texts: In Pegs and Jokers, is it legal to split a seven card between my peg and my partner's peg?

texts: In Pegs and Jokers, there are two teams of three each. Player A has four pegs in the castle and his fifth peg is two holes away from going in to have all pegs in the castle. Player A wants to play a seven card and move his last peg two holes into the castle (he would then have all five pegs in his castle) and use the remaining five moves to advance a peg belonging to his partner to his left. Is this legal?


texts: During the show if you have a 5,6,7,8 in hand and the start card is a 9, do you score 4 for the initial run plus an additional 5 for the the five card run? Would the total score for that hand be 13?


texts: Agricola - Brushwood Collector + Carpenter's Parlor combination

texts:
So, let's say I have the improvement "Carpenter's Palror", which allows wooden rooms to cost 2 wood and 2 reed.

Then see Brushwood Collector: Each time you renovate or build a room, you can replace the required 1 or 2 reed with a total of 1 wood.

If you interpret this combination in the order Parlor then Brushwood:

It costs 2 wood and 2 reed, then the 2 reed is replaced with 1 wood. So it now costs 3 wood.

In the other order:

It now costs 6 wood in total (brushwood), then the entire cost is set to 2 wood and 2 weed (2 wood and 2 reed).

Which is the appropriate interpretation?


texts: At some point it may become evident that it is impossible to complete your minimum number of objectives. Can you surrender or forfeit at this point, or must you continue playing things out until you actually lose? This could have consequences in terms of population loss due to plague cubes, exposure, etc.


texts: Is a Boros Guildgate considered a mountain?

texts: I ask this question because I don't know if we can enchant a guilgate, like a boros guildgate as example, with Chained to the Rocks.


texts: Can outfits other than Law Dogs start with Gomorra Jail?

texts:
Gomorra Jail is a deed with the following text:

  You may start with this deed in play in place of a Law Dogs dude.

  Controller React, Boot: When another player's wanted dude is discarded during the High Noon phase, this deed gains a permanent control point.

You can have dudes from other outfits in your deck (potentially with an additional upkeep cost, pg. 16), so is there any reason another faction, like the Sloane Gang, can't start with Gomorra Jail? I mean, could they just start with three Sloane Gang characters and have the Gomorra Jail be a "different outfit" dude from the Law Dogs?


texts:
Can colorless mana be generated from things that say "Add one mana of any color to your mana pool"?

One example card would be Coalition Relic.

Reasons:

For example for sunburst spells, when the caster wants less of the sunburst effect, for whatever reason.
You need to win the game with Scrapyard Salvo this turn, but you're one artifact in your graveyard short - casting a Sunburst creature as a 0/0 could be your only out


texts:
In the Science Fiction Double Feature expansion, the card Copycat allows you to copy the ability of another's player minion for a turn.

  Choose another player's minion in play. This card has the same ability as that minion until the end of the turn.

However, the timing of the copy is not clear. When I play Copycat it's ability activates. If I copy an ability that says "You may draw a card", does it activate again allowing me to draw a card? Or can I only effectively copy Ongoing abilities (and those that remain for the rest of the turn, like "you may play an extra minion")?


texts: In Tiny Epic Galaxies - when do you get your new ships?

texts:
In Tiny Epic Galaxies you can follow people's moves on their turn, and one move might be to upgrade your empire, upon which you'd gain a new ship.

Or similarly you might upgrade at the start of your turn and gain a new ship.

The question is - when do these ships arrive for the purposes of:

Being able to move them
Counting them toward receiving energy/culture.


texts:
A friend of mine is blind and she said she'd love to play something. And she meant something non-trivial. Do you know any games where you actually don't need to see? I thought about diplomacy kind of game where all you need to do is talk (political/historical background seems interesting), but could you please give me some solid examples of such games?

EDIT:

Let me narrow it down a little bit: AFAIK my friend does not know Braille yet. She's an adult, so simple games just won't cut it. It would also be her first game after becoming blind so it can't be too complex. I see the simple/complex contradiction - by "not simple" I mean with interesting storyline or background and by "not complex" I mean mechanically easy without many elements to remember (I suppose it's easier to remember an ongoing story than a set of cards and/or various numerical values, that's why I'm pushing it a little bit towards spoken games). And maybe one more, minor thing: it's definitely not a must, but I'd appreciate if it was available in Poland or was easily adaptable to polish language.


texts: What's a good counter-strategy to Workshop/Garden?

texts:
If we play a board that has Workshop and Garden kingdom cards, I almost exclusively play them as my strategy. In the early game, I focus on buying Workshop and by the third round I typically get two "buys", one in the Action phase with Workshop and the other in the Buy phase.

Mid-game, I switch to buying Garden (which gives you one VP for every 10 cards in your deck) and if I have less than 3 coins in the Buy phase, I get an Estate or Copper. This strategy has proved to be almost 100% effective in rushing to deplete three decks and ending the game around turn 16 or 17.  I've only lost once or twice using this strategy and it's usually when I deviate from my plan and forget to pick up an Estate/Copper or pick up another card on a whim.

For this scenario, I'm only playing the base set and the third pile I'm depleting is Estates.

What are effective counter-strategies to a Workshop/Garden strategy?


texts: Can you tap the same land twice in a turn?

texts:
So i am wondering if you could use cards to allow you to play a land, tap it, send it back to your hand, then tap it again.

For example:

Play forest, tap it
Play Selesnya Sanctuary, send forest to hand
Play Urban Evolution
Play forest, tap it

And maybe

Untap it with Kiora's Follower to tap it a total of 3 times

Does this work?


texts: Are weighted games in Goko Dominion adventures winnable by sheer strategy?

texts:
I'm playing through the adventure mode in Goko's online Dominion game, and I've reached the point (in the Intrigue adventure) where the game starts being weighted very heavily against me. For example, my current particular position is Act I, Level 14, and my opponent's starting deck includes 3 silver and 2 duchies replacing some of the standard copper and estates. (Not only that, the 2 duchies are taken from the supply, leaving only 6 at game start - on a board with Duke...)

I could easily even the odds using the game's "zaps," but that's not my question. What I want to know is, are Adventure levels "fair" as strategical challenges, with a viable strategy for victory? Or is it just "here's an impossible level, use zaps or die"?


texts: How does priority of triggered abilities and state based actions work together?

texts:
So, my opponent and I have 5 life each.

My opponent is attacking with two 5/5 random creatures, and I'm blocking one with Spitemare.

What would happen next?

Will the Spitemare's ability trigger? Letting me redirect that damage to my opponent and winning

Or will I die before the ability is triggered? Losing the game beforehand?


texts: Re-rolling secured red/yellow dice in Elder Sign?

texts:
It's clear from the rules that any player can use the red/yellow dice secured by a spell during their turn for resolving a task without using an Add red/yellow die Cards' effects. The rule also says, any player can use dice secured by a spell during their turn for use in a Roll - does that mean that, in case a red/yellow was secured by a spell before my turn starts, I may add the special die/dice into my dice pool and use them in my roll WITHOUT using the Add red/yellow die Cards' effects?
Thank You for any help in advance!


texts: Do you get two actions when you return from space with Starbuck?

texts:
In Battlestar Galactica, "Starbuck" has a special ability that when she starts her turn in space, she gets two actions instead of one. This makes sense because as a snazzy pilot, she can out-manuever everyone.

However, what happens if she decides to move back into the Galactica?

More specifically, does she get two actions inside the Galactica if she started her turn in space and discarded a card to go back into the Galactica?


texts: Is Metallic Mimic the chosen creature type when it enters the battlefield?

texts: If I have Thalia's Lieutenant in play and resolve a Metallic Mimic choosing "Human" does Thalia's Lieutenant get a +1/+1 counter?


texts: In an initial move in Rummikub, can I go out with 30 or more points made up of my own tiles,  and then continue my first turn with manipulating or adding to the existing board, or must I wait until my next turn to meld?


texts:
I am building a commander deck for my little brother with Teysa, Orzhov Scion as commander and I noticed that Teysa + Painter Servant is a nice combo, but Painter's servant is expensive and I believe not even legal in commander. I really liked this interaction though, so I was wondering if there is another card I could use as a replacement (that's not too expensive).

The combo in question being the following:

Have Painter's Servant replacement named black
Have 3 white creature (tokens) to sacrifice
Use Teysa's activated ability to exile a creature
Teysa's second ability triggers on each of the tokens dying, generating 3 new tokens
Repeat the process until you opponents have nothing left

Thanks in advance.


texts: Is Heritage Druid's ability limited by summoning sickness?

texts:
Heritage Druid's ability is:

  Tap three untapped elves, add {G}{G}{G} to your mana pool

Once I play Heritage Druid, can I tap three elves (Heritage Druid being one of them) and get {G}{G}{G} to my mana pool?

Just trying to be specific here, thought that several players might have the same problems and could solve it with this thread. But still, thank you all for reading and trying to answer this problem for me.


texts:
I'm trying to design a boardgame which seems to rely on honesty of the players. (Honesty is not the theme of the game, currently, but is the side effect of the rules)

  Basically, the players will throw a dice on a covered place (I'm thinking like the cover used in Godfather), and call the number against other player number - higher number wins.

The gameplay is not as simple as that, of course, but I'm stuck with the thought that there might be players that cheat - mainly: calling number higher than they've rolled.

Verifying the rolled dice by opening the cover won't work because of the design - it will reveal their skill cards, which supposed to be hidden.

My question is: is a game that relies (heavily) on player honesty is bad by design? Verifying means losing (like revealing your hands to other player)

Please note that I'm not asking for solution to my game (that's a bonus, if someone thought of one), but asking if the design just won't work.

Additional note: In my close group, people is trusted and expected to play honestly - in 7 Wonders we never check if someone does not have resources needed, or has paid the coins, etc. But that's different when playing with strangers who can (and will) lie to win.


texts: Can I tap all my opponent's lands while they're casting a spell to negate it?

texts: If my opponent attempts to play Molten Disaster (along with the kicker cost which gives it split second), can I play Mind Games to tap my opponent's lands to negate Molten Disaster?


texts: What exactly does the "structures in a row" end game bonus mean?

texts:
The rulebook says the following:

  Number of your structures in a row (any continuous straight line is fine; only count the longest row of structures you have; rivers do not break continuity).

