Is an environment card a villain target? We've got Villainous Weaponry in play as our Environment, and my friend has Demoralization, which lets him deal one damage to each "villain target". Villainous Weaponry has HP, and it's not a hero; does it take damage?

No.
I found the clarifications document here: http://www.spiffworld.com/sotm/files/sotm_rules_and_clarifications.pdf
It reads, in part:

What constitutes a Hero or Villain or Environment Target?
Any card with hp on it is a target, and the type of deck it came from determines
what kind of a target it is. for example, the “Enraged T-Rex” is an Environment
card since it comes from the Environment deck, and because it has hp, it is a
target. Therefore, it is an Environment Target. Same with a Villain card like
“Blade Battalion”; it is a villain card because it comes from the Villain deck, and
because it has hp, it is a target, so it’s a Villain Target. likewise, “Decoy
Projection” is a Hero card from a Hero deck which has hp, and so is a Hero
Target.

So Villainous Weaponry is an environment target, not a villain target.


Countering the enchanting of a creature I'm on my main phase.

I cast a 1/1 creature, and want to enchant it in the same phase.
My opponent has an enchantment with the ability to pay one mana to give 1 damage to creature or player.

I cast the creature - no counterspell.

I then want to cast a +3/+3 enchantment on that creature.

Can my opponent "counter" that enchantment by using said ability to give my creature 1 damage in response to me casting the enchantment. I think he can, but I'm not sure.

Yes, your opponent can deal 1 damage to the 1/1, destroying it before the Aura resolves. This will counter the Aura on resolution, since it doesn't have a legal target to enchant.
Auras are an enchantment sub-type. When cast, they require a legal target of the type of permanent (or sometimes player) that they will enchant.

303.4a An Aura spell requires a target, which is restricted by its enchant ability.
114.1b Aura spells are always targeted. These are the only permanent spells with targets. An Aura's target is specified by its enchant keyword ability (see rule 702.5, "Enchant"). The target(s) are chosen as the spell is cast; see rule 601.2c. An Aura permanent doesn't target anything; only the spell is targeted. (An activated or triggered ability of an Aura permanent can also be targeted.)

Since Auras are targeted spells, if the creature they were targeting is destroyed, then all of the spells targets are illegal and the Aura spell is countered on resolution and is placed in its owner's graveyard.

608.2b If the spell or ability specifies targets, it checks whether the targets are still legal. A target that's no longer in the zone it was in when it was targeted is illegal. [...] The spell or ability is countered if all its targets, for every instance of the word "target," are now illegal.
608.3a If the object that's resolving is an Aura spell, its resolution involves two steps. First, it checks whether the target specified by its enchant ability is still legal, as described in rule 608.2b. (See rule 702.5, "Enchant.") If so, the spell card becomes a permanent and is put onto the battlefield under the control of the spell's controller attached to the object it was targeting.


In bridge, how can you "see" (locate) most of 52 cards halfway into the play? Author Terence Reese wrote that the difference between amateurs and professional was that the former could "see" (locate) only 26 cards, while professionals could "see" 52 before the hand was over. Another commentator on this site once remarked that this could occur by the sixth or seventh round (out of 13).

Suppose you're declarer. An opening lead comes from West, and dummy goes down. Now you can actually see 27 cards. More to the point, West probably led from a suit in which he and partner hold 8 or 9 cards, meaning that they are likely distributed 5-3 if eight cards, and 6-3 or 5-4 if nine cards. By the rule of sequences or the rule of 11, you can probably guess WHICH five cards west holds, especially after East plays. So you can now "see" 34-35 by the time the cards reach your hand. If West led his partner's (bid) suit, that factors into the equation.

What happens next? That is, how do you bring your knowledge of 34-35 cards up to 52, and in (roughly) how many rounds. It might be fairly easy if one or both opponents bid. But what if they haven't?

To make a quick stab at this, first consider that there are distinct steps towards learning how to perform this visualization feat:

Train your memory to know (i.e. be able to recite exactly) where all 52 cards were at the end of the deal. The rest is irrelevant until you can do this (though it can be practiced simultaneously).
Practice (and practice and practice) visualization of the opponent's hands at every call and play. As each deal starts there will obviously be 13 blanks in each opponent's hand, but every bid, call and play should be adding constraints to each card. A 1-level overcall in spades by the opponent should immediately trigger a visualization like:
     KJ9xx xx Axx xxx
in your mind.
Practice using the deductions you are making about the opponents' hands. This will help develop the habit of paying close attention, by providing yourself with an occasional carrot for good analysis.
Remember to always pay particular attention when you have a weak hand. Most of the field at almost any event will be asleep with those poor cards, so the opportunity to make a big gain on the field is greater than usual. Tournaments can be won on these hands.

Update:
Richard Pavlicek has an excellent online site chock full of useful lessons for Beginners, Intermediate Players, and Experts. Here are two links to an expert example of good card reading and to an analysis of some important considerations when reading the opponents actions:
(1) http://www.rpbridge.net/7c04.htm
(2) http://www.rpbridge.net/7z75.htm


When are additional Dominion actions chosen? At what point do you need to decide which additional actions to choose?  To make this question explicit, suppose I play the Village (+1 card; +2 actions).  Do I need to decide which two actions I will play immediately, or do I decide on the second action after choosing and completing the first action?  For example, if I play the Smithy (+3 cards) as my first additional action, can my second action be an action I just picked up?

Simply? Yes.

Imagine you have a little "action bank". At the start of your turn, it contains "1 Action" which you can spend to play an Action card. If you play a terminal card (like Smithy) then you're down to "0 Actions" and you're done. If you play a non-terminal like Market, after it uses up the action in the bank, it gives +1 Action - so it repays itself, and you can play another Action card. If you play a village/splitter that says "+2 Actions", you get to put both those actions in the bank. So you can then use one to play a Smithy, draw three cards, then use the second action to play any Action card in your hand, including one drawn with the Smithy.

"+1 Buy" and "+1 Coin" work in the same way, except that you can't use either of them until your Buy phase (i.e. once you're done playing all your Action cards), with a slight exception with Black Market. "+1/2/3 Cards" is the only one that's different, in that its effect resolves instantly without choice - when you play a card that tells you to draw cards, you draw them immediately.


Replacing popped cards in play After popping cards in play, the 2nd to last thing in your turn is to replace the cards you popped on the board.

When replacing them, are they required to be in the same orientation as the ones you popped originally?  We have been playing that you do, but I was not able to find (maybe just blind) a rule expressly stating that one way or the other.

I checked the rules for both the new and the 2001 versions, as well as the rules and a strategy guide for XXXenophile.

None of them said anything about the orientation of the replacement cards. They do keep mentioning how it's a good idea to leave your opponent with bad moves, but don't mention if you can use the orientation in addition to the card choice to do so.

How ever, I would argue that you are allowed choose the orientation of the replacement cards for two reasons:

Nothing in the rules says that you'd need to honor the original orientation.
Especially when popping multiple cards, keeping a track of the original orientations can get tricky. I find that game designers tend to avoid requiring players to remember hard-to-track information, which would make keeping track of all the orientations "poor design".

I'd say you freely choose how to play the cards from here on out. It does effectively double your choises on each replacement.


Unique and fun rules for UNO I know the regular rules for UNO, but over the years, playing with different people, I hear all kinds of different rules. I've hear different rules when a specific card is played, you and/or everybody does something.

For example:

When someone plays any '5' card, everyone must slap the discard pile.
The last people to slap must draw 2 cards from the pile.

I've also heard different rules over the years but I can't seem to remember them. I don't think they were House Rules, more like "underground" rules that people over time have added and eventually were passed on through different people. I've heard different rules like switching cards in your hand with someone else, and etc. But I don't really know the specifics.

So I guess my real question is, what are some unique rules that are apart the standard UNO Rules? Maybe even rules that "you" personally have made up that have made your time playing UNO enjoyable?

Any information and/or help will be appreciated. Thanks!

We have some house rules to make is faster and fun:

Every time you ask if it's your turn you draw a card
If you play an invalid card, you draw a card
If the rest think you are taking too long, you draw a card.
If someone plays a card that you also have in your hand, you can play it as well, but you need to be faster than the next player.


If I find a hidden number, do I have to be on the tile to replace it? Say that I notice a hidden number on a tile on the other side of the continent. Do I still replace the tile card even though I am nowhere near it?

The rules don't say anything about needing a figure on the card (or on the connected terrain card for permanent event cards).

  Some Terrain and Permanent event cards contain hidden numbers. When players find one, they may discard the card on which they spotted it and replace it with the card bearing that number.

From what I've seen, hidden cards open new paths or new actions, so you won't be able to take advantage of these until you have a figure on the card. This means that little is gained from revealing the hidden card without a figure on the card (or on the connected terrain card for permanent event cards), so it makes little difference if you reveal the hidden card sooner rather than later.

Since it makes little difference, you may want to wait to reveal the hidden card until you have a figure on the card or an adjacent one for thematic reasons (since the hidden card represents keen observation or exceptional situational problem solving on the part of your character). But you are not required to do so.


Goblin Brigand and Norn's Annex My opponent has Goblin Brigand on the battlefield. It says: "Goblin Brigand must attack each turn if able"

I control a Norn's Annex. My opponent is unable to produce white mana, but can (of course) pay for the attack with his life.

The question is:

Is the Goblin still "able to attack" since my opponent has no other option (in this particular game) than to pay for the attack with his life? Is my opponent "forced" to pay 2 life for the attack?

You are mistaken about the lack of another option: He has the option of not paying the cost, since it's an optional cost ("unless you")[1].

If he doesn't pay the cost, the goblin isn't able to attack, so it doesn't attack[CR 101.2].

You are never forced to meet any requirements. If you don't have enough mana to cast a spell, you don't have to play that land that would allow you to cast it. If Norn's Annex prevents your Goblin Brigand from attacking, so be it. This is supported by a ruling

  If you control Norn's Annex, your opponents can choose not to attack with a creature with an ability that says it must attack.

