texts: Are there times when "doubling" will not help the opponents make the hand?

texts:
In bridge, if I "double" (the stakes for) an opponent's contract, it usually means that I see a way to defeat the contract. Of course, declarer hears my double and will reasonably conclude, "Tom has the key cards," and "finesse" around, or "endplay" into me. In this case, declarer will have a better chance of making the contract than if I had kept quiet about my strength.

I am asking about possible exceptions to this rule.

One might be, where I know that declarer overbids and gets into games with 22-23 hcps and no compensating values in distribution or extra trumps. I have 7 hcps, and unless dummy has a maximum, partner will have 10 (the majority between us), and we will be odds on to defeat the contract.

One expert (I believe that is was Sheinwold or Jacoby) opined that a time to double was if you had no trumps (and good high card strength). If opponents have nine, and declarer plays you for the Hxxx (H is a random honor) of trumps that your partner actually has, s/he might be unpleasantly surprised. Best of all, partner might have xxxxx or Hxxxx, with the 5-0 break in an eight card fit being the nastiest of all.

Do either of my examples or other instances hold where a double does not help, and may mislead declarer in the play?


texts: What's the most efficient way of determine individual card values for my collection?

texts:
With an extremely large variety of Magic: The Gathering Cards that exist out there from so many sets and a loose definition of utility and value in the game, it's often hard to gauge a card's individual worth/price without checking it out online. Of course, the rarity is generally a good indicator, but there are plenty of expensive common and uncommon cards too.

My question is What is the most efficient way of determining card value without individually loking up each Magic card?


texts: How to tell whether a Pokémon Card is fake or not

texts: Recently, I have obtained many Pokémon cards, but I do not know how to tell if they are real. For example, some seem more shiny on the back then others, and there seem to be many typos like Caterpie EX for Charizard EX. Any ways of differentiating?


texts:
Where could I find information about the level of Go playing software? In particular, I am looking for commercial software.

Ideally, I'd like to find a live ranking, as obviously this field is evolving fast.


texts: What happens when I equip Helm of the Host on Gideon?

texts:
Say I activate Gideon of the Trials' second ability, and have him become a creature. I then equip him with a Helm of the Host and enter combat. What do I get?

Do I get a 4/4 indestructible token, that's only a creature? One which reverts to being a planeswalker at the end of turn? Or do I get a new planeswalker immediately?

If the copy is a planeswalker, does it gain haste, even though it's not a creature? I assume it wouldn't change anything either way since I wouldn't be able to trigger the copy's second ability during combat, but I'm just curious, though if I manage to get a second combat phase it could be useful.


texts: In Axis and Allies, Should An Attacker Be Allowed to Relinquish Certain "Prerogatives?"

texts:
These are situations that seem to be outside the official (second edition) rules. Unless I'm missing something.

Suppose Russia is allowed attack Norway on the first turn, and does so with two fighters, three tanks (five units that hit with 1-3), and three infantry via Karelia, against 1 fighter, 1 tank, and 3 infantry. The five heavy units roll 1,1,2,3,4, an above average roll that scores four hits. Can the attack tell the infantry NOT to fire?

If the fifth unit is eliminated by infantry, Russia has to occupy Norway, possibly fatally weakening Karelia. Russia has now achieved its "strafing" objective (the German fighter should retreat, and the UK can occupy Norway on its turn.) So Russia would like to cap the hits at four, if allowed.

In the Pearl Harbor attack, Japan sends a battle fleet against the Hawaiian sea zone, and scores two hits on the first round. The US elects to take the carrier and fighter as casualties (so that the sub can withdraw).

If the carrier had survived, Japan can retreat its fleet to Wake Island, out of the Hawaiian dead zone. Can it do the same with a withdrawing sub? (The rules say that the battle is over, and the attacker must stand put, when the defender is DESTROYED. But the sub wasn't "destroyed.")

My theory is that the attacker relinquished his prerogative of "hot pursuit" of the sub and chose to withdraw after a short, one-round battle.


texts: In Star Fluxx, some Keepers give you abilities that don't take up an action. Are Keeper abilities in Star Fluxx available immediately after the Keeper is put on the table, on the next turn, or just the next time you have an action available?


texts: Question about interaction: levitation, then gravity sphere, then oblivion ring on each, then tranquility. Who flies away?

texts:
Here are the cards involved:

Levitation

  Creatures you control gain flying.

Gravity Sphere

  All creatures lose flying.

Oblivion Ring

  When Oblivion Ring enters the battlefield, exile a nonland permanent (card).
  When Oblivion Ring leaves the battlefield, return that permanent (card) to play under its owner's control.

Tranquility:

  Destroy all enchantments.

So, I play a Levitation, and all of my creatures gain flying. Next turn, my opponent responds with a Gravity Sphere, and so, since the Gravity Sphere came into play more recently, it overrides Levitation, so all of my creatures would then lose flying. So, I play Oblivion Ring on his Gravity Sphere, my creatures gain flying again. He then plays Oblivion Ring on my Leviation, they lose flying. I then play Tranquility, which simultaneously kills both Oblivion Rings and brings back the Levitation and Gravity Sphere. So at this point, does everyone fly, or do they all stay on the ground?


texts: Do we skip crossfire events in Extraction when playing with less than 4 players?

texts: The rules say to use the normal Crossfire rules but the mission seems to already compensate for lesser numbers by modifying the round actions.


texts: 3/4 creature versus a 3/3 creature, why would the 3/4 creature die?

texts:
I found myself in a situation where my adversary attacked with a 3/3 creature and I blocked him with a 3/4, what happened later was that both creatures died.

Shouldn't my 3/4 creature be alive with 3/1? In other situations this was always the case and I didn't get confused.

To clarify, there was no instantaneous card activated and there was no active spell that could be used to improve the enemy's creature.


texts: Iron will and negative pass-effects. Loophole?

texts:
Yesterday I played a game of Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game with all expansions. We got the crisis card "Reactor Critical" (from the Daybreak expansion), with a difficulty of 7, and the effects:

  Pass: The current player draws 2 Treachery cards
  Fail: -1 Fuel

Now, both the pass and fail effects are negative. However, I had the leadership card Iron Will (from the Exodus expansion) on my hand. It is a skill check card which reads:

  Skill check: If total strength is within 4 of the difficulty, do not trigger the fail effect. If total strength in this skill check is 0 or less, lose 1 morale

The first part of this card is very interesting. If you don't pass the skill check, we should of course not trigger the pass effect. However, if we get 2-6 points, the effect of Iron Will triggers, meaning we should also not trigger the fail effect. So neither of the negative effects from the skill check should be triggered.

Have I understood this correctly, or is there some rule I have not seen?

Btw, the skill check failed massively, so we didn't bother discussing it.


texts: Can I Birthing Pod a token to get a creature with a CMC of 1?

texts: From my understanding, the CMC (converted mana cost) of a token is 0.  When you sacrifice a creature with Birthing Pod it adds 1 to the CMC.  So, if I sacrifice a token (any token) to Birthing Pod, can I get a creature with a CMC of 1 from my deck?


texts: I am creating a board game which requires 2 colors with 5 pieces each. As of right now, I use pennies and dimes. What is an easy way to get pieces for my board game?


texts: The situation came up in a recent game where the Capo was wacked. The question that arises is who acts as Capo, breaks ties, etc. in the interim after the Capo is wacked and before a new Capo is appointed. Is it the player who controlled the Capo and has the ring, or would the Capo responsibilities fall to the next lowest rank?


texts: What is the very last step that Juragedo can be special summoned and tributed

texts:
My opponent declares and attack with a Nekroz holding Nekroz of Decisive Armor in hand. Can I wait until the damage step to special summon and then tribute Juragedo?

Juragedo

  During either player's Battle Step: You can Special Summon this card
  from your hand, and if you do, gain 1000 LP. You can only use this
  effect of "Juragedo" once per turn. During either player's turn: You
  can Tribute this card, then target 1 face-up monster you control; it
  gains 1000 ATK until the end of the next turn.

Nekroz of Decisive Armor

  During either player's turn: You can discard this card, then target 1
  "Nekroz" monster you control; it gains 1000 ATK and DEF until the end
  of this turn.

To make this as valuable a resource as possible please try and provide detailed reasoning behind your answer.

Thanks.


texts:
I'm concerned my niece, who's ten and has been raised on the likes of Hannah Montana, has little to no imagination or creativity. I want to find games we can play that will push her thinking out of the Disney drone-mold and I think that Dixit looks perfect for this. However, there's a problem; there are too many versions.

Amazon.co.uk stocks the following versions of Dixit:

Dixit
Dixit 2
Dixit 3
Dixit Odyssey
Dixit Journey

To me Odyssey looks the most random, but may be too far out for someone with little imagination, at least to start with. Common sense suggests starting with Dixit, as it's the first, but that also makes it the oldest; theoretically the newest would be the most stable and well made.

I'm not looking for opinions here, rather I'm after facts about the different games that may help decide which one is right for us.

So my question is: What makes each version of Dixit different, and what can you tell me about each that may help decide which version is best for my situation?


texts:
Phyrexian Unlife

If your opponent has ten poison counters, he loses the game, so you just need to get your opponent to zero, then deal ten more damage to him. He'll take it in the form of poison counters, and lose. It will buy him time - maybe he was almost dead and suddenly you need to get him to 0 then deal ten more damage - but he's not invincible.

After reading this it got me thinking; and correct me if I have missed something.

If you are at 1 life, and you get hit by a  5/5 creature, do you get 4 poison counters, or none, as you are now at zero life? (Excluding trample of course.)

That being said, once you're at zero life, can you gain 1 life and repeat this?


texts:
I'm debating between the two versions as it is only a few dollars difference. Would any of you who own the Deluxe version say this is worth it? The board piece sounds appealing but I hear the packaging box takes up a lot of space. I can't seem to find Deluxe copies in my area to compare the size and will have to order online.

My friends do have other packs such as Munchkin Cthulhu and its expansions, if that's helpful at all.


texts: Why is capturing mandatory in checkers/draughts? What if capturing was optional like any normal move? Would the game become completely unplayable?

texts:
I am totally new to checkers/draughts. I have just learned the rules today, and I have a question about a specific rule: why is capturing mandatory?

What would happen if we changed the rules so that capturing is optional like any normal move? Would the game become completely unplayable?


texts: Intentionally Fizzling Mandatory ETB Effect

texts:
Can one stack several mandatory triggers on one target in such a way to make the consecutive triggers Intentionally fizzle?

