Occupations and minor improvements break the game? After playing several games of Agricola in the family friendly mode, I played a couple of games of the full version with a friend.

What we've found is that adding the additional occupations and minor improvements:

Adds a lot more time to each person's turn as they consider their strategy for utilising their improvements/occupations.
Adds overwhelming complexity to decision making, to the point that the game is simply not fun.

I'm wondering if we're playing it wrong.

What we're doing is we're somehow selecting seven minor improvements and seven occupations to start with. See this thread for more details.

The player then can look at his two hands at anytime. This is where the additional time comes in, as each player turn the player is considering how they'll use their cards.

Is this how the game is meant to be played, or have I misinterpreted a rule somewhere?

If this is how the game is supposed to be played, are there some good house rules that will reduce the complexity of the game?

Not everyone feels the way you do.  Agricola is rated #7 on BoardGameGeek seven years after it was released.  Agricola is rated as "Medium-Heavy" on BGG with a 3.6 rating out of 5 which means that most people see it as among the more complex games they've played.

If you enjoy the family game, there's nothing wrong with just playing that.  Without knowing other games that you enjoy, it's hard for me to say whether Agricola is the right game for you, it's one of my favorites.

Play with the E deck only!

The base game comes with three decks, each with a different purpose. Make sure you are only using the E deck for your first few games to limit the complexity.

The decks are:

E - Everyone
I - Interactive
K - Complex

If you've been playing with just the E deck already, there are a couple ways to ease into the full game.

Play solo - this will let you play at your own pace and get some familiarity with the cards.  Despite the large number of cards, many of them are quite similar, or just deal with difference resources in the same way.
Draft - Each player draws their cards, picks one of each and hands their cards to the next player.  Repeat until all cards are taken.  This takes a long time to go thru the first couple times.  But it allows everyone to take cards they like.  In most cases, the last few cards you get can be ignored.  Not all 7 are winners :)
Draw 7, discard 3.  As I said above, not all 7 are winners.  Force everyone to make the choice up front and they'll be quicker during the game


Why do dwarves only have a racial base of 3 tokens? You only get three dwarves for a base, whose special ability is an extra victory token for mine tiles, and that this ability is retained when in decline.

This seems like a rip off! There are other races (like humans) who get an extra VP for farms, and they get almost twice as many from memory. The fact that you get to keep them when in decline doesn't especially help, as they're much easier to kill in decline.

So is there a reason why dwarves are apparently treated as powerful? What strategy should one use to utilise them?

Because their power continues to work in decline, Dwarves are not intended to be played for very long. In most cases probably 2 turns with them is all you should be doing. Get 2 or 3 mine spots, and move on to your next race. This is why there are fewer Dwarves, because you aren't intended to use them for more than a couple turns or to conquer more than just a few spots.


Monopoly (advanced) with speed die So my family and I were playing when one of us landed on the "Go to Jail" space. They went, on their second roll to get out he rolled a double, now since we are playing the advanced game, does he roll the speed die since he is no longer in jail because he rolled a double with the white dice and then move with all three or does he just use the double white dice without the speed die? In the rules it does state not to use the speed die to get out of jail, but he did roll a double without the speed die.

According to the rulebook, you get out of the Jail if...

  (2)
  using
  the
  "Get
  Out
  of
  Jail
  Free"
  card
  if
  you
  have
  it;
  (3)
  purchasing
  the
  "Get
  Out
  of
  Jail
  Free"
  card
  from another
  player and
  playing
  it;

Regarding the speed die:

  Use
  the
  white
  dice
  ONLY
  when rolling
  to
  get
  out
  of
  jail.

Therefore, if you play the "get of of jail free" card, you immediately get out of jail and you roll to move, not to get out of the jail. Therefore, you do use your speed die, as you're already out.

Nevertheless, if you roll to get out of jail and you roll doubles, you still do not use the speed die, even if you succeed. It's just that when rolling to get out of jail, if you roll doubles you use that result as your move.


Can Zombies wound when a Hero rolls doubles? I was playing Last Night on Earth the other day with some friends and came across a question that I don't believe is clear in the rules.

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

The Hero gets wounded. In your example, the Zombie rolled a '6', and Zombies win on ties. The Hero must have a higher die for the Zombie to not win. If the Hero has a higher die, but no doubles then the Zombie is Fended Off. The Zombie is only wounded if the hero has a higher roll and has rolled doubles on any of their Fight Dice. From the rule book (page 15).

Resolving the Fight - A Fight is only resolved after all players have decided not to use any more cards or abilities. Once both players have chosen their highest Fight Dice roll and are done using cards and abilities, the fight is resolved as follows:
If the Zombie wins (has a higher die or is tied for highest), the Hero takes one Wound.
If the Hero has a higher roll, the Zombie is Fended Off. The fight ends and both the Hero and Zombie remain in the space, unaffected.
If the Hero has a higher roll and has rolled doubles on ANY of the Fight Dice (two 5's for instance), the Zombie takes one Wound (removing it from the board).


Seating orders effect on Puerto Rico Within my group its taken for granted that some seats in Puerto Rico are better (if only slightly) than others.  There's a general consensus that 3rd and 4th seat are strictly better than 1st, where 2nd and 5th lie is a matter of debate.

I remember stumbling across some hard numbers (data collected from tournament play if I recall correctly) backing some of this up, but can't seem find them anymore.

Basically, does anyone have those numbers?

I'd also appreciate some opinions as to why this is the case.

My personal pet theory is that 3rd and 4th seat are in the sweet spot for both diversified production and an early game Factory.  Although that's not a guarnateed victory, it should keep you competitive in most games (all else being equal).

Seating is very important in Puerto Rico.

The seat that wins the most is 1st Corn (based on World Boardgaming Championship stats).
Here's one of the tourney pages with stats, if you look around you'll find more.

Here's the compilation of stats from 2002 to 2009:

Seat 1 indigo 41.53 scoring average, 19.9% of wins
Seat 2 indigo 40.73 scoring average, 19.5% of wins
Seat 3 corn   43.48 scoring average, 30.8% of wins
Seat 4 corn   43.35 scoring average, 29.7% of wins

Having corn allows you to produce sooner, and more, so you can make more points shipping.
It requires less men, so you can do more with the men you have.

One of the big reasons that it gives an advantage is that it's a simple strategy, just make corn and ship.  The other strategies take more thought and hard decisions.

One other factor that comes into play in Puerto Rico is that you have to change your tactics and maybe your strategies based on the player to the left and what he does.


Can a Wizard use his charm ability with no cards in the hand? In Munchkin, Can a Wizard use his charm ability when he has no cards to discard in the hand?

No he can't, although official evidence is a little circumstantial. This question is in an old version of the Munchkin FAQ (but not the current one):

  Q. A wizard must discard his hand to use his charm ability. Can he do
  this if he has no cards?

  A. No. If you have no cards, you don't have a hand.

This is corroborated on the Munchkin wiki:

  You can't use the wizard's abilities if you don't have any cards in your hand.


How do I tune my magic arena (MTGA) deck for 3 lands in my opening hand, under the new mulligan rule and selection algorithm? Is it 22 lands? Did I understand the algorithm correctly and did I draw the correct conclusions, or am I getting it wrong?

From what I have read, the arena algorithm takes 2 virtual copies of your deck, shuffles and draws a hand from each. It then picks the hand (and deck) with the ratio that is closest to the ratio in your deck.  (maybe i already got that wrong?).

21-land-deck with ratio = 0.350 (21 / 60)

1-land-hand -> ratio = 0.143 -> distance to deck ratio = 0.21
2-land-hand -> ratio = 0.286 -> distance to deck ratio = 0.06 -> 2-land-hand gets picked :(
3-land-hand -> ratio = 0.429 -> distance to deck ratio = 0.08

22-land-deck with ratio = 0.367 (22 / 60)

2-land-hand -> ratio = 0.286 -> distance to deck ratio = 0.08
3-land-hand -> ratio = 0.429 -> distance to deck ratio = 0.06 -> 3-land-hand gets picked :)
4-land-hand -> ratio = 0.571 -> distance to deck ratio = 0.20

So as I understand it, in a 21-land-deck, if one of the 2 opening hands contains 2 lands, it will always get picked if the other hand has a different number of lands.

And in a 22-land-deck, it's always the 3-land-hand that wins.

So it's 22 lands?

Resources:

https://www.channelfireball.com/articles/arenas-new-opening-hand-rule-has-radical-implications-for-how-we-play-the-game/

Update 2019-09-04:

I must say I changed back to 24 lands recently, because I was getting 2-land opening hands in what felt like more than 50% of the time, when it should have been closer to 30%. But I didn't actually record any numbers, so it might just be my perception.


Catan Cities and Knights: Aqueduct and The Robber If you have the Aqueduct, do you take a resource card if you didn't receive any production due to the fact the robber was on your only producing hex for that turn.

Yes. The rules text for Aqueduct is

  If, when the dice are rolled for production, you do not receive any resources or commodities, you may take any one resource of your choice from the bank. You may not, however, use this ability when a "7" is rolled.

I think the first sentence is sufficient evidence: the rule does not care about why you do not receive resources (except as qualified by the second sentence), so your case counts too. However, I include the second sentence as additional evidence: it shows they thought about and explicitly listed exceptions. Your case is not listed, so your case is not an exception.


What's the best way to explain 7 Wonders to a new player? I've been playing 7 Wonders for about 3 months now, and my friends & I love it.  However, because of the complexity of the game and the large number of mechanics in it, I find it really hard to explain to someone new to the game.  (I've seen this difficulty in others explaining it too.)  I don't usually know where to start, and because of the amount of material to cover, the learner only gets more and more confused as I try to teach them.

Some of the people I play with believe that the best way to learn it is to just play it and see it in action.  I'm not sure if I completely agree with this.  Surely there must be a good way to explain the game simply and concisely (without merely saying, "Here's the rules; when you're done reading, we'll play") so that a newbie doesn't glaze over, but also isn't left completely ignorant.

