In solo play, can you play one Special Action every round in addition to placing family? The rules state: "In each round, the Solo player can use exactly one of the Special actions shown on the face-up card."

My question is, can this be done in addition to placing each of my family members?  Or is it just like the 2+ player rules where you can either place a family member, or take a special action?  I just got the game and am not clear on this point.

During your round, you must play all your people, one at a time, and you may also use one Special Action from the current face-up Special Action card. So you perform the following loop:
Each round:
As long as you have people still in your house:

Play a family member or
Play your Special Action if you haven't played it yet

So you choose to play the Special Action instead of a playing a family member. In multi-player, this distinction is important, because if you take the Special Action, someone else could respond by taking a key resource or board Action that you also wanted. In solo play, this doesn't matter, because no one is going to deny you any space on the board.
Just to be clear, in neither the solo or multi-player rules do Special Actions stop you from subsequently using a family member. You can still play a Special Action, and use all your people. It's just that you can only do one at a time, and then each other player gets a go, where they may play a family member or Special Action, and so on. The rules on p.3 are quite clear:

There is a distinction between a Person Action and a Special Action. To take a Person Action, place one Person marker on the game board. Instead of taking a Person Action, a player can take a Special Action card and carry out at most one of the Special Actions that are described on it.
This player's Person markers remain in her home, to be used for additional Actions later in the Round.

(emphasis mine)


Magic Sword: Peaceful Variation or is Punishment Possible? In a game earlier today I encountered a deviation from the Magic Sword pattern that I haven't been able to find anywhere. Instead of cutting, White seemed to offer a peaceful trade of influence for territory (see the first diagram). I wonder if, as Black, I could have gotten a significantly better outcome.

$$W 7 deviates from the usual Magic Sword
$$ ------------
$$ ...........-
$$ ...........-
$$ .....b7c...-
$$ ...3.a251..-
$$ .......64..-
$$ ...........-
$$ ...........-
$$ ...........-
$$ ...........-
$$ .......,...-
$$ ...........-

I considered playing aggressively at b or c, but couldn't find an outcome I was very happy with. (White had the upper left corner, and I had star point stones in both of the bottom corners.)

Cutting at c, I found a way to get the corner, but it strengthened white on the top and also gave her a strong attack on the right. The double hane at b looked more promising, but I couldn't find a way to kill the corner, and the result just looked like a complicated fight.

In the game I didn't cut and this is how things played out:

$$B Actual game
$$ ------------
$$ ...........-
$$ ...........-
$$ ....42O....-
$$ 6..O31XOO..-
$$ .......XX..-
$$ .....5.....-
$$ ...........-
$$ ...........-
$$ ...........-
$$ .......,...-
$$ .......7...-

White 6 seemed slow to me, and I'm surprised she didn't take the opportunity to play somewhere on the right to negate the wall; I was very happy to play at 7. If White had played 6 on the wide-open right side, I would have felt behind after the corner exchange.


Does the newly implemented Scry Rule change the way we play Magic: the Gathering? At Pro Tour Magic Origins, Wizards decided to implement a new rule, dubbed the Scry Rule. This rule stated that after mulligans (if any) had been taken, any player with fewer cards than the original amount of cards in hand is allowed to scry 1 before the game starts. This rule seemed to be widely praised by many MTG players, and is to be added to the Comprehensive Rulebook come Battle for Zendikar Pre-release.

My questions are, does this make the game more fair for players who take mulligans? Does this somehow give an advantage to a player who decides to mulligan an iffy hand and draws a better, but not stellar, hand?

Most importantly, does this new rule change the general mulligan strategy of MTG?

In general, the mulligan strategy is unchanged: you should mulligan when the expected outcome for a mulligan is better than the expected outcome otherwise. The effect of the new rule is in giving a boost to the expected outcome for a mulligan.

As the rules currently stand (the new scry after mulligan rule will not be implemented until the Battle for Zendikar prerelease), one should mulligan a 7-card hand when the probability of winning is lower than that the expected probability of winning with a random 6-card hand.

Having the option to scry can only improve the probability of winning with a random 6-card hand, because you have the option of leaving the top card on top (yielding the same sequence of draws as if you didn't scry) or putting the top card on the bottom of library (presumably because it is worse than the average card in the deck). Since the expected probability of winning with a random 6-card hand under the new mulligan rule cannot be lower than under the old rule, one would expect more mulligans to take place, because the "cost" of a mulligan is decreased. That is, the threshold for a "bad" 7-card hand is higher than it was before.

Exactly how much better a random 6-card hand gets would depend on the particulars of the deck being played. I would guess that very redundant decks (e.g., burn) would benefit little from the new rule because card advantage is more important, whereas decks the rely on strong synergies (e.g., combo) would benefit more from the improved card selection.


Bridge Scoring: Teams of 8 The English Bridge Union (EBU) Recommends using a modified IMP scale for scoring teams of 8 matches. It is obtained by multiplying the standard IMP scale by √2.

I'm looking for an explanation for why multiplaying by  the square root of 2 is the correct thing to do.

The EBU also specifically recommends against simply adding up the IMP scores from both tables. Why is this a bad scoring method?

The scoring scale can be found here

The goal is to retain the integrity of the table, which is designed to subtly emphasize part-score swings and de-emphasize slam swings relative to game swings. This was adopted when it was realized that total points scoring through the 1920's and 1940's had made part scores almost irrelevant in team play, and games much less relevant than slams.

In order to accomplish this maintenance the various types of swings must be adjusted back to the appropriate range of the conversion table. Consider the case of a vulnerable game swing in teams of four competition:

+620 and +100 => + 720 => 12 IMPS.
+620 and -170 => + 450 => 10 IMPS

Now consider a similar range of results at four tables instead of two:

+620, +620, +100, +100 => +1440 => 16 IMPS, 14 MIMPS
+620, +620, -170, -170 => +900 => 14 IMPS, 12 MIMPS
+620, +170, -170, +100 => +720 => 12 IMPS, 11 MIMPs
+620, +620, -620, -170 => +450 => 10 IMPS, 8 MIMPS

As you can see the MIMP scale successfully keeps the range of results for various flavour of vulnerable game swing centered at 11 (now MIMPS instead of IMPS) rather than having it creep up to 13.

Similar analysis of part-core and both small- and grand-slam swings would again show that the MIMP scale keeps these centered at the appropriate portion of the  table.


When should I lead a trump? In which situations should my opening lead be a trump?

For example, when the opponents have a 4-4 fit, or when I have a singleton etc.?

Whether you should lead a trump depends on the sort of defense you'll want to execute on the hand. Broadly speaking, there are five lines of defense:

A forcing defense (you force declarer to ruff, making them run out of trumps while the defense still has them). This is a reasonable approach when you or partner hold four trumps, declarer is in a 4-3 fit, or declarer is known to have shortness. Leading a trump here is usually fatal.
A ruffing defense (you want to ruff declarer's winners in a side suit). This is a reasonable approach when you or partner are short in a side suit held by opponents. Usually you'll lead a singleton, or an ace in a suit partner holds a singleton in. Leading a trump is usually fatal.
An active defense (you try to take your side-suit winners before declarer can establish a side suit). Against a trump contract, you may take this approach when dummy has shown a long, strong suit, when opponents have shown extras and tried for (or bid) slam, or when you can see that declarer's second suit is breaking. Leading a trump is usually fatal.
A passive defense (you try to make leads that don't give away tricks). Against a trump contract, you may take this approach when you know or suspect that your tricks are safe, as long as you don't give declarer extra opportunities to finesse, create entries in dummy, etc. Leading a trump here is often safe.
Cutting down ruffs (you try to prevent declarer from ruffing tricks in a side suit). This is often right when the auction indicates opponents are in a misfit, or when you have good cards in trumps, or when dummy has shown shortness in a side suit. Leading a trump here is often required.


Scoring Bases in Smash Up On my turn, I had tripped a base so it would score.  The other player played a special card that let him play any action as a special. He chose to play an action card that blocked the base from scoring until his next turn. I have a couple questions in this situation.

Does a base score as soon as it is tripped? Meaning, can he block it from scoring once it's tripped?

I think turn order says that a base scores after a minion and action card are played. Since I only played a minion, could I still play an action card on the tripped base, even after it is tripped? Or once it is tripped, are only special cards allowed?

If normally only special cards are allowed on a tripped base, could I play a regular action card in this situation, since my opponent stopped it from scoring?

Can I trip a base with an action card, wait for it to score and then play a minion on the new base or does scoring the base wait until the end of the turn?

The order of play is:

Play 1 Action and/or 1 Minion, in either order. (And those cards may do other things, including playing additional Actions/Minions.) You and/or your opponent can also play Special cards, if the Special card allows it. (If the Special can only be played "before the base scores", this is not when you can play that card.)
Score bases, if they've gone over the limit. (For each base, everyone can play "before the base scores" Special cards.) Once you start looking at a base to score it, it's going to finish being scored.
Draw 2 cards

So first off, bases will only be scored once you're doing playing all of the Actions/Minions that interest you in a turn. They do not score immediately. (Read the card your opponent played carefully: if it says something along the lines of "play an Action card as if it were a Special card that can be played before scoring", then your opponent played out of turn. If that's the case, he should have taken his card(s) back, allowed you to finish playing cards, and then re-played his card(s). On the other hand, if your opponent's card had much more loose terms, like "play an Action as a Special card", then they're allowed to play their card in the middle of the Action/Minion part of your turn. And then the base quite definitely wouldn't score, because you don't check for base scoring at all during the Action/Minion part of a turn.)

