Looking for name of very old board-type game I do not remember if it is competitive, cooperative or solo game.

It is played with small cubes having a different marking on each side representing directions such as straight, turn, an X, diagonal, and two other symbols I don't recall.
The board has numerous square notches in it for the cubes to fit in. The notches are aligned in columns/rows similar to a chess board with connecting lines.
I do not know what the goal of the game is.
I know that the cubes can only be moved in the direction of the marking on the current face of it.
It's possible the game may even be ancient in origin.

I found the game in a book of games that no longer exist. There were diagrams of the game along with detailed playing instructions. I made a physical copy of the game about 20 years ago, but accidentally threw it out last year.
The book I found it in was one of those history-of-board-games books, but I do not remember the title and I've not found the game in other books of those type.

Its form is that of "Tigers and Goats" or "Tiger Move" (Bagha Chal), and its cell number indicates that it is a puzzle rather than a game, or  variant.


To what game does this card belong? The card in the following picture was included, probably by mistake, in a stack of Chance cards that were in a 1936 Monopoly box that I purchased on eBay a number of years ago. It clearly has nothing to do with Monopoly but it looks really old and finding it in a 1936 box seems to confirm that it is. I am curious as to which game it belongs.

Based on the images in this listing, it appears to be from the game "Pirate and Traveler".


King of Tokyo- Dice resolution Does a roll 1,2,3,energy,heart,claw give a 9 fame reward of "9" along with the one energy, one health and 1 attack results?
I picked this notion up playing the game prior to purchasing my own copy of KoT 2016 but can't find anything stated in the rules.
Could this be a resolution from a previous version?

You only get 9 victory points from that combination if you have the Complete Destruction power card.

  Complete Destruction
  3{Energy}
  Keep
  If you roll {1}{2}{3}{Heart}{Claw}{Energy}
  gain 9{Victory Point} in addition to the regular results.


How does manifesting work? If I play Soul Summons, and manifest a card from the top of my library,

1) Do I get to see the front of the card?

2) Does my opponent get to see the front of the card?

3) If I am not allowed to see the front of the card, how will I know if it is a creature or not?

4) Does a manifested card go onto the stack before it goes onto the battlefield?

5) Is the card manifested at the time that my manifesting spell resolves?

Yes, you may look at the card, since you control it:

  707.5. At any time, you may look at a face-down spell you control on the stack or a face-down permanent you control (even if it’s phased out). You can’t look at face-down cards in any other zone or face-down spells or permanents controlled by another player.

No, your opponent may not look at the card, since 707.5 only allows the controller to look at it.
N/A see #1
No, a manifested card does not go on the stack; manifesting is an action taken as part of a spell/ability resolving.
See #4

Also, see rule 701.32 for more information on Manifest.


Another aspect of regeneration in Magic the Gathering? I read most of the articles about regeneration in MTG, but my question albeit being somewhat basic, still finds no answer. Here's the scenario:

I attack with a creature that has the ability to regenerate. My opponent blocks it with a deathtouch creature. I paid the regeneration cost before attacking. I know my creature is to be tapped, remove all damage, survive the destruction effect, then be removed from combat. What I want to know is does my creature deals its combat damage to my opponent's creature before it is pulled out of combat by its ability?

(I would say yes, because the damage is done in a step before the 'death' effect triggers, hence I regenerate post-combat damage. But somehow my friend doubted that, and it made me doubt too.)

Yes, combat damage is dealt simultaneously.

510.1. First, the active player announces how each attacking creature assigns its combat damage, then the defending player announces how each blocking creature assigns its combat damage. This turn-based action doesn't use the stack. A player assigns a creature's combat damage according to the following rules:
510.2. Second, all combat damage that's been assigned is dealt simultaneously. This turn-based action doesn't use the stack. No player has the chance to cast spells or activate abilities between the time combat damage is assigned and the time it's dealt. This is a change from previous rules.

Your regenerating creature will assign its combat damage if it survives to the Combat Damage Step in which it will deal damage (I.e. if the defending creature had First Strike, and your creature did not, it may receive lethal damage before getting to its Combat Damage Step. The Combat phase is divided into 5 steps.

Beginning of Combat Step
Declare Attackers Step
Declare Blockers Step
Combat Damage Step
End of Combat Step

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

If a creature is removed from combat before the Combat Damage Step, it will not assign or deal any damage. Setting up a regeneration shield is not one of the listed methods of removing a creature from combat.

it leaves play
it regenerates [CR 419.6b]
its controller changes
it stops being a creature
an effect removes it from combat


Massacre Girl when several creatures die at once Massacre Girl and 7 creatures all get hit for lethal damage from the same effect. Does her triggered ability happen? Assume that there are multiple opponents each with at least one creature.