I find that using the rulebook is often not the best way to teach 7 Wonders. There's a lot of text there. While a "here are your cards, let's go approach," can work well, most new players appreciate some form of idea.  I'll post the bullet points to my 7 Wonders Crash Course (given fairly regularly at game nights near me). Apologies for the impending wall of text.

This is 7 Wonders, in which you will receive a Wonder from an ancient Mediterranean civilization, which you must turn into a shining beacon of greatness.
To do this, you'll need Victory Points, which look like this (Point to a VP symbol).  Building your Wonder will get you some Victory Points, and a cool ability (explain their wonder ability).
You can get Victory points by playing cards.  Cards have a cost (Point to the cost of a card) and an effect (point to an effect).  Not all cards have a cost, but most of them do.
There are seven different types of cards, which do seven different types of things.
First off, we have brown cards, which provide you with a basic resource: Wood, Stone, Clay, and Ore. (Have an example card on-hand for each)
Next, we have gray cards, which provide you with manufactured resources: Glass, Textile, and Papyrus. (again, have example cards)
Brown cards and Gray cards provide you with resources, which let you build other buildings.
Next up, we have Blue cards.  Blue cards give you Victory Points, the currency of winners! As you progress through the game, you'll gain access to buildings that provide more Victory Points. (Show some blue cards, preferably from all three ages)
Yellow cards are Commerce Buildings.  They mostly deal with gaining money, which you can use to buy some cards, and to get a discount on buying resources from the players sitting next to you.  (Show them Trading Posts, explain East vs West & purchasing, and also show them a Tavern).
Red cards are Military Buildings.  Military buildings increase your Civilizations strength.  At the end of each Age (indicate Card backs), you'll compare your military score against your neighbors' military scores.  If yours is higher, you get Victory Points! If yours is lower, you lose 1 Victory Point. (Show the tokens, along with a red card).
Finally, we have Green cards.  Green cards are Scientific Buildings.  They allow your Civilization to unlock new and exciting technologies, which are really just Victory Points.  Science is complicated, but very rewarding, just like real life.  There are three symbols on Green cards, Cogs, Compasses, and Tablets. (Again, get some examples)  The more of any symbol you have, the better.  At the end of the game, you receive Victory Points equal to the square of the number of cards you have for each symbol.  So if you have one tablet, and two compasses, you'd get one point for the tablet, and four points for the compasses.  If you got five cogs, you'd get 25 points!  But that's not it!  For every set of three different symbols, you get an extra seven points!
We also have purple cards.  They don't come into the game until Age Three, so we can wait until then to worry about them.  The important thing is that they get you points for what people next to you have.

That was a lot, huh.  Don't worry.  It all clicks pretty quickly.  One last thing, and we'll get started.  You'll start with a hand of cards.  Each turn, everyone will pick a card to build, and place it face-down in front of them.  Once everyone has selected a card, we all turn them face up, pay any necessary costs, and put them by our wonder. If you don't want to build one, you can also discard it for three gold, or use it to build part of your Wonder.  Then, we pass our cards to the person next to us.  The hands keep rotating around until there's only two cards left, so you never know exactly what cards you'll be picking from on your next hand.  There's a handy chart for what all the symbols on the cards mean in the rules, so you can check it any time you want to, or ask the person that just gave you your cards, if you'd rather not.


Does "lose 1 Sanity" count as "taking mental damage"? So I happened to be in possession of those 3 items:

The Idol : once during your turn, you can add 2 dice to your roll, but lose 1 Sanity in the process
The Skull : anytime you should take mental damage, you can take the same amount of physical damage instead
The Armor : Anytime you take physical damage, take 1 damage less of it

You can guess what I'm getting to: with this combination, I was able to use the idol on each turn without losing Sanity or any trait points whatsoever.

The only problem is that this interpretation of the rules implies that "lose X [Mental trait]" equates to "take X mental damage". In a way it is true, because technically, by losing 1 point of Sanity, you are "taking damage to one your mental traits". In other words, if you lose enough of said trait, you'll die. So you are being "damaged".

But on the other hand, "take (X) mental damage" is an explicit request mentioned on cards and rules ; and precise naming conventions are fairly important in a game like Betrayal. (such as the difference between players, heroes and explorers)

What is your opinion on that matter?

"Lose one sanity" instructs you to reduce one specific stat, which is quite different from taking one point of mental damage, and so are the situations were both occur. While taking damage results in stat loss, I don't think stat loss is damage. The existence of a difference between the two is supported by the game using both "lose 1 from a mental trait" and "take 1 point of mental damage" in different circumstances.


Can Aphotic Wisps be cast on a black creature that has fear? As the title asks, can I cast Aphotic Wisps on a creature like Dross Prowler that already has fear and is already black?

In the same vein (I don't see why it would be different, but Magic is complex), can I cast 2 copies of Aphotic Wisps on the same creature and will they both resolve?

You can target any* creature, it doesn't matter if the creature is black and/or has fear. This is because all the card says is "Target creature", not something like "Target non-black creature without fear". Dross Prowler is a creature thus it is a valid target for "Target creature".

  114.1a An instant or sorcery spell is targeted if its spell ability identifies something it will affect by using the phrase “target [something],” where the “something” is a phrase that describes an object, player, or zone.

*barring things like hexproof, shroud and protection


Can you enchant yourself with an aura that enchants a permanent? I'm relatively new to MTG so maybe I'm way off, but I can't find any conclusive answers nor official rulings on the following:

If one can enchant a permanent,
and a planeswalker is considered a permanent,
and the player is considered a planeswalker...

Can you enchant yourself? It sounds ridiculously overpowered (you could do such insane things as turn yourself into an indestructible artifact) but I can't find any real reason you wouldn't be able to

The player is a "planeswalker" only in lore terms. As far as game mechanics are concerned, "planeswalker" has a defined meaning, and a player is not a planeswalker.
A planeswalker in the mechanical sense is a type of object, a game entity that interacts with players and other objects:

102.1. A player is one of the people in the game. [..]
109.1. An object is an ability on the stack, a card, a copy of a card, a token, a spell, a permanent, or an emblem.
110.4. There are five permanent types: artifact, creature, enchantment, land, and planeswalker.

So when an aura can enchant a (type of) permanent, then that does not include players, and vice versa. There are auras that can enchant players, but the aura will always say so specifically. Here are all auras that can enchant players, and here are all auras that can enchant planeswalkers.


Question regarding exchanging territory cards in Risk I am reading the rules of Risk, and at the top of the second column (in 3. Exchanging Territory Cards) it says that "if you hold 5 or more cards, you MUST exchange one or more sets on your turn". A "set" has been explained to be 3 cards with the same insignia, where a wild card can be used as any of the 3 insignias.

If for example I had these 5 cards - Infantry, Infantry, Artillery, Artilley, Cavalry - then I do not have a set of any insignias, but am forced to swap a set as I have 5 cards. The same could occur if I had 6 cards, 2 of each insignia and no wild cards.

Where am I going wrong in understanding this?

As per the rules (1993 standard Risk) on page 7 (emphasis mine):

You are trying to collect sets of 3 cards in any of the following combinations:

3 cards of same design (Infantry, Cavalry, or Artillery)
1 each of 3 designs
any 2 plus a “wild” card

This is verified in the rules you posted:

A set is made up of 3 cards with the same Insignia..., OR 3 cards with one of each of the 3 Insignia...

In the case where you have "Infantry, Infantry, Artillery, Artillery, Cavalry," you will trade in "Infantry, Artillery, Cavalry" as a set.


Could Axis and Allies be "balanced" by weakening the US just a bit more? In Axis and Allies (as in the real war), Germany and Japan together have more industrial power, represented by industrial production certificates (IPCs) than Britain and Russia combined. Hence The US holds the balance of power.

Although the game is still tilted in favor of the Allies, it is much closer than in "real life" because US industrial capacity has been reduced by almost two-thirds. In fact, bidding systems have shown that if you give the Axis a one-time boost of only 12 IPCs at the beginning of the game, it would be even, assuming that Russia is not allowed to attack the first turn.

Axis and Allies - Is there a best country?

Could the game be balanced by reducing America's strength just a bit more? Specifically by taking away 1, 2, or all three of the 3 IPCS per turn that the US receives from Brazil? (This would reduce her IPCs per turn to 35, 34, or 33 respectively.  Even allowing for the factors of time and distance, might this not be equivalent to the "one time" boost of only 12 IPCs to the Axis at the beginning of the game?

This would be an interesting variation. I'm thinking you would have to remove all 3 IPC from Brazil. The timing of when IPCs are delivered has a huge effect. Early IPCs allow the Germans to build up faster and drive Russia back, put a nice force into Africa quickly, or replace one of their lost fighters that they usually lose 1st turn. Even so, losing 3 IPC/turn from Brazil might not be as much of a factor as 12 IPC early. 3 IPC is only 1 less US infantry. The US threat builds over time, and is mainly in the form of retaking western Africa, threatening Europe, or reinforcing Karelia. All of these sap German resources. By turn 4 when the US had lost 12 IPC from the Brazilian removal, the US forces would already by doing most of the damage they could be doing, and the German lack of 12 IPCs would already be showing in the inability to expand as quickly.

Why not just whack the US first production by 12 IPCs? You could justify it as a late start into the war because of Pearl Harbor and taking time to mobilize its defense industry. (Of course, in reality, the US defense industry was going quite heartily, supplying the Allied forces).


Are there any consequences, if you cannot block Loathsome Catoblepas? Loathsome Catoblepas doesn't tell on it's card about consequences, so I felt it's important to make sure, what happens if you cannot block this creature in any way.

