texts: The Resistance doesn't work when resistance members don't care about losing

texts:
Was playing a game of The Resistance with some people who haven't played it before. What I found, is that of the five games we played, the Resistance only won one of them.

I think the reason for this, was a social dynamic of people not wanting to argue, and 'let's just get on with the game' so vote for the mission to go ahead, even though there's a good chance there's a spy on the mission.

Are there any good strategies for getting people more vested in the outcome of the mission, or is this simply a matter of 'playing with the right people'?


texts: Say I have 2 influence and want the shotgun which is 4 successes. If I roll 2 successes, can I spend 2 clue tokens to reroll my success to attempt to get the shotgun or does rerolling a die remove that success and in theory I wouldn't be able to get the shotgun with my default influence and without a loan?


texts: Does Ranar the Ever-Watchful's last ability trigger if he is exiled?

texts:
I have bought a commander deck for Kaldheim (Ranar the Ever-Watchful). I'm confused about Ranar's ability:

Whenever a spell or ability you control exiles one or more cards from your hand and/or permanents from the battlefield, create a 1/1 white Spirit creature token with flying.

If I exile Ranar which is the one with the ability? Do I still get that spirit token or do I have to exile another creature?


texts: Can't find the specific price for MTG japanese cards

texts:
Hello so I have a few Japanese MTG cards from the year 2000. Among them is a Mountain #344 (from Invasion) illustrated by Jeff Miracola in foil. The English version's value is 1.49$ and I've read that due to rarity Japanese versions cost up to double the price.

I also can't find prices for other cards that I have that probably don't have much value which are some Dragon Quest Card Game cards including a foil one, some Monster Collection Trading Card Game cards, and some Kikaider The Animation cards. I would appreciate any orientation into finding if they have any value other than nostalgic.

PS: Just to clarify all those cards are in japanese


texts: What is the name of this snakes-and-ladders-like race game?

texts:
Someone taught me a game that they remember playing many years before. They drew the board from memory, it looks mostly like this:

 _____________
|  __________ |
| |E|   |   | |
| | | | | | | |
| | |<| |<| | |
| | | | | | | |
|S|___|___|___|

Each player began at the start (S), took turns to roll the dice and move, to see who could read the end (E) first. In some places, there were shortcuts (<) allowing players to move ahead more quickly.


texts: When resolving "destroy X when Y enters the battlefield", must I choose a target if the only available one is my own?

texts: Say that I cast a Viridian Shaman and there is only one artifact on the battlefield - my Sol Ring. Must I destroy my own artifact due to Viridian Shaman's trigger?


texts: Will a God Eternal enchanted with Deep Freeze shuffle back into the deck if it dies?

texts:
God Eternals such as God-Eternal Oketra have an effect which says:

  When God-Eternal Oketra dies or is put into exile from the battlefield, you may put it into its owner's library third from the top.

Deep Freeze on the other hand says the enchanted creature loses all abilities. Does that mean that if God-Eternal Oketra is enchanted by Deep Freeze, and then dies, it will not shuffle back?


texts: Does the effect of an instant supersede first strike damage from a creature?

texts: My opponent had no available blockers and I attacked my opponent with a 2/2 creature with first strike. They played an instant that would wipe out the attacking creature. Does my creature still deal 2 damage before it goes to the graveyard or does the instant destroy it before it is able to deal first strike damage?


texts: What happens with mortgaged properties during bankruptcy?

texts:
A player lands on my property and has no cash. They owe me only $26. They have 1 property, a railroad which is mortgaged. The mortgaged value is $100.

Do I get the mortgaged property and have to pay $74 to this other player or is this player out of the game?


texts: What is the best way to clean dirty cards

texts: I have a few frequently played card games where the cards no longer feel "clean".  They aren't stained or anything, just a bit grimy.  Is there an effective way to clean the cards without damaging the graphics?


texts: Betrayal at house on the hill haunt #13 (Spoilers)

texts: Me and the family bought the second edition of the game and from what we've played it's fun but.. but I'm so confused as to what tokens to use or how to set up the haunt. Is one of the players asleep? Or do we us a token? If it's a player and they are asleep and we have the pickpocket gloves can we steal from them? It's doesn't specifically say. Any help would be appreciated. Also what do we do with the tokens it says to use (e.g the triangular ones)


texts: Playing duplicate bridge against players from some event

texts:
I am organizing a Bridge club in my workplace and I want it to be Duplicate Bridge one, but currently sometimes we don't get 8 people to join the meeting (I hope, in the future the club will grow).

So I had an idea, that if there are 4 people beside me, I could duplicate deals from some international event (without saying what event it would be) and make them play these deals.

My questions are:

Is the idea fair and will it help players learn?
How should it be scored (is it OK e.g. to score always against open room or do I have to use some other way)
Do you know of any other people that utilized this way?


texts: Which D&D die looks like this asteroid imaged by NASA?

texts:
I realize that this may not be 100% on-topic, but I'm hoping that it's close enough.
The Cnet article This asteroid looks like rolling Dungeons & Dragons dice links to the NASA News article Asteroid Resembles Dungeons and Dragons Dice which says:

Radar images of asteroid 2017 BQ6 were obtained on Feb. 6 and 7 with NASA’s 70-meter (230-foot) antenna at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California. They reveal an irregular, angular-appearing asteroid about 660 feet (200 meters) in size that rotates about once every three hours. The images have resolutions as fine as 12 feet (3.75 meters) per pixel.
“The radar images show relatively sharp corners, flat regions, concavities, and small bright spots that may be boulders,” said Lance Benner of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, who leads the agency’s asteroid radar research program. “Asteroid 2017 BQ6 reminds me of the dice used when playing Dungeons and Dragons. It is certainly more angular than most near-Earth asteroids imaged by radar.”

Question: Which Dungeons and Dragons die looks like this asteroid as imaged by NASA?

above: "This composite of 25 images of asteroid 2017 BQ6 was generated with radar data collected using NASA’s Goldstone Solar System Radar in California's Mojave Desert. The images were gathered on Feb. 7, 2017, between 8:39 and 9:50 p.m. PST (11:39 p.m. EST and 12:50 a.m., Feb. 7), revealing an irregular, angular-appearing asteroid about 660 feet (200 meters) in size that rotates about once every three hours. The images have resolutions as fine as 12 feet (3.75 meters) per pixel." Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSSR
below: "This composite of 11 images of asteroid 2017 BQ6 was generated with radar data collected using NASA’s Goldstone Solar System Radar in California's Mojave Desert on Feb. 5, 2017, between 5:24 and 5:52 p.m. PST (8:24 to 8:52 p.m. EST / 1:24 to 1:52 UTC). The images have resolutions as fine as 12 feet (3.75 meters) per pixel." Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSSR


texts: Thawing Glaciers return to hand interaction

texts:
I have a Thawing Glaciers, a Thespian's Stage, and  Deserted Temple on the battlefield in addition to four other mana producing lands. In the previous turn I tapped Thespian's Stage to make it a copy of Thawing Glaciers.

I tap the Thespian's Stage (Thawing Glaciers Copy) to search my library for a basic land.

I then use Deserted Temple to untap Thespian's Stage

Finally, I use Thespian Stage's copy ability to copy the basic land that just entered the battlefield.

When I end my turn and enter the cleanup step, the text from Thawing Glacier's ability attempts to take effect, "Return Thawing Glaciers to its owner's hand at the beginning of the next cleanup step"

Does my Thespian's stage get returned to my hand, or does nothing happen because the card that activated the ability is no longer a Thawing Glaciers?


texts: If you allow your opponent to draw cards can they have more than 7 cards in their hand until their next clean up stage

texts: I'm thinking specifically about Lost Legacy. If I get them to exile 4 cards ie. Saheeli Rai, and allow them to draw 4 on my turn does that mean they can draw on their turn and do not have to discard until the end of their next turn?


texts: When you return an evolved pokemon to your hand, and you put it back into play, do you have to evolve the pokemon again?

texts: For example, when amoonguss is returned to the hand, and you take it's stage one devolved form with it (foongus), and then you want to put it back into play, do you place amoonguss back in, or foongus?


texts: How can I find what basic and stage 1 Pokémon cards can evolve to?

texts: My son just got a Breakthrough Elite Trainer Box. He's got several basic and stage 1 Pokémon and I'd like to find out what Pokémon those cards evolve to. What's the best way to find out how basic and stage 1 Pokémon can evolve?


texts: Aura Mutation vs. indestructible enchantments

texts: If the target is indestructible, does Aura Mutation still resolve and give you the tokens, or is an indestructible enchantment an illegal target?


texts: In the English version of Citadels, what is the action text on the card named Armory/Weaponry?

texts:
I happen to have a Bulgarian version that does not specify if the player can destroy 1 enemy building, while sacrificing it, or the whole city. It's hard to explain, but I think it was translated by someone unfamiliar with the exact Bulgarian meaning.

What does the English version of the card say?


texts: Why was SPYRAL Quik Fix limited instead of banned?

texts:
When this card is normal or special summoned, you can add 1 SPYRAL Gear card from your deck to your hand. If this card is in your graveyard, you can discard 1 card to special this card, but banish it when it leaves the field.

Konami "fixed" this card by limiting it to 1. Even if you're lucky enough to draw an Effect Veiler, Ash Blossom, or a Ghost Ogre before the player can use his effect, they can just use it's effect multiple times. Even then you still have a problem, Ghost Ogre may destroy it, but it still gets to activate it's effect and can just add SPYRAL Gear - Big Red to bring it back. And Ash Blossom or Effect Veiler may stop it from searching, but it doesn't destroy it. So someone can still do damage with it. And if you aren't lucky enough to draw those cards, it basically will most likely end in a OTK. And trust me. I've dueled enough SPYRAL decks to know how easy that one card can make it to win in 1 turn.

And also even if someone doesn't start out with it in their hand. It's easy to search for. They can search it with SPYRAL Resort, SPYRAL Master Plan, etc. Or you can special summon it with it's own effect, SPYRAL MISSION - Rescue, SPYRAL Gear - Big Red, etc.