Secondly, once a base starts scoring, the only thing that can possibly stop the scoring/discarding process is a card that explicitly says something along the lines of "this base can't be scored." (Because rules on cards override rules in the rulebook.) If a Special or something reduces the total power at a base to below the threshold, that base still scores, because it had enough power when it began scoring. It's just going to look a little weird: perhaps someone manages to get 5 VP with 4 Power worth of minions, because that was the highest power at the time – or perhaps the base "scores" with no minions on it at all, and nobody gets any VP.

TL:DR

A base does not score as soon as it's tripped; it scores after Actions/Minions and before you draw 2 cards. Only check to see if a base has tripped once you're done with Actions/Minions.
Read your opponent's card very carefully. If it says "...before a base scores", then he played it too early. He needs to take it back and play it later once you're done playing Action/Minion cards.
You can't play an Action/Minion after a base scores, because all Actions/Minions should be done playing before you score any base.
All of the above can be overridden by card text, but the card must be explicit about what it's doing.


Saving throws against Destroyer weapons If your opponent hits one of your models with a D strength weapon, rolls on the table and gets a 'Seriously Wounded' result, then rolls 3 for the number of wounds. How many saving throws do I roll? Is it 1 save for the 1 hit or 3 saves for each of the 3 wounds?

You roll one save against the D hit. That one hit does D3 wounds - it doesn't do D3 hits.


Reaction cards in response to reaction cards Consider this complicated scenario: I'm about to gain a card (Current event reacting to: "would gain a card"), so I reveal Trader.  I gain a silver instead.  Then, I reveal Watchtower (Current event reacting to: "gain a card") and trash the Silver.  Now, I reveal and discard Market Square (Current event reacting to: "one of your cards is trashed") and gain a Gold.  I could even reveal Watchtower again and put the Gold on top.

My question is: how do nested events work?  Does the new event "override" the old one?  For example, when I use Market Square off of Watchtower's trashing, am I no longer "gaining a card?"  Or do triggers happen in layers, so once I'm done using Market Square, and resolving any other "On trash" triggers, I can go back to "gaining a card?"  If so, will I still be able to resolve other effects that trigger off of "gaining a card?"  (For example, I gain Ill-Gotten Gains, Watchtower it to the Trash, use Market Square to gain a Gold, Watchtower that to the top of my deck, then after those resolve, it goes back two layers to "gaining Ill-Gotten Gains," and give everyone else a curse?)

I hope that made sense, I'm just trying to understand how the game handles multiple layers of things reacting and triggering.

The key point is that you're not reacting to the reaction cards. Rather, you're reacting to what happens after those reactions resolve. Thus there is no "going back".

There actually isn't nesting in your examples. This is what should happen for your 2nd paragraph example. I've indented the reactions

Buy Ill-Gotten Gains.
Gain Ill-Gotten Gains.
Other players gain curse (triggered).
    Watchtower: trash Ill-Gotten Gains
Ill-Gotten Gains goes to trash.
    Market Square: discard to gain Gold
Discard Market Square.
Gold gained.
     Watchtower: put gold on top of deck.
Gold goes to top of deck.

There is no nesting; events are purely sequential. The cursing for buying Ill-Gotten Gains should happen as soon as you buy it (think of it like a "triggered event" in MtG if that helps). When you use the Watchtower, you're no longer gaining Ill-Gotten Gains, but your opponents have already taken their curses.

First paragraph example:

Buy a card (say, a Copper).
Would gain Copper*...
    Trader: gain Silver instead
Gain Silver.
    Watchtower: trash Silver
Silver goes to trash.
    Market Square: discard to gain Gold
Discard Market Square.
Gain Gold.
    Watchtower: top-deck card just gained.
Gold goes on top of deck.

Reaction cards are revealed sequentially, and their owner may choose whether to reveal them and in what order. (As the old Isotropic server demonstrated sometimes annoyingly, but very effectively, you can even reveal reaction cards multiple times. You can reveal moat 4 times for the same effect as revealing it once.

This is why, for cards like Horse Traders or Market Square which could have a compounding effect if revealed more than once, using the reaction requires you to remove it from your hand.

Hopefully things will stay sane and the upcoming Guilds expansion won't introduce a reaction card that can be revealed in response to someone else revealing a reaction card. On second thought maybe that would be fun...  Unless that happens though, there's no nesting, just a sequence of reactions.

(*Trader footnote) Note that Trader is special: it's wording is "When you would gain a card," and the Hinterlands rules state explicitly that if something would have happened due to gaining the other card, it does not happen. Thus Trader is like an MtG replacement effect for gaining a card. The original card is never gained. With Watchtower, you gain the original card, then send it to the trash.


What Happens During the Consume Phase In Race for the Galaxy If you have no consume powers? In the basic game of Race for the Galaxy (no expansions), what happens during the consume phase if none of your cards give you any consume powers? Do those goods get consumed anyway without giving you VP's?

No, the goods remain. Goods are only discarded if they are used to invoke a Consume power (or Traded). If you do not have enough Consume powers to use all your goods (or none at all), the goods remain.

Furthermore, although you may not decline to invoke a Consume power, you get to choose what order your Consume powers are invoked in. This may allow you to avoid invoking certain powers by leaving the "wrong" goods left over. For instance, consider this situation: you have a Blue good, a Green good, a Consume power that consumes a Blue good for 1 VP, and a Consume power that consumes any good for 1 VP. If you wanted to, you could activate the first power using the Blue good and the second power using the Green good, and gain 2 VP. However, you could also choose to activate the second power using the Blue good. That leaves you with 1 VP, no remaining powers that can be used, and a Green good left over. As the rulebook puts it (p. 6):

  Consumption is mandatory. However, consume powers can be invoked in any desired order, even if this results in some unconsumed goods left over that could have been consumed with a different order (due to their kinds not matching the player’s remaining unused consume powers).


How does ignoring the first retreat flag work? In Memoir '44, if an infantry unit is surrounded by sandbags, the rules state that the unit "may ignore the first flag rolled against it." I can come up with two interpretations that seem to have very different implications of the power of a sandbagged unit:

In order to force a retreat you must roll two flags during one attack (e.g., roll two dice, get two flags, the unit retreats). Sandbagged units are nearly impossible to force a retreat without resorting to using certain tactic cards.
You can roll one flag on one turn, then on a subsequent turn you may roll another (single) flag, and this forces the sandbagged unit to retreat. Sandbagged units are still difficult to force away, but not nearly as bad as (1).

What is the correct interpretation?

Quite literally, ignoring the first flag means that flag is a "no effect." It is measured per roll.
So, in order to force a retreat, an  a sandbagged unit or unit in a bunker that ignores a flag must have two or more flags rolled against it in order to force its retreat (or additional hits if it can't retreat).
Support for this view is in Richard Borg's FAQ dated 4/15/05

Q. For artillery in bunkers, flags are treated as a hit. Do they still ignore the first flag?
A. Yes, Bunkers (page 16)
Basically an artillery unit in a bunker may not retreat. Therefore it must lose one figure for each
retreat move that cannot be completed. But like all other units in a bunker hex, it may ignore the
first flag rolled against it. In other words, it takes two flags to make one hit, and three flags to make
two hits.

Note that the bunker allows ignoring the first flag... but artillery can not retreat from a bunker, so flags on bunkered arty are hits, not retreats.


Can a resource card be used more than once in a turn when allowed to build more than one structure? Scenario:

Player is using Babylon (side B)
2nd wonder has been completed (allows playing last card of each age instead of discarding)
Player has a Mine in play (can produce either Stone or Ore)
Player has no other way to produce Stone or Ore and no money to purchase from a neighbor
It is the 6th turn of Age I
Player has a Barracks and a Baths in hand (resource cost of one Ore and one Stone, respectively)

Can the player play both Barracks and Baths?

The 2nd wonder allows the player to play both the Barracks and Baths (assuming he can pay the costs), instead of having to discard one. The Mine can produce both resources, but the rules regarding cards that can produce more than one type of resource state:

  the player can use one OR the other resource to build a structure (or a wonder phase) but NOT both in a given turn.

Both cards would be played in the 6th turn, so it would seem that the player cannot use the Mine to pay the cost of each card. However, is the limitation on using resource cards only once per turn really meant to be once per construction?

This question really applies to any resource producing card, not just the multi-resource producing cards. It was just simpler to explain this way, and the issue is more fuzzy due to the specific prohibition on multi-resouce producing cards being used more than once in a turn.

The consensus opinion, based on asking the games' creators how situations such as these were intended to be resolved (see this BGG thread), is that you should treat Babylon's "play last card of each age" power as, in effect, a 7th and separate turn.  If you do, then naturally you would be able to use your resources once per build, not have to divide them between the last two cards.

I think this is definitely the way to go, just for pragmatic reasons: Babylon's power seems pretty poor if you have to pay for your last two cards in an Age with one set of resources.  It's hard enough to buy one card with the resources available in the final stages of the game - buying two at once would be an almost impossible feat!


Identify board game on 4x4 board with 8 black and 8 white pieces Staying in an old farmhouse in France we have found this game.

There is a 4x4 board with 8 black and 8 white pieces. Does anyone know what this game is called and more importantly how to play it.

That looks like a set of Quarto to me. There are eight dark/eight light pieces, eight tall/eight short pieces, eight round/eight square pieces and eight pointed/eight flat pieces. Usually the fourth attribute is hollow/solid, but the game works in exactly the same way with pointed/flat.