The situation is you have several mandatory ETB creatures coming into play (we'll say 4+ Acidic Slime or Indrik Stomphowler), entering at the same time from mass reanimation or something like Legion's Initiative. Your opponent for whatever reason has no valid targets, but you control 2+ valid targets.

Are you able to minimize the loses by having all the ETB effects target a single Artifact/Enchantment? Thus the first one successfully destroys it's target and the following fail? Or must they resolve in such a way that you must target,destroy #1, new target, destroy #2, etc?


texts: What happens if I have two different cards that give me an extra turn after this one?

texts: For example, I play Emrakul, the Aeons Torn. That gives me an extra turn after this one. Then I activate Ral Zarek's ultimate and only get one extra turn (one) heads. Will the Emrakul's extra turn meld with Ral Zarek's so I only get 1 extra turn, or will I get two?


texts: In what situation is Last Word really relevant?

texts:
Last Word reads

This spell can’t be countered.
Counter target spell.

But if I were to be using another counterspell in any situation, couldn't I just choose to target the original spell again? There's no reason for me to be forced to target Last Word with, say, another Cancel. So in what situations is Last Word's first line really important?


texts: When purchasing the 13th technology, can you use its power right after doing so?

texts:
The 13th technology on the manual reads:

  After resolving one or more powerups gained from performing a Main action, you may pay 1 cocoa to gain an additional power-up (same Action Board)

While the main action part on the manual reads:

  Pay the cost in gold as shown on the selected tile and place one
  of your Technology markers (wooden discs) on it to mark that
  you have acquired this Technology. Refer to the Appendix for an
  explanation of the ongoing benefit of each Technology tile.

  After placing the Technology marker, advance once on one
  temple, depending on which column the selected Technology
  belongs to: for the left column, for the centre column,
   for the right column

  Afterwards, power up one of your workers on the Alchemy (5)
  Action Board, unless you used the 3rd option when selecting the
  tile (you used a single power 4 or 5 worker to place your marker
  on a second-row Technology).

Therefore, you get the power-up after you have already received the technology, and advanced on a temple. Does this mean that when powering-up your die, can you immediately pay one cocoa to gain an additional power-up?

TLDR: Can you use the technology 13 power on the same die power-up you get from purchasing the technology?


texts:
I have an old copy of "L'ecologia" of "I giochi di Sapientino" by Clementoni.

Unluckily the instructions are missing.

Can anyone help?


texts: Can I use Fate Transfer to make a Thing in the Ice transform immediately?

texts: If I have Thing in the Ice with 4 ice counters on it and played Fate Transfer to move all these counters on to another creature, will it transform? Or is the check on how many counters it has done before the actual move of all the counters?


texts: Is there an English name for this popular Lebanese card game?

texts:
This is a trick taking game played with a standard suite of cards. There is a variant where the jokers are used, but I will be describing the standard game. The translation of the name is '400'.

It needs 4 players. Each player is dealt 13 cards. Hearts are trump.

At the beginning of a game, each player states the minimum amount of tricks they are going to win. If you claim that you will win 5 or more tricks, your score will be doubled (i.e 6. tricks means 12 points). If the total number of tricks between the players is not at least 11, cards are reshuffled and dealt out again.

The player with the 2 of clubs starts by placing it down. Each player then attempts to play a card of a matching suit, with the highest card winning the trick. If they don't have the matching suit they can play a trump card, which will automatically win the trick (unless someone plays a higher trump). Any card from another suit is considered 'dead' (i.e. no chance of winning the trick)

In the following tricks, players can play any cards except the trump suit unless the trump had already been played in previous rounds.

The game ends when one player reaches 100 points. If you lose a round, your bet gets deducted from your points total


texts: Puerto Rico, 3-player: Which role order in the first round?

texts:
What would be the best role choice order for the first round in a 3-player game of Puerto Rico (without extension)?

I often see:

Settler (→ Quarry)
Builder (→ Small Indigo or Small Sugar)
Major (staffing corn)

I sometimes see:

Settler (→ Quarry)
Craftsman (no bonus)
Major (staffing corn)

And also:

Settler (→ Quarry)
Craftsman (no bonus)
Builder (→ Small Market)

What should player 1 (Indigo), player 2 (Indigo) and player 3 (Corn) choose?

Is Settler (selecting a Quarry) the only advisable role choice for player 1?

I'm also interested in choices for player 2/3 if player 1/2 chose something unusual.

For a 5-player game, see Viable, alternative, first round role orders in 5-player Puerto Rico


texts:
We had a family scrabble game that erupted into a debate.  I have searched these forums, and while I found several threads that seemed to apply to this scenario, it wasn’t quite clear.

The question is whether or not a premium word square (double or triple words) applies to all words created during the current play or not.  I’ll attempt to articulate the scenario.

First move:  TO was played vertically.

Second move:  FREES was played horizontally and the E of FREES created TOE.  The S of FREES landed on a double word square.

Question:  The current play resulted in two new words, TOE and FREES.  Does the double word on the S of FREES count for both words or just FREES?  If not, why not?

The rules don’t seem to address this scenario when two words are created or under what conditions thus applies or doesn’t.


texts: Star Wars Imperial Assault tutorial questions

texts:
How do I decide who goes first and in what order players take their turns?
Do the rebel players start with any of the class cards specific to their character?


texts: If a token is returned to hand, is it considered dying?

texts:
1/1 Devil token (ala Devils' Playground) on board
Just the Wind cast on the 1/1 Devil
Token gets removed from board
?? Devil does 1 damage to target creature or player ??


texts: What options are available to make Diplomacy accessible to a blind player?

texts:
I'd like to include a player who is blind in a game of Diplomacy, and am wondering about options to make the game more accessible.

One possible complication is that this is a classroom simulation with a large number of players, using the DipTool Java app to display the game. However, we could have a physical game board that duplicates the moves for this player.


texts:
If I have the following in cribbage : 8H, 8D, 9H, 9D, 10C

I come up with 4 double runs  8H, 8D, 9H, 10C and
                              8H. 8D, 9D, 10C and
                              8H, 9H, 9D, 10C and
                              8D, 9H, 9D, 10C

but I know it's not possible to get 32. What am I doing wrong? Is this 16 or 24?

Thank you.


texts:
There are a lot of cards that deal damage to creatures.

Does the target creature's armor reduce that damage, or is armor only useful in combat damage (when attacking or being attacked by other creatures)?


texts: Why Does The Parade Scoring System Work The Way It Does?

texts:
Has anyone here apart from me played Parade?  It's a simple, cute, yet original and maddeningly addictive little Alice-in-Wonderland-themed card game from a Japanese designer.  Basically, there are 6 suits of cards, ranked from 0-10.  You want to avoid collecting these cards where possible, as they score their face value against you at the end, unless you have the most or equal most cards in a suit, in which case they score 1 point against you each.

It just seems to me that the designer possibly missed a trick with this scoring system.  Obviously there are interesting choices to be made in that it's better to collect 5 or 6 green cards rather than the green 7 or 8 on its own; but it still seems like it would have been much more interesting for the cards you have the most of to count positively in your favour.  Then it would have been just like Hearts: you'd have had to keep an eye out for players trying to "shoot the moon", and it could often be better to tactically pick up a few cards than just avoid picking anything up as much as possible.

As it is, I feel mitigating your losses by picking up more cards in the same colours is semi-interesting, but being able to turn losses into positive points would have been really interesting - especially as the game can be brought to a premature end by any player having at least one card in each suit.  But am I missing something?  Would inverting the rules in this way ruin the balance of the game, for a reason such as, e.g., it being too easy to score a ton of points and end the game quickly?

If anyone has both played Parade and can provide some analysis/insight into why it's scored the way it is, I'd be very interested!


texts: After "travelling" to a new location in Space Hulk Death Angel and setting up the cards, what is the rule for what happens next? Does the "Choose Action Card"  phase occur (so no spawning), the Event phase (and so spawning new Genestealers) or continue from the previous phase?


texts:
I recently purchased the Civil War dice-masters starter. After playing the starter scenario a few times, I would like incorporate the rest of the cards into a game.

Question - How do we setup a game not using the starter scenario?

In the starter scenario, each player receives two heroes who each have two die. Additionally, three cards are placed in the middle and "shared" between the players.

If we decide not to use the starter scenario, how do we pick heroes, dice, and the shared middle cards for a game? How many of each?


texts: What happens if Jace, Telepath Unbound is returned to your hand?

texts: So if Jace, Telepath Unbound is returned to your hand, does it turn back into Jace, Vryn's Prodigy to be recast or does it in effect go to your graveyard because Jace, Telepath Unbound cant be recast?


texts: Why can't an overloaded Counterflux beat Pyromancer Ascension?

texts:
In his write-up of Pro Tour BTG in Valencia, pro player Gaudenis Vidugiris described this game, the last one he played to get to the top 16 (emphasis added):

  Round 14 I battled against RWU Twin. Both games I got active Ascensions reasonably quickly and killed him.  Though in the second game he had a Grafdigger's Cage on turn one which slowed me down enough that I couldn’t kill him for a while and even gave him a draw phase where a Splinter Twin would have been lethal.  I actually got two active [Pyromancer Ascensions] rather quickly, but couldn't find a blue card to copy for a turn or two.  Eventually, I found one which dug me into an Echoing Truth and after I explained to my opponent why his overloaded Counterflux couldn't counter all of the Echoing Truth copies he conceded.

What's the rules trick here? How come an overloaded Counterflux can't counter several copies of Echoing Truth?


texts: Can Japanese Cards be played if using an English based Deck?

texts:
I was reading on the Yu-Gi-Oh Wiki that some cards have their artwork changed due to censorship, examples are the Fortune Lady's

Original Japanese version

English Version with Censor

Now I am wondering, if I were in a sanctioned tournament in an English speaking country and my deck contained mostly English cards, could I play the Japanese card and have the English one off to the side for the other players or spectators to reference the effects?


texts: If a creature planeswalker is dealt damage by a creature with infect, what happens?

texts:
If a planeswalker than has been turned into a creature (not a planeswalker that turns itself into a creature with "prevent all damage" like Gideon) takes Infect damage, what happens?