It depends on whether or not Massacre Girl entered the battlefield this turn.

Massacre Girl's ability reads:

  When Massacre Girl enters the battlefield, each other creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn. Whenever a creature dies this turn, each creature other than Massacre Girl gets -1/-1 until end of turn.

As you can see, both sentences are part of the same ability. When this ability resolves, it creates a delayed trigger for the rest of the turn, which will trigger whenever a creature dies.

If Massacre Girl entered the battlefield this turn, even if her ability didn't kill any other creatures itself, it'll have created the delayed trigger, and that will trigger whenever a creature dies (including Massacre Girl herself). Otherwise, the delayed trigger doesn't exist and will, therefore, not trigger.


Voracious Wurm and Trostani, Selesnya's Voice: Which trigger happens first? Here's the situation:

Trostani, Selesnya's Voice is in play (Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, you gain life equal to that creature's toughness). Then, Voracious Wurm is cast (Voracious Wurm enters the battlefield with X +1/+1 counters on it, where X is the amount of life you've gained this turn).

Which trigger happens first?

Gain 2 life, then the wurm enters play with 2 +1/+1 counters, or
The wurm enters play with 0 +1/+1 counters, then gain 2 life

Voracious Wurm has a replacement effect that modifies how it enters the battlefield; thus, it would come into play with 0 +1/+1 counters, and you will gain two life.

If Voracious Wurm had a triggered ability (such as "When ~ enters the battlefield, put X +1/+1 counters on it, where X is the amount of life you've gained this turn"), however, you would be able to place the triggers on the stack in whatever order you choose, meaning you could gain 2 life and put 2 counters on, or put 0 counters on and gain two life.

Relevant rules:

  603.3b If multiple abilities have triggered since the last time a player received priority, each player, in APNAP order, puts triggered
  abilities he or she controls on the stack in any order he or she
  chooses. (See rule 101.4.) Then the game once again checks for and
  resolves state-based actions until none are performed, then abilities
  that triggered during this process go on the stack. This process
  repeats until no new state-based actions are performed and no
  abilities trigger. Then the appropriate player gets priority.

  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.
  614.1d Continuous effects that read "[This permanent] enters the battlefield . . ." or "[Objects] enter the battlefield . . ." are
  replacement effects.


How much does Vryn Wingmare increase the cost of my Bring to Light by? Say my opponent has a Vryn Wingmare on the battlefield.  When I cast Bring to Light:

Do I pay 1 extra for the Bring to Light?
Do I pay 1 extra for the (noncreature) spell I find?
Both?
If #2 applies and I pay with 5 colors, can I search a 6 CMC spell?
If there was a sixth color of mana, would I be able to get a 6 CMC spell ( or 7 CMC, given the answer to #4)?

What does it cost?
You will end up paying 7 mana total, 6 for Bring to Light and 1 for the spell you find with it.
What happens is you cast Bring to Light you determine the cost of paying the spell, in this case the mana cost + the cost increase so you will pay 6 total mana for it. Then when Bring to Light resolves you go through the cost determination for the new spell, in this case the alternative cost from bring to light + the cost increase so you will pay {1} for the second spell.

601.2f The player determines the total cost of the spell. Usually this is just the mana cost. Some spells have additional or alternative costs. Some effects may increase or reduce the cost to pay, or may provide other alternative costs. Costs may include paying mana, tapping permanents, sacrificing permanents, discarding cards, and so on. The total cost is the mana cost or alternative cost (as determined in rule 601.2b), plus all additional costs and cost increases, and minus all cost reductions. If multiple cost reductions apply, the player may apply them in any order. If the mana component of the total cost is reduced to nothing by cost reduction effects, it is considered to be {0}. It can’t be reduced to less than {0}. Once the total cost is determined, any effects that directly affect the total cost are applied. Then the resulting total cost becomes “locked in.” If effects would change the total cost after this time, they have no effect.

What can I search for?
As for what you can search for, the Wingmare does not effect the CMC of cards, only the cost to cast them. So if you pay 5 different colors you can find a spell with a CMC of up to 5 (and not up to 4 if the Wingmare effected it). If you are playing with Un-cards so there are 6+ colors you could search for cards with a CMC of 6 assuming you have a way to add colors like pink to your mana pool.

