Are multicolor decks in any color combination viable in modern Magic? I've just recently regained interest in MtG and was overwhelmed by the quantity of new collections and the amount of cards.

I stopped playing MtG when the Fallen Empires expansion was just out.

One of the things that pops up immediately when browsing the cards (aside from the numerous new mechanisms) is that there's a lot of multicolor cards.

In the old days, building a deck of more then one color was very hard, and in most cases it involved playing at least green because of Birds of Paradise (BoP). In terms of tactics this was very limiting, since green used to be the way for cheap creatures.

Now it seems pretty much every combination of color is a viable tactic. Is that true? Or, are there still some colors that work better together?

One other thing; I used to stick very stubbornly to a 60 cards maximum deck size, with two copies of most cards (except lands), and four copies for some very useful cards (one example was Giant Growth when playing green). Do cards now exist that help the probability of running the deck fluidly, rendering obsolete my stubornness for requiring no more than a 60 card deck?

Running 60 is still the best plan. You have the highest likelihood of drawing into your best cards when you have fewer cards.

As far as seeing more multi-color, right now we're in a multi-color block. Retrun to Ravnica (RTR)and Gatecrash (GTC) each feature five of the ten Ravnica guilds.

Right now in current standard are the ten 'shocklands', lands that come into play tap unless you pay two life and can tap for two colors (in RTR and GTC), for example Blood Crypt; a cycle in M13 of allied dual lands which come into play tapped unless you control a land type that it taps for, for example Glacial Fortress, and a cycle of enemy dual lands which do the same from Innistrad, for example Isolated Chapel.

Dual lands are the primary source of mana fixing. RTR and GTC also released gates, which are dual lands at common that always enter the battlefield tapped. These are typically considered too slow for standard constructed play.

Green is still considered the fixer color, granted access to tools like Caravan Vigil, Arbor Elf, Avacyn's Pilgrim, and Farseek, Mulch, Ranger's Path, Seek the Horizon, or if you have insane mana already like perhaps in a Commander game, Boundless Realms.

Currently Llanowar Elves and Birds of Paradise have rotated out of standard. They aren't usually out for long, so we stand a chance to see them in 2014, but honestly with all the fixing in right now, they aren't as necessary.

As to your question of "pretty much every combination of color is a viable tactic" you could make that argument. Each two color combination has a Ravnica guild, and half of the three color combinations have an Alara shard. Each of the Ravnica guilds is seemingly viable in standard, although many of them do have a third splash color. There are fewer monocolor top decks right now just because the set is so focused on multicolor decks.

Other formats have different archetypes. There is no single Commander deck that is winning everyone's hearts and minds. Jund (and to some extent, Storm) is completely dominating Modern to the extent that the DCI just banned two cards, one core to each deck, to level the playing field a little. Legacy and Vintage I don't follow enough to really comment on, but I'll say as far as I know there are no dominating color patterns there.


How to get the best value out of gold and gems in MTG Arena? I'm grinding MTG Arena pretty hard and managed to get my hands on 2-3 top tier decks by now (while still holding some wildcards).

Up to now i just played Ranked Games to get the daily challenges done. Once I have 5k Gold I play drafts. Traditional drafts seem pretty risky to me since you have to pay a lot of gems while getting a low base-value (3 boosters)

But I haven't figured out yet if it would be better to solely play Constructed events and then buy packs with the acquired gold.

What is the best approach to get the largest cardbase with no in-game purchases assuming a winrate of 50% across all event-types?

Hall of Famer Frank Karsten wrote the definitive analysis for this.

The short version of it is, for beginners with <44% win rate, play BO1 draft for gem entry and BO1 constructed for gold entry. For average players with 44-54% win rate, play Sealed for gem entry and either BO1 or BO3 constructed for gold entry. For veterans with >54% win rate, play BO3 draft for gem entry and BO3 constructed for gold entry.


Indomitable Creativity + Sacrifice Outlet Indomitable Creativity says:

  Destroy X target artifacts and/or creatures. For each permanent destroyed this way, its controller reveals cards from the top of their library until an artifact or creature card is revealed and exiles that card. Those players put the exiled cards onto the battlefield, then shuffle their libraries.

Let's say I have Commander's Sphere on the battlefield, which says:

  {T}: Add one mana of any color in your commander's color identity.

  Sacrifice Commander's Sphere: Draw a card.

I cast Indomitable Creativity and target, among other things, my own Commander's Sphere. While Indomitable Creativity is still on the stack, can I sacrifice Commander's Sphere to get the card draw trigger and still get the positive benefit of Indomitable Creativity? I'm assuming not because it says "...destroyed this way...", but I wanted to make certain.

Your assumption is correct.

You won't get the extra artifact from Indomitable Creativity because, when it resolves, it checks each of its targets to see if they're still legal. That is (part of) CR608.2b:

  608.2b If the spell or ability specifies targets, it checks whether the targets are still legal. A target that’s no longer in the zone it was in when it was targeted is illegal. [...]

Since Commander's Sphere is no longer on the battlefield, it becomes an illegal target for Indomitable Creativity, and the spell will no longer target it, according to its Gatherer rules (thanks to @Gendolkari for pointing this out):

  If an artifact or creature is targeted but not destroyed (perhaps because it gained indestructible or became an illegal target), it doesn’t count as one of the artifacts or creatures destroyed this way. An artifact or creature that’s destroyed but put into a zone other than a graveyard (such as a player’s commander in the Commander variant) does count.

Also, as you said, even if that did work and Commander's Sphere was still a legal target after being sacrificed, the wording on Indomitable Creativity ("For each permanent destroyed this way...") would still prevent you from getting the artifact, since Commander's Sphere is already destroyed by the time Creativity resolves.


Can't remember name of board game So in the very early 2000s (in the U.K.), I had this board game that was essentially a large purple monster head. I was quite young at the time so I can't fully remember the rules of the game either, but it was something like a player has to place or retrieve plastic bugs from the monsters mouth without it noticing and spitting at you. I've asked family members about this game and nobody seems to remember it except my Dad but like me he can't remember what it was called at all. Help!

This sounds like Purple People Eater by Waddington's.


Worldfire order of events Say I have a
Keldon Marauders  on the battlefield. The card reads:

When Keldon Marauders enters the battlefield or leaves the battlefield, it deals 1 damage to target player.

I then cast Worldfire.

Exile all permanents. Exile all cards from all hands and graveyards. Each player's life total becomes 1

I assume Worldfire would resolve first and the players' life would be set to 1, then Keldon Marauders would leave the battlefield and deal 1 damage to a player?

Not quite.

You're wrong about Keldon Marauders leaving the battlefield after each players' life is set to 1. Worldfire's instructions are done in order [CR 608.2c], and "exile all permanents" comes before "each player's life total becomes 1".

You're right that you will win the game, but it's because the triggered ability is only placed on the stack after each players' life is set to 1. Specifically, triggered abilities are only placed on the stack the next time a player would get priority [CR 603.3], not when they are triggered [CR 603.2]. Noone gets priority until after Worldfire has finished resolving.

The following is a breakdown of what happens:

You cast Worldfire.
Worldfire resolves:

Exile all permanents. Keldon Marauders's ability triggers. [CR 603.2]
Exile all cards from all hands and graveyards.
Each player's life total becomes 1.

Keldon Marauders's ability is placed on the stack targeting your opponent. [CR 603.3]
Keldon Marauders's ability resolves: Keldon Marauders deals one damage to your opponent.
SBAs are performed: Your opponent loses the game for having non-positive life.

The relevant rules are:

  603.2. Whenever a game event or game state matches a triggered ability’s trigger event, that ability automatically triggers. The ability doesn’t do anything at this point.

  603.3. Once an ability has triggered, its controller puts it on the stack as an object that’s not a card the next time a player would receive priority. [...]


Will it break the alliance, if I take over a worker-occupied area? In Scythe, The Rise of Fenris, in campaign mode episode 2 on the peace-track, it's possible to create alliances with other players.

The alliance is broken if one member of the alliance attacks the other.

But does it count as an attack if I move a character or mech into an allied area occupied only by a worker, no mech or character?

The worker is just sent home, there is no attack-action phase involved.

I'm thinking it shouldn't break the alliance, but I'm having doubts.

Moving into an area occupied by a worker, it counts as an attack.  From the rules:

  If you ever attack a player who has your faction’s Alliance
  token or force their workers off a territory, you must flip over
  the [alliance] token you have.


If a Hero makes a Speed/Sanity/other non-Might attack, when does the Traitor reveal that the target lacks that trait and can't be attacked that way? This came up in a game involving Haunt 23, Tentacled Horror. (Spoilers will be kept to a minimum.) There are multiple different types of monsters in that Haunt: some of them have a Sanity trait, and others don't. One of the Heroes had the Ring, which let him attack with Sanity instead of Might. He attacked a monster that had a Might trait, but no Sanity trait, using the Ring. At the time, I told him that the monster had no Sanity trait and that he'd need to try a different type of attack, and he ended up doing a Might attack using the Sacrificial Dagger instead.

Was this the right thing to do, or should the initial attack have failed entirely? Or should we have explained which traits the monster does and doesn't have the instant the monster went on the map? The rules just say "you can't use a trait to attack against a monster that doesn't have that trait," but it's unclear on how to handle the attempt. This is particularly vexing, because all monsters have hidden traits and this is going to come up again.

(I looked at the updated Secrets of Survival and Traitor's Tome, and it turns out that the specific Haunt I was looking at no longer has that problem, but I'm sure this question will still apply to other monsters.)

As the ring only allows you to attack a monster that has a sanity trait in the first place, he shouldn't have ever been allowed to attempt the attack. So if by "attacked" you mean "rolled the dice for the attack", then he should have already been corrected sooner. If by "attacked" you mean "declared that he was using the ring to attack", then I believe you did the right thing.

I don't think there's a specific thing that addresses this in the rulebook, but if the legality of an action (such as using the ring to attack) depends on certain factors (such as whether the monster has sanity or not), then the heroes should be allowed to ask if the monster has a sanity trait, and the traitor should answer. (NOT what the sanity value is, just whether or not it exists). This is the only way that the heroes can make a legal decision.


