

I have been saving them for years to sell. The rule of thumb is that anything that is a collections gains value over time. It's been about 15-18 years since I bought these.

However, about 8 years ago I went looking for prices and I found them to be worth pennies... now I am looking again and they are even more worthless!

This game rivaled Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh back then, so I am unsure of why these cards are now worth so little, can anyone explain this to me?

These cards are out of print and not sold anywhere anymore. Many of the cards in the collection I have are holographic first edition/ second edition cards. There is no way that these are worth .35c to a 1.50 still after almost 20 years.


texts:
There are at least two cards that I know of that make 5/5 Beast tokens (Spawning Ground and One Dozen Eyes).

Yet I can't seem to find an actual token card that is a 5/5 Beast.

Does such a card exist? I know I could use a die that has a 5 on it, or take a 3/3 and write 5s over them.  But this question is for someone who is into the real token cards.

If they do exist, how would I find some?


texts: I am wondering if -1/-1 counters are considered damage? On creatures with the wither ability is says that the creature deals damage in the form of -1/-1 counters. As such I would like to know if a creatures wither-ability would trigger ex: Rite of Passage?


texts:
I was moderator in a game and one of the nights, one of the wolves chose himself to die.

I was a little disconcerted, but later he explained that it was because he trusted that the witch would save him and after that, the villagers would trust him.

It is a solid but risky strategy. But ... is it a valid strategy? Can a wolf (if the majority agrees) be one of the victims of the attack?


texts: Can I prevent my opponent from looking at cards with Vizier of the Menagerie while I'm Mindslaving them?

texts:
Vizier of the Menagerie says "You may look at the top card of your library," and Mindslaver says you "make all decisions for the player."

What I'm wondering is can the player who's being controlled see the top card of their library as their turn is taken for them? In other words, if I'm Mindslavering someone and I get to make all decisions for them, then I get to decide when they look at the top card of their library, so I can decide that they don't get to look at it.

I'm not sure about this, but based on all the Gatherer rules, I would say that the controlled player and the controlling player can both look at the card because the card becomes part of the "known information" to the player who controls the Vizier (so they can always know it) and since they always know it, the Mindslaver controller also knows it.


texts: A Beginner's Scenario:  I castle kingside prior to ever being in check. Then, my son positions his queen and on a subsequent turn, takes out the middle pawn of three (see diagram below), thus exposing my king, and declares "checkmate".  Is this a legal move on his part? Or, may I take out his queen with my king?


texts: What happens to a Curse when the Enchanted Player dies?

texts: This question is regarding the 'Curse' Auras from Innistrad block, such as Curse of Exhaustion. When the player enchanted by the Curse dies, what happens to the Curse. Does it remain in play with no actual target or effect?


texts: Do I need to reveal a face-down card if it is put on top of my library?

texts:
If I have a face-down card (such as a morph or manifested card), and an effect puts it on top of my library, do I need to reveal the card (as I would if it was destroyed or exiled)?

Example:

I attack my opponent with a manifest creature, and they cast Whisk Away to put it on top of my library, do they get to know what the card put on top of my library is?


texts: Is this seven or eight consecutive roads in catan?

texts: If someone has roads all the way around a hex in catan (six roads), and one road on each opposite end of that hex, is that a total of seven towards the longest road or eight.  In other words do both roads on either end count or only one since it goes around in a circle?


texts: Stonecoil Serpent with X = 0 + The Great Henge

texts:
If I cast Stonecoil Serpent with X = 0, but I have The Great Henge in battlefield, does the Serpent die, or get the +1/+1 counter and stills alive?
And also, if it dies, I still draw a card, or not?


texts: Is the Radioactive Potato passed before the goal is checked?

texts:
The text on the Radioactive Potato says "Any time the goal changes, move this card in the counter-turn direction".

When the rule card You Also Need a Baked Potato is in affect, you must have the radioactive potato in addition to the goal requirements to win.

Suppose a player has the Radioactive potato creeper and the Milk and Cookies keepers in front of them, and no other creepers or keepers. On their turn, they play the Milk and Cookies goal. Do they win (since they have the goal requirements plus the potato) or do they not (since the potato passed to someone else)?

This is Generic Fluxx v4.0.


texts: What card game is this? 4 cards per player faced down

texts:
When I visited Bulgaria, someone taught me a game, he called “kabum” ( not sure if that's how you write it).

2 or more players.
each player receives 4 cards faced down and need to arrange them in a formation to last till the end of the game ( side by side...). Everyone can only look at 1 of their cards and then return it to the same position.

Each card has a value (A=0, 2=2...,J=-1,Q=12,K=1) and the objective of the game is to finish with the minimum amount of points. When you have 5 points or less you can say Kabum to start the last round.

When you buy a card you can either discard or substitute it with one of your own, placing it in the same position, that way you can start knowing your cards.
Some cards have some powers when you discard:

Cards with 7: You can look at one of your cards
Cards with 8: Look at one of your opponents cards
Cards with 9: Exchange cards with someone without looking
Cards with 10: Look at one card and change it

I believe these rules must vary.

But that the game:

Less points
Same position always faced down
Change cards

There are more rules but I believe this is enough to someone that knows the game to identify it.


texts: Miniature painting - what does it mean to seal the model?

texts: I was watching a couple of miniature painting tutorials and both times the narrator referred to "sealing" the model.  I'm not quite sure what he meant by this.  What does sealing a model refer to?


texts: Can you chase away the robber if your knight is not active at the beginning of your turn?

texts: Can you use your knight to chase away the robber if it was inactive at the beginning of your turn?


texts: Can I use rewards from a just-bought building to pay the participation cost of a Great Project?

texts: During my turn, I place a building which produces resources or provides coins. Can I then use those resources / coins to pay the participation cost of a Great Project? Could I use those coins to trade with another player for a resource needed as part of the participation cost?


texts: Who wins when the would-be last wizard standing is killed by a reaction?

texts:
Say player A has a spell that kills player B (and any other survivors by the time B dies).

Well, it turns out that B has a reaction card waiting that will kill A (but not save B)! Who wins?

This depends on when reactions happen. Obviously at the table, reactions happen after you die, but in game terms they seem to resolve before, or at the same time as your death (evidenced by reactions that enable you to survive damage). Thus there are three potential outcomes:

A wins because they were were necessarily already the last wizard standing for the reaction to trigger. (reasonably likely)
A and B both win because each of them killed their last remaining foe. (most fun)
B wins because reactions take place before the lethal damage. (less likely)

When this happened, we agreed to go with the "most awesome" result that fits the game's flavour of rewarding (or not punishing) glorious death, which caused a joint win. Everyone was happy with this as a conclusion to a 6 player game with 5 LWS tokens.

Still, I'm curious if there's an official ruling.


texts: Can the Big Blind Player Post More than the Current Big Blind?

texts:
In a Texas Hold-Em No-Limit Tournament, where the blinds are 200-400, can the big blind initially post more than 400 or does the Big Blind need to wait until it's his turn to raise?

For example we had a player who was the big blind and wanted to know if he could post his 550 chips (all-in) as the big blind instead of waiting for his turn to come around to raise 150 chips.


texts:
Ashnod's Coupon has the ability:

{T}, Sacrifice Ashnod’s Coupon: Target player gets you target drink.
Errata: You pay any costs for the drink.

Meanwhile, R&D's Secret Lair says:

Play cards as written. Ignore all errata.

Ignoring the fact that R&D's Secret Lair now has errata to make its mana producing ability still work (which is baffling to think through), how does R&D's Secret Lair interact with Ashnod's Coupon?  The issue with Ashnod's Coupon is that the Coupon's errata is printed on the card.  Thus, it is errata (so you should ignore it) but is also part of the card as written (so you should use it).  Which one happens?


texts: In Multiplayer, if I attack all other players for lethal, who loses first?

texts: Is it simultaneous, like 1st me > several tied 2nd places? Or is there a sequence to it. I know 802.6. Combat damage is assigned in APNAP order. Other than that, the combat damage step proceeds just as in a two-player game. See rule 510, “Combat Damage Step.” under "Attack multiple players" is a thing, but does that just mean that turn player deals all his damage first, or is there a sequence to the order in which players lose to lethal damage?


texts: Is Lone Rider's ability checked every turn or just the turn it was summoned?

texts:
The text of the card Lone Rider says:

  At the beginning of the end step, if you gained 3 or more life this turn, transform Lone Rider.

Does "this turn" mean only the turn the card is cast, or at the beginning of the end step of every turn?

I am reading the card as referring to "this turn" being the turn in which this card is cast, but a friend of mine is reading "this turn" as following "the beginning of the end step" of ALL turns. The card itself I think lends itself to being probably only meaning "the turn this card is cast", because it would be I think very overpowered if "the beginning of the end step" means "at the beginning of the end step of all turns".

So my question has two parts, lastly but perhaps more importantly, in the case of ambiguous MtG card text, what's the proper way to interpret the text?


texts: Do players reveal their sort order for Forecast?

texts:
The instructions are not really clear on some of the nuances of the game, particularly the bioterrorist scenario.