Loathsome Catoblepas creates a requirement for blocking. This means that if the defending player has at least one creature that is able to block the Catoblepas it must be blocked by at least one of those creatures (if the defending player wants to block with more they can as long as one is). If there are legal blockers and none are declared as blockers it is an illegal block and the game will rewind so that a legal block can be declared. If there are no creatures able to block the Catoblepas the ability does nothing.

509.1. First, the defending player declares blockers. This turn-based action doesn't use the stack. To declare blockers, the defending player follows the steps below, in order. If at any point during the declaration of blockers, the defending player is unable to comply with any of the steps listed below, the declaration is illegal; the game returns to the moment before the declaration (see rule 717, "Handling Illegal Actions").
509.1c The defending player checks each creature he or she controls to see whether it's affected by any requirements (effects that say a creature must block, or that it must block if some condition is met). If the number of requirements that are being obeyed is fewer than the maximum possible number of requirements that could be obeyed without disobeying any restrictions, the declaration of blockers is illegal. If a creature can't block unless a player pays a cost, that player is not required to pay that cost, even if blocking with that creature would increase the number of requirements being obeyed.


Can the climber jetpack to a buried tile? In Forbidden Desert the climber's card says that they can move to any blocked tile, whereas the jetpack says it can only be used to fly to an unblocked tile.

Can the climber use the jetpack to travel to a blocked tile?

We just played a game and went by the ruling in this thread, which allowed it, but it would be nice if someone can point out a more official ruling (or even a thread where the conclusion is more confident!)

I would say no.  Other cases where players special abilities combine (Navigator and Climber) or where a player's special ability combines with equipment (Explorer and Dune Blaster) are explicitly mentioned.  The Climber says they can move to blocked spaces, not that they treat blocked spaces as unblocked. So I don't see anything that suggests you would be able to modify the jet pack's explicit statement that you can only move to unblocked tiles.


How should damage counters be put on a Pokémon? Who gets to choose how damage counters get put on, or are there rules for it?

I have a Primeape with the attack:

  Karate Chop
  Does 80 damage minus 10 damage for each damage counter on this Pokémon.

If it has 50 damage on it in five 10-damage counters, that attack will do 30 damage, but can I combine the 50 damage into one 50-damage counter so that it does 70 damage?

Primeape from Plasma Freeze has this ability, Karate Chop, however the ability doesn't care if you consolidate counters into something else like higher value counters or dice, counters as referred to by this are the standard 10 damage counter. Changing to some other method to show the 50 damage on the primeape does not change the effect of the ability, effectively the ability does 80-[the total damage Primape has taken].

Generally though I would suggest using Dice to mark damage, it's a lot simpler to have 2d6 on the card than it is to cover it with 8 counters (as the 9th would knock it out) This is however an opinion there, and temper it with how things are enforced where you play and by your opponents.


In Phase 10, what happens when a skip card is played by the only person who hasn't been skipped yet? In Phase 10, each player can only be skipped once per round. What happens if a player discards a skip card, but they are the only player who hasn't been skipped yet that round? Do they have to skip themselves since there is no one else to skip, or is the skip voided and considered just a normal discard?

It is not possible to have all the other players under pending skips when you take your turn. Someone may have been skipped (and are no longer under a pending skip) and can therefore be skipped again, though. There's always a valid target.
For example: the player to your right is a valid target. Even if they had just lost their turn to a skip, having lost their turn, they're no longer under a pending skip, so you can play a skip and select them to lose their next turn. They still will only lose one turn that round, as well. That is: no one else can play another skip on them until they pass their turn in the play order.
Wiki confirms this reading:

A player cannot be skipped twice in the same round; they must lose turn in the round before being skipped again. (They can be skipped twice in a row but not until they miss their turn.)

As do the rules on the designer's page

If a player uses a “Skip” card against another player,
no other player can use another “Skip” card against that player until that player’s turn has
been skipped.


What happens when I remove Mistbind Clique with its champion trigger still on the stack? So, this recently happened to me in playtesting:

It's my upkeep. My opponent casts Mistbind Clique.

I don't have a relevant counter, but I do have Path to Exile. He has multiple fairies on the field, as well as enough mana to animate his Mutavault, so I can't get a two-for-one by Pathing anything before the Clique resolves. I let the Clique resolve.

Mistbind Clique's champion trigger goes on the stack. In response, I Path the Clique before its champion trigger resolves.

Path resolves.

What happens when the Clique's champion ability resolves after it's already been exiled?

My understanding is that my opponent still gets the option to exile a faerie (which would stay exiled, since the Clique has already left the battlefield). If he does so, though, does the Clique's tap-down ability apply?

  When a Faerie is championed with Mistbind Clique, tap all lands target player controls.

You are correct in thinking your opponent still gets the option to exile a faerie. However, if he/she does so, the Clique's tap-down ability does not apply.

Mistbind Clique's ability reads "When a Faerie is championed with Mistbind Clique, tap all lands target player controls." The when there implies that it is a triggered ability:

  112.3c Triggered abilities have a trigger condition and an effect. They are written as "[Trigger condition], [effect]," and begin with the word "when," "whenever," or "at." Whenever the trigger event occurs, the ability is put on the stack the next time a player would receive priority and stays there until it's countered, it resolves, or it otherwise leaves the stack. See rule 603, "Handling Triggered Abilities."

Since Mistbind Clique is no longer present on the battlefield when the Champion triggered ability resolves, the tapping triggered ability will not trigger.


Is pocketing an opponent's coin considered a foul? While playing Carrom, if I accidentally pocket (clear from the board) one of my opponent's pieces (coins), is this considered a foul?

According to the Laws of Carrom 125

  When a player pockets the C/M of his opponent knowingly or unknowingly, the Umpire shall stop the player from playing further. If unnoticed by the Umpire or by the opponent, the C/M pocketed shall be considered to have been properly pocketed. The turn of the player shall be lost as and when noticed.

So, while the action is not itself a foul, you do lose the turn, and should the action be noticed immediately the pocketed C/M is returned to the board.


Can anyone tell me who Mr. Suitcase is? I acquired a collection of cards among which were some sinkholes. One in particular is signed;

I understand the name in concept. From the wiki page for The Duelist:

  "Mr. Suitcase" being a reference to the large collections of cards that some players would carry with them

I even found an article by a person asking to referred to by that name on Wizards.com

  CALL ME MR. SUITCASE

In the case of the latter I had tried reaching out to the author but received nor response. However given the name of the author is Kelly Digges I doubt that is his signature.

If the former holds true it could just be anybody. I am curious to know if this is somebody? Searching for BuHo didn't get me anywhere.

Unfortunately, there was never any one person known as Mr. Suitcase. Mr. Suitcase is old-school slang for someone with a lot of cards. More likely than not this was just some random guy who was kind of a big deal at his local shop.

The basic idea is that in the early years your average player didn't have a lot of money as most players were students. So they would show up to tournaments with decks built from their limited collections of cards.  Mr. Suitcase, however. Well, he had tons of disposable income and a collection to match.  A collection so big he had to carry it around in a gosh-darned suitcase. This meant that he could build pretty much any deck he wanted and it would be better than anything else anybody else could bring.

Mr. Suitcase isn't necessarily good but he usually has an ego. It's not surprising that he would sign what was probably his ante card when he lost the match


With the Silver Key artifact, what effects can I spend 1 less clue? The description for the Silver Key artifact is

  Once per round, you may spend 1 less clue to pay for an effect

This boardgamegeek thread discusses it, but I am still not clear what effects this covers or doesn't cover.

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1080669/silver-key-what-effect

My general thinking is most anything is valid as long as it isn't a specific clue that is needed to pay for an effect, i.e. a mystery that requires you to finish a research encounter and pay THAT clue toward solving it.

After considering the links in this thread, I've concluded that the Silver Key artifact can be used anywhere you might spend a clue including re-rolls. The single situation I would say it cannot be used is where the wording says after resolving a research encounter, the investigator can spend a clue gained from that encounter to etc such as in the Azathoth Occult Research mystery card.

The whole purpose of this wording seems to be to imply that the investigator should have succeeded in gaining that specific clue in order to spend a clue, and not allow one to circumvent it (i.e. via the Astronomer ability) to supply a clue.

Apart from that case, it's an artifact, so should be viewed as all manner of awesome. A 1 clue per round boon in every non-specific clue interpretation sounds fair game to me.


Picking up opportunity card on exiting career path I recently bought a board game called Careers for a themed party. It looks a lot of fun, I am just reading the rules but cannot work out something.

On exiting a career path you are allowed to take a number of experience cards up to 3, based on the number of times you have been through the career that bit is quite clear. What it doesn't explain is that the same square you return to the main board is usually an opportunity square, which would allow you take a card that would move to another career almost immediately. Is that right?

It would, if you actually landed on the Opportunity Knocks square, which only happens 1/6 of the time. When exiting the career path, you continue moving clockwise the full number of spaces that you rolled. Additionally, you need to meet one of the requirements of the new career to enter the career path that the Opportunity card sent you to. From the rule book (2003), (the 1990 version has the same rules, but they are not written as clearly).

Move Your Pawn - Moving After Rolling: If your pawn is on the main path, move it clockwise by the full count of both dice. If it's on a Career Path, move it toward the end of the path by the full count of one die. (page 3)
Before entering the career path, you must meet one of the requirements Listed on the Entrance space (unless you played the Special Opportunity card, which let's you in for free). For example ... (page 5)
Completing A Career: When you leave a career path, continue moving clockwise along the Main path. ... (page 5)


In Mancala, are you allowed to pick up and count your opponent's stones? In Mancala, are you allowed to pick up and count the number of stones your opponent has if the cup is too small to be able to see?

In "serious play" you are not allowed to touch or count any piles. If you touch one of your own piles you have committed to picking up and playing that pile. Touching your opponent's piles, or either players' score piles is forbidden.