Can an Adaptive Automaton trigger Champion of the Parish's ability? If I have a Champion of the Parish in play and play an Adaptive Automaton, choosing human, does the Champion's ability activate?

I believe it does since

the declaration of human occurs "as the AA enters the battlefield", not "once the ..."
the declaration takes place immediately and is not stack based (per gatherer ruling)
Champion's affect reads "whenever a Human enters the battlefield"

Thus the AA is a human when it enters the battlefield.

Can anyone clarify this more conclusively?

Adaptive Automaton will enter the battlefield already possessing the chosen creature type, which will trigger Champion of the Parish.

Automaton's first ability is a "replacement effect". Relevant rules are under the heading "Replacement Effects". Relevant excerpts:

  614.1. Some continuous effects are replacement effects. Like prevention effects (see rule 615),
     replacement effects apply continuously as events happen—they aren’t locked in ahead of time. Such
     effects watch for a particular event that would happen and completely or partially replace that event
     with a different event. They act like “shields” around whatever they’re affecting.

  [...]

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

  [...]

  614.6. If an event is replaced, it never happens. A modified event occurs instead, which may in turn
     trigger abilities. Note that the modified event may contain instructions that can’t be carried out, in
     which case the impossible instruction is simply ignored.

For more information about how this interacts with Champion of the Parish, let's look at "Handling Triggered Abilities" -- specifically:

  603.6. Trigger events that involve objects changing zones are called “zone-change triggers.” Many
     abilities with zone-change triggers attempt to do something to that object after it changes zones. During resolution, these abilities look for the object in the zone that it moved to. [...]

  [...]

  603.6b Continuous effects that modify characteristics of a permanent do so the moment the
     permanent is on the battlefield (and not before then). The permanent is never on the battlefield
     with its unmodified characteristics. Continuous effects don’t apply before the permanent is on
     the battlefield, however (see rule 603.6e).

  Example: If an effect reads “All lands are creatures” and a land card is played, the
  effect makes the land card into a creature the moment it enters the battlefield, so it
  would trigger abilities that trigger when a creature enters the battlefield. Conversely, if
  an effect reads “All creatures lose all abilities” and a creature card with an enters-the-
  battlefield triggered ability enters the battlefield, that effect will cause it to lose its
  abilities the moment it enters the battlefield, so the enters-the-battlefield ability won’t
  trigger.

So, in essence, "As Adaptive Automaton enters the battlefield, choose a creature type"  replaces the normal "~ enters the battlefield" action that you perform when summoning a creature with a subtly different action: "~ enters the battlefield and its controller chooses a creature type".

"Adaptive Automaton is the chosen type in addition to its other types" is a static ability just like shroud or flying, so your Automaton is an "Artifact Creature - Human Construct" (or "Construct Human", I suppose, the rules aren't picky) when it enters the battlefield, and this is the type that all triggered abilities (like Champion's) will see.

If you'd like to see an official example of Adaptive Automaton interacting with a Human-enters-the-battlefield ability, look at the Rulings section for Dearly Departed.


Interaction with Grismold and Adarkar Valkyrie Setup

Player A controls Adarkar Valkyrie, Grismold, the Dreadsower and a bunch of creature tokens.

Player B casts Akroma's Vengeance.

Question

If Player A responds with Adarkar Valkyrie's tap ability and targets Grismold, will Grismold - after he returns to the battlefield - receive the +1/+1 counters from his triggered ability?

No.

The Grismold that returns to the battlefield is a completely different one from the one whose ability triggered and was about to get +1/+1 counters.

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

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

400.7d is the exception that allows Grismold to return to the battlefield. But there is no exception that allows this new Grismold on the battlefield to know anything about the triggered ability that would be giving counters to the Grismold that left the battlefield.

For extra clarification, Adarkar Valkyrie's ability creates a delayed trigger:

  603.7. An effect may create a delayed triggered ability that can do something at a later time. A delayed triggered ability will contain “when,” “whenever,” or “at,” although that word won’t usually begin the ability.

    603.7a Delayed triggered abilities are created during the resolution of spells or abilities, as the result of a replacement effect being applied, or as a result of a static ability that allows a player to take an action. A delayed triggered ability won’t trigger until it has actually been created, even if its trigger event occurred just beforehand. Other events that happen earlier may make the trigger event impossible.

When Akroma's Vengeance resolves, both Grismold's triggered ability and the Adarkar Valkyrie delayed trigger will trigger. It doesn't matter which order you choose to order them on the stack; what matters is that "new Grismold" is not on the battlefield yet at the time that the triggering event (tokens being destroyed) happens, so it will be too late for new Grismold's triggered ability to do anything.


Does Void Winnower prevent casting spells for even alternative mana costs? I was talking to a friend who said he played a game of Magic over the weekend. He said his opponent played a Void Winnower but it was okay because he was holding a Sheer Drop in hand.

When the Void Winnower attacked, he chump blocked in and then on his turn he cast Sheer drop which only has a CMC of 3, but he said he cast it for the Awaken cost which is 6 cmc

I thought by using the Awaken cost, the CMC would now be 6 and so Void Winnower's ability would prevent it? Is anyone able to give me a definitive answer?

The only time the converted mana cost of a spell changes is if is has an {X} in the cost and the spell is currently being cast. So Sheer Drop will always have a CMC of 3 regardless of if the Awaken cost is paid, or if anything else changes the actual amount of mana paid.

202.3. The converted mana cost of an object is a number equal to the total amount of mana in its mana cost, regardless of color.
202.1. A card’s mana cost is indicated by mana symbols near the top of the card. (See rule 107.4.) On most cards, these symbols are printed in the upper right corner. Some cards from the Future Sight set have alternate frames in which the mana symbols appear to the left of the illustration.


How does the Ticket To Ride:1910 expansion change the original game? What does the expansion contain?
What are the different ways to play with it?
How is each different from playing without the expansion?
Is there anything else I should know about the expansion before buying?

I'll let someone else explain the expansion options, I just want to list the most important change.

Normal Size Cards


Are these board games considered as gambling games? Are these board games considered as gambling?

A.  Checkers?

B.  Four in a row?

C.  Othello?

Edit:  Would it be appropriate to allow children (ages < 18) to play these board games?  (On the computer or tablet devices, etc.) Do they lend themselves to gambling (on line or otherwise) like poker?

I am not a lawyer, and have experience only in Ontario, but under Ontario law wagering on games of skill is not gambling. In a well-known case from the 1960's or early 1970's, in which the St. Clair Bridge Studio was defending itself against charges of running a gambling house, barrister and bridge player Eric Murray in his winning defence argued that bridge is a game of chance only as played by the justices of the Ontario Superior Court, in chambers. This despite the obvious fact that there clearly is a substantial element of luck in the cards dealt to each side on every particular deal.

As all of Chequers, Othello and Four in a Row are games with absolutely no element of chance whatever, and perfect information, under Ontario Law I believe none of them would be regarded as games of chance for which wagering would be prohibited.


How to combine Risk, Catan, and Monopoly? So my group of friends play a lot of Catan. And we recently got a version of Risk. We ended up thinking about how relationship destroying a combined version of Risk, Catan, and Monopoly would be.

So is there any way to combine the three? (Doesn't matter how mundane or ridiculous it is.)

10 PLAY Catan
20 IF RND<0.5 GOTO 10
30 PLAY Risk
40 GOTO 10
50 PLAY Monopoly

Despite first appearances, this algorithm is not faulty.


Can Unity play a golem after playing Inspired Repair Unity's card Inspired Repair's text says she can play a card. If inspired repair is played during her Play Phase, can she play a golem, which of course reads "cannot be played during the Play Phase."?

I would guess no, golems can't be played. But then I thought maybe golem's restriction means AS her Play Phase card. Perhaps the Play Phase ends as soon as the card is played, then it's between phases while the card effects play out?

It is still her play phase so she can't play a mechanical golem no matter how many extra cards she is allowed to play.  During any other phase or other players turn she may play a mechanical golem if she gets to play a card.


Can you add the same hit as someone else? Can you add the same hit card as someone else did?
Suppose I'm playing with 4 people, it's my turn and I laid down my phase and then hit on a run of 4,5,6,7, ... I added an 8 and 9. The next player has her phase and wants to play the same hit that I just did. She wants to add an 8,9 and 10. I told her she can't add the 8 and 9, only the 10, because I already added the 8 and 9.
The rules say this:

HITTING: Hitting is the way to get rid of leftover cards after making a Phase. You make a hit by putting a card directly on a Phase already laid down. The card must properly fit with the cards already down.
EXAMPLES: You may add one or more “4s” to a player’s existing set of “4s.” You may add a “2” to a player’s existing run of “3”, “4”, “5”, “6”. You may also add a “7” and an “8” to this run, if you have them. You may add one or more green cards to a player’s seven green cards in Phase 8. You may also add a “Wild” card of any color to any of these card situations. Before you can make a hit, your own Phase must already be laid down. You may hit only during your turn. You may hit your own cards, another player’s cards, or both.

You were correct

There's two key phrases in the Hit rule to support this,

  You make a hit by putting a card directly on a Phase already laid down. The card must properly fit with the cards already down.

The first phrase deals with your cards being added to the played Phase and not a separate "also could legally go here" pile. In effect, your card becomes part of the phase. This leads to the second part: since your card is now part of the Phase, a duplicate would not properly fit (at least in this example of a straight Phase).

Your opponent can still play the 10 because that will properly fit the run, and either of you could subsequently add a 3, or 11, etc.


How can I get better at lying? In games that allow you to 'backstab' other players (such as Diplomacy and Cosmic Encounter), it is often very important to make other players think you are going to do one thing while really planning on doing another. When I play games like this, I have trouble making other players believe me, and sometimes lose because of this fact alone.

How can I get better at lying convincingly at key points in the game to improve my odds of victory? Are there any vocal, behavioral, or facial tells that I should try to minimize? What words should I say and what should I be thinking when I try to lie? How can I apply this knowledge to figure out when other players are lying?