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.
202.4. Any additional cost listed in an object’s rules text or imposed by an effect isn’t part of the mana cost. (See rule 601, “Casting Spells.”) Such costs are paid at the same time as the spell’s other costs.

From the Gatherer Rulings on Bring to Light:

If there are any alternative or additional costs to cast a spell with a converge ability, the mana spent to pay those costs will count. For example, if an effect makes sorcery spells cost {1} more to cast, you could pay {W}{U}{B}{R} to cast Radiant Flames and deal 4 damage to each creature.


Game with a shopper on a bridge I'm trying to remember the name of game I played when I was new to this hobby.   I played this game in 2004 so it would have been released before then.

The game board involved a bridge.  Players built shops on this bridge.  Their was a customer piece that would visit shops and spend money.

The mechanic was players had cards (I think numbered in multiples on 10 up to 100).  Players all simultaneously selected a card face down.   The customer would go to the shop with the lowest unique bid.  However the player who won the bid could then sell the right to have the customer come to their shop to another player.  eg if I won it with 20 I could say to a player who bid 90 that I will let the shopper come to them if they gave my 50.  I think players had to play through there whole hand before getting the cards back.

I recalled the shops being chunky coloured pieces in the player colours that were placed either side of the bridge and a the shopper would only go to a shop that was in front of them.  I don't recall specific rules for that or how new shops were built on the board.

Ponte Vecchio?  According to BoardGameGeek:

  The "rich gentleman" has money burning a hole in his purse. He also
  likes to spend the day ambling back and forth along the Old Bridge
  (Ponte Vecchio), spending wherever he stops.


Brigette Supporter: Does Pokemon GX considered EX? When using Brigette supporter card, how many basic GX should I search? Do I need to search only (1) considering it an Ex or (3) considering it as non-EX basic?

I have GX pokemons in my deck and don't know how many of them should I get with that supporter's effect.

In Pokémon, new game mechanics are introduced from time to time, but this does not mean that they need to interact or be somehow backward-compatible. For most of the time, they are separate.

Pokémon-GX is a different card to Pokémon-EX cards and thus you can find up to 3 Basic Pokémon including Pokémon-GX cards with Brigette.


When can an 'untap' ability not untap? Let say I play Leaden Fists on Leech Bonder, can I pay my 1 blue mana and untap, or does Leaden Fist overide this?

You can untap Leech Bonder this way because the untapping is not occurring as part of the untap phase, which is what Leaden Fists is preventing.

That is, Leaden Fists is preventing the "normal" untap, not an activated ability untap.


* Power/Toughness and other effects Having spent time reading the wonderful answers here on the marvels of layers, I thought I'd throw another one in the mix...

I have an empty board, 7 mana, and a Daxos, Blessed by the Sun and Harmonious Archon in hand. I can cast both, but I want to maximise the outcome.

My understanding says that if I play the Archon first followed by Daxos, he will have 4 toughness, or more if I increase devotion. If I do it the other way, he will have an unchangeable 3 toughness.

This is predicated on my assumption that Daxos' toughness effect is a continuous effect that is determined in the same layer as the Archon. Is this correct?

No, he will be 3 either way.

Daxos's ability is a Characteristic-Defining Ability, as defined in 604.3a: It defines the power/toughness, it is printed on the card, it doesn't directly affect the characteristics of other objects, it is not granted to itself, and it is not only set conditionally.

As described in 613.3, Layer 7a is where Characteristic-Defining Abilities are set.  Effects that set power/toughness to a specific number that are not Characteristic-Defining are set in Layer 7b.  As such, Daxos's ability will always apply first, then Harmonious Archon will always overwrite it.

It is also worth mentioning that while Layer 7 has multiple sublayers, 613.2 specifies that in Layers 1-6 that Characteristic-Defining abilities are always applied before any other effects.


Remembering Decktet Card Distribution Recently I discovered the Decktet playing card pack, and have been enjoying the way that suits and ranks combine to make for some very clever games. However, I think I would be able to use better strategies if I could remember what cards existed!

I have noticed that the basic deck contains one card of each rank/suit combination, and that the extended deck contains two pawns and two courts of each suit, along with The Excuse.

I was wondering if there was some further logic behind the card arrangement, or some easy way to remember that there is, e.g., a nine of moons/suns, an eight of moons/suns, but no seven of moons/suns.

I don't think there is any particular logic to the suit distribution in the Decktet. A quick search of BoardGameGeek didn't turn up any comments by P.D. Magnus (the designer of the Decktet, who is active in their forums) on the distribution either. I haven't been able to commit the distribution to memory, but if you want to, this is what you would need to memorize:

These are taken from the Decktet Charts and tables pdf available here.