Can you get infinite turns with this 2 card combo? Lets say I have imprinted Medomai the Ageless on the Mimic Vat, have at least 3 mana and an opponent wide open for attacks. Do I get unlimited turns?

No, this doesn't work. Medomai the Ageless has an ability that says

  Medomai the Ageless can't attack during extra turns.

It doesn't matter what caused you to take the extra turn in the first place. If you're in an extra turn, it can't attack.


Why is 'equity' much more commonly used than 'winning probability'? What is the mathematical formula that links 'equity" and 'winning probability'? In backgammon, people always speak about 'equity', but never about 'winning probability'. To me, 'winning probability' seems much more simple and much more intuitive than 'equity'. So why is 'equity' much more commonly used than 'winning probability'?

And is there a mathematical formula that links 'equity' and 'winning probability'?

The reason that equity is used instead of winning probability is because it is possible to win a single game, a double game (gammon) or triple game (backgammon).

Let's say that the value of the game, or bet, is $1. (That would occur if the cube is in the middle. If it has been turned, you multiply by 2, 4, or whatever the number is on the cube.)

Let's further say that White is Playing red, they are both "bearing off," but White is ahead. White has a 55% chance of winning, and Red has a 45% chance of winning. Then White's equity in that $1 bet is .55*$1 or 55 cents, while Red's equity is .45*$1 or 45 cents.

Assume a second situation. White has a good "back game" against Red, who has started bearing off. White's chances of winning are still 55%, and Red's is 45%, but Red will probably score a gammon if White doesn't hit him before Red starts bearing off (that is 45%). For now, let's ignore the possibilities that Red will score a backgammon (a triple game) and that Red will win a single game, and assume that he gets a double game, if he doesn't get hit.

White's equity is .55*$1, or 55 cents. But because Red can win a double game, his equity is .45*$2, or 90 cents because of the gammon possibility. In this example, Red has more equity, even thought White has the higher win probability.

For a mathematica formula, let's say your chances of winning a single, double, and triple game are a, b and c, respectively. Your win probability is just a+b+c. But your equity is a*$1+b*$2+c*$3. The gammon and backgammon possibilities double and triple the value of your probabilities, b and c.

To address a comment below, in the examples above, I quoted "gross" equity. It is normally calculated as "net" equity. So if White's equity from winning a simple game were 55 cents, and Red's chances of winning a simple game were 45 cents, White's "net" equity would be 55 cents-50 cents (his share of the $1 bet), or 5 cents, and Red's "net" equity would be 45 cents- 50 cents or negative 5 cents.


"Poker size" cards: layout for easy printing Related to this question, I'm making a card game and I'm at the point where I'm designing the card layout.

Since changing this at a later stage will involve a lot of work, I would like to be sure I'm not making a mistake. I want to use "poker size" cards, but I've seen at least 4 different sizes for those: B8(62x88mm), 63x88mm, 63.5x88mm, and 2.5"x3.5" (63.5x88.9mm). The potential need for margins also affects the size of my layout. Several games have layouts that reach the card edge, but I am unsure if that is easily printable.

I'm in Canada if that makes a difference.

US Poker sized cards are 2.5" x 3.5". Of course, your art should be slightly larger than that if you want to have printing to the edge of the card. How much larger will depend on your print house, but 1/8" on each side (so 1/4" total in each dimension) should suffice, making the art 2.75" x 3.75".


Would Brink of Disaster destroy an already tapped permanent? I'm aware this is very much like this question, but that question's answer does not answer my question.

Brink of Disaster reads:

  Enchant creature or land.
  When enchanted permanent becomes tapped, destroy it.

What happens if the enchanted creature is already tapped when Brink of Disaster is played? Is it immediately destroyed?

Also, what if the enchanted creature was an untapped Steel Overseer? If I tap the Steel Overseer to put a +1+1 counter on my artifact creatures, does the ability work before the Overseer is destroyed?

It's all in the rulings:

  3/1/2010  Brink of Disaster may target and may enchant a permanent
  that's already tapped. It won't do anything until the enchanted
  permanent changes from being untapped to being tapped.

  3/1/2010  When the enchanted permanent becomes tapped, Brink of
  Disaster's ability triggers. That permanent will be destroyed when the
  ability resolves, even if Brink of Disaster has left the battlefield
  or is somehow enchanting a different permanent by then.

  3/1/2010  If the enchanted permanent is tapped as a cost to activate a
  mana ability, the mana ability resolves immediately, then Brink of
  Disaster's ability goes on the stack.

  3/1/2010  If the enchanted permanent is tapped as a cost to activate
  an ability that's not a mana ability, Brink of Disaster's ability will
  go on the stack on top of that activated ability. Brink of Disaster's
  ability resolves first (destroying that permanent), then the
  permanent's activated ability resolves.

These rulings are all clarifications that follow from the card's own rules text:

"When X, do Y" is a triggered ability, meaning that the action will go on the stack after the triggering event occurs. If you tapped something to use its non-mana activated ability (like Steel Overseer's), then the effect is still on the stack when Brink's trigger goes on the stack -- on top of it.
The trigger text is "becomes tapped". It doesn't care about the current state of the permanent, only when a specific action occurs.


How does the Miracle mechanic interact with Flashback? The new Miracle mechanic causes a replacement effect for the casting cost of the card, which must be revealed and played immediately. How does this interact with flashback? If a player plays a card for its Miracle cost, what is the flashback cost of the card if it's flashed back with something like Snapcaster Mage?

Snapcaster Mage: Bold for emphasis.

Flash
When Snapcaster Mage enters the battlefield, target instant or sorcery card in your graveyard gains flashback until end of turn. The flashback cost is equal to its mana cost. (You may cast that card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)

The flashback cost will be the mana cost of the card, shown on the top right corner of the card. Alternative costs such as the Miracle cost are irrelevant.
But what if you had a Bösium Strip in play?

Miracle {cost} (You may cast this card for its miracle cost when you draw it if it's the first card you drew this turn.)

The Miracle cost may only be payed if that card is the first card drawn from your library in a turn, and only when you draw the card. Clearly if the card is in your graveyard, it cannot be drawn, so the replacement effect for the casting cost will never apply.
As an aside, note the implications for a card like Future Sight. If you play the top card in your library that's revealed, you won't be drawing it, so you must pay full cost.


Where can settlements be built near undiscovered hexes? The note in the rules for explorers and pirates states that "settlements may not be built on intersections adjacent to undiscovered hexes."  I am new to this expansion, does this mean that no undiscovered hex can be within two 'road lengths' of a settlement like the distance rule for settlements in base Catan?

An intersection is formed at the point where three hexes meet. The intersection is hence adjacent to these three hexes. A settlement cannot be built if any of these three hexes is as yet undiscovered. The rule means nothing else, hence a settlement can definitely be built closer to an undiscovered hex than two road lengths away; it just has to be at least one road length away.


Arkham Horror - Tips for making the game more dynamic and fun when you play with more than 5 players? I'm new to this game, but I recently hosted a play with friends. With 8 people the game was very slow and difficult to play. What would you recommend to make the game a little more dynamic and fun when played with more than 5 players?

One particular thing that a friend of mine recommended is not reading the encounter cards directly, but rather ask someone else to read the card for you, and ask them not to tell you what happens if you fail/pass the check until you've made it.

Do you have any other suggestions?

Arkham Horror is an interesting game in that it lies partway between a traditional board game and a full-on role-playing experience. The atmosphere of the game and the shared imagination of the players is much more important than in games like Agricola or Ticket to Ride, which are dominated by the rules mechanics. It also takes quite a long time to play.

With more players, it's critical to keep people enthused and involved. This requires active work, by you, if you're the host! Here are the main things I think about.

Set the atmosphere. I like to dim the lights and play horror movie soundtracks. It's obvious, cliched - and fun!
Identify with your characters. We always read out our investigator's back-stories and special rules. And if your players actually talk and act in character, then the game comes alive! If you can provide props or dress up, so much the better. If your players feel like they can relate to and care about their protagonist, they will be much more involved in the game. Staying in character also gives players something to think about when it's not their turn.
Identify with shared goals. If your players feel that they are working together for a common goal, then other player's turns immediately feel more interesting. If the players have the nervous sense that this move is important, then they will certainly pay attention! You want to make them feel that they and their teammates are playing for high stakes.
Know your rules. Nothing kills a game like being bogged down searching for rules clarifications, or having long protracted arguments about ambiguous phrasing. Make sure you have a good grasp of the rules, and if necessary enforce rules decisions to keep the game moving.
Keep the game moving. Some people like to carefully think through every permutation. Some people love calculating attack modifiers. Some people don't care, and want to just CHARGE at the nearest big looking monster. Some people just want to do random cool stuff, infuriating the other players. Striking the right balance between personalities, and gently nudging people along is very necessary. It's similar to chairing a meeting. Do it well, and no one will notice, but everyone will feel the experience "went well".
Read all the cards out yourself. I recommend doing all the reading yourself. It's much faster than passing cards around, and you can add tension and atmosphere by reading dramatically. Your idea of not reading the whole card out is a good one, but does depend on the situation. Remember that some cards in Arkham are optional tests, while others are mandatory. In the optional cases, your player is going to want to know what the risk/reward stakes are. In the mandatory case, it's more fun to drag out the suspense...!
Apply house rules to improve the game. Game designer Richard Launius has provided some excellent house rules which are well worth reading. These can adjust the speed and/or difficulty of the game as needed.
Take breaks. If your players are getting tired or bored, take a break, make some drinks, or agree to resume some other time. Don't turn finishing the game into a death march.
Actively manage the game. This is the critical one. If you're hosting a large number of players, you need to run the game. This is quite a lot of work, but rewarding. Remember that the aim of the game is for everyone to have fun. Even if you are playing an investigator, you still have the extra responsibility for the game experience itself. The ideal game will be tense, nerve-wracking, involve some hardship and sacrifice, but ultimately a positive experience. You want your players to go away feeling they had an adventure, and did well, whether or not they ultimately win. Consider bending the rules where necessary to achieve this.