When playing the Forecast event card, do the players have to divulge the order they are sorting the cards to the bioterroist? Or can they do so secretly?


texts: In the game of Splendor when you have a developer card with prestige points on it, is that the number of gems it produces also? Or is it just one gem per card?


texts: I love playing board games but often there's not many people around that share my passion. For that reason I'm looking for board games that can be played with just one player. I've discovered Arkham Horror few months ago and I think it's a fabulous game but I was wondering for some time now if there are other good board games that are as good or even better for single person?


texts: Do I have to keep a creeper whenever I draw cards in Fluxx, even if I was drawing cards to give to other players for "Everybody Gets 1"?

texts:
Interesting scenario the other day. When playing the Action card "Everybody Gets 1" I drew a Creeper card. At this point though I had a conundrum. The Creeper card states I "must place it face up in front of you as soon as you get it." Well I wasn't "getting" this card, I was going to give it to another player under the rules of "Everybody Gets 1". Under this, the player I give it to should play the Creeper. However the Creeper also states "If you drew it, immediately draw another card to replace it." I did draw the card, so perhaps I should put the Creeper down and continue with the Action card. But it's that they put the word "if" in there that makes me hesitate since the wording makes it sound like only if I receive it, which brings me back to the previous point. So I'm wondering, when playing this Action card do I put down a Creeper if I draw it or does the person I'm giving it to do that?

If people are wondering, when playing the game we've pretty much just gone with whatever ruling feels more appropriate at the time. If someone's feeling generous they put the Creeper down and draw another. If we're feeling more evil, we'll give it to someone else ;) But each time it's come up we're still confused.


texts: Pandemic Legacy 2 - definition of "adjacent"

texts: When an infection spreads, its say to all "adjacent" cities.   Does this apply to any city connected by land and sea, or just by land?


texts:
Can people help me clarify the following situation:  let's say I have Zurgo Helmsmasher, already equit with Assault Suit + some other equipment + some enchantment.  It is player A's upkeep, and I give Zurgo to A.

1) is it correct that Zurgo is now still indestructible (since the Your turn refers to the current controller player A) ?

2) is it correct that Zurgo cannot attack me? Here it seems like the "Your or a planeswalker you control" on Assault suit text still refer to myself? How is that different from question 1)

3) While player A has control of the Zurgo, does he "control" the other equipment and that enchantment? eg can he sacrifice that enchantment if he gets an outlet? can he re-equipment assault suit or Zurgo's other equipment to his own creatures? Does Zurgo's CMC counts towards player A's devotion?

4) If player A attach some other equipment or some enchantment he has to Zurgo, is it allowed?  Are they all coming back at the end of player A's turn to me?

Thank you.


texts: If I Find the "Objective Clue" with Gloria's Psychic Sensitivity, Does That Reveal the Objective

texts:
I used Gloria Goldberg's Psychic Sensitivity to reveal the cards in the Ceremony Room, which contained Clue 1, which also says "Reveal Objective".

As I have to return the cards face down, does that mean the objective isn't revealed till I actually properly explore the room?


texts: Where online can I post my (free) rules and materials for games I've created?

texts: I'm looking for websites that specialize in providing rules and digital resources for card/board games online. Recently I've been creating lots of simple games for my design classes and I would like to post my work online for others to play (or ignore if they so choose). To be clear I'm not looking for a place to sell games nor am I looking to create an online computer version of the game. I simply want to post the rules and materials online where someone who is interested in indie games can find them.


texts: Is it legal to take advantage of my opponent's priority mistakes?

texts:
Suppose I attack with a creature with infect, and then my opponent tells me he won't block.

My intent is to use Giant Growth on my infect creature regardless of whether or not my opponent blocks.

HOWEVER, my opponent forgets that I have priority and goes straight for the Lightning Bolt.

Now it seems as though my opponent has just made a game-play error by casting that bolt when he didn't have priority.  Is it legal for me to take advantage of that, and play Giant Growth in response, thus benefiting from the error?


texts: How should I plan for a VP win as Nurgle?

texts:
I played a game of Chaos in the Old world today and I came close to winning as Nurgle, whilst trying to win via ticks on my counter. The thing is, I only came close to winning via VPs, and my ticks were fairly bad. I also nearly won via VPs in another game as the Horned Rat.

Considering I seem to be doing something right to win that way (and I got some fairly solid advice about winning via ticks), how can I finish it off and assert my victory point victory?


texts:
I just learned how to play GO today, and I was stuck on one thing in particular. This was the board state:

As you can see on the south-west corner (close to A1), I tried to capture my opponent's (which is a computer, 25 kyu) group of pieces. But I found out that I couldn't place my pieces on those empty squares because that would be a suicidal move. How do I acquire those pieces?
I was black and the computer/AI was white.


texts: Let's say I have Progenitus on my side of the field, and my friend plays Worldfire. Would Progenitus still be on the field after Worldfire resolves or is he also exiled since he has "Protection from everything?"


texts: What is the most effective creature that can be resurrected from the graveyard in MTG?

texts:
I am currently designing a legacy deck around the new graveyard focused cards from Innistrad. My goal is to get cards in my own graveyard quickly and utilize those as best as I can. Innistrad offers a lot of different mechanics for that, but I am also looking for some really nasty creatures that I can resurrect early on with the good old Exhume or Victimize.

What are good creatures for that? I consider the following attributes important:

Must be able to enter the graveyard (no Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre or similar creatures)
Must be hard to remove (I tried Ulamog's Crusher in the past, but a simple creature destroyer stops him instantly; creatures like Wurmcoil Engine worked way better for me; being hexproof or being indestructible would also be nice to keep my monster save from immediate destruction)
Must be able to end the game quickly or give me a solid advantage once it is out on the field, because the investment to pull this combo off successfully is rather huge (Sheoldred, Whispering One would complement my deck really well for example, but is too easy to remove with an appropriate creature destroyer)

I guess there is no perfect creature for what I am looking for, otherwise this mechanic would be overpowered. With a good starting hand (entomb + exhume + 2 swamps) I am able to bring any creature into play in round 2. Nevertheless I am looking for the best choice of creature for this task. What should I use?


texts: How do actions that trigger on a certain movement die result work when rolling two dice?

texts:
Some cards have things happen when you roll a certain result on the movement die. For instance, the Troll has the option of regenerating:

  Whenever you roll a 6 for your move, you may regenerate instead of moving. If you choose to regenerate, heal one life and your turn immediately ends.

The Grim Reaper works this way too, moving when a 1 is rolled, and other cards such as Rumour of Riches and Flying Carpet also have an effect trigger this way.

But how does this work if you roll two dice for movement? For instance, the Riding Horse:

  You may roll 2 dice and add them together to determine how far you can move.

Or the Torch:

  You may roll two dice for your movement in the Dungeon and choose one of the results to use for your move.

How do abilities that trigger based on the result of the movement die happen when either die has the value?


texts: Will my Dead of Winter game be abandoned if I buy Dead of Winter: The long night?

texts: I have Dead of Winter and I was wondering what would happen if I buy it's expansion The long night, because it's a standalone. I know you can mix some cards, but I wish to know if my current board and general cards will be unused or duplicated.


texts: Do you still pay 10x the dice when getting the chance card that takes you to the nearest utility if the property is mortgaged?

texts:
The card does not say anything about whether or not the property is mortgaged.  Also, it does not say anything like "twice what is entitled" like the similar railroad card does.  I would go with you still have to pay, but I'm looking for backup to my opinion.

Here's what the card says:

  Advance token to nearest Utility. If unowned, you may buy it from the Bank. If owned, throw dice and pay owner a total ten times the amount thrown


texts: How does PlayDominion´s rating system work?

texts: Does anyone know how the rating system on PlayDominion.com works?  I am familiar with the chess rating system, which is quite, but this is not the one used.


texts: Bridge auction: 3rd suit tells – 4th suit asks

texts:
Subject: 3rd suit tells – 4th suit asks [in Bridge auction]
I occasionally used to hear the old fogies round my bridge club quote the above phrase. However, none of them could ever really explain it well.
As I haven't seen any of them since the pandemic started, I've searched online; but even there I find very little to advance my understanding of it.
If anybody reading this can help I would be eternally grateful.


texts: Is it impossible to get the gold medal in Duke Landwalker scenario?

texts:
The solo rules say you must play with the 4-player action wheel and this means that I'm limited to 3 explorations per turn.

Consider now the Duke Landwalker scenario that ends when you explore all the 24 regions available in the game. In it you only get the gold medal if you have less than 8 evolution and character cards. Remember that you must buy one of those cards per turn.

Now observe that if I can explore up to 3 times per turn, it'll take me at least 8 turns to end the game, rendering the gold medal unachievable.

This seem very weird to me. Am I right? Did I miss something?


texts: If Possession is played while executing another Possession, who takes the next turn?

texts:
In Dominion: Alchemy, you can play Possession to "possess" the player to your left and effectively take over his next turn.  What happens if he has a Possession in his hand, and you play it during that possessed turn?

