Do the draw abilities of Kor Spiritdancer and Mesa Enchantress stack? Suppose I have both Kor Spiritdancer and Mesa Enchantress under my control. They have two similar abilities:

  Kor Spiritdancer: Whenever you cast an Aura spell, you may draw a card.

  Mesa Enchantress: Whenever you cast an enchantment spell, you may draw a card.

If I now cast an Enchantment — Aura card, do I draw two cards or one?

You can draw 2 cards. When you cast an Aura spell, then 2 separate triggered abilities will trigger. You choose the order in which to put them on the stack (the order doesn't matter in this case), and then you will have 2 separate instances of "you may draw a card" on the stack, which will resolve one at a time.


What is the original name of this game "Marble Wow"? Anyone know another (hopefully original) name for this game explained in this youtube video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrjvrB6V_EY

The description says it is ancient and of Asian origin but thats it.

Board: 4x4 grid.
Players: 2
Pieces: 4 pieces per player.
Setup: All 8 pieces on board forming an X.
Movement: 1 piece per turn, moves in single direction until stopped by wall or other piece.
Win: players pieces in one of these patterns:2x2 square, or 4 corners, or straight orthagonal line.
Rules: If player blocks one of opponents pieces from moving, opponent wins.

I'm sure it wasn't played with marbles, but probably wood tokens or if indeed Asian, then Go pieces perhaps.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

That game was published under the name Dao in 1999. No mention on the BGG entry for Dao of a prior version of that game, so I assume that's the original incarnation.


If someone blocks an infect creature, do the -1/-1 counters stay on the creature? The Infect ability is worded as follows: Infect (This creature deals damage to creatures in the form of -1/-1 counters and to players in the form of poison counters.)

I'm just wondering if these -1/-1 counters stay on the creature who blocked the creature with infect or do the -1/-1 counters go away at my end step?

Thanks!

They stay on the creature. The rules for Infect say:

  702.89c Damage dealt to a creature by a source with infect isn’t marked on that creature. Rather, it causes that many -1/-1 counters to be put on that creature. See rule 119.3.

There is nothing in the rules that removes them, therefore they stay on the damaged creature.

From the Gatherer rulings on Vector Asp:

  The -1/-1 counters remain on the creature indefinitely. They're not removed if the creature regenerates or the turn ends.


What game did these pawns go to? Vintage unidentifiable Hard plastic game pieces 8 short 4 medium 1 large in both blue and red.

They look like they belong to Smess: The Ninny's Chess.


What happens when the {X} in Mind Grind *is* zero? Normally, when you cast a spell without paying its mana cost, the {X} in its mana cost is 0.

Mind Grind, however, has an additional restriction:

  X can't be 0.

Clearly you can't choose for {X} to be zero when you cast it normally. But what happens if you don't get to choose, e.g. when you cascade into Mind Grind or cast it with Epic Experiment?

You must choose zero for X, but you can't choose zero for X, so you can't cast the spell. Epic Experiment doesn't force you to cast anything ("may cast"), so it will be moved to the graveyard by the later part of Epic Experiment's effect.

  107.3b If a player is casting a spell that has an {X} in its mana cost, the value of X isn’t defined by the text of that spell, and an effect lets that player cast that spell while paying neither its mana cost nor an alternative cost that includes X, then the only legal choice for X is 0. This doesn’t apply to effects that only reduce a cost, even if they reduce it to zero. See rule 601, “Casting Spells.”

  101.2. When a rule or effect allows or directs something to happen, and another effect states that it can’t happen, the “can’t” effect takes precedence.

  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. Casting a spell follows the steps listed below, in order. If, at any point during the casting of a spell, a player is unable to comply with any of the steps listed below, the casting of the spell is illegal; the game returns to the moment before that spell started to be cast (see rule 717, “Handling Illegal Actions”). Announcements and payments can’t be altered after they’ve been made.

You can see these rules applied by an official source in the Oracle rulings for Ertai's Meddling:

  10/4/2004     Ertai's Meddling can't be cast through any way that doesn't
  pay its mana cost. This is because the X in the Meddling's mana cost
  can't be 0, but effects that allow spells to be cast without paying
  their mana costs set X to 0.


Can Spike, Tournament Grinder tutor for cards outside of your Sideboard at Launch Night's Draft? Will tutoring with Spike, Tournament Grinder's ability still have to follow the ruling that anything outside of the game refers to sideboard only? If so, isn't this a useless ability since every card one drafts is legal to play with? Or will there be an exception where one can tutor for a Constructed format banned card outside the game that one has in procession that they have brought that night?

You are able to to get cards outside of your sideboard using Spike's ability in both limited and constructed.

This is adressed by Mark Rosewater (The person in charge of silver bordered rulings) on his tumblr Blogatog.

  bolas-our-lord-and-savior asked: In un limited/constructed spike can get cards not in your sideboard right?

  MR:Yes.

Source.

Special note for Commander/EDH play:

With the announcement that Silver-boarded cards will be legal in Commander/EDH until January 15 2018, it should be mentioned that Spike will not work without prior agreement from your play group (as confirmed by Mark Rosewater). This is because Commander already has an established rules for cards that refer to cards outside the game.

  13. Abilities which refer to other cards owned outside the game (Wishes, Spawnsire, Research, Ring of Ma'ruf) do not function in Commander without prior agreement on their scope from the playgroup.

The common way that this is resolved is with the use of a Wishboard.


Why can't an overloaded Counterflux beat Pyromancer Ascension? In his write-up of Pro Tour BTG in Valencia, pro player Gaudenis Vidugiris described this game, the last one he played to get to the top 16 (emphasis added):

  Round 14 I battled against RWU Twin. Both games I got active Ascensions reasonably quickly and killed him.  Though in the second game he had a Grafdigger's Cage on turn one which slowed me down enough that I couldn’t kill him for a while and even gave him a draw phase where a Splinter Twin would have been lethal.  I actually got two active [Pyromancer Ascensions] rather quickly, but couldn't find a blue card to copy for a turn or two.  Eventually, I found one which dug me into an Echoing Truth and after I explained to my opponent why his overloaded Counterflux couldn't counter all of the Echoing Truth copies he conceded.

What's the rules trick here? How come an overloaded Counterflux can't counter several copies of Echoing Truth?

Counterflux works against a singleton Pyromancer Ascension. With multiple active Ascensions, the copied spells don't go on the stack all at once, so Counterflux can't hit all of them.

I found the answer in the comments section of that article:

  Play echoing truth target something, both ascensions trigger.
  First ascension trigger resolves, puts an echoing truth copy on top of the stack, so this copy will resolve before the other ascension trigger resolves.

So to show the stack, since it's hard to think about from the wording:

First, cast Echoing Truth. Both Pyromancer Ascensions trigger.

Stack:

PA#1 trigger
PA#2 trigger
Echoing Truth

PA#1 trigger resolves. Stack is now:

Echoing Truth Copy
PA#2 trigger
Echoing Truth

If you cast Counterflux with overload now, it will counter the two spells, but NOT the trigger, because it doesn't counter abilities. So after it resolves, the PA#2 trigger will resolve and create another copy of Echoing Truth. And if you wait until PA#2 trigger resolves, the first Echoing Truth copy has already resolved. No matter what you do, one Echoing Truth will get through.


Are discarded tiles reusable or removed from the game? In Neuroshima Hex 3.0 a player starts their turn by drawing up to three tiles and discarding one of them into the discard pile.  Are these tiles out of the game permanently or is the discard pile essentially just your supply of tiles?  In other words, when I discard a tile will I have the chance to draw it again or not?

Discarded tiles are out for the remainder of the game. While the rules don't specify this, they never allow for reshuffling of the draw pile. This would also force you to maintain separate discards for your defeated tiles and your discarded-from-hand tiles, which is an unnecessary and unspecified complication.

As further proof, the behavior in the Neuroshima Hex 3.0 mobile game is that discarded tiles are, simply, discarded (permanently).

I'm sorry that I don't have anything more official to cite here, but I believe that both the behavior of the official app and nature of the rules stated are sufficient as proof that discarded tiles are truly discarded.


Plague Spitter + Rite of Passage Scenario: I have a 2/2 creature and Rite of Passage on the battlefield. Then I play 2 Plague Spitters.
What will happen at the beginning of my next turns upkeep?

Will both Plague Spitters damage happen at the same time, or will Rite of passages triggered ability respond to each Plagues Spitter's damage in turn and thereby save the 2/2 creature?

In Magic, when one event triggers multiple abilities simultaneously, you put all the triggers on the stack and resolve them one by one, sequentially.

So, what's actually happening with the triggers is this:

Both Plague Spitters' abilities trigger at the same time. Since you control both, you can put them on the stack in whatever order you choose. We'll say you put ability #1 on the stack first, then ability #2.

Stack is: PS1, PS2.

If nobody adds more stuff to the stack, we begin resolving abilities on the stack. Plague Spitter ability #2 at the top of the stack resolves and does 1 damage to each creature. You check to see if any creatures died, but they all have 2 toughness, so they don't. Also, the damage triggers Rite of Passage. You put the Rite of Passage triggers (one for each creature) on top of the stack. If there are three creatures, there are three separate triggers.

Stack is: PS1, RoP1, RoP2, RoP3.

(Note that the RoP triggers are on the stack, so none of your guys have +1/+1 counters yet, but they all do have one damage marked on them. If I Gut Shot one of your Plague Spitters right now, I could wipe your board using its death trigger.)
All pass. We resolve RoP trigger #3.

Stack is: PS1, RoP1, RoP2.

All pass. We resolve RoP trigger #2.

Stack is: PS1, RoP1.

All pass. We resolve RoP trigger #1. (Now all your creatures have a +1/+1 counter on them.)

Stack is: PS1.

All pass. We resolve Plague Spitter trigger #1. The Plague Spitter does 1 damage to each creature. We check if any of them died. They all have three toughness now, because of the counters, so nope. Rite of Passage triggers again (for each creature).

Stack is: RoP4, RoP5, RoP6.

(Continue resolving RoP triggers.)
You'll end up with a bunch of 4/4 creatures (2/2s with two +1/+1 counters each) with 2 damage marked on them.


Can I draw something on my card and play tournaments with it? Just out of curiosity, what can I do to the card, so it's still legal to play it in official tournaments?