So with this in mind. Why has this card been limited rather than banned?


texts: In Forbidden Island, must the Engineer be either on or adjacent to a tile to shore it up?


texts: What if three players are "the closest investigator"?

texts: In Eldritch Horror, when a monster causes the closest investigator to move one space closer to the monster, but more than one investigator is on the closest space, who moves?


texts: How to explore with wormhole generator in Eclipse?

texts: In the Eclipse board game, how do you explore with the wormhole generator? You have to select where you are exploring before you draw a new hex. You must be connected to that empty space with half a wormhole, or a whole wormhole. Does this mean I can explore from an edge of my current hex that does not have a wormhole half as long as I use the wormhole half of the newly drawn hex to connect? Or do I have to explore from an existing wormhole half of the current hex, and I can then connect to an empty edge of the new hex?


texts: The opposing member inadvertently plays two card that are stuck together and it is discovered later

texts: What is the penalty if the opposing team inadvertently plays two cards on a trick because they stick together. It is discovered later.


texts: What is a good board game to use for a programming competition

texts:
We recently had a programming competition where each team had to write an A.I. for the board game Broadside. It was perfect because the rules were simple enough that the teams had to concentrate on the basic idea of when and how to attack, and not on handling a number of esoteric rules. At the same time, it had really good gameplay rules so that the smarter A.I. had a strong advantage.

So, any suggestions for games that would be a good one for a programming competition? A perfect game would have:

Lack of existing readily available AI's
Handles 6+ players
Simple easily understood rules (no or few edge cases)
Enough depth so that the better AI has a strong advantage


texts: Does a Phantom creature, one with the ability "If damage would be dealt to Phantom {Creature}, prevent that damage. Remove a +1/+1 counter from Phantom {Creature}.",  that has taken damage from a creature with deathtouch get destroyed, or just lose a +1/+1 counter? (Example: Phantom Centaur)


texts: Expansion//Explosion and Siren Stormtamer

texts:
I've had this situation come up several times in Magic Arena. I cast the Explosion half of Expansion // Explosion targeting my opponent's Siren Stormtamer. Opponent sacrifices the targeted Siren Stormtamer to itself targeting my Explosion. Somehow, I still draw cards.

Why? Siren Stormtamer's effect should counter the spell, which means both the "deal damage" and the "draw cards" halves. Is this a bug?


texts:
I was playing Black Plague with my friends and we got into a misunderstanding about a very basic and fundamental rule.

For me it was clear that, when a weapon has several dice to be played (like 2), I can kill at most 2 zombies; each successful die kills one zombie in the zone I chose to attack (both melee and ranged).

However, my friend argued that we can only kill at most one zombie; the several dice help with the odds, but even if we get multiple successes, we kill a single zombie in the area.

I was pretty sure I was right, but scanning through the guide I found out it really doesn't make very clear in the Combat Section what is the case. The text is messy and a little hard to understand for me.

Can someone resolve this conundrum?


texts: Will generated tokens be progressively stronger when using Cathar's Crusade and Sorin, Grim Nemesis?

texts:
I played a game yesterday where I had Cathars' Crusade and Sorin, Grim Nemesis on the battlefield. I managed to activate Sorin's -9 action:

  Put a number of 1/1 black Vampire Knight creature tokens with lifelink onto the battlefield equal to the highest life total among all players.

One of my opponents had 35 life at that point, so I got 35 tokens.

Cathar's Crusade says:

  Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control.

How will this play out? As far as I can tell, this will result in one of the following scenarios, ranging from the least to the most powerful:

I put 35 tokens on the battlefield at the same time. This will trigger the effect once, giving all of them one counter.
I put the first token on the battlefield, it gets one counter. I put the second token on the battlefield. It gets one counter, and the first token will get one counter for a total of two. Continuing this pattern will end with a battlefield with 35 tokens with an increasing number of counters (ranging from 1 counter on the last token to 35 counters on the first token)
I put 35 tokens on the battlefield at the same time. This will trigger the effect 35 times, giving all the tokens 35 counters.

We went with option 2, but I had some other bolster cards on the board (Captivating Vampire, Legion Lieutenant and Door of Destinies with three counters) so I would have easily won even if we had chosen option 1, but I'm still curious which option is the correct one.


texts: How can I "censor" players on the IGS server?

texts:
How can censor players on the Internet Go Server (IGS)?

It says in the help you can block players from matches by "censoring" them, but there is no "censor" command.


texts: Can survivors with the jump skill jump into/off towers in Zombicide: Black Plague - Wulfsburg Expansion?

texts:
The Jump skill states that:

  The Survivor can use this Skill once during each Activation. The Survivor spends one Action: He moves two Zones into a Zone to which he has Line of Sight. Movement related Skills (like +1 Zone per Move Action or Slippery) are ignored, but Movement penalties (like having Zombies in the starting
  Zone) apply. Ignore everything in the intervening Zone.

An interesting tactic is to be able to jump into/out of towers. Is this legal?


texts: How easy is it to start Magic from scratch?

texts:
I'm currently trying to get into a card game and am now wondering how easy it might be to get into Magic with no experience whatsoever. I heard about a Magic online game/something you can download, so I guess I could start there so I don't have to spend a whole lot of money on cards. But I feel like Magic is way more complex, thus more difficult to learn, than other card games.

Some extra information, I've always been learning quickly in school and stuff, I'm in my early 20s and have played Yu-Gi-Oh for some years, if this might help in any way.


texts: With Carcasonne crop circles expansion, which meeples count as followers?

texts:
When deploying extra followers from a crop circle action, I'm not sure which meeple count as followers. The CAR states that players may take one of their own followers from their supply and deploy it next to another of their followers already on a landscape tile. It also reads that players must deploy the follower to a feature which already contains a follower of the same type (farmer to a farmer, thief to a thief, knight to a knight).

This would exclude the builder or wagon, I suppose. But not the big follower... But the mayor would count as a knight when it's in a city. Does it, however, count as a follower in your supply?

Which meeples can be placed onto the board next to another follower, as the result of an action from a crop circle?


texts:
Does being Sultan bypass the special requirements for being Fabulously Wealthy?

When gaining the Sultan status, a player automatically moves their wealth counter directly to fabulous (the highest option).  However, being Fabulously Wealthy also has a requirement that the player must possess a treasure.  Does being Sultan supersede this rule, or would a Sultan without any treasure be immediately moved back down to Princely regardless of their status?


texts: Turn Count Inconsistency when using Attack in Exploding Kittens

texts:
When playing Attack, the turns of the current player are transferred to the next player, and a fixed number of turns are added. However, this seems to be inconsistent with the official text:

ATTACK 2X 4 CARDS
Do not draw any cards. Instead, immediately force the next player to take 2 turns in a row. Play then continues from that player. The victim of this card takes a turn as normal (pass-or-play then draw). Then, when their first turn is over, it's their turn again.
If the victim of an Attack Card plays an Attack Card on any of their turns, the new target must take any remaining turns plus the number of attacks on the Attack Card just played (e.g. 4 turns, then 6, and so on).

The text suggests that this would be the effect:

P1 plays Attack, so P2 has 2 turns.
P2 plays Attack, so P3 has 4 turns.
P3 plays Attack, so P4 has 6 turns. (Pn refers to P(n mod p) for p players.)
P4 plays Attack, so P5 has 8 turns.
P5 plays Five Different Cards (to get Attack) and draws Shuffle, with 7 turns left.
P5 plays Attack, so P6 has 9 turns.

The inconsistency is that P1 already has 1 turn when playing Attack, which would imply adding 1 turn per Attack card:

P1 plays Attack, so P2 has 1+1=2 turns.
P2 plays Attack, so P3 has 2+1=3 turns.
P3 plays Attack, so P4 has 3+1=4 turns.
P4 plays Attack, so P5 has 4+1=5 turns.
P5 plays Five Different Cards (to get Attack) and draws Shuffle, with 4 turns left.
P5 plays Attack, so P6 has 4+1=5 turns.

This is clearly not what the text suggests, which is that 2 turns should be added. But even with that change, it seems like 1 extra turn should be added to everything:

P1 plays Attack, so P2 has 1+2=3 turns.
P2 plays Attack, so P3 has 3+2=5 turns.
P3 plays Attack, so P4 has 5+2=7 turns.
P4 plays Attack, so P5 has 7+2=9 turns.
P5 plays Five Different Cards (to get Attack) and draws Shuffle, with 8 turns left.
P5 plays Attack, so P6 has 8+2=10 turns.

Is the inconsistency a result of misinterpreting the description, or is it just that the Attack card has a special extra effect of subtracting 1 turn when the turn count is 1 before adding (3 after adding)?
Transfer turns to the next player, add 2 turns, and subtract 1 turn if the turn count is 3.
I say that it seems inconsistent because in this example, P3 can have 2 extra turns from a 1 turn count difference:

P1 plays Attack, so P2 has 2+2-1=2 turns.
P2 plays Shuffle and draws Shuffle, with 1 turn left.
P2 plays Attack, so P3 has 1+2-1=2 turns. (P3 has 2+2=4 turns if the previous line is deleted.)

Or would P3 get 3 turns (4 if the second line is deleted) in this case, corresponding to the following effect?
Transfer turns to the next player and add 2 turns. The turn count is normally 0, and players still take 1 turn if the turn count is 0.
This last rule avoids removing 2 turns from using 1, but it means 1 original turn and 1 Attack turn left are different states (but only when using Attack).


texts: Looking for a simple yet deep card / board game featuring superheroes to use as an introduction to games

texts:
I am looking to introduce a new player to the world of card and board games. This person shows an interest in getting into the hobby and after a conversation I was able to ascertain that she is a fan of superheroes. Playing primarily fantasy and sci-fi games myself, I don't know of any good choices to start off with. I want to keep to the superhero theme to help this new player engage more with the story, since it is something they are in to.

Bonus points if the game has an electronic version that can enforce rules without us having to remember them all, at least until they feel comfortable with them.

In terms of complexity, I am probably looking for something more akin to Munchkin than Magic: The Gathering for a card game, or Forbidden Island rather than Arkham Horror for a board game.


texts: How good is the AI in the iOS port of Haggis?

texts:
I recently picked up the iOS port for Haggis. Although I own the physical version, and you can play it online at boardgamearena, playing versus the iOS AI has been my first experience with the game.

I generally beat the AI pretty handily at this point but I'm wondering if this is one of those games where the AI employs a strategy that can be successful against novices but cannot compete with even moderately experienced players.


texts:
While looking at this Possibility Storm puzzle I wondered if it would be possible to do something along those lines:

Tap the mana dork for 1 colorless, making it 7 total mana.
Cast Supernatural Stamina on Naru Meha, Master Wizard.
Cast Illusionist's Stratagem on one Academy Journeymage and the Arcanist, and on top of it cast Vicious Offering, sacrificing Naru Meha as its kicker.
Naru Meha will return on the battlefield, its ETB will then copy Stratagem, the copy targeting Naru Meha again and the same Journeymage.
Journeymage's ETB bounces one of the opponent's creatures.
Repeat step 4 and 5, to end the loop use the same targets as in 3.
Attack with the unused 4/3 Journeymage.