Example

(Turn order is Alex, then Bob, then Carl)

Alex plays Possession.
He controls Bob's next turn, and plays a Possession from Bob's hand.
This means someone will possess Carl on the next turn - but is it Bob, or Alex?


texts: Do I or my planeswalker need to take damage for Blood Reckoning to trigger?

texts:
If I have Blood Reckoning on the battlefield and an opponent targets me or my planeswalker with his creatures, but I block the full attack with my creatures, does this still activate? Or do I or my planeswalker need to take damage from the creatures for this card to take effect?

Also, if my opponent attacks with multiple creatures does this card activate per creature?


texts:
Card: Legion's Initiative

What does "at the beggining of the next combat" means. I used LI in my turn, the creatures do they return for my combat or my opponents combat?

Also if my creatures are tapped because I attacked during my turn... and if my opponent attacks me in their turn, can I use LI to exile my creatures and return them to the battlefield to block?


texts: LOS straight through a Hex field crest line - how to smoke those areas?

texts: We had a game where my opponent wanted to move into a building. Moving to that building was within LOS of my defending unit. However that LOS line was matching the crest line of that two hex' adjacent to it. How could the opponent "blind" me if he can only through smoke on either hexes but not the crest line?


texts:
This afternoon, I played Ascension for the first time - and I played it solo, by simply dealing two decks and playing both players' turns. I had fun, and ultimately Ascension seems like a game where playing for more than one player isn't too much a conflict of interest - you can only do so much to influence the other player.

It led me to a broader idea, and I'm bringing it here as a question.

When a game doesn't have a predefined solitaire rule set, what's a good approach for designing a solo variant?

The three biggest categories I can think of are:

design an AI player who follows rules, and execute them on the AI's turn (see Race for the Galaxy)
design challenges which the solo player must overcome (see Merchant of Venus)
play as more than one player (as I did for Ascension today)

What's a good set of criteria for a custom solo variant to a board or card game?


texts:
If an opponent has Dictate of Erebos and Attrition and then activates attrition targeting one of my creatures in what order are the effects added to the stack?

I assume Attrition is added first targeting my creature and then Dictate of Erebos is added on top. Can I sacrifice the targeted creature and then the Attrition effect is countered?


texts: Is a Pokémon energy card with no numbers normal?

texts: I have a Pocket Monster (Pokémon) card in Japanese. It is a fire energy with no numbers in the bottom right corner. Is this normal?


texts: Self-publishing options for a card came with box

texts:
I would like to self-publish my card game with a service that will ship the game to buyers.

The game would include 45 poker-size cards, 17 A5-size cards, 6 small cards carrying 1-6 numbers (as a replacement for a die), a game instructions sheet and a box.

I know two services:

TGC but I read they are expensive and not high quality for cards.
DriveThru Cards seems to be great but I believe they don't do boxes, am I right?

Are there any other services which could do this for me?


texts: How can I speed up a game of High Frontier?

texts: I really like High Frontier, but it takes a long time to get going and can take several hours to play. Does anyone know of any house rules to make the game run faster?


texts: How does the Dog companion work and what is its benefit?

texts:
When given the Dog Companion it says:

  Take a small monster token to represent the Dog. Put it in your room.
  (Use a token of a different color from other monsters, if any.)

  Once during your turn, the Dog can move to any explored room up to 6
  spaces away, using doors and stairs, and then return. It can pick up,
  carry, and/or drop 1 item before it returns.

  The Dog isn't slowed by opponents. It can't use one-way passages or
  rooms that require a roll. It can't carry items that slow movement.

What is the point/benefit of the dog?
I'm assuming it can only pick up dropped items? What items can it pick up, in what scenario?
If it can explore tiles, and landing on a tile with an icon that makes you draw a card which ends your turn, and your dog can explore 6 of these freely each turn, how do you keep track of which tiles still need cards drawn when you land on them? Do you still draw cards when you land on these spaces?
If a explorer finds a room that has to roll, does the dog sit outside or find a way around? Or does the final rule only apply for when it is exploring?

Honestly, I almost find it easier to just remove this card entirely.


texts:
Partner opened one diamond. I responded 1 NT with the following hand.

♠Txxx ♥Axx ♦Txxx ♣Ax

Partner then rebid two spades. I raised to four spades, reading my partner for 17 points or so. We went down two because he only had 13.

I said, "I read you for 17 points because you "reversed" (bid a higher-ranking suit at a higher level with the second bid).

Partner answered, "I was just bidding my 5-4 pattern. It said nothing about extra strength."

Did partner, in fact, "reverse"? Does it require about 17 points to do so? And if so, did it make sense for me to raise to four spades (I counted "eight" HCP, plus something extra for the club doubleton, and the two tens, located strategically in his suits).


texts: Can Actions Be Played on 1 base and "jump" to affect play on other bases?

texts:
Can you play an action on one base ("Base A") (e.g., Hidden Ninja Special Action "before a base scores, you may play a minion there") and thereby affect play on another base ("Base B") where there is an action-blocking card (e.g., Ornate Dome)?

Ornate Dome:

  Play on a base. Destroy all other player's actions played here. Ongoing: Other players cannot play actions on this base.


texts: What happens if Always Watching is destroyed mid-combat?

texts:
At the start of my turn, my Always Watching is on the battlefield, granting my creatures +1/+1 and vigilance.

I attack with my Shadow Glider (a 2/2) and my Kitesail Scout (a 1/1).

My opponent blocks my Shadow Glider with his Shadow Glider.

At the end of the declare blockers step, when we can cast instants and before damage is dealt, my opponent casts Naturalize to destroy my Always Watching.

My question is this: do I lose the benefits from the Always Watching,
so both Shadow Gliders die, or does his Shadow Glider die and my Glider lives? What happens to vigilance for the Kitesail Scout?


texts: Pandemic - Will the expansions really make a difference?

texts:
Hi i just bought myself Pandemic and played for the first time last night. I have mixed thoughts about the game. I love the setting, and i think it looks fab, but there's definitely something lacking with the game which i can't quite put my finger on.

I've played it 3 times. We won on the intro game. We won on the normal game, we cured 3 of 4 diseases on the hardest game. I thought this was meant to be a hard game?

I read somewhere that the expansion packs are what make Pandemic, but as i find myself finishing off my Gumtree ad to sell the game, i can't help but wonder if i should be giving it another chance. I think my major problem with it is that it's a co-op game, and i really am not big with co-op games, i just wanted one in my collection.

Any advice on the expansions you prefer or your thoughts on the game would be welcomed.

Thanks in advanced.


texts:
If I tap a land, end my turn, and then play an instant allowing me to untap it again, can I tap that land for more mana, and when does that mana get used up.
Basically, if I tap mana on my opponents turn, when does it leave the mana pool.


texts: Are stations used in Ticket to Ride: The Heart of Africa?

texts:
Are stations allowed in Ticket to Ride: The Heart of Africa?

The rulebook explicitly mentions that the plastic carriage pieces and scoring markers from the main game are to be used, but doesn't appear to mention stations. We played without stations, and completing routes was much more stressful than a standard game.


texts:
I like to know the name of a card game. It has a pack of cards and someone nominates someone to do an action on that card, e.g.:

"crawl on your hands and knees like a cat and meow at each person"
"go around each person and kiss them on the nose"
"walk up and down in a red dress like your on a catwalk"

Unfortunately I have no clue as to when and where the game was produced. This game is a family game, no rude ones in there as far as I can remember. I've looked at Cranium, but that's not it.

I don't have any real pictures of the game, other than a very low-resolution image I pulled out from another photo I have, showing a back card with an orange or red border and white text:

I have been hunting high and low for it and for the life of me I can't find it anywhere! Its silly little actions are hilarious.


texts: What expansions for Carcassonne add variety without changing the character too much?

texts: I've been playing a fair amount of Carcassonne with the basic tiles and the original River expansion. What other expansion packs will add a bit of variety to the game but without changing the character too much? I've heard Inns and Cathedrals is pretty good but don't know about any of the others. I'm especially interested in any that work well with 2 players.


texts: Why is the ruling on Torbran the way it is?

texts:
Someone today asked me about an interaction between Torbran, Thane of Red Fell and the newly spoiled card Fiery Emancipation.

I checked rule 616 and which states the "affected object's controller [or] affected player" decides the order in which to apply the replacement effects.  My interpretation of this is that the spell or permanent who's damage is being increased/tripled is the affected object and that they would chose the order to apply.

Then I was shown the ruling on Torbran which reads:

  If another effect modifies how much damage your red source would deal, including preventing some of it, the player being dealt damage or the controller of the permanent being dealt damage chooses an order in which to apply those effects. If all of the damage is prevented, Torbran’s effect no longer applies.

What am I missing in my interpretation of the rules? I've been looking at it for awhile and I just don't understand how they came to this conclusion.


texts: Crimson Hellkite vs Telekinetic Sliver + Darkheart Sliver

texts:
If player A taps his Telekinetic Sliver to tap an opponent's Crimson Hellkite, the opponent can pay 2 red mana (he can pay X, but lets say he pays two) and tap the Crimson Hellkite to put the effect "Crimson Hellkite does two damage to target creature" on the stack.