The last bit is obvious: rivers don't matter.  The "straight line" part is in parenthesis, so I assume that it isn't as important as the "in a row", so what does that mean?

Is it any continuous grouping, or is the straight line part more important than I assume, and the structures need to be along one of the hex rows?


texts: Is Chess with more than three players exists or would be playable?

texts:
Chess board as a function of the number of players:

2 players - 8x8 square board
3 players - a special hexagonal board
4+ players - theoretically a (players * 2) gonal board.

First Question: Does this gonal board exist? Is it playable (talking about practical needs, e.g. size of a field)? How would the desk look like?

Second question: Would a 2+ players 3D-chess room be possible to create?


texts: Does the initiative from flux missiles apply to just the missiles or the whole ship? We had a question about this because if they did apply to the whole ship, then that would be 2 initiative for no power which seems too overpowered.


texts: How does Underrealm Lich interact with Sidisi when drawing multiple cards?

texts:
Suppose I have Sidisi, Brood Tyrant out:

  Whenever one or more creature cards are put into your graveyard from your library, create a 2/2 black Zombie creature token.

I also have Underrealm Lich:

  If you would draw a card, instead look at the top three cards of your library, then put one into your hand and the rest into your graveyard.

I then play Concentrate:

  Draw three cards.

Because of rule 120.2, I do this by drawing one card three times, each of which is replaced by Underrealm Lich's replacement effect:

  120.2. Cards may only be drawn one at a time. If a player is instructed to draw multiple cards, that player performs that many individual card draws.

So, three times I will look at the top three cards of my library, put one into my hand, and put the rest into my graveyard.

Let's assume for simplicity that every card near the top of my library is a creature card. In this situation, does Sidisi create:

only one zombie, because of the single "draw three cards" instruction putting creature cards into my graveyard, or
three zombies, because of three separate instructions from Underrealm Lich putting creature cards into my graveyard?


texts: Is a commander send to the command zone by Release to the Wind subject to the commander tax?

texts:
In a Commander game, if my commander would be exiled, I can put it in the command zone instead. And Release to the Wind has the effect

  Exile target nonland permanent. For as long as that card remains exiled, its owner may cast it without paying its mana cost.

So, if that spell hits my commander, and I choose to put it into the command zone instead of exile, then if I later cast it without paying its mana cost, do I still have to pay the commander tax?


texts: Does D/D/D oracle King d'arc's effect work on all card effects that take life Points?

texts: What I want to know is, will D/D/D Oracle King d'Arc's effect work on cards like Exchange of Spirit and The Winged Dragon of Ra's second effect as they state you must "pay" life points not "take damage".


texts: Does the Quarriors "Shaping Charm" allow me to rotate creatures to same level but with a burst (*)?

texts:
The Shaping Charm rules state:

  Cast this Spell to rotate all Creatures in your Ready Area up 1 Level, if possible.

Although the "level" of the creature is the number in the upper left hand corner, there are "sub-levels" for some of the creatures in which the level stays the same, but they gain a * ability.  We've been playing that the order of the faces on the bottom of the card is the "Level-up" order in this situation.

Is this an acceptable interpretation? Or should we just go with numerical level only, and if there is more than one option, allow the caster to choose which +1 level face to go to?

Also, on a related note, how does this affect the Demonic Overlord which has level faces of 1, 2, and 4.  Can I roll it from 2 to 4 with a shaping charm? Or must it be exactly 1 level higher than its current level?


texts: Do I resolve non-Shadow "Revealed" effects when revealing a Shadow card?

texts: When I reveal a Shadow card during the Combat phase, do I also resolve any non-shadow Revealed effects on that card?  For example, if an enemy reveals The Necromancer's Reach as a Shadow card, do I also deal 1 damage to each exhausted character?


texts: How does combat damage work with Party Crasher if he is both Attacking and Blocking simultaneously?

texts:
In the Unstable set there is a creature named Party Crasher who has the following ability:

  You can attack with Party Crasher once each combat during each opponent's turn.

This leads to some strange interactions and combat phases. The one I am specifically interested in is, what happens when Party Crasher is both attacking in blocking in the same combat phase?

For Example:

It is your opponents turn, they control 2 Hill Giants (3/3 creature). You control a Party Crasher (3/3 creature) that has been given both vigilance and lifelink.
During combat your opponent attacks with one Hill Giant (A), you also attack with your Party Crasher.
During blocks you assign your Party Crasher as blocker for Hill Giant (A), and your opponent assigns Hill Giant (B) as blocker for Party Crasher.

Now what happens? Which creatures die? How much Life do you gain?


texts: Do summoned units count towards victory points?

texts:
In the rules for counting victory points it says every defeated or unit that fled off the board counts as points equal to the amount it costs to include in the army.

This leads me to believe that summoned units do not count toward victory points because they were not included in the cost of the army.

So do summoned units count for victory points?


texts:
Are there any words that are impossible on Scrabble even if the blank tiles are used?

I mean that the words can't be played because there are not enough tiles to play it.


texts: Betrayal at house on the hill question about monster turns

texts: In the betrayal at house on the hill rule book it says the traitor gets an extra turn on the monsters turn but what if there are no monsters in that haunt does the traitor still get the extra turn? Also is there a post somewhere that could help balance some of the haunts?


texts: Can an opponent destroy an Iron Maiden during their upkeep to avoid taking damage from it?

texts:
I'll lay out the situation.  I have an Iron Maiden in play.  My opponent begins his turn with 10 cards in his hand (including a Disenchant), and 1 life.  Iron Maiden's ability triggers at the beginning of his upkeep.

Can he Disenchant it in response to avoid taking the damage?  Is there some other time after untap phase that he can Disenchant it, or was he doomed to lose from the moment his turn began?


texts: I don't understand Strength of the Tajuru. What does multikicker mean, and how would I use it in a game?


texts: In bridge, are there different implications of overcalling 1NT in different positions?

texts:
Suppose I had a hand like the following: (s) KJxx (h) xxx (d) AJx (c) AKx. If I were the opening bidder, I would, of course, bid 1NT. (Note to commenter below: In this paragraph, I was describing a "generic" balanced 4-3-3-3 16 hcp "no trump" hand with honors in three suits. This was NOT a specific question about the particular hand configuration above.)

If someone opened in front of me with 1 club, diamond, or spade (all of which I have a stopper in), but not 1 heart, I would still bid 1NT as an overcall.

The earliest I could do this is in the second seat, after the original bid. In this case, I know little about the holdings of either the opponent's partner or mine, except that they are constrained by the strength of the first two bidders.

If I overcalled in the third seat, I would know that my partner (first seat) was a passed  hand but I wouldn't know this about my opponent's partner (fourth seat).

If I overcalled in the fourth seat, I would know that both my and the opener's partners had passed hands.

If the "one bid" came from the first seat instead of the third seat, I would be in the "balancing" seat, and possibly overcall 1NT with 12-14 points.

Questions:

Do I need to be more careful in the third seat, since I might be sandwiched between two strong opponents?
If the "one bid" came from the third seat after two passes, can I overcall light in the fourth seat as if I am "balancing," even though technically I'm in the direct seat? Expert Larry Cohen calls this "balancing in the direct seat" and advocates this.
If opener bid a suit in which I have stoppers (that is, other than hearts), can I worry "less" about he heart suit, on the theory that since opener didn't show strength in hearts, my partner and the opener's partner are equally likely to have strength in that suit?


texts: What is done with discarded Tides of Battle cards?

texts:
In A Game of Thrones Second Edition there is an optional rule variant to use the included Tides of Battle (TOB) cards.

However, the rule book does not mention what is to be done with the discards.

We have been playing that after each battle, all the TOB cards are returned to the deck and it is reshuffled, such that each battle will have the same random chances of getting each card, the only exception being that when the Valyrian Steel Blade is used to draw a new card, the old card is not returned to the deck until after the combat, with the rest of the TOB cards.

I think the way we are playing is correct, because I don't think that the way one battle was fought should influence another in any meta-type way. However, some of the players in my group think that the cards should be discarded into a discard pile (like every other deck of cards in the game) and only when it is empty should they be reshuffled.

This would drastically change the way combat is played out, as players would remember the previous TOB cards drawn and know what advantages and disadvantages they might have in combat.

What is the official verdict on this? Should the cards be reshuffled each battle to create a more balanced system of combat, or should they only be reshuffled when they run out, so as to create much less balanced and much more calculated battles?


texts: In my current meta one of the players likes to play Contamination.  If I have a Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx in play, and my opponent has a Contamination, would it be possible to produce non-black mana with the Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx?


texts: How can you get around the lack of early stone in two-player Agricola?

texts:
In two-player Agricola, the first Take Stone action space appears in Rounds 5-7. Apart from one or two Minor Improvements, there is no way to get stone earlier than this. Having played quite a few such games, I feel that this is an unfortunate limitation, as certain cards such as the Axe and the Peat Charcoal Kiln (in Farmers of the Moor) are very useful if played early. But as they cost stone, you might have to wait until round 7 to have a chance, and this almost completely negates their usefulness.

Games with 3-5 players have ways of picking up small amounts of stone before the Take Stone cards appear. I feel like an equivalent would make the two-player game more flexible. Would it break the game to modify the rules slightly (e.g. including the "Take one building resource" 3-player action card, or something else along those lines), or should I just accept the limitations? In most respects the game seems very well balanced but I feel like this is an exception.


texts: "Selecting" a monster that is "unaffected by card effects"; is it possible?

texts:
So, if my opponent activates a card that makes me select one monster to destroy, I have 2 monster, 1 unaffected by card effects while the other can, can I select the unaffected?

I mean, as far as I know effects resolve against cards unaffected by card effects but as it says, it is unaffected, so, can I do that?

And would the same apply if I activate a card that makes me destroy one monster I own and I select the monster unaffected by effects?


texts: In Axis and Allies, Is There A Way to Measure the Benefits of Various Techs Against Each Other? And the Cost of Discovery?

texts:
At one level, we can measure the cost of discovering tech using IPCs. Each die roll costs 5 IPCs, and one discovery will be made every six rolls, on average, yielding an average cost of 30 IPCs. Some discoveries may be worth that much or more during the course of a game, others probably not.