I know that Infect damage is applied as -1/-1 counters, and I know that the planeswalker will have both damaged marked on it, as well as have it's loyalty reduced, but what I'm unsure of is if the -1/-1 counters further reduce the loyalty or if they only impact the power / toughness.

As a follow-on, do the -1/-1 counters stay on the planeswalker when it is no longer a creature? And if so, could this be used to prevent a Gideon from using it's "become a creature" ability (or at least kill it if it does)?


texts: Can Zombies wound when a Hero rolls doubles?

texts:
I was playing Last Night on Earth the other day with some friends and came across a question that I don't believe is clear in the rules.

When a Hero fights a zombie (or the other way around), the hero can only be wounded if the zombie's fight die is tied or higher than the highest hero's fight dice.  What if the hero rolls doubles though?  For example, the hero could roll two 1's, but the zombie rolls a 6.  In that situation, does the hero get wounded?  Or is the zombie considered killed before the hero can be wounded?


texts: In Smash Up, can you "destroy" a card from your hand?

texts:
Here are the definitions from their rulebook located here: Smash Up Rules

  Discard: When a card gets discarded, it goes to the discard pile of the player whose deck it came from, no matter who played or controlled it.

  Destroy: When a card
  says to destroy another card, put the destroyed card in its
  owner’s discard pile.

If I can destroy one of my minions to draw the same number of cards as its power, would I be able to destroy one from my hand? I'm thinking no, but would like to appeal to others who may have broader experience with other games that might use this terminology commonly or might simply know a ruling on this.


texts: What happens if a creature that would fight isn't on the battlefield anymore?

texts: Ulvenwald Tracker is a specific example of a creature with an activated ability for the fight mechanic. If this ability is activated and put on the stack, but then Ulvenwald Tracker is destroyed somehow, does the fight ability still resolve given he no longer exists?


texts: Does "when ~ dies, deal n damage to all players/creatures" have a name?

texts:
I saw this tweet (of a neural network generated MTG card),  and tried to find a name for the ability "Simic Commander" has.

Using the gatherer I find some similar cards, but nothing with a name.

Does this kind of mechanic have a mechanical (preferably) or colloquial name?


texts: How do continuous effects interact with "enters the battlefield" triggers?

texts:
At what point do creatures entering the battlefield begin to be affected by enchantments and abilities of creatures already on the battlefield?

For example, Mentor of the Meek's ability triggers when creatures of power 2 or less enter the battlefield.

If I play a 2/2 creature while Honor of the Pure is in play does the Mentor's ability trigger?

Similarly if I play a 2/2 human creature while Mayor of Avabruck is in play (face up) does the Mentor's ability trigger? (It clearly has no effect if the card is transformed (face down) and the Mentor's ability would trigger.)


texts: What is the priority sequence during a turn?

texts:
I know that at the beginning of each step and phase the active player recieves priority, and that the active player recieves priority after a spell resolves. I want to make sure that I am right about getting priority during a turn. Please tell me if I'm right and correct my mistakes.

Beginning phase:

Untap step: nobody can casts spells
Upkeep step: players get priority in order of active player, nonactive player
Draw step: the same as in upkeep

First main phase:

active player has priority during the entire turn and nonactive gets it after active passes, at the end of the turn

Combat phase:

after every step players get priority in order active player, nonactive player

Second main phase:

the same as in first

End phase

End step: players get priority in order active player, nonactive player
Cleanup step: nobody can cast spells


texts: How to play the intro of Legends of Andor with two players?

texts: I just got Legends of Andor and was trying to play the intro with two players. Having only two heroes, it seems the objectives cannot be reached in one day. Is Andor meant to be played with all heroes always, like e.g. In Mice and Mystics? I couldn't find any hints so far in the manual.


texts: Can Let's Kill Krampus still be purchased?

texts:
I pledged the first Let's Kill Krampus Kickstarter, which was unfortunately unsuccessful.  I didn't find out about the second Kickstarter until it had already ended, but it was successful, at least.  Recently, someone talking about the upcoming Krampus movie reminded me that LKK exists, so I went looking for it, assuming that it would have entered production after its successful Kickstarter, but I can't seem to find it anywhere.

Is Let's Kill Krampus available for purchase?


texts: Why do people refer to Blue color as "U" in Magic the Gathering?

texts:
I often see people referring to Blue color mana as U. What is the reason for that?

I know that Black starts with B as well but this is somewhat confusing. My guess is that u is the first letter which is different if I start to read both black and blue from the start.


texts: Do cards with abilities that target trigger heroic?

texts:
Would something like Satyr Grovedancer or something that has "When ~ enters the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on target creature" trigger Heroic?

It has the keyword target, but does it count as an ability or as part of the spell that targets? I guess this goes likewise for any ability that occurs when a card enters the battlefield.


texts: We ran into a friendly argument while playing cribbage today and we're stumped as to how to count this hand.  How do you count 3 Sixes, 1 Seven and 1 Eight?


texts: Name of card game similar to crazy-8s or Uno

texts:
I would like to know if anyone on here has played or knows the name of a card game similar to hearts.

The object of the game is to get rid of all your cards. If a player doesn't have a card that is played, he can play any card just like hearts. In this game there's no points system.

When 2 players remain in the game, the player who has more cards than the player who has one remaining must play a lower card to extend the game. The cards are then laid out and the player with no cards must pick a card from pack of cards which have been played and pick a card lower than the other players cards to win. The other player obviously has to clear his cards.

You can also request to take another players cards.
I believe it is an Asian card game but wondered if it had an English name and if many people play it.

Thanks.


texts: What tools exist to manage an M:TG tournament?

texts:
I work in an office with a good number of Magic players. I'd like to try and organize some sort of pauper cube style tournament that could be run like a "season" over the course of a couple months. With people meeting once for a long time for a draft and then having games against each other as they have time for the tournament. Maybe with a small buy in for a prize at the end. Are there any tools to manage that kind of thing?

Ideally something to take a lot of the paperwork off of my hands.


texts: How long are magic cards actually "printed"/"In production"

texts:
Basically I'm wondering how long Magic cards are actually printed/in production. IE: Being made.

I would assume it's just whatever is in the standard block? but it could go further back. Wizards has a reprint policy, but it has more to do with specific cards and not decks as a whole.

Thanks!


texts: How does casting a card for its miracle cost interact with cost modifying abilities?

texts:
If I reveal and cast a miracle like Temporal Mastery, Bonfire of the Damned or Entreat the Angels, When I am choosing a value for X, must it take into account effects like Thalia, Guardian of Thraben or Council of the Absolute?

e.g. If I tap 6 mana to Miracle cast Entreat the Angels whilst Council of the Absolute is in play (naming Entreat the Angels), is X 4, or is X 6? Similarly, if I miracle Temporal Mastery under the same circumstances, does it cost only a single Blue mana?


texts:
I’m England and as you can see I’m in quite a conundrum, I missed an earlier build period so was unable to supplement my forces and be in a better position. Me and France are allies however Germany and Russia are my enemies.

Russia has tried to be friendly, but I can’t trust it too much but I guess he might be desperate as he’s spread too thin. As England what are my best moves now?

I was thinking I should do move my fleet in EDI to NWG, convoy my army in YOR to NWY by way of my fleet in the North Sea and use SKA to support its move into Norway. There has been some friction between Russia and Germany (who are allies) so I can kind of assume that Sweden may not support Russia and the fleet in Denmark may move to the Baltic as it afraid of Russia doing the same. But this is wishful thinking.

Or should I attack Denmark and move EDINto NWG and the army in York to EDI so next time I can convoy it? But then perhaps Norway would be occupied that my support into Norway could possibly be cut off!

I’m trying to deal with the worst case scenario, diplomatic overtures haven’t garnered any responses yet. What should I do!?


texts: Does a Sengir Vampire survive when blocked by four 1/1s?

texts:
I attack with Sengir Vampire which is a 4/4
My opponent declares four 1/1 blockers

Would Sengir Vampire die or would it gain counters from the three 1/1 creatures that died before attacking the last 1/1 blocker? Thus allowing it to survive while killing the four 1/1 blockers.


texts:
I am a graduate math student and I believe that a nice way to raise the mathematical skills of people(especially students!) is to familiarize them with games and encourage them to use their minds and think on their own ideas.
I have studied too many puzzle games and I have found too many excellent puzzle games.
But I believe that board games and card games are more effective and I want to find a board game or a card game which have almost all of the following properties:

The game can be played by 8-9 players (preferably 8 players!)
The time of the workshops is Limited to 60-90 minutes. Let's assume the time is 90 minutes! (I must learn them the rules in at most 10-15 minutes, and I want a game such that we can do it 2 or 3 times in one workshop.)
Also, after the first round that the game was played, I want to give them a low-level analysis.
Also, I Prefer the games, which had a possibility to make some low-level riddles and challenges to involve their minds. (For example, Yahtzee gives me the opportunity to give them some simple probabilistic problems. Also by a problem, I do not mean a mathematical problem, every exciting challenge is welcome.)

I know so many exciting board games but most of them cannot be played by 8 players, and the others are not fit in the limited time of the workshop, because they have too many rules, I prefer a game with simple rules!
For example, Kriegspiel is a very nice board game, but it is played by only two players and it is very hard to handle it in workshops! If the number of players was 2, then I could reduce chess to a very very simple board game, and then they can play it like Kriegspiel!

Also, I have a trouble to find a suitable tag!


texts: If Gorgon Recluse is blocked and returned to my hand via Cunning Evasion, does it still destroy the blocking creature at end of combat?


texts: When playing with both the Cities & Knights expansion and the Volcano variant, can a volcano eruption destroy a player's knight? (Knights occupy intersections, so theoretically the lava could flow down upon them.)


texts: In bridge, how much support do you need to raise a responder?

texts:
Suppose I bid one of a (short) minor. Partner responds one of a major (one-over-one), showing at least four cards in the suit.

What do I need to raise his major to two? Some books say I need four cards, others say three cards to the queen  is sufficient.

Maybe a better way of asking the question is, which systems allow me to raise with Qxx, and which require four cards for my raise? Does it matter if partner's response is in spades or hearts? Using the "four card" raise method, what should I do if partner responds one spade and I have four hearts but only three spades?


texts: Income boosting Special cards in Illuminati: Y2K

texts:
I recently picked up the Illuminati: Y2K expansion for Illuminati. I'm a little confused about the "double Income" Special cards. These cards say: "Play this card at any time to give all your FOO groups extra income equal to TWICE their normal income", where FOO is an Alignment.(Shown here is a sample image of Flower Power, the double Income card for Peaceful groups.)