Now what if a player has a Darkheart Sliver in play and wants to sacrifice his Telekinetic Sliver to gain three life?  Can he do it?  Does this go on the stack too, and resolve first?

Does the opponent's ability on the stack then fail because there's no target anymore?

Is player A then unable to tap the Crimson Hellkite because it is already tapped?

Is this the correct way to resolve this?  If not, what would be the possible scenarios (for simplicity, assume there are only these three creatures in play, no cards left in players's hands and only basic lands on the table)?

I'm a bit confused by this:

  "Each player chooses the order in which his or her triggered abilities are put on the stack"*

and I've no idea at all if it applies or not to the above scenario.


texts: Can I tap a creature in response to an instant?

texts: I am try to figure out Crypt Sliver's ability better. I was wondering if my opponent casts an instant to destroy target creature, during his or her turn, if I could respond by tapping a creature (perhaps the targeted creature if its untapped) to regenerate my creature before the spell is resolved?


texts: Backgammon: Jacoby rule with doubling cube?

texts:
As per my understanding of Jacoby rule will be applied when doubling cube is not used during the game.

If I select Jacoby rule for the game and If either of the players uses the cube, Will Jacoby rule will not be applied at the end of the game?
Or Are players not able to use doubling cube if Jacoby is selected at the start of a game?

Ref: http://www.bkgm.com/gloss/lookup.cgi?jacoby+rule
I have used this site for the Jacoby rule.

If any one has some better explanation or ref. link, please provide


texts:
Jets says

  You suffer no damage when yielding Tokyo.

If the monster in Tokyo has 3 health and he should receive 3 attacks, he should die or he can just leave Tokyo?

In 5 players game Gigazour is in Tokyo, Tokyo Bay is free and CyberBunny 8 health rolled 2 heal and 3 attack (Gigazour doesnt't want to leave Tokyo). So CyberBunny can recover 2 heal, then
hits 3 times Gigazour and then go to Tokyo Bay, right?


texts: Are copied spells cast from the graveyard?

texts: If you copy Increasing Confusion or any other "cast from the graveyard" spell with Increasing Vengeance, does the copy act like it was cast from the graveyard? Or, since the copy technically was not cast from the graveyard, would it just have the normal effect?


texts: Betrayal at the house on the hill movements/attacks

texts:
If a hero walks through a room that has a monster in it does the monster get to attack or is the only penalty the reduce speed?
It seems so unlikely that a hero would be able to get in and out of the room without being swung at.


texts: Informal history of Crazy Rummy and/or Frustration?

texts:
It's my understanding that Gin Rummy was 'codified' in 1909 and that Rummy games in general are thought to be 'descended' from Conquian.

And I realize that minor variants tend to be more of a 'house rule' flavor and don't have 'official rules' write-ups.

So this is essentially an informal poll, but I'm wondering about two games that I've played with family over the years (but never thought until now to trace how they were introduced).

These both fit in the Contract category; the main differences are:

in our Crazy Rummy, assigned melds always consist of sets of 3 and/or runs of 4; you can only build onto your own melds; the number of cards dealt increases in later rounds to accommodate larger assignments; and each round everybody proceeds to the next assigned meld, regardless of whether or not they put down the previous one.
in our Frustration, the sizes of sets and runs range from 2-5 and 3-9 respectively; each player is 'stuck' with an assignment from round to round if they don't manage to put it down before someone else goes out; and once your assignment's been put down you can build on any others that have also been put down.

I don't expect to discover "X was invented by Q in 19__" - I'm just wondering how long ago anyone can recall playing or hearing about either of these.  I first played the Crazy variant in the early 1980s, and Frustration in 2010.  The group who introduced me to the latter had never heard of the former (and didn't like it when they tried it); the group who introduced me to the former have passed on.

(And if anyone has known the same concepts by other names, I hope it isn't a serious breach of the one-question-one-answer principle for that to be a follow-up/side issue.)


texts: Remove roles based on number of players in Saboteur 2

texts:
I only played Saboteur 2 once, but I realize that it can very easily become unbalanced.

We have 6 players. In a round of the game, we have 2 gold diggers, 1 geologist, 3 saboteurs. The gold diggers stand no chance at all and are almost blocked (with broken tools) the entire game. Same for the geologist, since everyone else discards their road cards with crystals.

I find the game rule doesn't really make sense: choosing roles from the 15 dwarf cards regardless the number of players in the game. What if it was a three-person game, and everyone in the team is a saboteur? What fun do we have by playing that?

Should we remove some roles card depending on the number of players so that it is more balanced?


texts: How did Andrea Mengucci receive a game loss for incorrectly registering his card on arena?

texts:
I just received a Game Loss because I registered a wrong card from my Draft. It kinda stings because I acknowledged it in the checking process after decklists were handed. But as the Latin says: ‘Dura Lex, Sed Lex’. #MTGWorlds 0-0-1.

Source

For those not in the know, the current Worlds Tournament in Hawaii is drafted in paper and then imported to MTG Arena, the most recent MTG computer client.

How is it possible that the deck was allowed to be registered incorrectly when imported, was it not checked ahead of time? Is this unique to the unusual format (paper draft → computer games), or could this happen if the games were also paper?


texts: Does Rayami, First of the Fallen exile itself?

texts:
If Rayami, First of the Fallen dies does its ability exile itself?

Relevant card text:

  If a nontoken creature would die, exile that card with a blood counter on it instead.


texts: Are the odds of drawing mythics greater when purchasing individually packaged boosters over booster boxes?

texts:
From personal experience I tend to draw mythic rare cards about one in five purchases when buying individually packaged boosters at Target, Walmart, etc, like the ones in this picture:

In booster boxes I have never gotten more than 6 mythics. This led me to think about this for a moment. If Wizards can profit more from individually packed boosters, wouldn't they want to have people draw mythics more often from them? My reasoning is that a non-serious gamer would not buy a booster box, but would be more likely to buy individual packs. If this person gets mythics with just a few packs, that would be a good incentive to come back for more.

So my question is this: Are the odds of drawing mythics greater when purchasing individually packed booster card packs over booster boxes? Has anyone ever compared the odds? (I'm not quite ready to shell out $1000 to find out.)


texts:
I’m designing a board game which uses hexagonal tiles (hex[es]) to form the game area the players move about in. There is a single hex which is the players starting point, and one “layer” of hexes around that centre one. This is the starting layout:

After this, players can add new hexes to the structure in any direction. The only rules are they fit in to the hex ‘grid’ and they touch an existing hex. Therefore they do not need to fully complete concentric layers, they can go one direction in a line of hexes for example.

I would like to introduce a mechanic that targets a random hex, and this is where I’m struggling to come up with a good way of determining that random hex.

Ideally, the method should give an equal chance for any hex to be targeted; and it should only use components which are generally found in board games. It would be very easy to do this with the addition of a mobile phone, for example, but I would like to try and keep this classic. Common components are items such as dice, spinners, tokens, cardboard components, etc. Feel free to suggest anything that might help. The other requirement would be that the process is not overly complicated - but as that’s subjective I’m open to anything.

TL;DR Is there a method of choosing a random hex from any number of hexes, in any formation, using common board game components?


texts: Clarification about drawing and assigning plot cards

texts:
The rules are explicit about plot cards being assigned only once per round, there being only five rounds in a game.

However, a single round can go through several leaders (if votes fail).

My question is, are the plot cards distributed simply by the person who is the leader at the time that the new round starts?

If so - it appears that there would likely be a bit of gaming going on with voting to approve a mission or not, not only due to who's on the mission, but who will be the leader next, so they can assign the plot cards.

Is this by design?


texts:
Here’s a problem a friend of mine posed to me a long time ago, that I was recently reminded of. I figured, with modern computing, there might be some way to figure it out:

Assume that there are two set of 52 cards, 13 of each of four sets. Now, for the purpose of a game, each card of the first deck becomes associated with one card in the other card such that, say, A♠ = 5♣.

The second set follows these conditions:
1.) No card may be it’s own twin
2.) No card may appear twice
3.) Four of a kind in the normal deck may not repeat suits in the second deck.
4.) Any poker run in a normal deck (straight, flush) must be disrupted in the second.

Is there a set of cards that matches these conditions? And if so, what is it?


texts: Skilled Dark Magician's effect in response to attack

texts:
What if I have a Skilled Dark Magician with two spell counters and my opponent uses a spell card (which would give me a third) and attacks, lets says with a monster that has less than 2500 attack.

Can I use his effect to summon Dark Magician and block his attack?


texts: How to score two tiled cities in Carcassonne?

texts:
The rules in my copy of Carcassonne state that cities that consist of only two tiles are worth only 2 points.

I played another copy of carcassonne (10nth anniversary edition), and the rules don't mention this rule anywhere and so I'm left to assume that each tile would each be worth two points like a normal city.