He might also have the option to sacrifice the Brigands, to destroy the Annex, etc.


What happens when a vehicle dies with Hofri Ghostforge in play? (STX Spoilers) What happens when a vehicle dies with the Hofri Ghostforge in play (from the upcoming Strixhaven set)?

Whenever another nontoken creature you control dies, exile it. If you do, create a token that’s a copy of that creature, except it’s a Spirit in addition to its other types

What will the type of the token be? Artifact Creature-Spirit, Tribal Artifact - Spirit, Artifact - Spirit or Artifact?

The token will be an Artifact - Vehicle. It will not be a Spirit, even if it becomes a creature later.
This is primarily a consequence of rule 205.3d:

An object can’t gain a subtype that doesn’t correspond to one of that object’s types.

The subtype Spirit only corresponds to the types Creature and Tribal, and the permanent has neither of those types, so it cannot gain the Spirit type either.
The card Glasspool Mimic has a similar ability that copies a creature and adds creature subtypes:

You may have Glasspool Mimic enter the battlefield as a copy of a creature you control, except it’s a Shapeshifter Rogue in addition to its other types.

That card also has a couple of rulings that explain how that is handled with non-creature cards:

Glasspool Mimic copies exactly what was printed on the original creature (unless that creature is copying something else or is a token; see below), except that it’s also a Shapeshifter Rogue. It doesn’t copy whether that creature is tapped or untapped, whether it has any counters on it or any Auras and Equipment attached to it, or any non-copy effects that have changed its power, toughness, types, color, or so on. Most notably, if it copies a creature that’s not normally a creature, it won’t be a creature.

If Glasspool Mimic isn’t a creature, most likely because it copied a creature that was only temporarily a creature, it won’t be a Shapeshifter Rogue, even if it becomes a creature later.

Like on Glasspool Mimic, Hofri's ability says "in addition to its other types", so it will still have the Artifact and Vehicle types.

If, instead of a Vehicle, the artifact in question was an animated Tribal Artifact such as Thornbite Staff, the token copy would have the Spirit type because the Sprit subtype corresponds to the Tribal type.


D.D. Esper Star Sparrow vs Compulsory Evacuation Device Let's say D.D. Esper Star Sparrow was special summoned from graveyard by its own effect, then Compulsory Evacuation Device was activated on him.

D.D. Esper Star Sparrow:

  There can only be 1 "D.D. Esper Star Sparrow" on the field. Your
  opponent cannot target other monsters you control with effects or for
  attacks. When an opponent's monster declares a direct attack while
  this card is in your Graveyard: You can Special Summon this card from
  your Graveyard in face-up Defense Position. If Summoned this way,
  banish it when it leaves the field.

Compulsory Evacuation Device:

  Target 1 monster on the field; return that target to the hand.

Is the monster returned to hand or banished?

It will be banished.
Any way that a card with this effect gets removed from the field will result in it being banished. This is because the banish effect sort of redirects the monster and so overrules the original effect.

You can see this in the rulings of Dark Magician of Chaos:

  When "Dark Magician of Chaos" is sent to your hand by "Penguin
  Soldier", it is removed from play instead.

I can see only 2 ways of getting this monster off the field without it getting banished:
- Destroying or bouncing it while facedown (battle doesn't work as it will get flipped)
- Using it for an Xyz summon, as this does not count as removing it from the field


Can I build more houses than I have the capacity to power? I know that in Power Grid a player can choose to save resources to power fewer houses, however are players allowed to build more houses than their total power plant capacity?

For example, suppose the total number of houses I am theoretically able to power with my current power plants is 5 (assuming that I have the correct resources and choose to power all of my plants), can I build a 6th house?

Your power plant capacity has no bearing on the size of your network. So you can build as many houses as you can afford. From the rules:

  A player may connect to any number of new cities in a round, as long
  as he can pay the building and connecting costs.

Of course, it's probably a bad idea to build a network substantially larger than you can power. Balancing power plants, resources and network size is the key to the game!


Mansion of Madness scenario game time I've played a handful of scenarios now for Mansions of Madness 2nd edition, but they all seem to take far longer than the "recommended" time in the app. And quite frankly, while I love the game, it just takes too long to get regular plays in.

What general suggestions do you have to complete scenarios in less time? (or at least closer to the time the app states)

Once your party gets more used to the game, the time you take should get closer to the time the app states. It still varies strongly, but we usually fall within the designated timeframe by now, often with one "new player" and a bunch of veterans.


Does Blood Sun keep me from turning my Zoetic Cavern face up? Does Zoetic Cavern lose its morph ability when face-down keeping it from being able to turn face-up when there is a Blood Sun in play?

There is a ruling on Zoetic Cavern that states:

  If Blood Moon is on the battlefield and a player controls a face-down Zoetic Cavern, it can’t be turned face up since it won’t have a morph cost.

This ruling comes from rule 702.36e, which states among other things:

  If the permanent wouldn’t have a morph cost if it were face up, it can’t be turned face up this way.

So the Sun stops your Cavern from being turned face up.


Can I activate Dawn of Hope's ability twice while only paying its mana cost once? So, let's say that I have a Dawn of Hope out. I have 2 Healer's Hawks that attack on the same turn. I pay 2 mana to draw a card for the lifelink from the 1st healer's hawk. Do I need to spend another 2 mana if I want to draw another card or do I just draw another card automatically since there were 2 lifelink events in that turn?

As you stated, there are two lifelink events, both setting up an independent instance of Dawn of Hope's trigger. In order to draw two cards, you have to spend 4 mana; the second trigger doesn't 'remember' you've paid already for the first trigger.


In Settlers of Catan, what seat position is the best for odds of recieving any resource? If you use the standard rules, where the number tokens are laid out on the board in a pattern (small letters are below the pips), which seating position has the greatest odds of receiving the most goods?

Assume all players are trying to receive the most goods, with no consideration of good type.
Assume you are using the normal rules for the first two rounds, I.E. The first player places a settlement, followed by the second player clockwise until all players have placed a settlement. Then the last player places a settlement, and the second settlement placement continues counterclockwise.

Assume a 4 player game.
Assume the predetermined board setup for beginners which is supposed to be well balanced (extra points if you solve this for a random resource placement).

Key assumption: Every player places both of their initial settlements according to what will get them the most resources (so we don't have people going for port combos, weird 12/2 superstitions, etc.)

I just downloaded the rules and have the Beginner's Setup in front of me. If you don't, then this won't make any sense!

We all agree that it suffices to add the number of dots and use this to determine if one spot is better than another.

First takes 10/5/8 (Brick/Ore/Sheep) = 12 dots
Second takes 6/9/3 (Wood/Sheep/Ore) = 11 dots. This can be interchanged with P3's move
Third takes 8/10/4 (Wheat/Sheep/Wood) = 11 dots. Again, P2 could have done this.
Fourth takes 9/5/10 = 11 dots
Fourth takes 6/5/11 = 11 dots
Third takes 6/4/3 or 6/4/11 = 10 dots.
Second takes...

Here I will stop, since I have to go to class. But one thing is clear: Player one has a one dot advantage after the first placement, and Player 4 has twenty-two dots after his second placement. And it looks like The second player, on his second placement, will have AT MOST an eight-dot location. Since the first player would then have an eight-dot location (at best), his total is maximum 20 dots, where third has 21 and fourth has 22.

In conclusion, player 4 emerges with most resources

(edited, as I was having trouble keeping track of which spaces were available)


Can I cast "Find Gate" when delayed in Other World? In Arkham Horror, while delayed, can I cast "Find Gate" in Other World?

The spell 'Find Gate', reads:

  Movement: Cast and exhaust to immediately return to Arkham from an Other World.

Can I, for example, cast this immediately after being drawn through a gate during the Arkham Encounters phase? This would effectively skip the Other World Encounter that is about to happen this turn, in addition to the one that would happen next turn.

Spells (and other items) will usually have some casting phase or timing defined on the card that states when they're allowed to be used.

http://www.arkhamhorrorwiki.com/Find_Gate

Find Gate has Movement: on it, so you can only cast Find Gate during the Movement phase. So if you were drawn through a gate due to an Arkham Encounter that said some thing like 'A Gate and a Monster appear!' you wouldn't have the opportunity to cast Find Gate before your first Other World encounter. But you would be able to cast it the turn after that.

This has been resolved as per the FAQ page 7 under spells:

Q: Can a delayed investigator in an Other World cast Find Gate?

A: No the only things a player whose investigator is
delayed in an Other World may do during his Movement
Phase is stand his investigator marker up and/or trade with
another investigator in the same Other World area.

This answer previously held links to places where the rules around the Find Gate spells was discussed. Since the final ruling from Fantasy Flight Games i have removed this information and the links.


Can a spell keep track of its target if the target changes controller? Let's say I'm in a multiplayer game. I cast Assassin's Trophy targeting opponent A's Sol Ring. Opponent B controlls Aladdin and responde by activating the ability targeting the same Sol Ring. Aladdin's ability resolves and opponent B gains control of Sol Ring.
Will Assassin's Trophy fizzle or will it still destroy the Sol Ring but allow opponent B to fetch the basic land instead?

Yes. An object that changes controllers is still the same object, so a spell that targeted it will continue to target it.
Assassin's Trophy checks who controls the targeted permanent as the spell resolves, so in this scenario opponent B will fetch the basic land.


What is the term for a stalemate in Checkers? What is the term for a stalemate in Checkers?  What are the official conditions for a "no winner game"?

According to the American Checker Federation (see rule 12), a tie game is called a draw.  The conditions for a draw are similar to the 50-move rule in chess.  Basically, one player asks the other to prove he can win (or get closer to winning) in the next 40 moves or the game ends in a draw.  I imagine this would only really occur in high level play, perhaps by several kinged pieces moving endlessly around the board with neither side gaining an advantage.

A condition like a stalemate in chess (where a player has no legal move to make) results in a loss for the player whose turn it is to move.


