Bio-terrorist Tactics / Strategy What are some good general tactics and strategy for the Bio-terrorist to use?

Specific questions:

Where should I start?

I started close to one of the cards I was dealt. I thought this would be useful as I'd be able to use the card to fly anywhere on the board. In the end I locally infected the city on the card 3 times and then used the card to remotely infect it and cause an outbreak.

Should I Avoid Drawing and Discarding Cards?

Does it help the players when I discard cards? I figure a large discard pile lessens the impact of an epidemic so if I can avoid discarding cards then I should.

Should I Worry About Being Captured?

Seems like being captured isn't much of a problem, as it's easy to escape. I'd lose all my cards, but if I don't keep many in my hand then that's OK.

How Do The Other Roles Affect Tactics?

I destroyed a research station early on, however one of the players was the Operation Expert and he immediately built another one. So it probably wasn't worth doing. Are there any other similar examples?

Where to start:  I like to start in the hottest area so I can infect as many cities that are already infected with another color as soon as possible.  This way you get the infection deck working for you when a city infected with purple is drawn it's a double whammy.  I have found that to be the best tactic for exhausting the purple cube supply quickly.  The beauty is if they concentrate on fighting your purple disease the other ones inevitably bite them in the behind.

Should I avoid drawing and discarding:  So far I draw often but rarely keep a big hand.  I do this because I want to be able to infect remotely as often as possible.  I generally play to exhaust the purple cubes asap(which has been unstoppable so far).  The exception is when I'm trying to destroy a research facility I might draw often to obtain that color.  Few things are more satisfying in this game than sabotaging a research facility the turn right before they plan on curing there.  Drawing as often as I do is making the infection discard pile larger and therefore decreasing the risk of outbreak post epidemic, however, I find it worth it when infect cities are drawn that already contain a purple cube.  It starts snowballing fast if you are consistently infecting locally and remotely.

Another strategy I've contemplated is sitting far off from any other infected cities, continually infecting one city till it outbreaks, and daring the good guys to come after you.  This would avoid drawing cards and keep the infection pile small so as to maximize the chance of outbreak.

Should I worry about being captured:  The only time I really worry about this is when I'm intent on sabotaging a research facility and need a specific card I'm carrying.  Other than that I actually enjoy moving into a city with a player in it and infecting locally.  Make them use an action capturing you.  I do feel like the ease of escape is an imbalance in the game.

How do the other roles affect tactics:  The operation expert does affect my strategy when it comes to sabotage.  It's still worth it often times if his turn is far away and it delays a cure.  The other major one I see is the quarantine specialist.  She could really hamper the bt's infecting ability resulting in more of the cat and mouse game.  If the medic is in the mix I try and spread out the purple cubes as much as possible.  If they are concentrated it can be much easier for the medic to eradicate the disease, ending the game for the bt, especially if the dispatcher is in the game and moves the medic on his turn after the cure has been found.

Ultimately even if you have poor strategy as the bt it still makes the game near impossible for the good guys, in my opinion.

Has anyone been able to win a game against the bio-terrorist?  I played a 3 player game, 2 good guys and 1 bio terrorist, and the bio terrorist was not very good at all strategy wise.  Still, it was pretty much impossible to win.

We played another game last night with only 3 epidemic cards, 3 good guys, and me as the bio-terrorist.  The game was over relatively fast as I was able to spread my cubes out so much that they ran out of purple cubes thus ending the game.

We have yet to try hand-picking the roles to assemble the anti bio-terrorist dream team.  But aside from that, I frankly don't see how victory is possible playing against a competent bio-terrorist.  Has anyone out there beat him?


Shieldgate - Tied Village Clusters In Cartographers, what would score if your 1st and 2nd Village clusters are the same size? There's also a 3rd village cluster at a different size.

The card states:

  Earn two reputation stars for each village space in the second largest cluster of village spaces.

Answered here:
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2248798/shieldgate-question

What is the correct way to score Shieldgate when you have three villages of size say 8, 8, and 3. Is one of the eights your second largest or are they both the largest and you score the three?

8 would be your second largest.

This was confirmed in the thread by Keith Matejka of Thunderworks Games.


Does blinking a Planeswalker restore its loyalty? If I were to use a blink effect on a Planeswalker say after an ultimate (largest cost) Loyalty ability (and providing it still had Loyalty remaining), would its loyalty restore to the noted amount on the card?

From what I remember, if a card is exiled, unless stated otherwise, all counters are removed.

If this is so, when the planeswalker returns to the battlefield, would it then add the loyalty counters to match its noted amount back on the card?

Yes, a planeswalker will return as if you had just played it, with full loyalty counters.
Blinking a Planeswalker means to first exile it, which indeed removes all counters from it, and then returning it to the battlefield, with a number of loyalty counters on it equal to the loyalty printed on the card.

400.7. An object that moves from one zone to another becomes a new object with no memory of, or relation to, its previous existence.
121.2. Counters on an object are not retained if that object moves from one zone to another. The counters are not “removed”; they simply cease to exist. See rule 400.7.
209.1. Each planeswalker card has a loyalty number printed in its lower right corner. This indicates its loyalty while it’s not on the battlefield, and it also indicates that the planeswalker enters the battlefield with that many loyalty counters on it.

It doesn't matter how or from where a planeswalker entered the battlefield, it will always gain as many loyalty counters as it has loyalty printed on it whenever it does enter the battlefield.


Sorcerers versus Seafaring We had this situation in a game of Small World tonight. Seafaring Tritons took over the lake (using two race tokens) and then removed one of them during re-deployment. There was an adjacent Sorcerer player and we wondered if he could use their special ability to take over the lake. We ended up not doing it, but it seems to me that the Sorcerer's special ability would allow them to replace the single Triton there and conquer the region. Would that work?

No, you need to be able to conquer the adjacent territory. Only races with Seafaring can conquer the sea or Lake Regions. The rules state on the Seafaring ability (page 11):

As long as your Seafaring race is active, you may conquer the Seas and the Lake, ... Only seafaring races may occupy the seas and the lake.

On the Conquering a Region section (page 4), regarding what conquering means.

To conquer a region, a player must have available to deploy: 2 Race tokens + 1 additional Race token for each (cardboard piece) ... Seas and Lakes cannot usually be conquered.
Upon conquering a Region, the player must deploy the Race tokens he used to conquer this Region inside the borders on the map.

Following Conquests, showing that you must have conquered a region to occupy it.

Each of the newly conquered Regions must be adjacent to (i.e. Sharing a border with) a Region already occupied by his active race tokens, unless permitted by his Race and Special Power combo.

And finally, the sorcerer's ability (page 9)

Once per turn per opponent, your Sorcerers can conquer a Region by substituting one of your opponent's Active tokens with one of your own taken from the storage tray.


What is the proper way way to play Butcher of Malakir and Falkenrath Noble? I am not sure if I correctly understand what order the phases would be when playing Butcher of Malakir and Falkenrath Noble.

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

Scenario 1:

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

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

Scenario 2:

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

Which of the following would happen:

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

Scenario 1

As the creatures are dying, more or less.

Butcher of Malakir's ability triggers 6 times. Falkenrath Noble's ability triggers 6 times.
You place the ability on the stack in the order you desire (since they're all yours): [Doesn't really matter]

Butcher of Malakir's ability is put on the stack 6 times.
Falkenrath Noble's ability is put on the stack 6 times targeting whoever.

Falkenrath Noble's ability #6 resolves:

The targeted player loses one life.
You gain one life.

Repeat step #3 for the other 5 instances.
Butcher of Malakir's ability #6 resolves:

The opponent sacrifice one of his 5/5s. Falkenrath Noble's ability triggers.

Falkenrath Noble's ability is placed on the stack targeting whoever.
Falkenrath Noble's ability resolves:

The targeted player loses one life.
You gain one life.

Repeat steps #5-#7 for the other 5 instances.

(If the other opponent has creatures too, there will be more triggers added in step #6.)

So before moving from the Combat Damage Step to the End of Combat Step,

One or more players lost a total 12 life (one at a time).
You gained 12 life (one at a time).
Each opponent sacrificed 6 creatures.