My question is, which set of rules is correct (most up to date, I guess)?


texts: Why cards installment mentioned on the Diversified Portfolio?

texts: The Diversified Portfolio says: "Gain 1 credit for each remote server with a card installed in it". I wonder why the installment is mentioned in the text? There is no a remote server without cards installed in it. Can I have a remote server without cards installed in it?


texts: Does a Venomthrope gets an extra attack for using multiple weapons?

texts:
This question is related to the 7th edition core rules and Codex Tyranids 6th edition:

The Codex has a "designer note" in the Melee Weapons section stating:

  Tyranid Melee weapons come as pairs. For game purposes, each pair is treated as a single Melee weapon. This means that Tyranid models must fight with two pairs of any Tyranid Melee weapons to gain a bonus Attack in close combat for fighting with two weapons.
  [...]

(emphasis mine)

The Venomthrope model has 4 lash-whips, which seems to indicate it should get the bonus attack for multiple weapons.

But, the army list entry for Venomthrope simply states he has

  Lash-whips
  Toxic miasma

Unlike the Ravener entry, for example, which specifically states:

  Two pairs of scything talons

So, does the Venomthrope gains the bonus attack? Given its base Attack attribute of 2, how many melee attacks can it make in a 'normal' assault phase (disregarding charge etc.)?

If possible, please support your answer with the relevant rules reference.
Thanks!

Updated note: as there are contradicting answers at the moment, I'm waiting to see some more up-votes or support from the rules before accepting any of them (both make sense IMO, but reach different conclusions)


texts: If I play Tidehollow Sculler and remove a card from the game then I play a Ruin Processor to put that card to the graveyard, would my opponent return the card from graveyard to hand when Tidehollow Sculler dies?


texts: How is France played in Allies and Axis Europe 1940 (Second Edition)?

texts:
In Allies and Axis Europe, France's capital, Paris, typically falls on the first turn. As a result, most games do not have a player playing France alone. Instead, either the US or UK player is typically assigned to play France. Then the question is what does this person get to do with France? I'm confused by a rule that says "France will be managed as a separately controlled power, including its IPC economy," which suggests that it has an economy.

Is France played under "China rules" from Allied and Axis Pacific when it is left only with its overseas holdings? (China has lost its capital (Nanjing) and has no industrial centers but still gets to collect income from its remaining territories and gets to build infantry using this income.) China is typically played by the U.S. or one of the UK players. In that case, it would make sense to assign a player to play France from the beginning.

Or is France played under "standard" rules (its pieces stay on the board until eliminated, but it can't collect income or build new units until Paris is liberated, at which time it gets four "Free French" units on Paris)? Then wouldn't it make sense to let the liberator (UK, US or possibly Russia) play France (separately from its own pieces) instead of assigning a player early on? Because there's a possibility that Paris won't be liberated, in which case, wouldn't playing France be moot?


texts: Can a Tarfire kill a Tarmogoyf when both players' graveyards are empty?


texts:
War-wing Siren has the Heroic ability:

  Whenever you cast a spell that targets War-Wing Siren, put a +1/+1 counter on War-Wing Siren.

Captain Of the Watch states:

  "Other Soldier creatures you control get +1/+1 and have vigilance."

With Siren in play under my control, I cast Captain Of Watch. The Captain has an effect on Siren: +1/+1 and vigilance.  Does this count as casting a spell that targets Siren?  Should Siren get a +1/+1 counter?

I see "Target" to mean the recipient of some spell or effect.


texts:
When setting up for Arkham, you are instructed to draw a Mythos card in order to place the first gate and monster(s).
Is it correct to resolve any headline that causes additional monsters to spawn? e.g. 2 monsters are released in the rivertown streets?

The reason I ask is that this occured in the last game we played and we were immediately on the back foot with two relatively weaker investigators 'trapped' by these monsters on the streets.


texts: in monopoly do you collect 200 if you get sent to the nearest trainstation or fleet street but the card doesn't state collect or do not collect on it

texts:
When you land on a chance or community chest card and it states you have to travel to a certain street/railway or Utility but do you collect 200 for passing GO as the card doesn't state if you should or shouldn't like some other cards do.

Found the actual card:


texts: Bridge - 2 club opening (playing standard american) with shape and not HCP?

texts:
If I have say,

S: AKQ1098
H: A32
D: KQJ10
C: -

With a hand like this, could I open 2 clubs?
Could the opponents call the Tournament Director on me?
What else could I bid to ensure my partner wouldn't pass on me...


texts:
This picture is from North Korea:

What is the game?


texts: Do you have to perform assist abilities?

texts:
Most assists are worded as if they are required to be performed.  Do they have to be if at all possible?

For instance, the Backdoor card says

  Cancel all abilities on one obstacle for the rest of the game

If I then have only one obstacle left and it's description says that a runner gets 1 HP healed once it's defeated, does this have to be canceled?  The card doesn't say "You may cancel all abilities" but this seems like the sort of thing that would be a deck wide ruling, such as the runner not being required to apply all damage from the cards they play.


texts: Is it correct to infer a second, third etc place in board games with a score?

texts:
This may stray a bit into philosophy, but  I believe it has some real-world impacts.

Many games rank players during the game, and some leave players in some sort of order at the end (ie. a 'score').
An example of this is Settlers of Catan, or Pandemic: Contagion
Each player has a number of points an any time, and at the end of the game, the person with the most points is declared the winner.

A lot of rulebooks have wording like this:

  The person with the highest score overall wins.

Pandemic: Contagion

  If you have 10 or more victory points during your turn the game ends and you are the winner

Settlers of Catan

  At the end of the 10th game round, the House that controls the most areas containing either a Castle or a Stronghold is declared the winner. If, at any time during the game, a player controls seven such areas, that player immediately wins the game.

A Game of Thrones. The Board Game

These phrases seem to indicate that there is only a winner, and the remainder all lose.

In other games (semi coopoerative games) there is sometimes no winner
Semi cooperative games
In such games, it is strongly implied that when the group loses, there is no 'second place' etc.

Lots of people I have played with sometimes infer that there is an implicit second place due to the fact that at the end of the game players are still ranked by score.

So there are two aspect to this that I think are slightly related:
- Is it correct to infer positions beyond winner based on these scores?
- Does doing so affect gameplay?

Is it correct to infer positions beyond winner based on these scores?

There are probably two ways of looking at this

At the end of the game, you take all the markers off the scoreboard, and put them in two piles: The Winner, and everyone else.
The other way is to say that the person with the second most points did 'second best' at the game.

I would argue that the 1st interpretation is correct for the victory condition given in Settlers of Catan, given its wording. Other games are maybe less clear. Some rules books explicitly say whether there are positions beyond 'winner'.

Interpretation 2. makes some questionable assumptions about how the score reflects how well that player played. For example, if in A Game of Thrones I make a decision that gives another player their seventh castle, the fact I have the second-most castles should probably not be a consolation.

Similarly, some games allow 'long play' strategies in which case they may have won had some other circumstance not ended the game early. The fact that even though they might have one given more time still doesn't mean they win, also seems to imply they shouldn't receive some kind victory for second.

Does doing so affect gameplay?

It seems that it probably does.
From my experience, it definitely seems to effect gameplay in Settlers of Catan.
When two players are behind a leader, it benefits them embargo the leader and work for mutual benefit. With a second place, they have to weigh up how much second place means to them against the possibility of beating the first player, leading to less cooperation.

Another situation is where a player will cause the game to end voluntarily when they are not winning, perhaps to preserve a second place. If there is no second place, then there is definitely no incentive to do this from a gameplay perspective.

Another scenario may be that given a choice between a high probablility at moving from third to second highest score before game end, and a low probability of moving from third to first highest score, the player needs to make a choice if there is a second place, else it's not a decision at all. Players should always take the options that might give them 1st.

Semi-cooperative games seem to make the issue even more stark; in those games if the group loses, then a second place makes little sense.

Has anyone written any articles on this subject?

What do most gaming groups choose for resolving this?


texts:
Been looking into the rules a bit but can't find all the answers I want and it's possible this is more of a house rule with no definitive answer, but what I'm looking for is some official ruling if it exists.

Do grass continue under bridges? i.e. is the grass connected? I'm thinking of the bridges from for example River 2 that cross the river.

 Source

Also does the grass go around the well/pond from River expansions? Usually even if no other tiles connect the grass we do play as if the grass does connect on well/pond.  source

Do grass continue around the monastery from Catapult (that has the yellow fair thing stretching from one end to another)?

Source

Finally Bridges, Castles and Bazaars I'm assuming grass under the wooden bridges does connect?
Source

There are a lot more pieces in the expansions that basically asks the same question about farmer grass. If there is no official ruling I'm still interested in what is most common out there.


texts: Are there hands that should be opened at the one level in first or second seat, and with a "weak two" opposite a passing partner?

texts:
I'm referring specifically to hands like (s)AKQJx (h) Jxx (d)xxx (c) xx or (s) AKQTx (h) Qxx (d) xxx (c)xx that are technically just under the usual requirements for a one bid, but nevertheless have five tricks.