Having not played this game, or played in the group you're playing, I can't give specifics, but I can talk a bit about my experiences with subterfuge in other contexts.  (poker is a classic for this)

The first, most important thing is that you need to have a story in mind that you want the other person to believe.  Simply saying no when you would normally say yes is an easy discontinuity to ferret out, especially when some of your other in-game behaviour doesn't match.  Check out some poker commentary; every now and then, they can tell almost exactly what the player is trying to represent, even though the cards are different.  If poker is too boring, check out stabby's team fortress 2 videos.  He also mentions what he meant for his targets to believe.

Try to keep track of what your recent visible actions have been.  If the story you'd like your targets to believe doesn't make any sense together with your history, it won't work.  Try to account for the other player's perspective.  Any knowledge helps.  In poker, if you're trying to represent an ace, you need to make sure your opponent doesn't have one already.

If your target has incentive to believe your story, it makes it easier.  Give them an angle for possibly double-crossing you.  Make them believe you are too far behind everyone and feel like being king-maker.  Give them a clear benefit in the deal with a small, obvious way that you 'plan' to take advantage, so they can think they're ready to defend.

One important thing, as has already been mentioned, is to not lie most of the time.  If the culture that you a playing in is about always being cut-throat, then you need to shake that up.  Give a few games away, act on impulse or emotion for a little while, but most importantly do this in such a way that it looks&sounds like your lies.  As a kid playing memory tile games, I'd often point out the correct tiles for the others and they'd think I was lying and go for something else.  You might have to be careful with this.  If you mess with the social contract too much, the game becomes frustrating for other players to the point they may decide they don't like playing with you.

Lastly, pay attention to the pace of the game.  If you make most of your decisions quickly or even flippantly, you need to match that speed with your lies.  The bonus with that is that the faster things are going, the smaller the misdirection has to be.  If the game is usually a slow, thoughtful process, you'll have to think through all of the details of your story before putting it out there for others.  In any case you need to be a lot quicker with your thought process when lying than during normal game-play, so it can often be helpful to slow down the game, think through a story, then discard the story and give the truth.

I hope that's helpful.


Periodical chess problems by RSS Is there somehow I can find an RSS feed of daily chess problems at different difficulties? I like chess and would like to get reminded to practice now and then.

Update: I've found Brian's Daily Chess Pouzzles, but they're all too easy, almost all of them 2-3 moves to mate or win heavy material.

It's not an RSS feed, but if you're after Chess puzzles, in addition to the daily puzzle and free tactics, Chess.com also has a variety of subscription options that offer unlimited daily tactics puzzles (and computer workouts).

If you then download the Chess.com app for your smartphone, iOS or Android, (or set up email alerts), you will can be reminded with notifications (in addition to having an endless and expansive Chess resource). Not RSS, but a considerably better alternative I think.


Learning new Scrabble words? I downloaded the zyzzyva program and have been using it to sharpen my anagram solving skills, but it isn't great to learn new words with. I'm probably not using it right, but it seems like there are better ways.

I watched a few Scrabble games from the tournament and they of course know all sorts of words. How do they learn them though? What's the best way to go about learning and making sure you retain what you learn?

Learning and retaining a bunch of words is easy; any basic flashcard system can help you do that.  However, all those fancy Scrabble words you stuff into your brain won't help you win any tournaments unless you can get them back out again on demand.

The tricky part isn't retention, it's recall.

Now, ideally, you want to start learning new words when you're about five or six years old, and just read absolutely everything you can get your tiny little hands on.  Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, what have you.  That will give you a few decades of practice with your vocabulary, which you can then pull out at your leisure when you're ready to hit the world of serious Scrabble.  All the best players I've met have been avid readers for most of their lives.

Of course, not everyone lives in an ideal world.  Sometimes you're stuck being twenty years too old to start afresh; you have to play the tiles life deals you.

Worry not!

As mentioned earlier, learning the words is easy.  Write all the words you want to learn on flashcards.  Read through a dozen or so at a time (your mileage may vary, adjust according to taste and local custom), wait a few minutes, then try to write them all back down again.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

Once they're in your brain, they're pretty much in there for good.  However, in order to pull them out at will, you need to use them.  Use them a lot.  Use them every chance you get; the more avenues of attack you open up, the easier it is to recall them later.  Write words down.  Say them out loud.  Read them back.  Translate them into Spanish.  Model them out of Play-doh.  Be creative.

I've not used the Zyzzyva program myself, but it sounds like an excellent resource for developing recall.  You don't want to limit yourself to only the one system though.

The traditional method of learning new words, one which will have English teachers worldwide nodding their heads, is the simple yet effective "Use it in a sentence."  This may not always be the easiest route, especially when dealing with the wonderfully archaic words Scrabble professionals so know and love, but it's a great starting point.  Try to work whatever words you learn into your daily conversation; don't concern yourself with the fact that you now sound like a total nerd, that's just a sacrifice you'll need to make.  This is Scrabble we're talking about here.  Serious business.

Another effective tool is to do a lot of word games.  A LOT of word games.  Do the word search and the crossword puzzle in your local newspaper.  Go to your local magazine rack, they almost always have a huge tome that says something like "Super Giant Book of Awesome Word Puzzles".  Buy one and solve them all.  It'll be worth it.

One trick I personally use is to do a normal crossword puzzle one day, and then the next day I pull out a sheet of graph paper and redo the puzzle entirely from memory as a diagramless.  Effective, but not for the faint of heart.

Also, learn all the two-letter words.  It's crazy how useful those can be when you're playing combinations.


AQ Prince Aaron ability clarification Prince Aaron's ability reads

All Enemies Close to him have -2 defense against attacks made by him or his Allies.

Does -2 defense mean -2 defense dice that the target gets to roll or does it mean that the target gets to roll his/her defense dice but has to subtract 2 from the result? If the latter, then does the subtracted defense still count as "saves"? For example, if the target rolls 3 shield after being attacked by Prince Aaron from a Close space, does that count as 3 saves or 1 save even though in the end the target only cancels out 1 hit?

Crossposted on BGG

Throughout the rules, "Defense" refers to the number of dice rolled in defense of attacks.

  If the targeted Character has any Defense listed on his card, the player controlling him gathers a number of white Defense dice equal to that character’s Defense.


How does Proliferate interact with Exalted and other temporary +1/+1 buffs? I understood Proliferate to be an ability that allows you to, given any number of permanents and players of your choosing, add another counter of each existing counter type that is already on there. Like adding another poison counter to a player that already has one, or buffing a creature with a +1/+1 counter even more, or giving an opponent's creature with at least one -1/-1 counter another one.
There are some edge cases I'm unsure of:

What if an attacker is exalted (+1/+1 until end of turn) and they proliferate during their attack? Do they get an additional +1/+1? Does it affect combat in the current turn? If they get an additional +1/+1, does it wear off at the end of the turn like the exalted buff?
Similar situation with Hand of the Praetors: could you proliferate the +1/+1 buff it gives other creatures?

The word 'counter' has a very specific meaning in Magic:

A marker placed on an object or player that modifies its characteristics or interacts with a rule or ability. See rule 122, “Counters.”

so only spells and abilities explicitly mentioning counters interact with proliferate. The 'exalted' ability doesn't mention it:

702.82a Exalted is a triggered ability. “Exalted” means “Whenever a creature you control attacks alone, that creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.”

and neither does Hand of the Praetors. So they don't profit from proliferate.


Stone Age Food Strategy What is the best way to feed your people, and why do you consider it such?

I constantly go back and forth between
A) placing a person in the Field to move my food marker up
B) trying to grab up all the Food Civilization Cards  I can, and
C) placing people in the Hunt space to generate food with a dice roll
-or-
Does it make any sense feeding your people by using resources other than Food?

I generally play a 3 or 4 player game.

The best way to feed your people, is to make sure you have just enough food.

Sure you can feed them other resources, but those resources will cost you at least 50% more (in terms of dice eyes). It's a lot easier to just get the food out.

Food is a means to an end, it won't score you any points. As the game develops, you can see where your chances of scoring big points are. Use this focus to determine how to get your food. If you get farmer (civilization) cards it makes sense to focus on getting high on the food track. In my experience, this can lead to having lots of excess food at the end of the game, which feels like a wasteful investment.

I've also won games without focusing on the food track, instead focusing on getting more people and sending them out to hunt. Again, if you overdo this you will run out of food.

All in all, there is no undisputed best solution, without considering the cards on the table and the choices of your fellow players.


Can I cast other spells before a miracle? I'm playing a red storm deck and I topdeck a Reforge the Soul. I only have 2 lands in play but have several rituals (Pyretic Ritual, etc.) in my hand that I might want to cast to increase my storm count, since they will just be discarded anyway. Can I cast the rituals before I cast Reforge the Soul if I were to miracle it or must I pay the miracle cost and thus not be able to pay for the rituals?

You can cast your rituals before casting the miracle, though since it's your draw step, you'll have to spend any leftover floating mana during your draw step, i.e. on instants or activated abilities.

The full definition of Miracle is:

  702.93a Miracle is a static ability linked to a triggered ability (see rule 603.10). “Miracle [cost]” means “You may reveal this card from your hand as you draw it if it’s the first card you’ve drawn this turn. When you reveal this card this way, you may cast it by paying [cost] rather than its mana cost.”

The static ability is the reveal-as-you-draw part: you make that decision as you draw the card, before the game progresses any further. If you do choose to reveal it, the rest of the ability triggers and goes on the stack. All that's really happened so far is the reveal.

That triggered ability (the "when..." in the definition) is where everything else happens. You cast the miracle card for its miracle cost when that ability resolves. So before that happens, you can respond to it with whatever you'd like, including your rituals, and you'll still get to cast it at the end. (As long as you're able to, anyway - for example if you discard it, you can't cast it anymore!) Once you're done with your rituals, you let the triggered ability resolve, and only then do you pay the miracle cost and cast it.