Take out double at first opportunity to double? I dealt and passed - LH opponent passed, partner passed and RHO opened 1 Heart.
Holding:

♠ K98   ♥ 109   ♦ A986  ♣KJ2

can I double as this is the first opportunity to do so?

I'm assuming that the cards in the question are your cards, in the conventional ordering of Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs.

You certainly can make a takeout double at this stage - you have a shortage of your opponent's bid suit, and no major shortages elsewhere - but the question is, do you really want to?  With such an uninspiringly flat hand, only 11 HCP, and a partner who has already indicated that she doesn't have an opening hand, it seems unlikely you're going to be able to seriously compete in this auction, even in the best case scenario.  Supposing you force your opponent to bid here - do you really want to end up in 2C or 2D with a marginal fit and about 20 points between you?  (Not entirely a rhetorical question - maybe if you have 60 below the line, or your opponents have 70 below it, you do!)

If you're not worried about ending up in a miserable minor-suit partscore or, even more likely, giving your opponents a little more information about the lie of the cards than they previously had, then this doesn't seem an actively diabolical bid.  In general though I would adhere to the rule of thumb "third hand low, fourth hand high": given that your hand in the fourth seat is so unexciting I'd usually just keep quiet and hope for more interesting cards next time around.


sorry! Move backward 4 card, can you move a piece from start? Can you move a piece from start with a backwards 4 card?

No.  From the official rules (emphasis mine):

  To move a pawn from your START out onto the track, you must draw either a 1 or a 2... You may not start a pawn out with any other cards.


Word association or category snap card game? I played a game once at a games night that was something like snap, except the cards had categories on them and instead of saying "snap" you had to say a word in that category (if I remember rightly. It may have been word association). I think if the card was the same colour as the previous card, or had the same symbol, you could try to "snap". Does anyone know the name of this game?

Might it have been Anomia? In Anomia, cards have categories and symbols on them, and when two cards with the same symbol are visible the people with those cards have to name something that belongs to the category on the other player's card. Whoever does that first then takes the other player's card, which may then reveal another card which matches someone else's, and so on.


Where can I find in-depth analysis of different digital card games? (Not sure if this is on topic)
I quit Magic: the Gathering some time ago, and am thinking of finding another digital card game to play.
Where can I find in depth reviews of the various card games on the market? I'm looking for something that goes well beyond the typical "here's how the game works" review to analyze the game's mechanics and draw conclusions about their strengths & weaknesses. For example, here are some things which I would consider are fundamental strengths and weaknesses of Magic: the Gathering:
Strengths

Lots of different strategies possible. Possible strategies aren't just attempting to do the same thing in different ways, but differ entirely in how they intend to win the game. Magic has aggro, combo, control as macro-archetypes, which is something many other card games don't have.
Complex (one could also argue this is a weakness, but for me it's a strength). Timing spells or abilities can win or lose a game (example). It's also the only digital card game I'm aware of which allows the player to interact with the opponent on their turn.
Deckbuilding space is big. There are few restrictions, you are given a bunch of cards and you are free to build whatever you want. Comparatively in many other CCGs, you have a "leader" which has its own class-specific cards, and you can never use another leader's class-specific cards in your deck. This naturally makes Magic harder to balance, but it also leads to the biggest possible design space for deck builders.

Weaknesses

It's fairly common for player choices to not matter. For example in recent Standard, being on the draw against a monored deck that goes 1-drop into 2-drop into 3-drop into Embercleave can mean one is deterministically dead, in which case there is no game to play. It's not just being on the receiving end of this kind of draw - executing it is also a simple matter of playing one's best threat every turn and attacking with them. One could say there is more game to play, but not by a lot.
Games snowball. Planeswalkers are the biggest culprits, but there are other cards that do this as well (e.g. The Great Henge, which is only stopped by a relatively narrow set of cards once it's in play). Many threats are "answer me at once or lose". Comparatively in many other CCGs, if you cannot answer a threat immediately, you are disadvantaged (e.g. you might be 2-for-1'ed) but do not instantly lose.
Mana screw and mana flood. These are integral to Magic's resource system, but they also lead to play sequences where the player doesn't get to make decisions.

I am looking for reviews that go into as much detail about the game as the above. Where can I find such reviews?
I'm tagging this question with mtg because I have no idea what to tag it with.

I don't think you are likely to find a one-stop-shop for many different card games (can't say for certain, because proving a negative and all).  Coming up with those analyses are usually things that take some depth and investment in a game to come up with, thus aren't likely to be common / easy to write for a quick blog post to make a few bucks on the internet.
To get the kinds of analyses you are looking for you are probably going to have to dig a bit and use Google extensively.  Think about what kind of resources are more likely to give you in-depth analyses of Magic.  There are dedicated blogs and YouTube channels that regularly analyze metagames, new cards, etc. but they all are catering (primarily it seems) to an audience that is already invested in the game.  It saves them from having to explain the basics so they can focus on the meat of the topic at hand (ie. present the bits that are interesting to that primary audience, not the things they are likely to know and find boring to hear rehashed for the 753rd time).  So those kinds of resources, the kind most likely to be able to present such an analysis, are also the least likely to do so because it isn't going to get eyeballs in front of content (and ads).
The other problem you are likely to run into is that there is going to be a lot of opinion involved.  While the denizens of the internet have no problem or lack of desire to share their opinions on a topic, finding a group that will give you healthy debate to produce what you are looking for is likely to be rare.  What one person considers a strength another might consider a weakness (as your own description of Magic above points out).  But you aren't likely to see a ton of that without seeing both proponents and detractors of a game.  And the way the internet tends to create groups of like-minded people (like sub-redits, Facebook groups, etc.) you aren't going to typically find both sets of people in the same place.  So you are going to have to seek out both and make your own analysis of a game you presumably haven't played yet.
So all in all I don't think you are going to find much of this for any single card game, much less find a place that would have this for a broad range of games.  There just isn't money to be made doing it and the current internet community model doesn't lend itself towards producing this naturally.


In Bridge, Which Forms of Deception Are Ethical? Does This Include "Moodying?" Playing in a casual game of bridge, holding JTx of trumps, I "falsecarded" on the second trump lead with the J. Believing that he had drawn them, declarer stopped leading trumps.

Later, I trumped one of his tricks with the T. Declarer protested, saying that I should have followed "in sequence." My partner agreed with him, but dummy just said sagely "My partner forgot to count trumps."

I wasn't "wrong" was I, even though I was "deceptive"?
But I've been told that there are limits. For instance, is "moodying" allowed (act strong when weak, act weak when strong) even though this is a critical element of say, poker?

"Deception" is a weird concept in bridge.  Just like in every game, there are forms that are ethical and forms that are not.

Falsecarding, as in your example, is perfectly fine.  Your opponent failed to count trumps correctly, and paid the price.  A similar, and perfectly valid strategy, is to play a high card instead of a low card when losing a trick as declarer to make the opponents think that you are now void in the suit, hoping that they will switch to a different suit.

"Moodying" is more of a gray area, and should probably be avoided.  Granted, any information that your opponents take from your tells is at their own peril, but if your partner could use any information that your tell gives away to his and your benefit, then your opponents could rightfully claim to have been wronged.

Very broadly speaking, deception is OK as long as you are deceiving everyone at the table, partner included.


How to force the opponent to take the x squares? I've been told that I must do two things in order to win hard games in Othello (Reversi):

Take the corners
Do not take the X squares, as they are the worst squares on the board.

We all know that we have to take the corners. I am tired of keep hearing that stupid hint. What I want to know is how force my opponent into taking the x squares and the squares around the corners so I can use his pieces to jump into the corners. What squares do I have to take? what strategy to follow?

The permutations of the game makes it hard to come up with one specific strategy. Personally I like to "dance around" the X squares, trying to tease my opponent into placing his pieces there. But always remembering that it should cost him more than it should ever cost me.

As a general rule, your objective is to limit the number of liberties (that is, the number of moves) available to your opponent, while at the same time increasing yours. This is what is called the mobility strategy. When this objective is attained, one is said to have control of the game.

However, don't forget that you must force your opponent to make a bad move : it's not enough if he has even one non-disastrous choice at each move ; he must have no good moves at all.


Priority during declare blockers and attackers step If I decide not to attack my opponent, do players still gain priority in declare attackers step? And the same with blockers, if there are no blockers declared for some reason, can players do anything? Or maybe these steps are just skipped in these cases?

All phases and their respective steps happen even if players take no action during them. The declaring blockers step and combat damage steps are skipped if there are no attacking creatures, but the beginning of combat and declare attackers steps still happen. All players gain priority during both the beginning of combat and declare attackers steps.

500.1. A turn consists of five phases, in this order: beginning, precombat main, combat, postcombat main, and ending. Each of these phases takes place every turn, even if nothing happens during the phase. The beginning, combat, and ending phases are further broken down into steps, which proceed in order.

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

Beginning of Combat Step

507.2. Second, the active player gets priority. (See rule 117, “Timing and Priority.”)

Declare Attackers Step

508.2. Second, the active player gets priority. (See rule 117, “Timing and Priority.”)


Brackets for tournament in a three player game Suppose we have game which can only be played in a group of three.

I want my playing system to be somewhat similar to the "Double elimination tournament" but I have trouble getting my head around it.

I want the system to differentiate between the player which comes first and second in each match (or second and third respectively). For example I would like the winner to stay in the same bracket, the runner-up to move one bracket bellow and the looser to go to two brackets down.

I hope that this makes it at least a bit clear since I have scribbled over a ton of paper trying to come up with something that will work.


Bloodbowl - throw a rock, roll for injury or casualty? We use the 5.0 living rulebook. The exact wording for the event is the following:

  Throw a Rock: An enraged fan hurls a large rock at
  one of the players on the opposing team. Each
  coach rolls a D6 and adds their FAME (see page
  18) to the roll. The fans of the team that rolls higher
  are the ones that threw the rock. In the case of a tie
  a rock is thrown at each team! Decide randomly
  which player in the other team was hit (only players
  on the pitch are eligible) and roll for the effects of
  the injury straight away. No Armour roll is required.