If we could measure the various techs in terms of IPCs, then we could compare them against each other. We could also weigh them against the 30 IPCs it takes to find them. (In the Classic Game, one needs to think in terms of 180 IPCs for a "package" of all techs; the first one might not be heavy bombers.)

Everyone "knows" that heavy bombers carry a disproportionate value. Can we now construct a tool to find out how disproportionate, and whether reducing the value of the tech from three to two die rolls is adequate? And the reverse question for some others: do they need to be upgraded to make them worth researching?


texts: Does Paelleall's Wrath of the Volcano ability affect Heroes on her tile and the Entrance Tile?

texts:
Paelleall's Summoner Ability reads (emphasis mine):

Wrath of the Volcano
At the beginning of your turn, choose the shortest path from your current tile to the Dungeon Entrance tile. All other heroes within that path receive one wound marker. If multiple paths exist, choose 1.

Clearly her ability should affect heroes that share a dungeon tile with her, or they wouldn't have noted "All other heroes." Does reasoning follow that heroes on the Dungeon Entrance would be wounded as well?
Is this path inclusive of the start and end point?


texts: What happens when both players run out of cards with Gideon of the Trials and an emblem in play?

texts:
Gideon of the Trials is a planeswalker card from Amonkhet with the following abilities:

  +1: Until your next turn, prevent all damage target permanent would deal.

  0: Until end of turn, Gideon of the Trials becomes a 4/4 Human Soldier
  creature with indestructible that’s still a planeswalker. Prevent all
  damage that would be dealt to him this turn.

  0: You get an emblem with “As long as you control a Gideon
  planeswalker, you can’t lose the game and your opponents can’t win the
  game.

My understanding of "can't lose" effects like the third above ability is that they prevent any loss except for a voluntary concession (since the player who concedes simply leaves the game with all cards they own). So, a player who has this Gideon on the battlefield and an emblem would ignore the rule that you lose if an effect would make you draw a card from your library, but your library has no cards in it. (This method of losing is known as "decking.")

Normally board stalls and the like are decided when one or the other player loses by decking but in a two-player game where both players control a Gideon of the Trials and have used his emblem ability, neither player can win and neither player can lose. In addition, each player can use their Gideon's +1 ability to ensure their opponent's Gideon can't kill their own.

What rule applies in the situation where both players run out of cards in their library and can't (or don't) remove their opponent's Gideon?

As a follow-up, are cards in hand relevant? Either player could hold onto cards to bluff having an answer. Maybe one or both players holds an instant-speed answer but wants to play it in response for the best chance of winning (if both have Anguished Unmaking, both want to respond).

The board state isn't necessarily an exact loop because both players can be plussing their Gideons before passing the turn.


texts:
I have seen Euchre played with up to 6 people before (3 pairs) and was wondering if adding more people in to the game would be possible or if it would cause issues with the intended probability of the game. Is there a threshold for the number of people per suit?

i.e.

2 players (A K Q J 10 9)
4 players (A K Q J 10 9 8 7)
6 players (A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5)

Could 8 players play with the six player deck? Would they also need 2 more numbers in the deck or would they possibly need more?


texts: At what stage does combat actually start?

texts:
(Question based on the third edition)

A couple of combat scenarios had us a little confused.

Scenario 1:

Day starts
Player 1 moves into city where Dracula currently is.

Does combat start immediately?
Even though Player 2 would be able to get into that city during their move?

Scenario 2:

Night starts
There are 2 hunters in the same city with Dracula.
Player 1 needs to take an action.

Does combat start immediately?


texts:
I have a complicated situation involving four major powers.  The below chart will summarize their relations.  Both sets of allies are using simultaneous movement.

         France   Russia    Spain   Turkey
France       XX   Allied      War      ---
Russia   Allied       XX      War      War
Spain       War      War       XX   Allied
Turkey      ---      War   Allied       XX

French and Russian fleets are blockading the Spanish and Turkish fleets at Cadiz.
Spain & Turkey wish to run the blockade together as one stack.  Who can intercept and why?


texts: Does drunkenness / poisoning / death interrupt ongoing abilities?

texts:
In Blood on the Clocktower, the Bad Moon Rising edition has a few characters that have ongoing effects. I notice in particular the Courtier and the Pukka, who have abilities that span multiple days.
Normally, drunkenness or poisoning prevents an ability from successfully happening. However, I'm not clear on when happens if these characters become poisoned or drunk while their effects are still happening.
For example:

The Courtier uses their ability on the Mastermind. The next evening, the Pukka attacks the Courtier. Is the Mastermind still poisoned from the Courtier's ability? What about the following evening, after the Courtier dies?
The Pukka attacks the Tea Lady, poisoning them. The next evening, the Courtier chooses the Pukka to poison. Does the Tea Lady die due to the Pukka's ability?


texts: Does Brain in a Jar let you cast a Sorcery at Instant speed?

texts:
This question is about the wording on a new card Brain in a Jar:

  {1}, {T}: Put a charge counter on Brain in a Jar, then you may cast an instant or sorcery card with converted mana cost equal to the number of charge counters on Brain in a Jar from your hand without paying its mana costs.

Does this mean that we can cast a sorcery at instant speed? On an opponents turn?


texts: In Kill Team, can a Genestealer Cult team have a genestealer?

texts:
I'm new to Kill Team and got the starter box. Looking through my old bitz box, I found a few genestealers which I thought "Perfect! I will add them to my genestealer cult."

But looking through the Kill Team book, I can be sure if I can use those genestealer in my force or if I have to use them as proxy for something else.


texts:
Polymorphist's Jest says each creature target player controls loses all abilities and becomes a blue Frog with a base power and toughness 1/1. My question is...  how would this work with Emrakul? Like let's say a player attacks with Emrakul, you cast Polymoprhist's Jest and then lightning bolt Emrakul.

My assumption is that the defending player would still have to sacrifice six permanents because the attack is earlier in the stack.

And when Emrakul hits the graveyard does it go into the graveyard and stay there or does the graveyard still get shuffled into the library?


texts:
In Magic: The Gathering, many players talk about a "control finisher" -- some kind of big back-breaking spells that (usually) seals up your victory. I guess you could say that, if you boil down a control strategy to "don't lose the game long enough that you can win it", the finisher cards in your deck are providing the "win it" part.

In the past, these have been fairly modest singleton creatures in otherwise creatureless permission decks, whittling away at an opponent's life while you lock your opponent out with counterspells (most notably, Serra Angel and Morphling). More recently, cards like Cruel Ultimatum, Grave Titan, and Consecrated Sphinx have all been described as "control finishers". I've seen the label applied to Celestial Colonnade as well.

What characteristics make a card a good choice for the "finisher" role?

When is a generally strong and cost-efficient card in your deck's colors (a nasty creature or planeswalker, especially) not a good control finisher?


texts:
Stone Age is one of my personal favourite games. The game dynamics are excellent and requires plenty of skill and strategy to win, with the only exception of the dice roll when determining resource.

Has anyone modified the rules to make the game less dependant on the luck of the dice? I find it a shame to lose a game due to luck, rather than skill.


texts: Is attacking population and influencing hexes done at the end of battle, or at the end of the combat phase?

texts:
From page 20 of the rulebook:

  Attacking Population: After all battles have been resolved,
  the remaining Ships may attack the population in the hex.

From page 21:

  Influencing Hexes: If a hex has no population after all
  battles have been resolved and you have at least one Ship
  there...

Does this mean when all battles have been resolved across the board, or just all battles within that hex?  Or is the timing left to player discretion, so long as it's all done "after all battles have been resolved"?

For example, in a case where the blue player, who has no influence discs remaining, successfully attacks a hex, but loses another hex in a later battle (which frees up a disc), this can be understood three ways:

Battles are resolved completely on a hex-by-hex basis, ending with attacking population and influencing the conquered hex.
Ship battles are resolved completely across the board, then population attacked and hexes influenced on an arbitrary basis at the end of the combat phase.
Ship battles are resolved completely across the board, then population attacked across the board, then hexes influenced across the board, all in descending hex order.

In the first interpretation blue would not be allowed to influence the first hex since the disc would not be freed at all until the later battles are resolved.  However, in the second and third interpretation, blue would be allowed to influence the first hex attacked since the disc freed from the later battle would be available.

How should this be played?


texts: How does Diver movement work in forbidden island?

texts:
I played my first few games of Forbidden Island last night, and one of the roles we played was the Diver. We weren't 100% sure of the meaning of his special ability, so I wanted to ask if anyone had any clarification to make sure we play correctly in future.

The Diver's ability (from memory, edit if incorrect) says:

  The Diver may move through any number of flooded or sunken tiles for 1 action

does this mean that the Diver can move to any land tile connected by flooded/sunken tiles? Or does it mean that moving through any number of such tiles is 1 action, and emerging onto land again is a second action?

to illustrate, here is an example:
let X be a sunken tile, T be a regular tile, and FT be a flooded tile.

T1 - FT1 - X - FT2 - T2.

Does moving the diver from T1 to T2 constitute 1 action, or 2 (one to move to FT2, and one to move the last square)?


texts: Where can I find an opening database of professional games for 9x9 Go?

texts:
I'm looking for an opening database (also called game explorer) for 9x9 Go, showing in every position the percentage of times each move is played and also possibly the percentage of times each move leads to a win for Black.

The database must only include games played by professionals.

Just like the following database, but for 9x9 instead of 19x19: http://ps.waltheri.net/

It doesn't matter if there are not a lot of games in the database. Even a hundred games would be sufficient.

Edit:
I found one! Here it is: https://online-go.com/puzzle/181
But I would still be interested in other databases. So if somebody else finds another 9x9 database, with at least as much games (361) as the previous one, please do give me its link.


texts: How can I find the price of non-english cards?

texts: I have several German cards, from Unlimited - Fourth. How can I tell the price of German (ex. Hypnotic Specter)? TCGplayer's website doesn't appear to have much data for foreign language cards.


texts: If Anafenza, the Foremost dies at the same time as another creature, will the other creature be exiled?

texts:
Here is the situation: I have a Fetid Imp on the field, and my opponent has two Disowned Ancestors and Anafenza, the Foremost. Now I play Languish to give all creatures -4/-4.