Are these steps legal?

The puzzle, again:


texts: By how many points did alphago win against Lee Se-dol?

texts:
Today, the computer program AlphaGo from Google won against the Go world champion Lee Sedol. I read that it won by resignation. If I understand correctly, it means that Lee realized he could not win and accepted his defeat without ending the game.
My question is, by how many point AlphaGo would have won approximately if Lee had fought until the end?


texts:
Im a big fan of the Magic the Gathering trading card game.

And with all these new cards coming in, I was wondering how the cards were balanced, and manacost calculated.

Im thinking there must be a list of abilities, with matching mana modifiers, and some formula in which to calculate them. I hardly feel that they just guess or take it on the feels when coming up with the cards cost and ability limitations.

But is such a formula public ? I have been looking around but with not much luck.

The reason im asking is that I would like to know the correct mana cost, if I were to make some custom cards myself.


texts: Should a judge assume that any triggers not mentioned have been missed when providing a ruling?

texts:
Alice and Nathan are playing a friendly game of magic in a tournament run at Competitive REL. They run into a situation that they don't quite understand, and so they call for a judge. Jason arrives, hears the situation, and now needs to hand down his ruling.

Jason notices that a trigger was missed that would affect his ruling if it were noticed. Should Jason simply assume that the trigger was missed while making his ruling?

Actual Example

Alive controls a Bloodfire Expert. Nathan taps three Mountains and casts Lightning Strike (which only costs {1}{R}). Alice casts Stubborn Denial, thinking that Nathan has no mana to pay. Nathan pays for it, and Alice calls for a judge because Nathan forgot to announce that he had remaining mana in his pool.

Jason arrives, and notices that Alice did not mention the Prowess trigger on Bloodfire Expert. If she had remembered the trigger, Stubborn Denial would simply counter the Lightning Bolt because Alice would meet the conditions for Ferocious. What questions should Jason ask, and how should Jason rule?


texts: Can I summon a lvl. 1-4 monster from my hand on my first turn?

texts: Yu-Gi-Oh! cards are my favorite, but I never been in a tournament. I was wondering can anyone tell me if I can summon a lvl. 1-4 monster from my hand when it’s my first turn?


texts:
Well since the new set is available I was wondering the combo between Nivmagus Elemental and cipher cards[1].

So let's assume that Nivmagus is on the field then I cast a cipher spell from my hand can I:

Eat the spell and mount it on Nivmagus
Eat the cipher spell on each attack

Also is it possible to have multiple of the same cipher spells on a target creature?

The definition is assumed to be "You may exile this spell card encoded on a creature you control. Whenever that creature deals combat damage to a player, its controller may cast a copy of the encoded card without paying its mana cost."


texts:
Following up on a recent post,

"I am looking for some clarification on the card Gleam of Authority. The wording on the card is

Enchantment - Aura

Enchant Creature

Enchanted creature gets +1/+1 for each +1/+1 counter on other creatures you control.

There is also a tap ability to bolster and vigilance.

The problem I'm seeing with adjusting continuously, is if multiple Gleam of authorities are played. Does this create an infinite loop?


texts: Do Monstrous Creatures still only have AP6 when using Scything Talons?

texts: Scything Talons have AP6, but to me it seems odd that a creature the size of a Carnifex with talons nearly twice the size of a human would have trouble cutting its way through a Guardsman's flak vest. I know that in the current edition of the rules being a Monstrous Creature does not automatically allow you to ignore armor saves like you could in earlier editions (I think 5th and earlier), but is there something in the Tyranids codex that I missed, or is a Carnifex using its Scything Talons really just AP6?


texts:
We like to play Titan but the game always feels too long, it usually takes 6-8 hours.

We've tried the quicker game variant suggested in the rules (skipping the first level of recruits and going straight to the second tier), but found it unsatisfying because of the lack of variety.  Most of our time seems to be spent in board management, not combats.

What have other people tried and found successful in reducing the total play time to under four hours for Titan?


texts: What is the name of this game where you place colored cubes on a tiled grid?

texts:
I played a game about 5 years ago; pretty sure it would be classified as a Euro game. You have a player mat made by putting a few tiles together, I think a 2x2 square of square tiles. Each tile has a grid on it, I think it's a 6x6 grid or so.

On your turn, you take small cubes and place them on your board; 1 cube per grid space. You can place up to 2 cubes on a turn as long as the 2 cubes are adjacent to each other. There might be 2 or 3 different color cubes you can choose to place, I can't remember for sure. The object is to end up with the most coverage or to cover specific areas, something like that.

Ring any bells?


texts: How would this seki be scored at the end of the game?

texts:
I'm a Go beginner with a VERY little bit of experience (three or four actual games under my belt), and I'm looking through the life and death problems at Sensei's Library trying to get a better understanding of the game. In the solution to problem 9, the following board position was shown as one of the failure modes for Black (who should have played at 1, thus killing White):

$$W White lives in seki.
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . X . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . .
$$ | . X X X X X . . . , .
$$ | X O O O O O X X X . .
$$ | X O M B 1 O O O X X .
$$ | . O O B B M O . O . .
$$ +----------------------

I understand why White lives here by playing at W1: this is seki, since neither White nor Black wants to play on the two points marked by an X. (If White played on one of the two X points, Black would do nothing; if White played on both points, he would then have a bent three shape and Black could kill his group. But if Black played at either X point, White would play at the other and live with a bent-four or twisted-four shape).

What I'm not quite clear on is how this position would be scored at the end of the game. My first thought was "Since White is alive, the marked Black stones are dead, so White scores five points of territory plus three prisoners for a total of 8 points." But then I thought, "No, this is seki: White can't actually capture the marked Black stones without dying, so Black is also counted as alive. Therefore, this area provides points for neither White nor Black at the end of the game, because neither one has managed to actually control the territory."

I'm pretty sure that my second thought was the correct one: this area would be scored as zero points, and none of the stones would be removed from the board in the end: White's large group is alive and Black's three marked stones are also alive, so neither group are prisoners and neither player has surrounded these five spaces of territory. But am I right? An answer from a more experienced Go player, confirming that this board situation would score no points for either White or Black (or correcting any mistakes on my part) would be welcome, to reassure me that I'm not misreading this position.

P.S. I wanted to tag this as "seki", but that's apparently a brand-new tag on this site, so it requires 150 rep and with my newbie's 101 reputation I can't do it. If someone with more rep wants to add that tag, that would be welcome.


texts: What counters can be attached to a player?

texts:
Steady Progress allows you to choose any player, and put another counter on them, of a type that already is on them.

I am only aware of poison counters on players.  Are there others?


texts:
In SAYC, what does doubling a 2-level weak jump overcall mean?  For example, the bidding sequence: 1♣ - 2♠ - double.

Is it

a negative double,
a penalty double,
a show of spade control, or
something else?

What distribution and values does it promise?


texts: Where can I purchase replacement parts for Battleship Galaxies?

texts:
My boys and I still enjoy Battleship Galaxies in spite (and because of!) some rather bizarre abilities and the strange "activate only one ship" mechanic.

My younger son was setting up the board for a recent game and was a bit too overly enthusiastic when he disconnected the vertical piece of the base from one of the ship miniatures (it's a ball and socket press-fit attachment).  That snapped the tip off at a point that almost certainly doesn't have enough surface area to glue back together.

Is there a source for replacement parts?

For this specific situation, what we really need is hex bases of various configurations (1, 2 and 7 hex), with a vertical piece to hold up the ship mini and holes for the shield and hull pegs.


texts: Kemet: Controlling another Player's pyramid and Victory point

texts:
It is clear that when you capture another player's pyramid you gain the ability to use that pyramid and also the temporary victory point.

If you willfully abandon the pyramid by moving the occupying troop, does the player who's city the pyramid resides in automatically gain control of the pyramid.  Do they automatically get the temporary victory point back?

A more summary question might be:  Does a player who has a pyramid with no units on it in his home city automatically control the pyramid?


texts: Players turn was skipped, go back and allow that person to play out of order or continue on?

texts:
Towards the end of a large game of munchkins with a good amount of alcohol consumed, a player’s turn was somehow completely skipped.

This player also somehow didn’t realize that he was skipped until AFTER the next person completed their entire turn.

So we initially wanted to continue on with a “you snooze, you lose” mentality. However he was adamant that he get his turn and we obliged him saying he can have his turn and then we will continue on from where we left off. He won the game that turn…

What are the rules concerning this? Should the player lose their turn if they were paying so little attention or were we correct in letting him go out of order?


texts: Does the Battlestar Galactica game spoil the TV series?

texts: I've watched the first few episodes of Battlestar Galactica, and a friend recently got the game. We love The Resistance, and I'm eager to try a similarly deceptive game with more going on than just deception. But, I don't want to spoil the suspense of the TV show. Do I need to watch more before I play the game?


texts: Can I cast spells right before the end of my opponent's second main phase?

texts:
It is a known strategy in MTG to wait until the last moment to use some instants, and it's common to see the following:

My opponent: "Ok, I'm done, your turn."
Me: "Wait. On your end step, I cast X."

But in some rare situations, I might want to play something right before my opponent's end step begins (perhaps because there is some effect that triggers at the beginning of the end step, and I want to play something before that triggers - see the first item in this blog post for a real example).

Main question: Can I do the following?

My opponent: "Ok, I'm done, your turn."
Me: "Wait. On your second main phase, I cast X."

Or must I guess that he is about to end his second main phase and play it in response to some sorcery or something else that he is doing in his second main phase?

Also, it is not unusual for a player to complete their combat phase and immediately say "Ok, your turn", effectively skipping their second main phase entirely. In this case, can I still do something in his second main phase?

Note: from the blog post linked above, apparently the answer is yes, but that wasn't stated explicitly and does not seem obvious to me. I know a bit about priority but I'm not sure if players must pass priority around to end their second main phases, for example.