I was under the impression this meant I had to roll on the injury table first, with the possibility to get a casualty table follow-up, for two reasons:

The rule clearly states the armour role should be skipped, but does not mention the same for the injury roll.
It is clear that there should be a roll, even in a one-off (no campaign or tournament) match. Those matches don't use the casualty table.

My opponent was under the impression I needed to roll casualty straight away, because the rule states to roll for injury effect, not for injury. The only spectator agreed, so I agreed to do it that way, but I would like to know if that was correct.

Always roll for injury first.

Roll against casualty table if injury roll result is 10-12.

This is similar what you do when a player gets pushed or knocked off the pitch and gets beat up by the fans.

My rule interpretation:
The rule would most likely also say "No Armour roll is required and No Injury Roll is required" if the intent was to go directly to the casualty table.


If Scourge of Fleets returns creatures with toughness 3 or less, do my vampires at (4/4) get returned to my hand when Thirsting Bloodlord return? I played Savage Gorger a few turns ago making it a (3/3) before I played Thirsting Bloodlord (3/3) which gives other vampires I control +1/+1, making my Savager Gorger (4/4). If my friend had 3 islands and just played Scourge of Fleets that would return creatures with toughness 3 or less, would my Savage Gorger return to my hand?
My friend believes that returning my creatures with toughness 3 or less would include returning Savage Gorger because it would be (3/3) without Thirsting Bloodlord (which also just got returned).
I thought the stack would happen simultaneously rather than Thirsting Bloodlord getting returned, making Savage Gorger become (3/3) again, and then returning Savage Gorger because it was 3 toughness.

Your Savage Gorger would remain on the battlefield.
Scourge of Fleets returns all applicable creatures at the same time. What creatures are applicable is only checked once, not continuously: when the ability resolves. What happens afterwards as a consequence of one or more creatures bouncing does not matter to Scourge of Fleets' ability, because its effect is a one-shot effect.

610.1. A one-shot effect does something just once and doesn’t have a duration. Examples include dealing damage, destroying a permanent, creating a token, and moving an object from one zone to another.


Counting cards in Catan? Since most moves in Catan are public knowledge, one could count cards and keep track of the opponents' hands at all time.  However, it seems that there are a few obstacles to doing this.

  Have any of you had success in card counting?

In particular, how do you get around obstacles like under the table trades, discards when a 7 is rolled, and randomized robbing?

I've tried counting cards while playing Catan, and I've really found it a needless distraction.  It really isn't worth the effort to know that Player X has exactly 4 Ore, a Grain and a Sheep in their hand.  It gets much too confusing too quickly, especially when you throw in robbing and trades.

Instead, I focus only on counting my most scarce resource.  Since that's almost always the one I would try to steal or trade for, that information is valuable enough to make the effort for.  There are relatively few of that good in circulation, so keeping tabs on them as people buy, trade, and build with them is much easier.


Is the bloodrush ability affected by cards that reduce casting cost? If I'm playing Wrecking Ogre, a spell with Bloodrush 3RR and have a Ruby Medallion out (all red spells cost 1 less to play) does this also affect the Bloodrush?

In the same vein, can I use Smokebraider's ability ({T}: Add two mana in any combination of colors to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to cast Elemental spells or activate abilities of Elementals) to pay the Bloodrush on a Scorchwalker (which is an elemental creature)?

Bloodrush is an activated ability that you can use from your hand. You are not casting the card when you use it. Thus, bloodrush is unaffected by any effects that modify casting costs.

Cards that affect abilities, however, do affect bloodrush — as long as they can affect cards in your hand. E.g. Suppression Field will make all bloodrush cards more expensive to activate because it doesn't limit the scope of "activated abilities," but Training Grounds does not modify bloodrush costs because it is scoped to creatures you control (not creatures cards in your hand).

In Smokebraider's case, the card specifies "abilities of Elementals," which means permanents with the Elemental type. This is clarified in the Oracle text:

  10/1/2007     The mana can't be spent to activate activated abilities of Elemental sources that aren't on the battlefield.


Can Scion of the Ur Dragon's ability fizzle a spell? I want to know if Scion of The Ur-Dragon's activated ability can fizzle a kill spell or the like by becoming a copy of a card?

Does the ability make him another permanent as a response to any spell that would kill him essentially removing him as a valid target?

You can't reliably counter the spell.

Changing into a copy of something else doesn't make the Scion a different object. However, if the dragon it becomes is an illegal target (for example, due to having hexproof, or any other attributes that the target relies on) then that would work.


What is the ruling for Warhammer base size when GW has not produced an official model? I understand this ruling, which is pretty normal for Tournaments:

•Models must be played on the bases provided with them.

In my specific case, there are quite a number of Tyranid Special Characters that have never had a model created for them.  For some of these monsters, it seems fairly straightforward:  The Doom of Malantai would have a Zoanthrope Base, the Tyranid Prime would have a Warrior Base.

There are also some existing models that used to be released with smalled bases:  The old Hive Tyrants (Square base, and warrior size base) would up-size to the the current Hive Tyrant large base.

For models like the Harpy, Parasite of Mortrex; I'm not sure about.  The flavour for the harpy says it's a lighter Monstrous creature, that is related to the Trygon.  Would it use a Trygon base?  or a Hive Tyrant base?    Is the Parasite of Mortrex a Gargoyle base?  or a Warrior sized base?

I've never seen any official ruling on this.  Since these models are all custom conversions, it seems somewhat open to interpretation.

What size base should I be using for models where the base size is not clearly defined?

There's no hard and fast rule for it.  I would suggest using a base size most appropriate for the size of the model.  So if the model is Terminator sized, use a 40mm, if Dreadnought sized, use a 60mm.  So convert your model and use what makes sense.

This requires a bit of good judgement and common sense.  If you made a reasonable selection most people will be OK with it in a friendly game.  Though you should always check with your opponent before using something non-standard.  If you plan on using your converted models in a tournament, contact the tournament organizer before hand to get a ruling.

As for units that used to be released with different base sizes, you are still free to use the base they came with, but I would recommend re-basing with the most up-to-date sizes.  This will keep things consistent if you ever need to mix and match new and old models.


Does token creation count as successfully casting a summon spell? My opponent wants to spam/create 500 goblin tokens while Soul Barrier is in play, does he take 1000 damage from Soul Barrier or do tokens when created not count as a creature summoning when generated.

No, creating a token is not the same thing as casting a spell.

First, be sure to always go off of the Oracle wording, which for older cards will often be different than what is printed on the card. Soul Barrier actually says:

  Whenever an opponent casts a creature spell, Soul Barrier deals 2 damage to that player unless they pay {2}.

The idea of "summoning" a creature has no rules meaning in MTG; the only question is if he cast a creature spell or not.

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

A creature spell is simply a spell with the creature type.

So if you cast Siege-Gang Commander, then you have cast a creature spell, and the triggered ability of Soul Barrier will trigger.

When Siege-Gang Commander enters the battlefield, and its triggered ability creates 3 Goblin tokens, that has nothing to do with casting a spell. That is a triggered ability that creates tokens when it resolves; it will not trigger Soul Barrier's ability again.


What is the difference between Owning and Controlling an object on the Battlefield? I’m a little confused on what the outcome of this scenario is – any help would be appreciated.

Let’s say I cast Turn Against on one my opponent’s creatures.  So I would “Gain control of target creature until end of turn.” However If I use the ability of Eldrazi Displacer on the same creature after gaining control which says “Exile another target creature, then return it to the battlefield tapped under its owner's control.” Will this creature become mine forever?

I assume that the effect of Turn Against only applied to the first instance of the creature I targeted. Then when I use Displacer’s ability a new version on that creature is placed on the field and all equipment etc. is removed including effects from spells?

After using Displacer’s ability will I be the “owner” of the targeted creature
Will the creature return to my opponent at the end of my turn?

If this doesn’t make sense – please let me know.

You won't ever become a creature's owner in a game if you already weren't.

  108.3. The owner of a card in the game is the player who started the game with it in his or her deck. If a card is brought into the game from outside the game rather than starting in a player’s deck, its owner is the player who brought it into the game. If a card starts the game in the command zone, its owner is the player who put it into the command zone to start the game. Legal ownership of a card in the game is irrelevant to the game rules except for the rules for ante. (See rule 407.)

So, when you use Turn Against on a creature, you become its controller, not owner. If you used Eldrazi Displacer's ability on the same creature, it would return under your opponent's control, since he owns this creature.

To answer your second question, let's assume that you somehow retained control of the creature that you blinked with Eldrazi Displacer. The creature would not return to your opponent's control at the end of the turn. This is because an object that changes zones, even if it returns to the same zone it came form, becomes a completely new object every time it changes zones.

  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, and none of them apply here.


Feather and spells turning permanents in to Creatures If I have Feather, the Redeemed and I cast an Instant or Sorcery that turns a target permanent into a creature (Say Siege of Towers for example) Will that trigger Feather's ability to return that to my hand?

No, it will not.

Feather, the Redeemed triggers on casting a spell, which happens well before the spell would resolve and have any effect such as turning its target into a creature.

When you cast Siege of Towers, it is not targeting a creature you control; it is targeting a land you control. By the time the mountain becomes a creature, it is well past the chance for Feather, the Redeemed to trigger. Unless you are targeting a land that is also a creature.


Do characters perform Upkeep actions, such as rolls for Blessed/Cursed, during a final battle? During an Ancient One final battle, do investigators roll for Blessed/Cursed and any other Upkeep rolls? (Not sure if there are any others that matter, since Retainer is useless then). I find that the rules tend to be a bit vague on this:

  At the beginning of a round of combat with an Ancient One, the investigators may refresh their cards, use any character abilities, and adjust their skill sliders as though it were the Upkeep Phase.

I find it strange that "make an Upkeep roll" is not listed in the things that are to be done, and the wording "as though it were an Upkeep Phase" makes it unclear to me whether or not this omission means that it is like an Upkeep Phase, but deliberately lacks this.