Is Fetid Imp exiled due to Anafenza's ability, or is it destroyed and sent to my graveyard as Anafenza dies at the same time?


texts: In Puerto Rico when using the "residence" how is "occupied island spaces" interpreted?

texts:
When playing Puerto Rico and using the residence building it states that it is based on the number of "occupied island spaces".

Does this mean plantation spaces with a farm and a colonist? Or does this mean plantation space with or without a colonist?


texts: How does Death-blow work in Warhammer Quest?

texts:
I m not sure if this belongs here or in RPG, as I feel Warhammer Quest kind of straddles the line between the two. I am also unable to create a tag for Warhammer Quest, so it's tagged Warhammer Fantasy.

Since Warhammer Quest went out of print back in 1998, I think no rule has inspired more argument than Death-blow.

There seem to be two main camps for this rule.

A monster must be on full wounds and be slain outright with a single attack in order to activate the Death-blow.
Any melee attack which inflicts enough damage to kill the monster will activate this rule, regardless of how injured the monster was.

The rulebook says the following:

  DEATH-BLOW
  (Killing a Monster with a Single Blow)

  Sometimes a Warrior will hit a Monster so hard that he kills it with a single blow. If this happens he can carry on his attack to the next Monster, getting a chance to kill him too. This follow-on attack represents the mighty swing of the Warrior's blade hacking down his foes in one monstrous blow.

  If there is another Monster standing in an adjacent square to the Warrior's initial target, and that is still within the range of his
  attack, the swing of his blade may catch it too. Roll to hit and wound
  the Monster as normal. If this Monster is also killed with a single
  blow, the blow carries on round in the same direction to the next
  Monster, and so on.

  This mighty blow, which we call a death-blow, stops when the Warrior fails to kill a Monster with a single blow, or his blade meets
  an obstacle such as a wall or another Warrior.

  Note that if you kill a Monster with a single blow from an arrow or other missile weapon you do not get to carry on to the next
  Monster, as you cannot hit more than one target with a single arrow.

  Only Warriors may make a death-blow, not Monsters.

  Warhammer Quest Rulebook, pg 24

So, how do people feel this rule should work RAW?

What do people think are the RAI?

Are there any official sources/FAQs for this question?


texts: Are there times NOT to bid 1NT with 15 high card points and a balanced hand?

texts:
This refers to a strong (15-17) 1NT with hand shapes of 4-3-3-3, 4-4-3-2, or 5-3-3-2.

With "flat" hand like (s) Kxx (h) Kxx (d) KJx (c) KQxx, I would refrain from bidding 1NT, after deducting one point from my "bare" 15 for the 4-3-3-3 shape. (All the x's are 7 or lower; give me two or three tens or nines and I would probably open 1NT.) Instead, I would bid one club.

Change the hand slightly to (s) Kx (h) Kxx (d) KJxx (c) KQxx, and I'd probably bid 1 diamond since I'm 2-3 in the majors, even though my shape is technically 2-3-4-4. (But if the major and minor suits were switched, so I have two high card majors, I'd bid 1NT and hope to hear 2c (Stayman) or a transfer bid.)

With a 5-4-2-2 "semibalanced" hand, I wouldn't bid 1NT with 15-16, but might do so with 17-18, deducting a point or so for two doubletons.

Would most experts refrain from bidding 1NT with 15 high card points in the above situations, or similar ones that I haven't mentioned?


texts: Mansions of Madness, Custom Scenarios: where to start?

texts: My gaming group has finished all of the official MoM scenarios a couple of times, and have been looking for some good custom fan-made ones to try out. However, I'm not even sure where to start looking, or how to tell if a given scenario is any good. Where do I find good custom scenarios for the game, and/or how do I tell if a scenario is good?


texts: How to search opponents library when playing remote via webcam?

texts:
My brother and I are living several 100 miles apart, which makes playing MTG face to face a little difficult. We have been playing via web cam (mounted over the table) for several months now but are still facing some problems with this setup.

The most annoying one is the problem stated in the headline. If a spell allows me to search his library, I cannot really do so, because I cannot reach through the web cam. We discussed having full deck lists that we can pass on whenever this happens, but this list must be adapted each time such a spell is played, because the library is different every time.

Another problem is enslaving enemy creatures or putting enchantments on them. We created some workarounds but they are just that - workarounds.

How do others deal with this issue when playing MTG over web cam? Are there any software tools that can help us with that? We are using Skype and I considered editing the video stream directly with my web cam software, to indicate enchantments and stuff like that. This helps in many cases, but does not solve the "searching the library" problem. I am grateful for any solutions.


texts: What is this notation for dimensions: 2-11/16" x 3-13/16"

texts:
I am looking for dividers to order a card collection. I find some on a website but I really don't understand the dimensions: 2-11/16" x 3-13/16".

Is it (2*11/16)" x (3*13/16)"? It would be rather complicated...

Thanks in advance for your help.


texts: In MTG, what happens when Sakashima the Imposter copies Halcyon Glaze?

texts:
If I cast Sakashima the Imposter, copying Halcyon Glaze, what happens?

My guess is that Sakashima becomes a 4/4 Enchantment Creature - Illusion until the end of the turn (that's the current state of Halcyon Glaze) with Halcyon Glaze's text ("Whenever you play a creature spell...").

So, Sakashima would revert to a 3/1 with Halcyon Glaze's text at the end of the turn. This means that on future turns, if I cast a creature spell, Sakashima would again become a 4/4.

Something about that doesn't seem quite right, however. What actually happens?


texts: When using the Gold Rush expansion and the dynamite is triggered to explode, does the player who played the dynamite card gain any gold? If the player has 2 life and is dealt 3 damage, would the player collect 2 or 3 gold?


texts:
Suppose I play Baral, Chief of Compliance with red mana available. The opponent responds with Lightning Bolt killing my Baral.

Can I continue to combo getting a cost reduction from Baral on the stack or does the cost reduction end with the 3 damage from the Bolt?

I believe it does because Baral hasn't resolved yet. In that case, is it a different situation if the opponent targets Baral after it has resolved, for example the following turn?


texts: How to Mitigate Snowball Effect of Events

texts:
I enjoy the events thematically, but the majority of them seem to be of the general form: Make a [stat] roll. If you succeed, increase [stat], if you fail, decrease [stat].

Because the number of dice you get to roll are based on your current stat value, you're more likely to succeed and increase some stat that you're already good at, and more likely to fail and decrease some stat that you're already bad at.

Especially during the exploration phase, there is little to do except explore new rooms and get hit with unpredictable events which will increasingly cripple you if you have a lower-than-average stat.

Does anyone know of a way to mitigate this snowball effect, so you're not perpetually punished for having a bad roll early?

Edit: More specifically, I was looking for additions to the rules that provide a little more agency/forgiveness than conservative gameplay, which tends to rely on the cooperation of others.


texts:
In The Captain is Dead, we can teleport aliens around the ship to get them out of the way (a hold full of aliens?).
Can we teleport them all to a hallway so they don’t impede any systems?


texts: How to score the play of this Cribbage round?

texts:
Two players kept the same hands: 2 threes, 1 four, 1 five.
The play went as follows (count is in brackets, scoring was quickly beyond us)

Player 1 led with a 3             [=  3]
Player 2 followed with a three    [=  6]
Player 1 followed with a three    [=  9]
Player 2 followed with a three    [= 12]
Player 1 followed with a four     [= 16]
Player 2 followed with a four     [= 20]
Player 1 followed with a five     [= 25]
Player 2 followed with a five     [= 30]

How does one score this round? (Counting the crib and hands are irrelevant to this, just the play, please.)


texts: Elder Thing - "This minion is not affected by opponents' cards."

texts:
Elder Thing's rule text states that "This minion is not affected by opponents' cards."

If so, what happens if an opponent plays a card (forget it's name. It was in the Minions of Cthulhu faction) that shuffles all minions in the base to the bottom of the deck?

Is it still affected? Or is it going to stay?


texts: What is the best way to respond to this pincer joseki deviation?

texts:
Every now and again when I approach a corner, opponent plays 1-space pincer and I jump out, my opponent immediately peeps. This seems like aji keshi and bad shape, but I've been stumped as to how to really take advantage of it. Normally what I would get out of this joseki is a nice influential wall facing the center, but now it seems I must sacrifice my corner aji to get the wall.

$$cm1 Should W connect?
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . 1 . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |

If W connects (below), she is free to invade the corner in the future and can connect underneath to 4 if necessary, so is chasing B's group the way to proceed

$$cm1 W does have options...
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . 4 . X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . , . . 1 2 . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . . 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |

However, if the normal joseki were played out before black peeped (again, below) W would probably be happy to solidify her wall and then jump in the corner. The better way for B to cut would be 1 at 2.

$$cm1 A poor way for black to cut
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . X . X X X . O . . 4 . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . O O O X 1 3 . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . O . . . . O 2 O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |

But without the wall already in place, W has difficulty mimicking this result. So what should W do?


texts: Are in-universe Magic characters aware of colors?

texts: There are 5 colors in Magic and many characters are associated with one or more of these colors. The colors thematically represent aspects, but are the characters aware of the existence of these aspects? For example, does Teferi know that he is a blue-white mage?


texts: Identifying a version of Cards Against Humanity

texts:
I have an unopened box of Cards Against Humanity that I was gifted a few years ago. I would like to sell it.
As there are different versions, I would need to be able to say which it is. How can I find out without removing the plastic wrapping?


texts: When do trading deals become too unbalancing?

texts:
I've played a few games of Settlers of Catan with friends and seen some deals emerge in the trading that don't seem quite right to me.  When do deals that extend beyond the current trade become unbalancing?

For example:  Player A is planning to build a road that will block either Player B or Player C from longest road.  So Player A sets up a bidding war between B and C to control this future behavior.  B and C offer deals like:

Any time I have two of (favored resource) I will give one to you
I will never attack you with the robber

At what point do deals like these cause the balance of the game to shift too far where it's not fun or as good to play?  Balance seems to be the key in all games, and I just want to make sure deals like these don't kill it for the rest of the players.


texts: This is regarding a texas holdem no limit home game. After the flop, player 1 and player 2 are the only remaining who bet. After the turn of the river card, player 1 goes all in. Player 2 decides to call but does not use the word "call" but says "full house" and flips his cards over. Player 2 has the highest hand. What happens in this situation?


texts: Can a player use the Wand of Dowsing card during a combat which is not his?

texts:
During a combat I had, a player played a blue card (Wand of Dowsing) and selected a card in the pile that would cancel the combat that I was having. Is that legal ?
The "Wand of Dowsing" card states that:

Go through the discards to find any one card you want. Take that card and discard this one.