In first or second seat, I would want to open at the one level to give partner a chance to bid. But in third seat, would it be better to open a "weak two" because partner doesn't have opening hand (that would allow a game opposite my holdings) while I fear that fourth seat does?

And is this hand worth opening in fourth seat on the assumption that if the remaining 29 high card points are "evenly" distributed, partner will have the three tricks I need to make the contract?


texts: I have an old tile game with rectangular tiles, ivory, with different colored numbers on them. Some have 2 numbers one on top and one on bottom, others have one number with words on top like draw two, skip, reverse, dead end. It has racks to put the tiles on. It reminds me of Rummikub or Uno, but each tile has either 2 numbers or a number and words. I need directions for play and the name of the game.


texts: Is there a reference sheet I can print for the characters?

texts:
I think Citadels is an awesome game, but playing our first game last night, I found many of us frequently wanted to refer to the character sheet in the rules to get an overview of all of the abilities.

I wish they'd included this information as a reference card.

Is there a PDF I can print with this info? Ideally it will be a nice small size.


texts: Paper thickness (weight) to use for card tabs/dividers?

texts: I'm planning on building a custom storage solution for my Dominion cards (to fit the expansions in the main box with the base set).  For part of this, I will need to cut some tabs similar to the ones in this photo.  What weight of paper should I look for?  I assume the thicker the better, but if the best a store has is, say, 60# paper, should I hold out for something better at another place?  Are there other issues to consider with this?


texts: What is a four-wind game called in Japanese mahjong?

texts:
In Japanese mahjong generally the longest game most people play is a hanchan (半荘), where the han part (半) implies that it's "half" of something, presumably a full four-wind game with 16 hands.

But is there a name for a four-wind game in Japanese? I can't find a reference for it anywhere if it does.


texts:
In Memoir '44 the rules specify that Tanks can move one extra hex (4 hexes instead of 3) if they remain on road hexes for their entire move.

My question is: What effect does this have on their ability to fire? Can tanks that remain on, and move only along, road hexes move 4 hexes and still fire, or are they limited to only 3 hexes of movement if they wish to fire? My son and I have been unable to resolve this from the rules.

For non-Memoir '44 players: For other units (ie infantry) the ability to fire after movement is determined by the extent of movement.


texts: Platinum Emperion and Tree of Redemption

texts: If I have a Platinum Emperion on the battlefield and I tap my Tree of Redemption, will the Tree still change it's toughness to my current life total, or will the Platinum Emperion negate that effect, since my life total is unable to change?


texts: I recently started playing David Parlett's Quizl. It's a word game that is something like a cross between a word search and Battleship, and I really enjoy it. It's a two-player game, but I was wondering if anyone has adapted it for more players, along the same lines as multiplayer Battleship or Salvo. I did some searching, but all I found were some solitaire grids.


texts: Which enchantments allow tapping a creature to inflict direct damage?

texts:
What creatures across all sets and expansions have the ability to inflict direct damage, à la Prodigal Sorcerer?

Are there any Enchant Creature spells that have target creature gain "Tap to do 1 damage to target creature or player" or something similar?

Edit: My apologies for such an easily query-able answer. I was not aware of the existence o such comprehensive databases and easily-searchable databases like magiccards.info before posting these questions. I will surely do more research from now on. Thank you!


texts:
Argothian Elder is listed on a lot of websites with the Druid creature type, but the card only lists "Elf".

Is Argothian Elder a Druid too?


texts: Is there a reason to have both of these rules in the comprehensive rulebook for Magic: the Gathering?

texts:
I have discovered a curious pair of rules in the comprehensive rulebook. Specifically:

400.8. If an object in the exile zone is exiled, it doesn’t change zones, but it becomes a new object that has just been exiled.
406.7. If an object in the exile zone becomes exiled, it doesn’t change zones, but it becomes a new object that has just been exiled.

Section 400 is Zones - General, while 406 is Zones - Exile.
Now, I know that the same rule may be repeated multiple times throughout the comprehensive rulebook. See, for instance, 112.5, 209.2, 306.5d and 606.3 all stating that the loyalty ability of a permanent may only be activated if none of that permanent's loyalty abilities has been activated earlier this turn. However, apart from 606.3, they all say 'See rule 606, “Loyalty Abilities.”', and that's what I find typical for the comprehensive rules; the same rule may be listed several times where it is deemed appropriate, but there is always one "main instance" of the rule, and all other times it is mentioned, the reader is referred to that main instance.
Not so for the "exile an exiled card" rule. It is just stated, almost verbatim, in two different places with no references to one another. Is this a mistake? If so, is there any way (and point) to alert Wizards of the Coast of this? Would they appreciate said feedback?


texts: Does Sproutback Trudge's cost reduction get applied when we cast it from the graveyard?

texts: Sproutback Trudge is a 9-mana costing card that costs 1 less for each life you gained that turn. It can also be cast (at the beginning of the end step) from the graveyard when the owner gained life that turn. So, when [Sproutback Trudge] is in the graveyard and the owner gains life on their turn, can they cast it from the graveyard in addition to it being discounted for each life gained that turn?  For instance, can one cast this card from the graveyard for just the two green mana if the owner gained 7 life that turn?


texts: In small world, can builder ghouls still build castles when they are in decline?

texts: When in decline builder ghouls keep ofcourse their castles as in dictated on the tile back, but can they still build one new castle at each end of turn?


texts: Can Bruna, Light of Alabaster take my opponent's auras?

texts:
Bruna, Light of Alabaster says:

  Whenever Bruna, Light of Alabaster attacks or blocks, you may attach to it any number of Auras on the battlefield and you may put onto the battlefield attached to it any number of Aura cards that could enchant it from your graveyard and/or hand

It appears that you could attach enchantments you do not control taking them from other creatures you do not control. Is this correct?


texts: Is it possible to pick a vehicle as your commander?

texts:
I'm making a commander deck, I've never played or deckbuilded in this game mode.
I've run across the Parhelion II card and I was wondering if it could be my commander. I know it's not a creature, but since planeswalkers can be commanders, I don't know if the vehicles can or can't be used as commander.


texts: Clarification on How Basri, Devoted Paladin Works

texts:
I wonder how abilities on Basri, Devoted Paladin from MtG Core Set 2021 work.

Regarding the -1 ability -- am I right that every creature that attacks this turn gets +1/+1 counter?
Regarding the -6 ability -- am I right that +2/+2 is there until end of turn?


texts: How many unique outcomes can be made from the 12 river tiles in Carcassonne?

texts:
I have been pondering this question for some time now and it's a bit out of my scope to solve it. I am curious to know how many possible arrangements are possible for the river 1 expansion for Carcassonne.

The rules for playing the river are as follows: The source tile is played first, The lake tile is played last, and If two river bends are drawn in sequence they must have opposing orientation.

I understand the following: The first and last tile played will not factor into the counting so we just look at the 10 tiles inbetween. Each tile has 2 orientations and there are 8 unique tiles, 1 repeated corner, and one repeated straight. We must also exclude possibilities that become unplayable when the river curves in onto itself.

I posted an image of all the tiles from the river expansion.

My preliminary guesswork at counting is

(2^8)10!/2!2!

My rationale
10!/2!2! Because order of selection matters and repition tiles are excluded by dividing by 2!

2^8 Because each tile can be place in 2 ways( the 2 straight tile are not included because they are not unique)

I know this is wrong. It's just my first guess at it, and it has not excluded possibilities where the river curves into itself and creates an unplayable game. Any assistance would be much appreciated, thanks!


texts: Disembarking meeples in scenarios that begin in the sea

texts: In the solo expansion of Archipelago, there are some scenarios (for instance, the Barbe Bleu) where you start with some meeples and a ship in the sea. Since the rules say you skip Turn #0, the only moment when you're allowed to disembark the meeples when you find land, how are you supposed to move those meeples to the land?


texts: Is there a way to quantify the effects of luck versus skill in rubber bridge?

texts:
Duplicate bridge was created to "eliminate" the luck factor. That is partnerships are compared only against other partnerships playing the same cards.

Rubber bridge is a different animal. Here, "luck of the draw" is clearly a major factor in the result, at least until you get to a "law of large numbers" point where the luck factors cancel out.

Suppose there are two partnerships, A and B, playing ONE rubber. From their play at duplicate, we "know" that partnership A plays one trick better than the other. Clearly partnership A would have better than a 50-50 chance at rubber as well. But how much better?

Is there any computer software, statistical formula, or mathematical algorithm that could estimate the relative chances of partnerships A and B winning the rubber?


texts: Are expansion sets in magic designed for use with specific deck archetypes?

texts:
I'm new to Magic so apologies in advance if this is an obvious question: Are expansion sets designed to accommodate any/all deck archetypes?

For example, my current play style gravitates towards red aggro and I'd like to continue building decks that align with that strategy.  I'm wondering if the latest set, Journey Into Nyx, is slanted towards other play styles. How can I tell?


texts:
Can someone explain to me how the triggered ability of Psychic Corrosion would interact with Day's Undoing?