Another useful view of which combinations of suits are most prevelent:

This is an image by HenryBlatbugIII from BoardGameGeek.


Is Basalt Monolith a 1-card infinite combo with no payoff? Can't Basalt Monolith go infinite with itself? No payoff or practical use, but it's a one card infinite?

Yes, you can tap and untap Basalt Monolith arbitrarily many times, alone, with no other benefit.

The current text of Basalt Monolith's activated abilities is as follows:

  {T}: Add {C}{C}{C}.
  {3}: Untap Basalt Monolith.

The first ability adds three mana, and the second ability costs three mana of any type, so you can use the mana produced by the first ability to activate the second ability. Activating both abilities in order results in the game returning to the same exact state it was in before either ability was activated, so you can immediately do the same thing again.

The relevant rule for voluntary infinite loops, rule 721.2a says this:

  At any point in the game, the player with priority may suggest a shortcut by describing a sequence of game choices, for all players, that may be legally taken based on the current game state and the predictable results of the sequence of choices. This sequence may be a non-repetitive series of choices, a loop that repeats a specified number of times, multiple loops, or nested loops, and may even cross multiple turns. It can’t include conditional actions, where the outcome of a game event determines the next action a player takes. The ending point of this sequence must be a place where a player has priority, though it need not be the player proposing the shortcut.

Like with any infinite loop, you can announce that you are activating Basalt Monolith's first ability and then using the mana to activate the second ability any specific number of times.

A 2006 article on the Wizards website describes some previous power-level errata to Basalt Monolith that prevented this loop from working:

  This card had textbook power-level errata previously; it basically said “you can't use Basalt Monolith to untap itself.” I'm not sure if this clause was invented to stop combos with Power Artifact or the old wording of Relic Bind, but either way it was bad news. It is removed, and Power Artifact fans across the globe can rejoice!


If I Find the "Objective Clue" with Gloria's Psychic Sensitivity, Does That Reveal the Objective I used Gloria Goldberg's Psychic Sensitivity to reveal the cards in the Ceremony Room, which contained Clue 1, which also says "Reveal Objective".

As I have to return the cards face down, does that mean the objective isn't revealed till I actually properly explore the room?

No Gloria only looks at the cards, they are not revealed. Additionally, clue 1 is always the final clue to be discovered.
The wording on Gloria's Psychic Sensitivity Ability is:

"Action: Once per game, look at all Exploration cards in the room of your choice (you must then return them in the same order)."

The rulebook states (page 9):

Explore Action - The most common action that investigators perform on their turn is Exploring a Room. During setup, the keeper places face-down exploration cards in every room on the game board. Investigators may reveal these cards by performing an explore action in the room.
Clues: These are the cards the investigators a ultimately attempting to discover. These cards have no artwork and are clearly labeled with a large number and a letter in the upper left corner. The number represents the level of the clue (clue 1 is always the final clue to be discovered), while the letter only matters during setup.


Does a game exist where some win, some lose, and some don't? In most games, everyone starts off with the potential to either win or lose.  At the end, they've all either won or lost.

Some games have a player who's like a referee -- they can neither win nor lose, they're just the referee, and they're in that state from the start of the game.

Has a game ever been made where everyone starts in the same state, then at the end, some win, some lose, and some neither win nor lose?

Yes. Though it's rare, some games mix up what it means to win and to lose, because why not? Games typically treat everyone as either 100% winner or 100% loser, but it doesn't have to be that way.

In real life, there are many situations where you don't just win or lose, and a lot of people are satisfied if they're able to maintain their situation. Some games mimic this.

For example, in Galaxy Trucker, rules are set out based on the story of the game. Since you're a simple trucker trying to make a living, you're a winner if you've made any money at all that game (though, as in real life, some people win more than others). If you're in debt then you've made a loss from the venture, so you're a loser. If you're on exactly 0 then you've managed to keep flying without winning or losing!

A friend of mine has a game they're making with several different endings:

If the players can't keep the game's from reaching a lose condition, everyone loses.
If the players do too well then the problem goes away without the higher ups noticing, so nobody loses but nobody wins.
If the players hold off the lose condition for long enough, the higher ups notice and reward the best player. This player wins, but nobody loses!

While some people may play with the main goal of simple victory, it can be quite refreshing when your victory, loss or otherwise is more interesting than just numerical competitiveness.