This came up when we played against Yig. We all got Cursed when he came out (per his card), but we couldn't figure out if we could roll to get uncursed. We decided the omission and the "as though it were an Upkeep Phase" meant that we didn't. However, we think we might have done that wrong since we got it handed to us even though the Arkham Horror Statistics Report says that he's the easiest to defeat in a straight up final battle (with only 37% fail rate as of this writing).

So do investigators roll for Blessed/Cursed and any other Upkeep rolls during a final battle?

This is clarified/fixed in the FAQ in the Dunwich Horror rules:

Battling the Ancient One
Q: In combat with Ancient Ones, do investigators get a full Upkeep Phase, or is the Upkeep Phase limited in some way during the final battle?
A: Investigators get a full Upkeep phase.

So yes, you roll for blessings and curses.
I can only assume they wrote the original rules the way they did because it's not a normal turn - it's combat, and you don't have any normal turn phases. (No movement, no encounters, no mythos.) So they were perhaps thinking it wasn't actually an upkeep phase, and you simply do everything you would do if it were an upkeep phase. And then for some reason they tried to list the things you do in the upkeep phase instead of just saying "everything". Obviously that was pretty misleading!


Does a Xantcha I cast trigger a Warstorm Surge I control? Xantcha, Sleeper Agent has the ability:

  As Xantcha, Sleeper Agent enters the battlefield, an opponent of your
  choice gains control of it.

Warstorm Surge has the ability:

  Whenever a creature enters the battlefield under your control, it
  deals damage equal to its power to any target.

If I cast a Xantcha, my opponent will ultimately gain control of it. But is it ever on the battlefield under my control, such that it will trigger my Warstorm Surge?

No, it enters the battlefield under the opponent's control and is not even momentarily under your control. If you both had Warstorm Surges, it would trigger theirs and not yours.

"As (this card) enters the battlefield" is a replacement effect that altogether changes how it would enter the battlefield. In this case, it replaces the card entering under your control with entering under theirs. This is like how a Mistcutter Hydra does not enter the battlefield as a 0/0, then gain +1/+1 counters (it would die) — it enters with those counters and, from the rules' perspective, had them all along for as long as it was on the battlefield.

We can check this in the rules for replacement effects:

  614.1c Effects that read “[This permanent] enters the battlefield with . . . ,” “As [this permanent] enters the battlefield . . . ,” or “[This permanent] enters the battlefield as . . . “ are replacement effects.

It would trigger your Warstorm Surge (and not an opponent's) if it instead said:

  When Xantcha, Sleeper Agent enters the battlefield, an opponent of your choice gains control of it.

... because that is a triggered ability that would have to go on the stack and resolve first, after Xantcha enters under your control.


Is Mesodae's Lantern effect recurring? Mesodae's Lantern states

  Your energy reserve is decreased by 1. At the end of the round, receive 3 crystals.

My question is, do you receive 3 crystals one time immediately after playing it, or do you go 3 crystals at the end of each round?

You receive 3 crystals at the end of each round while it is in play. The symbol at the bottom left of the card indicates that the effect is continuous, as all end-of-round triggers (that I can remember) are.


In Axis and Allies, Does It Make Sense For Japan to Attack Sinkiang on the First Turn? The idea would be to prevent America from building a factory there. The attack would be with two infantry from Indochina, supported by fighters from there and Manchuria. (Japan would replaced the two infantry in Indochina during the non-combat phase.)

The chances of success, according to the combat simulator software, are about 70%, better than 50-50, although by no means certain. There is the possibility of America's recapturing it on its turn, but it then couldn't build the factory until at least the following turn (a country has to own a territory at both the beginning and end of its turn to do this).  And even if Japan's attack didn't totally succeed, it would probably weaken the American defenses by "strafing" the troops there.

Is it worthwhile for Japan to try to disrupt the American factory building program? And even if this wasn't the issues (America doesn't like to build factories, or there is a no-factory "house rule,") is Sinkiang, which abuts on both India and Russia's Novosibirsk, strategic enough for an early attempt at its capture?

No! Japan should do no such thing. Here's my opinion of the right Japanese first moves (assuming no 1st rd. attack by Russia):

1) Assuming UK has built an IC on India:

Japan Build: 2 Transports, 3 Infantry

Japan Attack: Pearl Harbor 2 Battleships, 1 Sub, 1 Aircraft Carrier, 1 Fighter, 1 Bomber

The battleships can't free-shot since Manchuria hasn't been taken, thus send them both to Pearl Harbor.  You should win this battle round 1 and be left with the Battleships, Aircraft Carrier and Fighter.  This ensures America uses its Battleship/Transport/1 Bomber and 1-2 Fighters on its turn to wipe you out (a great trade to keep US fighters out of the Atlantic where they are better used to protect Karelia).

Japan uses its 2 transports to land 4 infantry on Manchuria/French Indo-China.  Japan uses its 3 fighters (the fighter on Philipines can't attack rd. 1 as it's too far) to support troops from Kwangtung/Manchuria to press into Eastern China. This way you kill U.S.'s fighter and troops remaining can either attack India or Manchuria depending on Russia/UK moves going forward.

Conclusion: Don't strike Sikang - it immediately places a weak surviving army at the mercy of UK troops. Instead leave a stronger surviving army drawing from Manchuria/Kwangtung troops into China as this consolidates a more core position (if any of your border countries are attacked you can more easily draw from more countries in subsequent counters).  The biggest key to Japan is to methodically grow by winning battles using big forces to take on smaller allied forces caught off-side with the aide of the maneuverability Japan's 4 fighters and 1 bomber offer.


Can Mizzium Meddler steal the effect of a Renown ability? Basically, I am thinking of a situation: say Outland Colossus attacks and deals damage to a player. Before the Renown ability resolves, can I activate Mizzium Meddler to steal the six +1/+1 counters? Is Renown an ability that Mizzium Meddler can steal? I am not sure how Renown works on the stack, if at all.

Mizzium Meddler cannot 'steal' the Renown of the Colossus.

This is because Renown is not a targeted ability, it just effects the creature it is on.

  702.111a Renown is a triggered ability. “Renown N” means “When this creature deals combat damage to a player, if it isn’t renowned, put N +1/+1 counters on it and it becomes renowned.”

As you can see there is no mention of targeting anywhere in the rules, thus the Meddler cannot redirect it. Note that the Meddler can still target the ability, it will just do nothing since there are no targets to change.

  If Mizzium Meddler’s triggered ability targets a spell or ability with no targets, nothing happens.


What's the point of the cardboard castles in Kingdomino? I cannot find a function for them; what is the point? Just marking each player's starting half-domino?

Right now, they show your color.

And yes they have no real purpose in the game. But a kingdom needs a castle, so I think it is a nice addition.


What happens when I copy Precursor Golem with Rite of Replication? I came across this issue with my friend a while ago and came up with many possible answers:

How many golems will you get if you copy Precursor Golem with a kicked Rite of Replication?

The short answer, assuming that your Precursor Golem still has (exactly) his two buddies with him: 28.  The sequence goes something like this:

Rite of Replication (kicked) targets Precursor Golem.  Note that the text of Rite now effectively reads 'Put five tokens that are copies of target creature onto the battlefield', and the copies of Rite of Replication will all copy that version of the text.  (From rule 706.10: "A copy of a spell or ability copies both the characteristics of the spell or ability and all decisions made for it, including modes, targets, the value of X, and additional or alternative costs.")
Precursor Golem's ability copies Rite and targets the 'lesser' golems (the ones without the 'make extra golems' ability); note that these copies of Rite go on the stack on top of the original Rite (this isn't relevant here, but can be if you kick another Rite!)
The copies of Rite resolve, each one making an additional five 'dumb' golems; this puts 10 new golems into play.  You now have 1 Precursor Golem and 12 'dumb' golems.
The original Rite resolves, making five additional Precursor Golems.  Each of the five 'make two dumb golems' abilities of these new Precursor Golems goes on the stack.  Right now you have 6 Precursor Golems and 12 dumb golems.
The new Precursors' token-making abilities resolve, giving you 10 more dumb golems.  You end up with 6 Precursor Golems and 22 dumb golems.

Beyond this - well, beyond this things get interesting.  The next step in the sequence - a second kicked Rite - brings you up to more than four million Golems; for the details, see https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L_FIQrjBdh5J66KKAT2JJ2gTx1KfbXJUfXrdydjzhrY/edit - which also goes into what happens if you kick yet a third Rite...


What is the best method to choose whom to lynch on the first day? When playing Werewolf, my group and I always have the same problem: whom should we lynch on the first day?

In a group of ~10 people, we usually play 2 werewolves plus 2 "seers," who have one shot per night to guess one werewolf. On the first day, either the seers don't have correct information, or it would just be stupid to share information with the group because the werewolves would kill them the next night. Increasing the number of seers or reducing the number of werewolves always seems to unbalance the game too much to one side or the other!

Without any real indicators, we always resort to guesses and "cold reading" people — I think you're the werewolf because I can see it in your face — resulting in many "feel-bad" moments.

What is the best method to choose whom to lynch on the first day?

or

What mechanics can we use to prevent or reduce lynching people at random?

The first day it is awfully random.  However, there are a few rules of thumb you can use.

First, you mentioned the seer, so let's get that out of the way, then the rest of my explanation should work for games without seers.

As a seer you should stay quiet until you've identified a werewolf.  Once you've identified a werewolf:

Say "I am a seer"
Reveal who've you've identified good and bad
The other seers in the game should ALSO admit to being seers, and give the information they've learned

Once this is done, there may be a werewolf masquerading as a seer.  This is fine, as both groups now will kill each other off until there are no more people claiming to be seers.  Since cards are revealed, you now know which seer information to trust and which not to trust.

Next, assume a game with no (more) seers.