Scenario 2

It's #2 (you take damage) because all combat damage is dealt simultaneously[1].

Simultaneously,

Your three 1/1s deal one damage to each of his 1/1s.
Three of his 1/1s deal one damage to each of your 1/1s.
The other three of his 1/1s deal one damage each to you.

SBAs are performed simultaneously:

You lose the game if you have non-positive life.
Your 1/1s are destroyed. (Butcher of Malakir's ability triggers three times. Falkenrath Noble triggers three times.)
His three 1/1s with one damage marked are destroyed. (Falkenrath Noble's ability triggers three times.)

You put the nine triggered abilites on the stack in the order you desire.
...

Notes:

All combat damage dealt by the creatures participating in that Combat Damage Step is dealt simultaneously, to be specific. Creatures with First Strike and creatures without participate in different Combat Damage Steps.


Stopping a CounterSpell with Aurelia's Fury it's possible? I know you can stop a Counterspell with another Counterspell

But Aurelia's Fury is different, it causes the damaged player to be unable to cast non-creature spells this turn.

Lets say for example if I cast any spell and my opponent uses a Counterspell, effectively countering my spell but in response (when he passes priority back to me) I use Aurelia's Fury and manage to deal damage to him. I passed priority back to him but he has nothing else in response so the stack resolves.

So the stack would look something like this:
Aurelia's Fury
Counterspell
My Spell

As Aurelia's Fury resolves, does this mean his counterspell counts like it was never cast? Meaning my spell was never countered?

First of all, your spell hasn't been countered yet because Counterspell hasn't resolved yet. The most recently cast spell on the stack resolves first.

Secondly, countering a spell doesn't retroactively prevent it from being cast. It simply moves it from the stack to its owner's graveyard, which prevents it from resolving.

Thirdly, while Counterspell hasn't resolved yet, it has already been cast.

  601.2. To cast a spell is to take it from where it is (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. [...]

To respond to a spell means to cast a spell or activate an ability after a spell has been cast but before it resolves.

Aurelia's Fury prevents a player from casting noncreature spells. It has no effect on spells, especially those that have already been cast (e.g. the Counterspell on the stack).

Instead of casting Aurelia's Fury, say you had cast Counterspell targeting the earlier Counterspell. This would have worked because the newest spell on the stack (i.e. your Counterspell) resolves first (i.e. before your opponent's Counterspell), countering the opponent's Counterspell (preventing it from resolving and having an effect).

Instead of casting Aurelia's Fury, say you had cast Autumn's Veil. Autumn's Veil prevents spells from being countered. This would have worked because the newest spell on the stack (i.e. Autumn's Veil) resolves first (i.e. before the Counterspell), preventing the Counterspell from affecting your spell.


Havengul Lich on Reassembling Skeleton - can the Lich cast itself for 1B this turn? Havengul Lich says

  1: You may cast target creature card in a graveyard this turn. When you cast that card this turn, Havengul Lich gains all activated abilities of that card until end of turn.

While Reassembling Skeleton has

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

So the question is, when I target Skeleton with Lich, does the Lich gain "return skeleton to battlefield" or "return lich to battlefield"? Would it be different if it said "return this card to battlefield"?

When an object names itself, it always refers to itself, regardless of what its name actually is. For example, Cemetery Puca wouldn't work if that wasn't the case.

  201.4. Text that refers to the object it’s on by name means just that particular object and not any other objects with that name, regardless of any name changes caused by game effects.

  201.4b If an ability of an object refers to that object by name, and an object with a different name gains that ability, each instance of the first name in the gained ability that refers to the first object by name should be treated as the second name.

So the ability would effectively be:

  1B: Return Havengul Lich from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped.

Note that the name in the text only "changes" if it's the card referring to itself. For example, if a Centaur Courser (a vanilla creature) somehow entered the battlefield with Squadron Hawk abilities, you would still look for Squadron Hawks because it's merely looking for other similarly-named cards. Squadron Hawk is closer to Arachnus Spinner than it is to Reassembling Skeleton.

That said, Havengul Lich would never be able to use Reassembling Skeleton's ability. The ability can only be used from the graveyard, but there's no way for the Lich to have that ability in the graveyard.

The Lich cannot activate its builtin ability from the graveyard, so it can't gain the ability from the graveyard.

  112.6. Abilities of an instant or sorcery spell usually function only while that object is on the stack. Abilities of all other objects usually function only while that object is on the battlefield. The exceptions are as follows:

That means it would have to gain the ability on the battlefield and bring it to the graveyard, but that's not possible because permanents become a new objects when they move from the battlefield to the graveyard. Lich-card-in-graveyard would not have any abilities granted to Lich-permanent.

  400.7. An object that moves from one zone to another becomes a new object with no memory of, or relation to, its previous existence. There are seven exceptions to this rule:


What does "poker size cards" mean? I: I am not sure how many cards can best suit our manufacturing until I know the size of your cards.

  Customer: I expect the cards will be "poker" size.

  I: Poker also have different sizes, the most common poker size is 63*88mm, is this size ok?

  Customer: See, this is an example of how communication can break down. There is ONE size of cards which are called "poker size". Just because you can play poker with different card sizes (e.g. mini, bridge, jumbo), doesn't mean there are different "poker card" sizes.
  I don't have a "poker size" card or ruler in front of me, so I don't know if the size you mention is actually "poker size" or if it's a "Chinese" (e.g. mistaken) poker size.

Question: I mean if he just tells me "poker size", I still don't know the exact size because people in different countries play poker with different sized cards. Am I wrong? What does he mean?

Your customer is right.

Playing cards come in two sizes - poker size and bridge size.  Poker size is 63.5mm X 88.9mm. Bridge size is narrower at 56mm x 88.9mm. This makes more sense in old fashioned imperial measurements - both are 3.5 inches high, but poker cards are 2.5 inches wide while bridge cards are 2.25 inches wide.

What your customer is saying is that he knows he wants poker size, but when you give measurements he doesn't know if that is poker size, bridge size, or some other size.


Why wasn't Lava Golem allowed to attack on my turn? During a duel1, my opponent summoned in my field a monster card known as Lava Golem.

When was my turn, I entered in Battle Phase and I go to attack with Lava Golem, but I couldn't.

Here is the description of the card:

  Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) to your opponent's side of the field by Tributing 2
  monsters they control. You cannot Normal Summon/Set the turn you
  Special Summon this card. During each of your Standby Phases: Take
  1000 damage.

I'm wondering, why is not possible attack with Lava Golem. In the linked source and in a quick Google search there's not mention about why such restriction exist in this monster.

1 I was playing the game version known as Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 5.

It's been a while since I played Yu-Gi-Oh, and I haven't played with this card, but if you read it, it says it summons it to your opponent's side of the battlefield. Since your opponent is the one who summoned it, it goes to your side of the battlefield. Since your opponent graciously decided to give you this monster, you should be able to legally attack with it.

Of course, it does 1,000 damage to you every turn, so... hopefully you kill him fast. When it says "you take 1,000" damage, that's not "you the person who summoned him" it's "you the person who controls him", which right now is you.

Since this is an online rendering of the game, one can only assume that either 1) we have both misinterpreted the rules or 2) there is a flaw in their game logic that needs to be reported.


Does a creature with Lifelink provide lifegain equal to its power, or the defender's toughness? I have recently began playing a deck that has a number of creatures with lifelink in it.  I want to be certain I understand the mechanic and the following question occurred to me.

Which damage total do you use to determine the life gain from lifelink?  I had assumed that if  a 3/3 creature with lifelink was blocked by a 2/2 creature that the life gain total would be 2, the maximum that the blocker can absorb before dying.  This seems to be incorrect, as when I read the example attached to CR 119.4c

  [...] attacks with a 3/3 creature with wither and lifelink. It’s blocked by a 2/2 creature, [...]. The damage event starts out as [3 damage is dealt to the 2/2 creature, 2 damage is dealt to the 3/3 creature]

Have I been short changing myself?

Yes, you've been shortchanging yourself!