What is the game where you have to identify a person based on their features? I am trying to find the name of a game that I played when I was a child. In it, there were a large number of characters in various costumes. The object of the game was either to guess a target character or guess opponents' characters. I do not remember the exact mechanics by which you played and figured out which character you were looking for. Some key features:

The characters were photographed models in costumes, not drawn;
I would have played this game in the early 80s and I recall the box looking rather old, so I would place this game most likely in the 1970s if not 1960s;
I cannot recall if there was an actual board, but it came in a long cardboard box similar to those that held board games at the time;
I remember there were cards, and it is possible that each player was dealt one as "their character."
I vaguely recall that the cards were larger than standard game cards, possibly 4x6 or 5x7 inches.
It had a short name like "Clue" but obviously I'm not thinking of Clue.
Five or six players could play this game at once.

Can anyone identify the game I am so imperfectly recalling?

It sounds like you're describing «Whosit?» (1976)
Whosit? on Board Game Geek


Narset, Parter of Veils interaction with Matter Reshaper If I have Narset, Parter of Veils on the battlefield and I block Matter Reshaper with Snapcaster Mage when it attacks, both creatures die. But does the opponent get to reveal a card and put it on the battlefield or their hand. I presume they can because the card text on Matter Reshaper says reveal a card not draw a card. Is this correct? Thanks in advance

You're correct.

Narset, Parter of Veils prevents opponents from drawing more than one card per turn. However, as you pointed out, Matter Reshaper doesn't draw you a card, but instead reveals the top card of your library and puts it either on the battlefield, or into your hand. Because of that, Narset won't interact at all with Matter Reshaper's trigger.
For reference, the CR 121, which is the ruling for card drawing, reads:

121.1. A player draws a card by putting the top card of their library into their hand. This is done as a turn-based action during each player’s draw step. It may also be done as part of a cost or effect of a spell or ability.

While the Glossary complements that rule, stating (emphasis mine):

Draw

To put the top card of a player’s library into their hand as a turn-based action or as the result of an effect that uses the word “draw.” See rule 121, “Drawing a Card.”

Since Matter Reshaper doesn't use the word "draw" at any point, by default, it doesn't allow you to draw a card.


Can you use custom made cosmetics on 40K figures? In tournaments are you allowed to custom cosmetics like custom Space Marine shoulder Pads and heads, as long as the rest of the figure, weapons and wargear are all official. I found a website that makes custom parts I wish to use with my Marines but I wasn't sure if they were legal in tournaments
Stuff like this,
this,
this,
and this

For cosmetic stuff like this, you should be ok.  The ITC rules certainly don't make any distinction about things like that, as long as it is clear what the model represents.  Other tournaments may have differing rules - for example the NOVA open tournament states that if your models are different from the standard, you cannot gain any unfair advantages (for example, making a model taller to give it better line of sight), but otherwise states that as long as your models are clear on what they represent, you should be fine.

Generally speaking, modifying or converting models is a big part of the hobby, and most tourneys accept and embrace it - with some even having awards for best converted model or the like.  However, it is always in your best interest to read the rules for any tournament you may want to enter and, if you have any questions, contact the organizer to ensure you'll be compliant.


Do I need Magic Wisdom to defeat the Spectre in Pathfinder ACG? In the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, the Spectre monster card's check to defeat says:

Combat 11 OR Wisdom Divine 7

The card text says (in part):

If the check to defeat does not have the Magic trait, the Spectre is undefeated.

Does this mean that I must somehow magically augment my Wisdom to defeat the Spectre, or does that clause only apply to a Combat check?  Will my Wisdom only scare it away for a while, or can I defeat it permanently?  Is there any way to add the Magic trait to a Wisdom check?

I didn't find any mention of this in the errata, but maybe I didn't look hard enough.

If there is a way to augment a Wisdom check with the Magic trait, I'm unaware of it except with using Divine spells or items.

Weapons and/or spells with the Magic trait work for the Combat check.

Either way, you cannot use a straight Wisdom (or straight Divine) check to defeat a Spectre; as it's Incorporeal, it must be defeated by magical means.


How does Hive Mind work with Counterspell in a multiplayer game? I have a Hive Mind in play, it is my turn and I cast Wheel of Fortune (I win if my opponents don't have an answer and at least 2 of the copies resolve) everybody gets a copy, then the person in the 4th turn order relative to my active turn plays a Counterspell.