Can I draw something over ruling texts?
Can I draw something over artwork?
Can I draw something over mana cost?
Can I draw something over its name?

I'll be glad to see some official rulings about it. :)

You may not change or make illegible a card's name or mana cost. Other restrictions also apply. A tournament's head judge is the final authority on anything that happens in that tournament, including what card modifications are acceptable.

Yes you can obscure and remove the rules text.
You cannot completely replace the art work, the card must still be recognisable by its art.
The manacost must still be legible.
The name must still be legible.

The relevant rules for this question can be found in the MtG tournament rules (pdf):

http://wpn.wizards.com/sites/wpn/files/attachements/mtg_mtr_22jan16_en.pdf

  3.3 Authorized Cards

  Players may use any Authorized Game Cards from Magic: The Gathering expansions, core sets, special sets, supplements, and promotional printings. Authorized Game Cards are cards that, unaltered, meet the following conditions:

  The card is genuine and published by Wizards of the Coast
  The card has a standard Magic back or is a double-faced card.
  The card does not have squared corners.
  The card has black or white borders.
  The card is not a token card.
  The card is not damaged or modified in a way that might make it marked.
  The card is otherwise legal for the tournament as defined by the format.

  The Head Judge of an event may issue a proxy (see section 3.4) for a card that has become worn or damaged during the tournament.

  Any other cards that are not Authorized Game Cards are prohibited in all sanctioned tournaments.

  Unglued and Unhinged basic land cards are allowed in sanctioned Magic tournaments.

  Players may use cards from the Alpha printing only if the deck is in opaque sleeves.

  Players may use otherwise-legal non-English and/or misprinted cards provided they are not using them to create an advantage by using misleading text or pictures. Official promotional textless spells are allowed in sanctioned
  Magic tournaments in which they would otherwise be legal.

  Artistic modifications are acceptable in sanctioned tournaments, provided that the modifications do not make the card art unrecognizable, contain substantial strategic advice, or contain offensive images. Artistic modifications also may not obstruct or change the mana cost or name of the card.

  The Head Judge is the final authority on acceptable cards for a tournament

What constitutes "substantial strategic advice" is covered by 2.11:

  2.11 Taking Notes

  Players are allowed to take written notes during a match and may refer to those notes while that match is in progress. At the beginning of a match, each player’s note sheet must be empty and must remain visible throughout the match. Players do not have to explain or reveal notes to other players. Judges may ask to see a player’s notes and/or request that the player explain his or her notes.

  Players may not refer to other notes, including notes from previous matches, during games.

  Between games, players may refer to a brief set of notes made before the match. They are not required to reveal these notes to their opponents. These notes must be removed from the play area before the beginning of the next game. Excessive quantities of notes (more than a sheet or two) are not allowed and may be penalized as slow play.

  The use of electronic devices to take and refer to notes is permitted at Regular Rules Enforcement Level (see section 2.12 – Electronic Devices).

  Players and spectators (exception: authorized press) may not make notes while drafting. Players may not reference any outside notes during drafting, card pool registration, or deckbuilding.

  Players may refer to Oracle text at any time. They must do so publicly and in a format which contains no other strategic information. Consulting online sources, such as gatherer.wizards.com, is allowed at Regular Rules Enforcement Level. If a player wishes to view Oracle text in private, he or she must ask a judge.

  Artistic modifications to cards that indirectly provide minor strategic information are acceptable. The Head Judge
  is the final arbiter on what cards and notes are acceptable for a tournament.


Do +1/+1 counters count for Fighting? I have a 3/2 with six +1/+1 counters on it, making it a 9/8. My friend used Prey Upon targeting it with his own 5/5. He said the +1/+1 counters didn't count while fighting, and that it was just considered a 3/2. Is that true?

No, your friend is wrong. The creatures simply deal damage equal to their power:

  701.11a A spell or ability may instruct a creature to fight another creature or it may instruct two creatures to fight each other. Each of those creatures deals damage equal to its power to the other creature.

A 9/8 has a power of 9, and it doesn't matter what its base power was. The whole point of power/toughness-changing effects (like +1/+1 counters) is that they change the power/toughness of the creature.

So your friend's 5/5 will die, and your 9/8 will survive.

Terminology: we say your creature has base power/toughness of 3/2, but its power/toughness is 9/8. Pretty much nothing in the game cares what base power/toughness is; the only time it's mentioned is when it's being set, like on Turn to Frog. Everything normal in the game just looks at the actual power/toughness.


Pandemic Legacy 2 - definition of "adjacent" When an infection spreads, its say to all "adjacent" cities.   Does this apply to any city connected by land and sea, or just by land?

In the rules, page 6, it indicates (emphasis mine):

  SUPPLY LINES
  Although there are no supply lines at the beginning
  of the game, cities will be connected to each other
  across land by supply lines. Cities directly connected by
  a supply line are adjacent.

  SEA LANES & SEA ROUTES
  Locations are connected to each other in the ocean by
  sea lanes. Locations directly connected by a sea lane
  are adjacent. A series of connected sea lanes is called
  a sea route.

So cities connected by a (single) sea lane are adjacent, and the plague would spread to them as well.


Chess: Efficient training for recreational players What is an efficient way to train one's self at Chess?

I really enjoy playing, perhaps 1-2 times per week. I used to play on an electronic board once per day and at one point I could start to beat it on a regular basis. However, I find it extremely hard to improve myself, and the literature is vast.

If I would like to get to the next level, what is a reasonable approach? Just continue playing, or is there a more systematic approach? Starting to memorize openings? Maybe that's overkill and there could be other things I might do first. I've just glimpsed into Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, looks like reasonably leveled book. Any other suggestions?

Chess.com has a tactical trainer which I've found very good. It's available through their iPhone app as well as their website, although with a free subscription you're limited to 3 puzzles per day.

http://www.chess.com/tactics/

Each puzzle and player has an Elo rating, and if you solve the puzzle then both the puzzle's and your own rating are adjusted, and you're given another puzzle of similar rating.

Aside from this, record your games and go back through and have your opponent point out errors. When you're playing a game casually and it's clear you're down in material and position position, just concede and start another game. At that point you're just playing to hope your opponent slips up, which isn't a very good strategy.


Does one need to bid Stayman with a flat distribution? This example is from a book. South opens 1NT (15-17) with:

(s) AKx (h) JTxx (d) Kxx (c) Axx.

North has (s) Qxx (h)Axxx (d) Axx (c) xxx and goes to 3NT. The author (George Coffin) says that North ought to bid 2 clubs, Stayman, with four hearts. That's technically true.

But I don't fancy playing for ten tricks with a 3-4-3-3 distribution. Would rather take my chances for nine tricks with 3NT. (And I do have a bias toward NT.)

With a flat distribution, may responder jump directly to 3NT over 1NT? Or must s/he call a Stayman two clubs since he has four of a major? Which bidding systems allow a 3NT call in this situation?

In the hand given, you can sometimes make 3NT and never make 4H without misdefense. But change South's hand slightly to AKx JTxx Kxxx Ax and 4H has more chances than 3NT:

You have 7 top tricks (3 spades, 1 heart, 2 diamonds, 1 club). At 3NT, you must develop two more tricks, and hearts seems like your best shot at that. You must hope for honor-doubleton on your right (run the jack; if RHO covers, win the Ace and play up to the ten. You will lose to the honor on your left and then your ten and long heart are winners). If the honor holding is unfavorable but the split is 3-2, you still have hope of picking up the fourth round of diamonds (duck a diamond, then play the A and K; hopefully they have broken 3-3). You will have held up the CA on the opening lead. If clubs broke 4-4 then you'll make if you were able to take 3 hearts but go down if you lost two hearts as you still must lose a diamond. If they were 5-3 you're always going down on a club lead (and if hearts didn't behave, the opponents can still defeat you with a club switch). If they're 6-2, you can make in the unlikely case that the 1-3 tricks you must lose before taking 9 tricks are all lost to the doubleton club holder.

In 4H, you have a sure club and heart loser. In order to develop ten tricks, hearts must break 3-2 and you must ruff a club and a diamond, which requires losing a diamond, so you must be able to play hearts for one loser (which means Qx or Kx on your right). However, you make even if clubs don't break 4-4.

Consider some other hands declarer may have:

Ax KJTx KQxx Axx

KJxx KQxx KQx Jx

xxx QJTx KQx AK

All of these have more play in 4H than 3N.

So this hand isn't a great example of a hand that would want to avoid Stayman. That being said, there are times when jumping to 3NT with a 4-card major is indicated. Here's such a hand:

AKx KJxx Q9x JTx

This is a flat, meaty hand. You don't have ruffing values, but your side has a combined 29-31 HCP. Not enough for a slam, but very comfortable for game -- unless opponents can establish a ruff or two before you gain control. Let's give partner (South)

Qx AQ9x KJTx KQx

You'll almost certainly take 11 tricks in NT. On the other hand, in 4H, it may easily go diamond to the A, diamond ruff, club to the A, diamond ruff.


Can Thrun, the Last Troll be exiled? So I've been playing commander for quite a while now I've been playing a green stompy deck. I have Thrun, the Last Troll. It says it cannot be countered and it cannot be a target of opponents spells or abilities so isn't spells like instant and sorceries? My friend say it can be exiled still; is he correct?

Yes, Thrun can be exiled
Let's go through Thrun's abilities:

  This spell can't be countered.

This ability affects Thrun while he's on the stack. It has no impact on him once he reaches the battlefield. Note that while Thrun is on the stack, he can still be exiled by effects such as Mindbreak Trap. This is because "exiling" a spell doesn't actually counter it; it simply moves the spell from the stack straight to the exile zone. It's also worth mentioning that Thrun's second ability, hexproof, only applies while he's on the battlefield, meaning that it doesn't prevent him from being targeted by spells such as Mindbreak Trap while he's on the stack.

  Hexproof (This creature can't be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control.)

This specifically protects Thrun from all targeted spells and abilities. Magic cards are written in such a way that all such abilities specifically include the word "target", such as "destroy target creature", or "exile target permanent". As a result, Thrun is protected from a spell like Murder, but will still die to a spell such as Wrath of God.

  {1}{G}: Regenerate Thrun, the Last Troll.