Here is the card:


texts:
Suppose I cast a Wild Ricochet onto a Clan Defiance. My Clan Defiance targets flying, non flying and player: can I redirect all of them?

If I do, can I choose the target to be all on the player or do the new targets have to be under same targeting rules?


texts: When does Dreadhorde Arcanist check it's power when resolving the trigger in this situation?

texts:
Dreadhorde Arcanist lets you recast a instant or sorcery spell from your graveyard for free when it attacks.

Now I had this situation come up:
I had two Arcanists on the field. In the main phase I buffed one of them with Collision // Colossus (+4/+2) which costs 2 mana. When I attacked I got two trigger for both the abilities. I used the trigger of the now 5/5 Arcanist to cast Collision // Colossus again and wanted to buff the 1/3 Arcanist with it, while it's trigger was still on the stack.
Sadly, the enemy conceded, so I didn't see how Arena would have handled it.

In this situation, would my second Arcanist trigger resolve with 5 power, or with 1?

Thank you.


texts: Vorinclex, does my opponents land untap if they were tapped before i summoned him?

texts: If I summon Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger and my opponent already had lands tapped before hand, do they untap on his turn or do they stay tapped?


texts: Has Magic always had tapped/untapped tokens?

texts:
It's been a long time since I've played Magic.  (My "new" cards are from 4th edition.)

As I recall, tokens could be created and destroyed, but they could never be tapped or untapped.  In practice, people represented them with pennies or scraps of paper.

Now I'm seeing talk about tapping and untapping tokens, and cards being sold to represent tokens to make this job easier.

When did Magic start tapping and untapping tokens?

Alternatively, if they've always allowed it and my memory and/or understanding of the rules is simply faulty, feel free to make that clear in your answer.


texts: Is there a functional reason for Ghostfire not having the Devoid keyword?

texts:
Ghostfire is a card that has a colored mana cost, and then is changed by its rules text to become colorless. This is largely what Devoid has been used for in editions printed after Ghostfire has first seen the light of day.

  702.113a Devoid is a characteristic-defining ability. “Devoid” means “This object is colorless.” This ability functions everywhere, even outside the game. (...)

Ghostfire is very similar to Reality Hemorrhage, with the only difference being that you pay one more colorless mana for one more damage, and the difference inquired about here.

The only apparent difference is that Devoid is a keyword ability, but since it only creates a CDA (characteristic-defining ability) with exactly the same text that can be found on Ghostfire, it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Is there any ever-so-slight functional difference at all between these phrasings?

Of course, reasons other than functional ones could be, for example, that only Eldrazi-related cards would actually receive the Devoid keyword, or that Wizards maybe wants to errata as little as possible, but that's not what this question is primarily about. However if you do find citation for that, please post it as a comment, or addendum to an answer.


texts: Can you use the angel token in conjunction with the rabbits foot

texts:
If I have both the angel feather and the rabbits foot in my hand can I make a roll, and then if I fail that roll use the rabbits foot to re-roll on die and use the angel feather to call an 8 on the re-roll?

I don't think you can but my friends say yes you can and I can't find any rule that states you can or can't either way.


texts: Can I bring Blightsteel Colossus back to my graveyard before it gets shuffled into my library?

texts: If I discard a Blightsteel Colossus and the "Shuffle into library" trigger goes on the stack, can I, in response, do something to bring it back from my graveyard before it gets shuffled, such as by Cloudshifting Sharuum the Hegemon?


texts: Do MTG Core sets contain new (never before seen) cards? How does this compare with expansion sets?

texts:
(I clearly didn't format my prior question appropriately so I'll rephrase things).

Do MTG Core sets contain new (never before seen) cards?  Or is it just cards for the prior year's expansion set?

Assuming that there are new cards, how does this compare with the ratio of old to new cards available in expansion sets?


texts:
Does Mystic Mine stops all monster effects? Or just activation?

It sounds like only activation, so continuous monster effects may still be active? Like Denko Sekka's effect?

Mystic Mine:

If your opponent controls more monsters than you do, your opponent cannot activate monster effects or declare an attack. If you control more monsters than your opponent does, you cannot activate monster effects or declare an attack. Once per turn, during the End Phase, if both players control the same number of monsters: Destroy this card.

Denko Sekka:

Cannot be Special Summoned. While you control no Set Spells/Traps, neither player can Set Spells/Traps nor activate Spell/Trap Cards that are Set on the field.

Case 2:

Another similar case would be Mystic Mine vs Majesty's fiend, will Majesty's Fiend effect will be active?

Majesty's Fiend:

Cannot be Special Summoned. Monster effects cannot be activated.

Case 3:

Another case would Majesty's Fiend vs Denko Sekka, will Denko Sekka's effect by active?


texts: Pros and Cons of running a deck with no 1-mana spells?

texts:
Sometimes I've noticed myself building decks that have no spells that cost 0 or 1 mana, and instead have extra spells that cost 2 mana to make sure I don't get crushed in the early game. 1-drops only really shine on turn 1 or when you squeeze them in on later turns, so switching them all out for 2-drops seems like it could potentially be advantageous. Am I making a big mistake by doing this?

I understand that this is highly situational in terms of deck-type and the cards in question. I would think an Aggro deck would want to run 1-drops just to get swinging by turn 2, even if they could've waited and got a more powerful creature later on. There are also some 1-mana spells that are good enough to be competitive with 2-drops anyway. But in general, what are the costs and benefits of running a deck with all the 1-mana cards shifted up to more powerful 2-mana cards?

(I primarily play limited formats, but I don't think constructed vs. limited would matter much in the context of this question)


texts: How does one evaluate the "strength" of a hand in Magic the Gathering?

texts:
In MTG (or other games), if one player is dealt a strong hand, and the other a weak one, the first player is likely to win. Unless, of course, the first player plays much worse or is unlucky during the course of the game.

How does one evaluate the strength of a hand in MTG? This is NOT a question about when to take a mulligan (which applies only to the weaker hands), but is a general question about all hands, weak, average, strong, and even "come" hands. (An example of a "come" hand, from poker is four to a straight or a flush, that is weaker than one pair, but will be a very strong hand if it "fills.")

I'm using some examples from bridge, which I know better:

One has a disproportionate number of the most powerful cards (three or all four of the aces in the deck).
One has a large number of moderately powerful cards (e.g. face cards, not all aces).
One has a hand with only average "raw" strength, but that is highly co-ordinated (e.g. seven or eight cards of a single suit for trumps). This can be combined with having few low cards, and hence few weaknesses, in other suits.
One has "position", e.g. by playing after an opponent with a slightly weaker hand, so it is easy to "cancel" or "one-up" him.

What are similar, or analogous advantages in MTG? Are there "standard" evaluation methods, as there are in bridge (with its high card point count), or is it more of a situational thing?


texts: Can Turn to Frog prevent 'enter the battlefield' abilities?

texts: Can my opponent cast Turn to Frog, to prevent 'Enter the battlefield' abilities?


texts: Why is the first tile inactive in Burgle Bros?

texts:
In the Burgle Bros FAQ, the first tile of the first floor you are burgling is inactive:

  When entering a new floor for the first time, does the tile trigger when you move into it?

  Yes, except for at the start of the game, entering the first floor.  Also you can peek before moving up.

This doesn't seem thematic to me at all. What if the first tile is deadbolt? It seems reasonable to me that a bank's big heavy door would try to prevent burglars from coming in whether it is the start of the game or not.

My question is, why did the designer make entering the first floor so easy?


texts: How different are "Kill Doctor Lucky" and "Save Doctor Lucky"?

texts:
I've played "Kill Doctor Lucky" and highly enjoy it.  A great, light, game that non-gamers quickly pick up and play easily.  In this game, players move from room to room in a mansion, trying to get Dr. Lucky out of sight of other players so they can kill him.

I'm considering purchasing "Save Doctor Lucky."  It looks like this game reverses the intent.  Players move from room to room in the Titanic, hoping to be in sight of another player as they save Dr. Lucky (so they can be known as a hero).

Obviously, the mechanics sound similar.  I'm wondering what the overall feel of the game is.  Does it offer new and interesting strategies?  Will my family, who are veteran assassins from the first game, find it interesting?  Or is it "just a skin" on the old game?


texts: In Diplomacy, How Would England Identify Its First Target?

texts:
England, being an island, has an enviable defensive position. This same fact makes it hard for it to get a foothold on the European Continent, where most of the remaining 31 supply centers lie.

There are three countries that immediately block England's expansion: Russia, Germany, and France. England will inevitably end up fighting at least one of those countries, possibly with the help of one or both of the other two.

Russia blocks the way to Scandinavia, Germany opposes England in the Low Countries and the center of the Continental Europe, France stands in the way of expansion via the Mid-Atlantic, the Iberian Peninsula, and ultimately the Mediterranean.

England is one country I've never played. How does England decide on target supply centers, and by implication, whom to fight? Does it depend on what is going on elsewhere on the board (e.g. the Mediterranean)? Does it depend on the caliber and personalities of the people playing the other three countries? Will other countries flock to seek alliances with England to create a balance of power? Or will it be mostly ignored, since it is an island, and have to "go it" alone?


texts: In Yggdrasil, which character abilities are most useful/effective?

texts:
I've played enough Pandemic (another co-operative game with varying player abilities) to know that some characters' abilities are more useful than others, or at least lead to a higher probability of winning.

I've only played Yggdrasil a couple of times, but I already wonder if some characters are more likely to win than others. Abilities like being allowed to re-roll dice (Tyr) or +1 to all combat (Thor) seem more useful than, for instance, the ability that lets you use the same action more than once in a turn.

Is this fair? Are some characters' abilities demonstrably better than others?

Edit: The abilities are:

Odin

  Takes two Enemy cards from the stack instead of one, chooses which one he wants to play and puts the other one back on or under the deck.