My question is: will my copy of Counterspell resolve first, or will every copy except for one copy of Wheel of Fortune get countered? (and we are assuming that every player knows and wants to counter the wheel copies except for myself) How would this change if it were the person in the 3rd or 2nd turn relative to my active turn if at all.

You can counter the original Counterspell with your copy, ensuring that at least two copies of Wheel of Fortune resolve. This is true no matter whose turn it is or which opponent casts the Counterspell.
The important thing to note here is that Hive Mind's ability is a triggered ability that triggers when a player casts a spell. The first and last steps of casting a spell are

601.2a To propose the casting of a spell, a player first moves that card (or that copy of a card) from where it is to the stack. It becomes the topmost object on the stack. It has all the characteristics of the card (or the copy of a card) associated with it, and that player becomes its controller. The spell remains on the stack until it’s countered, it resolves, or an effect moves it elsewhere.

[...]

601.2i Once the steps described in 601.2a–h are completed, effects that modify the characteristics of the spell as it’s cast are applied, then the spell becomes cast. Any abilities that trigger when a spell is cast or put onto the stack trigger at this time. If the spell’s controller had priority before casting it, he or she gets priority.

This means that both the triggered ability and any copies that it makes go on the stack above the original spell, so when any other player casts Counterspell, the copy you make goes on the stack above it, and can target and successfully counter the original.


Why would I want to increase the costs of creatures that I cast? Geist-Fueled Scarecrow has an ability that says

  Creature spells you cast cost 1 more to cast.

I don't see the strategy in casting a 4/4 creature and then penalizing myself for the added creature cast cost... Please elaborate, thanks!

There's a few ideas that spring to mind. The simple answer is that it's intended specifically as a downside. Most 4/4 creatures that cost {4} (without requiring specific types) have some sort of downside. If it didn't have the downside, it might not get printed.
Even if it's supposed to be a strict downside, though, there can still be unusual cases where you can take advantage of the downside. You could give it to an opponent with Harmless Offering and make them pay the extra costs. I guarantee you that at least one Zedruu the Greathearted player out there is running this. You can cast Etched Oracle for {5} and get a full sunburst. Maybe you want to use Hall of the Bandit Lord to cast a big creature and give it haste, but it has no generic mana in its mana cost. Are these strategies particularly strong or likely to see significant play? Probably not, but there's a lot of players who enjoy finding ways to take advantage of things intended to be downsides.


Can a 5 year old kid play Legends of Andor? My daughter loves stories and games. She plays games like The Magic Labyrinth and Viva Topo! fairly well.

I am thinking about buying Legends of Andor to play with her since it seems to have a nice story line and beautiful components.

Since she does not know how to read yet, I would be doing all the reading, but I don't want to play the game by myself. I'd like her to make her own decisions. Obviously I also want us to be able to beat the game after some effort.

Is she too young for that?

My experience with Legends of Andor is that it is primarily a "puzzle".  Time is very limited, and you need to be very strategic about what actions you take in order to succeed.  I don't think most 5 year olds will have this level of analytic thinking yet.  So while your daughter can probably learn the available decisions and be able to choose ones she thinks are reasonable, you'll probably need to tweak the difficulty somewhat in order for her to feel comfortable making her own decisions and not constantly having them lead to failure.


Necromancer mounting corpse cart pricing? If a necromancer mounts a corpse cart do you have to pay the 90 points to mount the cart and pay the price of the corpse cart? Equaling 180 points to mount a corpse cart.

No. The points listed in the Necromancer entry shows how much buying him a Corpse Cart mount costs (which is why it is 90 points, the cost of a Corpse Cart). If you pay for a character to have a mount the character gets the mount, there is no additional mounting fee.


Do two monsters spawn on gates when playing with five or more investigators? Do two monsters spawn on gates when playing with five or more investigators, or is this just a house rule?

Yes, this is an official rule. From the rulebook, p.9/10:

  3) A Monster Appears

  The first player draws a monster marker from the cup at random and places it on the location. If this would bring the number of monsters over the monster limit, the first player places the monster in the Outskirts instead...

  Exception: If there are five or more investigators playing, then draw and place two monsters instead of one.


How to craft multiple symbols cards as the Vagabond? I played a bit of this game and the rules are still quite fuzzy for me. The craft rules for the Vagabond tells he can craft if he got a "fresh" hammer and he produces one element of the color of the zone he's in.

Can he stores them and move afterwards to produce an element of another color and then craft the wanted card?

I've checked on boardgamegeek and didn't find answer on the matter

From Root FAQ:

  Can I craft cards with multiple-suit requirements?