To play the game start with all the pieces off the board, and the first player chooses a piece for the second to place. After it's placed, the second player chooses a piece for the first player to place. Play alternates in this way until a player places a piece that creates a set of four in a straight line that all share a characteristic (e.g. four round pieces in a row). The first player to make four in a row wins.


Watchtower when someone uses a Masquerade As a reaction card, Watchtower can be revealed whenever you gain a card.

Does this apply to the card you receive from other players during a Masquerade?

No.  A passed card is not considered a gained card.

From the Intrigue rulebook:

  “Pass” – when a player passes a card to another player, he places that card face down on the table between himself and the other player. The receiving player then takes the card from the table and puts it in his hand. A passed card is not revealed to the other players. A passed card is not considered to be trashed or discarded by the player passing it and it is not considered to be gained by the player receiving it.


Is Axis and Allies 1940 Balanced without National Objectives? In Axis and Allies 1940 (Europe/Pacific/Global), what is the game effect of ignoring most or all of the National Objectives (bonus income) and simply not playing with them.  This reduces complexity and the need to constantly reference rules, but does it significantly unbalance the game?

Do any changes need to be implemented to make removal of the objectives balanced?  For example, if you feel the Allied objectives are easy and the Axis ones hard, maybe the balancing change is the give the Allies +10 IPCs each per turn instead of their objectives.

First, it is not particularly clear that A&A 1940 was balanced WITH all the rules - the changes in the second edition (unless you were referencing that) do in most people's opinions contribute to balance (VCs for Axis and setup changes).

Even with that, though, the NOs do contribute to game balance pretty greatly. Note that they are not symmetric - the US for instance purely gains income when at war, whereas Germany has both peace and wartime NOs. The loss of US and Soviet extra income will definitely be detrimental to their cause. Replacing NOs with free income is a reasonable idea, especially given how nebulous NO "hardness" is, but make sure to not just add it all the time - add NO income when appropriate (when at war, with who, etc).


What is "summoning sickness" and how does it affect my creatures? Note: this is intended to be a canonical question about summoning sickness.

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

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

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

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

Summoning Sickness
"Summoning Sickness" is simply the name for rule 302.6:

A creature's activated ability with the tap symbol [{T}] or the untap symbol [{Q}] in its activation cost can't be activated unless the creature has been under its controller's control continuously since his or her most recent turn began. A creature can't attack unless it has been under its controller's control continuously since his or her most recent turn began. This rule is informally called the "summoning sickness" rule.

It is not a status or effect on a creature. It is simply a rule that restricts how you can use a creature that just entered play.
In other words
Which creatures are affected?
Rule 302.6 only checks for two things:

The permanent is a creature
It doesn't matter how the creature entered the battlefield or whether it's represented by a card or a token. It also doesn't matter when it became a creature; it's still the same permanent when it changes types.

It was not under your control continuously since the beginning of your most recent turn.
This just means that if, at any time since the beginning of your most recent turn, you did not control the creature, then it has summoning sickness.

Example: During your turn, you cast a Grizzly Bears. Once it is on the battlefield, it is affected by summoning sickness until the beginning of your next turn
Example: You control a Quicksilver Amulet, an artifact with the ability "{4}, {T}: You may put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield." You activate it and put a Grizzly Bears onto the battlefield. That Grizzly Bears is affected by summoning sickness until the beginning of your next turn
Example: You cast Krenko's Command, which has the text "Create two 1/1 red Goblin creature tokens." Those goblin tokens are affected by summoning sickness until the beginning of your next turn
Example: You cast Entrancing Melody targeting an opponent's Grizzly Bears. After Entrancing Melody resolves and you control the Grizzly Bears, it is affected by summoning sickness until the beginning of your next turn
Example: You cast Sky Skiff, and later in the same turn, you activate its Crew ability. After the Crew ability resolves, the Sky Skiff is affected by summoning sickness
Example: You control a Sky Skiff at the beginning of your turn. During that turn you activate its Crew ability. After the crew ability resolves, the Sky Skiff is not affected by summoning sickness
How are those creatures affected?
Rule 302.6 only prevents the creatures it affects from doing 3 things:

Attacking
Specifically, the creature cannot be declared as an attacker during your combat phase. It can still block, fight, or be put onto the battlefield attacking.

Activating their own abilities with the tap symbol {T} in the cost

Activating their own abilities with the untap symbol {Q} in the cost

Summoning sickness does not prevent you from paying other costs, even if they involve tapping the creature. It also does not prevent you from activating abilities without {T} or {Q} in the cost. And it has no effect on other kinds of abilities, like static or triggered abilities.
Example: You control Loam Dryad, a creature with the ability "{T}, Tap an untapped creature you control: Add one mana of any color." You can only activate this ability if Loam Dryad is unaffected by summoning sickness, but you can tap any other creature you control to pay for the ability, even if the other creature is affected by summoning sickness
Example: You control Heritage Druid, an elf creature with the ability "Tap three untapped Elves you control: Add {G}{G}{G}". You can tap any three elves you control, including Heritage Druid itself, to activate the ability, whether or not any of them are affected by summoning sickness
Haste
There is a single exception to this rule: Haste. The rules for Haste say the following:

702.10a Haste is a static ability.
702.10b If a creature has haste, it can attack even if it hasn’t been controlled by its controller continuously since his or her most recent turn began. (See rule 302.6.)
702.10c If a creature has haste, its controller can activate its activated abilities whose cost includes the tap symbol or the untap symbol even if that creature hasn’t been controlled by that player continuously since his or her most recent turn began. (See rule 302.6.)
702.10d Multiple instances of haste on the same creature are redundant.

In short, if a creature has haste, it can ignore rule 302.6.
Note that Suspend, Unearth, Dash, Awaken, and Riot can grant Haste. At the time of this writing, no other keyword abilities do. In particular, Flash does not grant Haste.

Specific Cases
Does status matter?
For reference, the rule describing status is rule 110.6:

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

A creature's status is independent of summoning sickness. In other words, if a creature enters the battlefield tapped or face down, it is still affected by summoning sickness like normal. And if the status changes, it's still the same creature, so you still just have to check whether you controlled the creature since your turn started to determine whether it's affected.
Conversely, summoning sickness does not affect a creature's status. Being summoning sick does not change whether a creature is tapped vs. untapped or face up vs. face down.
What if it's a creature with another card type?
Then it is affected by summoning sickness, just like any other creature. The summoning sickness rule only checks whether the permanent is a creature. It doesn't check that it is not any other type.
A special mention should be made for Dryad Arbor. Because it is a Forest, it has an intrinsic ability (see rule 305.6) that says

"{T}: Add {G} to your mana pool"

Since that ability has {T} in the cost, you cannot activate it as long as Dryad Arbor is affected by summoning sickness.
What if it's a double-faced card that just transformed?
Rule 711 describes how double-faced cards work, and 711.7 says

When a double-faced permanent transforms, it doesn't become a new object. Any effects that applied to that permanent will continue to apply to it after it transforms.

For the purposes of this question, that means that when a creature transforms, it is only affected by summoning sickness if it was affected before it transformed.
What if it's a copy of another creature?
If creature A enters the battlefield as a copy of creature B, then creature A is affected by summoning sickness, like any other creature that just entered the battlefield. (This is true even if it's a token.)
If creature A becomes a copy of creature B, then it is only affected by summoning sickness if it would have been affected before it became a copy. It doesn't matter whether creature B was affected by summoning sickness. This is analogous to the "transform" case: the creature's characteristics change, but it's still the same object that it was before it changed.
Rule 706.2 says, in part

The "copiable values" are the values derived from the text printed on the object (that text being name, mana cost, color indicator, card type, subtype, supertype, rules text, power, toughness, and/or loyalty), as modified by other copy effects, by its face-down status, and by “as . . . enters the battlefield” and "as . . . is turned face up" abilities that set power and toughness (and may also set additional characteristics). Other effects (including type-changing and text-changing effects), status, and counters are not copied.

Importantly, summoning sickness is not mentioned here, and neither is anything that rule 302.6 checks for except type. If the copy isn't a creature, it is not affected by summoning sickness.


Can I kill and revive the same creature with Betrayal of Flesh entwined? Betrayal of Flesh reads

  Choose one — Destroy target creature; or return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield.

  Entwine—Sacrifice three lands. (Choose both if you pay the entwine cost.)

If I cast it with entwine, can I target the same creature with the first half (while it is on the battlefield) and the second half (when it is in the graveyard)? Or do I pick the target for the second half before the first half resolves?

No. All targets are picked as part of casting the spell. The spell resolves and places the creature in the graveyard far later.


settlers of catan expansion: Can I trade with the bank during the special building phase? Can I trade four of a kind to the bank on my special building phase?

No, trading with the bank even with your ports (2:1, 3:1) is not allowed.
If that rule did not exist, it would be very unlikely to have more than 7 cards in your hand.

Taken from the rules (http://www.catan.com/files/downloads/settlers_5-6_rv_rules_100107.pdf):

  • Special Building Phase – Your opponents may build as outlined below. The Special Building Phase occurs just after the end of your turn (i.e., between player turns). All the other players may participate in the Special Building Phase. Each player then takes his turn clockwise around the table, and is allowed to build anything he can create with his resources. 3 Note that no player is allowed to play Development Cards during the Special Building Phase. Also note that players are not allowed to do any trading with other players—nor are they allowed to use Maritime Trade—during this phase. They may only use the resources they have in their hands. For this reason, players are advised to trade as much, and as advantageously, as possible with the current player during his trading phase. They will then have the resources they need to build during the Special Building Phase. The Special Building Phase is an opportunity for all the other players (who are not currently taking their turn) to build roads, settlements, and cities, and/or to buy Development Cards. This phase allows each player to influence the game, even though it is not his turn!