When a creature is summoned but still on the stack is it considered a permanent? Suppose I cast a creature spell, let's say Elvish Mystic. It enters the stack, then in response another player casts Counterspell targeting it. Could I, in response to that, cast Avoid fate or is the Elvish Mystic not considered a permanent until the spell resolves and thus Avoid Fate has no effect?

It's not a permanent while it's on the stack.

110.1. A permanent is a card or token on the battlefield.
111.1. A spell is a card on the stack.

Before it resolves, it's a spell (on the stack). After it resolves, it's a permanent (on the battlefield).
So no, you cannot cast Avoid Fate targeting a Counterspell that's targeting your Elvish Mystic on the stack. (It's not that Avoid Fate has no effect; you can't cast it in the first place.)


How is co-operative play made more difficult in the Something Wicked expansion for A Touch of Evil? I have read in the description of the Something Wicked expansion for A Touch of Evil on BoardGameGeek that the expansion contains additional rules that include "expanded challenge for cooperative play," but I don't see the rules posted in the files section. We've had a fairly easy time at beating the base game co-operatively and so I'm curious what changes in a co-op game with this expansion. A different shadow track? Bonuses for the Villain? More frequent mystery cards?

Unfortunately, Flying Frog Productions seems to be very worried that people will not buy their expansions if the post the rules for them. With that being said, what the most likely mean by, "expanded challenge for cooperative play," is that a new Advanced Cooperative Mystery Phase Chart is rolled on (2d6) versus the old chart (1d6 - quoted below) before drawing and reading the Mystery Card.

1 Darkness Falls - The Shadow Track immediately moves 2 Steps closer to Darkness. The Heroes may collectively take 5 Wounds divided as they see fit to prevent this.
2 Creeping Shadow - The Shadow Track immediately moves 1 Step closer to Darkness. The Heroes may collectively take 3 Wounds divided as they see fit to prevent this.
3-4 Minion Attack! - Roll once on the Villain’s Minion Chart and place that Minion at a Random Location.
5-6 Scattered Clues - Draw a Random Location and place 2 Investigation in that space.


What languages / countries do not have a dedicated Scrabble set? There are, obviously, different Scrabble sets for other countries with different letters and - I assume - alphabets. I also assume the letter breakdowns (and point values?) differ - letter commonality may not be the same between languages.

But are there any (major) languages that don't have a set? I don't know if Chinese has a phonetic alphabet in addition to kanji, so I can't imagine they could have one if they don't.

In 2008, there were 29 versions in different languages according to The Telegraph

The Boardgame Geek database includes 26 language versions (see the pulldown for languages here). That list doesn't include Chinese.

However: Wiki has a breakdown of most (all) language versions (including Chinese language version Zhuyin).


Is it possible to move the Terran base on a defend order too? Defend order states:

  He may then immediately move and/or transport units to the chosen
  area, as if he were executing a Mobilize order on the planet.

It does only say transport units, but the terran is the only one being able to move a base on a mobilize order anyways and specific trumps general in rules normally in a game.

So is there anything official? a post on fantasay flight game that had  a response? or what is the common practice on this?

Seems like it is legal!
had a response here by a user named: Jozan

If you look at The Mobilize Order (SC rules, page 23) it does only say
transport/move units as well, but we're moving bases anyways. I think
the key points are that:

Terrans can move bases as if they were units,

and

The Defend order is treated as a Mobilize order


Are there any specific strategies in Jenga? Does Jenga have any specific strategies for block placement and removal that can be employed? Are there certain moves or ideas I could employ to (for example) increase the likelihood that the stack will fall on my opponent's next turn?

The most unstable situation is adjacent middle blocks, and in general, instabilities near the bottom of the stack are more likely to cause the tower to fall than those at the top because of the greater weight of blocks being held up by the rickety base and because of the longer moment arm.

However, it's not quite as simple as setting up a precarious-middle-blocks-at-the-bottom-of-the-tower scenario just to make your opponent move after you've set it up, as the picture makes clear that several middle blocks in a row can often be stable enough for at least a couple more turns--in which case your ploy could come back to bite you.

One trick I've used is to judge which way the tower was tilting after I'd removed my block and then place it on the opposite side on the top. The goal here is to make your opponent place their block on the weak side and hopefully bring everything down. It has the added benefit of being the safest place to put your block.

That said, there's not much strategy to Jenga; it's really more about steady hands, dexterity, and being able to tell which blocks are loose. (Unless of course you engage in psychological warfare.)


Good produce/consume strategy in RftG I've been playing Race for the Galaxy with a friend of mine for quite a while, and I've noticed the game seems to be going more and more in favor of a blitzkrieg strategy of conquering as many planets as possible as quickly as possible. Is there a valid produce/consume strategy to counteract this? It seems like it takes far longer to develop a good economy, and even at 2x VP the combat-oriented player still has the advantage of early gains made in prestige, granting them VP and a card every turn.

One problem you may be facing is that you're trying to play this game strategically.  RftG is must more tactical than, say, Puerto Rico, since your choices of developments and planets is determined by the luck of the draw than being available for purchase.  If you 'set out' to do a produce consume before the game's begun you're putting yourself at a severe disadvantage.

A second thing that may be going wrong is that an engine strategy has a key point where you need to stop building the engine and start running it.  If you feel like you need too much time to build the engine up, perhaps you're building too big of an engine.  Aim for a smaller engine, and then work it that extra couple of times.  You'd be surprised at much even a 20% more 'efficient' engine costs.  Often it's two or more extra produce/consume cycles.


Exploding Kittens Nope Cards Who can play a nope card?  Scenario: Player A plays an attack.  Can player C put down a nope card to block the attack on player B?

Thanks

Anyone can play a Nope card at any time (except for an Exploding Kitten or Defuse Card), from the rules:

Stop any action except for an Exploding Kitten or a Defuse Card. Imagine that any card beneath a Nope Card never existed.
You can also play a Nope on another Nope to negate it and create a Yup, and so on.
You can play a Nope Card at any time before an action has begun, even if it’s not your turn. Any cards that have been noped are lost. Leave them in the Discard Pile. You can even play a Nope on a SPECIAL COMBO

So yes, if player C wants to block an attack from player A on player B, they can.
See also how the attack rules explicitly use victim and someone:

(If the victim of an ATTACK CARD also plays an ATTACK CARD, their turns are immediately over, and the next player must take two turns.)
If you play an ATTACK CARD and someone plays a NOPE on top of it, this means that you still have to draw a card and the next player does NOT have to take two turns.


When a city outbreaks when using the Malaria Historical Disease, does it create one or two outbreak cubes? In Pandemic Iberia, the rules for the Malaria historical disease state:

  When infecting with black, whenever you would put 1 black cube into a city that has no black cubes in it, add 2 black cubes instead.

Does an outbreak create one black cube in the adjacent cities or two?

Case for not applying to outbreaks: There is an Infect step, and the rules for outbreaks are not described in that section, they are in the next section. Furthermore the rules for outbreaks use the word place, not the word infect:

  Then, place 1 cube of the disease color on every city connected to the city

Case for applying to outbreaks: The rules use the word whenever, which implies more than one situation. Additionally, the word infect is not capitalized. Finally, the flavor text on the card says

  NEW INFECTIONS ARE MORE SEVERE

We are not sure. How does it work?

One final thought: not applying to outbreaks makes Malaria sort of toothless and not altogether much more difficult than a basic disease, because in Iberia you can often get away with not cleaning. But this argument is more about balance and less about the text of the rules (perhaps a house rule might be in order?)

Infecting and placing disease cubes are different things. It just so happens that infecting often (but not always, as in the case of an outbreak) causes a disease cube to be added.

The rules for Malaria state that you only place an extra cube when infecting. They do not say something like "whenever you would place a cube, place an extra cube".

Rules governing infecting a city:

  To infect a city, place 1 disease cube matching its color onto  the
  city. If there is a purification token in a region adjacent  to the
  city, however, remove 1 purification token from an  adjacent region
  (returning it to the supply) instead of placing a  cube. (If there is
  more than one adjacent region with a purification  token, the current
  player decides which token to remove.) If the city already has 3 cubes
  of this color, do not place a  4th cube. Instead, an outbreak of this
  disease occurs in the  city (see Outbreaks below). Discard this card
  to the Infection  Discard Pile.

Rules governing an outbreak:

  When a disease outbreak occurs, move the outbreaks  marker forward 1
  space on the Outbreaks Track. Then,  place 1 cube of the disease color
  on every city connected  to the city (or remove a purification token
  if any). If any of  them already has 3 cubes of the disease color, do
  not place  a 4th cube in those cities. Instead, in each of them, a
  chain  reaction outbreak occurs after the current outbreak is done

An infected city is only one for which an infection card is drawn.

Regarding your arguments for the other interpretation:

Use of the word "whenever":
This word is used to declare that it happens whenever an infection card is drawn for an uninfected city. I cant think of any other way to describe it without using "whenever" or a similar word. It does not imply there are other situations.

"Infect" vs "infect":
Doesn't matter. Infect is not a proper noun and was not made into one by the rules.

Flavor text:
Given my interpretation, infections ARE more severe.


Why should I buy Booster Packs over Battle Packs? While grabbing some booster packs today I saw a Booster Battle Pack.  Looked them up online to see what they were and grabbed one.  Doing the math, I determined the following:

Booster Pack - $0.26 / card
Battle Pack - $0.13 / card

So why would I ever buy a regular Booster pack?  Seems like it makes more sense to always buy the battle packs.

My thought is the Battle Packs have two "semi-randomized" decks, so the extra $2 your spending isn't really worth the extra content. The semi-random decks won't contain rares, so the extra $2 isn't going to get you extra value in the form of chances to pull money rares. It will just get you more cards. For most players, this isn't enough incentive. Spend another $2 beyond the Battle Pack, you'd get a third booster and another chance at a quality rare. However, in your situation where you're trying to teach your 12-year-old-son, this is a good way to see some color-specific mechanics and cheaply play around with color combinations.