  702.14b Damage dealt by a source with lifelink causes that source's controller, or its owner if it has no controller, to gain that much
  life (in addition to any other results that damage causes).

A creature with 10 power blocked by a creature with 1 toughness deals 10 damage to that poor little blocker.  Creatures with 10 power are not known for their discretion or moderation; they don't deal 1 damage on the grounds that that will be enough to do the job.  No, they smash that blocker into smithereens and leave behind a smoking crater!

I think your confusion may arise from the old card Drain Life, whose text reads:

  Drain Life deals X damage to target creature or player. You gain life
  equal to the damage dealt, but not more life than the player's life
  total before Drain Life dealt damage or the creature's toughness.

Drain Life is the exception though, not the rule; for lifelinkers the creature's toughness is irrelevant in determining how much life is gained.  (See also though Abattoir Ghoul, a recent card which offers a kind of new spin on the Drain Life idea.)


Roll-and-Move Board Design Some games (like Chutes and Ladders) have a single track that players move along by rolling a die to see how far they travel.  (These are often called roll-and-move games.)

Many of the spaces on a roll-and-move board are typically blank, just stepping stones on your way to the goal.  Other spaces are action spaces, where something happens when you land there.

Are there common theories for how a designer decides which spaces should be action spaces?

Here's an example of the type of board I'm talking about: my own game Space-Venture.

When you're looking at games like Monopoly or Chutes and Ladders, you're looking for fairness and equality.  Everyone is at the mercy of the dice, and you should take the dice you roll (and the probability of something happening) into account when you roll them.

Taking Monopoly, for instance, you have spaces that are your usual spaces (which are your property tiles).  When making a game with that in mind, and the fact that you want something to happen every now and then, you should space things out so the chance that someone will land on an action space is even enough.  A roll of a 1d6 (one six sided die) is going to be much more different then 2d6.  In fact, a 2d6 is going to be even more wildly different then a 1d12, since a 1d12 is all consistent (given the die isn't weighted) while 2d6 will produce more 7's than anything.

You have to also weigh in on if you want both negative and positive effects, only negative effects, how bad those are, ect...  This all plays into how 'randomly' your spaces are hit.  And, again, I will stress that the players have to be treated fairly in this regard.  Since they cannot choose a path or how many spaces they move, you remove the tactical and strategic thinking from that aspect of the game.  If it's something simple, like a child's game, then this makes sense.  If it's more of an advanced game, you need to bake some tactics or decision making into the event spaces.


Can a Pokémon attack more than once per turn? Mewtwo-Ex has an ability called Energy Absorption, which costs one colorless energy to activate:

  Attach an Energy card from your discard pile to this Pokémon.

So, say I start my turn with two energy attached to my Mewtwo-Ex.  Can I then activate this attack twice, and put two energy from my discard pile onto my Mewtwo-Ex in one turn?

If so, can I then turn this into a loop, and place every energy from my discard pile onto my Mewtwo in a single turn?

As stated in the official Pokémon TCG rulebook:

  Once you attack, your turn is over (…)!

Pokémon TCG is a round-based game (just like Nintendo games) so you only get one attack as the last step of your turn. Even though you have enough energy to use an attack twice or to use two different attacks, you still need to choose only one attack and use it only once.


What is the best way to learn chess strategy and tactics? I am interested in learning chess.  I am already familiar with the rules of the game, but I am very weak when it comes to tactics and strategy.

I am afraid that if I just register at chess.com and start playing games, my ability to improve to my chess score will be limited by the fact that I won't understand the reasons for my losses.

On the other hand, I don't feel like there is anything worth doing well that you can completely learn from reading a book.  I'm also just not sure how to find the book that is right for me.  Most books seem to either be for beginners that don't know what the pieces do, or for rather advanced players whose techniques just don't apply to me yet.

Also, I don't own a Windows machine, so running Chessmaster or Fritz would be difficult, though not out of the question.

When I started working on my chess, I improved a lot just by playing at least one game a day with more experienced tournament players who would point out reasons why I lost afterwards.  It was definitely more efficient than just reading chess books, which I did on the side.  If there is a chess club nearby, you should definitely check it out.

I am guessing from your focus on online chess sites, books, and chess softwares that playing over the board with a human opponent is not an option.  On chess.com, you can ask if your opponent would want to discuss the game afterwards.  Even if that does not work out, just by playing alone you are already building up your collection of chess patterns.  In my case, I learned the dangers of the Nc7 fork, vulnerability of the f7-pawn, the Q+N smothered mate combination, among others just by having them inflicted on me.  After you have fallen victim, say, of the Nc7 fork several times, it will be so much harder for your next opponent to pull the same tactical trick on you.  You may even be the one to inflict the Nc7 fork in your next game.  There is no substitute for practice.

As for books, you may want to try books with lots of tactical puzzles.  For one thing, you will be actively solving problems rather than passively absorbing information.  And for another, the time you spent working on tactics will pay immediate dividends at the board.  To get started, you may want to look at Heisman's annotated list of chess books.  The link jumps straight to the section on tactics, but you should definitely check out the rest of the page as well.

I hope that helps.


Rialto starting player and initial order on Doge track I have a Czech localisation of Rialto, and I am confused about the initial order on the Doge track. Assume a game of 3 players, with Blue the starting player, followed by Red and then Yellow.

Reading the rules of "Preparing the game, point 11", I see:

  Beginning with the starting player, place one of your marker tokens on the starting square of the Doge track."

(Translation mine)

Thew way I understand this, the Blue player will place his marker first, then Red on top of him, and then Yellow on top of them both. So the starting player will be last on the Doge track, and the last player will be leading the Doge track.

However, this feels wrong, since that way, the starting player is penalised in everything:

According to point 14, the starting player gets the smallest number of coins: the starting player takes coins first, and number of coins taken by successive players increases.
According to point 15, the starting player is the last to choose a building, and so has the least choice: the order of choice is specified to start with the player to the right of the starting player, and proceed counter-clockwise.
Once play starts, cards are chosen according to the order on the Doge track, so the starting player is last again and has the least choice.

To add to my confusion, the illustration demonstrating an initial setup has the Blue player holding 1 coin and being the topmost marker on the Doge track.

What are the rules actually supposed to say? Is this a mistranslation of the Czech localisation, or is the starting player really the worst position to be in?

I found a copy of the English rules, and point 11 reads of the setup reads as follows:

  Beginning with the player to the right of the starting player and in counter-clockwise order, each player puts one counter on the first space of the Doge track.See below for details on the Doge track.

This would produce the opposite order of yours.

BoardGameGeek has a file titled "Official Czech Rules with corrections." Step 11 of that document reads as follows:

  Postupně od hráče po pravici začínajícího hráče a dále
  proti směru hodinových ručiček umístěte své označovací kameny
  na počáteční pole stupnice vlivu dóžete (více o stupnici vlivu dóžete
  najdete níže na této straně).

The quoted passage is in red, which has been used to identify the corrections.

This matches the the text of the English rules I quoted above.


response with 4 cards in major and long (6+) minor Partner opens 1 hearts. You hold 4 cards in spades, 6+ cards in diamonds and 2 singletons (a total of 8 hcp). What is the correct bidding? I assume 1 spades. But what do you bid, if Partner rebids 1 no-trump or 2 hearts?

The following guidances will apply for any natural non-canapé system of bidding, including but not limited to SAYC, Goren (4-card majors), Five Card Majors, Two Over One, and many Precision and ACOL variants.

The importance of finding any existing 8 card major fit, particularly a 4-4 fit in a major, and of identifying misfits promptly, underlie the requirement that a hand such as you describe must respond 1 Spade. Due to the weakness of your hand (6-9 points) you are only entitled to make one free-bid (ie non-forced and non-invited response) during the auction. The specific reasons for making this bid as 1 Spade instead of 2 Diamonds are the following:

To protect against partner having a hand that is 4-5 in the majors. Even if playing the Flannery Convention partner may have this shape but be outside the range allowed by the convention.
To maximize partner's opportunity to make his prepared 1 NT rebid with a balanced 15-17 HCP (when playing Weak Notrump) or a balanced 12-14 HCP (when playing a Strong Notrump).
To maximize partner's ability to make his prepared 2NT rebid with 18-19 HCP.
To keep the auction low until:
1) adequate combined partnership strength is revealed to enable playing safely at a higher level; and
2) A fit is revealed that makes it desirable to try for a game or slam contract.