1) Do you place the extra MegaBucks(MBs) on your Peaceful groups right away or do you have to wait until they would normally get their Income again, on your next turn? Other Special cards that add MBs state they're added right away, and don't reference Income at all.

2) Do these cards permanently change the Income of those groups, or is this just a one-time deal? Again, because changing Income is different than just adding MB, I'm not sure what the correct way to use them is.


texts: Forsaken Lore expansion for Eldritch Horror: what are the new mysteries for the base game AOO?

texts:
Eldritch Horror is starting to feel a bit same-y for me so I`m thinking of spicing things up with an expansion (one of the small ones, since the big ones are ridiculously expensive for me, at that price - or cheaper -  I can get a whole new game). But anyway, after researching what Forsaken Lore and Strange Remnants offer I incline towards the latter.

However, what Forsaken Lore has and I find really interesting is the fact that you get 2 new mysteries for the 4 base-game AOO. This sounds great, because a big part of the repetitive nature of EH for me is the fact that in each game you tackle 3 out of only 4 possible mysteries.

Hence my question: can you please let me know what the 8 mysteries in Forsaken Lore (2 for each base game AOO) do? Photos would be great, but if you think that could raise copyright issues a text description of them would be enough, don`t much care about flavour text. If the new mysteries are interesting enough and feel significantly different than the base game ones I just might get Forsaken Lore for now, even though I find Strange Remnants more attractive (thematically, investigator and AOO-wise). Thanks a lot!


texts: Gandora The Dragon Of Destruction and Union Monsters

texts: If my opponent is using a monster that is equipped with a union, and I use Gandora The Dragon Of Destruction's field clearing effect against that monster equiped with a union,  does the union card get destroyed, or both of the monster cards being affected by Gandora's effect?


texts: Am I allowed to open at the "one" level with hand like AKQxxxx xx xx xx?

texts:
I am concerned about a ACBL rules that says that an opening "one" bid cannot be weaker than the top of a "weak two" bid. With this hand, many might open with a "weak two, " and many others might preempt at the three level.
The hand has only nine points according to the Milton Work count but I can get to 12-13 in one of two ways: 1) Counting 1 point for each of the three doubletons brings me to 12. 2) Alternatively, I add two points for each suit card over five, so the sixth and seventh give me four points, bringing the total to 13?
The rules also say that a slightly stronger hand of only 10 hcps, AKQxxxx JTxxx x void is allowed to open with a "strong" two clubs. The reason is that it can make game with "minimal" help from partner, e.g. a low eighth trump and the Q above the JT.
Finally I don't want to weak bid when I have such a good suit and my hand is "average" in high card points (for defensive purposes). AKQ are nine points and I add a tenth for the long sequence, because the J is likely to be swept up by my three top cards.
Am I, in fact, allowed to open this hand with one of a suit?
See the section on allowed bidding agreements.


texts: Battlestar Galactica: what is the most critical resource?

texts:
In the Battlestar Galactica basic game, what is the most critical resource between Fuel, Food, Morale and Population?

Does it change with the 6-player FFG optional rule where humans start with 8 Fuel, 7 Food, 9 Morale and 10 Population?


texts: Pandemic Legacy Season 1 September: Where to search if the conditions can’t be met?

texts:
In September we are supposed to

   search for the paranoid soldier in a faded city with military base.

...but we don’t have one! We have the former and the latter, but not both at the same time. We could build one, but then the story does not make much sense, as we could not rediscover something lost in a place we just built!

Anyway... is that the way to go? Build and search?


texts: In Risk when do I have to give up my turn?

texts:
In Risk when it's my turn and I attack.
Do I give up my turn if I lose some troops while attacking or could I continue attacking until I want to give up my turn?


texts: Does a unique collection give 4 or 7 points?

texts:
In Gloria Picktoria, does a unique collection give 4 points because it is unique, or does it give 7 points because it is unique (4) but also the longest collection of that type in the game (3)?
Logically I would say that it gives just 4 points, but my rulebook is not clear on this point. What is the correct rule?


texts: Are Item Finder and Dowsing Machine the same card?

texts:
Item Finder is a card from the original Pokemon TCG Base Set. Dowsing Machine is a card that has the same effect, but was printed as an Ace Spec in the much more recent Plasma Storm set.

I would like to a build a deck for the Unlimited format that includes 4 Item Finder and also includes 1 Dowsing Machine as my Ace Spec card.

I have read that the original Japanese names for the cards Item Finder and Dowsing Machine are the same. Does this mean that they are supposed to be treated as the same card for deck building purposes?

I have found some discussions online that assumed one way or the other, but I haven't found any source that seemed authoritative. I know that in the Pokemon TCG a card is supposed to be played using the text of its most recent printing, but I don't know if these two cards count as the same to apply that ruling.


texts: If you are moved to a location with a clue do you pick it up?

texts: In Arkham Horror I was moved by an encounter to another location. This location had a clue on it, should I have picked up the clue?


texts: Eclipse 4 player FFA Convergent Strategy

texts:
I can't see how a 4 player game cannot go but one way, every time, if the following (rational) rule applies:

You attack whoever is weaker than you but poses a threat.

So you have four players. All roughly equal strength (normal distribution, variance proportional to time). The following sequence occurs:

Player A becomes stronger than another (B)
Player A attacks B because they are likely to win.
Player B is defeated (-10 strength), but player A is also weaker due to attacking and unable to defend simultaneously (-5).
Player C is now stronger than A, so they attack.
Player A is defeated (-10 strength), but player C is also weaker due to attacking, but less so because player A was already weakened, so -3 strength for player C.
Player D is now strongest, and attacks the next strongest player, C.
Player C (likely) loses, player D is now most likely to be victorious.

Basically, whoever attacks first starts a cascade of attacks, A->B, C->A, D->C, where the greatest advantage is to whoever attacks later, or latest, after everyone else is done weakening each other. And whoever attacks first is most disadvantaged overall.

Unless some massive swing of luck where someone can beat the odds stacked against them, or some alliance mechanics are introduced, how can the game possibly deviate from this pattern, if only for exceptional cases?
Other than relying on people making irrational decisions (attacking someone stronger, or someone not a threat to their victory)

I believe this is a more general 4 way zero-sum game problem, but Eclipse is the example I'm thinking of.

Edit: I think this bit of game theory, about 3 way duels, basically proves there's only one optimal way to play Eclipse FFA. Don't play.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truel


texts: What happens when two players are both trying to secretly choose the highest number? (Commander Legends spoilers)

texts:
Consider the Commander Legends card Wheel of Misfortune:

Each player secretly chooses a number. Then reveal those numbers. Wheel of Misfortune deals damage equal to the greatest chosen number to each player that chose it. Then, each player who didn't choose the smallest number discards their hand, then draws seven cards.

Suppose that Alice and Norman are in a two-player game. Alice casts Wheel of Misfortune on her turn. Suppose further that each player would like to wheel, and also that each player is functionally immune to damage (e.g. can't take damage, can't lose the game, or life total can't change). Then each player wants to choose a higher number than the other.
The comprehensive rules state:

107.1c If a rule or ability instructs a player to choose “any number,” that player may choose any positive number or zero.

How may Alice and Normal specify their numbers? In what format?
I would presume that each player should write the number down on a piece of paper. The obvious way to do this is by writing the number out digit-by-digit. But the rules don't seem to require this. If a player wrote “a million”, would this be an illegal choice? If not, then what about “a googolplex”? What about “Graham's number”? What about mathematical notation, such as “10^100”?. (If Alice and Norman are both, say, theoretical computer scientists or set theorists, then things could get really complicated.)
And how long do they each have to specify a number? According to the rules, they choose consecutively in turn order. How long may Alice spend writing down a number? At what point would it become slow play? Then, how long does Norman have? He clearly has a legitimate in-game reason to take longer than Alice took (even though in a perfect world he shouldn't have any information at all about Alice's choice).
I'm interested in any of the following:

Concrete citations to the comprehensive rules, tournament rules, official rulings, and so on.
Real-world experience of how this has been handled in practice.
Opinions of judges or other official/semi-official sources about how such a situation might be handled.


texts: The Proper use of Stations in Ticket to Ride Europe

texts:
I played a game of Ticket to Ride Europe recently, I don't own it but am vaguely familiar with the rules. When we started playing however there was some confusion about the placement of stations and I was out-voted 3:1. What the rules specifically say:

  A Train Station allows its owner to use one, and only one, of the routes belonging
  to another player, into (or out of) that city to help him connect the cities on his
  Destination Tickets.

My interpretation is that this allows you to do what it says, use a single route owned by another player. The next bit toward the end of the section however states:

  If a player uses the same Station to help connect cities on several
  different Tickets, he must use the same route into the city with the
  Station for all of those Tickets. The Train Station owner does not
  need to decide which route he will use until the end of the game.

At this point the same route into the city statement was picked up really strongly. The group believed that this means several routes going out of a city could be used, as long as the same route into the city was used. In the end this meant that during the scoring they believed in the following diagram (red routes):

A continuous path from Frankfurt->Madrid exists.
No continuous path from Brest->Madrid exists because it didn't use the same route into Paris as the Frankfurt route, and therefore couldn't share the blue link.

Can someone confirm if I'm correct, in that you can only use 1 link, and in this scenario both destination tickets are completed at the end of the game. If so can you think of any convincing arguments I can put forward to the group?


texts: Sheriff of Nottingham Negotiation Question

texts:
This occurred during a game of Sheriff of Nottingham, during the "negotiation" phase between two other players.

I was going to lie to the sheriff and put illegal goods in my bag, however I was not going to bribe the sheriff. When I offered my bag, the sheriff said to me "If you give me an offering I will not search it." So I decided to add a bribe on top of my bag, as play allows. Then, the sheriff decided to search the bag since I had reached to offer him something.