  No. Your hammers match your current clearing, so you can only craft with one
  suit at a time. Good news: the multi-suit cards are useless to you
  anyway!

  Law: 9.2.1


Can you use Haunted Plate Mail as a Spirit ONLY when it hangs around all alone on the battlefield? The card Haunted Plate Mail tells "Activate this ability only if you control no creatures."

I want to make sure I understood it right: Only if you control no Creatures on the Battlefield?

The rules for permanents, specifically 110.2, says

  A permanent's owner is the same as the owner of the card that represents it (unless it's a token; see rule 110.5a). A permanent's controller is, by default, the player under whose control it entered the battlefield. Every permanent has a controller.

Only permanents have controllers, and 110.1 says "A permanent is a card or token on the battlefield," so yes, "creatures you control" means "creatures on the battlefield that you control."

In addition, it's worth mentioning that rule 109.2 says

  If a spell or ability uses a description of an object that includes a card type or subtype, but doesn't include the word "card," "spell," "source," or "scheme," it means a permanent of that card type or subtype on the battlefield.

Since Haunted Plate Mail just says "creatures," it is referring to creature permanents on the battlefield.


How do "side effects" interact with a card that grants hexproof? I was looking at the card Leyline of Sanctity and noticed that it gives its controller hexproof. I understand that this means that I can't use any spells or abilities that target the player, but what about "side effects" that target another permanent, and then result in damage or an effect on the player?

If I use Draconic Roar and reveal a dragon, will the 3 damage fizzle or will it get through since the player isn't the primary target?

Hexproof only prevents targeting. Any effects that affect the player without targeting (e.g. "Deal 2 damage to each opponent") still work. Draconic Roar doesn't target your opponent, so his hexproof has no effect.


What happens to spells cast from Nightveil Specter's ability? If I managed to exile a Cyclonic Rift from a library with Nightveil Specter and I play the rift, does it go to the owner's graveyard or does it stay in exile?

Casting a spell exiled with Nightveil Specter follows almost all steps mentioned in section '6. Spells, Abilities, and Effects' of the comprehensive rules, including

  608.2k As the final part of an instant or sorcery spell's resolution, the spell is put into its owner's graveyard. As the final part of an ability's resolution, the ability is removed from the stack and ceases to exist.

So, yes, it's put into its owner's graveyard, unless the card itself specifies otherwise (e.g. Time Reversal or Beacon of Immortality).


Are unused Start Worlds shuffled into the card supply? When you begin play and randomly hand out the start worlds, do you shuffle the remaining start worlds into the deck?

Yes: per the Setup section of the rulebook:

  Find and shuffle the five start worlds. Deal one world face up to each
  player. These form  each player’s initial card tableau.

  Shuffle the unused start worlds together with the game cards. Deal six face down cards to each  player. Each player then examines these
  cards and discards two cards face down to the discard  pile. The
  remaining game cards form the initial card supply.

[Bolded by me for emphasis.]


Can a player with 0 life use Soul Conduit to make their opponent lose instead? If you get a player down to 0 life can he still use Soul Conduit's ability and swap life totals with another player killing that player instead?

No, unless the player has a "Cannot lose" effect in play, like Platinum Angel.

When a player goes to 0 life, before priority is regained (and the player able to activate Soul Conduit), state-based actions are checked and the player loses the game.

Even if the ability were on the stack, it doesn't resolve before state-based actions, again. (e.g. 1 life, activate Conduit, use Underworld Connections)


can keepers kill creepers in same turn over and over again? In Monty Python Fluxx, there are keepers that kill creepers.

Can they be played and also kill in the same turn, or is it 1 turn to play them and 2nd turn to kill?

Also, can they be used over and over again?

Disclaimer: I don't have this edition of Fluxx, so I may not have found all of the relevant keepers.

Yes. The keepers with creeper removal from this edition specifically care about being on the table. It only takes one of your plays to actually play a card, not to use an effect they provide. These "free" actions can be taken at any time (in between card plays) unless specified otherwise.

The relevant keepers are as follows:

  Excalibur: If you have this on the table, you may move one of your Creepers to another player during your turn.
  Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch: If you have this on the table and it's your turn, you can discard it along with any Creeper of your choice.
  Finger of God: If you have this on the table you may smite (i.e. discard) any Creeper. After smiting, you must put this card back into your hand.
  The Animator: Counts as the Finger of God if the real Finger of God is not on the table.