From what I understand of the stack, the triggered abilities go on the stack after each card draw due to Day's Undoing is triggered, so opponents discard two cards at each draw immediately before further effects of Day's Undoing happen, then the Day's Undoing "exile all effects on the stack" comes into play afterwards. However, I admit that it could be interpreted in a different way. Do I grossly misunderstand?


texts: Can a card copying a double-sided planeswalker transform?

texts:
If I have a Dack's Duplicate  copying Jace, Vryn's Prodigy, can it transform into Jace, Telepath Unbound?

I imagine it would not — it would be similar to the rules for tokens right, it doesn't have the face to flip to, and in this case I would assume duplicate would just be exiled forever if it tried right?


texts: Are there any board or card games known to have been designed to feature OODA loops?

texts:
I am looking for any board or card games that use OODA loops as a part of their design. Specific examples of the application of each phase of the OODA loop are appreciated.

The OODA loop is the cycle Observe > Orient > Decide > Act

The approach explains how agility can overcome raw power in dealing with human opponents.

Wiki reference: The OODA loop


texts: What are mistakes beginners should avoid in Dominion?

texts:
I am going to play my first round of Dominion (+ Intrigue Expansion) this weekend with 4 other players who have played Dominion before. I have read the rules and now I want to avoid the typical traps a beginner might fall into.

What are the big and tempting mistakes that you see new players make in Dominion? Is there any other advise for the first steps in this game?


texts: Is it possible to play 2 of a kind or 3 of a kind while I'm blinded by the Curse of the Cat Butt?

texts: Curse of the cat butt from the Streaking Kitten extension blinds me and I have to randomly play cards until I draw a card successfully (unless it's an exploding kitten and I need to defuse it blindly). I know the rules when someone tries to steal from me while I'm blinded, but what happens if I want to use a special combination while blinded? Can I simply play all my cards for a special combination and discard all cards that don't add to a 2 of a kind or 3 of a kind?


texts: When would you buy the Thief in Dominion?

texts:
The Thief card rarely seems to be of much use, even when my opponents have bought a lot of treasure. Rather than stealing treasure, it seems much better to buy treasure to directly get to the high powered cards that will win the game. Often this card will actually help my opponent by stripping the copper out of the deck.

In what circumstances is the Thief card worth purchasing?


texts:
Can you have more than one unit on a front?

Say A plays a new front with an Archer 3. Then B attacks with an Archer 2. This resolves to B dying, and A surviving with attacking strength 3 and defending strength 1 (3 - 2 wounds).

Is there any way A can now add another Archer 2 to the same front as his wounded Archer 3/1, or MUST he start a new front/attack another unit?

If he can add to the existing front, how would he do this?


texts: Is there a limit to the number of locomotives used to build a route?

texts: When playing Ticket-to-Ride USA, is there a limit to the number of locomotives used to build a route? It seems unfair to create a 3-space-route with one Train Car card and two Locomotive Cards.


texts:
I'm looking for a chip- or coin-like item that has the following qualities of poker chips, but without the association with gambling:

high quality materials
approximately same size and weight (not paper)
attractive design
multiple colors

Does anyone know of something like this?


texts: Are double rolls added when you land on the utilities?

texts: If you own both utilities and your opponent throws 1/2/3 doubles do they pay 10 times the total on all the throws or just the last throw.


texts: Runs on remotes which end up empty or non-existent: successful or not?

texts:
If a Runner runs on a server with one piece of ICE and a single card installed in the root, proceeds past the ICE (either by breaking it or by it not being rezzed - I don't think it matters), but then the card in the root is removed or trashed (let's say it's a Jackson for example), does that count as a successful run for the purpose of card abilities which are dependent on the Runner having made a successful or unsuccessful run the previous turn?

Does the answer change if there is no ICE on the server and so when the card in the root is removed, the server ceases to exist?


texts: Could B-17 bombers identify individual ships in Midway?

texts:
This is a reference to the Avalon HIll Board game.

One of the possibilities offered to the American player in the game is one or two B-17 attacks a day. A die roll of five inflicts three hits on a target ship and a die roll of six inflicts five hits. (This possibility did not play a role in the historical version of the battle.)

I'm going to begin by assuming that the B-17s could identify the main Japanese ship types - battleship, aircraft carrier and cruiser - and that they would target the carriers. Even so, there were two types of heavy carriers on the first day, the two larger ones (the Akagi and the Kaga) that required five hits to sink, and the two smaller ones (Hiryu and Soryu) that required three hits to sink.

Given the opportunity, an aggressive player might target the two heavier carriers and hope to roll sixes, while a conservative player might target the two smaller ones, succeeding with either a 5 or 6.

The Q &A of the (1960) rules of the game state that ship ID from search planes (and by implication B-17s) was not sufficiently accurate in 1942 for a long range bomber to make this kind of identification, "even identification of ship types was often erroneous. " But planes attacking at close range could (usually) identify individual ships. Which is why the defending player places his ships face up.

Should the rules allow the targeting described in the previous paragraph, as they seem to?

Or does it make sense to institute a rule change/house rule so that the Japanese player would turn over his four carrier counters face down and force the American player to choose his targets at random when using B-17s? Would such a rule change reconcile the game play with the Q&A text?


texts:
I am an amateur player of carrom and I have seen in tournaments players striking backward their striker to pocket the coins behind the hand.

Is this allowed?


texts:
I'm only a beginner at Go, but have been reading the questions in the go tag with interest.

However, this game seems to have rather more special terminology than most. What do joseki, shimari, high-point, pincer, aji keshi, fuseki, komi, moyo, tsumego etc. mean?

Could someone explain these terms, or is there a good glossary somewhere that I could consult to help me understand these conversations?


texts: Can you bring cards with altered art to FNM?

texts: If I brought a card with altered art, but nothing else changed on it such as this one:  to Friday Night Magic would I be allowed to use it?


texts: Can I use a bus ticket straight away after rolling a double?

texts: I would like to know: if a player rolls doubles twice then lands on the birthday gift and collects a bus ticket, can that player use their bus ticket immediately or do they have to roll again because they rolled doubles?


texts: When Oko turns food into an Elk, is the creature still food?

texts: When Oko, Thief of Crowns turns a Food token into a 3/3 elk, is the resulting creature still Food?


texts: Can I have a Haemunclous start a match with a unit of Harlequin Troupe in the deep strike reserves using the webway portal rule?  With both having their own codex's now they're battle brothers, I know I can't start the Troupe in a Raider so I was hoping this would be a decent loophole.


texts:
Donate is a pretty useful yet useless card. I have two questions about it.

  Target player gains control of target permanent you control.

Does this mean the "target permanent you want your opponent to control" has to be on the battlefield? And also, when your opponent takes control of that card, does it go into their control (command) on the battlefield? Or does it go into their hand?


texts: Is play effectively the same with 1 player, multiple runners?

texts:
The rules say

  Runners are not allowed to show other runners what cards they have in their hand, but they can verbally discuss anything they like in order to form an effective plan as a team. To ensure a fun play experience for everyone, try to respect the other runners’ wishes about the level of advice they wish to receive.

This sounds like the usual rule given in ally forming games where you can help but may deceive people as well (like settlers), the rule being there to protect people from insisting you ‘prove’ your claim.  I find it odd here as an explicit rule in a fully cooperative game.

In any case, would the fact that this really doesn't prevent players from simply telling each other what they have mean that it's viable as a game where one player plays many runners (instead of the usual player playing one runner and having extra roles)?  This could be 2 players playing 4 runners or 1 player playing 4 runners, or even, for instance, 1 player playing 3 runners where one has an extra role.  This question is of course not so much asking whether it "can be played" but more whether it is effectively the same as the normal game.


texts: If I am Lost in Time and Space during a reckoning effect resolution, do I continue to resolve remaining reckoning effects?

texts: Being lost in time and space leaves you immune to reckoning effects, but what if the reckoning effect of a mythos card is what causes you to become lost in time and space, and you still have a few other conditions to resolve (for the reckoning effect)? Can you stop as soon as you become lost in time and space?


texts: How should I determine whether a deck is legal in a particular format?

texts: I have a list of cards for a deck I want to build or buy. What should I do to check whether that deck is legal in a particular format (Standard, for example)?


texts: How to effectively have three (3) combat phases with Aurelia, the Warleader + Legion's Initiative

texts:
I am trying to figure out how to effectively have three (3) combat phases by using Aurelia, the Warleader and Legion's Initiative.

I play Aurelia first and so the first combat phase begins. All my creatures are untapped and there is an additional combat phase after this one. Should I exile my creatures at this very moment with Legion's initiative? The additional combat phase stays like saved or something?


texts: How do you score the Mayor in an unfinished city?

texts: How do you score the Mayor in an unfinished city at the end of a game of Carcassonne?


texts: which software to use to make the rules's game?

texts:
I begin to write rules of my game on Word, but there is something better ? to manage images, backgrounds... etc ?

how are the rules of professional games created ?


texts: If opener "pre-empts" in first or second position, can you reasonably assume a pretty strong suit?

texts:
Opener bids three of a suit. This particular opener always has seven cards when s/he does this. My a priori view of "average expectations" for opener's suit would be something like A-Q-T-8-6-4-2 (every other card for a total of seven). If I held, say, A-8-3, I would subtract the A and 8 from opener' hand, and replace it with a 7 and 5 (conservatively) or more likely, J-5 (a balanced high low), giving Q-T-7-6-5-4-2, or Q-J-T-6-5-4-2 respectively. If I held a K-J-9, I would mentally remove the opener's Q, and credit him/her with A-T-8-6-4-3-2.