With a hand strength of 6-9 points (or 6-11 points if playing Two Over One) it is still incorrect to respond 2D over 1 Heart when holding 6 diamonds and only 3 spades. In such circumstance the correct response is 1 Notrump. It is absolutely imperative for bidding success and partnership harmony that proper discipline be exercised in the making of 2-over-1 responses to a suit opening. Such bids are immediately raising the level of the auction and, even more importantly, removing bidding room; they can only be engaged in successfully when the partnership is known to have adequate strength to do so safely.

Note that having made a 1 Spade response (to a 1 Heart opening) with a 6 to 9 point hand and 4-6 distribution in spades and diamonds, it is still incorrect to rebid 2D if partner rebids 2C. This bid again promises hand strength of 10+ points, by being a second free bid. In many systems this is stronger still by being an Artificial Fourth-Suit Forcing call.

You have been asked for a preference by a partner who has declined to show additional strength; do so. The only acceptable calls at this point are:

Pass, showing a hand that distinctly prefers Clubs over Hearts, and cannot raise to 3 Clubs because it has only 6 or 7 points;
2 Hearts, showing a hand that prefers Hearts to Clubs, or has no preference;
2 Spades, showing a 6 card or longer spade suit and denying three card heart support;

If partner rebids 2 Hearts over your 1 Spade response, this is showing a minimum unbalanced hand with 6+ hearts and denying 4 spades. With your singleton the partnership has announced being in possession of about half the high card points in the deck, and has found a seven card major suit fit. Pass is the only call to even consider.

If partner rebids 1 Notrump over your one Spade response, then you are in territory usually governed by specific partnership agreements. Either or both of 2C and 2D will often be conventional bids inquiring further about Opener's major suit distribution and point range.  You do not have the mandated strength or major suit length to consider any of these. When not conventional they will typically show more strength (10+ points) than you possess, as again they are a second free-bid. As above, just Pass and be thankful of getting out of this mis-fit auction cheaply, Weak opponents might even enter the auction and give you the chance for getting a plus score from setting them.


Scoring a confusing cribbage hand My father and his friend were playing cribbage today and ran into a dilemma trying to score their hand properly.  Could you let me know what you think so I can straighten this out for them.  The hand was 3 Aces and 2 Sevens.  How is this hand scored?

I do not play cribbage and therefore could offer no help to their situation.

You have three A's, let's call them AC, AS, AH (no diamond), and two 7's, let's say 7C and 7S.

First, you have 6 points in 15s: 7C/7S/AC, 7C/7S/AS and 7C/7S/AH.
You have no runs or double runs.
Next, you have 6 points in Ace pairs: AC/AS, AC/AH, and AC/AH (also known as a Pair Royal).
Next, you have 2 points in Seven pairs: 7C/7S.
You have no flushes.
You have no Jacks for his nobs.

This is a total of 6+2+6=14.


Does Leonin Arbiter affect Karn, The Great Creator from choosing a card outside of the game? You have Leonin Arbiter with the static effect that players cannot search their libraries unless they pay 2 to ignore it. But Karn, The Great Creator
ability for -2 is "You may choose". Does sideboard count as library? Then if so, I assume then Leoning Arbiter affects this?

No, Leonin Arbiter has no effect on Karn's ability. The library is a specific zone in the game; it is where you put the deck to start the game, and it is where you draw cards from. The sideboard is a completely separate thing outside of the game; it is normally used for switching cards into and out of your deck between games in a match, and only specific effects like on Karn can access it during a game.


After playing a Wild card, must a player discard again? According to Wikipedia,

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

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

He will not discard second card this round. The wild card was his play. Play proceeds to the next player with the new colour selected.


Can the first zombie player spawn the second zombie player's zombies? With the card "There's too many", in a two zombie player game, can zombie player 1 spawn zombie player 2's zombies if their remaining figures are out or are they forced to move the existing ones already on the board?

No.

According to the rules:

  If there are two Zombie Players, each of them has a separate Zombie Pool of 7 Zombies each. One player takes all the Green Zombies, the other all of the Brown Zombies. Players may never use Zombies from the other player's pool (only their own color of Zombie).


Can a Great Unclean One ruin regions immediately on summoning? The Great Unclean One upgrade card says

  Immediately place two corruption tokens in a region when you summon a
  Great Unclean One there.

These corruption tokens appear outside of the normal Corruption phase, so it's not clear how they interact with region ruination. The rules (p.19) say

  To resolve the corruption step... players count the total number of corruption tokens in the region... If this total is 12 or more, that region is RUINED.

  Then each player who placed at least one corruption token in that region during this corruption step immediately scores the same number of victory points indicated for ruiners on that ruination card.

If placing the Great Unclean One pushed the total number of corruption tokens to 12 or more, is the region immediately ruined? Or does ruination not occur until the Corruption phase?
The Nurgle player's corruption tokens were not placed during the corruption step. Does the Nurgle player count as a ruiner for VPs?

In the FAQ it says:

  Errata
  Rulebook (pages 19–20)
  If a region is ruined, each player who placed at least
  one corruption token in that region during this round
  immediately scores the number of victory points
  indicated for ruiners on that ruination card

So that means the Nurgle player would count as a ruiner if that region was ruined that turn. However, ruination is only checked in the ruination phase, and so the region would not be ruined immediately.


What happens when you copy an Epic spell? You cast Eternal Dominion from your hand.

With Eternal Dominion on the stack, you activate your max-level Echo Mage to make two copies.

They resolve.

Are the copies you just made Epic? (Meaning you'll get multiple Dominions next turn?)

On your next upkeep, you activate Echo Mage again, targeting a copy of Eternal Domininion created by the Epic trigger.

Are Echo Mage copies of an Epic-trigger-generated copy Epic or non-Epic?

Copies made of the original spell by Echo Mage have the epic keyword, and so you do get multiple dominions/turn after.
Copies made by the epic trigger do not have the epic keyword.  So, the answer to your second question is that Echo Mage copies of those copies are "non-Epic."

Here's the salient rule that addresses why answer 2 is different from answer 1.

  702.49a Epic represents two spell abilities, one of which creates a delayed triggered ability. “Epic” means “For the rest of the game, you can’t cast spells,” and “At the beginning of each of your upkeeps for the rest of the game, copy this spell except for its epic ability. If the spell has any targets, you may choose new targets for the copy.” See rule 706.10.


Do you infect the city you are scoring? One of the cities has the ability:

  Play immediately: Draw one card for each city you are infecting.

Do you draw a card for that city?

No, you do not.

The designer has confirmed this here.

  There are a few city cards which are play immediately and refer to the number of cities you currently infect. Does that include the current city card you are in the middle of resolving? or just all the other city cards where you have cubes?

    For question one: it does not include the current city card you are resolving. It has been eradicated, so no longer among the living.


Can a powered-down robot be repaired at a workshop? When a robot is powered down it loses all damage tokens, but can collect new ones by laser fire.

If a damaged, powered-down robot is standing on a workshop at the end of its turn: Does it lose one damage token?
Is the same answer also true for getting option cards?

Yes, robots can still receive damage tokens while powered down. From Page 5 of the rulebook under Power Down:

  Other robots can push a powered-down robot, and the robot can still be damaged (such as by laser fire), Because of that, a robot that’s powered down may receive new Damage tokens during the turn

Yes, you still repair damage and collect option cards. (Page 5)

  The robot doesn’t receive or execute Program cards and doesn’t move while powered down, but board elements still affect it.

And page 8:

  Repairs & Upgrades - Robots on a single-wrench space discard 1 Damage token. Robots on a crossed wrench/hammer space discard 1 Damage token AND draw one Option card.