Regeneration is an ability that creates a replacement effect when a creature would die due to damage, or be destroyed:

  701.14a If the effect of a resolving spell or ability regenerates a permanent, it creates a replacement
  effect that protects the permanent the next time it would be destroyed this turn. In this case,
  “Regenerate [permanent]” means “The next time [permanent] would be destroyed this turn,
  instead remove all damage marked on it and tap it. If it’s an attacking or blocking creature,
  remove it from combat.”
  701.14b If the effect of a static ability regenerates a permanent, it replaces destruction with an
  alternate effect each time that permanent would be destroyed. In this case, “Regenerate
  [permanent]” means “Instead remove all damage marked on [permanent] and tap it. If it’s an
  attacking or blocking creature, remove it from combat.”

It has no impact on a creature that's being exiled.

Outside of these cases, Thrun can be interacted with just like any other creature, including exiling it with a non-targeted spell, such as Final Judgement.


In Gloomhaven, is the leading card chosen for initiative after or before monster cards are revealed I understand that the 2 action cards are chosen before monster cards are revealed, but I'm confused about whether leading cards are chosen before monster cards are revealed.

I saw a video that states that the player chooses their leading card before monster cards are revealed, however the wording in the rulebook makes it sound like the leading card is chosen after the monster card is revealed.

The rule is a bit ambiguous, but the leading card is selected in card selection and only revealed in initiative phase.

Rules:(emphasis theirs)

Select cards:

  Of the two cards, one should be selected as the leading card, which will determine the player's order of imitative for the round

Determine initiative:

  After players have either selected their two action cards or declared a long rest, the players reveal a monster ability card for each type of monster that has at least one figure currently on the map. In addition, each player not taking a long rest reveals his or her leading card for the round.

This means when you pick which two cards to play, you also decide which card will be leading at that time, then player leading and monster cards are revealed at the same time.


How to replace Leatherback Baloth in the post-Zendikar environment in a deck of this type? Artifacts

2x Birthing Pod

Creatures

2x Thrun, the Last Troll
4x Acidic Slime
4x Cudgel Troll
3x Dungrove Elder
2x Elvish Archdruid
2x Garruk's Companion
4x Llanowar Elves
2x Primeval Titan

Land

22x Forest

Spells

2x Genesis Wave
2x Green Sun's Zenith
2x Lead the Stampede
2x Beast Within
2x Hunter's Insight
3x Rampant Growth

Since Zendikar/M11 rotates out I did not include  Leatherback Baloth into my deck, do you have some ideas for replacing it?

Well, assuming you're happy with how the deck was working up to now, the most important thing is to preserve the mana curve.  That is made extra important of course by the use of birthing pod.  Once you constrain to 3-cost green-only creatures, the list of options in standard is quite manageable.  Especially considering you can exclude the infect creatures.

http://magiccards.info/query?q=t%3A%22creature%22+%28c%3Ac+or+c%21g%29+cmc%3D3+f%3Astandard&s=cname&v=card&p=1

I would say a fourth Dungrove Elder is an obvious recommendation.  I also like Sylvok Replica a lot for this deck.  The option to use him as an artifact removal is great, and he still finds Thrun for you if your opponent has no artifacts.


Are there systems or experts that will deduct a point for weak tripletons? One of the easier ways to lose a game contract is to have something like Jxx opposite Txx, and lose the first three tricks with a "long" and weak suit. That spells automatic defeat at a minor suit contract, even with the remaining 31 points (29 is ordinarily needed to make game), one trick to go at a major suit contract, and two tricks to go at no trump.

I believe that there are some authorities who will deduct a point for say, a 4-3-3-3 distribution. Does that get one to the same place in a roundabout way? Or am I right to be specifically concerned about the three "little ones" in a hand like A952 AT64 863 AK?

Losing trick count is a form of hand evaluation where you count the number of losers in each suit, to a maximum of 3 per suit. So

A, AK, AKQ, AKQxxx, and -void- are all 0-loser suits.
x, K, Ax AKx, AQx are all 1-loser suits.
Qx, xx, QJx, Kxx are all 2-loser suits
Jxx, xxxx, xxxxx, are all 3-loser suits.

Note that 3 little in a suit is the worst possible holding -- it counts for 3 losers without covering any losers in another suit.

Losing trick count is a bit controversial -- note that Qxx xxxxx Qxx xx evaluates to 9 losers, as does AJT AJxx xx Jxxx, where the second is a far stronger hand. However, losing trick count is probably more accurate than high card points when evaluating a distributional hand that has a fit with partner.

The scale of evaluation is based on the assumption that when you add your losers to partner's and subtract that number from 24, you'll make that many tricks. So a 7-loser hand is a minimum opener / game force. An 8-loser hand is invitational and a 6-loser hand accepts. A 9-loser hand is a typical responding hand.

Most players I know only use losing trick count to make decisions when they know that they have a known 9-card fit  or double fit with partner (or possibly a 4-4).

On the other hand, I wouldn't worry overmuch about 3 small in a suit. Often partner will have an honor or shortness to make the suit less hopeless. Another way you can avoid bad games with 3 small is to be on the lookout for wastage; when you have cramped honors in a suit (e.g. KQ tight, AQJ, etc) and partner shows a stopper in that suit, that's bad news -- it means that you're double-counting the honors in that suit.


Are diagonal corners concidered adjacent? For purposes of movement and weapon range, are diagonally connected corners concidered adjacent?

From the middle of the right-hand side of page 8 of the rulebook:

Quote:
Investigators may move between two spaces that are diagonally
adjacent. Due to imperfections in die cutting, if spaces between
two tiles appear that they should be diagonally adjacent, then they
are. All non-adjacent spaces very clearly do not share a white
border by at least 1/8 of an inch.


Can I activate Angus Mackenzie between two combat phases? Let's imagine I'm in a multiplayer game and I'm happy with an opponent's first attack, so I don't activate Angus Mackenzie. The active player resolves combat, then casts Fury of the Horde and swings at me.

Is it too late to activate Angus, because it's after a combat damage step? Can it be activated because we can see there'll be another combat damage step later this turn?

Yes, it is too late.
This is covered by the rules under 506.6, in particular 506.6d and 506.6g.
Spells which may be cast only before a particular point in the combat phase, but not only during combat, may only be cast before the stated point of the first combat phase. And activated abilities share the same restrictions.

506.6g Rules 506.6 and 506.6a–f apply to abilities that state that they may be activated only at certain times with respect to combat just as they apply to spells that state that they may be cast only at certain times with respect to combat.
506.6d Some spells state that they may be cast “only before (or after) [a particular point in the combat phase],” but don’t meet the additional criteria described in rule 506.6c. If a turn has multiple combat phases, such spells may be cast that turn only before (or after) the stated point of the first combat phase.
506.6c Some spells state that they may be cast only “during combat” or “during a certain player’s combat phase” in addition to the criteria described in rule 506.6. If a turn has multiple combat phases, such spells may be cast at an appropriate time during any of them.


How does exiling cards for Delve work? Rite of Undoing reads:

Delve (Each card you exile from your graveyard while casting this spell pays for {1}.)
Return target nonland permanent you control and target nonland permanent you don't control to their owners' hands.

Please clarify - to exile means to 'banish' from the game? Why would I do that to my own cards? If otherwise, does the {1} mean each card 'exiled' costs 1 mana each?
Finally, if so, where do the cards go, hand, library, battlefield?

Exile means move into the exile zone which, yes, pretty much means they're gone. There are some exceptions, e.g. the Eldrazi Processors, Pull From Eternity, but the idea is mostly that exile is just gone. It's a completely separate zone, not part of any other zone. (You mention hand, library, and battlefield; those are also zones, as are your graveyard and the stack, and the exile zone is separate from all of them.)

But... that's not the important part of Delve. The important part is that you can cast spells cheaply! Each card you exile reduces the amount you have to pay by one mana. Have a bunch of cards in your graveyard you're not doing anything with? Exile them all, cast that Rite of Undoing for just one blue mana!

The effect is so powerful that cards like Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time had to be banned. It's quite easy to fill up your graveyard, and with that done, Treasure Cruise lets you draw three cards for just one mana, and Dig Through Time lets you look at seven and keep two for just two mana. Sure, the exiled cards are gone, but it's worth it!

A couple side notes about exile: "exile" was originally written as "remove from the game" - see for example this older edition of Path to Exile. "Exile" is hopefully clearer; putting something into an exile zone with generally no way to interact with it is more specific than the vague "removed from the game". And in the rare cases in which something can come back, moving something from the exile zone sounds a lot nicer than returning something from being removed from the game. (AWOL from Unhinged makes fun of this whole deal.)


Good sites for trading unwanted board/card games and expansions? I recently bought the Rio Grande/Alea Games Treasure Chest box set to get the Puerto Rico and San Juan expansions, but the boxed set comes with other expansions for games I have never played, and most likely will never play.

I don't want to deal with the hassle of selling them on eBay, and want to make sure the expansions go to go homes, so are there any sites where users can list their haves and wants for board and/or card game trading?

BoardGameGeek provides several ways to sell or trade boardgames online.

The first is to simply list it as available for trade. Once you have an account on BoardGameGeek, at the bottom of every game page you can add the game to your collection (click on the "user info" link at the top to get there quickly; for example). You can then click "add a copy to your collection" to list the fact that you own the game, and then fill in information on it; check boxes to indicate that you're willing to trade the game, fill in information on the condition of the game, etc. For games that you would like in trade, again go to the page for the game, go down to the "user info", click "record information", and check the "want in trade" box.

Once you've filled in some games you have available for trade, and want in trade, you can try and find trades. Go to the "My Geek" menu at the top, and select the "Trades" option. This will bring you to the Trade Manager, where you can find potential trades and track the process of trades in progress. Click "Direct Matches" to find people who have games for trade that you want, and who want games that you have for trade. You'll likely get a long list of matches, telling you what games they want and what games they have. You can then propose a trade with them, which will send them a GeekMail proposing the trade, that they can accept or decline. If they accept, you work out the shipping details with them, and then send each other the games. If you leave games listed as available for trade, other people who find them through the trade finder may also initiate trades with you, so if you're hoping to trade some games, check back relatively often to see if you get any GeekMail with trade offers.