Creating a copy of a creature with "entering the battlefield" abilities The other day, while playing, my friend triggered Glimmervoid Basin, which gives each player a token which is a copy of a targeted creature (except the creature's owner). He chose to copy the Noggle Hedge-Mage, which has two enters-the-battlefield abilities. The question is: when these copies are generated, do they trigger the enter-the-battlefield abilities? Do token-copies "enter the battlefield?"

Yes, the enter-the-battlefield ability will trigger.

  701.6a To create one or more tokens with certain characteristics, put the specified number of tokens with the specified characteristics onto the battlefield.

When a token is created, it enters the battlefield. In the case of Glimmervoid Basin, the token's characteristics are defined by the creature it is copying, which includes any abilities it has.

  706.2. When copying an object, the copy acquires the copiable values of the original object’s characteristics [...] The “copiable values” are the values derived from the text printed on the object (that text being name, mana cost, color indicator, card type, subtype, supertype, rules text, power, toughness, and/or loyalty), as modified by other copy effects, by its face-down status, and by “as . . . enters the battlefield” and “as . . . is turned face up” abilities that set power and toughness (and may also set additional characteristics). Other effects (including type-changing and text-changing effects), status, and counters are not copied.


In Monopoly Deal, does the rent apply to a whole group or each card individually? If a property specifies 2, 4 and 7 millions for 1, 2 and 3 properties respectively - do I calculate the rent owed once per property group (ie. 4 millions for 2 properties) or individually for each property (ie. 2x4 millions for 2 properties)?

I would say it's the former but I'm not a 100% sure.

Once per property group.

Looking at the rules, there are two columns, "No of properties owned in set" and "Rent".  That can't be parsed to allow you to collect twice if you have 2 of a color, sorry!


Do blocking creatures heal back to full between phases? I am new to MTG and this has been bothering me. Say I use any spell on my 1st main phase to deal 1 damage to my opponenent's 2/5 creature.

If I attack him during the combat phase of the same turn with a 4/3 creature and he blocks me using that 2/5 I previously did 1 damage to, will my 4/3 creature kill it, or his creature would have "healed" up between phases?

It will be destroyed. All damage done to the creature in most cases stays until the very end of the turn (cleanup step).

  119.6. Damage marked on a creature remains until the cleanup step, even if that permanent stops being a creature. If the total damage marked on a creature is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed as a state-based action (see rule 704). All damage marked on a permanent is removed when it regenerates (see rule 701.12, “Regenerate”) and during the cleanup step (see rule 514.2).


Settlers Of Catan 5-6 Expansion If I purchase the Settlers of Catan 5-6 Expansion, is there a playable version of the game for only 4 people?

Yes. You can always just use the base game and leave out the pieces from the 5-6 player expansion.

Note that the 5-6 player expansion is just that: an expansion. It requires the original game in order to play it.


Survival of Live Groups in the game of Go In go, does a live group with 2 eyes survive being surrounded by the other players stones or are the stones in that live group dead?

If I invade my opponent's surrounded territory with just 1 stone, does my opponent have to play 3 stones to remove me? If I am not removed he is no longer surrounding the territory because my 1 stone means the territory is not surrounded entirely by my opponent's stones.

A group with two true eyes (not "false eyes") is and remains alive even if surrounded by the other player, and cannot be captured by an sequence of moves by the other player. That is what being a "living group" means.

An invading stone that is not able to be included in a living group will be considered dead at the end of the game, and its stone will be treated as having been captured. If black invades a white group and white must answer each move to prevent black from creating a living group, then the net score will be unchanged. If white can safely leave black's plays unanswered without black being able to form a living group, black will lose a point for each such move. But if white is in error and black can make a living group, or cut off a white group and connect to a living group, black will make significant profit.

If the players do not agree on whether a group is alive or not, play is not over; if the disagreement is only discovered while scoring, play is resumed to settle the status of the group(s) in question.


Is it possible to pick a vehicle as your commander? I'm making a commander deck, I've never played or deckbuilded in this game mode.
I've run across the Parhelion II card and I was wondering if it could be my commander. I know it's not a creature, but since planeswalkers can be commanders, I don't know if the vehicles can or can't be used as commander.

Nope, it can't be used as a commander. And for the record, most planeswalker can't be used either; only those who explicitly state that they can. It's stated that way in the Comprehensive Rules:

  903.3. Each deck has a legendary creature card designated as its commander. This designation is not a characteristic of the object represented by the card; rather, it is an attribute of the card itself. The card retains this designation even when it changes zones.
  Example: A commander that’s been turned face down (due to Ixidron’s effect, for example) is still a commander. A commander that’s copying another card (due to Cytoshape’s effect, for example) is still a commander. A permanent that’s copying a commander (such as a Body Double, for example, copying a commander in a player’s graveyard) is not a commander.

  903.3a Some planeswalker cards have an ability that states the card can be your commander. This ability modifies the rules for deck construction, and it functions before the game begins. See also rule 113.6m.

Of course, Commander is a casual format, so if your playgroup likes your idea of a Parhelion II Commander deck, they might allow it as a house rule.


How do two Doubling Seasons affect each other? If an effect would put one 1/1 creature token onto the battlefield, and I control two Doubling Seasons, how many tokens would be put into play? 3 or 4?

Four tokens will enter the battlefield. This is actually spelled out in a Ruling on Doubling Season:

  10/1/2005: If there are two Doubling Seasons on the battlefield, then the number of tokens or counters is four times the original number. If there are three on the battlefield, then the number of tokens or counters is eight times the original number, and so on.

For reference, the token ability says:

  If an effect would put one or more tokens onto the battlefield under your control, it puts twice that many of those tokens onto the battlefield instead.

This is a replacement effect, so rather than merely responding to the effect that places a 1/1 creature token onto the battlefield (and adding one more), it completely replaces that effect with a new one that places twice as many tokens onto the battlefield. So it works out like this:

The first Doubling Season will replace the original effect, which places 1 token, with one that places 2 tokens instead.
The second Doubling Season will then replace that effect with one that places 4 tokens.
When your effect finally puts tokens on the battlefield, you get 4 1/1 tokens.


How does Dreadhorde Arcanist interact with split cards? If I have a Dreadhorde Arcanist with a +1/+1 counter and a Collision // Colossus in my graveyard, what can I do? Can I play one of the split cards, neither or both?

If I play Colossus on a Dreadhorde Arcanist and attack with it targeting Collision / Colossus, can I play both or only one of them?

If the case is that I can play only one, can I spend mana to play the second?

708.4. In every zone except the stack, the characteristics of a split card are those of its two halves combined. This is a change from previous rules.
708.4b The mana cost of a split card is the combined mana costs of its two halves. A split card’s colors and converted mana cost are determined from its combined mana cost.
Example: Assault/Battery’s mana cost is {3}{R}{G}. It’s a red and green card with a converted mana cost of 5. If you cast Assault, the resulting spell is a red spell with a converted mana cost of 1.

So Collision / Colossus has a converted mana cost of 4 and you won't be able to cast it in the first scenario when the Arcanist is a 2/4.

708.3. A player chooses which half of a split card they are casting before putting it onto the stack.

So in the second scenario, where the Arcanist is a 5/5, you can cast either Collision or Colossus, but not both.
There's no way to cast both halves, not by paying extra mana and not even when it's a Fuse split card, because that ability only works when the card is in your hand:

702.101. Fuse
702.101a Fuse is a static ability found on some split cards (see rule 708, “Split Cards”) that applies while the card with fuse is in a player’s hand. If a player casts a split card with fuse from their hand, the player may choose to cast both halves of that split card rather than choose one half. This choice is made before putting the split card with fuse onto the stack. The resulting spell is a fused split spell.


What's the most valuable Avalon Hill wargame? From a collector's point of view, what is the most valuable wargame published by Avalon Hill?

I'm not interested so much in prices as in knowing if there's a "Holy Grail" in Avalon Hill's wargames catalog before the Hasbro purchase.

I looked in eBay listings and BoardGameGeek, but not being all wargames available for sale, it's hard to get the whole picture.

Prices vary somewhat naturally, especially if you find a motivated seller, or desparate buyer!  In general, prices are pretty stable and slowly creep up over time.  A reprint can drop prices quickly, but most of the below have difficult rights situations and are unlikely to see full reprints (AoR had a foreign release a while ago).

Games are valuable if they are still played, or weren't printed in enough quantity, preferably both....

Currently, my top 5:

$500 - Star Wars: The Queen's Gambit
$300 - Advanced Civilization
$250 - Axis & Allis Anniversary Edition
$200 - Dune
$150 - Age of Renaissance


Brink of Disaster timing Brink of Disaster says:

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

If you enchant something like Shrine of Burning Rage, and it's owner goes to tap and sacrifice it, would Brink of Disaster trigger before the sacrifice, or is the cost for the Shrine paid all at once?

You pay all the costs during the activation of an ability, as an action that doesn't use the stack.

After the Shrine's ability has gone on the stack, Brink of Disaster's trigger will go on the stack on top of it (meaning it will resolve first). There's no permanent for it to destroy, though.


Looking for a card game about auerochs I remember playing a card game I'd like to find and buy, but I don't remember the exact name.

It is a game which we played with its own special-design deck. The cards have numbers going up to a bit above 100 (maybe 111?) and points represented by a few auerochs heads. A few special cards have unusually many auerochs heads.