According to the rules, is this kind of game-play legal?


texts: What happens when I copy a legendary creature with Rite of Replication?

texts: What happens when you replicate a legendary creature with Rite of Replication?


texts: If you have 2 "s" in your rack, do you score statistically higher playing the extra "s" immediately or saving it?

texts:
Although it doesn't happen often, when I have 2 "s" in my rack, I'm not sure if I should try to use one immediately to score an additional 2-7 points, or save both s's for bingos/parallel plays.
Like any duplicate letter, I seem to have trouble making high point moves when have duplicate letters in my rack including 2 "s". I'm leaning towards using 1 s immediately if appropriate like if it would help balance the consonant/value ratio on your rack more than if you didn't use it.


texts: Does lifelink still trigger if I concede before damage?

texts: In a multiplayer game one of my opponents has a felidar sovereign and is at 39 life and I am at 2 life. He attacks me with a 2/2 lifelink creature, but before damage is dealt I concede. Does the lifelink still gain my opponent enough life to win with felidar sovereign at the beginning of his upkeep, thereby letting my other opponent lose the game or do I only lose and do my opponents still need to continue the game to determine who wins?


texts: Can someone fully explain link summoning?

texts: Can someone explain the new rules that Konami is planning for yugioh on link summoning and how it relates to the rest of the game? Also, when are they planning to make the rules an official mechanic to the game?


texts: Vastwood hydra + Cathars' Crusade + Mercy Killing

texts:
I have a question about a combat trick involving the cards mentioned in the Title. Situation is:

I control a 4/4 Kalonian Hydra and a 4/4 Vastwood Hydra. I also have Cathars' Crusade on the battlefield as well.

On my turn I declare both of the Hydras as attacking creatures. As such the Kalonian Hydra doubles the number of +1/+1 counters on both Hydras, making both of them 8/8 creatures.
My opponent decides to block my Vastwood Hydra with multible blockers, wich would do  leathal damage to it.

So when blockers are declared, before combat damage is resolved, I cast Mercy Killing on my Vastwood Hydra. As a result 8 Elf Tokens comes into the battlefield, and triggers Cathars' Crusade (and makes all the Elf tokens 8/8 Elves, but that is not important in this situation)

It also puts 8 +1/+1 tokens on my Kalonian Hydra, making it a 16/16 Hydra. And when the Vastwood Hydra goes to the graveyard (because I sacrificed it) I distribute all of its 8 +1/+1 counters to my Kalonian Hydra and makes it a 24/24 Hydra.

Combat damage resovles and the kalonian Hydra kills off my opponent.

Is this how it would work, or have I missed something?


texts: Is it allowed to use Keruga as a Companion when using a split card with CMC >= 3?

texts:
The situation: I am playing MTGO and I have a deck with Keruga, the Macrosage in my sideboard and Response // Resurgence in my main deck.

Keruga, the Macrosage states the following, emphases mine:

  Companion — Your starting deck contains only cards with converted mana
  cost 3 or greater and land cards. (If this card is your chosen
  companion, you may cast it once from outside the game.)

  When Keruga, the Macrosage enters the battlefield, draw a card for
  each other permanent you control with converted mana cost 3 or
  greater.

The problem: MTGO shows that Keruga, the Macrosage is not a valid Companion once Response // Resurgence is included in my deck, a card with a CMC of 7.

Referencing both rules of split cards:

  708.4. In every zone except the stack, the characteristics of a split card are those of its two halves combined. This is a change from
  previous rules.

  708.4b The mana cost of a split card is the combined mana costs of its two halves. A split card’s colors and converted mana cost are
  determined from its combined mana cost. An effect that refers
  specifically to the symbols in a split card’s mana cost sees the
  separate symbols rather than the whole mana cost.

So it should be allowed to cast Keruga, the Macrosage as a companion in this case, correct?


texts:
Does anyone know the rules to this dice game? It has 7 dices with:

0-5

1-6

2-7

1-3

7-12

plus and minus

divide and multiply


texts: Learning to build multi-color decks in Magic

texts:
I'm a MTG noob, and currently I've only built single-color decks. However, I want to explore the art of building decks that use cards of multiple colors.

What are the advantages of a multicolor deck? Why do people decide to build them? What goes into the process of deciding which colors and cards to combine? Do people decide to build a red-green deck and then find the best cards to use, or do they decide on the kind of cards they want and later figure that red-green would probably give the best results?
Do multicolor decks usually have an equal amount of lands and spells of each color? Or can you have one primary color and one secondary color? Which is more efficient/better and why?
How can I choose what spells of each color to add so I get color-screwed as little as possible? If all my creatures are of one color, and I don't get any land of that color, I'm in trouble. Likewise, if I have a lot of spells that require multiple mana of one color, they will be harder to cast in a multi-color deck than in a single color one.
What cards become more/less valuable in a multicolor vs. single color deck? Obviously cards that can generate mana of different colors become more valuable and cards that require lots of mana of one color become less valuable for starters. How can I take maximum advantage of cards that are better in multicolor decks and avoid those that are weaker?


texts: What is the purpose of castling in chess?

texts: Having played chess on occasion I know the basic rules and moves to the game. However, it seems like a possibly wasted move when there are players who play a dominant game of chess and don't castle their king. Is castling a necessary move or is it more of a preference choice by the player?


texts:
In a game where Black Market is being used what happens to the setup phase of cards in the Black Market deck?

In particular if the Black Market deck contains a card such as Young Witch or Trade Route when is the setup for those cards performed?

The setup phase of Young Witch introduce an 11th kingdom card pile. Will this pile be available in every game with a Young With in the Black Market deck, even if the Young With has not yet been revealed?

Trade Route requires a coin on every victory supply pile and these being moved to the Trade Route mat as cards are being gained. Do these coin movements happen before the Trade Route is revealed from the Black Market deck?

I can imagine a few possible answers, but I haven't found any official answer:

Setup for every card in the Black Market deck is done at the start of the game.
Setup is done when the card is revealed from the Black Market deck.
Setup is done when the card is bought from the Black Market deck.
Setup is never done. (This would make Trade Route almost worthless and Young Witch a bit more powerful)


texts: How does the Innistrad "no spells / two or more spells cast last turn" transform trigger work?

texts:
On some of the two sided cards the cards ability says "At the beginning of each upkeep, if no spells were cast last turn transform (card name)".  Mayor of Avabruck

Does "turn" refers to the opponents last turn, or the opponents turn before the other player?

I have a entire deck that has these cards but it don't understand it.


texts: Feather, the Redeemed and Dire Fleet Daredevil

texts:
It has already been clarified by WotC that Flashback and Aftermath will work with Feather, the Redeemed. Specifically, because you control both replacement effects, you choose which one resolves, allowing you to cast a Flashback card that targets your creature from the graveyard then exile it, and return it to your hand at the end of turn.

My question is about what this means for Dire Fleet Daredevil? Does the fact that it would not go to Your graveyard mean that Feather's replacement effect would not apply? Although the wording specifies "your graveyard" the language is not as clear as usual ("exile that card instead of putting it into your graveyard", rather than "if that card would go to your graveyard, exile it"), so it leaves open the possibility of putting a card you don't own in your hand...


texts: Can regenerate save a creature from -X/-X effects?

texts:
My opponent has a Rakshasa Deathdealer. What happens when I cast a Bile Blight on that creature? Does regenerate let the creature survive or will the -3/-3 until end of turn from Bile Blight simply kill the creature whether it regenerates or not?

I also appreciate that the +2/+2 ability on this particular creature would in fact save it without any of the above interaction, but certain plays beforehand had caused this to be an unviable option for my opponent.


texts: Alternative major improvements for Agricola

texts: Are there any (official/unofficial) alternatives to the major improvements in Agricola?


texts: When and where do Theros Gods become creatures or stop being creatures?

texts:
Let's take Thassa, God of the Sea as my god. When does it count as a creature?

Is it a creature spell?

If I cast Thassa and my oponent has Kambal, Consul of Allocation, does it trigger Kambal ability?
Can Essence Scatter counter Thassa?

Is it a creature when it enters/leaves the battlefield?

If I cast Thassa and my oponent has Authority of the Consuls, does it trigger?

Is it a creature card (in my library / hand / graveyard)?

Can I put Thassa into play discarding it with Æther Rift


texts: Does "Swarm" AI card affect all Locust on the map?

texts:
In the Gears of War board game there are AI cards.  These cards generally refer to AI's that fit a specific criteria (like "all wretch with 3 spaces").  However the Swarm card reads:

  Each Locust that is 5 or more moment away from the nearest COG figure moves until it is 4 movement away from the nearest COG figure

Does this mean all Locust that aren't near you pile up in one spot that is 4 away from where you are standing?

Source


texts: In Forbidden Island, if a player (not pilot or diver) is stranded on a tile with all surrounding tiles sunk, is the game lost or can he be rescued?  Can he give away his treasure to a pilot or diver such that other players win but he (personally) dies?


texts: When should I choose an Explore card in Race For The Galaxy?

texts:
On a VERY basic level, my RFTG choices work like this:

  Pick Develop if you want to build a development

  Pick Settle if you want to settle a world

  Pick Trade if you want to trade

  Pick 2x VPs if you want to get extra VPs from your consumption of goods

  Pick Produce if you want to produce goods

  Pick Explore if you want to ?????????

Where do the 2 Explore cards come in? I guess the obvious choice is "If you need more cards and have no better way of getting them." I've gone through a few games without ever picking explore because it essentially gives you a 1 card advantage if you pick the 'look at 1 more, keep 1 more' card and an advantage of maybe getting a slightly better card than your opponents with the 'look at 5 more cards' card. Both Develop and Settle give you a 1 card advantage at the very least, both Consume phases can lead to big card advantages, and Produce can set you up for an amazing next turn and sometimes give you card advantage in itself.

Is my analysis roughly correct? With all these things going against it, when should I pick each different Explore card in my phase selection? It seems to be a desperate pick when you have virtually no other options, so at the very least you can be happy with getting a net advantage of 1 card over all of your opponents, or are hoping for a certain card, have a lot of cards in you hand already, and have no better options.


texts:
I'm not 100% grasping marriages/melding.

I'll run you through what I understand/think of it so far:

If I have lead, and a matching (trump, for this example) King/Queen, I can lead one of them, say "marriage", and reveal the other. Now, the opponent responds to the lead trick with a Jack and if I win, do I then receive the 20 (or 40) points PLUS 2 points for their Jack? Also upon winning would I put both the King and Queen and their Jack together as a trick and in my pile?

If the above is true (I'm guessing it's not), then that would bring my hand to 1 card smaller than opponent, and that makes no sense to me.

Surely I'm doing some of this wrong, heh. I've tried reading Pagat's rules, and any other sources. The only thing I'm certain about is revealing, must have lead, and also must win a trick anytime during that hand for points to count.