There are also other ways to trade games via BGG. Some of the popular ones are "ultimate trades" and "math trades". The principle behind both is the same, to try and create circular trades, though the mechanism is different. The idea is that if you have game A and want game B, you might not be able to find someone who has game B and wants game A; but there might be one person who has game B and wants game C, and another who has C and wants A, so you can do a circular trade, where you send A to the person who wants it, he sends C to the person who wants it, and that person sends B to you.

Ultimate trades are generally posted as a GeekList, where someone starts the trade off by listing a game that he has for trade (so, it will start off as a list of one item). Then anyone who wants that game will come along, and post a new game that they would offer up for the original game (the new game should be of roughly equal value, or if it's a bit cheaper than you might also throw in a "sweetener" of a cheap game to even it out). This goes on, with each person in turn saying that they'll be willing to take the last item in exchange for a new one that they post. Eventually, the person who started the trade will see a game he likes, and close the loop by saying that he'll take that game. Then everyone shares shipping information with the person before them in the list, and sends their games to the people who claimed them. You can find examples of ultimate trades by searching for such GeekLists.

Math trades are a generalization of ultimate trades. The problem with ultimate trades is that they'll sometimes lose steam before you complete a loop, and so you will never complete them; or sometimes people have games to trade but don't want to initiate an ultimate trade nor do they find an existing, open one with games that they want. In a math trade, each person lists one or more games that they have for trade. Once they've done so, a list of games available is compiled, and everyone lists, for each game they have available for trades, one or more games from the list that they would like in exchange. Once all of this information has been submitted, someone runs one of several tools that will crunch all of the numbers, and try and find a set of trades that will maximize the total number of trades completed. It may find one big circular trade, but more likely it will find several smaller cycles, that satisfy more people than one big circular trade would have been able to. Then you all exchange shipping information, and ship the games. You can find examples of math trades by searching for them.

All of these trading methods allow you to leave feedback on the reliability of the person you're trading with, just like eBay. I've only done a few trades through BGG, but I've found everyone that I've dealt with honest and prompt about shipping their games.

Finally, there is the BoardGameGeek Marketplace, where you can buy and sell games. If you list games for sale on there, they will appear on each game page, so people interested in the game can buy them quickly and easily. I have never used the marketplace, so I can't speak about it much, but you can find some more info on it on the BoardGameGeek wiki.

And not exactly trade related, but similar, are the Secret Santa or other gift exchanges that go on. These are usually intended for new games (thus not directly relevant for trading purposes), but they are good ways for sharing your love for games with others. They will frequently be started as threads listing the rules for the exchange (the target price point for the games, any theme or other restrictions), and people can sign up to be given targets. It used to be run manually through GeekMail, but now there is a tool for creating and browsing gift exchanges, which can be private or public.


Can I use Nissa, Steward of Elements, to put out a creature with {X} in its mana cost onto the field? I've tried to find out the answer to this online, but haven't found anything that explicitly determines it.

The exact situation is that I have a Nissa, Steward of Elements with 9 loyalty counters on it.

I want to use her +0 ability to bring in a Hungering Hydra.

What can I choose the X to be? Since she mentions "converted mana cost" can I choose X to be 8?

The closest thing I've found for a ruling is the following ruling on Flash:

  If the creature has {X} in its mana cost, X is
  considered to be 0.

Does this apply to Nissa, even though she explicitly mentions converted mana costs (and Flash does not)?

No, you cannot choose a value for X. In this situation X is always considered to be 0.

Rule 107.3f says

  If a card in any zone other than the stack has an {X} in its mana cost, the value of {X} is treated as 0, even if the value of X is defined somewhere within its text.

Nissa's ability checks the converted mana cost of the card, then puts it directly onto the battlefield depending on that value. When you look at that card, it is in the library, not the stack, so X is 0 and Nissa sees a value of 1 for the CMC. Then you can put it on the battlefield, and since that is also not the stack, it will enter the battlefield with 0 +1/+1 counters.

The quoted ruling for Flash has exactly the same reasoning: the card is not on the stack, so X is always 0. It has nothing to do with whether or not the card mentions "converted mana cost".


Azor's paradox resonator If I have a least one Paradox Haze on the battlefield, and during my upkeep tap the Strionic Resonator targeting Azor's Elocutors upkeep ability, would the ability copy twice or would I need a second Resonator?

The ability would just copy once, and you would end up with a total of 3 filibuster counters after both upkeeps.

Paradox Haze gives you a second upkeep step. That just literally means that after one upkeep, another one happens. At the start of each of those 2 upkeep steps, Azor's ability will trigger, go on the stack, and resolve.

You activate Strionic Resonator during the first upkeep step or the second; either way there will be 1 copy of Azor's ability on the stack at that time, which you can target and copy.

To copy both of them for a total of 4 counters, you would need to also untap Strionic so you can use it a second time (or have another Strionic).


Does "cards with the same name can't be played" affect tokens? So a friend of mine has a card with the ability "Name a card. Cards that share a name with that card cannot be played."

My question is does this work on tokens?

I play a zombie token deck mainly, and this would cause a big hiccup to my ability to win the game.

Can I "play" a token?

No. You can still produce zombie tokens even if you are not allowed to play Zombie. "Play" has a very specific meaning in Magic:

  701.11b To play a card means to play that card as a land or to cast that card as a spell, whichever is appropriate.

When instructed to name a card, can I name a token instead?

It depends. If a token has the same name as a card, then you can name it. Here are a few examples:

Pack Rat creates tokens that are also named Pack Rat.
Meloku the Clouded Mirror creates Illusion tokens, but Illusion is also the name of a card.

Zombie is not currently the name of a card, and so Zombie is not a legal choice when instructed to name a card. However, if Zombie were printed as a card in the future, then it would be a legal choice.

  201.3. If an effect instructs a player to name a card, the player must choose the name of a card that exists in the Oracle card reference (see rule 108.1) and is legal in the format of the game the player is playing. (See rule 100.6.) If the player wants to name a split card, the player must choose the name of one of its halves, but not both. (See rule 708.) If the player wants to name a flip card’s alternative name, the player may do so. (See rule 709.) If the player wants to name the back face of a double-faced card, the player may do so. (See rule 711.) A player may not choose the name of a token unless it’s also the name of a card.


No family member that can pass away Yesterday we played village when an uncommon situation occurred which I couldn't find a description for in the manual.

I had only one family member alive which was on the farmyard. All the other family members of mine did already pass away or where not born yet or where in the black cloth bag. Then I sent the remaining family member into church so that he was in the black bag too.

When it was my turn again to take a new cube I took a black one which made my marker pass the bridge and usually one of my family members has to die now. But I had none visible in the game who could have died.

In the manual they say:

  A dying family member must be visible at the time of his death. This means that he must be either on the game board or on your farmyard (Family members still in the black bag cannot die, nor can ones that have not yet entered play.)

Since I had no family member matching these requirements my question is: What do I do in this particular situation?

Nothing happens.

The rules do not directly give an answer to this outright; but they are clear that a family member that is not visible; or has not been born yet; cannot die. So you simply cannot kill any village member. The game asks you to do something impossible; so you don’t do it. It is a common rule in other board games in general that you “only do as much as possible”.

There are a couple threads on BGG that agree with this interpretation.

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1323745/passing-away-nobody-visible

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/761561/about-family-member-pass-away


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

This Wizards.com article covers the aesthetics of the Return to Ravnica block, complete with an entire section ("Revisiting the Guild Symbols") on the changes made to each of the ten guild symbols since the original Ravnica block.  Nowhere in here are any names for the individual symbols given, and as this is the most in-depth official look at the symbols I've ever seen, it seems unlikely there are any official names.

EDIT: The only other official article I can find that really looks at the signets is this article from the end of the first Ravnica block (under "Ravnica's Best Guild Signets").  No names there either.


Roll a 7, move robber AND play knight and move the robber again in the same turn Lately while playing Catan I've been in situation of rolling a 7 and having a knight development card in my hand.

Is it legal for me to move the robber due to the 7 and then play a knight and move the robber again all in the same turn?

Yes, that is legal. You may play the knight at any time during your turn, including before rolling.


Double Strike with Lifelink that destroys its blocker in the first strike phase Say I have a 5/5 creature with double strike and lifelink. I attack with the 5/5 and my opponent blocks with a 1/1. The creature is killed by the damage in the first strike phase and I gain 5 life. Do I gain an additional 5 life in the normal damage phase?

As Ikegami mentioned in a comment, the answer is no. Double strike (as well as first strike) adds an additional combat damage step where creatures with double (or first) strike deal their damage. Creatures that die as a result of this damage will be removed from combat before the second combat damage step happens. So the order of things is:

Declare attacker: 5/5 double strike lifelink creature.
Declare blocker: 1/1
'First strike' combat damage step: attacker deals 5 damage to blocker, blocker dies and is moved to its controller's graveyard. Attacker's controller gains 5 life in this step.
'Regular' combat damage step: the attacker has no blocker (it died the previous step) so it doesn't deal combat damage. Any other attacking and blocking creatures deal combat damage as usual. This includes any creatures that survived the first strike damage step but did not deal damage in it.

If the 5/5 double strike is blocked by any creature with toughness 6 or greater, both these creatures will deal combat damage in the regular combat damage step.

The relevant rules are the following:

  702.4. Double Strike

  702.4a Double strike is a static ability that modifies the rules for the combat damage step. (See rule 510, “Combat Damage Step.”)

  702.4b If at least one attacking or blocking creature has first strike (see rule 702.7) or double strike as the combat damage step begins, the only creatures that assign combat damage in that step are those with first strike or double strike. After that step, instead of proceeding to the end of combat step, the phase gets a second combat damage step. The only creatures that assign combat damage in that step are the remaining attackers and blockers that had neither first strike nor double strike as the first combat damage step began, as well as the remaining attackers and blockers that currently have double strike. After that step, the phase proceeds to the end of combat step.

  702.4c Removing double strike from a creature during the first combat damage step will stop it from assigning combat damage in the second combat damage step.

  702.4d Giving double strike to a creature with first strike after it has already dealt combat damage in the first combat damage step will allow the creature to assign combat damage in the second combat damage step.