Note: My answer is based upon the most recent rules available from Wizards of the Coast. There seems to be some differences between older printings of this game. This thread claims to link to a text version of the 1994 rules that indicate:

  A powered-down robot is completely shut down--it can't fire weapons, tag checkpoints, or update its archive location, nor can it acquire or use option cards. Powered-down robots don't move under their own power (they receive no program cards), but they may be moved by pushers, gears, and conveyor belts. They may also be pushed by other robots and shot at by lasers


Can you use a tool to knock out block? Are you allowed to use a tool such as a pencil or stick to help tap the block out from the tower?

No.

From the rulebook:

  Use only one hand

While it doesn't specifically give an answer to your exact question; you are only allowed to do things that the rulebook allows you to do; and the rulebook does not mention anything about being allowed to use anything other than "only one hand".


Does attacking creature take damage when playing instant "Ride Down" before combat damage but after blockers declared If I attack with a 4/4 and am blocked with a 4/4
Can I play an instant before combat damage, Im pretty sure I can so
If I play Ride Down to destroy their blocker
Does my attacking creature still take 4 damage and die?
I know the damage won't go to the player (Unless I was a 5/4 because Ride Down also grants trample) because my creature is still technically blocked

But does it still take damage from the destroyed creature?

Once blockers are declared, any player can then play instants or effects before any damage is applied.

In your particular case, no, your creature does not take damage.  It would only take damage if the blocking creature was still in play, and Ride Down destroys it.

You are incorrect on the other portion however.  The Trample keyword lets any damage above and beyond what's applied to the blocker be applied to the player.  Since there is no longer a blocker to apply damage to, all attacking damage is applied to the player you attacked.  Your creature would still be considered "blocked" for the purposes of other cards, but all damage would get through.


Database of chess games for evaluating ranking systems? I would like to test my ranking system based on information theory.
I need a database of games with outcomes and ranks of the single players.
Where can I find this?

There was a Kaggle competition sponsored by the FIDE looking for an alternative to the current ELO system. The link is:

http://www.kaggle.com/c/ChessRatings2

The dataset has over a million actual games covering ~50k players. There's also discussions of the alternative approaches used (the competition itself is now over) and scoreboard of metrics to see how well your ranking system compares.


Does Mirrorworks still create a copy when the original has left the battlefield? I have a Mirrorworks in play, play an artifact and my opponent destroys the new artifact before the trigger resolves. Can Mirrorworks still create a copy of it even though the original isn't on the battlefield anymore?
Can copies of cards that aren't in the battlefield be created?

Yes, you will still get to copy the artifact.

This is covered in the special rulings on Mirrorworks Gatherer page:

  If the artifact that caused Mirrorworks’s ability to trigger has already left the battlefield by the time the ability resolves, you can still pay 2. If you do, you’ll still put a token onto the battlefield. That token has the copiable values of the characteristics of that nontoken artifact as it last existed on the battlefield.

This is because of the following rule:

  608.2g 608.2g If an effect requires information from the game (such as the number of creatures on the battlefield), the answer is determined only once, when the effect is applied. If the effect requires information from a specific object, including the source of the ability itself, the effect uses the current information of that object if it’s in the public zone it was expected to be in; if it’s no longer in that zone, or if the effect has moved it from a public zone to a hidden zone, the effect uses the object’s last known information. See rule 112.7a. If an ability states that an object does something, it’s the object as it exists—or as it most recently existed—that does it, not the ability.


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

In 7th edition, all Monstrous Creatures are AP2 (Hammer of Wrath excepted). MCs have the Smash rule, and Smash gives all attacks AP2. The only other exception would be if the creature had a BETTER AP weapon.


What computer games based on Magic: The Gathering are there? I've had a ton of fun playing an old version of Shandalar on my PC. The computer opponents are great and I love the card antes and everything, but there's only around 600 cards and the rules are somewhat out of date (you get a mulligan ONLY if you got no land or spells).

Are there any newer MTG computer games? I have these preferences:

I do NOT want online play. I know there's plenty of places for that, but it's not what I'm looking for.
As many cards as possible. 600 sounds like a lot, but at this point I've pretty much seen all of them, so there as many new things in the game.
True to actual MTG rules. I don't want an RTS or anything, I want to play real Magic, just against the computer.

I know there's a list here, but many of those come nothing close to my conditions. If I need to I'll ask on gaming, but I thought I'd try here first as I don't know how many people there actually play Magic.

If you enjoyed Shandalar, then the spiritual successor is Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012

Download the demo. It hits all your points, just ignore the online play option.


Jar of Eyeballs vs mass destruction A Pernicious Deed is destroying my token army along with my counterless Jar of Eyeballs. Can I use the jar's activated ability before it goes to the graveyard?

Not really - X would be zero.

If you let Pernicious Deed's ability resolve, it destroys everything simultaneously. Even if it didn't, there's no chance to cast other spells or activate other abilities while something is resolving. The Jar's first ability does still trigger and try to put counters on it, but again, that doesn't resolve until after the Deed's ability does, so by the time it resolves, the Jar is also already in the graveyard. Its ability tries to put counters on it, but it's not there, so nothing happens.

So by the time you get a chance to do anything, your Jar is already gone. Your last chance to use it is before the Deed's ability resolves, but at that point your Jar has no eyeballs, so activating the ability won't do anything useful. You can still do it, but I don't think X=0 is what you were hoping for.


What does it mean to check behind? In poker terminology, there's something called "checking behind". What does this mean?

It's when you 'check' (choose not to bet anything) after all players before you have checked.  Often with a good hand you'll want to do this to give your opponent(s) an opportunity to improve and be willing to bet.  With a weak hand you might want to do this if you suspect your opponent is slow-playing a good hand for the same reason.


Vigilance and a tap ability I'm attacking with a creature that has vigilance. After I declare him attacking, may I activate his ability before blockers are declared? His ability is pay 1 white and tap to tap Target creature. My creature had already been declared attacker and has vigilance per an enchantment.

In addition, can spells be cast before blockers are declared?

Yes, you have several opportunities to cast spells and activate abilities during the combat phase.

The combat phase is divided into several steps:

  506.1. The combat phase has five steps, which proceed in order: beginning of combat, declare attackers, declare blockers, combat damage, and end of combat. The declare blockers and combat damage steps are skipped if no creatures are declared as attackers or put onto the battlefield attacking (see rule 508.8). There are two combat damage steps if any attacking or blocking creature has first strike (see rule 702.7) or double strike (see rule 702.4).

At the start of each step (except end of combat), certain turn-based actions happen. At the end of each step, each player gets priority (the right to cast and activate abilities) in turn order before the game proceeds to the next step.

So as long as your vigilance attacker is on the battlefield, you can activate its ability. The Tap symbol in an ability's activation cost only means that the creature has to be untapped and without summoning sickness. It doesn't matter whether or  not it's attacking.


MTG can you destroy a chosen sacrificed creature twice Me and my friends were playing and I chose to destroy his creature but in response he used its ability to sacrifice it but in response I chose to use another instant of destroy target creature so my question is can I do that or no since the stack is involved and it’s not sacrificed to cast it since it’s already in play

So is it
Scenario 1: I use “Murder” to target his “Aerie Ouphes” so he sacrifices it in response to deal 3 damage to my “Vampire Nighthawk” but in response to that I play another “Murder” that targets “Aerie Ouphes” again can I do that since by the stack my second “Murder” would go off first before his ability to sacrifice it

Also my friend thinks he can do
Scenario 2: I use “Murder” to target his “Aerie Ouphes” so he sacrifices it in response to deal 3 damage to my “Vampire Nighthawk” but in response to that I play another “Murder” that targets “Aerie Ouphes” again but in response to my second “Murder” use “Aerie Ouphes” ability again choosing to sacrifice it and deal the damage to “Vampire Nighthawk” a second time but with the same card ability twice in a stack

I was thinking wouldn’t it go on the stack as
1: Murder targeting Aerie Ouphes
2: Aerie Ouphes ability to sacrifice it and deal damage to my Vampire Nighthawk
3: second Murder targeting Aerie Ouphes
Then the stack would go through with the last thing activated in the chain first

In both scenarios, you would be unable to cast the second Murder because the Aerie Ouphes has already been sacrificed. Since they no longer exist, they can't be targeted.