To figure out who and how to accuse, consider the following:

As a werewolf:

The odds are against you, accuse the more experienced player
If you feel like the group is a forgiving one, accuse your other werewolf, be antagonistic to him throughout the game.  If this is known it's likely you'll be seen as safe once one of you dies.
Say nothing, at all, ever.  People tend to accuse people seen to have 'agendas'

As a human:

Accuse the most experienced player.  He is the one most likely to succeed at deception.
Accuse the most impatient person.  A werewolf doesn't need to wonder anything.  Wondering takes cognitive cycles, so werewolves tend to be quicker to talk/accuse.
With a 2/8 split, your odds of choosing someone randomly as a villager are 5:2 (71%).  So have all the players, simultaneously, choose a person at random and point to that person.  This is their 'safe' person that they'll 'trust' throughout the game.  If any two people are pointing to each other (the odds are against this), kill that person, else kill the person with the fewest fingers pointing at him.  (NOTE: The two at each other prevents the werewolves from protecting themselves).    Do not change your safe person throughout the game.  If your safe person dies, you do NOT choose a new one.   This technique works not within a single game (the odds of who gets the most safe fingers is random), but across games, as this makes the safer people MORE OFTEN the villagers than the werewolves.  The 'no two at each other rule' also helps to make the werewolves less likely to have the most votes.

BTW, cold-reading, is a perfectly valid strategy.  I correctly identified, on the very first round, a werewolf in 9 of my last 10 games I played.  The biggest tell is a change in people's behavior.  Most people are not good actors and can't help but play differently.


Can I tap permanents if it's not a cost? Blinkmoth Urn has an ability that only works if it is untapped at the start of a player's main phase. It has no activated abilities.

Can I, on my turn or any other turn, tap the artifact just to tap it, so it won't become untapped until just before my main phase? Is it legal to tap a permanent even if you are not paying a cost nor resolving a tap effect?

(If possible, a citation from the rules would be helpful, as the answer affects a coworker's main Commander deck.)

No, you can't just tap cards on a whim. You need to either cast a spell or activate an ability that has an effect that taps the card in question, or you need to have tapping the card as a cost for some activated ability.


In Magic free-for-all multiplayer, what happens when someone dies? In a free-for-all multiplayer Magic game, what happens when someone dies?

Specifically:

What happens to spells they've cast that are on the stack?
What happens to enchantments they have cast onto permanents that other people control?

Specifically, if player A (at 1 life with 3 creatures) casts Massacre Wurm and Player B flashes out his own Massacre Wurm in response, what happens? Also, player A had previously cast Pacifism on one of Player B's creatures. In the end, what is the result?

There's a whole procedure for this in the multiplayer section of the comp rules. The big take-away is this: as soon as you die, all your stuff leaves the game -- then, after that, if you would still control anything (e.g. a permanent you stole from someone else), that thing is exiled; any triggered abilities you would own don't occur.

  800.4. Unlike two-player games, multiplayer games can continue after one or more players have left the    game.

  800.4a. When a player leaves the game, all objects (see rule 109) owned by that player leave the
         game, any effects which give that player control of any objects or players end, and all spells and
         abilities controlled by that player on the stack cease to exist. Then, if there are any objects still
         controlled by that player, those objects are exiled. This is not a state-based action. It happens as
         soon as the player leaves the game. If the player who left the game had priority at the time he or
         she left, priority passes to the next player in turn order who’s still in the game.

  Example: Alex casts Control Magic, an Aura that reads, “You control enchanted
                  creature,” on Bianca’s Wall of Wood. If Alex leaves the game, so does Control Magic,
                  and Wall of Wood reverts to Bianca’s control. If, instead, Bianca leaves the game, so
                  does Wall of Wood, and Control Magic is put into Alex’s graveyard.

  Example: Alex casts Threaten, which reads, in part, “Untap target creature and gain
                  control of it until end of turn,” targeting Bianca’s Wall of Wood. If Alex leaves the
                  game, Threaten’s change-of-control effect ends and Wall of Wood reverts to Bianca’s
                  control.

  Example: Alex casts Bribery, which reads, “Search target opponent’s library for a
                  creature card and put that card onto the battlefield under your control. Then that player
                  shuffles his or her library,” targeting Bianca. Alex puts Wall of Wood onto the
                  battlefield from Bianca’s library. If Bianca leaves the game, Wall of Wood also leaves
                  the game. If, instead, Alex leaves the game, Wall of Wood is exiled.

  Example: Alex controls Genesis Chamber, which reads, “Whenever a nontoken creature
                  enters the battlefield, if Genesis Chamber is untapped, that creature’s controller puts a
                  1/1 colorless Myr artifact creature token onto the battlefield.” If Alex leaves the game,
                  all such Myr tokens that entered the battlefield under Alex’s control leave the game, and
                  all such Myr tokens that entered the battlefield under any other player’s control remain
                  in the game.

  800.4b. If an object would change to the control of a player who has left the game, it doesn’t. If a
         token would enter the battlefield under the control of a player who has left the game, no token is
         created. If a player would be controlled by a player who has left the game, he or she isn’t.

  800.4c If an object that would be owned by a player who has left the game would be created in any
         zone, it isn’t created. If a triggered ability that would be controlled by a player who has left the
         game would be put onto the stack, it isn’t put on the stack.

  Example: Astral Slide is an enchantment that reads, “Whenever a player cycles a card,
                  you may exile target creature. If you do, return that creature to the battlefield under its
                  owner’s control at the beginning of the next end step.” During Alex’s turn, Bianca uses
                  Astral Slide’s ability to exile Alex’s Hypnotic Specter. Before the end of that turn,
                  Bianca leaves the game. At the beginning of the end step, the delayed triggered ability
              generated by Astral Slide that would return Hypnotic Specter to play triggers, but it isn’t
              put on the stack. Hypnotic Specter never returns to the battlefield.

  800.4d. If combat damage would be assigned to a player who has left the game, that damage simply    isn’t assigned.

  800.4e. If an object requires a player who has left the game to make a choice, the controller of the    object chooses another player to make
  that choice. If the original choice was to be made by an    opponent
  of the controller of the object, that player chooses another opponent
  if possible.

  800.4f. If an effect requires information about a specific player, the effect uses the current    information about that player if he or she
  is still in the game; otherwise, the effect uses the last    known
  information about that player before he or she left the game.

  800.4g. If a player leaves the game during his or her turn, that turn continues to its completion    without an active player. If the active
  player would receive priority, instead the next player in    turn
  order receives priority, or the top object on the stack resolves, or
  the phase or step ends,    whichever is appropriate.

  800.4h. When a player leaves the game, objects that player owns in the ante zone do not leave the    game. This is an exception to rule 800.4a. See rule 407, “Ante.”

  800.4i. In a Planechase game, if the player designated as the planar controller would leave the game,    instead the next player in turn
  order that wouldn’t leave the game becomes the planar controller, then the old planar controller leaves the game. See rule 309.5.

So, in your example, it's actually pretty straightforward:

Alex's Massacre Wurm is on the stack. Bianca flashes in her own Massacre Wurm (thanks to Vedalken Orrery or whatever). Alex has no further response, so we resolve Bianca's Massacre Wurm. It comes into play and kills Alex's creatures, putting him at below 0 life.

When Alex loses the game, his Massacre Wurm is still on the stack. It leaves the game directly from the stack, without ever resolving. Poof!

When Alex loses the game, his Pacifism also leaves the game. Its effect on the creature it was enchanting is gone, just like if it had been removed any other way.

Here's the tricky part about these rules... Let's say Alex also had an Oblivion Ring that he had previously used to exile Bianca's Liliana of the Veil. The O-Ring leaves the game, but does not trigger any effects when it does. Including its own. So Bianca's Liliana remains exiled forever.

Also, note that, assuming it was Alex's turn when he died, the other players play out the rest of the phases without an active player. If Bianca had some mana open and she wanted to cast another spell before her own turn, for instance, she could still do it on now-dead Alex's end step.


Instants in response to your own abilities If an ability I control is on top of the stack, can I cast an instant before it resolves?
For example, I have Sarkhan the Masterless and a dragon on the board.
An opponent attacks, triggering 1 damage from the dragon to the attacker.
Can I cast Alchemist's Gift to give my dragon deathtouch before that damage resolves, or would I have to have given it deathtouch before the opponent declared attackers?

Yes this works the way you're hoping.
If Alchemist's Gift resolves and then the dragon is killed, the ability on the stack will also retain the deathtouch due to the "last known information" rule (113.7a in the MtG Comprehensive Rules as of February 2021):

Once activated or triggered, an ability exists on the stack independently of its source. Destruction or removal of the source after that time won’t affect the ability. Note that some abilities cause a source to do something (for example, “Prodigal Pyromancer deals 1 damage to any target”) rather than the ability doing anything directly. In these cases, any activated or triggered ability that references information about the source for use while announcing an activated ability or putting a triggered ability on the stack checks that information when the ability is put onto the stack. Otherwise, it will check that information when it resolves. In both instances, if the source is no longer in the zone it’s expected to be in at that time, its last known information is used. The source can still perform the action even though it no longer exists.


When do transformed creatures go back to their original forms? It's not clear to me from reading Double-Faced Card Rules: do transformed creatures revert back to their original type automatically? And if so, when? End of your turn or beginning of your next turn?

Double-faced cards only transform when they (or another effect like Moonmist) explicitly say they transform.  For example, Ulvenwald Mystics says on its front side:

At the beginning of each upkeep, if no spells were cast last turn, transform Ulvenwald Mystics.

and the back side (Ulvenwald Primordials) says:

{G}: Regenerate Ulvenwald Primordials.
At the beginning of each upkeep, if a player cast two or more spells last turn, transform Ulvenwald Primordials.

Thus, the conditions for transforming in both directions are printed on the card.
Loyal Cathar, on the other hand, has a transformation-causing ability on its front side but no transformation-related abilities on its back, so once it transforms, it stays that way until it leaves the battlefield.


+Cards, do you have to draw right away? How do the +cards work in Dominion? Do you have to draw the card immediately or can you wait?

For example, let's take the Spy cards where it says +1 cards, and then all players must reveal the top card of their deck, you decide whether they discard it or put the card on top of the library.

As of now, I'm doing the latter before the +card label, as it lets me see the card I might draw or not.