Thanks!


texts: Understanding influence and using it properly

texts:
I'm an amateur player, mostly-self taught with some help on KGS by a few awesome people. I think I now know my way around the board, and am not a complete plonker anymore, just a regular plonker :)

Most of things I've read about Go I understand easily, but the advice of "using influence to fight", otherwise known as "don't use influence to make territory" still eludes me somewhat.

If I understood correctly, the "main" purpose of influence is to create territory while attacking your opponent.(?) But what happens when your opponent doesn't give you a chance to be attacked and simply gradually reduces your influence? Does it mean I have to start a fight to be able to use influence correctly?

In the end, territory wins games, so why shouldn't I create territory with influence if I have a chance to do so?


texts: Identify board game played as a child featuring cute monsters

texts:
When I was a child I had a board game that featured small plastic monsters. If I recall each player chose a type of monster and you got three monsters to play with of that type.

I remember nothing of the game play apart from I that I think you could chose which of your monsters you moved in your turn.

There were Blue, Yellow, Red and Green Monsters I remember the Blue monsters where like lumpy blue clouds on legs with a bulbous nose and one of the other colours was triangle shaped with an eye on two of the three sides of the triangles.

A friend asked me what the game was called recently and though I remember playing it I can't for the life of me remember what it was called.


texts: How much would Spelltwine add to cards that track how many spells were cast?

texts:
If I cast Spelltwine and use it to cast two spells from my graveyard and an opponent's, how many spells were cast?

It does say I cast the two spells that I pick, so it should bring me up to three spells total (at least with how I am thinking). Would it count as three spells for Aetherflux Reservoir, Grapeshot, and Sentinel Tower?


texts:
So trying to read the 2HG format rules, and i'm not sure i understood how does it works.

Any team has a shared life pool starting from 30. Any damage to a player is taken from the shared hp, so when it reach 0 the team lose the game.

But the damage is dealt to a single player. So there could be a case where the team lose the game even if the shared health pool is not zero (excluding special cards).

For example:
if Team A cast a card that says i.e. "Deal 10 damage to target player", and now the team B has 20 life points. Team A deals 10 damages to player 1 in Team B, and he can't block this action (neither is teammate), it means that since the single player life is the (total life)/2 = 10 Player 1 of Team B reach 0 and then the team lose the game.

Correct?


texts: How replayable is Pandemic Legacy? (Is the game still playable after you have completed it)

texts:
So my understanding is that Pandemic Legacy has a story arc of 12-24 games, at which point the game is complete.

My question is - according to the design of the game - is the game still playable as a 'non-story' game, scars and all, once this is complete?

ie. I'm not asking about whether I can play the twelve month story through again

If not - what are people meant to do with their sets?


texts: Cloning a Molten Primordial at instant speed - who will end up controlling the target creatures?

texts:
This came up in a multiplayer game:

I play a Molten Primordial. It resolves and I target 4 creatures controlled by 4 different opponents.
Before the triggered ability resolves one of the opponents casts a Stunt Double.
The double resolves as a copy of my Primordial, its trigger goes on the stack. My opponent targets the same creatures I did (except his own) and 1 of mine. The ability resolves. He now has control of these creatures.
The ability from my Primordial tries to resolve, but as the targets are now under his control it no longer fulfills the "up to one creature" clause.

Do I still gain control of all targeted creatures, or do I only get one?


texts: Does Defectors do anything when triggered by Five-Year Plan

texts:
I was playing as the USSR, and Five-Year Plan was played against me.  Defectors was the randomly selected card. It has a US event, so it triggers.

But, the event in question occurs when "played by USSR during Soviet action round". Does that event occur? It seems to me that it would trigger if I were the one who played Five-Year Plan, but since it was played on a US action round, nothing happens.

The card texts are:

Five-Year Plan

  USSR player must randomly discard one card. If the card has a US associated
  Event, the Event occurs immediately. If the card is a USSR associated
  Event or an Event applicable to both players, then the card must be
  discarded without triggering the Event.

Defectors

  Play in Headline Phase in order to cancel
  USSR Headline Event, including scoring card. Canceled card
  returns to Discard Pile.

  If Defectors is played by the USSR
  during Soviet action round, the US gains 1 VP. (unless played on the Space Race)


texts:
I have a question regarding the dominion extension prosperity, especially the new treasure-cards
Venture: "When you play this, reveal cards from your deck until you reveal a Treasure. Discard the other cards. Play that Treasure"
I really don't understand these instructions, let me explain how I understand the buy-phase

I take a card from the stack, e.g. a market for 5 money
I pay the money for the card, e.g. and play out a venture and two silvers, other treasure-cards on my hand I ignore.

Now the venture-card doesn't make any sense, as well as most of the other treasure cards in the expansion. If I have already bought a card, why do I need the venture? Am I right that this card only makes sense, if you have more than 1 buy?
Or am I completely wrong about how the buy-phase works. My SO thinks that you first play out all the treasure-cards in your hand and then take a card from the stack .... but what if I have e.g. 10 idols ("When you play this, if you then have an odd number of Idols in play, receive a Boon; if an even number, each other player gains a Curse.") and only buy a silver from it, does my opponent have to take a curse (because I have 10 idols) or do I get a boon (because I have paid 3 of them to buy a silver)?


texts: What is offensive about the card "Stone-Throwing Devils"?

texts: In 2020 Magic: The Gathering banned seven cards due to racist or offensive content. But I don't understand the inclusion of the card Stone-Throwing Devils on that list. It just shows a bunch of demons jumping over a fence and throwing stones. What is the problem with it? Everything on the web just includes it on the list of banned cards but doesn't explain why.


texts: Mainland production numbers go to new islands (Settlers of Catan app)

texts:
When a player reaches an island by ship, the hex they "land on" gets a production number. However, if the computer has run out of new production numbers to assign, the production number for the newly-reached island hex is taken from a hex in the mainland (i.e now a hex in the mainland has no production number).

When this happens, the computer lets you pick which number from the mainland you want to take to the island. I would like to know how the game decides which choices to give you. It doesn't always let you pick from all of the hexes you currently occupy on the mainland.


texts:
Are the rules for alerting bids broadly similar at clubs throughout the world, or do they differ? Are bidding boxes used internationally?

(My most specific interest is whether clubs in Switzerland are like clubs in the US but I have asked the question more generally because it may be of use to others. Of course I will ask the local director when specific questions arise, but there is a language barrier, and the director here may not know what I am accustomed to in US clubs, so I hoped someone here could offer a comparison.)


texts:
In Ruk Shuk, can the 3-of-a-kind bonus be scored for using 3 white rocks?

And if so, do bridge rocks count as white rocks for this purpose?


texts:
Looking for the name and rules of the game.

Four identical pieces. Each a clear plastic double cube with a red round bead in the center of one cube (half of the piece) and a green round bead in the center of the other cube (half). Players take turns placing each of their two pieces. Subsequent moves are made by repositioning a piece already played (following certain rules). Play is contained in a virtual 3x3x3 cube. Win with three in a row horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and/or 3D.

The game might be from 70s or 80s - not sure. Please help. I have the pieces but that's it. And pieces (pun intended) of memory.


texts:
I'm trying to remember the name of a game so I can look up strategies for it for my discrete math class.

The game is laid out with however many rows of marbles or stones and each player can choose however many stones they want from one row per turn, where the object of the game is to have their opponent choose the last stone.

It's a very old game and I'm interested in the math behind the game. I just can't remember its name.


texts: Does trample damage hurt players even if the creature dies?

texts: I'm playing myself with two Avacyn Restored decks from a 6-booster sealed prerelease tournament, and wonder whether a 6/4 creature with trample blocked by a 4/1 creature would still allow damage through.


texts:
SWOT stands for (an analysis of) strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats. There are four "fields" and yes, four suits.
Here's an example from this deal, which came up in today's New York Post. West opened 1 diamond, South doubled (takeout), and later bid 4 hearts after North's (forced) response.
          Jxxxx
          QT
          Jxx
          Qxx

KQxx              xx
xx                xx
AKQTx             xxx
xx                KT9xxx

          Ax
          AKJxxxx
          xx
          AJ

The trump suit is solid, that is a strength. There are two diamond losers, that's an obvious weakness. With seven trump tricks and two black aces, the club suit an represents opportunity for the 10th trick the QJ together are worth one trick. The spade suit is the threat, you don't want a spade loser.
After south ruffs the third diamond, he should lead the jack of clubs to either steal a trick or force out the king. He then wins any return, draws trumps in dummy, and leads the Q of clubs to discard his low spade.
But South played A, then J in clubs, and went down when East won and led back a club for West to ruff.
Does SWOT analysis make it easier to focus on where the "problem" lies in the hand?


texts: What happens when there are no more mana tokens of a color in the supply?

texts:
If I am supposed to gain a mana token of a basic color that has run out in the supply, what happens? Am I unable to gain any mana tokens of that color that round, or will I gain imaginary mana tokens?

The base game comes with 12 mana tokens of each basic color. This is just enough for each of the four players to have 3 mana of a single color in their inventory. This leads me to believe that mana tokens are supposed to be infinite. You don't need to physically have the tokens to play your round, only to indicate crystals in between turns. But I can't actually find anything in the rules about it.


texts:
I'm playing a mono-Green infect Pauper deck that relies heavily on instant-speed pump spells in order to win. My opponent ruins my day pretty badly by playing a Standard Bearer:

Fortunately, my deck also has Vines of Vastwood and Ranger's Guile.

It occurs to me that I might be able to play one of these spells on the Standard Bearer, rendering it an illegal target for that turn, then play my other spells on my own creatures as intended. But will this actually work? I'm not sure about the subtleties of interpreting these effects when the target creature and the spell have different controllers, and I didn't get a chance to try it before the match ended.


texts: Is it valid to place Draw 4 on a Draw 4, while having the colour set by the first Draw 4?

texts:
I was playing Uno and one player placed down a Draw 4 card, and set it to a colour (let's say red). The next player played a Draw 4 card, even though they had the colour specified by the first player (let's say red).

Is that a valid play? So, if I were to challenge the second player, would I win the challenge?


texts: Putting a reclusiarch terminator in a drop pod?

texts:
I'm thinking of putting a Death Company in a drop pod for my next game. The HQ would be either a librarian or a reclusiarch in terminator armor.