  702.4e Multiple instances of double strike on the same creature are redundant.

and:

  Blocked Creature: An attacking creature that another creature blocks or that an effect causes to become blocked. It remains a blocked creature until it's removed from combat, an effect says that it becomes unblocked, or the combat phase ends, whichever comes first. See rule 509, "Declare Blockers Step."

  510.1c. A blocked creature assigns its combat damage to the creatures blocking it. If no creatures are currently blocking it (if, for example, they were destroyed or removed from combat), it assigns no combat damage.


If a +1/+1 counter is removed after a creature takes damage, does it die? I have two creatures out.  Creature One gives Creature Two +1/+1.  Creature One is a 2/2 and Creature Two is a 4/4 after adding the +1/+1 from Creature Two.

My opponent casts a spell doing 3 damage to all creatures.

Now here's the question:  Does killing Creature One immediately remove the +1/+1 from Creature Two ending in her death as well?  Or does all the damage get applied then counters are removed leaving Creature Two with 1 toughness left?

Few points that should add up to an answer.

A Counter is not the same thing as a Static Ability that raises Power/Toughness.  Abilities that add counters will use the actual word Counter in them.

Once a counter is placed, killing the creature that placed it does not do anything.  So if you have an Adaptive Snapjaw that evolved and is now 7/3 due to a +1/+1 counter on it, that counter does not go away just because the other creature that caused it to evolve dies.

On the other hand if you have an Elvish Archdruid making all your elves +1/+1, that is a static ability.  All your elves get smaller immediately when he dies.  Sometimes new players do get in the habit of putting physical markers on other elves to track such an ability.  This is a bad habit, I would recommend against doing it.

Damage does not reduce toughness.  The xBox game does it wrong, pretend you never saw it.  A 3/3 with 2 damage marked is just that, a 3/3 with two damage.  It is no way shape or form a 3/1 for any purpose.  So if your 3/3 with 2 damage marked is an Elf, and your elvish arch druid dies, he will become a 2/2 with 2 damage marked, and promptly go to the graveyard as well.


Strategy for Yahtzee Yahtzee (aka "Nokia Dice") has the following rules:

The aim of the game is to score a maximum number of points. There are 13 hands on which you can get points, as well as a bonus. 5 dice are used in this game. Order of play for each hand is as follows.

Roll 1

Roll all 5 dice. You can keep any number of dice (0 to 5) and discard the rest. If you keep all the dice, omit roll 2 and 3.

Roll 2

Roll all the discarded dice. You can keep all 5 dice with you or discard any of them (just rolled, or pre-kept). If you keep all the dice, omit roll 3.

Roll 3

Roll all the remaining dice. You must take all the final 5 dice. You may not need all of them for scoring.

Scoring

There are 13 combinations for scoring. You must select a single combination for each hand. If you select a combination that you do not have, you get zero points for that hand. Once a combination is selected, it may not be selected again. A hand has no order, it does not matter which dice was acquired on which roll.

Combinations

a) 1s - Take the sum of all the 1s in your final hand (other dice are ignored)
b) 2s - Take the sum of all the 2s in your final hand (other dice are ignored)
c) 3s - Take the sum of all the 3s in your final hand (other dice are ignored)
d) 4s - Take the sum of all the 4s in your final hand (other dice are ignored)
e) 5s - Take the sum of all the 5s in your final hand (other dice are ignored)
f) 6s - Take the sum of all the 6s in your final hand (other dice are ignored)
g) 3x - If you have a same dice thrice (or more), take the sum of all 5 dice
h) 4x - If you have a same dice four times (or more), take the sum of all 5 dice
i) 2+3 - If you have a full house - 3 of one number and 2 of the other, take a fixed score of 25, irrespective of the numbers used
j) Mini straight - If you have 1234 or 2345 or 3456, as 4 of the 5 dice, take a fixed score of 30
k) Full straight - If you have 12345 or 23456, take a fixed score of 40
l) Jackpot - If all your 5 dice are the same, take a fixed score of 50
m) Chance - Take the sum of all the dice, irrespective of what they are

Bonus

If the sum of points obtained from options a) to f) (over 6 different hands) exceeds 64, collect a bonus of 35 points

Question

I know how to calculate the probability of a combination occurring at any scenario. What confuses me is which combinations to take early in the game, and which ones later. Should I take big ones right at the beginning, or save them for the end. To what extent should 3x and 4x be preferred over the a) to f), due to the bonus, as well as possibility of greater 3x and 4x sums in the future. Any tips or algorithms would be helpful.

I'm assuming you've read the Wikipedia article, and followed some of those links.  If not, read it first.

Yahtzee has been deeply studied by a few people.  The best known current techniques involve brute force computations over the entire state space.  The state space (the set of all possible games) can be structured to be small enough that every location can be computed.

That said, there is no simple answer to your question.  My suggestion to you, is to go to this page, and look at their deep simulation, and test yourself.  They have brute force addressed this problem and it's an interesting read.

If you are interested and have a decent math background (undergraduate probability theory course, and an understanding of finite state space Markov Chains) you can read these papers:
http://www.cs.loyola.edu/~jglenn/research/optimal_yahtzee.pdf
http://www.mimuw.edu.pl/~pan/papers/yahtzee.pdf


MtG multiple "first time each turn" effects question So I've been trying to word an emblem for a custom planeswalker so it gives the first card played each turn Flash, but so multiple emblems stack, giving each subsequent spell flash. I've been trying to find a precedent in MTG and have only found the following (maybe):

Make copies of Erayo, Soratomi Ascendent and flip them, either with Mirror Gallery on the board or using Helm of the Host, so they become Erayo's Essence which reads "Counter the first spell played by each opponent each turn". If I have, say, 4 of these effects does it counter the first spell four times or the first four spells?

I'm trying to keep the text on the card concise and easy to understand, but if I weren't I would have it read:
You get an emblem with "The first X spells you cast each turn are cast as if they had flash, where X equals the number of emblems you have with this effect. Only one emblem effect counts toward the total number of spells you may cast each turn with Flash gained from these emblem effects." This leaves little to interpretation, but has a ton more text than can fit under a planeswalker's ability.

Any help is appreciated.

For the exact effect you want, you can word the emblem as follows:

At the beginning of each upkeep, if this emblem has no Quickening counter on it, put a Quickening counter on it.
As long as this emblem has a Quickening counter on it, you may cast spells as though they had flash.
If you would cast a spell without a Quickening counter on it, instead move a Quickening counter from this emblem to that spell and the spell becomes cast.

This template keeps track of the number of spells cast with flash through your emblems with counters. You can cast spells as though they had flash as long as at least one emblem still has a counter on it. Since I worded the counter-moving effect as a replacement effect, it makes sure you get exactly N uses out of your N emblems, because they can't put a Quickening counter on a spell that has already been handled by another emblem. After all counters have been moved during this turn, you can no longer cast spells as though they had flash. The counters also cease to exist as the spell leaves the stack, so no maintenance is required in that regard.
Personally, however, I would drop the requirement that it has to affect the first N spells, whether they need it or not. It makes the emblem very awkward to word. I would recommend the following, much simpler and more elegant wording:

{0}: The next card you cast this turn can be cast as though it had flash. Activate this ability only once each turn.

That way, you can have multiple copies of that emblem and they work cumulatively and independently, with what I believe to be the minimum amount of text while using standard wording.
For balance reasons, you can add e.g. "and only during your/an opponent's turn" to the second sentence.
The template is a combination of Quicken and Avizoa.
With this wording, you are flexible which card you want to play with flash, and you don't have to awkwardly count the number of emblems, which are the least descriptive objects.


In Axis and Allies, Should the U.S. Build a "Factory" in Brazil? In Axis and Allies (original version), the basically maritime powers, the US and UK have a problem coming to grips with the land-based Axis. One solution is for them to buy industrial complexes in strategic locations to launch military units later in the game.

Typically, the UK might build a "factory" in India or South Africa, and the US in Sinkiang, west of China. The Sinkiang Factory has a few disadvantages.

It can launch only two units per turn.
It is directed against Japan (the lesser evil).
It can be captured, making it an Axis asset.
It's unrealistic, because Sinkiang is a landlocked territory that consists of Tibet and the Taklamakan desert, which is not exactly prime industrial property, even today. I'd solve this problem by allowing factory builds only in coastal areas (e.g. India, South Africa, Brazil).

An American factory in Brazil seems to have it all over Sinkiang.

It can produce three units per turn
It is directed against the Germans (in Africa)
It won't be captured unless the U.S. player is extremely careless, not merely "unlucky."
An American transport in African waters can go offshore Brazil, pick up two infantry, back to Africa and unload the infantry all in one turn. (It takes two turns for a round trip from Africa to the U.S.) That's an average savings of one infantry per turn, which will pay for a factory in five turns.

In real life, the U.S. built the beginnings of an industrial complex in Brazil, and failed to build one in interior China.

As a US player, do you build factories at all? And whether you answered yes or no, is Brazil a better bet than Sinkiang? Or am I missing something?

I can't imagine an instance where a US factory in Brazil makes much sense. Let's look at the supposed advantages one by one:

It can produce THREE units per turn - Yes, but the troops are not in a strategic position. The only territories to which you could move the units and not move your transports out the way is to: French West Africa; French Equatorial Africa; and Belgian Congo.

It is directed against the GERMANs (in Africa) - Yes, but unless Germany has some lucky dice rolls, you should have them hemmed into mainland Europe by turn 3 to 5. If you let Germany hold Africa for any significant amount of time, the Allies are fighting an uphill battle.

It won't be captured unless the U.S. player is extremely careless, not merely "unlucky." - True, that is a benefit over a factory in Sinkiang, whose sole purpose it seems is to help hold back Japan's march into Asia.

An American transport in African waters can go offshore Brazil, pick up two infantry, back to Africa and unload the infantry all in one turn. - True again: it only requires one turn to shuck troops from Brazil to Africa. However, it's also only one turn to shuck troops from Eastern Canada to Algeria (see the "shuck-shuck" from Don Rae's excellent essays on Allied strategy). The East Canada transport basing has the benefit of being able to attack Africa on turn 2 or 3 (just like best-case Brazil), but it also leaves the transports in position to support Finland or Western Europe instead. This is especially important because it allows the Allies to obfuscate their intended point of attack and/or change it on a whim based on Axis play. Once the shuck is set up troops hit the Europe or Africa every turn.