Is this a reasonable way to estimate opener's suit holding? Could it actually be stronger (on average) if it is true that "no one" would open with Jxxxxxx or weaker? On the other hand, would I reduce my estimate if the opener would bid one of a suit with the above suit and say, a side ace?

For "guidance," consider the following questions.

Is it true that based on sheer numbers, hands as strong as AKQxxxx or as weak as Jxxxxxx are low probability events?
Do most conventions eliminate prempting with the above hands?
If yes, is the remaining range, (AKJxxxx to Qxxxxxx) reasonably well represented by my hypothesized "average expectations" or do you need further agreements for a narrower range to "bracket" A-Q-T-8-6-4-2?

This question is for first and second positions, third and fourth have their won peculiarities.


texts: What do I need to get (re)started in Warmachine?

texts:
I got into Warmachine a while ago, then fell out of it. I'm looking to get back into it, but I'm not sure what books I would now need. I have a couple of the original books, but I don't have the Mk2 book. It seems that I could just start over with that.

Any suggestions?


texts: What happens when someone references the Masons. Ultimate Werewolf

texts: In Ultimate Werewolf the Mason cards are a bit abstract on what happens when someone references them. So I would just like to clarify, what happens when more than one person references them. Do they all die? Or do the Masons choose them one by one each night? Also, if there are 2 Masons playing and one Mason references them. Does that Mason die? Or can Masons never die from referencing them. Anyone able to clear this up a bit would be much appreciated. Thanks.


texts: How to eliminate advantages gained from the seating position of inferior players?

texts: In many games, such as Liar's Dice or On The Underground, there is an advantage to be had by sitting immediately after (in the turn order) the player who is least experienced or just plain bad at the game. Are there any widely applicable ideas for resolving this problem? Or, is there some house rule or variant that improves this aspect of a particular game?


texts: In Pandemic, when does the discard-over-7-cards rule take effect?

texts:
Scenario
Pandemic's excess card rule states that if you have more than 7 cards in your hand at any time, you must discard the excess (according to your preference, of course).
Let's say you're the Scientist, have 5 city cards and 2 special cards (like the airlift, or research center build card). The Researcher comes to town and gives you the remaining 1 color city card that will allow you to cure a disease as soon as you get to a research facility.
Let's also say there's only two players (Researcher and Scientist). And that this is the last color that needs to be cured.
This takes you to 8 cards - over the amount allowed.
Question
When do I, as the Scientist, need to play / discard my excess cards (in this case, let's take the two special cards as the ones to play) so I am not in violation of the excess card rule, but also so I maximize the value of the Researcher's endowment of city cards?

edited to reflect the limit of 7 vs 8, as noted by Gendolkari


texts:
We played Pictionary the other day, and there were a couple of points of play that were unclear from the rules, and which I also can't find answers to online (though can find other people asking the same questions), so I was hoping someone could clarify.

Firstly, after you correctly guess a clue, you roll the dice, move, and draw another card. Do you re-set the time at this point, or do you continue your go in the unused time?

Secondly, in an "all-play" situation, if another team guesses the answer, they then take control of the dice. Once they then fail to guess an answer correctly, does play continue to the team to their left, or to the left of the team whose go it originally was?


texts: Blocking One Attacker with Multiple Creatures

texts: In what situation would I want to have multiple creatures block one attacker? If one creature can absorb all of the damage, why subject more creatures to the excess damage? Other than trample, is there any advantage?


texts: Do Race for the Galaxy expansions allow more players without changing the base game's rules?

texts:
I just acquired the game Race for the Galaxy, and I plan to play it at work.  It would be nice to play with up to 5 or 6 players, though, and the base game supports only 4.

I see that two expansions to the game ("The Gathering Storm" and "Rebel versus Imperium") each add one player.

Since none of us has played the game before, I'd prefer not to add extra complexity to the game right away.  However, it would be nice if we could make use of the extra players provided by these expansions.

If I were to purchase these expansions, would I be able to play the "base" game with more players (as is the case with Pandemic's "On the Brink" expansion), or do the extra players promised come at the price of more complexity?


texts: Does playing one virus from my hand allow me to get all copies from my deck?

texts:
The text on virus cards states:

  Viruses are not unique. Whenever you play a virus, you may play another copy of that virus from your deck, then shuffle your deck.

At first I assumed that playing one virus from my hand would allow me to get two total viruses, the one from my hand plus "another copy" from my deck.

Now I notice that the card says that I "play" the copy from the deck. Does that mean that each virus card I search for will itself allow me to search for another copy, potentially putting all 4 copies of the virus into play immediately?


texts: In Elder Sign, does the "Bind Monster" card avoid an Ancient One effect?

texts:
When playing Elder Sign against Yig, I ran into a question I couldn't quite puzzle out from the rules and FAQ. Yig's card reads "Each time an investigator complets the task on a Cultist monster marker [...] the investigators lose 1 Elder Sign, if they have any."

This, in itself, seems straightforward. However, if you use the "Bind Monster" spell (the card reads "After rolling, discard to defeat 1 monster.") the cost of completing the monster task does not have to be paid, per the FAQ. Does this include the Elder Sign that would have to be discarded for Yig's ability?

In other words, do Ancient One effects count as "costs" to be paid when completing a monster task?


texts: Why do you get an extra point for each fenced stable in Agricola?

texts: Most of the scoring rules in Agricola makes sense because they reward you for doing well in various categories (like crops and animals). However, I haven't been able to figure out why the rules reward fenced stables with a bonus point. When combined with the fact unfenced stables can can only hold one animal, this seems like to make unfenced stables unnecessarily weak. Why did the game creators choose to add an extra point for fenced stables?


texts: Is there a limit on how good you can get at Hearts?

texts: If you had the best players in the world, and they knew everything about Hearts and had decades of experience playing it, then if they were to each play the same identical game, would they all play the game exactly the same? That in my eyes would prove that in Hearts, given a situation and taking into account everything, there is always an optimal way of proceeding, and that would prove that there is a finite limit on how good you can get at Hearts.  Is this in fact the case?


texts: How is the rarity of cards in official preconstructed Commander decks determined?

texts:
As far as I am aware, the rarity of Magic: The Gathering cards is determined by how many times a given card gets printed, relative to other cards in the same set. I believe the standard distribution is for every 120 cards, you get 1 mythic, 7 rare, 24 uncommon, and 88 common, with cards of a given rarity equally likely to appear. This, in turn, determines how likely you are to pull a given card from a randomized 15-card booster pack.

Commander cards aren't sold in booster packs. The only way to obtain them is to buy one of the pre-built Commander decks. These decks have fixed deck lists, so every deck you buy has the same 100 guaranteed cards in it.

However, the Commander cards do have different rarities. For example, the Commander 2016 card Army of the Damned is a mythic rare, while Windfall is an uncommon. These two cards both appear in the 2016 deck Entropic Uprising, and no others. In other words, when purchasing Commander decks, you will always get the same number of Army of the Damned as you do Windfall, but they are somehow different rarities.

In addition, the distribution of rarities in the deck is off as well. Again, using Entropic Uprising as an example, there are 5 mythic rare, 33 rare, 26 uncommon, 15 common, and 20 land.

How are these rarity levels determined if there is no randomness or normal distribution of cards in the set?


texts: What is a solid basic strategy for surviving Eldritch Horror?

texts:
Is there a solid strategy that you can apply to increase the chances of a win?

Of course the Eldritch Horror statistics do help in working out what can go wrong/right. But they do not offer a specific strategy -- if there is one.


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There is an old box in our storeroom containing the game Chainstore.  My brother and I bought the game when we were kids (ages ago).  Now my children wants to play it, but the rules are missing.  I've tried to figure it out, but that's not the way to go.

Anybody have a copy of the rules of Chainstore?  It looks like Monopoly-based game.


texts: What are the rules with attached creepers in Cthulhu Fluxx?

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If I have a creeper attached to an investigator, does that still prevent me from winning?  I understand that having a lone creeper in front of you prevents you from winning---unless the goal says otherwise---but what if it’s attached to an investigator that is needed to win?

I know that if you attach a creeper to a keeper that removes the keepers special powers, but does it also strip the keeper of being a playable card?  I find that the Cthulhu Fluxx deck is stacked with creepers but not nearly enough cards and abilities to discard those creepers.  Thanks for the clarification!


texts: Why can I not place a tile that scores more than 10 points in Kodama: Tree Spirits

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The the game Kodama: The Tree Spirits, there is a limit on scoring more than 10 points in a single move.
Is there a reason for this given? If so it's not in the rules book so the 2004 edition.