Can you negate an adventure spell? Can I Negate the instant/sorcery part of an adventure spell?
Say, someone casts Stomp from bonecrusher giant. Can I negate it?

Yes, there is nothing special about the Adventure half of an Adventurer card while it is on the stack. Comprehensive rules 715.3b:

While on the stack as an Adventure, the spell has only its alternative characteristics.

Countering the Adventure half of an Adventurer card is often a very good play to make as the countered spell goes to its owner's graveyard, not into exile where the non-Adventure half of the card can be cast - e.g. if you counter Stomp, its owner does not get to cast Bonecrusher Giant from exile.
A small note on terminology: the spell does not have halves. An Adventurer card has alternative characteristics, and if cast with those alternative characteristics it is then a spell with solely those characteristics - e.g. what is on the stack is either the instant spell Stomp or the creature spell Bonecrusher Giant, not a split object with both sets of characteristics. This may seem pedantic but it can be important - for example, you cannot use Essence Scatter to counter Stomp, because it is not a creature spell.


How do I make this zombie mill deck faster? Although I'm not that bad at sealed deck format (I usually end up in the first 5 places) I suck at draft. This is my first attempt to build a T2 deck.
I need help because I think the deck is too slow.

Deck Objective: Milling

24 lands (I don't have trouble with lands)

Non-creature spells:

4 Sever the Bloodline
1 Grindclock
1 Black Sun's Zenith
4 Increasing Confusion
1 Black Sun's Zenith (this was listed twice)
1 Endless Ranks of the Dead
1 Go for the Throat

Creatures:

2 Mindshrieker
2 Havengul Runebinder
4 Undead Alchemist
4 Diregraf Captain
4 Geralf's Mindcrushers
1 Gravecrawler
1 Havengul Lich
2 Evil Twin
2 Ghoulraiser
2 Cemetery Reaper

I am thinking about taking out the Gravecrawler and the Havengul Runebinder,
the Gravecrawler because it can't block and the Havengul Runebinder because it won't work until my turn 5, and I can't block with it that turn because it might be die.

I don't know about the Evil Twin because it's a destruction but it can't block the turn it enters the game, I mean it can but if it dies it won't be of a lot of help.

The Captain is pretty good because it has dead touch. Maybe the spell that gives him undying until end of turn, but I don't know what to take out.

My idea is to gent alive to my (4-5) use the Undead Alchemist (but I won't use it to block) and use Increasing Confusion next.

I think that's a good combo, and since Undead Alchemist is a zombie and I think Geralf's Mindcrusher is a good card (although I might be wrong) because if he dies that's a total of 10 milled cards, that's also a zombie, I thought the black cards will support and help me to stay alive until I start milling, especially with so many destructions.

Maybe I need other black cards or another color (not excluding the mono blue possibility)?

You are correct in your assessment that this deck is too slow. You should select one direction and go with it - either Zombie or Mill - rather than trying to do both. I recommend removing the Mill strategy, as it is likely to slow for the format, given the current metagame.

I suggest you look at sites such as mtgtop8.com for reference when building decks. There you will see decks with good winning records played by the top players, and be able to use those as a basis for your deck.  For example, this deck finished in the top 32 at the recent Pro Tour in Hawaii.

As for specific feedback on your deck, Standard is a fairly creature heavy, aggressive format. You are playing expensive removal (Sever the Bloodline) in favor of cheap (Tragic Slip, Go for the Throat (play more of those!)). Black Sun's Zenith is probably bad for you, as many of your creatures are low toughness.

Examine the mana curve of your deck. You can do this pretty easily by using any of the deck building sites (like TappedOut), or by arranging your cards by casting cost. In this deck, you have very few cards that you can cast for one or two mana, and as a result you'll lag behind those decks which can play something on turns one and two.

Hope this helps!


What does "gain" mean? What exactly is meant by "gain" a card. For example, if I am asked to draw a card from my deck- have I gained the card? Or does gain only apply to cards from the lineup I gain for no cost (Cheetah,  Dark Knight )

To gain a card is to take it from the lineup and move it to your discard pile. From page 9 of the rulebook:

  Gaining Cards

    When a card tells a player to gain a particular card
    or a card of your choice, that card is taken and
    immediately placed in that player’s discard pile at no
    additional cost, unless otherwise directed by the card.


When do you draw loose tiles in Chinese Mahjong? I have been playing with English rules with a dead wall or ruin, which you can only access through flower/season tiles or Kongs.

We end up deadlocked often, so I wanted to try the Chinese style where you have no flowers or seasons, can have more than one Chow and no dead wall, so you can access the whole wall directly for a larger chance of finishing.

From this rule description I understand you still have two 3rd layer or loose tiles from where you break the wall, but how/when do you draw them, just when you encounter that wall column?

From Tom Sloper's rules, there are no loose tiles:

After breaking the wall, each player takes 2 stacks (4 tiles) at a time until everyone has 12 tiles, then:
East takes one tile from the first and third stacks, and the following three players take one tile each in order.

This leaves East with 14 tiles and they discard to start the game.

Here's another set of rules that describes the same procedure but also has a different ending (East simply takes 2 tiles in a stack at the end).


Does End of Days affect cards underneath another card (e.g. The Dreamer's defeated Projections)? Fanatic has a card called "End of Days" that destroys most every card in play:

At the start of the Environment turn, destroy all cards in play, other than this card, character cards, and Relics.
Then, destroy this card.

Several villains, such as the Dreamer, can place cards underneath them:

Whenever a Projection card is destroyed, it is placed under this card. At the start of the Villain turn, if there are (H) times 2 cards underneath this card, the heroes win the game.

Does End of Days affect these "underneath" cards?

I tested this in the app version of the game.

The cards under The Dreamer they are destroyed
The cards are put back under The Dreamer, per its effect
If some other card would interact (Like Savage Mana), that takes precedence and would be destroyed afterwards

Also don't forget that it's the players that choose which effect resolve first and which cards are destroyed first.


Leading Aces in the game of Spades I see that some players start by playing all their Aces in the first opportunity.  By doing so the Ace usually beats low cards.  By letting some one else leading the suit, the ace can beat higher cards (maybe even the King).

Is it usually a bad practice to lead an Ace?
When leading an ace is a good move?  Maybe if you got A,K / A,K,Q ?

It depends on a lot of context whether leading an Ace is a good idea.

When to lead an Ace:

Leading an ace when you have strong control of the suit is good.  For example, leading from A-K or a bare Ace is good.  Since you can win any follow up, you don't really lose much if your opponents playing low.  And it can also give your partner an idea of the strength you have in that suit.

You also may consider leading an Ace when your partner has bid nil.  This gives your partner an opportunity to get rid of problematic cards in that suit.

If you think your team underbid, you may also want to lead the Ace to actively weaken your hand to avoid getting too many bags.

When to lead another suit:

Leading an ace is not usually a good idea in the early part of the hand when other players are unlikely to be void in suits.  Assuming you don't also have the king, your opponents are twice as likely to have the newly promoted winner instead of your partner.

You can still play the Ace the first time the suit is lead if you're paranoid about the risks of voids, but you'll get extra value from your opponents playing ahead of you.  And you might even be able to win an extra trick due just to your positioning.

If your suit is long but weak like A-T-x-x-x-x-x you probably want to hold suit control instead of leading the Ace.  It's too risky to lead this Ace and then have your opponents get valuable discards while also winning tricks.

Additionally, if you can get trump control, you can run these lengthy side suits, so saving the ace to win important tricks can be very helpful.  Leading the suit outright negates this advantage.

Do not underlead your Ace:

There is almost no reason to underlead an Ace.  You put your Ace at risk of being trumped while also giving up the positional advantage to your opponents.


Character and monster buffing Let's say someone draws a monster face up when they kick open the door.  They are able to defeat the monster, but another play throws down a card to buff the monster.  The person who kicked open the door counters.  Now someone else buffs the monster.  This repeats until everyone runs out of cards.  What is the general rule for this situation?  Can it keep going or are we doing something wrong?

it can keep on going until nobody can/wants to throw any more cards. As seen in the rules(example, p. 5):

   Example of Combat, With Numbers and Everything

  Aric is a 4th-Level Warrior with the Chainsaw of Bloody Dismemberment
  (which gives him a +3 to his combat strength). He kicks open the door
  and finds the Net Troll, a Level 10 monster. Aric’s at a 7, the Net
  Troll is at a 10, so Aric is losing.

  Aric: I was hoping to save this
  card . . .

  He plays the Magic Missile, giving him +5 for this fight. Now his combat strength is 12, beating the Net Troll’s 10.

  Aric: Ha! Net Troll going down!

  Suzan: Not so fast. Now he’s Enraged.

  Suzan plays Enraged, adding 5 to the Net Troll’s combat strength. Now Aric
  is losing, 15 to 12.

  Aric: Curses!

  Suzan: Want some help? (Suzan is playing a Level 2 Elf with the Boots of Butt-Kicking, so her combat
  strength is 4. Combined with Aric’s 12, they would have 16, enough to
  defeat the Net Troll’s 15.)

  Aric: And give you a level? Not a chance! I’m Berserking.

  Aric uses his Warrior power and discards three cards:
  Thief and a Wandering Monster from his hand, and Yuppie Water (usable
  only to help an Elf) from his carried items. Each one gives him +1 to
  his combat strength.

  Suzan: Not the Yuppie Water! Noooo . . .

  Aric: That’s +3 to me, and now we’re tied, 15 to 15. Because I’m a Warrior,
  I win ties . . . so I’m killing the Net Troll unless someone else
  plans to mess with me. Anyone?

  No one says anything, so Aric goes up a
  level and claims the Net Troll’s treasures – three from the Net Troll
  card, and one extra because it was Enraged. And the game goes on . . .