Bonus question: I'm pretty sure that, if what I'm asking is possible, most likely my opponent will still be able to continue his second main phase, possibly casting sorcery-speed things, right? Or is there a clever way to do this "right before the second main phase ends" in a way that it ends immediately after, without giving him a chance to cast other sorceries? (I doubt that though, just asking for the sake of completeness)


texts: Can I copy a counter spell to then counter said counter?

texts:
Is it possible to create a copy of a counter spell to then use to counter the copied counter spell?

I'm not sure if the copied spell will have resolved before the copy can target it.

For example:

Player A: Casts "insert random none-special creature that can be
countered"
Player B: Casts Cancel
Player A: Casts Reverberate and targets the original Cancel
with the copied cancel


texts:
I run a white and red burn deck with an Arcbond and want to be able to save myself from taking damage but still have it deal the damage to everyone else.

Are there any white or red cards that could do this?


texts:
So, the Cestus has a special ability that, if you consume 3 Stamina, you can use it to attack, even when it is a "backup slot" of your weaponry.

Additionally, there is a rule saying that a player may make as many attacks as they have weapons in their hands.

So, if I have a primary weapon (the Longsword, for example), and a shield, and then place the Cestus in a backup slot (on the shield hand, for example) can I attack with the Cestus as well as the sword each turn, or does this just allow me to attack with the Cestus instead of the sword?


texts: Mutual Identification mechanics in a deduction game

texts:
I'm thinking about a deduction board game idea for at least five players where there are two Spies who don't know each other (Spy A and Spy B).

Their mission is to accomplish mutual identification during the night phase (when other players closes their eyes) but totally secretly. After the identification attempt only the following outcomes are possible (publicly known by all players):

Both Spies failed identification
Spy A successfully identified Spy B (Spy B doesn't know who identified him)
Spy B successfully identified Spy A (Spy A doesn't know who identified him)
Both Spies successfully identified each other

In case of an unsuccessful attempt, they can try again to identify each other in next rounds, but all other information should stay hidden (e.g. which civilian(s) they tried to identify).

I had a lot of ideas for the mechanism, but none of them worked with easy setup.

It would be easy with a game master, but I want to make it an everyone-can-play type. What kind of a mechanism which uses cards or items might make this work?


texts: What card types can't appear in your library?

texts:
From the new Kaldheim release notes on [Alrund, God of the Cosmos]:

You may choose any card type, but the ones that may appear in your library are artifact, creature, enchantment, instant, land, planeswalker, sorcery, and tribal (a card type found on some older cards).

This wording surprised me, because I didn't think any other card types existed.
What other card types are there that can't appear in your library?


texts:
To anyone that has played 1000bwc, or seen it played:

Does it really work in practice?
Does it only work for fun, or can you get a semi-serious competative game out of it?
Does anyone actually play this game or is it a random novelty?


texts: Returning card to hand off Emeria Shephard from Plains trigger

texts: If I trigger Emeria Shepherd ability of a Plains, may I choose to place the card in my hand instead of into the battlefield?


texts: Do you have to pay the mana cost for cards exiled with Muse Vessel?

texts:
Muse Vessel reads as follows:

{3}, {T}: Target player exiles a card from their hand. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.
{1}: Choose a card exiled with Muse Vessel. You may play that card this turn.

If the card exiled is a nonland card, do I have to pay its mana cost?


texts: Does the amount of +1/+1 from Prowess remain on a creature, even when a creature gets flipped face-down by Ixidron?

texts:
I have Elsha of the Infinite on the battlefield, who has prowess:

  Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.

Her prowess triggered five times, making her a 8/8 until end of turn. She moves to combat.

An opponent then flashes in Ixidron:

  As Ixidron enters the battlefield, turn all other nontoken creatures face down. (They're 2/2 creatures.)

Looking at the rulings of 4/27/2018:

  Creatures turned face down by Ixidron are 2/2 creatures with no text, no name, no subtypes, no expansion symbol, and no mana cost. These values are copiable if an object becomes a copy of one of those creatures, and their normal values are not copiable.

Does this mean that the temporary amount of +1/+1 from prowess remain until end of turn, even though Elsha got flipped? Or does the "with no text" remove it altogether? So is my attacking creature a 7/7 until end of turn, or just a 2/2?


texts: Does a player rolling a 7 have to discard half their cards if they have more than 7?

texts:
If I roll a "7" every player that has 8 or more cards has to give to the bank the half. Does that include the player who rolled the "7"?
If playing with then Seafarers expansion I can choose the Pirate after rolling "7" Does every player have to discard half of their cards when pirate is selected?


texts: What happens if Falkenrath Gorger dies while a madness ability it granted is on the stack?

texts:
Falkenrath Gorger says:

  Each Vampire creature card you own that isn't on the battlefield has madness.

Lets say someone has Falkenrath Gorger in play and discards Drana, Liberator of Malakir to a discard effect. In response their opponent casts Murder killing Falkenrath Gorger.

Now the madness has already triggered since Drana was discarded as part of the cost of the discard effect. However madness has been lost between placing Drana into exile and before casting her.

Can the player still play Drana from exile or is she stuck there now she has lost madness?

Bonus question (I'm fairly sure the answer is no) - if she is stuck in exile would playing another Gorger allow her to be cast from exile again?


texts: I need help to find card 094 in Fallout: The Board Game

texts:
I'm having trouble finding card 094. Card 016 says to add 094, but I can’t find anywhere. I've counted all my encounter cards and I believe I have them all. I don't know what 094 is meant to be or where I'm meant to find it.

Could someone tell me what kind of card it is, if it's a vault card or something else, and where in the game materials I'm supposed to find it?


texts: Can I somehow block a spell that targets a zone and damages all creatures within it, like Firestorm?


texts:
In a particular scenario where there is a tie for same three of a kind.

Two players -

User1 with 10h and 6d

User2 with 10d and 4c

On table 10c, 10s, Kc, 3h, 2d

Who wins?

Note: h/d/s/c = Hearts/Diamonds/Spades/Clubs


texts: What are some strategies to beat Rise of the Dark Realms?

texts:
How can Rise of the Dark Realms be beaten/avoided?
Is it possible to deflect this card so that you end up consuming it?


texts: If partner opens and I have 7 in a suit, do I go to game?

texts: Partner deals and opens 1 club.  I have 8 points and 7 diamonds. Opponent has passed.  Should I say 3 diamonds to show 7 card suit?


texts:
I am looking for examples of professional Go games where one of the pros played solid, steady moves that were initially considered slow by the commentators, but eventually won him/her the game.

My objective is to try and better understand the role of reinforcement moves.

Thanks!


texts: How does the new Sangan errata affect Exodia?

texts:
Just reading up on the new sangan errata which is;

  If this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard: Add 1 monster with 1500 or less ATK from your Deck to your hand, but you cannot activate cards, or the effects of cards, with that name for the rest of this turn. You can only use this effect of "Sangan" once per turn.

So this new Errata states that you cant use the effect of the monster you added until the turn after you use this effect.

To my understanding this means that if you have sangan in an exodia deck and you have both legs and both arms in your hand then if you use the sangan effect to add the head then you wont win until your next turn. Or would the effect of exodia overrule this effect?

And also if you have the head already and three of the other pieces in your hand when you use sangan to add the last one it doesnt have an effect because only the head has the effect and because you havent added the head to your hand then the win condition can still be activated. Or would you still have to wait a turn because the pieces are listed in the effect of the head?


texts: Ashcan Pete is allowed to gain assets.  Do artifacts, and unique assets for that matter, have values like normal assets?  He can only gain less than his observation skill, so it can be useful to know.  No rule book seems to have the answer.


texts: Legendary Encounters - Alien: Freeing captives in the "Who's laying the eggs?" objective (spoilers)

texts:
When can you start freeing captives in the "Who's laying the eggs?" Objective ?

As soon as this objective becomes the current one
When this objective is the current one, but only after an Event card has been drawn
As soon as there are captives (no need to wait for this to be the current objective)
Other


texts: Is one allowed to play Go with a notebook?

texts: This may be a silly question—but, is it illegal for one to enter a Go (or Chess, for that matter) tournament with a notebook in hand?


texts: Strategies and kingdom cards for a strong opening in Dominion?

texts:
Dominion is a game of widely varying strategies and paths toward victory. But the most important part of any winning strategy is a strong opening.

How can I tell if a kingdom card is a good opening card?
What are some of the best cards to buy in your first 4-6 turns?
What are some good tactics for getting to your later game strategy as soon as possible?

This question discusses evaluating kingdom sets in general., and this discusses general tactics. This is sort of a combination of both, focusing on openings. :D


texts: In player v player combat, can a player resume attacking after I have passed?

texts: The ranged/siege attack phase and the melee attack phases end when both players have passed "in succession."  Does this mean that, after passing, one could choose to act, such as in Bridge? i.e. A attacks, B attacks, A passes, B attacks, A attacks.


texts: In Lord of the Rings, can quest cards with stars be used to pay for events that require you to discard other cards of a specific type?

texts: In the Lord of the Rings co-op game, you can discard quest cards with stars on any activity track since they are considered wild cards; however, when an event requires you to discard cards with a specific type (travelling, hiding, friendship, or fighting), can a quest card with a star be discarded instead?


texts: Do Zombicide: Black Plague quests last a lot longer than suggested?

texts:
I bought Zombicide: Black Plague and we played the three first quests (0, 1 and 2). None of us played the other versions.

Now what surprises me. The quests 1 and 2 have an estimated time of 60 minutes. Is it actually possible to complete these that fast ?

For both, we needed more than 2 hours..

Note: having no zombicide experience at all doesn't help, for sure, but the difference for these supposed easy quests is pretty huge.


texts: Why did Experiment One not get a counter when my Undying creature returned to play?

texts:
Yesterday on MTGO an ability didn't trigger and I don't understand why.

I had Experiment One in play, with one +1/+1 counter on it, so it was 2/2. Experiment One has Evolve (Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, if that creature has greater power or toughness than this creature, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature).

I also had Strangleroot Geist, without counters. It has Undying (When this creature dies, if it had no +1/+1 counters on it, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control with a +1/+1 counter on it.)

Strangleroot Geist then died. So it goes. Its ability triggered, and it returned to the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it, making it 3/2.

At this point I expected Experiment One's ability to trigger, as it is 2/2 and a 3/2 enters the battlefield, but it didn't.