It seems to me that the sole advantage of a factory in Brazil is to take Africa from Germany. But it's a slow and costly way to do it.
My Approach to Claiming Ally Control of Africa
Here's my strategy to quickly secure Africa from Germany's grip:

On turn 1, the UK needs to sink as many German naval units as possible. If you're lucky, you'll have a sub, transport and/or battleship left that you can use to attack/as fodder, but even minus that you likely can use your Indian or UK fighters and UK bomber. The idea is to eliminate the German navy ASAP. This needs to be one of the Allies powers' early game goals.

Cede India and go into Africa hard. Depending on the Med. naval situation and how many troops are on the ground in Africa, as UK I'll typically reinforce (or retake) Egypt using my troop in Iraq and two in India.

Once the UK/USA navy has secured the Atlantic and are sitting in the UK sea zone, have UK move its transports into the Spain Sea zone and drop off at least four infantry. The US needs to follow suit on its turn to protect those transports from the German air force, dropping more troops into Algeria.

Everything hinges on eliminating that German navy sooner rather than later. If you let the German Med. navy sit around past the early game it can be difficult to combat Germany's growing industrial capabilities thanks to the extra 11 IPC they're getting per turn by holding Africa.
But What If the Allies Don't Take Africa Early?
But what if the Allies don't take Africa in the early game? What if the UK pulls her African corp to India? What then?
I still hold that a Brazilian factory is out of the way and not as logistically efficient as transports in the Spain Sea zone. For starters, you need to commit and move transports into the South Atlantic. This takes those transports out of the North Atlantic, where they can help protect the UK and USA navies that should be focusing on dumping wave after wave of infantry into Finland en route to Karelia.
US transports are ideally situated in the North Atlantic because it allows them the greatest range of options. From the UK sea zone the US can drop troops into:

Finland
Western Europe
UK

They can move to Spain Sea zone and still in one turn send troops to:

Western Europe
Spain
Algeria

The North Atlantic allows the most range of motion and allows the Allies to project their will into Europe and Africa. From Brazil, the Allies are limited to just Africa, albeit a with a wider choice of landing zones. But I argue it's best to keep the US/UK navies together in the Northern Atlantic so that they can project their will together and so that they present a less appealing target for the German air force.


Mono-Green Deck: Responding to Sorceries/Instants? I'm working on a mono-green overrun deck but I'm having some trouble responding to my opponent's non-creature cards.

Against another creature-heavy deck it does very well, but up against anything with creature removal, control, discard, milling...it just gets stomped and I feel like I really don't have a response to this.

I've played a lot of blue in the past so I'm used to being able to have access to "Counterspell" to handle situations like this.

Does green have a response to sorceries/instants that target you as a player, not your creatures?

The format you're playing is very important to answer this question. Playing Standard, for example, limits your options to the most recent few sets, while on the opposite end of the spectrum, playing Vintage or Commander opens up nearly every card ever printed.

Against removal, you can go for creatures with hexproof/shroud (Thrun, the Last Troll/Scythe Tiger), means to grant hexproof/shroud (Asceticism/Aspect of Mongoose), protection (Chameleon Colossus/Tel-Jilad Defiance), regeneration (Experiment One, Fortitude), indestructible (Predator Ooze, Thornling), etc.

Against countermagic, green is probably the best solution (besides perhaps also playing blue for countering the countermagic); there are a number of cards in green which either can't be countered, or make something else uncounterable. For example, Gaea Herald, Mistcutter Hydra, Savage Summoning.

Against discard and mill, green is probably second only to black in terms of re-using the graveyard. Gensis, Eternal Witness, Creeping Renaissance. Green and black are also the two colors of the Golgari guild, where the extremely powerful Dredge mechanic comes from (which involves self-mill).

Green is also quite good at noncreature removal; in fact, the majority of targeted removal in green is noncreatures only.

With a full card pool, you have a lot of options. For example, I have a mono-green Commander deck (Ezuri, Renegade Leader elf tribal) which often plays like a blue deck, thanks to cards like Ezuri or Wirewood Symbiote protecting my creatures (regenerate or return to hand to protect from removal), Gaea's Herald or Cavern of Souls stopping counterspells, Yeva, Nature's Herald letting me take "turns" during my opponents' turns, Survival of the Fittest or Fauna Shaman searching for answers to threats (especially with Masked Admirers creating an engine), Sylvan Library drawing cards, etc.


What tactical/strategic decisions can you make in D&D: The Legend of Drizzt board game? There are a couple of decisions you can make, like what starting powers you want for your character, and which character you choose, but everything else seems like it is already predetermined or random.

If you don't explore edges of the cavern, you get an encounter card. If you do explore the edges of the cavern, you reveal monsters that attack you first (I suppose you sometimes get to determine which player the monster attacks).

Choices for which Item/Daily Power are equally as obvious (the weapon with the highest chance deal damage). Perhaps the only choice that requires any kind of difficult decision is when to use your Daily Power.

Am I missing something, or is there little if any strategy/tactics in this game?

After playing the "Wrath of Ashardalon" game (same system, different scenario), the biggest strategy that came to my mind is sticking together/splitting the party. If you split the party, you can explore more rooms (hopefully getting to the boss quicker), but you have more monsters (and encounters and monsters with ecounters) to deal with. If you stay together, encounters that affect a whole room can cause a lot more headache.

Having only played a couple times, I'm certainly no expert on it, but I'd say choosing how to split the party is a main tactic of the game.


What happens if I mutate on top of a creature that I control until the end of a turn? This constellation actually happened when I (PLAYER A) drafted Ikoria on MTG:Arena yesterday, but I was unsure whether it would work in my favor. And therefore I didn't try.
PLAYER B has a Cavern Whisperer on the battlefield.
PLAYER A has a Lore Drakkis and Tentative Connection in hand.

PLAYER A casts the Tentative Connection targeting the Cavern Whisperer.
PLAYER A gains control of the Cavern Whisperer until end
of turn.
PLAYER A mutates Lore Drakkis on top of the Cavern Whisperer.

Who will have control of the mutated creature at the end of a turn?
I'm looking for the specific rulings regarding this topic. All I could find were the following rulings on the MTG Wiki.

The resulting merged creature has all of the characteristics of the topmost card or token, and it also has all abilities from its other cards and tokens.

The merged creature is the same creature it was before the merge, so any Auras or counters that were on it remain on it, it remains tapped if it was tapped, it's still attacking if it was attacking, and so on. If it's been under its controller's control since their most recent turn began, it can attack and {T}.

In this case, Cavern Whisperer won't be a valid target for mutation, because you are not the owner of Cavern Whisperer. This is per CR:

702.140a Mutate appears on some creature cards. It represents a static ability that functions while the spell with mutate is on the stack. “Mutate [cost]” means “You may pay [cost] rather than pay this spell’s mana cost. If you do, it becomes a mutating creature spell and targets a non-Human creature with the same owner as this spell.”  (...)

108.3. The owner of a card in the game is the player who started the game with it in their deck. (...)


Go, MahJong, and Chess. Together? Do you think these games have enough in common to start a serious, competitive club focusing around them? There's definitely enough between Go and Chess, but what about MahJong? I know there is plenty of strategy behind MahJong, having played it, but is it too far removed from the other two?

I feel there are two major differences:

Go and chess are strictly strategic, whereas mahjong involves chance,
In go and chess, everyone has complete knowledge of the game at all times; in mahjong you don't know what your opponents have.

Mahjong is kinda of like poker or gin rummy in these ways; they more strongly depend on reading your opponent. So, in terms of core properties, I think mahjong is a different category of game to go and chess. Additionally, mahjong is more rules-heavy compared to the rules-light, strategy-rich go and chess.

That said, there's no reason not to play it in a club, as long as there are people who want to play it. Probably the best way to find out if it's suitable for your club is to try making the club, and offering mahjong as an option. If people don't want to play it or don't take it as seriously, then you can move your focus to the other games.


If I can cast "target instant card" from my graveyard can I cast a card that has Flash? Let's say I have a creature with Flash (You may play this card any time you could cast an instant) in the graveyard, and I cast something like Goblin Dark-Dwellers, or Torrential Gearhulk, which allow me to cast an instant from the graveyard without paying costs, is the creature with Flash a legal target?

A creature with Flash is not a legal target for an effect that targets an Instant

Phrases like "any time you could cast a Sorcery" or "any time you could cast an Instant" are just shortcuts for timing rules, meaning when you're allowed to cast a card or activate an ability.

  304.5. If text states that a player may do something “any time he or she could cast an instant,” it means only that the player must have priority. (...)

Both the cards you mentioned have you target an Instant card in your graveyard, meaning the targetted card needs to be an Instant itself.

It's possible that cards get types that aren't originally printed on the them (most commonly for animated Lands or Artifacts), but that's not what Flash does.
In general, no Magic card or effect grants the Instant or Sorcery types.


When scoring in Prosperity, is there a maximum limit for research? In Prosperity, the rules for scoring Research say:

  Research: each player moves a number of spaces in both Research tracks equal to the number of Research symbols visible on their
  individual board. For each track, the player with the highest marker
  scores 3 Prosperity points, the second player scores 1 point. In case
  of a tie for the first place, all leading players gain 2 points (and
  no points are awarded for second place).

The Prosperity board has only a limited number of spaces on the two Research tracks. What happens if during scoring a player reaches the end of the track? Do they count the 'extra' steps for the purpose of determining first place, or would several players at the end of the track each be tied?

I found the official answer on BGG:

  The space with the magnifying glass is the top space, and you cannot move beyond it. If more than one player reaches the top space, they are tied.


In bridge, are there different implications of overcalling 1NT in different positions? Suppose I had a hand like the following: (s) KJxx (h) xxx (d) AJx (c) AKx. If I were the opening bidder, I would, of course, bid 1NT. (Note to commenter below: In this paragraph, I was describing a "generic" balanced 4-3-3-3 16 hcp "no trump" hand with honors in three suits. This was NOT a specific question about the particular hand configuration above.)

If someone opened in front of me with 1 club, diamond, or spade (all of which I have a stopper in), but not 1 heart, I would still bid 1NT as an overcall.