Another thing you might consider is the Deck Builder Toolkit. Similar to the Battle Packs, for around $20 these contain 125 semi-random commons and uncommons, 4 packs from various sets, and 100 basic land (20 of each type). From a cost perspective, you'd be looking at $0.11 per card if you don't put cost on the basic land. But once again, the semi-randomized cards reduce overall value since there is no chance for money rares. The extra $4 gets you more cards, but not more value.


Is there custom boardgame leaderboard online? Let me quickly set up a scenario: Me and my cousins all play 7 Wonders. We want to keep track of who is the last person that won and how many wins/losses we each have.

Is there a current online resource (outside of Google sheets) that can allow me to do this?

If you have an account on BoardGameGeek, then you can record "plays" of a game against that account. You can include details about other players, whether the game was stopped before the end, how long the game took, where the game was played, and who won.


Does Baral, Chief of Compliance reduce alternative costs? Does the first ability of Baral, Chief of Compliance also reduce alternative casting cost?

For example: What about the Overload cost of Cyclonic Rift - is that reduced by one colorless mana?

Or what about flashback costs - are they reduced?

Yes

As long as the cost involves mana, Baral will get the job done.

  117.9d. If an alternative cost is being paid to cast a spell, any additional costs, cost increases, and cost reductions that affect that spell are applied to that alternative cost.


Where can the Ladder card be placed in Saboteur 2? Most path cards in Saboteur can only be placed if they connect to the entry ladder  The Saboteur 2 rules say that a ladder path card is connected to the main entry ladder. Does this mean you can essentially place a ladder path card anywhere (presumably anywhere that connects to some other path) even if that path does not connect to the entry ladder?  (This would occur if some mean saboteur had played a rockfall on a key path card in the middle of stuff.)

The only thing I could find in the rules was that a ladder card cannot be placed next to the 3 final cards. What does that mean, exactly? Can I arbitrarily not place a ladder path card as the last card in a path to one of the end cards? Or are the rules just trying to say you can't use the ladder to teleport straight to the end when the groundwork (hah) has not yet been laid?

This was answered by the Designer, Frederic Moyersoen on BoardGameGeek:

  Any card you place in the gallery must match with an existing corridor. There is no exception for placing a card with a ladder.

And here:

  As the ladder is always connected to the start card, you can place this card when the connection is interrupted.

Taken together, the ladder card must be placed so that it connects to a path.  That path need not lead back to the original ladder card.


Confused About Stunned Investigators When an investigator is stunned I understand that it limits the moves from 2 to 1.  Optionally, the investigator can spend their action to remove the stun.  If I spend the action first, is the move limit still in effect until the next turn?  Or can I then move two times?

From the rulebook:

  Investigators: A stunned investigator only receives one  Movement Step
  during his turn. If he becomes stunned  during his turn, he may not
  take a second Movement Step....

  ....An investigator or monster may have multiple stun tokens on him,  and
  may only discard one per turn (either during the Investigator  Trading
  Step or the Monster Attack Step – see pages 10–11).

  Keeper Turn in Detail

  Step 1 Investigator Trading Step

  ....After trading items, each stunned investigator may discard one of
  his stun tokens (see “Status Effects” on page 15)

  Step 4 Monster Attack Step

  ....If a monster has a stun token on it, then the monster does not attack
  during this step. Instead, the keeper removes one stun token from the
  monster

And from the FAQ on the Fantasy Flight website:

  Q: Can stunned Investigators perform actions?

  A: Yes. A stunned investigator receives 1 movement step and 1
  action step on his turn.

So if the investigator is stunned at the beginning of their turn they can perform one movement step and 1 action step (which can be used as a Run Action that would allow them to move another time). There's nothing I see (in the base rulebook at least) that allows investigators to remove stun tokens with an action. Stun tokens on investigators are only removed at the end of the 'Investigator Trading Step' during the Keeper's Turn.


Can two Skinshifters affect each other? If I have two Skinshifters in play, can I use the ability of one to affect the other?  For instance, if one of my Skinshifters has Ice Cage on it, can I use the other Skinshifter's ability to morph the "caged" one, thereby breaking the Ice Cage?

No, you can't.

Breaking an Ice Cage on a Skinshifter with another Skinshifter's ability won't work for 2 reasons:

First and most straightforward, the Skinshifter's ability does not require a target, and Ice Cage requires the enchanted creature to be targeted by a spell or ability for it to break.

Second, you can use Skinshifter's ability only to change itself, not another Skinshifter.

If a card says "Something happens to CARD NAME", then this always references the card this text is printed on, unless explicitly stated otherwise. If a card references another card by name, the syntax is always something like "A card/creature named XY", for example like Llanowar Sentinel, or Angel's Herald.

The rules for that is this:

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


What is this kind of card shuffling called? What is this kind of card shuffling called?

Its a grid of cards where you take 1 card at a time to create a grid of say 2 wide and 2 tall, (although it could be any number wide/tall)

ASCII Drawing;

[[Deck]] -> Add one card to create 4 stacks and repeat the process over & over.

[Card] [Card]
[Card] [Card]

As you take cards you add it to a random stack thus creating (in the above example) 4 stacks (or decks) of cards

What is this shuffle called?

This is called random pile shuffling. Wikipedia defines pile shuffling as:

  Cards are simply dealt out into a number of piles, then the piles are stacked on top of each other.

Here is a YouTube video demonstrating pile shuffling.

Trivia

At a Magic: the Gathering tournament, pile shuffling by itself is not a sufficient means of randomization.

Two others popular types of shuffling are (warning, these are video links) mash shuffling and riffle shuffling.


How do you resolve "nearest" when it is tied in Betrayal at House on the Hill? If a game effect is supposed to happen to something which is nearest to something else, and more than one qualifying thing is equally near, and the specific effect does not designate a tie-breaker, how is the tie resolved?  Is it the choice of the person resolving the effect?  Or, if it is possible (as in the case of the card that prompted this question, Footsteps, which has as it's best result "You and the nearest explorer gain 1 Might.") does it happen to all potential targets?

(In the game I was playing where it came up, there were two explorers who were each 3 rooms away from the explorer who drew the card.  The question then became, does the explorer who drew the card choose one of them or did it happen to both of them.  No support for either case could be found in rulebook, FAQ, or this site.  So the question has now been posed here.)

I would prefer a general answer, rather than one more specifically about Footsteps, as knowing the appropriate way to resolve the general situation is far more important than any specific ruling about the individual card.  However, if there is any sort of official rulling/clarification/errata/etc. about this aspect of Footsteps that my web search failed to uncover, feel free to site it, as it would have bearing on the more general situation of which it is an example.

I don't know of an official ruling on how to break that tie, but I would go with the official way to break ties for traitor, when the traitor is the one with the highest/lowest stat, and that is to use the closest player involved in the tie to the left of the player that triggered the haunt. So you would in this case break the tie by hitting the closest player who's explorer is involved in the tie going around the table to your left.

I don't have the rules on hand right now so I can't quote the book for that. Note this is the method for the original betrayal and I believe Betrayal at Baulders Gate. Betrayal Legacy uses a different mechanic to break ties, randomly drawing from the family crests of those players involved in the tie.


What board game is this die from? It just appeared on the floor in my house and I have no clue where it came from. My kids moved out over a decade ago. It has these words on the sides - REVERSE, WILD, ANY TWO, END (gold background), END(navy background), MID(red background). It's a slightly more than a 1/2 inch 6-sided cube.

This die is from the game Throw 'n Go Jenga, which is a Jenga variant.

Check this link:
https://board-games-galore.fandom.com/wiki/Jenga


How do the +1/+1 tokens created when Hooded Hydra dies play during combat? Recently played w/ a deck that contained Hooded Hydra (morphed to +5/+5). I was attacked with 3, 5/5 trampling rhino tokens. I assigned Hooded Hydra to block first, effectively killing it.
Enter the problem: Hooded Hydra's second effect which reads...

When Hooded Hydra dies, create a 1/1 green Snake creature token for
each +1/+1 counter on it

How does this resolve from the non-active player's defending combat phase?
My understanding goes:

Death is instant

That this effect is a trigger as when is included in the wording, and

That Hooded Hydra's counters are created upon its death, instantly.

So, thinking these things, I figured:

Let Hooded Hydra take 5 damage and die,
Immediately be able to put its 5, 1/1 tokens onto the stack
Use them to defend against the next 5 damage

All my tokens would die, of course, but they would effectively prevent the necessary damage that would mean me losing the game to trampling rhino tokens
My opponent objected to my actions saying:

Creature deaths only occur when things go to the graveyard, at the very end phase.
Therefore, I could not create the 1/1 tokens, and would not be able to block the 5 damage to prevent my loss.

I don't think that's correct. Hooded Hydra's card doesn't state the condition, "when sent to the graveyard... create 1/1 tokens". Anyway. Things got heated. And to keep things mellow, I let play go their way, died, and the game ended.
So... What is the correct answer? Are any of my understandings of combat actions correct? Is my opponent correct? Were/are we both wrong? None of my rule reading has shed light on a firm resolution. Just lots more assumptions and possibilities.

Your opponents are mostly right.
What you're missing with this scenario are: combat steps, assigning damage, and triggered abilities.
When anyone attacks with creatures, there are certain steps that are taken.  In general they are:

Before Combat
Declare Attackers
Declare Blockers
Damage

In each combat step, the action is only taken once.  In other words, there is only one "At the beginning of combat".  The attacker selects all attackers at once, and then they are set. The blocker selects all blocks at once, then they are set. Damage happens all at once.
In between and before each step, players get priority and triggers happen.
So, in your scenario:

Opponent declares 3 attacking rhinos
You block with Hooded Hydra
Damage happens

You take 10 damage, hooded hydra takes 5
Hooded hydra dies, and its death trigger goes on the stack
Assuming nothing else happens, the death trigger resolves and 5 snakes are created

Go to after combat (likely second main phase)

So, because the snakes are created after you have your opportunity to block, they can't be used as blockers. But they are created immediately on the death of Hooded Hydra.