Because Aerie Ouphes have Persist, they could very well return the battlefield before they even deal their damage, and you could target the new Ouphes with Murder, but that won't prevent the original Ouphes from dealing their damage.

You seem to think that responding to an activated ability is to do something before it has been activated, but that's wrong.

There are two parts to getting the effect of an activated ability:

First, the ability must be activated (or copied).
Then, the ability resolves.

In between activating the ability and it resolving, players will get priority (possibly more than once). To respond to the ability is to do something after the ability has been activated, but before it resolves.

Costs to activate an ability are payed when activating the ability, so paying the activation cost happens before one has a chance to respond to the ability.

The cost to activate an activated ability is found before the ":" in the ability. That means that sacrificing Aerie Ouphes is part of the cost of activating the ability, and therefore happens before one has a chance to respond to the ability being activated.

Note that everything I've said here also applies to spells (cast, then resolves) and triggered abilities (added to the stack after being triggered, then resolves).


Gods dying and the legends rule So this came up in a game I was playing today. I had an Athreos, God of Passage with enough devotion that it was a creature, and I cast another (it makes sense, I swear). I chose to sacrifice the newcomer.

This will trigger the remaining Athreos and I will return the dead god to my hand unless my opponent pays three, correct? Athreos was a creature when it died, and remained so after because its type-setting ability only applies on the battlefield.

Yes, the ability of the God that remains on the battlefield will trigger. When you play the second copy of Athreos, you will control 2 of them. Then, when state based effects are checked, by rule 704.5k, you have to choose one to keep and move the other to the graveyard. This triggers the ability of the one still on the battlefield.


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

Yes, the creature's power and toughness are increased for the rest of the turn even after it is turned face down.
The +1/+1 buffs from Prowess are continuous effects that affect the creature until end of turn. A creature that is turned face down is still the same creature, so continuous effects that affected it before continue to affect it.
The Prowess ability is defined in rule 702.107a:

Prowess is a triggered ability. “Prowess” means “Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.”

The effect "this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn" is a continuous effect. The following rules in the Continuous Effects rules section apply:

611.1. A continuous effect modifies characteristics of objects, modifies control of objects, or affects players or the rules of the game, for a fixed or indefinite period.
611.2. A continuous effect may be generated by the resolution of a spell or ability.

611.2a A continuous effect generated by the resolution of a spell or ability lasts as long as stated by the spell or ability creating it (such as “until end of turn”). If no duration is stated, it lasts until the end of the game.

The "+1/+1" modification affects power and toughness, which are characteristics as defined in rule 109.3:

An object’s characteristics are name, mana cost, color, color indicator, card type, subtype, supertype, rules text, abilities, power, toughness, loyalty, hand modifier, and life modifier. Objects can have some or all of these characteristics. Any other information about an object isn’t a characteristic. For example, characteristics don’t include whether a permanent is tapped, a spell’s target, an object’s owner or controller, what an Aura enchants, and so on.

Rule 7007.2a describes turning permanents face down:

If a face-up permanent is turned face down by a spell or ability that doesn’t list any characteristics for that object, it becomes a 2/2 face-down creature with no text, no name, no subtypes, and no mana cost. A permanent that enters the battlefield face down also has these characteristics unless otherwise specified by the effect that put it onto the battlefield face down or allowed it to be cast face down. These values are the copiable values of that object’s characteristics.

In addition, the following rules about status apply:

110.5. A permanent’s status is its physical state. There are four status categories, each of which has two possible values: tapped/untapped, flipped/unflipped, face up/face down, and phased in/phased out. Each permanent always has one of these values for each of these categories.

110.5a Status is not a characteristic, though it may affect a permanent’s characteristics.

As with other status changes like tapped/untapped, changing a creature from face up to face down does not make it a different object, so effects like the one from Prowess continue to apply to it.


Is It Possible To Trade Before Rolling In Catan In Settlers of Catan, are players allowed to trade before they roll, or like most actions, should it happen after?

No, you must roll before doing any trades or builds.
From the rules:

Turn Overview

On your turn, you can do the following in the order listed:

You must roll for resource production (the result applies to all players).
You may trade resource cards with other players and/or use maritime trade.
You may build roads, settlements or cities and/or buy development cards. You may also play one development card at any time during your turn.
After you’re done, pass the dice to the player to your left, who then continues the game with step 1.
Tip: For advanced players, we recommend combining the second and third steps. You can find more details in the Almanac under “Combined Trade/Build Phase.”


Felidar Guardian exiling Soul Seizer If I use Felidar Guardian to exile a transformed Soul Seizer I control, does it return as the enchantment and is put in the graveyard, or is it returned as the creature Soul Seizer?

I think exiling makes it lose all properties prior to the exiling, so it should return as the creature, shouldn't it?

Yes, you are right: the rules say

  400.7. An object that moves from one zone to another becomes a new object with no memory of, or relation to, its previous existence. There are nine exceptions to this rule:

But being transformed or not is not listed among the exceptions.

So in exile it's no longer transformed, and it will return to the battlefield as a creature, as that is the 'normal' way for this object to enter the battlefield:

  711.8. A double-faced card enters the battlefield with its front face up by default. If a spell or ability puts it onto the battlefield “transformed,” it enters the battlefield with its back face up.


Are any special rules added if you are playing with more than one expansion? Are there rules governing playing more than one expansion? Arkham Horror has a couple rules when there is more than one side board attached, but I haven't seen any documentation on modifications to Eldritch Horror rules.

For an example of what I'm wondering, here is an excerpt from the Innsmouth Horror expansion for Arkham Horror, page 6:

  The rules are unchanged when using more than one expansion city, except that the number of players should be counted as being one less for each expansion board in play beyond the first. So, if six players are playing a game using both Dunwich and Innsmouth (for a total of two expansion cities), they are counted as having one less player, for a total of five players. This modified number of players is used for such things as the monster limit and the maximum number of gates that can be open at once, and it reduces the level of difficulty for the players since they have so much more ground to cover.

Short answer: No. There are no special rules for playing with more expansion.

Additional info: However, there were some special rules for playing with specific expansions.

On January 12 2016, FFG had posted an update which featured new Reference cards with a following description:

  Due to the introduction of new mechanics in its expansions, the balance of Eldritch Horror has shifted. To remedy this, revised
  Reference cards have been created for use when playing with any of the following expansions: Mountains of Madness, Strange
  Remnants, Under the Pyramids. Below are the revised Reference cards.

This update only lasted a week. On January 19 another update renamed this cards to "variant" not "revised" reference cards.

  With the introduction of new mechanics in Eldritch Horror expansions, some player groups may wish for a more difficult or more
  relaxed experience with certain player counts. The variant Reference cards shown below can be used to increase or decrease the
  game’s difficulty.

I think that the revised reference cards are what you are asking about.
Arkham Horror was becoming harder with each expansion added and needed a special rules to fix that.
Eldritch Horror was becoming a bit easier with each expansion added (other than "Forsaken Lore") and these cards have returned the difficulty back where it was in the core game.
That's my experience, at least.
You may find these new reference cards at the end of the official FAQ.


Are there many mandated "time outs" in tournament bridge? In "Points, Schmoints," Marty Bergen related an instance in which he announced "skip bid," before "jumping" his partner's two diamond bid to the five level (instead of three). According to him, his Left Hand Opponent had to wait ten seconds before reacting (in order not to give away information by the speed or slowness of his reaction to the unusual bid).

Are there many instances where tournament rules mandate that players take such a "time out" in either bidding or play?

This is a "companion" to my other question:

Can one ask for a "time out" to study the hand in bridge?

The Laws of Duplicate Bridge indicate (in Law 73) that

  Calls and plays should be made without undue emphasis, mannerism or inflection, and without undue hesitation or haste. But the Regulating Authority may require mandatory pauses, as on the first round of the auction, or after a skip-bid warning or on the first trick.