The earliest I could do this is in the second seat, after the original bid. In this case, I know little about the holdings of either the opponent's partner or mine, except that they are constrained by the strength of the first two bidders.

If I overcalled in the third seat, I would know that my partner (first seat) was a passed  hand but I wouldn't know this about my opponent's partner (fourth seat).

If I overcalled in the fourth seat, I would know that both my and the opener's partners had passed hands.

If the "one bid" came from the first seat instead of the third seat, I would be in the "balancing" seat, and possibly overcall 1NT with 12-14 points.

Questions:

Do I need to be more careful in the third seat, since I might be sandwiched between two strong opponents?
If the "one bid" came from the third seat after two passes, can I overcall light in the fourth seat as if I am "balancing," even though technically I'm in the direct seat? Expert Larry Cohen calls this "balancing in the direct seat" and advocates this.
If opener bid a suit in which I have stoppers (that is, other than hearts), can I worry "less" about he heart suit, on the theory that since opener didn't show strength in hearts, my partner and the opener's partner are equally likely to have strength in that suit?

Learn to evaluate this hand as being worth only 14 points, 14.5 at the very, very, most, and your bridge results will improve.

No 10's, no 9's, no 8's, not even any 7's. The opponents will kill you with these cards leading through any and all quacks held by you and your partner. Then they will lead these cards through your kings to kill those too. Minus 1 point.
Minus one point for 4333 distribution. Goren was the world's best bridge teacher for three decades for good reason. Read his books, and recognize that in Chapter one he always stated that the 3-2-1 distribution points are not ruffing values, but indicative of general hand strength from the shape.

Open aggressively in third seat, for the preemptive value against a strong hand in fourth seat. Open this hand 1S in 3rd seat, and teach partner the Drury convention in that situation.

Open passively in fourth seat, so still  open this hand 1S and again teach partner the Drury convention for this situation.

I don't care that you are playing five card majors.

Open 1spade anyways, and teach partner the Drury convention in this situation. Presumably you are asking here to learn better bridge. Learn to open strong 4-card spade suites in 3rd and 4th seat. This is part of becoming a better bridge player.

Don't open 14 point hands 1NT when playing 15-17HCP as your 1NT range.


Alternatives to the Sympathiser in Battlestar Galactica I'm a big fan of Battlestar Galactica, but have an issue with games with an even number of players. For these games, the game recommends replacing a Cylon with a Sympathiser to help balance it.

For the unfamiliar, at the half-way point, the Sympathiser basically becomes a (weaker) Cylon if the humans are "winning" (i.e. all stats are above half-full) or remains a human (but is brigged) if the Cylons are winning (i.e. when any stat is below half-full). This helps to balance the game since having an extra full-privilege Cylon would be really tough on the humans, but having a human makes it a bit of a cake-walk.

It's not a bad mechanic, but in games my group plays with a Sympathiser, I find there's a lot of meta-think and the humans intentionally allow one stat to drop (normally one that's not too tough to raise or keep steady like Morale) to ensure that the Sympathiser is on their side.

Has anyone faced (and hopefully overcome) this issue before? Does anyone know of a good house-rule alternative to the Sympathiser?

I've been tempted to use a full Cylon but use some method to make things a little easier for the humans (e.g. have the second loyalty distribution come a little later, or ensure that at least one Cylon card has to wait until the halfway point), but I'd love to hear others' solutions.

FFG actually have a variants document posted on the Support Page for BSG: Optional Rules PDF

Whilst the humans do start with slightly reduced resources, it should be noted that this still makes it quite a bit easier for the humans to win. Your Cylons will have to be very good if they're to stand a chance!

Alternatively, you can pick up the Pegasus Expansion which provides a new "You are a Sympathetic Cylon" (that replaces the original Sympathiser loyalty card) and changes up the rules a little to keep things interesting for whomever happens to draw the Sympathiser card.


Tiana, Ship's Caretaker and Kaya's Ghostform Tiana, Ship's Caretaker is a somewhat unique effect that lets all auras and equipment that go to your graveyard return to your hand.

Kaya's Ghostform will bring a creature or planeswalker back from the graveyard or exile to the battlefield.

So what exactly happens when Kaya's Ghostform is enchanting Tiana, and Tiana dies?

I think the most likely scenario is this:

Tiana dies.
Ghostform trigger goes on the stack, and Ghostform goes to the graveyard as a state-based action.
Because Tiana was not on the battlefield when Ghostform entered the graveyard, it is NOT returned to hand.
Tiana is returned to the battlefield.

Obviously, I'd prefer it if I get both back, so I'm hoping someone here can prove me wrong.

Gatherer for Tiana says "If an Aura you control is put into a graveyard immediately after Tiana leaves the battlefield, most likely because Tiana left the battlefield but the Aura was put into the graveyard as a state-based action after it found itself not attached to anything, Tiana’s last ability won’t trigger."

Your reading is correct, and step 3 is the crucial bit of info. When Tiana herself dies, the game checks for state based actions when the next player gets priority. The game would see a Ghostform attached to nothing, then it would move to the graveyard. At this point Tiana is no longer on the battlefield, so her last ability will not trigger according to the Gatherer ruling.

Additionally, please note that the Tiana returning due to Ghostform is a new object according to the game. The new Tiana has no memory of the the old Tiana or its auras. To conceptualize this, if you play Languish and then Grizzly Bear on your turn, your Grizzly Bear lives. Languish only affects the creatures already on the battlefield when it is played. By the same logic, Tiana only sees the auras and equipment that go to the graveyard when it's actually on the battlefield.

You would get both back if both Tiana and its enchanted Ghostform were destroyed simultaneously, such as by Planar Cleansing. Spells with multiple targets such such as Causalities of War also produce the same effect as Planar Cleansing. In both of those cases, Tiana is on the battlefield when the aura is destroyed, so her last ability will trigger. You get a Ghostform trigger immediately and Tiana sets up a delayed trigger for your end step. Both happen simultaneously, yet the triggers themselves are independent. Ghostform returns Tiana to the battlefield immediately, while Tiana's delayed trigger goes on the stack during your end step and returns Ghostform to your hand. Gatherer confirms this ruling.


Should "100 or 150 honors" allow you to open light? By "light," mean with something like (s) AKQJx (h)Jxx (d)xxx (c)xx, or (s) KQJTx (h)Jxx (d)Axx (c)xx, or even (s) AKQJT (h)xxx (d)xxx (c)xx?

I can think of two reasons. 1) I was taught that three or four honors in sequence is worth a point or so more than their nominal value, so e.g. AKQJx is worth 11, not 10, and KQJT is worth 7-8. Then AKQJT is worth about 12. If I make these adjustments, I have enough to open. And 2) the honors bonus will defray whatever penalty I incur.

Or am I "stretching" too far to open in most positions and vulnerabilities?

As for me, I do not think about hand strength here. There are only 3 reasons to bid, and if you have 2 of them- you can bid:
Constructive - to bid you best contract
Destructive - create a problem for opponents
Defense plan

Here you suggest very different hands. I'll answer about AKQJx -3-3-2, because KQJxx, Axx, Jxx xx is completely ok to open imho.

I don't like to open 1s with AKQJx. For several reasons.
 If you are going to win the bidding - you would probably choose NT or spades. So, if you finish in spades - you are definitely playing from the wrong side. May be it's impossible to reach spades from another, but who knows? If your partner supports spades, your J almost disappears. And you still have 8 losers.
If you find NT- how many HCP you need to win the game? Something like 14-16 , otherwise you will not find 4 tricks, or opps will hit their suit faster.
Of course, much less could be enough, with some lucky leads and distribution. But generally, your partner should hold strong NT.

For destruction I can open 2sp. This does not work very good, because of flat shape, but if I want to make a move...

For lead- you don't need to open. If opps bid 1nt-3nt - double. If they have lots of points- they will walk to 3nt if you pass.


Forced Response to a Convenient Minor Opening? My bridge club plays by a rule that an opening of a convenient minor requires a demand response by the partner unless intervening opponent does an overcall.

Situation:

My partner opened with 1-Diamond; opponent passed.
As Responder I had no 4-card major, 3-cards each in the minor suit, and less than 6 points.  We play that a minor response to a minor opening implies that the responder has a 5-card minor suit, such as the bidding:  1H; pass; 2D (5-card diamond suit)
But in my case I did not have 5 diamonds or anything, really.  After fretting whether to pass (against our rules) or bid "something" (leading to a disaster), I bid 1-NT expecting/hoping partner to put contract in her best suit.
My partner (the opener) responded 2-NT and the bidding: 1D; pass; 1NT; pass/
                                                       2NT; pass; pass; pass
And we went down big time.

To me - and hoping partner would realize it, my 1NT implied a bust hand and she was to then pick her best suit.  But didn't work that way

Any advice how we can properly handle this situation the next time?  What is the ACL rule for responding to a "convenient minor opening"?  Is a demand response the rule?

Playing in North America, I have noticed two main approaches to responding to a convenient minor opening:

Only respond with normal responding strength (usually given as 6 HCP).
Respond with any hand that has an ace, a king, or shortness in the minor opened.

The first is covered by many bidding books, so let us discuss the second.

First of all, you must not respond 1NT without at least 5 HCP; this will lead to disaster, as you have learned. When you are broke, your first priority is to bid a four-card major; if you do not have one and partner has bid 1C, you may bid 1D and pass partner's 1-level rebid (or 2C -- other 2-level bids are reverses and thus forcing).

The real issue comes when partner has opened 1D, and you hold a hand like Jxx xxx x xxxxxx. This is the worst case, and probably the least bad action is to pass and hope that your left-hand opponent comes into the auction. The only alternative is 1NT, but this is a terrible alternative (you must not bid 2C, as this must promise strength).


Cribbage scoring rules explanation There are a lot of web sites that give you cribbage rules. There are small variations here and there and even the "official" source reads ambiguously to me.

To narrow my question, let's talk about scoring rules after "the play / pegging", when the dealer and the pone score their respective hands and the crib.

Is there are precise summary of the scoring rules, that I can use as a reference? I would prefer the actual rules wording to examples. Examples are very useful for illustrating a rule, but they are not as good for defining rules.