As you see, you can cast any number of spells during combat.


Do bombardment counts for "invading planets"? The rules specify that:

  Ground Forces destroyed by bombardment are removed immediately, do not receive return fire, and will not participate in the upcoming Invasion Combat.

However, some political cards, action cards and special abilities refer to "When invading a planet with a Ground Force on it". So, if one invades a planet with Ground Forces on it, bombards them to death and then have a successful invasion, does that count for "when invading a planet with Ground Forces on it"?

(Sure, the Ground Forces did not count for the invasion combat, but they might count for the invasion itself as a whole..?)

Yes, the rules (pg. 12) refer to the term "invasion" as:

Hostile Landing (also called an "Invasion"): A player lands units on a planet containing one or more of an enemy player's Ground Force units. This will result in an Invasion Combat during the Invasion Combat step.
If a player lands units on a planet that is controlled by an opponent, but does not contain any enemy Ground Forces, the planet falls without resistance.

There are only three types of landings, Friendly, Neutral, or Hostile ("Invasion").


How do "Run" Events interact with effects that change the server you're running on? In Android: Netrunner, there are several Events that specify that a Runner make a run on a particular server. For instance, Account Siphon:

  Make a run on HQ. If successful, instead of accessing cards you may force the Corp to lose up to 5 [Credits], then you gain 2 [Credits] for each credit lost and take 2 tags.

or, The Maker's Eye:

  Make a run on R&D. If successful, access 2 additional cards from R&D.

How are these runs affected if the run is moved to a different server before it's finished? For instance, using an effect like the only subroutine on Bullfrog:

  You and the Runner secretly spend 0 [Credit], 1 [Credit] or 2 [Credits]. Reveal spent credits. If you and the Runner spent a different number of credits, move Bullfrog so that it is the outermost piece of ice protecting another server (the Runner continues the run from this new position and is now running on this new server).

or, the ability on Copycat:

  Whenever you pass a piece of ice, you may trash Copycat. If you do, choose another rezzed copy of that piece of ice protecting any server. The run continues as if you had just passed the chosen piece of ice (you are now running from the new position).

What happens if I play Account Siphon, and then a Bullfrog moves me onto Archives? What if the run is successful, but on Archives? Do I still trigger the effect?

What happens if I play The Maker's Eye, and Copycat onto a remote server? If it's successful, do I access the cards in the remote, as well as two cards from R&D? Just the remote, and The Maker's Eye is wasted?

I'm assuming/hoping these answers will have some central ruling in common that will allow me to intuitively make rulings on similar interactions in the future.

As CrystalBlue commented, the latest copy of the FAQ (PDF) addresses this (page 2):

  “If successful...”

  Whenever there is an “If successful...” effect tied to the outcome
  of a run, the run itself must have been successful against the
  specified server(s), if applicable. If the Runner initiates a run
  against the specified server but ends the run on a different
  server, the “If successful...” effect does not resolve when the run
  is successful.

  Example: The Runner plays Demolition Run on HQ. During the
  run, a Bullfrog moves the Runner to a remote server. Even though
  the run is successful, the Runner cannot use the “If successful...”
  effect on Demolition Run because the run was not successful
  against R&D or HQ. If the Bullfrog moved the Runner to R&D,
  the ability would trigger when the run was successful.

  If the “If successful...” effect does not specify a server, then it
  does not matter if the attacked server is changed during the run
  ,and the ability resolves as normal.

In summary, if a run ability specifies a server (or servers), the "if successful" effect only triggers if the run is actually successful on one of those servers. As the example in the FAQ mentions, it does not need to necessarily be the actual server the run was initiated on though.

For Account Siphon and Maker's Eye, if the run does not finish on HQ and R&D respectively, the special ability is wasted (and the run essentially just becomes a normal run).


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

There is no builder ability in the base set.  It sounds like you're talking about the Fortified ability?

The rules for Fortified state you can put down one fortress per turn while active.  Here's the full text from the rulebook -

  Once per turn, as long as your Fortified Race
  is active, you may place 1 Fortress in a
  Region you occupy. The Fortress is worth 1
  bonus Victory coin at turn's end, unless you
  are In Decline. The Fortress also augments your Region's
  defense by 1 (just as if you had an additional Race token
  stationed there), even if you are In Decline.
  Remove the Fortress if you abandon the Region
  or when an enemy conquers it. There can only
  ever be a maximum of 1 Fortress per Region,
  and a maximum of 6 Fortresses on the map.

The fortresses stay when you enter decline, but the ability to construct new does not.  And yes, it's the same even if you have Ghouls in decline; being able to continue attacking with them doesn't change how the ability works at all.


Evolution the Beginning - Scavenger card When a scavenger is given food tokens during a carnivore attack, does the scavenger get to keep all the food tokens, even though that scavenger does not have enough "room" for all the food -- e.g., enough population or a fat tissue card?

(We understand that the tokens stay with the scavenger until the end of the scavenger's own turn, or until the scavenger is made extinct.)

The rules do not seem to restrict a scavenger to only so many food tokens as the scavenger has "room" to eat.

[ In contrast, although a Longneck can have up to 3 tokens from the excess food pile, a Longneck can only take in as many tokens as its populations or fat tissue can consume. ]

Rules say [page 11]:  "A Scavenger eats 1 Food from the Excess Food pile every time a Carnivore attacks, even if the Scavenger is getting attacked or doing the attacking.  Food scavenged when it is not your turn will stay on your Population cards until the end of your next turn."

AND

Rules also say [Step 3, Rule 2, page 8]:  "...If there is Food on that card (see Scavenger Trait, p.11), place it in the Food Bag of the attacked player."

The way we are playing is that if the Scavenger has a bunch of food tokens, if the Scavenger gets attacked/made extinct before its turn comes around, ALL those food tokens get dumped in Scavenger's food bag, regardless if the Scavenger has sufficient population / fat tissue to "take in" all that food
[because of the rule on p.8],
BUT
if it comes around to the Scavenger's own turn, then the Scavenger has to DEAL with that food by adding sufficient population or fat tissue to absorb all that food before it can "earn" all those tokens (put them in the bag)
[based on rule on p.11].

Are we doing this right?

No, you can only eat or scavenge as much food as you have population slots for. You simply do not collect food tokens after you reach that maximum, regardless of any further carnivore attacks.


Monopoly millionaire mortgaging of a property to pay for another property Since an agreement could not be made.
And we take monopoly a bit to seriously in this house.
I need a perspective to end this debate.

I landed on boardwalk.  I had 167k in cash to pay for it, but I was 3k shy of having enough cash to complete the (170k) purchase.

Is it legal to mortgage another one of my properties, when the rules state "you must be bankrupt to mortgage properties", to have enough money to pay for the new property?
This is very serious and I need an outside opinion.

I would say no, you are just out of luck.

Defining Bankruptcy

Since the rules I found here don't explicitly define bankruptcy, but merely list the changes from standard Monopoly rules, I will refer to the standard rules. It states

  BANKRUPTCY ... You are declared bankrupt if you owe more than you can
  pay either to another player or to the Bank.

Since the rules for Millionaire state about mortgage (and other things)

  IMPORTANT: You can ONLY do these things if you’re bankrupt, not under
  any other circumstances!

Since buying property is optional (the standard rules say that you may buy property when you land on it, it is not required), you don't qualify as being bankrupt.  Since you are not bankrupt, mortgaging is not an option.


Discard Ongoing Card for effect (Mad Mod) I'm playing the Teen Titan's version of the DC building game which focus heavily on "Ongoing" effect cards. Now we came across an scenario that we are not too sure on.

Now he plays the "Mad Mod" card, (for those of you who are not familiar this is what the card reads)

  +2 Power, You may discard an ONGOING card you control. If you do,choose a foe and ATTACK: That foe gaines a WEAKNESS

Lets say he has 4 ONGOING cards, which leads him to say that he discards all four and i get 4 weakness card. I was under the impression that you could only discard one, but he insist that since it doesn't say "Once Per turn" that he can discard multiple ones and keep activating the "attack" part. I have looked every where online but I have not found an answer to this. There are also other cards that read the same way that you may discard an "Ongoing" card and it does an effect.
Can these be activated multiple times? or just once?

From what I recall, Mad Mod is not an Ongoing card, so therefore the effect (+2 power, discard an Ongoing card for an attack) happens only once.  By his argument, you could also get 200 power.


Dead of Winter - Too easy with no betrayer/co-op? Co-op variant (hardcore) or games where the betrayer is obviously absent seems easy after playing the game a couple of times. Even with the betrayer, we find we can keep the morale 7+ consistently.

We usually start off getting weapons from the police station then arming the the few colony guys (e.g janitor/bev), while sending the rest to search at locations depending on objective/crisis, leaving them there and using the colony guys to attract the zombies back and kill them; playing outsiders sparingly.

The problem is we are never really moving after the initial first/second rounds, and we rarely need too much food (unless playing the food objective). And the guys in the colony get armed with like double sniper switchblades as we keep searching the police station without penalty.

Are we doing anything wrong?

Yes, Dead of Winter without a betrayer (especially without hardcore objectives) is easy, even extremely easy with 4 or 5 players. Even so, hardcore versions of objectives can be difficult if you play them with 3 players (and some are impossible with 2 players, literally impossible).

While it might not be the case for your group, I'd argue that Dead of Winter can be very easy if there is no betrayer but there is an alpha player. Without a betrayer the alpha player can easily convince the group what to do and essentially win the game solo. This is a problem that most co-ops have, and this is exactly why I always play with the betrayer.

You also might want to reread the rules, or at least watch a "Watch it played" video to make sure you aren't skipping any vital rules by mistake.


How does regeneration work in Magic the Gathering? How does regeneration work?

I know that if my creature is destroyed then I can spend X mana then tap my creature and move it out of combat. Is it attackable in any way after that? With spells or instants?