Thor

  Has a permanent +1 bonus for combat.

Frey

  Can perform 4 actions during his turn (instead of 3), but they still have to be performed in different worlds.

Heimdall

  Can take 4 counters instead of 3 when he looks for souls.

Tyr

  Can roll the die twice and choose one of the results in
  any situation.

Freyja

  Can perform 2 of her 3 actions in the same world.


texts: What considerations are important for initial placements in Kingdom Builder?

texts: I've only played Kingdom Builder a few times.  What should I be looking for when placing my first couple settlements?  Are there synergies between the scoring rules and bonus abilities to consider?  How much should I avoid being adjacent to multiple terrains?


texts: Can you activate an activated ability more than once per turn?

texts:
I am using the card Blood Bairn, which has the following activated ability:

  Sacrifice another creature: Blood Bairn gets +2/+2 until end of turn.

I use my Blood Bairn in conjunction with Festering Newts, which allow me to give a target creature -1/-1 when it dies. The sacrifice allows it to die and lets me hurt a creature. If I have, say, 2 Festering Newts on the field, can I activate Blood Bairn's ability with both Festering Newts, allowing me to not only give -1/-1 to 2 target creatures but also giving Blood Bairn +4/+4?


texts: In Gizmos (2nd ed.), if someone performs the "research action" and files a gizmo, does that count as a "file action"?

texts: For example, if someone decides to research on the first turn, if they decide to put a card in their archive, would they then draw an energy at random (from the beginning gizmo that allows you to do so whenever you perform a file action)?


texts: Golos, Tireless Pilgrim and cards with cycling

texts: If I use Golos, Tireless Pilgrim's activated ability and hit a card with cycling, can I cycle it? And if so I assume I can't do so for free?


texts: Can I build a settlement if I don't have the building piece for it?

texts: Each player has 5 settlement tokens in hand at the beginning of the game. After placing the 5th settlement, considering I have not built a single city, can I build a 6th settlement?


texts: Looking for Card Game With Streaks of Ashes on the Face

texts:
I am looking for a specific Card Game that my Grandma and Grandpa both played when they were younger.

They don't remember the rules, but it appears that the defining feature was that, after a player would win a round, they would take some ash from a fireplace and make a streak on their face with it.

I don't remember what they said the name is, but I do remember that it is a semi-inappropriate word.

Any kind of info (name, rules, etc.) would help!

Thank you so much!

Notes:
It is not "Oh, Hell"


texts: Is there a rule to prevent infinite games?

texts:
It is possible for player to keep repeating the same moves. Chess has a Threefold repetition rule and  Fifty-move rule.

Are there similar rules for Hive? If no, how (in the context of tournaments) are the issues those rules are designed to address tackled in Hive? Note, that hive has something called "tournamets rules" (which prohibit placing a bee as one's first move), so I'm assumuing there are tournamets.

I found a similar question being asked here but no reasonable answer were given.


texts: Does my creature get stunned after killing Pip Pip with a Red Planet Ray Gun?

texts:
I equip a creature with a Red Planet Ray Gun:

  This creature gains, “Reap: Choose a creature. Deal 1 damage to that creature for each Mars creature in play.”

Afterwards I reap with that creature and kill the only Pip Pip in play. Pip Pip has the following effect:

  After an enemy creature reaps, stun it.

I would assume, that the effect of Pip Pip doesn't trigger, because Pip Pip dies during reaping, and the effect would only trigger after reaping. But I am not sure about the ruling. Does my reaping creature get stunned?


texts: When do flip effects happen in the battle phase?

texts: If my opponent attacks one of my monsters in face down defense position, and that monster has a flip effect such as "destroy target monster," at what point is the card flipped and the effect takes place? Is it before damage is dealt? If I destroy the attacking monster, is any damage dealt? If the flip effect is "switch target monster to defense mode, and I target the attacking monster, which stats are used in damage calculation?


texts: Hideaway - do I get to put cards put on the bottom of my library in any order?

texts: With Spinerock Knoll, when it enters, hideaway activates, however, it doesn't specify whether I put the cards on the bottom of my library in any order, or in a random order. Which one is it? This is relevant for Grenzo, Dungeon Warden EDH.


texts: Is the total damage dealt from a source effectively parceled out across any number of assets?

texts: When damage (or horror) is dealt, do I effectively take those N units of damage and get to spread them out however I like as long as the distribution doesn't exceed the remaining health for any particular asset?


texts: Can I put any ranged weapon on a Crisis Battlesuit?

texts:
I've read the Codex (6th) entry for the XV8 Crisis Team and it says:

  Any Crisis Shas'ui may take up to three items from the Ranged Weapons
  and/ or Support Systems lists.

I can see only one list of Ranged Weapons in the codex (the one which lists all ranged weapons) so it seems that I can put any weapon on them. Is my interpretation of the rule wrong?


texts: Reasoning for Soul Warden and Ajani's Pridemate interaction

texts:
I play modern Soul Sisters and I understand that when I put an Ajani's Pridemate (or Archangel of Thune) down with a Soul Warden out, Ajani's Pridemate immediately gains a counter (and Archangel's trigger goes off as well).

I've had a few people at tournaments question this interaction and my understanding of how it works is a bit fuzzy, besides something regarding ordering the stack.

Why do the cards interact like this? It is more helpful if you can give me a response that I could explain to the person I'm playing against, so they also understand it.


texts:
Our group has determined that buying (almost exclusively) money and points is the way to go.

Most kingdom cards are ignored, or are bought very sparingly. This has lead to games feeling 'samey' and has taken a lot of the fun out for us.

What strategies should we use to counter "Big Money"?  Or are house rules needed here?


texts:
I know this may really sound dumb for asking, but..
Say you have a card like Dragonrage and it applies onto say Favored Hoplite.

I know the Dragonrage's affect will trigger Heroic, but the "R: This creature gains +1/+0" wouldnt affect Heroic if used correct since it isn't technically a spell right?


texts:
I really enjoy the Game-Of-Thrones board game. (We only own the first edition, so no ports or siege engines etc.). My wife and friends tend to enjoy it also, well they used to.

The problem is that currently, every time we play the game I always win. I've tried playing whomever I think is the weakest army but that doesn't seem to help much.  And by always win, what I mean is that a turn ends, and generally, I take the last castle, or they look at the board as the turn starts and see that no matter what they do, I'll get the last castle. They are normally only  1 or 2 castles behind me.

Is there some handicap I can give myself which will still make the game enjoyable but also even the odds a bit?


texts: Do the vast majority of Rat-a-tat Cat rounds end very quickly?

texts:
My son was gifted this game today. Given that we play a variety of complex games in our family (including Bridge), we're very surprised how much we like it and the various skills it brings into play (probabilistic assessment, poker face, memory, etc.). We're also surprised at how rounds usually end so quickly, as the rules provide for getting to the end of the deck. We have yet to go half way through a deck.

Is this typical, or are we missing something to the strategy?

Our probabilistic reasoning:

A deck consists of 4 each of 0 through 8, 9 9's, and 3 each of the power cards. So an average dealt hand has 20 points, with 10 points visible (I'm counting the power cards as 5's given that you'll have to draw randomly from the deck at the end for each of these).

A typical starting hand might have a low number and a high number known upon deal. If your first draw is a low number, you replace your high numbered card with that one and then you call for the end of a round. Why? Because you have, say, 5 points on your ends and an assumed 10 points (it's random) in the middle, for perhaps 15 total.

You have no knowledge of other hands but on average each will be 20, and with one more draw will be reduced by 4 points to 16 (on average). Not a huge edge, but definitely an edge. And this only widens as the sum of your two end cards drops further below 5.

Am I missing something? Or is it correct to call for the end of the round if the sum of your two end cards is 5 or fewer points after you draw the first card of the round?

The reasoning gets a little more complicated for subsequent rounds as other players' hands improve, but similarly if you know that 2 of your cards are very low, or better yet 3 within the first few rounds, then you call for an end, right?


texts:
I learned this as a kid. The setup is one card laid out at a time in a row. You make stack cards next to each other if they match numbers or suits. You may also stack in the same manner but skipping two cards backward toward the first card played. The object is to get all 52 cards into a single stack.
I’ve never heard the name of this solitaire but always referred to it as Satans Solitaire because its easy to play but the devils own time to beat.
Anyone else know this game, have a name for it, or variants?


texts: Do riders have to move at least the amount of their base movement?

texts:
Do riders (that aren't part of the peloton obviously) have to move at least the amount of their base movement, or can they opt not to move, or to move less than their base movement?  This is an edge case but might be useful if one is so far ahead that choosing not to move forms a blockade against a successive rider.  The english rules say:

  Every racer will enjoy the benefits of a free base movement which varies according to his specialty

This, literally read, implies each racer will and must enjoy that benefit, but I don't know if something may have been lost in the translation if it is more clearly stated in its original language.

Note further down it says

  Every rider moves straight ahead or diagonally. It is forbidden to stay still or move to the side

So this is probably more a question of whether riders can choose to move less than their free base movements.


texts: How can I modify Green Tron to better combat Aggro Spirits?

texts:
I realise this post might be broad, but I’m struggling to find cards to beat an Aggro spirit deck. I’m playing green tron and my opponent has a spirit deck which with the flyers is taking me down too much by the time I get my tron lands down.

Are there any modern cards that will help destroy a spirit deck aiming to get many Spirits down which boost each other?

Or if Tron isn’t the right deck, what decks work well vs a spirit deck?

My deck is as follows

  Lands

  Urza’s mine x4
  Urza’s Power Plant x4
  Urza Tower x 4
  Basic land Forest  x4

  Artifacts

  Expedition Map x4
  Planar Bridge  x2
  Treasure map x 1
  Oblivion Stone x 4
  Chromatic Star x4
  Mana Vault x1

  Planeswalker

  Karn, scion of Urza x1

  Sorceries

  All is Dust x1
  Sylvan Scrying x 4
  Ancient Stirrings x4

  Instants

  Natures Claim x3
  Haze of Pollen x2
  Commencement of Festivities x2
  Swell of growth x1
  Crop Rotation x1

  Creatures

  Deceiver of form x2
  End Bringer x2
  Conduit of Ruin x2
  It That Betrays x2
  Platinum Angel x2
  Kozilek, the Great Distortion x1
  Emrakul, the Promised End x1
  Emrakul, the Aeons Tornx1

  Sideboard

  Skittering Invasion x2
  Wrapping Wail x2
  Titan’s Presence x 4
  Not of This World x2
  Loxodon warhammer x2
  Endbringer x1
  Conduit of Ruin x1
  Artisan of Kozilek x1


texts: How does selling buildings and bankruptcy work in Monopoly?

texts:
Player A and Player B are both fairly well-off and developed players. A, however, does not have much cash on hand. A lands on B's developed property.