Now, to the source of my confusion. In one source I read this:

  Counting the Hands. When play ends, the three hands are counted <...> The basic scoring formations are as follows:

  Combination Counts

  Fifteen. Each combination of cards that totals 15 2

  Pair. Each pair of cards of the same rank 2

  Run. Each combination of three or more 1cards in sequence (for each card in the sequence)

  Flush. Four cards of the same suit in hand 4
  (excluding the crib, and the starter)

  Four cards in hand or crib of the same 5 suit as the starter
  (There is no count for four-flush in the crib that isnot of same suit as the starter)

  His Nobs. Jack of the same suit as starter in hand or crib 1

  Combinations. In the above table, the word combination is used in the strict technical sense. Each and every combination of two cards that make a pair, of two or more cards that make 15, or of three or more cards that make a run, count separately.

The emphasis in the last paragraph is mine.

The source goes ahead and gives the following example:

  Example: A hand (including the starter) comprised of 8, 7, 7, 6, 2 scores 8 points for four combinations that total 15: the 8 with one 7, and the 8 with the other 7; the 6, 2 with each of the two 7s. The same hand also scores 2 for a pair, and 6 for two runs of three (8, 7, 6 using each of the two 7s). The total score is 16. An experienced player computes the hand thus: "Fifteen 2, fifteen 4, fifteen 6, fifteen 8, and 8 for double run is 16."

This example makes perfect sense to me. Now following the same logic, let's assume we have 2, 2, 3, 4, 5. According to the "strict technical sense", I can see the following scoring combinations:

2, 3, 4 x2
2, 3, 4, 5 x2
3, 4, 5
2, 2

Which gives us 6 + 8 + 3 + 2 = 19

But everyone knows that 19 is impossible, and in the same source a little bit further we read:

  D. A run of four, with one card duplicated, counts 10.

Now, I understand why. That's because only the longest 4 cards sequence counts. The two 3 card sequences it contains do not. So it's just 8 + 2. 6 and 3 do not count.

What I cannot find is an authoritative source that properly words this rule. Because as per rules as written in the source, my calculation would be correct. The American Cribbage Congress rules do not address this ambiguity at all, it looks like they are assuming, that everyone knows this anyway.

So can some one either sum up the actual hand scoring  rules for me, or point me anywhere, where it's already done - clearly and unambiguously?

So I'v been googling like crazy last hour or so, and here is what I found. A person on BGG recommended pagat.com for comprehensive coverage of old public domain card games. Indeed there is an article there covering cribbage.

I'll cite the relevant part:

  The Show

  Players now retrieve the cards that they put down during the play and score for combinations of cards held in hand. First the non-dealer's hand is exposed, and scored. The start card also counts as part of the hand when scoring combinations. All valid scores from the following list are counted.

  15:
  Any combination of cards adding up to 15 pips scores 2 points. For example king, jack, five, five would score 10 points altogether: 8 points for four fifteens, since the king and the jack can each be paired with either of the fives, plus 2 more points for the pair of fives. You would say "Fifteen two, fifteen four, fifteen six, fifteen eight and a pair makes ten".

  Pair:
  A pair of cards of the same rank score 2 points. Three cards of the same rank contain 3 different pairs and thus score a total of 6 points for pair royal. Four of a kind contain 6 pairs and so score 12 points.

  Run:
  Three cards of consecutive rank (irrespective of suit), such as ace-2-3, score 3 points for a run. A hand such as 6-7-7-8 contains two runs of 3 (as well as two fifteens and a pair) and so would score 12 altogether. A run of four cards, such as 9-10-J-Q scores 4 points (this is slightly illogical - you might expect it to score 6 because it contains two runs of 3, but it doesn't. The runs of 3 within it don't count - you just get 4), and a run of five cards scores 5.

  Flush:
  If all four cards of the hand are the same suit, 4 points are scored for flush. If the start card is the same suit as well, the flush is worth 5 points. There is no score for having 3 hand cards and the start all the same suit. Note also that there is no score for flush during the play - it only counts in the show.

  One For His Nob:
  If the hand contains the jack of the same suit as the start card, you peg One for his nob (sometimes known, especially in North America, as "one for his nobs" or "one for his nibs")..

While not entirely scientific, this is the most unambiguous description that I've come across so far, and it also acknowledges a feeling that I was getting that this particular rule is slightly illogical. Italic above is mine.


Is it possible to use mirage mirror when your turn starts before upkeep step? For instance could you use Mirage Mirror on Venser's Journal, before your upkeep and get either 2 lots of life per card in your hand, or is it possible to mirror an opponents journal before your own upkeep step and receive its effects?

No, that won't work.
The reason for that is that the first time a player gets priority, i.e. the right to cast a spell or activate an ability, is after the upkeep has started. By that time, Venser's Journal has already triggered, and copying it at that time is too late to get another trigger.

Beginning Phase

501.1. The beginning phase consists of three steps, in this order: untap, upkeep, and draw.

Untap Step

502.3. No player receives priority during the untap step, so no spells can be cast or resolve and no abilities can be activated or resolve. [..]

Upkeep Step

503.1a Any abilities that triggered during the untap step and any abilities that triggered at the beginning of the upkeep are put onto the stack before the active player gets priority; the order in which they triggered doesn’t matter. (See rule 603, “Handling Triggered Abilities.”)


Do you announce when you have lost due to Insanity? I was playing mansions of madness 2nd edition and I got the 'selfish motives' insanity card. The next turn I became wounded, meaning I lost.

When this happens, do you announce that you have lost? Do you keep playing? It just seems odd playing as normal now that my character has lost

Your insanity condition is secret, and you are forced to keep it secret.  The rules state it cannot be revealed to the other players for any reason, unless some other event tells you to.

So even if you have been put into situation where it is impossible for you to fulfill your personal Insane win condition, your investigator hasn't been eliminated and the game hasn't ended.  Your insanity, and your win-lose status, remains secret, and the other players will continue to eyeball you and wonder what you're really going to be up to.  This may or may not affect how quickly they can complete the investigation, so it is still important.


Is this a correct formal heuristic for invalid moves due to Ko? In the game of Go, there is the ko rule, which basically states that immediately recapturing a single stone is not a valid move.

I am working on a Go computer program and am trying to implement the ko rule. For efficiency, I am satisfied with a more relaxed definition that aims at two goals:

It always prevents moves that would illegally recapture a ko
It never prevents moves that are legal

Currently, I go with:

  If in the previous half-turn exactly one single stone was captured, then it is not allowed to play at the position of this stone in the immediately following half-turn (by the other player).

This is relaxed because it does not attempt to detect that a ko is actually present, it is only concerned with preventing an illegal move. For instance:

$$B
$$ -------
$$ | . . . .
$$ | X X O O
$$ | X O 1 O
$$ | X X . .

This situation is not a ko, because there is no way to recapture. However, playing at the location of the captured stone is still an invalid move, because it would be suicide. I believe that one or the other (illegal recapture or suicide) always applies.

My question is if my heuristic fulfills the two stated goals. (I think it does.)

No, this logic unfortunately doesn't work: It prevents moves that are in fact legal, because they include a snapback.

$$ white to play
$$ . . . . . . .
$$ . . X O X . .
$$ . X O X . X .
$$ . X O O O X .
$$ . . X X X . .
$$ . . . . . . .

White captures:

$$W
$$ . . . . . . .
$$ . . X O X . .
$$ . X O a 1 X .
$$ . X O O O X .
$$ . . X X X . .
$$ . . . . . . .

Now with your definition:

  If in the previous half-turn exactly one single stone was captured

This is the case; white captured a single stone.

  then it is not allowed to play at the position of this stone in the immediately following half-turn (by the other player).

That position is marked as a. However, it's perfectly legal for black to play there, as it captures the whole white group, and thus does not repeat the board position:

$$W
$$ . . . . . . .
$$ . . X O X . .
$$ . X . 2 . X .
$$ . X . . . X .
$$ . . X X X . .
$$ . . . . . . .


Does Stony Silence stop me from tapping artifacts for Improvise? Does the card stony silence stop me from tapping artifacts to help pay for the improvise costs of spells?

No, you can still use Improvise normally.

Stony Silence only prevents the activation of "Activated abilities". There are many types of abilities (triggered, activated, static, etc). Improvise is a "Static ability":

  702.125a Improvise is a static ability that functions while the spell with improvise is on the stack.

You can tell that it's not an activated ability because there is no colon in the text.

  602.1. Activated abilities have a cost and an effect. They are written as “[Cost]: [Effect.] [Activation instructions (if any).]”

It is a somewhat common mistake to think that tapping and activating are related. Many activated abilities happen to have tapping the card the ability is on as part of the cost, but that doesn't mean that anything that requires you to tap something is an activated ability; or that an activated ability needs to have tapping as part of the cost.


Is it possible to achieve a negative score? I was playing Azul the other day, and by a bad choice, one of the players ended up subtracting points until they were in negative numbers.

How should you act in these cases? Is the negative score maintained or does it remain at 0?

You cannot go below 0 points, so you will get a break on the penalty you have to take.

From the rules, under scoring:

  Finally, at the end of the Wall-tiling phase, check if you have any
  tiles in your floor line. For each tile in your floor line, you lose
  the number of points indicated directly above it. Adjust your
  scoring marker on your score track accordingly (however, you
  can never drop below 0 points).


Does Effect veiler negate Decode Talker's ability to negate effect veiler? Decode talker is on the field
Effect veiler is played during your opponents main phase 1
Does Decode talker lose the ability to tribute a card and negate effect veiler?

http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Decode_Talker

Gains 500 ATK for each monster it points to. When your opponent activates a card or effect that targets a card(s) you control (Quick Effect): You can Tribute 1 monster this card points to; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that card.

http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Effect_Veiler

During your opponent's Main Phase (Quick Effect): You can send this card from your hand to the GY, then target 1 Effect Monster your opponent controls; that face-up monster your opponent controls has its effects negated until the end of this turn.

In this scenario you can chain Decode Talkers effect to Effect Veilers Activation to negate the activation. So the effect of Effect Veiler doesn't matter to Decode at this point.

The Different here is when an effect is activated and when it resolves and how a chain is build and resolved.
You can look on the wikia for informations

http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Chain

Or in the official rulebook, which also comes which each Structure Deck on page 40

http://www.yugioh-card.com/uk/rulebook/Rulebook_v9_en.pdf