Why not?


texts: Good counter to Minion in Dominion: Intrigue

texts: I recently lost a game of Dominion where my opponent spammed Minion repeatedly. During this he racked up tons of coin while forcing me to discard my hand once per turn. I cannot remember the other cards on the board but during the game I was unable to successfully counter. Besides Moat or Lighthouse what are some good strategies to fight off Minion?


texts: Can I still capture a territory if I lose all my land units in combat?

texts: My friend and I had the following battle: I had 3 fighters and 5 infantry, and he had 3 infantry. At the end of the battle, all of my infantry got destroyed and all I had left was the 3 fighters. He lost all of his infantry. He said I couldn't take the territory because I didn't have any land units. I started the battle with land units but at the end of the battle, I didn't have any. What is the rule on this specific situation?


texts: Yu-Gi-Oh Magic/Trap cards that are based on how many tributes I had that turn

texts:
I have a Majespecter Amorphage deck where I basically tribute a monster every turn.

Are there any magic or trap cards that give me effects based on how many tributes I had that turn or if I tributed at all?


texts: What is the name of this solitaire variant?

texts:
I recently learned a new solitaire from a friend, but we have no idea what the name of it is. Can anyone help?
You use two decks of cards, and start by placing 14 rows of cards. The middle 4 rows are laid horizontal and are locked. The rest of the cards are placed vertical and are open. All of the cards are placed face-up. The rest of the cards are left in a pile with the face down and drawn one-after-one as you need them. (The bottom card is also open, but not sure if that's a rule my friend started with or not.)
The game is very similar to Klondike as you're supposed to build from kings down to ace with different color for each card (red on black or black on red). Then you gather all the aces and build up on them. The difficult part of this solitaire is that the locked cards in the middle have to be placed in one of the ace piles before you can use it up in the main game again.
I hope my explanation isn't too difficult to understand. If anyone knows the name, please tell me.
Thanks in advance.
Apologize for the bad picture, but hope you get it.


texts: Want to find a website listing MTG groups in Japan

texts:
I want to find a group to play MTG with in Japan near my area that speaks English rather than Japanese, but I have been unsuccessful in finding a website  that lists groups other than those located in a few main areas (Tokyo, Kyoto, etc.) I would be very grateful if someone could provide me with information of a website or page where I can make contact with local players.

If this is not the correct place for this question, I would appreciate any tips on where the proper place would be.


texts: Does Rageblood Shaman give itself +1/+1?

texts:
So I was playing a game and this card came out and we couldn't decide if by "Other Minotaur creatures" it means not this creature, or if it included it.

Also, we assumed that it would give Trample to Minotaurs as soon as it was cast, rather than when its summoning sickness had passed.

Please can someone clarify for me, thanks!


texts: Leaders expansions: Is trade commerce allowed during Recruitment phase

texts:
Sometimes you will need resources to build your stage of the wonder played. Is commerce allowed particularly in this phase. For example:

The game has begun and we are on the first recruitment phase. Here you are allowed to recruit, build a stage or discard. What if I choose to build a stage or my wonder but I don't have the resources. Am I allowed to trade?


texts: What happens to armor a marine has gained during a campaign when he dies?

texts:
Preface

This question is about Doom: The Boardgame. I have translated the rules and items etc. from my native tongue to english to the best of my knowledge, so please be gentle.

The Question

Suppose you are playing a campaign. A marine has found a piece of armor in scenario I and did not die in that one afterwards. So he starts with armor +1 in scenario II. Now the question is: What happens, if the marine dies (kill) in scenario II. Does he respawn with armor +0 or +1 ? Does it make a difference when he has bought the armor using killpoints instead of finding it in one scenario ?

My interpretation

The combination of

A killed marine respawns with the initial amount of armor and health. (rulebook)

and

A marine starts a scenario with the armor and health of the previous scenario (campaign book)

has lead me to the conclusion, that if e.g. Martin the marine starts scenario II with armor 2+1 and health 4 (of maximum 9) and he dies within the scenario, the he respawns with armor 2+1 and health 4 (while maximum remains 9 of course).

However, this interpretation is both counterintuitive (regarding health) and (maybe) a balance issue (regarding found armor).


texts: Do creatures with summoning sickness deal damage while blocking?

texts: I know creatures with summoning sickness can not attack unless they have haste. My brother is using this to his defense as if you use a 3/3 creature with summoning sickness to block an attack from a 2/2 creature then the 2/2 creature would not die because you are only blocking and not attacking back.


texts: I tend to focus on one aspect of a game. How do I take the necessary balanced approach that's necessary in games like Seven Wonders?

texts: My personality is to pick one thing, and then go all out on it. For instance, if I play Civilization, I might tons of a single unit. Or Settlers I might focus on roads. Often this negatively hurts me. The problem is that I just don't have an intuition for how to handle many different aspects of a game. How do I change my mindset when playing?


texts: If you create a path to the gold with a blue door in the way, and there are no blue dwarves, no boss, and no profiteer, what happens?


texts: How to build / ideas for a multiplayer lifegain control deck?

texts:
I'm more of the dueler type, but sometimes I play multiplayer with my friends. At this point my decks are just not viable.

I want to build a multiplayer deck for this purpose. When I check online multiplayer decklists I see a lot of 1 or 2 singles of the same cards in a heavely not consistent deck rather then lots of 4 of making a solid and constant deck. Is there a reason for that?

Also, I would like to build a life-gain/control deck. is it possible for a fun deck to play in multiplayer? If yes, I would be glad to have some ideas from experienced multiplayer players.

Thanks in advance!


texts: Are the owner benefits from Impersonate Tax Collector part of an action?

texts:
The Lords of Waterdeep expansion card Impersonate Tax Collector lets you take the main benefit and the owner benefit on your buildings. Are both of these rewards part of the action of assigning an agent to that space, or is the owner benefit separate? If it is part of the same action, it should trigger other plot quests, such as Bribe the Shipwrights.

If a player has completed Impersonate Tax Collector and Bribe the Shipwrights, and controls The Three Pearls, when they assign an agent to this building do they get the extra rogue from Bribe the Shipwrights?

Impersonate Tax Collector says

  Whenever you assign an agent to a
  Building you control, you also gain the owner benefit.

Bribe the Shipwrights says

  "Whenever you take an action that provides any
  coins, also take 1 Rogue from the supply and place it in your tavern."

The Three Pearls has an owner benefit of two coins.


texts: Can I cast a "counter" on a spell that cannot be countered?

texts:
If there is a spell in the stack that can't be countered, can I still play a counter spell on it? and if so, will it resolve?

For example, let's say that the opponent plays Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, can I play  Remand on it? and would I draw a card?


texts: I am looking for a copy of the rules to a long since gone game called Mustangs and Messerschmitts. Does anyone have a source to the rules?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  What does protection from [quality] do?

I was playing a match with a friend where I had Elite Inquisitor on the field against his 3 zombies. Is he able to declare his zombies as blockers even though Elite Inquisitor has "protection" from zombies?  If he can[declare them as blockers] does protection mean that just no damage is dealt by that creature?


texts: What happens if I become an illegal target of Cruel Entertainment?

texts:
Cruel Entertainment is a card from Commander 2016 that says:

  Choose target player and another target player. The first player controls the second player during the second player’s next turn, and the second player controls the first player during the first player’s next turn.

Let's say this is cast, and I'm one of the targets. While Cruel Entertainment is still on the stack, I give myself hexproof by flashing in Aegis of the Gods or something similar. The other player is still a valid target, so the spell resolves — but what happens when it does?

Do I still control the other player in their next turn?
Does the other player still control me in my next turn?

There aren't any Gatherer rulings about this scenario attached to the card — all the rulings but the first two just talk about how controlling a player works.


texts: If I reveal a land with Daxos of Meletis, can I play it?

texts: What happens if my Daxos of Meletis deals combat damage to a player, and the card revealed by that player is a land? Am I able to play that land or does nothing happen, because Daxos's ability is worded as "you may cast" that card and you don't cast lands.


texts: In magic, if a attacker attacks with a 2/1 and I defend with a 1/2 who dies

texts: In magic if a attacker attacks with 2/1 and I defend with 1/2 who dies.


texts: Can Canopy Spider block Treetop Rangers?

texts:
I know that creatures that have "can't be blocked except by creatures with flying", like Treetop Rangers, can't be blocked by creatures with reach like Giant Spider since it does not have flying. What about creatures that don't have reach but have a description like "may block as though it had flying", for example Canopy Spider?

Basically, can Treetop Rangers be blocked by Canopy Spider even though it can't be blocked by Giant Spider?


texts: Is Guardian like Dark Champion a monster? This matters in regard of cards like the Gohlen Tracker, the Divine Chaplan or the Divine Prophet.


texts: In Pandemic: on the brink, can I remove multiple bioterrorist cubes at once for a cured strain?

texts:
In Pandemic On the brink we ran into a situation where both the black strain and bioterrorist purple strain were cured. At one point one of the players moved into a territory that had multiple black and purple cubes.

My question, is it one action to remove all black and purple cubes because they are both cured or does it require one action each?


texts: If I cast render silent targeting  abrupt decay, will my opponent still be unable to cast spells for the rest of the turn?


texts:
I'm trying to understand why my solution to this tsumego is incorrect. It's "Basic problem #26" from Tsumego Pro and looks like this:

$$ ----------------------------
$$ . . . . . . . . X . O X . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . X O . O O O |
$$ . . . . . . . X . X O O X . |
$$ . . . . , . . . . X X X X . |
$$ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |

The built-in correct solution is this:

$$ ----------------
$$ . . X 3 O # 1 2 |
$$ . . X O . O O O |
$$ . X . X O O X . |
$$ . . . X X X X . |

(alternatively, after (2), with black playing at the marked position again and white taking once more by playing at (1), and only then black playing at (3)). I understand why this solution is correct, just not why mine isn't.

The following is my solution, which the program marks as incorrect.

$$ ----------------
$$ . . X 1 O X 2 . |
$$ . . X O . O O O |
$$ . X . X O O X . |
$$ . . . X X X X . |
$$ . . . . . . . . |

(white's response at (2) is built into the program, the rest of the white moves aren't).

$$ ----------------
$$ . . X X O . O . |
$$ . . X O a O O O |
$$ . X . X O O X b |
$$ . . . X X X X . |
$$ . . . . . . . . |

If black now takes the ko at (a), the only thing white can do (that I can see) is play at (b) in order to try escaping on the right side. It can't play anywhere on its inside because that would essentially be suicide, and because for black winning the ko means connecting its two groups, I don't see any possible white threat that black would have to respond to.

$$ ----------------
$$ . . X X O . O . |
$$ . . X O 3 O O O |
$$ . X . X O O X 4 |
$$ . . . X X X X . |
$$ . . . . . . . . |

$$ ----------------
$$ . . X X O . O . |
$$ . . X 5 X O O O |
$$ . X . X O O X O |
$$ . . . X X X X 6 |
$$ . . . . . . 7 8 |
$$ . . . . . . 9 0 |

This could now continue all the way to the bottom of the board (not shown), at which point the white group has no liberties left except for the eye-and-a-half at the top. If white decides to stop running away, I still don't see anything forcing it could play to stop black from closing (e.g. at (10)).