If someone for example casts Shock on my Manor Skeleton, can I say in response “Ok, I will spend 2 mana to regenerate it”? Or does Shock immediately resolve to destroy the creature (assuming it has no regeneration shield on it)?

A creature is destroyed when a resolved spell or effect says so (destruction by effect), or when the total damage it received this turn from anywhere is equal to or greater than its current toughness (destruction by game rules).

At any time you can regenerate a creature with an appropriate spell or effect. The only condition is that the regeneration has to happen before the destruction effect. You can regenerate a creature as often as you like, anytime. For each time you regenerate it, the creature gets a "regeneration shield" that lasts until the turn ends or until it is used up by a destruction effect, whatever happens first. If a destruction event would happen and the creature has a "regeneration shield" active, the following things happen:

One of those shields is removed
All damage received by the creature this turn is removed
If a destruction effect caused the event to trigger, it resolves but has no effect
The creature gets tapped (Note that this is an effect of regeneration. The creature does not have to be untapped to regenerate it)
The creature gets removed from combat, if it was regenerated during combat

Note that certain spells or effects state something like "Destroy target creature. It can't be regenerated.". In that case, you can still respond with a regeneration shield, but the regeneration effect is ignored and the creature still gets destroyed.

  Is it attackable in any way after that? With spells or instants?

"Attack" has a defined meaning in M:TG: You attack with creatures only, during a combat phase. The only valid targets for an attack are opposing players and Planeswalkers.
The correct term to use for spells and effects is "target", if it is a targeted spell or effect.
And yes, regeneration provides no further protection from multiple damage sources or spells/effects. You can, as stated above, provide multiple regeneration shields, so as long as you can pay the costs, you can regenerate as often as you want.


Monopoly deal - Can I not use any of my cards during a turn and then let go excess cards? Monopoly Deal - Suppose, I have 6 cards before I got my turn. I picked up 2 Cards from the deck. Now, I have 8 cards. Can I not use any of the cards in this turn and pass my turn? Which means I have 1 excess of 7 (so i will put 1 card back to the deck). Is this a valid move?

Yes. This is explicitly allowed by the rules:

  On your turn:
  Play up to 3 cards ... You don’t have to play any cards if you don’t want to.


Replacement coins for At The Gates of Loyang I have the game, and one of the first things I noticed was the cardboard money. Not a fan, even though in this game it's really just another resource, and doesn't change hands often.

Anyone have a source for good replacements? I'm looking for metal Cash-style coins in two sizes, and preferably different colors. A quick search for "Chinese Luck Coins" brings up good results for one size, but I can't find a good second size (larger or smaller, or in a significantly different metal color) to replicate the "1" and "5" coins.

A friend of mine got some Mexico pesos.  They seem to work fairly good, and are fairly heavy.  Different sizes as well.  How you get them if you don't have a friend traveling there, I'm not sure.  But I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't a cheap option for metal money.

http://coins.about.com/od/worldcoins/ig/World-Coins-Gallery-Index/Mexico-Money---Coins.htm


Do counters combine? Can three +1/+1 counters be considered one +3/+3 counter? Some cards like Animation Module allow you to copy a counter. My question is if a creature has three +1/+1 counters, is that considered one counter or three distinct counters.

Would Animation Module be allowed to use it's second ability to get +3/+3 or only copy one (of the three) counters to get an additional +1/+1?

If three +1/+1 counters are placed on an object, that object then has three counters on it. Animation Module's second ability can only put one additional counter on it each time you activate it. The counters do not change type, so they are still +1/+1 counters, and that is the only type of counter you can give it another of.


Why doesn't Rishkar, Peema Renegade have Support 2? This bugs me.

Rishkar, Peema Renegade's Enter the Battlefield ability:

  When Rishkar, Peema Renegade enters the battlefield, put a +1/+1 counter on each of up to two target creatures.

Lead by Example spell text:

  Support 2. (Put a +1/+1 counter on each of up to two target creatures.)

Another creature with support: Saddleback Lagac

  When Saddleback Lagac enters the battlefield, support 2. (Put a +1/+1 counter on each of up to two other target creatures.)

So, why isn't the text for Rishkar, Peema Renegade:

  When Rishkar, Peema Renegade enters the battlefield, support 2. (Put a +1/+1 counter on each of up to two other target creatures.)

Huh?

Rishkar can put a counter on himself. You can't do that with support.

If that were not the case, there's another reason: most keyword mechanics only last for the single block in which they are introduced. For example, support was introduced in Oath of the Gatewatch. Once that block was printed, that's it for support. Future cards which have functionally identical mechanics will have the text of the mechanic written out, rather than using a keyword. An example is Gearseeker Serpent, which functionally has affinity for artifacts, but does not use the keyword.

The exceptions are evergreen mechanics, which can be used in any set. These are things like flying, deathtouch, and scry. Support is not evergreen, though.

I'm not sure exactly what reason Wizards uses to justify limiting keyword mechanics in this way, but I can think of one good possibility: when they use a keyword in a set, they want to make it common enough that people playing with those cards will internalize the keyword. That's the whole point of a keyword, after all; you see it often enough that you come to learn what it means and then you don't have to read the reminder text or the relevant rules. But putting a keyword on only one card doesn't save any mental effort compared to writing out the text of the mechanic, and it may even be more confusion than it's worth to newer players who would then have one more unfamiliar word to deal with on the card.


Do you get 2 coins from Xenophon for yellow cards put into play by Halicarnassus/Solomon? The rules for the leader Xenophon (Leaders expansion):

  Xenophon grants 2 coins for each commercial structure (yellow card) that the player builds from this point forward. The coins are taken from the bank, at the moment when the structures are built.

  Clarifcation: Xenophon has no effect on commercial structures built before he enters play.

Do you get this 2 coins also if you use Halicarnassus or Solomon to bring a yellow card into game?

The rules (p. 8) for Halicarnassus' special ability:

  the player can look through all of the cards discarded since the beginning of the game ([…]), pick one, and build it for free.

The rules for the leader Solomon (Leaders expansion):

  Once Solomon enters play, the player can
  choose an Age card from the discard pile and
  put it in play for free.

Yes for both. "Build" is just a short, thematic word for putting into play.

On p. 4 of the rulebook, it states:

  player will get to build structures (cards)

and a bit later on:

  Some cards have no cost and can be put into play for free.

(using the Eastern Trading Post as an example.) The same page uses "construct" as another synonym. ("Some cards have a resource cost. To construct them, the player must...")They all refer to the same thing.


Can I destroy a Planeswalker before its abilities are used? If my opponent casts say an Elspeth, can I then Hero's Downfall that Planeswalker before any abilities are used?

I think my question boils down to: are planeswalker abilities sorcery or instant speed?

You can only activate a planeswalker ability as a sorcery (when the stack is empty and it is your main phase). However, if your opponent casts a planeswalker, and it resolves, then he regains priority, which means that he will have the chance to activate an ability of his planeswalker before you can destroy it. You can cast Hero's Downfall in response, but that ability will already be on the stack and destroying the planeswalker won't stop it.
However, if there is an ability that triggers on a planewalker entering the battlefield, then it is different. In this case, the triggered ability will go on the stack before your opponent has a chance to activate a loyalty ability, and you can cast Hero's Downfall while that trigger is on the stack.
Here is a quote from the basic rules:

Planeswalker
Planeswalkers are powerful allies you can call on to fight by your side. You can cast a planeswalker only at the time you could cast a sorcery. They’re permanents, and each one enters the battlefield with the number of loyalty counters indicated in its lower right corner.
Each planeswalker has loyalty abilities that are activated by adding or removing loyalty counters from the planeswalker. For example, the symbol {+1} means “Put one loyalty counter on this planeswalker” and the symbol {-3} means “Remove three loyalty counters from this planeswalker.” You can activate one of these abilities only at the time you could cast a sorcery and only if none of that planeswalker’s loyalty abilities have been activated yet that turn.
Your planeswalkers can be attacked by your opponent’s creatures (if so, you can block as normal), and your opponents can damage them with their spells and abilities instead of damaging you. Any damage dealt to a planeswalker causes it to lose that many loyalty counters. If a planeswalker has no loyalty counters, it’s put into your graveyard.


Identify a 70's board game involving finding objects a house using cards I have this 70's game and it is missing parts. Can anyone help me identify this game so I can complete this? I think it is European (maybe Swiss), but I don't have any indication of its name written on the board or cards. It consists of finding objects in the house using the cards. Some of the parts of the house in the picture are missing.

This is a Ravensburger children's game, called Spielhaus in German, and Race to the Roof in English. The art is different though, it looks like yours is a Janosch version.


Is attacking population and influencing hexes done at the end of battle, or at the end of the combat phase? From page 20 of the rulebook:

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

From page 21:

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

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

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

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

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

How should this be played?

I would say option 3. That seems to follow the Course of Battle as detailed on page 20-21:

Missiles
Engagement Round(s)
Retreat
Stalemate
Attacking Population
Reputation Tiles
Influence Hexes
Repair Damage
Player Elimination

Where 1 through 4 occur for every battle. Step 5 through 9 occur after all battles across the board are resolved with the exception being step 6, since drawing reputation tiles occurs after every battle.

Attacking population and influence hexes doesn't necessarily have to be done in descending hex order.


Does casting a copy of a spell count count for "whenever you cast a spell" triggers? Do effects that instruct me to cast a copy of a spell (e.g. Spelltwine, Isochron Scepter, Elite Arcanist) trigger "whenever you cast a spell" abilities, as found in Prowess, Charmbreaker Devils, etc?

I'm conscious that copying a spell on the stack (a la Pyromancer's Goggles) doesn't count as casting that spell, but I'd like to be clear on whether casting a copy counts.

If the effect instructs you to "cast" a spell or card, then you are casting the spell. You have to follow the instructions for casting a spell, and it triggers any "whenever you cast a spell" abilities.