I don't remember the exact rules, but I know that there are three piles laid on the table. The players have to discard cards from their hand onto the piles, with the number of the card played (and maybe also the pile size?) Constraining the cards which can be played, determining on which pile the card must land, and also whether a player has to take a pile as a kind of trick. At the end, the player with the fewest auerochs in his tricks wins. I think there might have been drawing of cards from a face down pile too, but not sure about that.

I remember it as a very dynamic game with simple rules and little wiggle room (once you choose a card to play, many events follow automatically) but at the same time lots of fun. There is no obvious winning strategy, and the ranking can change up to the very end.

I can't say if the game absolutely required the special deck, or If it could have been a modern redesign of a traditional 104 + some jokers card game, but it looked more like an independent design (no obvious relation to sous or traditional card values). It was in German, I can't say if originally produced in Germany. Search for additions card games only returns references to magic cards.

Can anybody help me identify it?

I think you're talking about one of the following:

Take 5
Take 10
6 Nimmt!
11 Nimmt!
Category 5
Hornochsen

All are variations on the same theme, so take your pick.


What advantage do I get from attaching something to my house card? In Game of Thrones The Card Game, some cards say that they can be played as an attachment to the house card instead of being played as a location. What are the advantages to this?

One way makes it an attachment, the other makes it a location.  Which way you would want to play it depends on what your opponent is likely to be able to do.  If they can discard attachments (such as with the card Bought and Paid For), you would want to play it as a location.  If they can get rid of locations, play it as an attachment.

The choice just makes the card flexible.


Tactic cards in combat in Warhammer: Invasion Look at the following combat scenario:

Both players had counted their forces strength and assigned the damage to opponents forces (assigned but not yet applied)
Now according to the rules players can play Tactics cards (as in between every other combat phases).

The question is: can one player play now the tactics card that will give him extra strength? The damage has been assigned already and having this ability would move the game back to previous phase (damage assignment) but the rule book doesn't clarify this subject.

The rules don't state anywhere that you can roll back to a previous phase, and the core rules and FAQ don't explicitly cover this scenario.

I would say that while you can play a card that gives him extra strength, there will be no net effect since damage has already been applied, and once damage is applied, that's it.


Will "enter the battlefield" triggers happen if I gain control of an opponent's creature? If I gain control of my opponent's creature (a Ravenous Chupacabra, for instance), does that creature's "enter the battlefield" trigger happen again?

No.  Taking control of your opponent's creature will not trigger an "enters the battlefield" ability.
The glossary section of the Comprehensive Rules defines "Enters the Battlefield" as follows (emphasis mine):

Enters the Battlefield
A nontoken permanent “enters the battlefield” when it’s moved onto the battlefield from another zone. A token “enters the battlefield” when it’s created. See rules 403.3, 603.6a, 603.6d, and 614.12.

In your example, the Ravenous Chupacabra was already on the battlefield.  Changing its controller does not cause it to change zones (i.e. it never leaves the battlefield) so the creature does not "enter the battlefield."


Is the Elder God Health affected by the number of board expansions in play? We have been playing that the number of board expansions does not effect the successes required to defeat the elder god, as it does not seem in the spirit of the rule.  The rules seem to back this up but do not explicitly state it.

Successes Required to Defeat the Elder God:
When the Elder God wakes the number of successes is set to the number of Players(I take this to mean agents if some players are playing more then 1) times the number of spaces elder gods doom track.

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

I'm of the same mindset. The final battle's difficulty shouldn't change based on how many boards there were to run around on; the battle isn't any harder because there was more space to run around on, things to get done, etc. There's just as many opportunities to gain weapons and spells, why should the fight be any harder? There was a thread on this topic on the Fantasy Flight messages boards some time ago, but I can't seem to find it.

Edit: Here we go! From the Kevin Wilson answers thread on the forum.

  [KH] 10. While using Kingsport and Dunwich together you count the # of Investigators as one less for monster limit, outskirts, etc. due to there being so much ground to cover. I take it this does not apply to the number of successes needed to remove a doom token in the final battle? (06/13/08)
  Correct. Otherwise the final fight would be a lot easier than intended.

  -Kevin Wilson
  Fantasy Flight Games


How do I decapitate the enemy force? I ran across a critique of the game Diskwars that I did not quite follow.
"There was an easy way to basically teleport a good unit to the far side of the battlefield, then decapitate the enemy force on their starting line."

What creatures/spells make this possible?

I think in this case, that the phrasing "decapitate" is more a metaphor than an actual skill. I haven't found a unit that has a skill named that, so I don't think that is the case.

Additional, i dont fully agree with the claim. Yes, you could to some heavy start nuking with some combos, but then it's a question of counterplaying it in your own lineup.

A lineup poised on striking fast and hard often have little room if they dont succeed in that first strike.

Having said that, some characters and units in Diskwars ARE a bit out of balance, but that's just my opinion.


Does a countered spell still target? I have a Phantasmal Dragon in play. My opponent casts Unsummon on it. In response, I cast Cancel on the Unsummon. Do I sacrifice my Phantasmal Dragon because it was the target of the Unsummon, or does countering the Unsummon make it's targeting invalid?

It was still targeted.

You choose targets as part of the process of casting a spell, which has to happen before a spell can be countered. And the moment you have chosen something as a target, it has been targeted.


When do copied abilities on a creature go away? If I have a Phantasmal Image that enters the battlefield copying the abilities of another creature, when does that creature stop having the abilities of the copy?

When it enters the graveyard, do "when this creature enters the graveyard" effects occur?
If I copy a creature with scavenge, can I scavenge my Phantasmal Image after it has died?

It will keep its abilities as long as it doesn't leave the battlefield. When it leaves the battlefiel, it is considered a 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 seven exceptions to this rule:

  400.7a Effects from spells, activated abilities, and triggered abilities that change the characteristics of a permanent spell on the
  stack continue to apply to the permanent that spell becomes.

  400.7b Prevention effects that apply to damage from a permanent spell on the stack continue to apply to damage from the permanent that spell
  becomes.

  400.7c If an ability of a permanent requires information about choices made as that permanent was cast as a spell, including what mana was
  spent to cast that spell, it uses information about the spell that
  became that permanent as it resolved.

  400.7d Abilities that trigger when an object moves from one zone to another (for example, “When Rancor is put into a graveyard from the
  battlefield”) can find the new object that it became in the zone it
  moved to when the ability triggered, if that zone is a public zone.

  400.7e Abilities of Auras that trigger when the enchanted permanent leaves the battlefield can find the new object that Aura became in its
  owner’s graveyard if it was put into that graveyard at the same time
  the enchanted permanent left the battlefield. It can also find the new
  object that Aura became in its owner’s graveyard as a result of being
  put there as a state-based action for not being attached to a
  permanent. (See rule 704.5n.)

  400.7f If an effect grants a nonland card an ability that allows it to be cast, that ability will continue to apply to the new object that
  card became after it moved to the stack as a result of being cast this
  way.

  400.7g A resolving spell or activated ability can perform actions on an object that moved from one zone to another while that spell was
  being cast or that ability was being activated, if that object moved
  to a public zone.

Therefore, in the graveyard, it won't be a copy anymore, so you can't scavenge it.

Leaves-the-battlefield triggered abilities will work, because the game looks for the characteristics of the object on the battlefield. For example, persist will work.

  603.6c Leaves-the-battlefield abilities trigger when a permanent moves from the battlefield to another zone, or when a phased-in permanent
  leaves the game because its owner leaves the game. These are written
  as, but aren’t limited to, “When [this object] leaves the battlefield,
  . . .” or “Whenever [something] is put into a graveyard from the
  battlefield, . . . .” An ability that attempts to do something to the
  card that left the battlefield checks for it only in the first zone
  that it went to. An ability that triggers when a card is put into a
  certain zone “from anywhere” is never treated as a
  leaves-the-battlefield ability, even if an object is put into that
  zone from the battlefield.

  603.6d Normally, objects that exist immediately after an event are checked to see if the event matched any trigger conditions. Continuous
  effects that exist at that time are used to determine what the trigger
  conditions are and what the objects involved in the event look like.
  However, some triggered abilities must be treated specially.
  Leaves-the-battlefield abilities, abilities that trigger when a
  permanent phases out, abilities that trigger when an object that all
  players can see is put into a hand or library, abilities that trigger
  specifically when an object becomes unattached, abilities that trigger
  when a player loses control of an object, and abilities that trigger
  when a player planeswalks away from a plane will trigger based on
  their existence, and the appearance of objects, prior to the event
  rather than afterward. The game has to “look back in time” to
  determine if these abilities trigger.

However, remember that abilities like the one in Emrakul, the Aeons Torn are not Leaves-the-battlefield abilities, because they tigger when the permanent is put on the graveyard from anywhere, not only from the battlefield. Therefore, that ability won't work if you copy Emrakul.


Why do some people use fetchlands in mono-colored decks? This is a list of a competitive deck that uses fetchlands in a mono-colored deck: Goblin 8 Whackers.

I don't see the reason someone might build something like this, aside from a slight bluffing that you might be using another color aside from your main one.

Is there an advantage to losing one life and fetching a mountain? Maybe to shuffle your deck?

One reason is that it thins your deck.

It is generally known that smaller decks work better than larger decks, which is why almost everyone uses the smallest legal size of 60 in constructed.

Cards that draw you cards when you play them (cantrips such as Gitaxian Probe) turn your 60 card deck into an effectively 59 card deck. Fetchlands do the same thing. After using a fetchland, you have removed a card from your library.