He has to sell some of his buildings to pay the debt. On one of his monopolies, he has hotels. Can he sell the hotel for the price of five houses immediately? Or can he only get the equivalent price of one house by selling "all the hotels...at once"? What does "one at a time" mean in the official rule book — that he would have to wait over five turns to sell the whole thing, and therefore cannot do this? Suppose he has several houses on each property of another of his monopolies — can he only sell one, or can he sell all of them?
After A mortgages his properties, can he then turn the properties over to his creditor to pay the debt? I have always been under the impression that property could be handed over to the creditor in order to pay debts, at the cash value of the purchase price — and since the rule book says trades are fair game, I suppose a debtor and creditor could agree to trade property for cash that is immediately returned to the creditor, but I'm not sure.


texts: Can I cast Dire Fleet Daredevil if my opponent has no instants or sorceries in their graveyard?

texts:
I want to cast Dire Fleet Daredevil but my opponent has no instants or sorceries in their graveyard.

Am I able to cast it?

The text doesn't read "You may exile target instant or sorcery", but it also doesn't require it as an additional cost.


texts: Are there any single-screen human-vs-human go clients/programs available?

texts:
This is a question about Go software, so it might not be the correct place to ask this, but I expect it to be the best place. ;)

I want to give a group of people a quick overview on Go but I don't have the resources to obtain actual material, so I was looking for a basic sandbox program and that turned out more difficult than I expected.

So, a single-screen / hot-seat go client. Where one (or two players) could run a human-human go game on a single machine (Mac/Windows/both but preferably Mac)


texts: What is the term for a stalemate or locked board in Magic?

texts:
I listen to the Limited Resources Podcast quite a bit, and I always hear this word used that sounds like "Parody". In context:

  My opponent and I were at "parody"; neither of us could do anything.

I cannot find this term anywhere online. I've searched for "parody", "parroty", "peredi"... It must sound silly, but what is this word they are using?


texts: Generic player position names for five player matches

texts:
I know in a four player game the standard terms for the players are:

North
South
East
West

Now that I think about it I can just drop South for three handed games:

North
East
West

Five handed games have that pesky extra player so I have:

Top
Middle Left
Middle Right
Bottom Left
Bottom Right

Those terms work, but they don't have the pizazz of the cardinal directions and feel slightly awkward. What are the usual terms for five handed matches? If there aren't any usual terms, what words can I use that clearly convey the location without sounding awkward?

If it helps the three handed players are positioned like points on an equilateral triangle, and five handed players are positioned like points on a pentagon. Four handed players are positioned like points on a + (plus sign) or diamond.

I've realized that I was ambiguous about the context of the question. What I'm looking for is generic terms used when diagramming play on paper. For an example of what I'm talking about from Bridge:


texts: Do the Elf creatures put into the battlefield by Planeswalker Nissa Revane suffer from summoning sickness?

texts:
The 3rd ability of Nissa Revane Planeswalker is

-7: Search your library for any number of Elf creature cards and put them onto the battlefield. Then shuffle your library.

So the question is do the Elf creature cards put into the battlefield as a result of this ability suffer from summoning sickness?


texts: What would happen if you made Spellskite Hexproof?

texts:
I would like to know if making Spellskite hexproof would render him useless or make him ultra effective at fizzling spells?

I'm thinking about his activated ability: if he was hexproof, would I be able to pay the cost to change the target to him making the spell fizzle or would it mean I cannot use his activated ability?

Either way this would be a useful thing to know to either use to enhance him and take him out of the game with an enchantment.


texts: Sinister Shadow Games and Dimensional Fissure

texts:
Can I activate 'Sinister Shadow Games' if Dimensional Fissure has already been activated and, if I can, do I get the second effect to flip up a face down Shaddoll?

Sinister Shadow Games

  Send 1 "Shaddoll" card from your Deck to the
  Graveyard, then you can change any number of face-down Defense
  Position "Shaddoll" monsters you control to face-up Defense Position.

Dimensional Fissure

  Any monster sent to the Graveyard is banished instead.


texts: 4-4 high approach - why is the defensive approach prefered?

texts:
In the 4-4 high approach joseki, why would black ever want to play the defensive - left variant?

The result of the right variant looks much better! While the left variant leaves monkey jump opportunity for black, this only takes points from white, while in the right variant, black has already taken those points from white and established his own territory there, which is double points! Also, the 3-3 corner invasion is impossible!

The only thing which seems advantageous in the left variant is the black 6-4 stone on the 4th line - which is better for influence than the 6-3 stone in the right variant. But, black could play the last move at 6-4 in the right variant as well, correct? The 3-3 corner invasion is still impossible.

It seems that Josekipedia is preffering the left variant over the right one, which is very strange to me:

Josekipedia mentions the aji in the final position with the 6-4 variant:

but these are just aji's - it seems that all of these invasions can be killed if black responds right away, and this variant seems much better for black - much more points.


texts: how does Argothian Enchantress interact with Sasaya, Orochi Ascendant?

texts: If Sasaya, Orochi Ascendant successfully transforms would Argothian Enchantress's ability kick into effect during that transformation?


texts: Do some combat checks occur without monsters?

texts:
Many location encounters reference a monster (such as a monster appearing) and require a combat check.  One encounter at St. Mary's Hospital says

  The corpse you are examining isn't quite dead yet. It reaches out and grabs you by the throat. Lose 1 Sanity. Then you must fight the corpse. If you pass the Combat (-1) check, you defeat it and gain 1 Clue token.  Otherwise, move to the streets

Am I to draw a monster randomly and skip the option to evade here (doesn't seem implied), or am I to simply do a Fight check enhanced by those items that regularly can enhance it during combat (such as 2 hands worth of weapons and other combat enhancing boosts) and then forgo any modifier for the creature's combat rating since there is no creature?

I'm assuming when there is mention of a monster appearing or attacking, and then a reference to a combat check, that normally I would want to draw a random monster as in the various mentions to a monster appearing.


texts:
I usually use a riffle shuffle with unsleeved cards. Riffle shuffling sleeved cards however is, uh, slightly disastrous as cards frequently get caught in the sleeve openings.

What's a good way to shuffle sleeved cards? i
Is there's good riffle technique?


texts:
Part of what makes Settlers of Catan both balanced and exciting are two sets of slow-the-leader rules: The robber and trade embargoes. While this means you have a chance to win even after a slow start or a seemingly poor starting position, it conversely means it can be difficult to close out the game for victory after having a great starting position, making many great tactical decisions, and having the lead for most of the game. The most extreme example I've seen is the leading player with 8 victory points lose to a player who had 4 victory points, 10 to 9, as everyone successfully and almost completely stalled out the leader for many turns. Much more common are games where someone reaches 8 or 9 points first goes on to lose to someone with 2 fewer victory points.

Is there one (or a small set of) end play technique(s) that significantly increase(s) one's chances of winning when faced with opponents who competently employ slow-the-leader techniques?


texts:
A multiplayer board game catching eggs down a chute with a cart

All of the information I can provide is from a very vague memory:

I believe the game is from the 90's. It is possible it's slightly earlier, or early 2000's.
From memory, it is a four player game.
Each player was assigned a chute/slide that were all colored differently.
(blue, red, green, yellow)
Attached to each player's chute was a cart (same colored) with a nest on top.
When the player would push their cart towards their chute, the chute would lift up and change it's angles, as the chute had hinges.
The chute had to move the correct angles to safely get their (plastic) eggs down their chute into their cart.
From there, the cart was tilted into the collection area beside the original position of the cart.


texts: Programme to help with face to face diplomacy

texts: Can anyone suggest a programme or website that will allow playing diplomacy with all players on one computer.  Ideally this should not involve logging in and out, or having a window open per player.  I would like to use it purely as a movement judge, so once all orders are submitted on paper, then they can be copied onto the screen, and the "Go" button clicked to show the results (ideally with nice arrows showing where units bounced, convoyed etc.).  I have found many programmes and websites that provide great interfaces for play-by-email or play-by-web for a single player, but nothing for helping with face-to-face games.


texts: What's the best way to store Eldritch Horror with all the expansions

texts: I was wondering what the best method of storing Eldritch Horror including all the expansions that also allows for a faster set-up time. Thanks!


texts: In a chain, if a card will be banished : can I still activate its effects?

texts:
So here's the situation: my opponent has a Vendread Chimera with the following effect (thanks to houndhorde): "Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can target 1 Spell/Trap your opponent controls; banish it".

2 cases :

I activate Switcheroroo (trap card), and as a quick effect, he banishes it with Chimera. Does the switcheroroo effect still happens?
He banishes my switcheroroo (face down) as a quick effect. Can I activate it as a response?

He says the effect of a card doesn't resolve if it is banished in a chain, and he also says I can't activate cards that are going to be banished.
I think exactly the opposite for both cases since it doesn't negate.


texts: How should I start a second Gloomhaven campaign when the first is deeply underway?

texts:
The rules specify that your campaign game can only play modules that are unlocked, and not repeat. It implies two parties moving simultaneously through the world, changing things permanently.

The only other option provided is the casual play mode, where you just pick any scenario that you've unlocked, earn gold, items, and XP normally, but don't adjust the state of the world at all through play.

I want something in the middle: able to play and progress, but starting from the earliest scenario. Has anyone done this hybrid?


texts:
There may or may not be a clear definitive ruling on this in the rulebook, but it's something that keeps confusing me in the actual play, so I'll ask anyway.  Here are several questions that, when put together, should illustrate the points I'm having difficulty.