The ACBL is a Regulating Authority that does require mandatory pauses for skip bids. The ACBL Codified Minutes, Chapter XII, Section A have this to say:

  A. How and When Made

  Players should protect their rights and the opponent's by announcing, prior to making an opening bid on the two level or higher, or prior to making any subsequent bid that skips one or more levels of bidding:

  When bidding orally by saying, "I am about to make a skip bid. Please Wait!"
  When using bidding boxes, by placing the stop card so the LHO sees it (the skip bidder is responsible for gaining LHO's attention). The skip bid is made. The stop card is replaced in the bidding box.

...

  C. Opponents of Skip Bidder

  All Players

  When RHO has announced a skip bid, the player following the skip bidder must wait for a suitable interval (about 10 seconds). In waiting the player's manner must be one that suggests he is an active participant in the auction (the hand should be studied during pause). any (sic) obvious display of disinterest is most improper.
  Experience Players

  Experienced players expected (sic) to maintain proper temp (sic) whether a skip bid is announced or not.

I've never seen a director called to protest that opponents are not using the stop card but would expect to see one called if an opponent was clearly using the stop card only for weak bids. I have seen director calls after a player took far longer than 10 seconds to make a call after a skip bid and his partner took a bid at his next turn.


Why can't Haphazard Bombardment randomly select a permanent with Indestructible? While reading this question, I came across a ruling for Haphazard Bombardment that dosen't quite make sense to me.

Haphazard Bombardment states:

  When Haphazard Bombardment enters the battlefield, choose four nonenchantment permanents you don't control and put an aim counter on each of them.
  At the beginning of your end step, if two or more permanents you don't control have an aim counter on them, destroy one of those permanents at random.

While the ruling states:

  If one or more of the permanents with aim counters on them have indestructible, select the permanent destroyed at random from among the permanents with aim counters that don’t have indestructible.

It seems odd to me that indestructible permanents are just not eligible for random selection. For example, assume my opponent controlled 3 Darksteel citadels and 1 Storm Crow all with aim counters. I would expect that Bombardment would select randomly from all 4, so there is a 25% chance the crow would die and if a Darksteel Citadel was selected nothing would happen. However the ruling seems like the Crow is guaranteed to be destroyed.

What is the Comprehensive Rule that supports the ruling on Haphazard Bombardment?

I think this surprise comes about because of a slight misinterpretation of the ability.

I think it's being read like it says this instead:

  At the beginning of your end step, if two or more permanents you don't control have an aim counter on them, destroy one of those permanents at random. choose one of them at random. Destroy it.

This would mean we can choose a Darksteel Citadel, then fail to destroy it.

However, it doesn't say that. It's telling us to destroy one at random. That means we need to destroy something, and we do as much as possible there.

Comprehensive rule 608.2d comes into play here, or if not this rule, then the principle it's outlining:

  608.2d If an effect of a spell or ability offers any choices other than choices already made as part of casting the spell, activating the ability, or otherwise putting the spell or ability on the stack, the player announces these while applying the effect. The player can’t choose an option that’s illegal or impossible, with the exception that having a library with no cards in it doesn’t make drawing a card an impossible action (see rule 120.3).

We need to randomly destroy something. Something has to be destroyed, because that's our instruction. We cannot destroy something that's impossible to destroy, so indestructible permanents are excluded from the pool of random options. Our random choice must be between only those things that can be destroyed.

This is what makes the Storm Crow guaranteed to be destroyed in your scenario.


What is the resolution of tapping a blocking creature? Let's say I have declared a blocker during the correct phase and during the activate abilities step I choose to tap the blocker to use its ability.

All the abilities resolve and now we move to the declare damage step.

I believe the resolution is that the attacking creature remains blocked and that it deals damage to my blocker; however, the blocker does not deal damage to the attacker.

How would this change if the blocker had first strike? How would this change if the blocker was sacrificed?

The resolution is the attacking creature remains blocked and the damage resolves the same regardless if the blocking creature is tapped or not. They both do full damage as they normally would, and trigger any effects they normally would.
If the Blocking creature was removed from play somehow before combat damage was dealt (say it was sacrificed like you asked) then the attacking creature is still blocked and would deal damage to nothing, unless it has trample.

509.1g Each chosen creature still controlled by the defending player becomes a blocking creature. Each one is blocking the attacking creatures chosen for it. It remains a blocking creature until it’s removed from combat or the combat phase ends, whichever comes first. See rule 506.4.
509.1h An attacking creature with one or more creatures declared as blockers for it becomes a blocked creature; one with no creatures declared as blockers for it becomes an unblocked creature. This remains unchanged until the creature is removed from combat, an effect says that it becomes blocked or unblocked, or the combat phase ends, whichever comes first. A creature remains blocked even if all the creatures blocking it are removed from combat.
509.2a During the declare blockers step, if a blocking creature is removed from combat or a spell or ability causes it to stop blocking an attacking creature, the blocking creature is removed from all relevant damage assignment orders. The relative order among the remaining blocking creatures is unchanged.
510.1d A blocking creature assigns combat damage to the creatures it’s blocking. If it isn’t currently blocking any creatures (if, for example, they were destroyed or removed from combat), it assigns no combat damage...


How do I chose invasion or reduction points? I have the following board:

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . a . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . b . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . c . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

Now, white territory is rather large. So I like to decrease it!

However, I have the following problems/questions/considerations:

I will lose every KO battles elsewhere on the board (I have around 70 points hanging that I will win, but my opponent can play 5-10 stones that I must react at.)
I can invade both a, b and c. Does invading at a make b impossible? Is b even possible? Is c even possible?
How many points should I estimate for a invasion at a, b and/or c?
Should I start this invasion as soon as possible or delay it?

First off, count the current score. If you're winning, do not invade. Just make sure you keep white small enough that you still win.

Let use further presume that black would be losing. You counted, so you know by how many points. A move around c could be parried with a sacrifice of two white stones while sealing off the rest of the upper right corner completely. So, if you're only behind a bit, you should probably play around c.

If you need to invade deeply, you probably made a mistake earlier - why do you need to invade that late, after leaving such a large area for the opponent? Try to find a better invasion or reduction time when you review the game, and look out for similar situations in the future. Good invasion and reduction timing is very important, and you'll soon learn to avoid trouble like this beforehand.

But maybe you could not prevent it (or made a honest mistake), and arrive at the current board, far behind. You need to invade deeply. You also already identified a few usual spots at a and b, but there are many more to consider.

When invading against that many opponent stones, you cannot expect a good result. Considering it's roughly 10 vs 1, even living small in ko should be considered a success. That black always ends in gote is understood. I'm aware that, especially for weaker players, it may sometimes seems more like a gamble, but don't worry about that. We'll try to find a few useful ideas how to deal with this. This is actually a very, very broad topic and I'll try to stick to the most important things.

In advance, I apologize to the reader if the following is too short an explanation. I'm writing this mainly for players in the 4 kyu to 12 kyu range, as that's where these problems typically become most prevalent, though weaker players may hopefully be able to profit from it, too.

Direct invasion at 3-3

If black invades at a, I would definitely want to kill it as white:

$$cm1
$$ -----------------------+
$$  . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$  O . . . . . 8 6 . 5 . |
$$  O . X . . O . 7 1 . . |
$$  . X . . . . . O 2 3 . |
$$  O O O . . . . . . 4 . |
$$  X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$  . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$  . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$  . . X X . O . . . . . |
$$  . . . . X . . . . . . |

A useful technique can also be black 4 in the following diagram, which kind-of-reverts to the above. You may want to remember this move, for if applied at the right time, it can throw off an unaware opponent completely.

$$cm1
$$ -----------------------+
$$  . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$  O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$  O . X . . O . 2 1 . . |
$$  . X . . . . . O 3 . . |
$$  O O O . . . . . 5 4 . |
$$  X X O O . O . . . 6 . |
$$  . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$  . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$  . . X X . O . . . . . |
$$  . . . . X . . . . . . |

You should consider other points for invasion, too. I'm sorry that I won't show many variations, for that would inflate this post too much. Please research them on your own - it will be worthwhile, as these will surely come up in your games sooner or later.