Note that unlike "draw a card", searching for a land specifically removes a land from your library. This means that you are more likely to draw a non-land card after you have used a Fetchland. So it effectively changes the land to non-land ratio of your deck slightly.

So the deck in the example has 19 lands. If they were all Mountains, then after you play your first mountain (pretending you had 0 cards in hand or anywhere else), you would have a 18 out of 59 chance that the top card of your library is another Mountain. If instead you play a Bloodstained Mire first, and use it, then after that you have a 17 out of 58 chance that the top card of your deck is a Mountain. More chance of drawing non-lands instead.

In that particular deck, the loss of life is not very relevant; that type of deck is hoping to win the game before the opponent can deal 16 or so damage to you. So having 20 life instead of 16 isn't going to save you. In a different type of deck, they might use Evolving Wilds or Terramorphic Expanse instead. They have the same deck-thinning effect, but instead of losing life, you would lose tempo because the fetched lands enter play tapped.


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

Generally speaking, no points are granted for expanding to an island.

That said, some of the scenarios have a special rule that grant points for expanding to an island. For example, scenarios 1, 4, 8 and 9 have the following special rule:

  If you build a settlement on a foreign island, you receive a
  Special Victory Point! Take a Catan chit and place it under the
  settlement when you build it. Each player may earn only ONE
  Special Victory Point in this scenario. It does not matter if
  other players have already built settlements on that island.

In those scenarios, every player that builds on an island other than the one on which they started gets 1 bonus point, but only the first time they do so.


Can you exchange items with another player, or can you only give items to another player on your turn? The rules on page 11 under Use Item and Omen Cards say that one of the things an explorer can do once is

  Trade an item to another explorer in the same room (assuming you both agree).

Does this mean to give an item to anther player, or does it mean to exchange one item for one item?  I would have expected the wording to simply be give if they had meant that, but the phrasing 'trade to' versus saying 'trade with' throws me.

The updated rulebook states (on page 7, under that same heading "Using Items and Omen Cards") that an item can be given, dropped, or picked up. This is much clearer: the other player can't give you an item if it isn't their turn. (During the Haunt, you may attack an opponent to steal an item in lieu of doing damage, as long as you would have inflicted 2 or more damage. But that's not what you're talking about.)

On a side note, the FAQ clarifies that each item is only going to have something happen to/with it once per player turn. So you can't both use and give a weapon to repeatedly attack with it when you have a pile of Heroes wailing on a monster.

  For each item, during a turn an explorer or monster that can carry items may only perform one of the following actions: use the item, give the item to another explorer, drop the item, steal the item, or pick up the item. Using the item means making any attack or roll or other action in which the item is involved in any way.


Why is there no black dragon in Mahjong? A pretty simple question to which I haven't been able to find an explanation (if there is one). The Mahjong set contains red/green dragons, and a white dragon, but no complementary black dragon. I was just curious if there's a reason behind this, since the black dragon is usually associated with bad things. But on the other hand, it's pretty weird to see the Yin without the Yang.

The simplest answer is that the "Dragon" tiles are more of a triplet, and not a pair.

This is pretty clear when using one of their Chinese names 三元牌 or Three Fundamental Tiles,
the name "Dragons" was added by Joseph Babcock when introducing the game to America (he also mistakenly named the 索子 suit bamboo).
When translating the game Babcock should probably have stuck with the most common name, Arrow tiles.

The White Dragon was the first of the set added to the game, originally using replacement tiles (fully blank) as it's representative; it was only once the Red Dragon, and then later Green Dragon tiles (~20 years) had been added that the White received additional markings to differentiate it from other replacement tiles.


How may it be possible to win and lose the game simultaneously? Take the following rule.

  104.3f If a player would both win and lose the game simultaneously, that player loses the game.

How is it possible to do this, has there been a documented case of this happening?

The rule exists "just in case". It is not actually possible to win and lose at the same time under current rules and with current cards.

Ways to win/lose a game

The rules define all the ways to win and lose a game:

  104.2a A player still in the game wins the game if that player’s opponents have all left the game. This happens immediately and overrides all effects that would preclude that player from winning the game.

Since you can't lose the game when this rules makes you win, it's irrelevant to the question.

  104.2b An effect may state that a player wins the game.

  104.2c In a multiplayer game between teams, a team with at least one player still in the game wins the game if all other teams have left the game. Each player on the winning team wins the game, even if one or more of those players had previously lost that game.

  104.2d In an Emperor game, a team wins the game if its emperor wins the game. (See rule 809.5.)

It doesn't explicitely say so, but "have left the game" is the same wording as in 104.2a, so I would assume the same restriction about not being able to lose the game  also applies. Either way, I don't see how this could be exploited to create a "win/lose at the same time" situation. As for Emperor games, if a single player can't win and lose at the same time, the team that player is on can't either, so it's not relevant to the question either.

  104.3a A player can concede the game at any time. A player who concedes leaves the game immediately. That player loses the game.

No way to concede and win at the same time.

  104.3b - 104.3d

The 3 state-based actions that make a player lose the game. There are more state-based actions for team games and special game modes that make a player/team lose.

  104.3e An effect may state that a player loses the game.

So in summary, the only times when a player can win/lose the game are the result of a state-based action, the resolution of a spell, or when a player concedes, the last of which can have no other result than one player losing. Only state-based actions and spell/ability resolutions are potential sources of win and loss at the same time.

You can not win and lose the game at the same time

Two events that make a player win or lose happening at the same time means they all have to happen during a single state-based actions check, or they have to happen during the resolution of a single spell or ability. Events in any other situation are not simultaneous.

State-base actions can only make a player lose, rule 704.5:

player has zero life or less
10 or more poison counters on a player
player attempted to draw from empty library
several other ways to lose the game in multiplayer or special game modes such as Commander

There are no cards that could make a player directly win and lose at the same time with a single resolution of a spell or ability to satisfy 104.2b and 104.3e at the same time. Such a card would have to include the terms "win" and "lose" in its ability text at the same time in one of its abilitites. None of the cards that satisfy this condition could be used to create a simultaneous win and loss for a player. Multiple spells/abilities cannot resolve at the same time, they use the stack.
State-based actions checks and spell/ability resolutions can never happen at the same, so you can't win the game due to a spell/ability and lose at the same time to state-based actions.


Early game bidding as Greyjoy You are playing the 6p Game of Thrones (2nd Ed) as Greyjoy.

At the end of the first round, everyone still has exactly 5 power tokens. At the start of the second, a bidding on the influence tracks occurs.

What is an optimal bidding strategy so that:

you keep the Valyrian Steel Blade
you get at least 4th place (one star) on the Messenger Raven

Obviously, it's not possible in worst case scenarios and there are a lot of variables. Still I'm interested in:

game theory analysis (including or not what different houses find valuable)
personal experience (statistics for the distribution of tokens in similar situations)

My current observations:

Most people tend to find the Raven (or specifically the stars) most valuable and the Blade the least valuable
The Blade is most valuable for house Greyjoy (at least early on)
I've been put in a similar situation on a couple of occasions. I found that bidding 3 power tokens on the Blade and 2 on the Raven has left me still owning the Blade, but tied for 4th place for the Raven.

The answer to this question will be very heavily dependent on your group, and their groupthink.  In my experience, often bidding 3 on the blade would not result in getting it (I would probably be 2nd or 3rd, with someoen else going all in on the sword), while a bid of 2 on the Raven would probably be enough to get me at least one star (with someone else bidding zero after going all in on the sword).

Given that there is a large advantage of having the Sword token, versus simply being 2nd on that track, I think your strategy of bidding enough to get the Sword makes sense.

From a game theory perspective, since all bids are spent, you want to bid just ahead of a large clump of opponent bids, such that you gain a significant advantage over them while only paying slightly more.  If this is not possible, it might be best to bid 0 in that case.

If your group very consistently lets you win the sword for 3 (but not less), and consistently does not let you get stars with a bid of 2 on the Raven, then I would recommend bidding 3 on the Sword and 0 on the Raven, conserving your power, and then bidding higher on the Raven in the second bidding round.
Also, if your group tends to always bid the same amounts like this, they are very exploitable game-theory wise.  Bid either just above their usual bids, or way under them.


Should I trash a program after "Test Run" and then "Scavenge"? I use Test Run to install a program. Magnum Opus for example. Then I use Scavenge to trash the Magnum Opus and install it back. Should I trash the Magnum Opus at the end of the turn?

No, when you Scavenge the Magnum Opus and reinstall it, it's considered a new copy of that program, not the same one which was installed originally with Test Run, which no longer has a valid target for moving to the top of your stack at the end of the turn.

See 8.2.10 in the NISEI Comprehensive Rules:

  Whenever a card is uninstalled, there is no memory of its previous
  state, and it is considered to be a new copy of the card.


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

Is it

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

What distribution and values does it promise?

This filled out convention card for SAYC indicates that negative doubles are played through 2S. By this agreement (which could be amended by partnership agreement, but which invalidate the claim to be playing pure SAYC) the double of a 2S jump overcall is a Negative Double. This bid should indicate 4+ hearts and game invitational values (10+ points), and generally deny any particular strength in spades.

If the jump overcall were above the level of 2S, such as in the auction

  1H - 3D - double,

it wold be a penalty double showing diamonds and suggesting the collection of a penalty against a 3D contract.


Does the Yellow Squad's Move + Activate card swap places with a space marine or move and then shift the formation? The text for the Move + Activate action for the Yellow Squad reads,

  Your Space Marines may move to any position in the formation (instead of just to adjacent positions).

I'm just not sure whether to shift the formation after moving the space marine or to swap positions with the space marine that already holds the target position.