YES
You must draw right away.
Page 6 of the Rulebook:

Common terms used on the Action cards:
"+X Card(s)" – the player immediately draws X number of cards from his
Deck. If there are not enough cards in his Deck, he draws as many as he
can, shuffles the Discard pile to form a new Deck, and then draws the
rest. If he still does not have enough cards left after forming a new Deck,
he just draws as many as he can.

You must immediately draw the cards. You cannot wait to draw the cards after you have performed the other phases of your turn, or perform other actions on the card after the "+X Cards" line before drawing the cards.
Also note your specific example is clarified in the rules on page 7 (emphasis mine):

Spy – Spy causes all players, including the one who played it, to
reveal the top card of their Deck. Note that you draw your card
for playing Spy before any cards are revealed. Anyone who does
not have any cards left in their Deck shuffles in order to have
something to reveal. Anyone who still has no cards to reveal
doesn't reveal one. If players care about the order in which
things happen for this, you do yourself first, then each other
player in turn order. Revealed cards that aren't discarded are
returned to the top of their players' Decks.


How big is the Settlers of Catan board? I'm considering buying a small table, and I want to be sure it'll support all the games I might want to play on it. Sadly, however, I don't have access to Settlers and all its expansion right now.

An article about making a custom Catan board suggests that the base game should fit within 18" by 24", but that doesn't include the sea border or any of the expansions or extensions.

What is the physical size of the Settlers of Catan board when set up?

...with the 5-6 player extension?
...with the Seafarers expansion?

...and the Seafarers 5-6 player extension?

...with the Cities & Knights expansion?

...and the Cities & Knights 5-6 player extension?

...with the Traders & Barbarians expansion?

...and the Traders & Barbarians 5-6 player extension?

Roughly 15x16" for the base game.

roughly 15x20" for the 5-6p expansion.

About 17x28" for framed base game with C&K, and another 3.125" for 5-6p.

Seafarers can be considerably larger... up to 24x36"

I've not bothered with Traders and Barbarians, so I cannot speak to it.

Note that the travel version (which is base game only) fits nicely on an airline tray table.


Is an incident recorded when an outbreak occurs? If a city has no supply cubes and 3 plague cubes, and its card is drawn during the Infect phase of a turn, it outbreaks and affects adjacent locations. The wording in the manual indicates

  To infect a city... If the city has no supply cubes, instead place a plague cube and record the incident. If the city already has 3 plague cubes, do not place a 4th cube.

So, if it already has 3 plague cubes, it specifically says not to place a 4th, but it doesn't say not to record the incident.

In the section on incidents, however, the manual states

  An incident happens whenever a plague cube is placed into a location. Move the incident marker forward 1 space on the incident track.

So this says to only record an incident if a plague cube is placed.

How should I handle the outbreak city itself?

You do not increase the incident track.

You've already cited the rule here, which is pretty specific: "An incident happens whenever a plague cube is placed into a location." If a city has three plague cubes, you aren't placing a new plague cube, so the incident rate will not increase.

A compiled FAQ on BGG also has this to say (emphasis mine):

  Incident marker: Always remember to move the incident marker when placing a plague cube on the board.

Also, this forum and this forum on BGG agree with the literal interpretation of the rules that you allude to.


Does drawing a card end your whole turn, or just prevent further movement? Could you continue to use items or make rolls after drawing a card, since these don't involve movement? Based on the rulebook, I think the answer is no, but I'm not sure.
From the rulebook, page 3:

"You can perform actions (such as using an item or attacking) in the middle of your movement. However, whenever a game effect makes you draw a card, for any reason, you must stop moving for the rest of your turn.

At first I was latching on to the phrase, "you must stop moving," thinking that meant you couldn't enter more rooms, but you could still do other things. I think we even played that if we created a room that contained an item for our haunt, we could immediately take that item when we created the room. But now I see that it says you perform actions "in the middle of your movement," which makes it sound like you can't do anything after your movement ends. So if you created a room with a haunt-specific item tile in it, you wouldn't be able to pick it up in the same turn?
For another example, if you placed the vault room and drew a card, you couldn't immediately try to enter the vault on that same turn, correct?
If actions can only occur in the middle of movement, does that mean you can't do anything else after running out of movement?
In that case, it would follow that if you were to move as far as your speed could take you, you couldn't then attack or use items or make a roll when you got there, right? Because it wouldn't be in the middle of your movement.
That doesn't seem right to me. It seems like, for instance, if you had a speed of 3, and there was an item pile three rooms away, you should be able to get to the room and then pick up the items there. Or if you had to make a skill roll three rooms away, you should be able to go there and make that roll.
So I'm wondering if I'm misunderstanding what it means by "the middle of your movement." Any insight is appreciated.
Can you roll for event cards immediately after you've drawn them, or would you have to wait a turn?
I'm specifically wondering about the closet door event card in this regard. That card says:

Put the closet token in the room.
Once during an explorer's turn, that explorer can roll two dice to open the closet...

So, with this card, do you simply place the closet and then end your turn, or can you roll for the closet items? This is similar to the scenario with the vault, but it's different since rolling for the closet could count as part of the card event.

You can take any other action, even though you're not allowed to move anymore.

The keyword you are missing in the rules you quote is "can":

  You can perform actions (such as using an item or attacking) in the middle of your movement.

This is simply clarifying that it is allowed to do actions in the middle of movement, it is not a restriction that they can only be done then. You can also do actions before or after movement.

See the rules that allow other actions, on page 4 of the rulebook:

  ON YOUR TURN . . .

  … you can do as many of the following actions as you want, in any order:

    • You can move.

    • You can discover a new room.

    • You can attempt a die roll.

    • You can use items or omen cards.

    • You can attack (once during your turn after the haunt starts)

This means that with things like closet and vault, you can attempt to access them immediately. Same goes for attacking after moving as far as you can.

The only thing that drawing a card or running out of movement points prevents is moving.


What reasons would a designer want to employ squares over hexes in a battle simulation game? In many games I have played, initial editions (eg the 1960s version of Midway) use squares for their boards.

Often, later editions (eg the 1990s edition of Midway) change to a hex pattern.

Hexes get around awkward movement rules (like being able to move 14 squares, or 10 on the diagonal (10 / sqrt of 2 is very close to 14)), but I wonder when squares would give a better feel for the environment?

In Clue it makes sense because they represent tiles in the hallways (and while you can be whisked around the house by being involved in an accusation or via tunnels, the hallways analogy makes sense). However, in a simulation game, I cannot see how squares could be useful.

When are they a good mechanic in simulation game design?

Well one point towards squares is simplicity. It is a much easier system to grok (outside of weird rules for diagonals)

The most important thing to consider is what your playing field is. If you are talking about a mostly open plain with very few obstacles, then a hex field is great as it avoids the diagonal rule cleanly.

However if you were going with, say, an urban layout, then a hex system would have a harder time with all the straight edges (not impossible, but difficult) while also not helping too much, since diagonals aren't a huge deal with hallways.


Is bribing off the robber a good addition to Settlers of Catan? When I play Settlers of Catan with my family we sometimes allow bribing of the person placing the robber to not place it in a particular spot.  Does anyone else play this way and if so do you find this a net benefit to the game?

Clarification: This is a house rule and we realize it is not part of the normal rules.  The question is more to determine whether anyone else plays this way or not.

I have played this and it absolutely degrades the fun factor of the game.

You end up getting everyone paying off to not get robbed.  The person who will pay the least gets the robber.  We had the person rolling the seven getting huge amounts of resources.

It really disrupted the flow of the game.

NOTE: we did not change the rules to allow this.  It was done as an agreement that was payed at a legal trading time.  One fun aspect is that, because it was not part of the rules, you could renege on your "payoff" commitment.  (Though this meant you were a sure target the next time around.)

While there was some fun elements (and gave us a few really fun games), I would absolutely not recommend it for more that variation in a game or two.


What happens when a gate moves onto a vortex? If a moving gate (from the Lurker at the Threshold expansion) would move into a vortex in Dunwich, what happens? My best guess is that, since the rules say it moves as a normal monster, it moves into the vortex, and, like a monster, adds a horror token to the track.

Moving gates cannot move onto Vortexes.
From a post on Fantasy Flight's forum:

Gates can't enter Vortexes. In this situation, the vortex is treated like an open gate, and gates can't move onto gates.
If a gate has to move into a vortex, it just stays in place instead.

I do not believe that the answerer, Tibs, is an official representative of Fantasy Flight.  However, he has nearly 4000 posts in their Arkham Horror forums and seems to have a very good grasp upon the rules.


Is a card with devoid colorless on the stack? A card with devoid is colorless. But is it still colorless when it's a spell? I mean: when is it in the stack, that is, when it is not yet a permanent, and when it has not yet been resolved?

As an example, I can take a card called Unnatural Aggression (mana cost 2G,so that at first glance it may seem that the spell is green). Is it possible to choose as one of this spell's targets a creature that has "protection from colored spells" among its abilities?

702.113a Devoid is a characteristic-defining ability. “Devoid” means “This object is colorless.” This ability functions everywhere, even outside the game. See rule 604.3.

'Everywhere' includes the stack, so a creature with protection from green can still be targeted by Unnatural Aggression.


Is there a way to approximate Hold'em blind increases to time a game? At a poker night I organise with friends, we're currently ratifying a set of rules.

For the blind structure, at the moment, we start with blinds of 5/10 and increase the blinds every 15 minutes.

If we want a game to last for say, 2 hours (obviously, loose or aggressive play can influence this) is there a blind increase structure or schedule that can make a game last roughly 2 hours?

The number of players varies for each game, anywhere between 4 and 8.

One way to help this is to think about it backwards, so you have 8 periods of blinds (15 minutes x 4 x 2 hours) and let's assume 8 players, 100 chips each.  So, ideally, you want one player eliminated each period.  What's a high-enough blind to encourage play?  Try 10-1 or 20-1.  With 10-1, the last period will have 2 players, each with 400 chips, so that's a big blind of 40.  The second to last, has 3 players with ~260 chips each, that's a big blind of 26.