In Gizmos (2nd ed.), if someone performs the "research action" and files a gizmo, does that count as a "file action"? For example, if someone decides to research on the first turn, if they decide to put a card in their archive, would they then draw an energy at random (from the beginning gizmo that allows you to do so whenever you perform a file action)?

Yes

  RESEARCHChoose any facedown Level Deck (1, 2, or 3) and draw a
  number of cards equal to your Research Amount. You may not
  draw from more than 1 Level Deck at a time. Each player starts the
  game with a Research Amount of 3, but some Upgrade Gizmos
  may increase that number.
  If there are fewer cards in the chosen Level Deck than your Research Amount,
  draw only the number of cards available.
  After you draw the cards, choose 1 of them and either Build it (if you have
  enough Energy) or File it (if you have space in your Archive). Or, you can choose to
  do neither.
  Return the remaining cards facedown to the bottom of the corresponding
  Level Deck, in the order of your choosing. You may return all drawn cards to the
  bottom if you wish, or if you can’t File or Build any of them.
  Note: The File or Build Action you perform during a Research Action also
  counts to trigger active Gizmos (see Triggering Gizmo Effects below).[bolding added]

https://cmon-files.s3.amazonaws.com/pdf/assets_item/resource/126/Rulebook_Gizmos.pdf


Questions about doors (and vault doors) Do I need to roll the dice to open a vault door? Or is it auto success?
Can I close vault doors?
Regarding opening doors in general: the rulebook, in page 19, explicitly says (emphasis mine):

  Melee weapons with the “Open a door” symbol can be used to
  open a door next to the Survivor. Spend an Action and roll as
  many dice as the weapon’s Dice value: the door is opened if
  any die result equals or exceeds the Accuracy number of the
  weapon. Place a Noise token in the Zone.

However, it seems obvious that you should only put a noise token if the weapon is noisy for opening doors. There is a bell in the opening door slot of the card to indicate that. Is this a problem in the manual?

Do I need to roll the dice to open a vault door? Or is it auto success?

It depends on the type of weapon used.

Vault doors can be opened like standard doors (unless otherwise stated in the Quest’s description)
Melee weapons with the “Open a door” symbol can be used to open a door next to the Survivor. Spend an Action and roll as many dice  as the weapon’s  Dice value: the door is opened if any die result equals or exceeds the Accuracy number of the weapon. Place a Noise token in the Zone.
Some weapons have the “Open a door” symbol without a die symbol on it.  They can be used to open doors without the need to roll any dice. Just spend an Action to open the door. A Noise token is placed if the weapon is noisy (see Reading An Equipment Card, page 12)

Can I close vault doors?

You can't normally close a door (of any kind), but there's a skill that grants the ability.

Lock it down – At the cost of one Action, the Survivor can close an open  door in his Zone. Opening or destroying it again later does not trigger a new Zombie Spawn.

It doesn't mention explicitly mention vault doors, but vault doors are opened just like any other door, so I would conclude they can be closed just like any other door too.

Vault doors can be opened like standard doors (unless otherwise stated in the Quest’s description)

It seems obvious that you should only put a noise token if the weapon is noisy for opening doors

I agree. This is already explicitly stated for weapons with the "open a door" symbol without a die symbol on it.

Some weapons have the “Open a door” symbol without a die symbol on it.  They can be used to open doors without the need to roll any dice. Just spend an Action to open the door. A Noise token is placed if the weapon is noisy (see Reading An Equipment Card, page 12)

(Emphasis mine)
I believe you will find there is no weapon with the "open a door" symbol with a die on it and without a bell on it. If you do find such a weapon, I agree that it shouldn't make noise when opening a door (although I'd check to see if the bell icon was accidentally left out first).


Can I sacrifice the same creature twice? If I Use Plaguemaw Beast's Activated ability of "{t}, sacrifice a creature: Proliferate" and then target Vampire Hexmage with the activated ability of "Sacrifice Vampire Hexmage: remove all counters from target permanent", what happens?

Will Plaguemaw Beast force Hexmage to be sacrificed without being able to activate the ablity?

Will Plaguemaw Beast lose a valid target if Vampire Hexmage's ability is activated in response to sacrificed, so now Plaguemaw cannot Proliferate?

Will the Plaguemaw Beast's ability activate along with Vampire Hexmage's Activated ablity with Hexmage as a target?

The question is a bit unclear. If you're trying to sacrifice the Vampire Hexmage to pay for its own activated ability, and to satisfy the Plaguemaw Beast, then no.

For each Plaguemaw Beast and Vampire Hexmage, the act of sacrificing a creature is a part of the cost of activating the ability. If you fail to be able to pay the cost, the ability will fail to resolve.


How do the Batman Cuffs work in Batman Fluxx? The Batman Cuffs card says you can hide a Creeper.

Does this mean that Creeper is now under your control?
Can you hide someone else's Creeper?
What happens when you choose to unhide it? Is it yours or your opponents'?

Unclear still on how the Batcuffs work based on these two official sources:

Q: How exactly do the Batman Cuffs work? (Batman™ Fluxx FAQ),
http://looneylabs.ning.com/forum/topics/rules-question-batman-cuffs (dead link, verified on 29.12.2020).

The FAQ already answers part of your question:

  Q: How exactly do the Batman Cuffs work?

  A: Yes, the wording on that Keeper is a bit vague. The intention is
  that you can hide one Creeper under the card on your turn. You can
  reveal it at any time, but the hiding can only be done on your turn.
  We will be updating the wording on subsequent print runs to make that
  clear.

Remains the question if you can hide someone else's creeper.

We can'be sure what the intention is on this one. But based on several Fluxx set's I own, I assume you can't. There are a few cards that work on other player's creepers and these are spelled out. So it is not likely that you can use these for creepers you don't control.


Which discard pile for instant items played on another player's lane? In XenoShyft Onslaught, in which discard pile goes an Instant Card when played in another player's lane? For example, if I use a "Hi-Ex Grenade" in the reaction phase of another player, do I discard that grenade in my or his/her discard pile?

For references, the rulebook only mentions what happens for troops and equipment played in another player's lane. Nothing about Instant Items:

  Note that you can deploy a Troop in a lane that is not your own. If you do so, the owner of that lane becomes the owner of that Troop (it goes to their discard pile if killed).
  A player may also at this time equip Troops with the various Equipment Cards they has purchased. To do so simply place the Equipment Card under the Troop you wish to equip it to. It is now equipped to that Troop. A Troop can only have one Weapon Card and one Armor Card equipped at any time. Just like with deploying Troops, you may also Equip Troops that you do not own. If you do so, the owner of that lane becomes the owner of that Equipment card (it goes to their discard pile if the equipped Troop is killed).

The "Hi-Ex Grenade" has the "Instant Keyword":

I found the answer in the official FAQ (not included in the box published by EDGE) published on CMON website (game creator) : https://cmon.com/product/xenoshyft/xenoshyft-onslaught

  Q: If I play an Instant on another player’s lane (such as a Med
  Pack or Hi-Ex Grenade), does that card go to their discard
  pile?
  A: No, it goes to its owner’s discard pile. The only time a card
  goes to another player is if it is deployed into their lane.

Keeping Instant Cards played on someone else's lane in one's own discard pile allows us to better "build" around Division Cards abilities (such as "Whenever you play a [Symbol] card, heal 1 troop up to 2").


What is the best 18xx game to teach someone? There are several 18xx games easily available, maybe 8 or so that have mass produced and a few dozen kits that can be purchased or downloaded.

I love 18xx games, but I've found that not everyone I teach shares my enthusiasm.  I understand that some games will never appeal to certain folks but I think that part of the problem is the relative complexity of 18xx games.  As a group, they have several different mechanics that have to be learned for a new player to play a credible game.

With this question I'm looking for recommendations for the best 18xx game to teach a new player.  The game should have the best chance of hooking new players and getting them to want to explore the genre deeper.  I think that the best game would have:

a shorter playing time
The importance of Private companies should be minimized. I've found that asking people to bid right at the start of the game on things they don't understand is very intimidating.
tolerance for mistakes (I'm thinking of the ease of sliding into bankruptcy for even experienced players in 1830 here)

I have 1830, 1870, 1856 and 1833. Of them, I think 1830 is the most suitable for new players.

It contains the basics of the game:

Private companies
Track building
Route optimization
Company management
Stock manipulations

If you want a simpler game, you can ignore the private companies. Lower the starting money a bit if you like. I have played with and without privates and it seems to make no significant changes to the game.

If the stock market is too confusing, you can ignore that too. Just have one company per player. It's possibly wise to reduce the number of trains, else you never get rid of those 2 trains.

Most players run away from these, so no need to get a more complex game.

All 18xx have their own focus. I like 1856, because you can get away with mismanagement and get rewarded in the end (just like in real life).


What is a fair Scrabble handicap If it's with someone who is ESL with limited vocabulary and never played Scrabble before with you being a native speaker who played Scrabble lots.

I play Scrabble with kids all the time, I think the same concepts would work nicely with an ESL opponent. To me handicapping by points (opponent starts with 150 or 200 points or whatever) does nothing to make the game more fun for either player. What does work is allowing my young opponent all the time they need for each turn - I get timed. They get all of the good cheat sheets - I don't (that one is fair even even if I'm playing an adult native English speaker with less Scrabble experience). And if the gap is really big - especially if Scrabble is being used as an educational tool - allowing my opponent timed use of the dictionary or OSPD while figuring their play. For the last one, consider limiting the time the opponent gets to use the dictionary more and more as the gap narrows.

BTW, using timing the stronger player as a handicap only works if that player draws tiles at the beginning of their turn instead of the end of their last one.


Pillar of Flame, Blood Artist and Goblin Arsonist Trigger Ability Quick Question on these Spells

Pillar of Flame, Blood Artist and Goblin Arsonist

Lets say I cast pillar of flame on Goblin Arsonist or Blood Artist, would it still trigger their ability? From my understanding after being hit by Pillar of Flame the creature still dies but instead of going to the graveyard, it'll be exiled. Can anybody help me with this?Thanks!