I play a card that gives me one coin for each brown card in front of me or either of my two neighbours.  I personally keep forgetting whether this counts cards that came into play this turn, but a quick check of the rules summary clarifies that yes, these cards are counted.
I mistakenly play a card that I (and my neighbours) have insufficient resources to build, when I look closely.  Obviously I cannot play the card - but I take it I can still discard it for 3 coins, or to build a section of my Wonder?
I mistakenly play a card that I (and my neighbours) are short of resources to build: let's say short by one stone.  However, it fortuitously happens that one of my neighbours has built a one- or two-stone quarry this turn.  Can I pay him the appropriate fee and build the card?  Or can I still only discard it for coins or to build a section of Wonder?  My first suspicion was that all building happens simultaneously, so I can't use materials that aren't available at this point - but if the card mentioned in my first example derives benefits from cards played this turn, why can't this?

We could get all MtG on this and break it down into discrete phases: the buy-resources-from-neighbours-phase, the build-with-resources phase, the reap-benefits-from-just-built-cards phase.  But that all seems a bit anal for Seven Wonders.  Is there an easy solution to the problem of looking left and right to see if your neighbours have the resources you need, and having to ask "errrrrr... so did you play that quarry this turn, or not"?  (Apart from not being so scatterbrained, obviously!)


texts: In Monopoly, can you save an 'advance' card to use later?

texts:
Playing with friends, and they give me this rule I've never heard of before, can't find any info.
They say you can save an 'advance token' card (like a go to jail card) to use at any time.
Their reasoning is because it says 'advance token' instead of 'advance to', even though it says 'advance token to'.
Is this legitimate?


texts: Ticket to Ride United Kingdom: Are technology cards kept after use?

texts: Are technology cards treated like the colour train cards and discarded once played, or do you keep them for future use?


texts: Question regarding when a player gains Ascend

texts:
Opponent has 9 permanents in play and it's opponents turn.

Opponent plays Storm Fleet Swashbuckler (has Ascend: "If you control ten or more permanents, you get the city's blessing for the rest of the game.").

I want to respond with Moment of Craving (Target creature gets -2/-2 until end of turn. You gain 2 life).

Questions (both options assume opponent has no further response):

Can I target Storm Fleet Swashbuckler with Moment of Craving (thus killing it)?

If I can, does the opponent get Ascend?

If, while Storm Fleet Swashbuckler is on the stack, I target another creature that has 2 or less toughness with Moment of Craving (which would kill it), does my opponent gain Ascend after everything resolves?

I'm new to magic, but my interpretation tells me that I could theoretically do either option 1 or 2 and my opponent would not gain Ascend.  Is this right?


texts: Is adding a parallel word that only intersects the end letter of an existing word allowed in Scrabble?

texts:
I won a game by getting lots of points doing it ;)
but was contested and I could see their point.

Here are two examples:

PLACES
     OTHER

or

    BRILLIANT
SCORE

I can see from the official rules something similar is allowed:

 PASTE
BIT

The difference here is that BIT, PI and AT are created. So there is more than one parallel word created.

But are the examples I give only one parallel word is created, is this ok?


texts: Can one dragon's destruction bring back all of my Keepers of the Shrine?

texts: If there are 3 copies of Keeper of the Shrine in the graveyard and a dragon is destroyed, can you summon all three back and get 3 dragons if normal? Or can you only use one a turn?


texts: What is a good 'Baker's Dozen' solitaire strategy?

texts: I am wondering what a good strategy is to win the 'Baker's Dozen' solitaire variant?  So far, I have tried to keep the cards descending in the same suit, wherever possible, but when the Kings are at the top of the tableau pile, it makes it very difficult.


texts: Dominion Money Purchasing When Actions Lacking

texts:
When the action cards on board are lacking in gaining money additions, what's your strategy in purchasing money vs action cards in the early rounds?  More money, or look for actions that drill through your deck (+X cards and + actions?)?

Thanks.


texts: What happens when a commander is exiled?

texts: Let's say you have a commander on the field, and an opponent uses Sisters Of Stone Death to force your commander to block the sisters and then exiles your commander?  Does it remain exiled, or does it go back to your commander zone?


texts:
When I bought my copy of the Tokaido expansion "Crossroads", the shop had included a bonus player named "Eriku" in the box.

He's not part of the main game for either the original board or the expansion, and some Googling has shown that Eriku was a bonus character given away at particular conventions and events.

The catch is that Eriku's ability isn't easy to guess from the picture, and from what I can tell the rules for his character were only shown at the events where he was given away.

The most sensible interpretation I've found is this:

  At each inn, including the first, Eriku can look at the first meal card and choose to buy it.

Is this the correct description? There are so many different variations of his ability floating around that I'm not sure which is right - can anyone help?


texts: What are the four Dutch exclusive cards in Munchkin Koethulhu?

texts:
Munchkin Koethulhu, the Dutch language version of Munchkin Cthulhu, consists of the translations of Munchkin Cthulhu, Munchkin Cthulhu 2: The Call of Cowthulhu, and Munchkin Cthulhu 3: The Unspeakable Vault, along with 4 exclusive Dutch cards.

Which cards are these?


texts: What happens if I push another mech with skewer?

texts: If my mech has a skewer card and I push someone else into a mech do I get the minion on my card?  Or alternatively if they have skewer and I push them into a minion do they get the minion?


texts: In the game of sequence: A sequence of more than 5 coins

texts: In the game of sequence, if you create a sequence of more than 5 in one move, do you have to declare which 5 coins make the sequence?


texts: If Olivia Voldaren is enchanted with Fists of the Demigod and you activate the ability to deal damage to a target creature, does this damage come in the form of -1/-1 counters? If it does, and the target is a Spirit en-Kor, can the Spirit en-Kor redirect the -1/-1 counter?


texts: What happens if neither player decides to do anything?

texts: My question is about Magic The Gathering. What happens if both players perpetually decide to do nothing in a turn, except draw and then discard to 7. What happens then?


texts: Is an artifact paid ability considered a spell?

texts:
I happen to be one lucky man who managed to get Erebos God of the Dead, Demon's Horn, and Staff of the Death Magus. All three were in play, but Erebus was not a creature yet as i didn't have enough devotion. His ability though, (pay one black and one colorless mana and pay 2 life: draw a card) doe's it count as a spell when i activate it, and therefor gain back the 2 life I lost from Demon's Horn and Staff of the Death Magus?

EDIT:
Looking at the MTG Rulebook says (some) abilitues go on the stack (as spells do)


texts: Does any cards care about the color of mana spent on other spells/abilities?

texts:
There are plenty of cards, such as cards with Sunburst and Converge and most of these cards, which care about the colors of mana spent on themselves.

Additionally, Nix cares about whether or not any mana was spent on its target, but doesn't care about what color(s) it was.

Are there any cards that care about what color(s) of mana
were spent on something other than the card which cares?

As a concrete example, suppose I tapped a Mountain and Temple Garden to cast Roast. Can it ever matter whether the Temple Garden was tapped for G or W, i.e. whether Roast was cast for GR or WR?


texts: How does Energy Field interact with effects that say you lose life?

texts:
How does Hissing Miasma affect a player protected by Energy Field if their creatures are attacking?

Additionally, how does Tainted Remedy affect Energy Field if same player does something to gain life?


texts: Frozen prize pile in canasta when all but one player has only 1 card in hand?

texts:
What happens when the prize pile is frozen in canasta, and all but one player has only 1 card in hand, assuming no players have a canasta yet, and the player with more cards has already melded-in?

This occurred when playing a round of 3-person canasta. Both other players were down to two cards, while I had 6 cards in hand, and I had just taken the discard pile. I had already met the entry meld requirement. I then baited the next person in turn order to take the prize pile by discarding a card they wanted, they did and so ended the turn with one card in hand. That player then did the same thing to the remaining player. When it comes around to my turn, I am the only one with a hand and the other two have 1 card in hand.

So I froze the prize pile, seeing an opportunity to basically play all cards in the deck.

At this point, we all had a laugh (none of us are very experienced at this game) and decided to pack up the game with a nebulous winner, since it was late (I was thousands of points behind at this point: 1895 points versus 3595 and 3135.)

Am I right that in this situation, I can basically play the whole remaining deck? My thought process is as follows: I have 5 cards in hand, containing two pairs in suits I have not melded yet. I wait for the prize pile to get nice and fat (neither of the other two players can play anything) and then I take the prize pile, melding the minimum to do so (I can take the pile using either of the pairs in my hand.) At this point, I can just re-freeze the empty pile. If I do so, then there is a very high chance that I can take the pile again in subsequent rounds, because I have multiples in almost everything. Alternatively, I can just play the oodles I have and let the game continue, even I will have substantial card advantage.

Thanks!


texts:
The person I have been playing with and I both have decks of around 130 cards.
Now I know that technically you can have as many cards as you can shuffle, but is there some sort of deck size before it becomes ineffective?


texts: Can you play trump if trump hasn't been played and you have action cards in Rage?

texts:
Is it true you can’t lead a trump card unless trump has already been played, or all you have in your hand are trump cards?
Can you play an “Out Rage” card on top of an “Out Rage” card?
Can you play a “Change Rage” card on top of an “Out Rage” card?
Say a player has two action cards, one trump card and trump hasn’t been played yet. Can they play their trump card, or do they have to play an action card?


texts:
Can you revive the creature you sacrificed with Hell's Caretaker?

Doing so to re-trigger "enters the battlefield" effects.


texts: Does a stalker monsters always stay if there is an investigator in its current area or location?

texts: The Dunwich rules don't seem to explicitly say this on page 6. Do these monsters stay when there is an investigator with them, or do they perhaps even opt to pursue one of lower sneak if they are adjacent but there is already one on its area? I figured they stay, but don't see a direct reference to this.


texts: Didn't Say Uno Before Running Out of Cards

texts:
So my family is having a disagreement on the uno rules. Here's what happened:

Player 1 completes turn by playing a regular numbered blue card

Player 2 has 3 cards left. Player 2 plays a blue skip, and plays a red skip. Player 2 has 1 card now. Player 2 plays their last card (a red numbered card).

They are out of cards, having played 3 cards really close together, with no chance for Player 1 to call them out on not saying uno. Player 1 calls it right after Player 2 has already run out of cards.

Here's the question - Player 2 is already out of cards, and never said Uno, and now Player 1 is calling them out on it. Has player 2 already won, or must Player 2 now take 2 cards?