In the end black can take:

$$m37
$$ ----------------
$$ . . X X O 1 O 3 |
$$ . . X X X O O O |
$$ . X . X O O X O |
$$ . . . X X X X O |
$$ . . . . . . X O |
$$ . . . . . . X O |

with no useful response (38) for white.

What is it that I'm missing? Where could white have lived?


texts: Are there specific names for the signature images in the Ravnica guilds?

texts: Each 2 colour combination has its own name and it's own picture used on cards that have both colours involved (generally in the background of the card text). Do the pictures themselves have a name other than just "Gruul Banner", "Rakdos Mask" or "Orzhov Eight Pointed Star"?


texts:
LHO opened with 1C – Partner overcalled with 1S – (I have 6 pts, 4 Spades) → Do I respond with 2S?

P.S. rho pass.

EDIT : what my gripe with this is, that according to textbooks, you respond to opening (which is 12+pts) with minimum 6 pts. Now overcall shows 8+ pts, so shouldn't I respond then with only 10 pts (e.g. 6+4)? (looking for logic in here...)


texts: Does having 2 Flickerwisps and an Impact Tremors win me the game?

texts:
I'm just thinking that if I had a Flickerwisp and an Impact Tremors in play, and I cast another Flickerwisp, would I be able to have the Flickerwisps "flick" each other until my opponents are at 0 life and win me the game? I'm thinking I might be on to something here.

I'm not sure how the "end of turn" ruling affects this, but if it's an issue I guess I can use a Fiend Hunter for this combo, right?


texts:
If I have 35 life, and I have Lich's Mirror, which

  If you would lose the game, instead shuffle your hand, your graveyard, and all permanents you own into your library, then draw seven cards and your life total becomes 20.

can I play Aetherflux Reservoir?

  Pay 50 life: Aetherflux Reservoir deals 50 damage to target creature or player.

Would I be able to play Aetherflux Reservoir, use up 35 life, use Lich's Mirror to get back up to 20 and pay the last 15 life? Or would Lich's Mirror require me to shuffle the card back into my deck first? In which place could I use Exquisite Archangel?

  If you would lose the game, instead exile Exquisite Archangel and your life total becomes equal to your starting life total

Or would I just not be able to play this Aetherflux Reservoir in this manner at all?

If Rhox Faithmender

  If you would gain life, you gain twice that much life instead.

is on the field when Lich's Mirror is played, do I get 40 life, or is he shuffled back into the deck first? Would I get 40 life if I used Exquisite Archangel?

If my opponent plays a card such as Approach of the Second Sun

  If Approach of the Second Sun was cast from your hand and you've cast another spell named Approach of the Second Sun this game, you win the game.

for the second time, and I have Exquisite Archangel and Rhox Faithmender, and I have 8 life, do I exile Exquisite Archangel and get 20 life, 40 life, or 32 life?

What would happen if I had 30 life when Approach of the Second Sun was played and I exiled Exquisite Archangel? Would I be reduced to twenty life, or could I remain at 30 life?

Sorry for all of the questions. I am somewhat new to magic, and just got a deck, and was wondering about the new combos that I could do with them.


texts: Can I use critical hits under the effect of "Greenskins Invade"?

texts:
There is the Old World card "Greenskins Invade". It states

  While this Old World card remains in play, each player battling in a region containing an Event token may roll only one battle die, in total, per battle phase.

It's clear that no matter how many dice I could use in the battle phase, I can only use one of them in this region. But what if I roll a critical (6)? Can I reroll the die because I'm using the same die (so the count of the total dice used doesn't change), or does it count as using a different die?


texts: Is there any configuration of Free Cell that cannot be solved?

texts:
When I have free time in small durations, I often play Free Cell on my phone. The app that I use permits unlimited undos, and because of this I currently have a run of 603 wins, with 655 total wins and 10 total losses.

As is demonstrated by those statistics, my 10 losses occurred during my first 52 games. Prior to using this app, I had only played Free Cell very rarely.

As my statistics approach a 1% loss rate, I have to wonder: Given an unlimited ability to undo your moves, is there any initial deal of Free Cell that is impossible to solve?

A proof one way or another would be ideal (although I admit that I doubt I'd be able to comprehend such a proof), although an authoritative source would be a good alternative.


texts: What's the highest score that can be achieved by pegging?

texts:
Nearly every cribbage player knows that 29 is the highest-scoring hand that one can achieve, and that 19 and some others are impossible to score.

However, I'm curious to know what is the highest score one can achieve during the play of the cards (also known as "pegging"?  What cards would need to be played, in what order, and what would your opponent's pegged score be?  This question is meant to exclude the final count of points in one's hand.

I'm sure the answer probably differs between 2, 3, and 4-player games because there are more cards available when there are more players.  My question is focused on the two player game.  If anyone happens to have answers for the others as well though, those would be interesting to know.


texts: My opponent has to sacrifice a creature. He sacrifices a Blightsteel Colossus. I have Grave Betrayal on the battlefield. Will my opponent get to shuffle the colossus into his deck again, or will it return to the battlefield under my control?


texts: What is a good opening for Go on a 13x13 board?

texts:
I have been playing a lot of Go recently at lunch but we are playing on a 13x13 board instead of a 19x19.  I can't seem to ever win!  I am beginning to think that my opening is leaving me in a bad position.

I generally start by playing 2 of the 4,4's (my opponent mirrors) then I do a lower approach on one of his corners.

This is based off the same way I would start on a larger 19x19 board.  Any advice?


texts: How does Liliana's Standard Bearer work if Kaervek the Spiteful is on the battlefield?

texts:
Let's say one creature has died this turn. I have Kaervek, the Spiteful on the battlefield, and then I flash in Liliana's Standard Bearer. This card has an enters-the-battlefield trigger which says "draw X cards where X is the number of creatures that died this turn".
Obviously the Standard Bearer is going to die immediately to Kaervek's static ability. When the enters-the-battlefield trigger resolves, does it count the Standard Bearer as a creature that died this turn?


texts: Is there a card that lets me draw whenever a card is put in an opponent's graveyard?

texts:
I have a mill deck that uses Sphinx's Tutelage among other things. I'd like to find a card that could combo with it by allowing me to draw when a card is put in an opponent's graveyard. I'm not sure such a card exists.

Compost would be perfect, except it only works with black cards. There should also be a way to get out of the loop so I don't mill myself.

Modern-legal would be best but this is more about curiosity so it's not super important.


texts:
In BANG! Dodge City the Conestoga card has some ambiguous symbols.

The first symbol is draw a card, and the second refers to any player at the table. This seems to have two possible meanings:

Take a card from any player (i.e. a long range Cat Balou; Cat Balou uses the same draw symbol)
Draw a card [from the deck] for any player (like Tequila but a card instead of health; Stagecoach and Wells Fargo use the draw symbol in this way)

The first interpretation seems quite powerful (maybe too powerful), and the second seems pretty useless (unless you're a really generous Deputy).


texts: Yugioh: Sacrifice a field card to destroy target monster

texts: Is there a Yugioh card with the effect (activated on the field) that you can discard a card in your hand and/or one you control to target another card on the field and destroy it?  This would, in theory, be nice to couple with Master Hyperion -- because you could then use Master Hyperion's effect to send the card recently put in the graveyard to the banished area to resolve Hyperion's effect.


texts: If I have Emissary of Grudges on the battlefield and my secretly chosen player controls a creature with Annihilator which attacks me, can I activate Emissary of Grudges and choose a new target for that creature's Annihilator?


texts: Adding dice to checks in Pathfinder: Rise of the Runelord

texts:
In the FAQ, a point says

  Choices Matter. Your choices have consequences. (...) If you roll too low on a Combat check, it’s too late to play a Strength spell to improve your result.

Does that mean I have to play all the 'discard this card to add a die to a check' cards before attempting the check? E.g, I'm doing some combat check, I need 8 to beat it. I roll my hand-to-hand combat strength check, and get a 6. Can I now discard a BotG to add another die to the result, and try to beat the test?

Or would I have to specify before the check that I would discard the BotG to get an extra die?


texts: How does Decree of Silence interact with multiple spells cast?

texts: With a Decree of Silence in play with two depletion counters on it, what would happen if my opponent were to cast Titan Strength and then Giant Growth?


texts: Is morphing a creature effectively a cost?

texts:
I'm teaching some of my friends magic, and morph seems to be a bit of an outlier mechanic. It's one of the few things that a player has a choice to do but 'doesn't use the stack'. It can make it a bit hard to describe to my new players that are just learning how the stack/abilities resolving work.

Is it fair to describe morph as a cost (paid in addition to the actual morph cost), which does nothing? Effectively, rewording it as

  [Cost], turn this creature face up: Do nothing.

Of course, once a creature is turned face up there are effects, such as a change in the creature's power and toughness, and (usually) triggered abilities, but those are only a consequence of an action happening, not a new action paid for by the morph cost.

In my understanding, treating morph as a cost in this way is entirely keeping with the rules. As normal costs, it can only be done when you have priority. Similarly, it can't be responded to. (A creature sacrificed as a cost, as an analogy, cannot be responded to either.)

My question is: is this a fair way of explaining the special case of Morph as a mechanic to newer players, or is there some rule or corner case that I'm missing?


texts: Use of the special power "Diplomat" against another player not yet entered the game in Smallworld

texts: If you're playing a race with the special power "Diplomat" during the first round, are you allowed to declare peace with a player that has not yet entered the game?


texts: Does Erebos lose indestructible when he becomes a creature?

texts: Erebos, God of the Dead is indestructible. Someone tould me that if i have more than five for my devotion that the indestructible comes off. Is that true?


texts: Why Deck Building Templates are the same

texts:
I have been playing MTG since the set was known as Portal. Good times and memories...but it was always casual among friends.