10 11 12 16 20 26 40 is therefore the mathematical progression (which we'd tweak to 5, 10, 12, 16, 20, 30, 40 for poker sanity and ease).  This is quite aggressive, so feel free to tweak the ratio.  Still, it should give you a method for determining good numbers.


Does the first spell from Possibility Storm go on the stack before being exiled? I'm staring at the card Possibility Storm coming out of Dragon's Gate and thinking about cards such as Hive Mind that would add some additional chaos. The wording on Possibility Storm says

  Whenever a player casts a spell from his or her hand, that player exiles it, then exiles cards from the top of his or her library until he or she exiles a card that shares a card type with it.

This wording makes me think that the initial spell makes it onto the stack before being exiled, since when it is cast it would hit the stack. It doesn't use the replacement wording "instead," which might indicate that the original spell is never cast.

Does Possibility Storm put the original spell on the stack before casting the second spell from the library? If so, does this mean that Hive Mind would trigger for the first card (assuming it was an instant or sorcery) because it was cast? Would it also create copies for the second card, since it is also cast?

Quick note: I'm also assuming that a player couldn't use Replicate or Reiterate to copy the first spell since all effects of the Possibility Storm would need to happen before someone has priority to do so. The first spell would have been removed from the stack when it gets exiled, so someone wouldn't be able to sneak in a copy spell at that point. I'm also curious if I'm correct here, although it seems like if this is true, then Hive Mind wouldn't be able to sneak in a copy, either.

Let's look at Reiterate first since it's simpler.

Say you have a Possibility Storm on the 'field and you cast some arbitrary spell, Lightning Bolt. Here's how things would unfold without Reiterate.

You cast Lightning Bolt.

You put it on the stack.
You activate mana abilities.
You pay its cost.
Possibility Storm's ability triggers.

Possibility Storm's ability is put on the stack.
Players get priority.
Possibility Storm's ability resolves. Let's say you find Thoughtflare and choose to cast it.
Players get priority.
Thoughtflare resolves.

You can cast Reiterate in response to Possibility Storm's triggered ability (step 3), but if you do, it will trigger Possibility Storm and get exiled, so you won't get to copy the spell.

If you could somehow cast Reiterate from somewhere other than your hand (maybe with the help of Possibility Storm), this is how it would work out:

You cast Lightning Bolt.

You put it on the stack.
You activate mana abilities.
You pay its cost.
Possibility Storm's ability triggers.

Possibility Storm's ability is put on the stack.
Players get priority.
You cast Reiterate (from somewhere other than your hand) targeting Lightning Bolt.
Players get priority.
Reiterate resolves. Lightning Bolt is copied.
Players get priority.
Lightning Bolt-copy resolves.
Players get priority.
Possibility Storm's ability resolves. Let's say you find Thoughtflare and choose to cast it.
Players get priority.
Thoughtflare resolves.

When it comes to Hive Mind and Replicate, we have two triggered abilities that trigger at the same time. When that happens, the abilities are added to the stack in APNAP order. If a player needs to add more than one ability to the stack, they place them in the order of their choice.

  603.3b If multiple abilities have triggered since the last time a player received priority, each player, in APNAP order, puts triggered abilities he or she controls on the stack in any order he or she chooses. [...]

  101.4. If multiple players would make choices and/or take actions at the same time, the active player (the player whose turn it is) makes any choices required, then the next player in turn order (usually the player seated to the active player’s left) makes any choices required, followed by the remaining nonactive players in turn order. Then the actions happen simultaneously. This rule is often referred to as the “Active Player, Nonactive Player (APNAP) order” rule.

Say you have a Possibility Storm on the 'field.

Scenario 1

He casts Gigadrowse on his turn, replicating it twice.

Possibility Storm's ability and Replicate triggers.

Replicate is put on the stack first (since he's the active player).
Possibility Storm's ability is put on the stack.
Players get priority.
Possibility Storm's ability resolves. Let's say he finds Thoughtflare and chooses to cast it.
Players get priority.
Thoughtflare resolves.
Players get priority.
Replicate resolves: Two copies of Gigadrowse are added to the stack.
Players get priority.
Gigadrowse-copy-2 resolves
Players get priority.
Gigadrowse-copy-1 resolves

Scenario 2

He casts Gigadrowse on your turn, replicating it twice.

Possibility Storm's ability and Replicate triggers.

Possibility Storm's ability is put on the stack first (since you're the active player).
Replicate is put on the stack.
Players get priority.
Replicate resolves: Two copies of Gigadrowse are added to the stack.
Players get priority.
Gigadrowse-copy-2 resolves
Players get priority.
Gigadrowse-copy-1 resolves
Players get priority.
Possibility Storm's ability resolves. Let's say he finds Thoughtflare and chooses to cast it.
Players get priority.
Thoughtflare resolves.

Scenario 3

You cast Gigadrowse, replicating it twice.

Possibility Storm's ability and Replicate triggers.

You control both Possibility Storm and Gigadrowse, so you decide the order they are placed on the stack. This becomes Scenario 1 or 2 depending on your choice.

Same as Replicate applies to Hive Mind.


If planeswalkers aren't creatures, how does Gideon's defeat work? Gideon's Defeat says:

  Exile target white creature that's attacking or blocking. If it was a Gideon planeswalker, you gain 5 life.

However the rules also say:

  Planeswalkers are not creatures. Spells and abilities that affect creatures won't affect them.

If planeswalkers are not creatures, you cannot exile them with Gideon's Defeat, and thus you are not gaining any life from it?

Planeswalkers usually aren't creatures, but planeswalkers can sometimes turn into creatures. All iterations of Gideon can turn into a creature—it's kinda his thing—and sometimes other planeswalkers can too, like Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker who can turn into a dragon.

In Amonkhet, the Gideon planeswalker was Gideon of the Trials. His second loyalty ability says:

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

After using this ability his type line would say: Legendary Planeswalker Creature — Gideon Human Soldier. This makes him a legal target for "target creature", so if he then attacks, he'll be a legal target for Gideon's Defeat.

Since you usually can't activate loyalty abilities on someone else's turn, it's rare you'll see Gideon blocking like this, but if somehow that happens he'll be a legal target for Gideon's Defeat then too.


Can you suspect false carding from the following situation? You are playing this hand at 3NT having arrived there after you bid 1NT and North 3NT, East and West having passed throughout. Only you are vulnerable. (The hand is linked for reference; but you'd only actually get to see your hand and dummy as below, plus individual cards as they are played).  Dummy is North, the lead (by West) is the 5 of hearts 6, T, won by J in hand.

AK9
63
AT94
J985

QT8
KJ7
QJ82
AK3

You have two chances for your ninth trick; a diamond finesse is 50-50. You also have an extra chance (8% by my calculation) if East has Qx of clubs, since you can drop the Q, then finesse against Tx remaining in West.

Since clubs is a "key" suit, I begin by inventorying the opponents' combined holding: QT7642. I start by playing the A, and expect the two lowest cards, 4 and 2 to drop (which in fact is the case). Say one opponent drops the 6 instead; I would then expect his partner to have the 4.

I lead the K, and sure enough, East drops the Q. But here's the tricky part; West drops the 7, meaning that the 6 and T are outstanding. Put another way, they can't both be playing their lowest card and at least one of them must be falsecarding!

Should I now suspect "chicanery," and go back to my 50-50 diamond finesse because my a priori 8% chance of a successful drop is now too low? (The actual South player tried a finesse which lost to East's ten.)

But perhaps South could now capitalize on the 3-3 break (36% a priori) by putting up his Jack, since the queen has been sacrificed. I can understand why East falsecarded, but why would West do so? Because if he hadn't I would have taken the club finesse, thinking that West had four cards and the queen was an honest drop from East. But faced with evidence of chicanery, I would suspect that E-W were trying to hide the fact that the diamond finesse would work.

Dear Frank has omitted one additional possibility - there is a throw-in working against West when (a) it is actually possible to make the contract and (b) West holds T762 of Clubs. Once the Club Q falls on trick three this play should be visible to Declarer.

Cash three Spade tricks ending in Dummy to leave this for Declarer

S: -
H: 3
D: AT94
C: 5

S: -
H: K7
D: QJ82
C: -

and the possible West holding to be these:

S: -     or  J     or  J    or  J
H: AQ8       AQ8       AQ8      AQ
D: Kx        KX        K        Kx
C: 6         -         6        6

In all cases West has at most three cashing tricks, and no exit - just lead the last Club to West, pitching a diamond from hand, and wait for your last 2 tricks.

Update #2 - Play details:

Spades should be cashed in the order K; then Q; then A to maintain control if Spades break worse then 4-2. Then the Diamond Q should be pitched from hand on the 4th round of Clubs to unblock; there is no need for more than 2 Diamond tricks and we desire to win both in Dummy.

Update #3 - Odds of both lines of play:

After trick 1 there is only a 11*10 / 20*19 = 11/38 chance that Hearts are split 4-4 (ie that both unplaced Hearts are with East, with 9 and 11 cards unknown in West and East respectively). Combined with the Diamond finesse that gives roughly a 64.5% chance to make the contract.

Testing the Club Q first gives a 50% + 1/3 * 48% = 66% chance to make on a straight doubleton Q, plus the additional chance, as here, of an expert defender attempting a subterfuge that fails on an endplay.

Update:

Note that an expert West holding the Diamond K, and thus knowing that his partner has at most three HCP, will almost always false card in Clubs so that (a) a false card by his partner in the suit is believable; and (b) if East cannot false card in Clubs then Declarer won't know whom to believe because the signals are inconsistent. It is a mandatory play at that level, and cannot hurt because his partner (a) already knows what to return if he gets in and (b) has nothing to be fooled about.

The guideline here is that when the defensive values are split decidedly unevenly between the two hands, the weaker hand false cards only out of necessity while the stronger hand will false card frequently. This can sometimes assist Declarer in placing cards, but works to Defenders' advantage more frequently.