When the rules explain the normal movement of space maring into adjacent positions, the text reads,

  To move a Space Marine to an adjacent position, he simply picks up the Space Marine card, and switches its position with any adjacent Space Marine.

Based on that text in the rule book, I've been making the assumption that swapping positions is also what was intended for the Yellow Squad. Is that correct?

According to Page 28 of the Official Rules:

  If a Space Marine is ever able to move to a non-adjacent position
  (with a card or ability), he does not cause the formation to shift. He
  simply switches places with the Space Marine that occupied his new
  position.


Can you move some else’s Jenga piece? Can you move someone else's Jenga piece (properly placed in center position) at the top of stack before placing your piece? Husband moved wife's piece in attempt to not lose.

If the block was properly placed

That's not legal.

It's not legal to move a block from an incomplete top row.

It's not legal to move a block from the topmost complete row.

In fact, if you start moving a block other than the one you move to the top, you must put it back into its original position before continuing.

  You can touch other blocks to find a loose one — but if you move a block out of place, you must fix it (using one hand only) before touching another block.

If the block wasn't properly placed

Although not stated in the underspecified rules, it's the responsibility of the player placing the block to place the block on the top layer according to the same pattern used during setup.


Can I use Lucky Cigarette Case to avoid activating Dark Pact? Can I use Lucky Cigarette Case to increase a fail roll 1 on 2 and thus avoid activating dark pact condition?

(2) Lucky Cigarette Case
Trinket
Once per round, you may add 1 to the result of 1 die when resolving a test.

No.

Its effect only applies to tests (where you test one of your Investigator's five skills).

It does not apply to checks like the Dark Pact condition has (or any other check where you roll a dice without reference to a specific skill).


Is there any limitation with Chimeratech Overdragon and Future fusion? It seems that I can ban as much monsters as I want from my deck with Future Fusion and so I will have an overpowered Chimeratech Overdragon monster that can attack ten times with 8000 ATK.

Is there some restrictions with this two cards or something I'm doing wrong?

In fact, that combination doesn't have any restrictions, but notice that, at the moment you summon Chimeratech Overdragon (aka CO), all cards you control (including Future Fusion) are send to the GY, destroying CO.

To prevent this, you can protect Future Fusion, like having a Cyber Phoenix in the field.

And note that, CO can attack X (X = number of banned monsters) times only to monsters or 1 time directly, not both.

Card Ruling: Chimeratech Overdragon

Edit:

I play a Cyber Dragon deck too, and, it has some combos well taken like summon Cyber Dragon Infinity in one turn, but also some useless in the consistence of summoning any Fusion monster with ?Atk/?Def with Fusion Bond (gives you a monster with 0 ATK /0 DEF)

Also, it's a good idea to have Jizukiru, The Star Destruction Kaiju to ride off some annoying monsters in the field and summon Chimeratech Fortress Dragon.

For the tricky mecanics, you can read the rulings off each card and their interactions with the same archetype and nearest/closest cards, or try with and emulator like YGO Pro.


How does Phyrexian Dreadnought and Volrath's Shapeshifter interact? If I have a Phyrexian Dreadnought on top of my graveyard, and I put a Volrath Shapeshifter onto the battlefield, will I have to sacrifice other creatures with the total power of 12 or not?

The same question goes for using the shapeshifters activated ability to discard a Phyrexian dreadnaught from my hand.

If I have a Phyrexian Dreadnought on top of my graveyard, and I put a Volrath Shapeshifter onto the battlefield, will I have to sacrifice other creatures with the total power of 12 or not?

Yes.

It's the VS's appearance on the battlefield that will determine if the ability triggers.

  603.6d Normally, objects that exist immediately after an event are checked to see if the event matched any trigger conditions. Continuous effects that exist at that time are used to determine what the trigger conditions are and what the objects involved in the event look like.  [...]

Static abilities are always operational when the object with the ability is in the appropriate zone, so there is not a moment the VS is on the battlefield that it's not a PD, so its triggered ability will trigger.

  The same question goes for using the shapeshifters activated ability to discard a Phyrexian dreadnaught from my hand.

No.

An object enters the battlefield when it is placed in the battlefield from another zone.

  Enters the Battlefield: A nontoken permanent “enters the battlefield” when it’s moved onto the battlefield from another zone. A token “enters the battlefield” when it’s created. See rules 403.3, 603.6a, 603.6e, and 614.12.

The object in this case, the VS-become-PD, has not changed zones. All that happened is that its characteristics (name, type, text, etc) changed. As such, it has not entered the battlefield.

If changing characteristics was considered entering the battlefield, then using Giant Growth on a Phyrexian Dreadnought would trigger its ability, and I'm sure you realize it doesn't.


Scrabble vs. Unspeakable Words What are the differences between the letter distribution and the letter scoring on Scrabble and Unspeakable Words?

Are there any other differences?
Are these games similar in some ways?

Next question >

The letter distribution has similarities. However, Scrabble allows you to re-use previously played tiles, so these numbers below don't represent the true availability of letters. Also, there doesn't appear to be any wild card in Unspoken Words (a role filled by the blank tile in Scrabble).

The point distribution is quite different. Furthermore, Unspoken Words has other major differences in scoring (e.g. the lack of Scrabble's letter and word multipliers).

          Number of Cards or Tiles       Points per Card or Tile
          ----------------------------   ----------------------------
          UW:C      UW:D      Scrabble   UW:C      UW:D      Scrabble
--------  --------  --------  --------   --------  --------  --------
A               10        11         9         5         5         1
B                2         4         2         5         5         3
C                2         5         2         0         0         3
D                3         6         4         2         2         2
E               10        11        12         4         4         1
F                2         4         2         3         3         4
G                2         4         3         2         2         2

H                3         5         2         4         4         4
I                9        10         9         4         4         1
J                1         3         1         2         2         8
K                1         3         1         3         3         5
L                5         7         4         1         1         1
M                3         5         2         3         3         3
N                5         7         6         2         2         1

O                8        10         8         0         0         1
P                2         4         2         3         3         3
Q                1         1         1         2         4         0
R                5         7         6         4         4         1
S                5         8         4         0         0         1
T                5         8         6         2         2         1
U                4         7         4         0         0         1

V                2         3         2         1         1         4
W                2         4         2         3         3         4
X                1         2         1         4         4         8
Y                2         5         2         3         3         4
Z                1         2         1         2         2         0
Wild             -         -         2         -         -         0

(Internationalized versions of Scrabble have different letter and point distributions.)

These games are obviously similar in some way: They are both word construction games. That said, the lack of word reuse in Unspoken Words and the scoring differences should make the games rather different. (I've never played either version of Unspoken Words.)

Sources:

Rules for Unspoken Words: Classic Edition
Rules for Unspoken Words: Deluxe Edition
Rules for Scrabble
FAQ about Scrabble


Smash Up - Teddy Bears "Group Hug" Card "Group Hug" card in Teddy Bears Faction reads:

  Give one of your minions +1 power for each other minion at the same base until the end of the turn.

Player A (owner of Teddy Bear faction who is playing Group Hug) proceeds to play Group Hug on top of 1 of their 3 in-play minions on that base.  Player A thus has 2 other in-play minions at the time on that base (total of 3, the one on which Group Hug is played + 2 more).  The rest of the base looks like this:  Player B has 1 minion in play, Player C has 2 minions in play.

How many extra points does Player A garner from playing Group Hug:  3 or 5?  In other words, does Player A get to count only other players' minions as the +1 power, or does Player A also get to count their own "other minions" as extra points here?  It goes to how do you define "other minion"?

5.

By default, "minion" refers to any minion card on any base. Qualifiers such as "your", "each other player's" and "on the same base" are added to refer to subsets of those.

Since Group Hug uses neither qualifier "your" nor "each other player's", who controls the minion is not a consideration when counting the other minions on the base.

The game consistently uses "each other player's minions" to refer to minions you don't control. The lack of this qualifier indicates not just the minions others control are included.

For example, Compare Ninja Master and Nukebot.

  Ninja Master: You may destroy a minion on this base.

  Nukebot: ..., destroy each other player's minion on this base.

The game consistently uses "your" to refer to minions you control. The lack of this qualifier indicates not just the minions you control are included.

For example, Compare Friendship is Power and Snow White.

  Friendship is Power: Move one of your minions ...

  Snow White: Talent: Move a minion ...


Arkham: Harvey Walters Sanity loss for tome or elder sign Does Harvey Walters prevent the loss of one Sanity when he:

uses an elder sign?
succeed in reading a tome?

Which part of The Dunwich Horror Rulebook (page 10) apply?

  The Strong Mind ability only applies to involuntary losses. Voluntary expenditures to gain some benefit (such as casting a Spell) are not affected.

To read a book gives some benefit (such as clue token or spell) so Sanity loss is not prevented?
To use elder sign doesn't give a benefit to the character himself (he  seals a gate and removes a doom token) so Sanity loss is prevented?

I'm gonna throw some text at you (emphasis mine)

From the text on Necronomicon:

  Exhaust and spend 2 movement points to make a Lore (-2) check. If you pass, draw 1 Spell and lose 2 Sanity. If you fail, nothing happens.

From the text on Elder Sign:

  When sealing a gate, lose 1 Stamina and 1 Sanity and return this card
  to the box. You do not need to make a skill check or spend any Clue
  tokens to seal the gate. In addition, remove one doom token from the
  Ancient One's doom track.

From Harvey's Strong Mind ability:

  Strong Mind - Any Phase: Harvey reduces all Sanity losses he suffers by 1, to a minimum of 0.