Now...after several very long years of playing off and on through out the history of the game....I have been playing competitive standard and Drafts through the Amonkhet and now Ixalan blocks.

Something that seems to elude me is why deck builds are always the same. No matter what the subtype is... mid , aggro, control, I always see 4 of several creatures, 4 of situational removal, a couple of heavy hitters...rinse and repeat.

Of 16+ creatures they are all made up of the same 4 - 6 creatures....and thats it. Why is there no variety? What are you looking for, and why, in your handfull of repeating creatures?

Question: Why do the templates / expectations for deck building almost always follow the above pattern?


texts: On playing the Agricola Bielefeld minor improvement called Bielefeld Playing Cards, does it include animals?

texts: We are playing with the Agricola Bielefeld card deck.  When playing the card called "Bielefeld Playing Cards", it says whenever you use an accumulation space, place all items on this card until you have accumulated 4 like items.  Then you can move the items to your playing board.  We are wondering if that would include animals... specifically cattle, since there aren't enough moves (with other players taking cattle) to ever get 4 cattle accumulated on the card.  Is this calculated into the points of the card since the card comes with 5 points on the card?


texts: Does Legacy's Super-human Durability and Fortitude interact?

texts:
Superhuman Durability reads:

  Whenever Legacy would be dealt 5 or more damage from a single source, reduce that damage by 3.

Fortitude reads :

  Reduce damage dealt to Legacy by 1.

The unofficial FAQ mentions that:

  Further, “Triggered effects” from cards (e.g. “when this card is destroyed”, “whenever this card takes damage”, etc.) are processed immediately upon the fulfillment of the trigger condition.

There seems to be a hotly debated issue, on the Greater Than Games forum, and I cannot seem to find a link to an official response. The rules offer no clarity on the matter.

What is the official way to handle these cards interactions? (I.e. If Legacy is targeted for 5 damage, does he take 4 damage because Fortitude reduction happens first, or does he take 2 damage because Superhuman Duribility applies first? Does it matter which card came out first, if Fortitude is considered triggered, etc.?)


texts: What happens when a player pays more than what they owe for rent?

texts:
A player lands on your property and owes you $16. They hand you a $100 bill and ask you to pay them back $84.

Are you obligated to exchange their money to the banker for smaller denominations in order to pay them back?


texts: Information about "Make Twenty One, no more, no less" wooden Tabletop Game

texts:
We have searched and searched and cannot find any information about this game. It is wooden, has a slot for pennies that fall around pins with the points listed where the pennies fall.  We can't find a company name. Specifically we would love to know when it was made and who it was made by. A little history.

I am not sure if this group can help or could lead me to who can. Thanks so much!


texts: Alien frontiers: how many fields in a single territory?

texts: While playing Alien frontiers, if a field is already placed on a territory, am I allowed to place another field on the same territory?


texts: What happens in the event of a standoff in Magic?

texts:
What happens in a game of magic if neither player can win or lose?

Examples:

Both players have empty libraries and control Dragon Appeasement on an otherwise empty board.
One player controls Platinum Angel and Abyssal Persecutor and neither player has a way to remove either from the battlefield.
Both players have empty libraries and control some lands and Words of Worship on an otherwise empty board.
Both players have some lands and a copy of Beacon of Immortality, but no other way to win.
One player has an empty library but is using Nexus of Fate to prevent themselves from being milled.


texts: Can "Stealth Tower" copy your opponent's bases?

texts:
If I play a "Stealth Tower" base on my turn, can it copy a base that my opponent still has in play? The text says any base in play, but are your opponents bases considered in play during your turn?

Bonus question: If I destroy the base that "Stealth Tower" is coping, does it affect "Stealth Tower" or is it still a copy until end of turn?


texts: If the only target of a spell is cloudshifted, is the spell countered?

texts: If a spell or ability is cast targeting a specific creature, would casting Cloudshift on the creature counter the spell or ability?


texts: Clarification of creature's subtype for card effects

texts:
The wife and I are new players to this particular card game, though not card games in general. We have only dueled twice with MtG so far. We had something come up we were curious about. She used the card Sharpened Pitchfork which has in its effect:

  As long as equipped creature is a Human, it gets +1/+1.

Which she used on her Moorland Inquisitor whose creature subtype is Human Soldier.

Now common sense and reality say, yes this effect should work since he is a human. However, in many card games the writing has to match perfectly, and technically this does not. He is a 'Human Soldier', and it calls for a 'Human'. So in this example, do you use the common sense, he is a human, or does it not count?

I had the same thing happen in our first duel, but with the card Ghoulraiser who has the ability:

  When Ghoulraiser enters the battlefield, return a Zombie card at random from your graveyard to your hand.

And the creature in question for this one was Makeshift Mauler whose creature subtype is 'Zombie Horror'

Not considering the random part, would this work or not with the same thought based on common sense, or technical writing?

We're using the Blessed vs Cursed duel decks if anybody wants/needs to see the cards in question. Thank you for your help on what I am sure is an obvious question, but I tend to overthink things so I have to check small stuff like this.


texts: Are there any reputable chess openings which begin a4, b4, g4, or h4?

texts:
I have heard of 1 b3 and 1 g3, but never any of those in the question title.  Is this because they do not work in practical play?

I've tried 1. g4 d5 2. h3 e5 3. d4 Nc6 etc. with a good chance of a strong Bishop-pair and Queen for White.  White must castle Queenside, and will develop his Knight to f3 soon.  I played a couple trial games with myself, and haven't yet tried it on anyone else.  Perhaps some variation on this brash opening is more effective?  I'd like to know if anyone's studied this type of opening.


texts: Will casting a card from the graveyard with Flashback add a quest counter on Pyromancer Ascension?

texts:
Assume the following situation:

I have Pyromancer Ascension in play with, let's say 0 counters on it. Faithless Looting is in my graveyard and I cast it for its flashback costs. Will the Ascension get a quest counter?


texts: Why would I want to increase the costs of creatures that I cast?

texts:
Geist-Fueled Scarecrow has an ability that says

  Creature spells you cast cost 1 more to cast.

I don't see the strategy in casting a 4/4 creature and then penalizing myself for the added creature cast cost... Please elaborate, thanks!


texts: Can the anti-whale tile be used to defend against the giant squid?

texts: In Survive: Escape from Atlantis with the giant squid mini-expansion, the whales and squids are treated as being roughly the same critter.  Does this mean that the anti-whale tiles can be used to defend against marauding squids?


texts: Giving an Exploding Kitten to another player's hand through Barking Kitten

texts:
Barking Kitten allows me to give cards of my own hand to another player's hand after they chose half of their own cards to give to me. Holding a Streaking Kitten together with an Exploding Kitten in my hand, this would allow me to give the other player an Exploding Kitten into their hand that would explode directly.
In the case that I was the one to successfully play Barking Kitten (either having both of the Barking Kittens or playing it while another player holds the second Barking Kitten card) I guess it is correct to say that the Exploding Kitten given to another player needs to explode.
My question is what happens if another player plays Barking Kitten(s) successfully against me while I'm holding a Streaking Kitten and an Exploding in my hand, and I give him/her my Exploding Kitten. The rules of Barking Kitten says that the player using its effect can choose which cards of the other player they want to add to their hand. Does the other player have to defuse my Exploding Kitten that he got from me, or can he directly give it back to me without adding it to his hand?


texts: When should I pay to invade a neutral country in Axis and Allies

texts: What factors should be considered when deciding whether to invade a minor country and pay the 3+ IPC's?


texts: Do Attached Cards follow the Swapped Monster when Creature Swap is used?

texts: Suppose you have cards attached to a creature, and then use Creature Swap. Do those attached cards follow the monster to the other side of the field?


texts: What is the name of this Yahtzee variant with 10 dice?

texts:
I took a class once where we had to design a handheld game system for a variant of Yahtzee, which I seem to recall being called "Back Yahtzee", however I am unable to confirm this online.

There were two sets of dice and I remember the "Yahtzee" was obtained by getting 10 of the same number and it was called a "big big."
I recall that you could score two things at a time, for example a full house on 5 dice and straight on the other 5.

Does anybody know the name of this game and where I could find the rules?


texts: Does a copy of your commander count as your "Commander"?

texts:
The new Commander edition introduces a keyword Lieutenant, which gives bonuses as long as you control your commander.
Is that bonus still granted if you control a clone of your commander only?
And what happens if you steal an opponent's same named commander?


texts: Which hands do not consist of sets and a pair?

texts: I know of only two hands that do not consist of 4 sets and a pair in riichi mahjong: Seven Pairs, and Thirteen Orphans. Are there more?


texts: How long do you keep the rattlesnake card in Bang!

texts:
I just bought the Valley of Shadows extension for Emiliano Sciarra's game Bang!
I can't find anywhere in the rules (or the internet) if you're supposed to discard the card after being bitten by the snake.
Does it work like the Dynamite or like the Jail card? Do you keeep it until you can self "cat balou" it ?

Thanks


texts: MTG Is the commander-ness of a card always known to all players?

texts:
Haven't been able to find any definitive information about this.

903.3. Each deck has a legendary creature card designated as its commander. This designation is not a characteristic of the object represented by the card; rather, it is an attribute of the card itself. The card retains this designation even when it changes zones.

This states clearly that commander-ness is a meta form of information, immutable to any form of play. However, it doesn't say this information is absolutely public.
I think this question falls into a black hole of oversight.
Commander-ness being an attribute is unique in the rulebook. It's a property of the card, but stops there. I think it's assumed to be public at all times, but it's not stated implicitly or explicitly anywhere. This feels wrong in a game where such clearances are very important.

If you cast your commander face down, is it identifiable as a commander spell on the stack?
If your commander is shuffled into your library, is it's position always known?

This might fall under Free Information / Derived Information under the tournament rules.

Free information is information to which all players are entitled access without contamination or omissions made by their opponents. If a player is ever unable or unwilling to provide free information to an opponent that has requested it, they should call a judge and explain the situation.

Derived information is information to which all players are entitled access, but opponents are not obliged to assist in determining and may require some skill or calculation to determine.

A simple amendment that commander-ness is defined also as free information / derived information might solve this issue.
I'm aware there is another question about this on the site. However I'm not satisfied with it's answer as it relies on information that is no longer available (EDH Rules Committee no longer has a forum that I know of), and the comments below that answer make some good counter-points.
So to reiterate, is a commander card always marked across all zones? Are there exceptions, and how are they defined in the CR?
Edited for grammar


texts: What happens if the first card is a Flip Card in UNO Flip?

texts:
I have a couple of questions regarding the use of the Flip card in UNO Flip.