Rule 706.12 says

  An effect that instructs a player to cast a copy of an object (and not just copy a spell) follows the rules for casting spells, except that the copy is created in the same zone the object is in and then cast while another spell or ability is resolving. Casting a copy of an object follows steps 601.2a–h of rule 601, “Casting Spells,” and then the copy becomes cast. Once cast, the copy is a spell on the stack, and just like any other spell it can resolve or be countered.


What are some card in MTG that can change a creature's color? I was creating a deck on deck builder and I wanted to make a Corrosive Mentor combination in which I can change a powerful creature's color to black so that it can have the wither effect. Anyone know any cards that can do that? Thanks.

There are a few cards that can do this. Some specifically turn creatures black:

Darkest Hour
Grave Servitude
Sinister Strength

Others let you choose a color, and make creatures that color:

Alchor's Tomb
Blind Seer
Distorting Lens
Illusion
Painter's Servant
Shifting Sky
Sway of Illusion
Tidal Visionary

And, finally, there are some cards that let you change the word "black" on Corrosive Mentor, so that it affects green creatures instead of black ones, for example:

Alter Reality
Crystal Spray
Glamerdye
Mind Bend
Sleight of Mind
Spectral Shift
Swirl the Mists
Trait Doctoring
Whim of Volrath

I've bolded all of the cards that are either black or colorless (so they don't restrict what other cards you can play). Across the last two lists, blue is the most common color, so blue is probably a good second color for this purpose.


Etiquette for the Stack in MTG More often than not it doesn't matter, you cast a spell and it either lands in its designated spot on the field, or it resolves and heads into the graveyard.

What I always wondered is, whenever there is a complicated situation playing out in the stack, is there a specific place you are supposed to put your cards?

For Example:

1) I play Storm Crow
2) My opponent casts Dissipate targeting Storm Crow
3) I play Negate targeting Dissipate
4) My opponent plays Cancel targeting Negate
5) I play Counterflux targeting Cancel

While all this is happening, is it 'acceptable' to simply lay the cards down on the play-space or for official, tournament-level play do I need to immediately place my cards in the graveyard and simply remember they are on the stack in their particular order?

What is legal?

Cards go on the stack when you cast them. They remain there until they resolve or are otherwise removed from the stack.

According the the Tournament Rules, the current zone of any object is free information. The stack is a zone. Therefore, the presence of an object on the stack is free information.

It does not matter where the card physically goes, so long as it is clear that it is on the stack. You are not allowed to obscure or otherwise misrepresent the presence of an object in a zone, because it is free information.

What is considered good etiquette?

There is no official etiquette about where in the table you should play your spells and how exactly a complex stack should be built.

I play in a lot of tournaments, and most players put the card somewhere on the table where everyone can see it. Some players (incorrectly) put the card straight into their graveyards. Some players like to play the card behind their lands, perhaps to gain some kind of advantage by making it slightly more difficult for me to read.

When we build a complex stack, very rarely do we build an actual physical stack. To do that requires the cooperation of both players, and it also requires that all of the spells be tangible cards (i.e., not a trigger or an activated ability). Perhaps the most common situation in which I see a stack built with cards is during a counterspell war, such as the example you gave in the question.


What is the name of this tabletop multiplayer card game You start with a normal 52-card deck, you then distribute the cards randomly and evenly to all players. First player starts by putting down any number of cards he wants (provided they are the same number) face down,(for example 2 5's), he then says what he just put down.
All other players can either pass and the turn goes to next player, or say bull$***. If they were correct and that player was putting down cards different than what he was saying, he gets the pile of cards that have been played, if the cards matched what was played, the one saying bull$*** gets all the cards. If it is your turn, and you don't have any cards you want to play you can skip.
The player who finishes the cards in his hand wins, sort of like UNO, but without knowing the real cards.
The strategy is to sneak in the cards that you don't have all 4 suits of without anyone knowing and returning the entire card pile to you.
Some obvious no-no's to better explain:

If you don't have all 4 suits of some number in your hand, don't put down a mix of cards and say (4 6's when you don't have the 4 6's)
Start your turn by putting any sets of 4 suits you have as there is no way for someone to win a bull$*** on them
If someone is about to finish his cards, it can be rewarding to claim bull$*** and bring him back to square one

My friends call it bull$***, what is it's common name?

I always called it B.S. growing up, but it is also knows as Cheat, as well as a couple other names.
From Wikipedia:

Cheat (also known as Bullshit, B.S., Bluff, or I Doubt It[3]) is a card game where the players aim to get rid of all of their cards.[4][5] It is a game of deception, with cards being played face-down and players being permitted to lie about the cards they have played.


Catan Universe with 2 human and 1 computer player I have played a lot of Catan on the original board game but there is Catan Classic or Catan Universe in the App Store.

Can I play Catan online with a friend but also against the computer so we have minimum 3 player which makes it more challenging than a 2 player version?

Yes, you can play with both players and AIs in Catan Universe, at least on the PC version.

Choose the game to play (The Game, Seafarers, Cities & Knights, etc) by click the appropriate button at the bottom of the screen.
Choose "Custom Game"
To add a player,

Click "+" next to "Add player".
Choose "Friendlist".
Enter the name of a friend.

To add an AI,

Click "+" next to "Add player".
Choose "Computer (AI)".
Select an AI name.

Repeat the last two steps as desired.

I can't answer for Catan Classic.


Can an ability track a card across multiple zones? Here is the situation:

I use Jace, Telepath Unbound's -3 ability, targeting Walk the Aeons.

  −3: You may cast target instant or sorcery card from your graveyard this turn. If that card would be put into your graveyard this turn, exile it instead.

I cast Walk the Aeons with Buyback.
Walk the Aeons resolves and returns to my hand.
I cast Walk the Aeons again, without buyback.

Where does Walk the Aeons go when it resolves for the second time that turn? Can Jace's ability track Walk the Aeons across multiple zones?

Objects that move from one zone to another become a completely new object.

  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 eight exceptions to this rule:

Rule 400.7h is an exception to 400.7. This is the rule that allows Jace's -3 ability to keep track of cards that you cast from the graveyard.

  400.7h If an effect causes an object to move to a public zone, other parts of that effect can find that object. If the cost of a spell or ability causes an object to move to a public zone, that spell or ability’s effects can find that object.

As soon as the card moves to any other zone, rule 400.7h no longer applies, and Jace's ability loses track of it. If you cast Walk the Aeons after that, it will go to the graveyard like normal.

As another user pointed out, this is also the most logical outcome. The game has no way to tell in all situations if the second Walk the Aeons is the same physical card as the first one.


Does Classic Egyptian Rat Screw have Marriages? I've played Egyptian Rat Screw for years, and I've encountered one major discrepancy in the way others play compared to how I do. The combinations that were grounds to slap that I learned were -

Double: Two of the same card in a row.
Sandwich: Two of the same cards with a different card in between. Ex.2,3,2.
Joker: Any joker on the field.
Straight: Four cards in order ascending or descending, excluding face cards or aces.
Marriage: King and a queen next to each other.

Everyone I've played with who knew this game prior to me showing them played without the marriage. I've wondered for some time whether it was a valid part of the game. Does anyone know definitively? Thanks!

In the revised 2001 edition of Hoyle's Rules of Games by  Albert Morehead, Geoffrey Mott-Smith, Philip D. Morehead there is no mention of marriages and also some discrepancies with the "standard rules" you and every player I've encountered myself know today. However the latest (at time of writing) version of the Wikipedia page for the game does mention it. When one examines the edit history however, the initially created page has no mention of marriages. After viewing the edit history I found what I believe to be the first mention of marriages on the page on the version published at 22:45, 19 October 2010 under the heading of "Rule Variations". The page has been massively reformatted and altered many times since and the mention of marriages has come and gone throughout these many edits. Since I cannot access the other referenced source on the current page, Encyclopedia of Play in Today's Society, Volume 1. by Rodney P. Carlisle, I cannot conclude whether or not it makes any mention of the marriage rules especially since the Wikipedia page's rules section does not specify from which references they are drawn.

While this is purely speculation given that I cannot find a conclusive source, my best guess would be that these rules are either a regional or group-specific variant. This isn't uncommon for playing card games since there are even games based off of this phenomenon such as Mao. Since it does seem to be an ongoing debate whether to include it on the Wikipedia page or not, I think it's safe to assume that it is at least a pretty well known variant of the game.

Note: Both Wikipedia links are to specific timestamped versions of the pages, this is done in case future versions (yet again) drop the mention of marriages.


Can one use a Wordly Tutor to fetch Nylea, God of the Hunt Worldly Tutor searches your library for a creature card. So could I find Nylea, God of the Hunt with it since Nylea is an Enchantment Creature?

Yes.

Nylea is always a Creature card (among other things) in your library.

It doesn't matter that Nylea isn't just a Creature.

Ruling:

  The type-changing ability that can make the God not be a creature functions only on the battlefield. It's always a creature card in other zones, regardless of your devotion to its color.

If the ability was a characteristic-defining ability, it would function in all zones.

  604.3. Some static abilities are characteristic-defining abilities. A characteristic-defining ability conveys information about an object’s characteristics that would normally be found elsewhere on that object (such as in its mana cost, type line, or power/toughness box). Characteristic-defining abilities function in all zones. They also function outside the game.

But it's not a characteristic-defining ability because it fails criteria 5.

  604.3a A static ability is a characteristic-defining ability if it meets the following criteria: (1) It defines an object’s colors, subtypes, power, or toughness; (2) it is printed on the card it affects, it was granted to the token it affects by the effect that created the token, or it was acquired by the object it affects as the result of a copy effect or text-changing effect; (3) it does not directly affect the characteristics of any other objects; (4) it is not an ability that an object grants to itself; and (5) it does not set the values of such characteristics only if certain conditions are met.