Can I put my HQ in the drop pod with the DC?

Can terminators be put in a drop pod? If yes, could I also decide to put the DC and HQ in a stormraven instead?


texts: Can older cards that refer to a player/opponent ever be used on planeswalkers?

texts:
Many older cards refer to players or opponents, e.g. "deal 3 damage to target player". Can any of these be used on planeswalkers, beyond the fact that you can simply attack them with creatures?

For example:

Would my opponent discard a card if Hypnotic Specter damaged a planeswalker they control?
Would my opponent, the planeswalker, neither, or both amass poison counters from an unblocked Nafs Asp?
Can Lightning Bolt target a planeswalker?
Does Syphon Soul affect planeswalkers?
Can Oasis prevent damage to a Planeswalker?
Would Veteran Bodyguard be obligated to take damage being dealt to a planeswalker?
Can a planeswalker gain loyalty from Healing Salve?
Can Healing Salve prevent damage to a planeswalker?


texts: Settlers of Catan cities and knights mighty knights maximum numbers

texts:
Playing Settlers of Catan there have been a few instances where one runs out of Settlements or Cities (the pieces). How I have been playing it is that if you don't have it you can't build it.

However playing the expansion Cities and Knights for the first time I explored the Politics Calender which gives you the special of "Fortress: You may promote strong knights to mighty knights" Only then did I realize that there are only 2 Mighty Knight Token pieces. If the Politics special is to promote to Mighty Knights but only able to perform this for two knights(if they've not been promoted already) then it seems under powered compared to the other Building tree abilities.

My question is: Can you only play the 2 mighty knights during a game because there are only 2 mighty knight pieces?


texts: Are cards that are both Land and Creature affected by summoning sickness?

texts:
Are cards that are both Land and Creature affected by summoning sickness with regard to:

Possibility to attack
Activating special abilities with the TAP symbol?


texts: Help identify the game that this board with marbles and a drawn pattern is used to play

texts: I found this home-made board amongst my father's possessions, it must use marbles but I have no idea how it is played. Can anyone throw any light on the subject?


texts: Summoning Beast King Barbaros with Majesty's Fiend on the field

texts:
My opponent summoned Majesty's Fiend on their turn, I have Beast King Barbaros in hand. May I summon Beast King without tribute with Majesty's Fiend on the field and what is Beast King's attack when I do?

Beast King Barbaros
3000 ATK

  You can Normal Summon/Set this card without Tributing, but its
  original ATK becomes 1900. You can Tribute 3 monsters to Tribute
  Summon this card. If you do: Destroy all cards your opponent controls.

Majesty's Fiend

Cannot be Special Summoned. Monster effects cannot be activated.


texts: What kind of paper should one use to print custom cards?

texts: I am interested in printing custom cards for Ticket to Ride. I have some experience with printing (I used to run a magazine), so I would to print the cards with a regular printer or with a Kinko's. This is a bit more DIY than going with a custom printer who specializes in playing cards and games. What kind of paper stock should I use to print custom cards?


texts: Adventure cards and Feather, the Redeemed?

texts:
Short Version:
If I cast an adventure card targeting one of my creatures, while I have Feather, the Redeemed on the battlefield, am I required to return the card to my hand?  Or can I leave it in exile?
Long Version:
Adventure cards, let's use Faerie Guidemother, allow you to exile the card after casting the adventure, and to later cast it from exile.
Comprehensive rules:

715.3d Instead of putting a spell that was cast as an Adventure into its owner’s graveyard as it resolves, its controller exiles it. For as
long as that card remains exiled, that player may cast it. It can’t be
cast as an Adventure this way, although other effects that allow a
player to cast it may allow a player to cast it as an Adventure.

Feather, the Redeemed has the following text:

Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell that targets a creature
you control, exile that card instead of putting it into your graveyard
as it resolves. If you do, return it to your hand at the beginning of
the next end step.

As these are both replacement effects, does how the card gets exiled for Feather matter?  Or do I get to choose how I move the card?  i.e. can I choose to leave Faerie Guidemother exiled, or can I choose to put her in my hand?


texts: How to give checkmate in the game of xiangqi?

texts:
There is a board game called xiangqi. It is also known as Chinese chess. I have found a very nice website which allows people to play xiangqi with computer. This site uses western pieces. http://www.springfrog.com/games/chess/chinese/

I have learnt all xiangqi rules from Wikipedia. I have no problems with understanding them. I even know a little about xiangqi tactics (forks, pins, skewers, checks etc.). And I know the value of each Chinese chess piece.
My problem is I cannot win. I played nearly about 300 games, and I tried to checkmate my opponent (computer) but I constantly fail. Computer always checkmates me despite playing on easiest difficulty.

It seems I have no idea how to give checkmate to the opponent, unlike standard chess where I have very good knowledge of checkmate patterns. In xiangqi, I have almost no idea how to use my general, and I usually don't know how to protect him. I have no idea what exactly I should do to opponent's general either. Sometimes I manage to trade chariots and cannons but not horses.

Is there anyone who can help me? I know that in xiangqi I can also win by stalemating my opponent... But my wish is to give a checkmate at least once. And I want to play normal games, without any handicaps.


texts: Do cards that prevent cards in graveyards from being targeted by spells and abilities stop cards such as Crucible of Worlds?

texts:
If my opponent has Ground Seal in play and I have a Crucible of Worlds, can I still play lands from my graveyard? I know Crucible of Worlds says nothing about targeting, so I assume it would not stop me from playing lands from my graveyard.

Some other cards that I assume would fall under the same roof as Crucible of Worlds are Karador, Ghost Chieftain and Gisa and Geralf.


texts:
I'am trying to solve problem 633 of the elementary set (black's move):

It seems to me that after black takes the outside liberty, it's a seki. Or is there a better solution?


texts:
I get that 4,6,5,7 is valid and scores 4 points.

If it was a run that goes past the four cards played, e.g. 4,6,5,7 then a 3 is played and then a 2.

Do the 3 and 2 continue the run and score 5 points and then 6 points?


texts: Does the fact that my deck is aggro mean I should add or remove land?

texts:
Say I have a deck where the only win condition I'm trying to win the first few turns. Would I want this deck to have a different number of lands than a control deck that is looking to win later in the game? An extra land or two could help me play my spells more quickly, but it would also mean that I would have fewer spells to play.

Can any general conclusions be made about the number of lands in an aggro deck vs. a control deck? Or is it so dependent on the deck and format that this is impossible?


texts: The Hound of Tindalos says that it automatically moves to the closest investigator.  Which investigator does it target in the case of two equidistant investigators in different locations?


texts: Can a Palace Guard block for both a player and a planeswalker?

texts: I attacked my friend and his planeswalker,  who had a Palace Guard in play. Now can his card block for himself and his planeswalker at the same time? Or would he have to choose which one it blocked for, meaning himself or the planeswalker?


texts: What is the proper way way to play Butcher of Malakir and Falkenrath Noble?

texts:
I am not sure if I correctly understand what order the phases would be when playing Butcher of Malakir and Falkenrath Noble.

Also the description causes confusion as it basically says "if creature OR another creature" dies. Is this singular or plural, for example does "Whenever Falkenrath Noble or another creature dies" apply to all creatures that might die during this turn or if 5 creatures die then the affect only takes place once for "another creature"?

Scenario 1:

It is a 3 player game.
One opponent attacks me with six 5/5 creatures. He has no other creatures on the battlefield.
I choose to block with six 1/1 creatures. So all my creatures will die.

Would all his creature would be sacrificed because of Butcher of Malakir, and he also loses 12 life at the end of his turn or as creatures are dying?

Scenario 2:

One opponent attacks me with six 1/1 creatures and has no other creatures on the battlefield.
I block with three 1/1 creatures.

Which of the following would happen:

My three 1/1 creatures and three of his 1/1 creatures die due to the equal power/toughness, and because 3 of my creatures died then his other 3 creatures are sacrificed before they have a chance to attack me.
My three 1/1 creatures and three of his 1/1 creature die, but his remaining 3 creatures deal damage to me before they have to be sacrificed?


texts: I found this on Shutterstock, which is full of traditional family games and abstracts so this stood out. The image is blurry, but I figure there's enough here to recognise the game, although I don't. Anyone know what it is?


texts: Can Wheel of Sun and Moon go into graveyard from play?

texts: If Wheel of Sun and Moon is destroyed – for instance by a disenchant – does it go into the graveyard, or at the bottom of your library?


texts: Lavinia, Azorius Renegade vs Kalia of the Vast and friends

texts: If Lavinia, Azorius Renegade is on the field, and Kaalia of the Vast attacks me, when Kalia's effect puts a creature onto the battlefield from the hand, is it countered by Lavinia's second effect? What happen in case of Mayael the Anima and Golos, Tireless Pilgrim?


texts: Is there a way to play the mafia party game online ?


texts: In Yugioh, can a double-tributer be used as two tributes for a Tribute Set?

texts: Example: Can I Tribute only Gellenduo to Tribute Set Amaterasu? If I can, do I have to tell my opponent that I Tribute Set by applying the effect of Gellenduo to count itself as two tributes, or does my opponent not get to know whether my Tribute Set monster required 1 or 2 tributes?


texts:
It's stated in the rules that you add from 1 to 6 sequentially, but what I find unclear is if it is per turn or always.

Example (reduced to 3 entrances for simplicity)

z = zombie, - empty

Round 1 looks like

1 z--
2 z--
3 ---

adding 2 zombies the next round, should i start from 1 again and get

1 zz-
2 zz-
3 ---

or do i get

1 zz-
2 z-
3 z--

Starting from 1 makes it easier to overflow since you start adding there each time, but seems most logical and easy to do. But not sure if i interpret correctly. :)


texts:
After you apply damage to an outfit, and then activate the outfit multiple times (such as shields), do you apply the penalty to the total of all the dice, or to each individual die?

For exampl,e my Tier 1 shield has 1 damage. I activate two spaces (for 2d6). Would my total defense be 2d6-1 or 1d6-1 and 1d6-1?

Thanks :D


texts: Can Road Building Progress Card be played with only 1 road remaining?

texts:
Let's say that I have already placed 14 roads and have the Road Building Progress Card. Am I able to play it and place my single road, or must I be able to play 2?

Here's the full description in the Almanac:

  Road Building: If you play this card, you may immediately place 2 free roads on the board (according to normal building rules).