Pillar of Flames replacement effect prevents the other cards triggered abilities from triggering, because it replaces the put into the graveyard event with exile.
Die is a new Magic 2010 keyword.

"When [this card] is put into the graveyard from the battlefield"

Pillar of Flame says:

Pillar of Flame deals 2 damage to target creature or player. If a creature dealt damage this way would die this turn, exile it instead.

When Pillar of Flame resolves, this is what the event looks like assuming it is targeting the goblin.

Pillar of Flame deals 2 damage to [Goblin Arsonist].
PoF's replacement effect is set up waiting to see if Goblin Arsonist dies this turn. "If [Goblin Arsonist] would [be put into the graveyard from the battlefield] this turn, exile it instead."
State-Based Actions are checked, (see rule 704.5g)
Goblin Arsonist would be destroyed because of State-Based Actions, but that event is replaced. The new event looks like:
move [Goblin Arsonist] from the battlefield to [exile].

Because Goblin Arsonist was never placed in it's owners graveyard, but instead was placed in exile, it never triggers the "dies" event.

704.5g If a creature has toughness greater than 0, and the total damage marked on it is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed. Regeneration can replace this event.
701.6a To destroy a permanent, move it from the battlefield to its owner’s graveyard.
614.6. If an event is replaced, it never happens. A modified event occurs instead, which may in turn trigger abilities. Note that the modified event may contain instructions that can't be carried out, in which case the impossible instruction is simply ignored.


Is there an opposite for Guiding Ariadne? Most pendulum monsters have an opposite. For example Dragonpulse Magician, Dragonpit Magician.  One is pendulum value 1 the other 8. My question is, is there an opposite for Guiding Ariadne? Something like:

Monster effect, Level 5 or 7, Pendulum level 6 or 8, Type Fairy, Attribute Light, Attack _____, Defense _____
Pendulum Effect: Each time you activate a counter trap card your opponent takes 500 damage.
Monster Effect: Each time you activate a counter trap card you gain 500 life points.

Basically a card that ties with the pendulum effect of Guiding Ariadne but is higher pendulum level.

I do not believe there is a card to your exact specifics.
There are some online tools though that might help you find cards relevant to your needs. You can use sites like:
https://www.db.yugioh-card.com/yugiohdb/card_search.action
https://www.duelingbook.com

With these you can filter cards to find only pendulums with certain scales/types/attributes and search for keywords in the name and description (for example, you could look for the word damage to look for cards with a burn effect)


In Keyforge, does *Bingle Bangbang* deal the 5 damage when it attacks as well as when it's being attacked? The card text of Bingle Bangbang says:

  Before Fight: Deal 5D to each neighbor of the creature Bingle Bangbang fights.

Because a "fight" happens when Bingle Bangbang attacks as well as when it is being attacked, this would mean it deals the 5 damage to the neighbors in both cases. However this appears to me to be a too strong ability, and therefore I wonder whether this is really the case?

No, Bingle Bangbang's ability will not trigger when it's being attacked.

According to Keyforge's Rulebook (May/2019 version), under Using Creatures, the rule Fight reads:

  [...] After the fight resolves, if the creature that is being used to fight survives, all “Fight:” abilities the creature has, if it has any, resolve.

While, under Glossary, the keyword Before is explained:

  If the word “before” is used in an ability (for example, “Before Reap:” or “Before Fight:”), that ability resolves before resolving the game effect of the reap or fight (but after the card exhausts, if exhausting is required to use the card).

As you can see, the rules for Fight clearly state that if the creature being used to fight survives, all “Fight:” abilities the creature has, if it has any, resolve. Since the ability of Bingle Bangbang is a Before Fight trigger, would trigger before the fight resolved, if it is being used to fight.

When being attacked, creatures' Fight ability won't trigger.


How long does a bonus last? In core worlds, there are several ways to give bonus ground strength to Infantry. For example there is a Cyborg who gives +1 Ground strength to each Infantry that attacks with him.
If I use my Medi-bot to save my now 2 strength grunt, how long does that +1 strength last? Until the end of the invasion? Until the end of the round? End of the game?

Till the end of the current invasion. Cyborg reads:

  During an invasion involving the Cyborg, you may spend 1 Energy to add +1 Ground Strength to every Infantry Unit in that invasion.

The rule book defines an Invasion as:

  Invasion: In order to add new worlds to his Empire, a player must launch Invasions. A player performs an Invasion by discarding enough cards from his Warzone to match the Fleet Strength and Ground Strength of the World he is invading.

So, the saved Ground Unit will only get the +1 bonus during the current invasion (cyborg's rules text). The Med-bot can save the troop from being discarded, but the bonus ends immediately after the current Invasion that Cyborg is participating in.


Sower of Discord, Gideon's Sacrifice and Stuffy Doll In a 3-player game, P1 (20 life) has Sower of Discord down, with P2 (12 Life) and P3 (12 Life) the named players. P2 has Stuffy Doll on the board, naming P3.

P1 attempts to deal 3 damage to P2 (say with a Lightning Bolt), but P2 in response casts Gideon's Sacrifice, choosing Stuffy Doll as the creature to take the damage.

Is this an infinite loop or does it ever terminate?

Player 2 and player 3 will each lose 3 life.

Lightning bolt tries to deal 3 damage to player 2 and gets redirected to Stuffy Doll.
Lightning bolt resolves dealing 3 damage to Stuffy Doll.
Stuffy Doll's trigger goes on the stack to deal 3 damage to player 3.
Trigger resolves, player 3 takes 3 damage and loses 3 life (now down to 9 life).
Sower's ability sees the damage and it's trigger goes on the stack to make player 2 lose 3 life (note that it is loss of life, not damage).
Gideon's Sacrifice will not do anything to Sower's trigger (Gideon's Sacrifice looks for damage, not loss of life).  Therefore, the trigger will resolve and player 2 will lose 3 life.

There is no infinite loop here because the loss of life that comes from Sower can't be redirected with Gideon's Sacrifice.  (Remember, damage causes loss of life, but loss of life does not count as damage.)


Deciding when to vote for team approval when people are disagreeing. Really - the team approval phase is the only part where people's agreement/disagreement about who are the spies/etc have substance.

What commonly happens is that two of three people will be arguing about something, and it will be a bit of a stalemate, and someone else saying 'Just vote!'.

What should happen here? How do you decide when the vote should happen, or whether to keep arguing?

When the leader chooses a team, the mechanics say it's time to vote. If people aren't respecting that and keep arguing anyway, the leader should overrule them and force the issue.

Note that if the leader tries to rush through a vote "too quickly", the team is likely to be rejected and the leader likely to fall under suspicion, so this is self-policing.


Preventing early elimination from ruining someone's first game of Diplomacy? I'm planning a game of Diplomacy with my friends for this weekend. The problem is, none of us have ever played before, so I'm trying to fill the gaps in my understanding so that our inexperience doesn't reduce the fun.

One of the issues I'm worried about is someone getting eliminated, or practically eliminated, early in the game. I'm not sure how often eliminations happen in the game, but I really don't want to ask someone to reserve four hours of their time to play, only to have them get taken out of the running very early and have to watch the rest of us play. Note that I'm not opposed to someone getting eliminated, but to someone not having fun because they were eliminated.

How often do early eliminations happen in Diplomacy? Do you ever find player elimination to be a problem? What, if anything, do you do to reduce the potential negative impacts of player elimination? What tips would you give a group of noobs with regard to eliminations?

Like Ry4an said, it is pretty much guaranteed that some people will be eliminated (or nearly so) early on.  You'll want to make people aware of this at the beginning, and set some expectations going in of how people will react (ie Is it OK to just give standing orders for 1 or 2 units and leave? Is it OK to proxy control of units to another player and leave?  Are eliminated players allowed to listen in on negotiations between other players?)  You might want to have other games on hand so that eliminated players can entertain themselves during the negotiation phase and check in on the Diplomacy game occasionally if they're interested in the final outcome.

Another option that I mentioned here is to plan to play several mini-games with pre-determined ending years.  You won't get the full end-game experience, but several shorter games with some time to debrief in between might be a better first Diplomacy experience than one full game with a number of eliminations.


Show and Tell and permanents that target other permanents Say I cast Show and Tell. I put down Angel of Despair and my opponent puts down Crystalline Sliver. "When Angel of Despair enters the battlefield, [you] destroy target permanent". Crystalline Sliver gives all slivers shroud so can I destroy slivers with Angel of Despair's ability?

If Crystalline Sliver entered the battlefield first I couldn't but if it entered the battlefield second, after Angel of Despair did, I could. But what if they enter into the field at the same time?

Also, in this same vein, what if my opponent plays Gilded Drake? Can my opponent target my Angel of Despair with his Gilded Drake?

can I destroy slivers with Angel of Despair's ability?

No.

The order[1] doesn't matter. Triggered abilities are only placed on the stack when a player would get priority, which is only after Show and Tell has finished resolving. By that time, every player's cards have already been placed on the battlefield, so the Angel's ability is unable to target Slivers.

  Can my opponent target my Angel of Despair with his Gilded Drake?

Yes.

When the abilities are placed on the stack once a player would get priority (when Show and Tell finishes resolving), they are placed on the stack in APNAP order. The following happens afterwards:

As the Active Player, you place your triggered abilities on the stack first. You choose target for the Angel's ability at this point.
Your opponent now gets a chance to place his triggered abilities on the stack. He chooses a target for his Drake's ability at this point.
Drake's ability resolves.
Angel's ability resolves.

The choices is made in APNAP order, but the card are are placed on the battlefield simultaneously. (There's a ruling on Show and Tell confirming this.)


Toon Monster attack drawback I am building a Toon Deck for my girlfriend. Toon Monsters are powerful, but their main drawback is that most cannot attack the turn they are summoned except for Toon Dark Magician Girl. Are there any cards that can help change that and make it to where they can attack the turn they are summoned?

Are there any cards that can help change that and make it to where they can attack the turn they are summoned?