From the 'Casting Spells' section of the AH rulebook:

  Every spell has a casting modifier, and most have a Sanity cost

And finally from the Fantasy Flight FAQ:

  Q: Does the Strong Mind ability (reduce all Sanity loss
  by 1) of the professor, Harvey Walters, apply to the casting of spells?

  A: No. The professor’s ability works on losses, not costs.
  The same distinction applies to the gangster, Michael
  McGlen, and his ability to reduce Stamina losses.

I can see where'd you be confused due to the wording in the DH rulebook, but Harvey would reduce the sanity loss from both tomes and the Elder Sign. It's a fine line between paying some price in order to activate some ability and losing something due to activating some ability. If the text in question specifically states loss or loses, etc. then damage reduction abilities can be used.

EDIT:
For an additional example of cost vs. loss, consider the card 'Pentagram of Blood' from the Curse of the Dark Pharaoh expansion:

  Discard this card and X Stamina to ward your current street.

Or from the revised edition:

  Spend X Stamina and discard this card

Loss of staminia isn't explicitly called out in either of those ability descriptions. You could almost break it down as a 'Do X to do Y, then Z'. The necronomicon is '..spend 2 movement...to make a Lore (-2) check...then lose 2 sanity'. This wording structure won't work all the time, but hopefully it'll aid in determining when damage reduction abilities can apply.


What are the dragonflies used for in Little Balancing? My question is about this game for little people: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/134434/little-balancing

The set is nice quality, it's fun and quick to play, and very collaborative without much strategy.  Along with the stems, lilies and frogs, the set includes a dozen dragonfly tokens.  But nowhere in the (small) rulebook or online can I find reference to how the dragonflies are used in the game.

Any ideas?  What do you do with your dragonflies?

Rules on the publisher's site lists them as follows in the box's contents:

  15 “point won” counters

The only other mention of them in the rules follows:

  When all the elements have been placed on the platform, the game is won. Each player thus takes a “point won”.


Are there more cards like Boseiju, Who Shelters All for non-mana costs? Mana gained from Boseiju, Who Shelters All and Hall of the Bandit Lord grant an ability to various spell types if it's used to pay for them. Are there similar, ability-granting effects for non-mana costs? I don't mean things like Devour, Devour is an ability that has nothing to do with costs; I ask specifically about costs in the rules sense.

Maybe you mean something like Quicken or Savage Summoning?


Do starting positions make a significant difference in Senji? I had my first game of Senji a couple of days ago, and it's clear that the starting positions for each player are very different. (Senji map: http://goo.gl/LuHTA)

In a 6 player game it seems to me that the Yellow player and the Black player have a bit of an edge since their territory is easier to defend. On the other hand the Purple player is surrounded by 4 out of 5 players, so seems more likely to be attacked.

Do you think it is easier to progress in the game depending on your starting position? Does this mean your starting position will determine your strategy?

The most important part of senji from my experience was the ability to attack.  Unlike a normal area of control game where the primary purpose of troops is to conquer territories, in Senji the primary purpose of soldiers from a time perspective is to die in combat thus gaining you honor.  While holding territories does give you more actions each turn, it also makes you more vulnerable to attack due to the very low piece limit on troops.

Naval attacks confer fairly low penalty compared to the high value of the attack opportunities they can create, so naval connectivity is usually the most interesting feature of territorial positions rather than land connectivity (another difference from other area of control games).  As a result, black, yellow, and purple are in the more advantaged offensive positions in that they have starting territory on both seas, allowing them to attack almost any territory on the board (with the exception of the two inland territories controlled by red and green).  Thus, if there is a tempting opportunity for combat (such as a situation where you can win a 6 on 5 battle), these players will almost certainly have it available, while other players only have a 50% chance that they will be able to get to that territory.

The check against this is that the seas go both ways: these players can also be attacked by anyone from pretty much anywhere.  This is less valuable than in a classic are of control game, but attacking a player that has just taken a fourth territory can matter a lot.

Do they make a significant difference?  Not when compared to games like Game of Thrones.  I would say starting positions in Senji are more comparable to starting positions in classic Risk; they are not symmetric, but the map is connected enough that the asymmetry is merely enough to add nuance rather than throw off game balance.


MTG Lifelink Before Death? I'm the farthest thing from a magic know it all, so I have a question for you. If my opponent has a 40/40 with trample and I have a 20/20 with lifelink that is blocking it. and I have 20 life left. Do I gain life from lifelink at the same time the damage is dealt to me? Thanks for taking the time to answer!

Yes, lifelink is not a triggered ability like you might expect but a static replacement effect that replaces damage being dealt with the damage being dealt and you gaining that much life:

119.3f Damage dealt by a source with lifelink causes that source’s controller to gain that much life, in addition to the damage’s other results.
702.15a Lifelink is a static ability.

Note that this is not the case with cards that say "Whenever this card deals damage, you gain that much life"; that would be a triggered ability, and you would lose before it could resolve.


Does assassination nullify the bishop's protection? If you are the bishop and you were assassinated, are you still protected from the warlord in that turn? I'm guessing you are, and this question also hints that you are, but the rules are not clear so I wondered whether it really is the case.

Yes, the Bishop loses his protection when assassinated. From the last page of the FAQ

Q: Can the warlord destroy a building of a murdered Bishop?
A: Yes. Since the Bishop is not present, he is not able to protect his districts.


How do I bid using "weak Stayman" (or garbage stayman) People like Marty Bergen have written things like, "almost anytime you're responding to your partner's 1NT and you have few clubs, you should respond 2 clubs," Stayman (this is a paraphrase, not an exact quote).

The point I think he was trying to make was that you should aim for a two-level suit contract, even with something like (s) xxxx (h) xxx (d) xxxxx (c) x.

Here, you're bidding Stayman while, weak, not aiming for a game contract.

If partner responds 2 diamonds (no four card major), should you just pass and be glad he bid your "suit," even though he might have a 3-3-2-5 distribution? If he bids 2 hearts, should you accept what may be "Moysian" (4-3) fit and pass?

In general, should you pass whatever your partner bids, after bidding a weak Stayman? Are there exceptions to the rule? Or would you recommend against bidding this way with the hand listed above?

One you have decided to bid a weak Stayman, it is imperative that you pass opener's rebid.

Any subsequent action of any sort by your hand categorically promises 8+ points.

Consequently, you must have a hand that can tolerate any of the three acceptable responses to Stayman. It is unwise to make this bid with club tolerance for two reasons:

Partner responds 2D too often, and you have jumped into an inferior contract that is easier for the opponents to double than was 1NT.
You lose the valuable inference from the auction following that you have either a few points or club tolerance or both:

  1NT    P     P    Dbl
    ?

  It is possible to play more complicated sequences in these situations, but they must be very well discussed with partner. It is extremely demoralizing for a partnership to be at risk of 500 or 800 point sets on every 1NT opening, due to bad experience with toys like poorly agreed weak Stayman.


Is it mandatory to draw more Destination Tickets when they are completed? In TTR USA, does a player have to draw more Destination Tickets when they run out?
(Meaning they've completed all the ones they started with.)

Or can they simply continue to play by extending their longest route or blocking other players?

No. Your opponents should not know when you complete a route until the end of
the game. Also, you score points for every track you lay down, so you aren't just playing to block other players or to get he longest route. Completing routes is simply one of the ways to score points, it is not "the object" of the game.


Does Experiment Kraj's passive ability work while he is dead? Let's say I have Experiment Kraj in my graveyard while I have a Reassembling Skeleton on the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter. Can I pay 1B to return Kraj from the graveyard to the battlefield tapped?

No, you can't. Kraj's static ability is only active when it's on the battlefield; in the graveyard it does exactly nothing. Therefore it does not have the Skeleton's ability and can't 'reassemble'.

  113.3d Static abilities are written as statements. They’re simply true. Static abilities create continuous effects which are active while the permanent with the ability is on the battlefield and has the ability, or while the object with the ability is in the appropriate zone. See rule 604, “Handling Static Abilities.”


When is Loan worth buying? When would you ever want to buy this instead of just buying a Silver for the same price?

I see two benefits to this:

First, it's helping you cycle through your deck quickly, which is almost always a good thing.  Theoretically, your discard pile should contain new cards that make your deck stronger, so you want to get to shuffling them in as soon as possible.

Second, though you don't mention it, Loan gives you the option of trashing the revealed treasure instead of just discarding it.  If the treasure is a Copper (especially likely early in the game), you will probably want to trash it instead of discarding it, since this can hone down your deck.  But since Loan itself is worth a coin, it always has some value, so it won't be clogging your deck with a useless card late in the game.

Whether this is worth more than a Silver probably depends on your strategy and the other cards available.  If this were the only trashing card available, I would be tempted to buy it.

Read this blog post (and the comments) for a discussion of the statistics concerning Loan. The short version is this: If the Loan does not pull a Treasure you want to trash, it statistically does no harm to your deck, unless your deck is very small.


Useful Settlers of Catan calculations? I'm trying to calculate various probabilities that would be useful for Settlers of Catan.  So far I've tabulated the probability of rolling X in Y turns, the probability of rolling X before Y, and the probability of drawing a victory point within X tries given knowledge of Y knights / progress cards in play.

  Can you guys think of any other data / calculations that would be useful for Settlers of Catan?

[Edit] Another calculation I've found extremely useful is "how many of each resource do you need to win the game, assuming you're going for X".  I'd love to hear more ideas though, and I don't care how hard / tedious they are to calculate!

Here are some useful calculations: Playing the probabilities in Settlers of Catan