Attaching the corner

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

This is a variant that is usually played as a regular joseki, however, it is unlikely that a joseki would develop on this board - white has too many stones that allow her to deviate for a better result.

But it is not all moot yet. Its basic idea is: When you're weak, you want to touch the opponent and force him to either draw back strongly (white grants you additional stones in the area for almost free), or touch back (typically with a hane), which often leads to cuts in their shape that you can try to use to force an exchange. This is actually an extremely important idea to keep in mind in such situations.

Please research the (too) many possible variations on your own. Joseki books should give a good points which moves are important, but remember that white is free to deviate.

Submarine, straight below hoshi

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . a . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O b 1 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . c . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

This is a rather common joseki move, too, though again, everything is different on this board. White usually replies at a, b or c.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . 2 . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O . 1 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

If white protects the corner with 2, black would surely extend to somewhere around 3, and hope for living or connecting somehow.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . b . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O 2 1 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . a . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O d . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

If white bumps down at 2, black can decide between a and b, which are probably miai. If black a and white b, black would again play at or around d next.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . b . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O . 1 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . a . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . 2 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

One of the strongest moves is this white 2. Note that if black a, white b, and black has extremely poor eye shape, which is not acceptable on this board. So black must play at b next, and the corner becomes a tsumego, of which I don't know the resu..--- eh, I mean, which I assign to you as homework.

Submarine, low keima from the hoshi

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O a b . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . c 1 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

This is another usual point, and white can reply at a, b, c, or possible elsewhere.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O 2 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . 1 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

Nobi defense at 2 would revert to a similar situation as before, and black would look forward to play at or around 3 next. Life is not guaranteed here, though. It seems the 1-2 exchange benefits white more than black, because it removes a lot of options in and nearby the corner.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O 3 2 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . a 1 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

Tsuke tobi at 2 is unlikely on this board as it seems to give black too much wiggle room: Refer to the joseki after the moves 1-2-3-a.

$$cm1
$$ -----------------------+
$$  . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$  O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$  O . X . . O . . 4 6 . |
$$  . X . . . . . O 3 2 . |
$$  O O O . . . . . 5 1 . |
$$  X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$  . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$  . . . . . . . O 7 . . |
$$  . . X X . O . . . . . |
$$  . . . . X . . . . . . |

White would never play atari from the inside at 4, as then black could play 5 in sente and extend to 6, which is too good for him.

Low keima approch

You suggested a regular low approach. White would probably defend the corner solidly, or kick.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O a b . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O c . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . f d e . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

If white defends the corner at a or b, black would probably move back to play c and hope for a double hane (c-d-e) (or possibly crosscut with c-d-f) and good exchange. As a and c are miai, if white blocks at c, black would play at a (or possibly 3-3) next, and hope to live locally.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . 2 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . 3 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O 4 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

If white kicks, black cannot afford the usual move at 3, because white would immediately come back and play 4, after which black is heavy. Note that the 3-3 offers a lot of aji, but here white is so strong that even that won't suffice.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O . 4 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . 2 3 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . a 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O 5 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

Black would instead hane at 3, after which white would surely play 4 (alternatively, white a may be interesting and not expected by any opponent). Black would then attach back at 5, and it would not be easy for white to capture the whole group.

Various exchange offers

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . a b . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . c d . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

The moves around a to d give white the option to seal off the corner, while black captures 2 white stones. If this is acceptable for either player, and which of the moves is best, requires just a lot of normal, boring reading and counting.

Hybrid approach

If you remember the attachment idea from above, you may think about this move:

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . a c . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . b d . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

If white draws back solidly (at a or b), black got an almost free stone, which will help him live locally. This is too soft in this case, so white would surely hane at c or d.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . 2 4 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 O 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . 5 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . 7 . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

A very, very simple sequence could be black drawing back, then white just protecting the corner. Note that this would be better than black 3, white 1, which we considered earlier.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . 2 5 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . 4 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

If white pushes above at 4, black will definitely hane at 5 and try to live locally. This is dangerous for white, as she risks a lot more points if black lives (and he likely will, as white must spend another stone below 4 to connect her two stones and prevent black from moving in that outwards direction.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . 2 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . 3 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

Black may also entertain the idea of counter hane, which may reasonable, as he's not much weaker than white on the right side - the two white stones are weak! The counter hane is a bit complicated, and will lead to an exchange, the quality of which depends on the players' fighting abilities.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . b . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . a 2 c . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

If white outside-hanes at 2, black can think about a, b or c, which again depend on the players' fighting abilities. Black has several thinkable continuations here, because white's two stones are not strong.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . c . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . 3 2 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . b a . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

If black crosscuts, white's primary options seem to be drawing back at a, which increases liberties and also enables black 1 to be caught with c, so black is under some pressure.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . d O 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O b 3 2 a . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . c 4 e . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

If white ataris at 4, black would not counter hane at a, because if he wanted to do that, he should play a directly instead of 3. So black will move out at b, and white can continue with c, d or e, depending on her reading of the variations. White is in control of the direction more than black.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . a 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . c 2 b . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

If black pulls back at 3, the obvious replies are a, b or c. White a would be followed by black b, which seems to let b live or connect out eventually.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . 8 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . 6 7 . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O d 5 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . 9 . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . e 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . a 2 4 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

In response to white 4 or a, black would probably slide towards the corner at 5, and push for eye space with the sequence to 9. Considering d (and likely e, too) is sente, black may live there - if he believes he would not, he should chose different moves earlier.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . b . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . a 2 3 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

The counter hane at 3 would likely be followed by white a or b.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . . c . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . 4 2 3 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . d 5 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . a . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O b . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

Magari at 4 invites black 5, which connects out or likely captures the two white stones with a, if white resists with the descend at b. Black can also consider playing c instead of 5 first, after which white would atari, black connect, white extend, and finally black d to connect out.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . 4 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O 1 5 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . a 2 3 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . 6 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

White 4 is a strong reply to 3, and up to 6, black is in danger. Black would look for an exchange, using aji such as the cut at a.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . 4 5 . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O 3 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . 2 O a . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . . O X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

For instance, if white replies to black's clamp at 1 with 2, black would play tsuke at 3 (instead of just a) to increase his options, and white becomes quite busy. Black should be able to live somewhere.

Note that black should not just play 1 at a, for white would then play 1 and black would be short of eye space.

$$cm1
$$ +---------------------------------------+
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O . . . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . O O . X . . O . . . . . |
$$ | . . . , . . . . . X . . . . . O . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . O O O . . . . . . . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . X X O O . O . . 1 . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X . . . . 5 O 2 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . O X X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . X X . O . . O X . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . O 3 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . . . 4 . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X . O O . . |
$$ | . . . . . . . . . . . . . X X X X . . |

If white just cuts down at 2, black would white cut at 5, possibly exchanging 3 to 4 first. Black is still looking for an exchange, and the several sente moves he gains while white is trying to live the 2 stones should be sufficient.


what is the maximum number of achievements a player can have in an 2-player innovation game? Considering the game of innovation  (see, eg, https://boardgamearena.com/gamepanel?game=innovation) a 2-player game ends on 6 achievements.

Usually an achievement takes an action to complete, but special achievements occur when a condition is met.

Therefore, it is possible to end the game with more then 6 achievements, if the last 2 (or more) where special achievements. For example, you can have the empire achievement and the universe achievement met with a single meld.

I am trying to come up with a way to do the 5 achievements at once.

For 4 achievements, we can have empiricism causing a splay (if the last unsplayed color, wonder achievement) with the melding of an ten (if the last color with card < 8, universe) that might reveal clocks (world achievement) and other symbols (that might be sufficient for the empire achievement).

(for the purposes of this question, let's exclude expansions. I will ask another question for expansions if no solution can be found)

I think I have a way (assuming that you get to finish your action).

Dogma on computers, melds self-service. (universe achievement) and splays a color up (wonder). self services is used to dogma socialism (monument, empire and world follow from tucking many cards)


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

Here's an official ruling from Sheldon Mennery, who is the authoritative source for Commander rulings:

  [O] Elbrus is not playable as a General, and its color identity is Black.