What happens if the card turned over to start the Discard pile in the beginning of the game is a Flip card? Do we then start with the Dark Side or the Light Side?
What happens when we use a Flip card and then it reveals when flipped that the Discard pile's first card is a Wild Draw Color card?


texts:
I was playing a game earlier and my opponent had a Drana, Liberator of Malakir that was a 4/3 and wanted to use a sorcery to fight Kozilek's Channeler that was a 4/4.

We were wondering if the Channeler would die first because of First Strike? Or would it not be counted as it wasn't combat?


texts: Can Dead Weight be sacrificed after it kills a creature?

texts: When you cast Dead Weight on a creature, is there a time frame to sacrifice the dead weight to another instant speed card effect before the dead weight goes into the graveyard but after it killed the creature it was cast on?


texts: What are the odds of getting the following hands in euchre?

texts:
I really like euchre, but I stink at statistics.  Last time we were playing euchre, people would get some crazy hands, and we kept saying, "What are the odds?"

So now I ask you all, what are the odds?

Scenario 1:

What are the odds that you get dealt both Jacks of the same color, plus three other cards all of the same suit in the same color?  (i.e. Jack of Hearts, Jack of Diamonds, plus Ace, Queen and Ten of Diamonds).

Scenario 2:

What are the odds you get dealt four of the cards asked in Scenario 1, and the fifth card you need is the face-up card in the pile of 4 remaining cards?

Scenario 3:

What are the odds you get dealt all 4 Jacks?


texts: Lich + Laboratory maniac, replacement effects order

texts: You have Lich and Laboratory Maniac in play, 3 cards in your deck, and you play Solemn Offering or Serene Offering on Lich (either one will heal 4 in this case). Do you win or lose?


texts: What is "summoning sickness" and how does it affect my creatures?

texts:
Note: this is intended to be a canonical question about summoning sickness.

"Summoning sickness", broadly, is the rule that stops you from attacking or paying {T} costs with a creature that you just played. But how exactly does it work? How does it interact with other rules and effects?

For example, if I'm trying to figure out how a creature is affected:

Does the status matter (tapped/untapped, face down/face up, etc.)?
What if it came into play, but I didn't cast it?
What if it's a token?
What if it was on the battlefield when my turn started, but it wasn't a creature?
What if it stops being a creature?
What if it's a creature and also another card type?
What if it's a double-faced card that just transformed?
What if it changes control?
What if it's a copy of another creature?
Which of the creature's activated abilities can I use?
Are any of its other abilities affected?
Can I tap the creature to pay a cost that is not a {T} cost?

(These examples are primarily taken from questions about summoning sickness that have already been asked on the site)


texts: Deathtouch vs an indestructible creature, which then loses indestructible

texts:
I think I know how this works, but would like to confirm. Suppose my Hill Giant is equipped with Darksteel Plate, and then is dealt damage by a Deadly Recluse. That's one point of deathtouch damage. Without the equipment, that would destroy Hill Giant; with the equipment, it doesn't.

If the Darksteel Plate is unequipped that same turn, will Hill Giant be destroyed?

I believe the answer is No, because nothing in the rules says that "deathtouch-ness" is remembered. All that's left is that there's a Hill Giant with one point of damage marked on it, ergo it survives.


texts: What is a winning strategy for Italy with Diplomacy

texts:
Italy is almost the worst country to start with. But that makes it a nice challenge.

What is your winning strategy with Italy?


texts: Can the last player in a trick win with Change Rage?

texts:
In the game Rage, who wins the trick if the very last card played is a Change Rage card?  We're playing as though the person who played the Change Rage card is the winner since they changed the Trump color.

Does anyone have experience with this and if so, how did you determine the winner?


texts:
I love playing Bang! but I'm finding it hard to play a game with my friends, because of our busy schedules.

I would love to play a solitaire version of Bang! if it existed, so that I could get my spaghetti-western card game fix between groups.

Does anyone know of, or has anyone created solitaire rules for this game?


texts: What does an Evil Twin of an opponent's Essence of the Wild look like?

texts:
Let's say I have an Evil Twin entering the battlefield under my control, and my opponent controls an Essence of the Wild. I choose the Essence as the creature that the Twin will copy.

When the Evil Twin enters the battlefield, what will it look like? What abilities will it have?

More importantly, when I cast a Diregraf Ghoul after all that, what will it look like? What abilities will it have? Does it enter the battlefield tapped or untapped?


texts:
Player A plays Emissary of Grudges and chooses Player B.

Player C steals Emissary of Grudges with Mind Control. Can Player C look at the named player? Can they activate the ability and reveal the name if Player B targets them with something?

I'm getting thrown off by the phrasing of "Reveal the name you chose:". 'You' should refer to the creature's controller, but Player C didn't choose a name.


texts: Do Adventure cards count towards "number of instant and sorcery cards in your graveyard"?

texts:
If I summon Crackling Drake while having only having a Giant Killer on my graveyard (or in exile) will my Drake be 0/4 or 1/4?

I got confused by some answers. Some say that when an adventure card is anywhere except the stack it's a Creature card. So it would be 0/1.

But there is this example from rule 601.3e:

  Melek, Izzet Paragon says, in part, "You may cast the top card of your library if it's an instant or sorcery card." If you control Melek, Izzet Paragon and the top card of your library is Giant Killer, you may cast Chop Down.

In the case above Giant Killer (Chop Down) is considered a Instant Card, but there is also this example:

  You won't be able to cast Chop Down with the ability of Torrential Gearhulk because in your graveyard, it is not an instant and it would thus be an illegal target.

So now Giant Killer (Chop Down) is not considered an Instant Card.

Can anyone explain what makes these cases different? Is it because it's being "targeted" or maybe because one is being cast from the library and the other one from the graveyard?

Thanks!


texts: What happens when Teysa Karlov is equipped with Helm of the Host?

texts: What happens when you equip Helm of the Host to Teysa Karlov? Do the Teysas trigger each other making infinite copies of the death trigger? My thinking is that it says: when a triggered ability is caused by death, copy it. Is that ability copied by the other Teysa or is the original ability just copied again? So instead of one Blood Artist trigger, would I get 3? Or would I just win the game doing infinite damage?


texts: Can I prevent a "You lose the game" event by countering the ability that creates it?

texts: If I cast Chance for Glory, can I use Stifle, Tale's End, Disallow, or Voidslime to counter the game loss at the end of said extra turn?


texts: Apostrophes, hyphens, or other tile-less characters in Bananagrams

texts:
In Bananagrams, are words that require characters such as hyphens, dashes, and spaces (all of which do not have tiles) allowed simply by omitting the characters with corresponding tile? Or are they not allowed at all?

A couple examples that have come up in play:

'Twas
U-boat

Other examples would include

top hat
man-at-arms


texts: I'm looking for a card game with a deck of noun cards and a deck of occupation cards

texts: It's a party game, players have a hand of noun cards and the 'in' person each round picks an occupation card up and chooses one of the occupations on the card like "I'm a firefighter".  Then all the other players pick two of their noun cards to make an 'item' and do their best to sell their item to the player for their occupation, and the 'it' player chooses the most convincing.  It's very silly and very fun and I can't remember the name or find it anywhere, please help!


texts: Do opposite counters coexist or cancel each other out?

texts:
Nuance abounds nowadays; whereas it was commonplace to mentally coalesce opposing counters on a permanent, I imagine doing so is incorrect.

Scenario 1
Suppose one Sengir Vampire has amassed five +1/+1 counters from having sent five creatures to the graveyard, and it is now blocking a Regeneration-enchanted Putrefax, a 5/3 whose infectious damage is dealt in the form of -1/-1 counters.
Does Sengir Vampire have zero counters, or ten counters?

Scenario 2
Rabid Wombat, green 0/1, which gains +2/+2 for each enchantment on it, enchanted with Unstable Mutation, which gives it +3/+3, and gives it a -1/-1 counter during controller's upkeep. Is this accurate?

Consecutive Turns:
0/1. Rabid Wombat cast.
5/6. RW+Unstable Mutation. 3/4 + a 2/2 counter
4/5. 3/4 + a 2/2 counter + -1/-1 counter
3/4. 3/4 + a 2/2 counter + (2 x -1/-1 counters) no cancellation here?
2/3. 3/4 + a 2/2 counter + (3 x -1/-1 counters) ...
.. etc. correct?

Scenario 3
Rock Hydra comes into play with casting-time X +1/+1 counters, and receives damage in the form of loss of the counters. If it becomes infected by Putrefax, which deals damage as -1/-1 counters, is the infection essentially redundant to Rock Hydra's normal life cycle? Or does the state-based action's removal of the counter count as damage which then removes another head?

Is reduction of a creature's toughness due to counter-based actions considered damage?


texts: What are useful guidelines for deciding when to power down in RoboRally?

texts: I'm having trouble putting my finger on clear guidelines for choosing when to announce a power down, and would love to hear some analyses.


texts: Who gets the 2 bonus victory points for reaching a new island?

texts: When expanding to an island, would the first person on the new island get 2 bonus victory points?  Or does everybody get 2 bonus points if it is their first expansion on that island?  If the same players gets to 2 different islands first, do they get 2 bonus points for each settlement?


texts: What is the source of redirected damage?

texts:
When a card "redirects" damage, does the source of the damage change to the spell or effect causing it to be redirected, or is the original source still the source of the damage?

Cards like: Reflect Damage or many of the 'En-Kor' creatures.

Example 1: So someone Lightning Bolts (Red) my Shaman En-Kor (White) and I redirect it to my Kor Firewalker (which has protection from red).

Example 2: What if one of my En-Kor creatures is redirecting combat damage to another creature while I have Tajic, Legion's Edge out?


texts: Sequence, dead cards with no cards to pick up

texts: In Sequence, if you have a Dead Card and there are no other cards to pick up, can you play the dead card on your turn, saving your other cards?


texts: Does "return" from graveyard to Zone X require a card to have been in Zone X?

texts:
When an ability says, return X from Zone A to Zone B, can the ability only be used if X was in Zone B previously?

In particular, consider the Reassembling Skeleton's ability text:

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

If I was forced to discard a Reassembling Skeleton from my hand or library, am I prohibited from "returning" it to the battlefield?

If not, can the "return" ability be used at any time? Or only during the turn in which the card entered the graveyard?