Hardly. The thing is that Toon monsters have that restriction because most of them, if not all, can attack your Opponent directly.

This condition balances their power, preventing Toon players to abuse of such relatively powerful cards, by summoning them and make a direct attack right away just like that. That delay gives your Opponent at least one chance to counter them before you start blasting their LP directly.

But, like Yami Yugi would say: "Ha ha, not so fast! I activate my trap card:" Skill Drain.

This is an old trick of mine that I've included in several variants of many decks (for further reading, check Beast King Barbaros, that and Skill Drain are a killer combo, as you can normal summon without tribute a 3k Atk monster just like that lol). Skill Drain, as you probably know, is a powerful continuous trap card that basically negates the effects of all monsters on the field (yours also):

  Activate by paying 1000 Life Points. The effects of all face-up monsters on the field are negated while those monsters are face-up on the field (but their effects can still be activated).

You could be able to attack the turn you summon a Toon monster if Skill Drain is active before the summoning, that way the moment they are summoned their "cannot attack the turn it was summoned" effect won't go off, and you will be able to conduct an attack that turn.

Of course, as Skill Drain is up their effects of attacking directly are also negated, so you can only make a direct attack if your Opponent has no monsters. However, this would suffice to what you asked, and be able to successfully attack the turn you summon them.

Also, this could work with other cards that continuously negate effects, but only if that negation applies when they are summoned. In other words, if you summon a Toon and then negate its effects (say, with Breakthrough Skill) that Toon is still not able to attack that turn, as the card came into the field (thus it's condition activated) before the negation.


Should you play a Bunker Scar if you aren't likely to win the first game? Since the Winner of a game is able to place their Major City anywhere on the board, even on nice defensive bunker scars...

Should you place a bunker on the board if you don't believe you are likely to win the first game?

Does this answer change if you are playing a 3, 4, or 5 player game?
Does this answer change if one or more scars have already been played?

(please only take into account staring scars, faction powers, number of players, and starting rules. No spoilers please, and no taking into consideration spoiler packets)

Starting Scars (3 Ammo Shortage (-1 defending high die), 3 Bunker (+1 defending high die))
Major City - +2 population, you may start here if no enemy HQ is adjacent.

It depends

If by playing your Bunker scar, the Bunker will be located in a nice defensive position or choke point (i.e. Central America, Brazil, Southeast Asia), you open up the possibility that the winner of the first game might place a Major City reward on top of your Bunker. This will give them a pretty major advantage in the early games, because unless someone places their HQ first (and adjacent) to the Major City that player will get to start there and their HQ will get the +1 defensive bonus. Additionally, if the opponent doesn't start there, you or another player will have to sacrifice troops to move into (or to the other side of) the city.

If the Bunker will be located on a less high value territory (Middle of Asia, Europe, or North America), then it wouldn't be as helpful to an opponent who wins before you. It will make those continents more valuable (which is probably a good thing).

Does this answer change with different numbers of players or scars that have been played?

The only difference between the number of players, and the scars that have already been played is whether you will get a new scar next game. There are 6 starting scars, so if by playing the Bunker you will make it so that there will not be enough scars to pass out the next game, you might want to hold off on using it. This is especially true if the majority of scars played so far have been Ammo Shortages. You will have a a better chance to win next turn, and if their are more Bunkers than Ammo Shortage scars, you have a higher probability of getting a Bunker and being able to place it in a good location if you expect to win for your own Major City.


Do any Cluedo versions have different numbers of variables? Are there any versions of Cluedo that do not have exactly 6 suspects, 6 murder weapons, and 9 rooms?

While all printed (the original patent had 10 characters) editions of the classic Cluedo have the standard 6-6-9 ratio, there have been a number of variants that include additional or changed options.

The first variant to include additional characters was the Clue VCR Mystery Game in 1985 with 4 additional options, then followed by Super Cluedo Challenge in 1986 with a 3 additional options of it's own.

The following is a potentially incomplete list of variants with non-standard ratios
(w = weapons, r = rooms, s = suspects, m = murdered):

Clue VCR Mystery Game : (1985) 10s:1+m:5w:5r
Super Cluedo Challenge : (1986) 9s:9w:9r
Clue Master Detective : (1988) 10s:8w:12r
Clue FX : (2003) 8s:6w:9r
Clue Discover the Secrets : (2008) 6s:9w:9r
CLUE: Unravel the Clues and Crack the Case


When can I discard the Death Creeper Card? On the Death card it says you can remove it when it stands alone. So my question is, As soon as I draw it and it stands alone can I remove it right then, or do I have to wait till my next turn to discard it?

I disagree with the other answer.

The card text says:

  If you have this at the start of your turn, discard something else you have in play (a Keeper or a Creeper). You may discard this anytime it stands alone.

This card has two effects:

The first effect, discarding something in play, must take place at the start of your turn (as accurately explained in the other answer).
The second effect, being able to discard Death itself, can be done at "any time".

I believe the second is the effect you are asking about. That means that if, at any point during anyone's turn, that is the only card you have in play, you may discard it. To answer your specific scenario. If you draw it (and automatically play it) and it is the only card in front of you, you can discard it immediately.


When should you not place the robber to do the most damage in Settlers of Catan? If you have the robber and are playing against the field, you might want to place it where it can do the most damage.

But my understanding is that sometimes the better use is to "sic" the robber on the player who is in the lead.

How do you decide between the two courses of action or others? And what about the times when one or another course of action will do YOU some harm?

The robber is a political action.

If it's early days in the game, you may well want to shrug your shoulders and say "I don't care, I'm just going to put this where it will cause the most damage to the most players who aren't me. Nothing personal."

If it's later on, you might want to attack a player who's been giving you hassle, and make it clear that that's what you're doing.  Or you might want to avoid doing anything to hurt a player who's behind - they may be grateful to be "given a break", and return the favour later.

Naturally, if another player is about to do rather too well, putting the robber on him may be everyone else's last chance not to lose the game.  Or if you're about to grab the last few points necessary to win, then a well-judged resource-steal may be a timely action.

But in general I don't think you need to micro-analyse your robber plays.  Use the robber to make friends and punish enemies, and maintain some approximation of a status quo (until you're ready to break free of that).  Sometimes it can even be advantageous to place the robber where it will do the least harm.  Everybody likes a nice person, right?  Where I come from, it's not nice guys who finish last, but overly competitive ones :)


Catan : how to play with extension 5-6 players when we are less than 5? I bought the game with the 5-6 player extensions :
If I want to play at 3 or 4 players, do I have to remove additional elements of the game ? or is it common to play at 3 or 4 players for a game designed for 5-6 players ?

The 5-6 player extentions contains tiles, number fiches and additional playing pieces so there is enough to play with more players.

It contains scenario's for 5 and 6 players.

You can play with 3 or 4 players on a 5 or 6 player board, but then the game becomes too easy. The board is just to big (contains too much resources) to have a challenging game. And yes, you can increase the number of VP needed, but keep in mind the game pieces max out at 13 VP, there are a few cards with extra VP and there is 4 points to collect with the longest road and the largest army. But keep in mind that if you need all these, the game is tied if two players buy a +1 VP card.

Of course, you can use pieces of the extention in the 3-4 games. But then you leave some other pieces out.


Do I immediately get any clues at a location I jump to from the "Lost In Time And Space" location? Once I return from Lost In Time And Space, do I take the clue in that location immediately upon landing there during the Upkeep phase?

No you don't. Moving from Lost in Time and Space happens during the Upkeep phase, and you may only pick up clues at the end of movement that happens during the Movement phase.

From the Arkham Horror FAQ (page 14):

  Q: Do you immediately gain any Clues at locations
  you move to during Upkeep (from being Lost in Time
  and Space)?

  A: No.


Power Grid Deluxe - Discard Power plant in market I need clarification on a rule in Power Grid Deluxe

  If, at any time during the game, there is a power plant in the current market with a number equal to or lower than the number
  of cities any player has, immediately remove it from the game and replace it with a new power plant from the power plant
  stack. It is also possible that newly drawn power plants must be immediately discarded and a new card drawn. As usual,
  rearrange the power plants in ascending order. This rule does not affect power plants owned by players.

If I understand correctly, let's say I got 5 cities. Therefore all power plant from the power market and the deck that can power 5 cities or less will be discard? By that matter when the game enter in step 2 where a player has more than 6 cities, there is not power plant left to be bought?

The rule is not referring to the number of cities the plant can power.  It is referring to the number of the plant -- the unique number that you use for ordering the plants in the market.


How can I buy development cards? I have already bought 3 emerald development cards and I have 3 emerald tokens. I would like to buy a card which costs 3 emeralds. Do I need to pay with my tokens, or is it OK to have this with my development cards, so in the end it was for free?

Yes you can use your development card bonuses and not use tokens.
My answer to a similar question is here which covers the exact rules.


Does the possibility of claiming tricks prevent the defense from profitting from declarer's errors? Suppose, the declarer claims 12 tricks in a slam, but you have the opinion that
declarer can make a mistake.

Can you demand declarer to play it out, or does the tournament director decide
how many tricks declarer can claim ?

If the last answer is right, does this not prevent the defense from profitting
from declarer's errors ?

Your question displays a gross misunderstanding of the capabilities of good players, even those merely the best in their club. At the club in Kingston where I mastered the game, the top 10 or 12 players could all remember the location of every significant card, for all 26 hands of a session, even several hours after a game. Once or twice a year the Director would be called in the auction of the first or second round with "This hand hasn't been shuffled since last week.", followed by an outline of where all the cards were in all four hands, and what contracts could and couldn't be made by both sides.

Also, a sound claim must cover all possible lies of the cards that remain possible given the knowledge available when the claim is made. It is for this reason that claims are only rarely made when trumps are outstanding. However it is not at all unusual for expert players to claim and concede even endplays such as Throw-ins and Simple and Double Squeezes. At this caliber of play, those techniques are common place, and thoroughly understood by all parties. By the time the hands are well enough known for a sound claim to be made, there are no mistakes left to be made in the hand by any competent, never mind expert, player; any to be made are already history.