It seems like if I may place 2 free roads I may place only 1 road, but someone suggested that I must place 2.


texts: "Investing" in other players in Monopoly

texts: I once played a (somewhat crazy) game of Monopoly where there were too many players, so not enough properties to go around. I ended up with close to zero property but lots of cash. So I made an "investment" in another player. She had great properties (the dark greens) but very little cash; I gave her a couple thousand dollars to build with the agreement that I would get a certain percentage of all income from those properties (I believe it was a 50/50 split) and I would not need to pay if I landed on one of the properties in question. Is this a legal deal? We considered it a form of trading -- I gave her money and in return I would get money in the future.


texts:
I collected and gamed with a Blood Angel and Dark Angel army during the mid to late 90s.  I have (I think) the second edition that came in a box set of basic Space Marines and Orks, and also have the Dark Millenium expansion.  I've been wondering recently what I would need to get to bring myself up to date with the current (7th) edition/rules.  If I were to get the newer models/squads etc, I would need at least the codex.  However presumably that itself would mean I need the updated rule book.  What about the likes of the wargear cards, warp cards, vehicle data cards etc?  Would the wide range of templates (flamer, blast radius etc) still be applicable?

Also, whilst looking over some of my items I found a few old blister packs with a price on, so had a quick compare of prices.  However, one of the blister packs was Brother Bethor - he no longer seems to be available.  Presumably he'd be missing from a modern Codex and associated rules/points cost may no longer be valid.  I'm concerned this might also apply to other models in my army - how would this be resolved properly?


texts: Gisela, the Broken Blade or Bruna, the Fading Light as a Commanders

texts: Gisela, the Broken Blade is a legendary creature that melds with Bruna, the Fading Light to create Brisela, Voice of Nightmares. All three are legendary creatures and as part of the meld action are exiled before returning melded into a new object. The question is, will that new object, Brisela be considered a player's commander still, for purposes of doing commander damage?


texts: Will Open the Vaults let me return Bestow creatures as Auras?

texts: If I use Open the Vaults and there is a Bestow enchantment creature in my graveyard, can I bring it onto the field as an aura? Or just as a creature?


texts:
When my partner calls trump and the  dealer is on my right and has the right bower,
should I still lead trump knowing we can't get that trick?


texts: If I sacrifice a Sultai Emissary to a Gurmag Drowner's Exploit ability, which triggered ability resolves first?

texts: I need to know what happens first if I exploit a Sultai Emissary with a Gurmag Drowner. Do I look at the top 4 cards in my library and choose a card to add to my hand first or do I manifest the top card of my library first?


texts: For Monarch, how do you consider which are Garments and Beasts?

texts: For Monarch, there's no way to know if a court card is a beast/garment. Such as for example: The court card Wardrobe Master states that "get 3 crown values per each GARMENT court cards". Is it just going to be a consensus among sisters if they consider a card as a garment card? Such as the Ceremonial Comb court card? Or how about for beasts? Is a pomeranian court card a beast?


texts: Why this challenge in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force wasn't completed?

texts:
I was playing Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force in PPSSPP "PSP emulator for Android".

In this game, there are a challenge list to complete; one of those challenges is:

  001 - Caused 10,000 or more points of battle damage during a duel.

In a free duel against Tetsu Trudge, I was able to make the following battle damage by using these cards:

Marauding Captain (Monster effect) - equipped with the following equip spell cards:
Big Bang Shot
Big Bang Shot
Mage Power
Mask of Brutality
Swords of Revealing Light

Turn 1: Marauding Captain (with the mentioned equip spell cards), attacked a face-down monster in face-down position - causing piercing damage due to "Big Bang Shot"'s effect.

Damage: 5300 LP

Turn 2: other attack from Marauding Captain (with the mentioned equip spell cards) to a 2000 DEF monster in face-up position.

Damage: 5300 LP

Total: 10600 LP damage in battle phase.

I think I completed the challenge, but, once the duel ended, the challenge didn't show the text "indicating the challenged was completed".

Maybe I'm wrong, but, why the challenge wasn't recognized?.

Just in case I'm making it all wrong, can someone tell me how to complete these specific challenge?

N.B. I'm not asking for a deck building "I have a Maha Vailo's custom deck", but rather, how complete this challenge.

I tried also search on Google, but I couldn't find only but the challenge list rather than how complete such challenges.


texts: Has anyone published "swap maps" for the game Y?

texts:
I'm referring to the hex-grid triangular boards, not the commercial board.

Wikipedia has an article on the swap rule, and I'm wondering whether-or-not the correct

choices are published for small Y boards, like they are for not-too-large Hex boards.  [<9] [=9]

I just finished working them out by hand for up to 6 hexes per side

(which is 21 hexes total), but have not yet gone any further.


texts:
According to the Bang! High Noon Card "New Identity":

  At the beginning of their turn, each player looks at the character he is using to keep track of his life points. He may switch to the new identity for the rest of the game, starting with 2 life points.

Does this mean that if you switch to the new identity, you start off with 2 health and that is the maximum for that identity? Or can you use beer/whiskey/etc. to increase your new identity's health up to the maximum on the character card?


texts:
Most spells that exile a permanent temporarily, like Oblivion Ring or Fiend Hunter specify they return the permanent to the owner when the effect ends. Some of the newer ones like Seal Away do not say they return it to the owner.

Now I know if the permanent had been taken under temporary control from the owner, say Act of Treason or Word of Seizing the temporary effect ends, and it returns to the owner, but what happens if the effect was ongoing, say it was under temporary control then had Ghostly Flicker cast on it, or Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker's -2? Does the card return to the controller without the "end of turn" effect or does it return to the owner?


texts: Does Progenitor Mimic create copies of itself even when it isn't a creature?

texts:
Progenitor Mimic can be cast as a copy of cards like Mutavault and Simic Keyrune whilst they're in their creature state. When it does so, it can become something other than a creature: a land, an artifact, etc.

However, its copy ability states:

  At the beginning of your upkeep, if this creature isn't a token, put a token onto the battlefield that's a copy of this creature.

Suppose my Progenitor Mimic becomes a Mutavault^. At the beginning of my upkeep, it will be only a land. Will Progenitor Mimic create a new Mutavault token, or is this prevented by the fact it isn't a creature?

^ For those who may not know, it will copy exactly what's printed on the Mutavault card and be a fresh Mutavault, not a 2/2 creature, because of how copy works. You can check the 4/15/2013 rulings on Progenitor Mimic.


texts: Do you have to reveal your hand when using Treasure Map and not trashing a TM from your hand?

texts:
Since the golden rule of Dominion is to do as much as you can, when you can, shouldn't you have to reveal your hand to prove you cannot trash a Treasure Map from your hand? Treasure Map doesn't say may or Choose 1, so I doubt that you are supposed to have a choice in whether you trash a Treasure Map from your hand, if you have one.

  Treasure Map - Trash this and another copy of Treasure Map from your hand. If you do trash two Treasure Maps, gain 4 Gold cards, putting them on top of your deck.

The rules actually cover an interesting case. Imagine that this is your hand:

Throne Room, 3xTreasure Map, Copper

The rules explain what you do in this situation, and it doesn't mention that you have any choice in the outcome. It would be possible for a cheater to Throne Room the first TM, Trash one from their hand, then when the 2nd copy of TM from Throne Room resolves claim that they don't have one in their hand (if they don't have to reveal their hand), then at the end of their turn hide the TM under the Copper when discarding.

  if you Throne Room a Treasure Map, with two more Treasure Maps in hand, then the first time Treasure Map resolves you trash it and another one and gain 4 Golds, and the second time it resolves you trash your other Treasure Map but gain nothing (since you didn't actually trash the played Treasure Map that time).

Is the proper way of resolving Treasure Map when you don't Trash a Treasure Map from your hand to reveal your hand. Is this how they handle this in tournaments or in online implementations?


texts: If I use red eyes dmd effect to bring a dragon from the graveyard then send red eyes dmd to the graveyard and then bring it back in the same turn, is it treated as a new monster resetting it so I can re-use its effect to special summon another monster?


texts: Zombies/Robots, Can you combine they're coming to get you and zapbot?

texts: I was playing zombies/robots and near the end game had all of my zapbots in the discard pile. If I use "they're coming to get you" (you may play a minion on this base from your discard pile instead of your hand) can I use zapbot's ability (play another minion of power 2 or less) to play all of my remaining zapbots from the discard pile?


texts: Can Energy Chamber be used with Armageddon Clock? I.e. are the counters on Armageddon Clock "charge counters"?


texts: During the first main phase: I have a 1/2 Thraben Inspector out.  My opponent casts Harnessed Lightning targeting the inspector to kill it.  I then tap, in response, the Inspector to crew my Smuggler's Copter.  Is this legal? Is the Copter crewed and ready to attack in the combat phase?


texts: How can I refer to specific hexes on a hex board?

texts: I have seen games using hex boards but none using systems to refer to specific hexes (like you can do in Chess with numbers and letters). Is there a standard way to refer to a specific hex without numbering each hex on the board? A bit like a system of coordinates but that would be fairly clear and user-friendly?


texts: I open 1C -- Partner: 1D -- I bid 1S -- Partner bids 2NT - What 2NT means (System: Simple SAYC)

texts:
I open 1C -- Partner 1D -- I respond 1S -- Partner bids 2NT - What 2NT means, and how do I respond to it with this hand: Kxxx-Kx-xx-AQxxx?

Note: since I'm studying simple sayc what concerns me is whether I can bid "pass" here (my considerations were: I don't have 5 spades so we don't have fit, and also since the partner didn't bid 3NT - he doesn't have enough points for game together with my 12 so, nothing left for me to show else here).


texts:
Most of my favourite games, such as Diplomacy, have little or no element of luck - either via dice rolls, hands dealt, or other methods.

What other games can you recommend that rely on 'skill' alone?

One game per answer, game name formatted as header and link to more information. Vote for your favourite if it exits already.


texts: Masters of Venice - On Delivering Guild Orders

texts:
In the game Masters of Venice, what happen if after I have delivered a Guild Order, and upon drawing a new one, I still have enough goods to meet the newly drawn order?

According to the rules, I still take VP and adjust the prices of good as in my first order. However, do I count the second order as a new separate order (hence perhaps giving me more VP than the first order)?

And what does it meant by in the rules that "You do not get to deliver the order" in such cases?