Excalibur specifies "one of your Creepers during your turn", so you can do this once per turn.
You can use this "during your turn", but only once because it's discarded, unless you have a way to recover it from the discard and play it again.
You can use this at any time between plays. If it's your turn and you have multiple plays, you can repeatedly play and use this card.
If this counts as the Finger of God, it copies all the properties of that card, so it can be used to smite.


More four-player Quoridor shenanigans As a followup to this question, what happens in the following two scenarios? In each, the turn order is Green -> Red -> Blue -> Yellow, and no pictured player has any fences left.

1) Is Red allowed to play the purple fence? If so, what happens over the next two moves?

2) Is Red allowed to move their pawn downward? If so, what happens over the next two moves?

In both scenarios, it seems like if you allow the move in question, Blue is forced to move downward as the next move, and then Yellow has no legal moves. The options I see are:

Escape both scenarios through increasingly tortured readings of the existing rules. For example, in scenario 1 say that the fence placement is somehow banned by the fences-can't-completely-block-people rule (even though in a different turn order it would be ok), and in scenario 2 say that Red and Blue can move down and then Yellow can somehow use the diagonal jump rule to move to Red's former location (even though that rule only applies if there's a fence in the way, not a player).
Accept that the current rules aren't quite sufficient and change them. My vote would be for "In the rare event that a player has no legal move, their turn is skipped."

It’s another interesting problems that you submit here
For the First one,
you're right, in this situation yellow must skip his turn, the rules with all the differents explanations implied that.

For the second case,
It’s quite easy when you refers to the rules and it’s not a tortured reading of the rules you just have to follow the legal move in the Fig 10 (fig who show the legal move in a case of a jump with two pawn in front of you )
Yellow can escape in jumping in the upper square of the red pawn.


Is untapping my permanents during the untap step optional? I was reading the untap step rule and got confused a bit. It says:

  502.2. Second, the active player determines which permanents he or she controls will untap. Then he or she untaps them all simultaneously.
  This turn-based action doesn't use the stack. Normally, all of a
  player's permanents untap, but effects can keep one or more of a
  player's permanents from untapping.

If "a player determines", can I determine not to untap all my permanents?

You do not get to choose whether or not to keep a permanent tapped during the Untap Step of the Beginning Phase unless a specific card's ability provides that choice. For example, Rubinia Soulsinger lets you choose not to untap her during your untap step. Notice that the clause "your untap step." is important, Rubinia Soulsinger must still be untapped if an opponent plays a Pestermite you must untap Rubinia Soulsinger and relinquish control of whatever creature you stole.

The word "determine" in this context does not mean choose, it means to evaluate whether or not there are any abilities preventing a permanent from untapping, and evaluating the decision to untap should an ability provide that choice. As the rule states:

  Normally, all of a player's permanents untap.


Does the red riding hood card allow you to move forward and use the path tokens again? The rules state that when you draw a riding hood card you leave the path tokens on the cards after you flip them over and move forward.  Does this mean you get to use the tokens again, say, if you were to decide to stop gathering right away?  The rules imply this but do not explicitly explain that this is the intention of the card (to grant the ability to reuse gathered path tokens).  I only ask because being able to do so kind of breaks the story (doesn't make sense you could gather the same path items twice, really, but as a game mechanic helps a good deal.

I would certainly say yes.  Besides the rules implying this, there is no other reason that I can see for them to explicitly tell you to leave the tokens on the cards.


Am I allowed to take a red 5 after reaching? When I'm in riichi and draw a red 5 from the wall, am I allowed to exchange it with the non-red 5 in my hand?

I would argue it might be allowed, because it does not change the yaku, wait or hand structure in any way.

In case the above is correct, what happens in case there is an (isolated) 678 in my hand? Would I be allowed to discard the 8? Given the above rationale, the answer should be yes. However, this could be very complex in practice if the 678 were not isolated, or if there are were similar sequences in other colors, and I doubt this would be acceptable for the players to keep exact track of.

In comparison: I've learned earlier that a kan is allowed, when there are 3 equal tiles already present.

I think most "official" rules will not allow you to do this. (For reference, I looked up the Japanese Mahjong rules from the European Mahjong association here.)

In principle, I think swapping tiles that do not change the wait structure would be allowed, but it is impossible to verify. In your example of swapping the 5 for the 8, all that is visible is the discarded 8. From an outsider perspective, it is possible that you completed a different meld and simply discarded an 8 from 5-6-7-8 in hand.

It also appears that the hidden kan/kong is allowed, but only when the pung is isolated and cannot be interpreted as a different set of melds (e.g., you cannot draw and complete a kong if you have 1-1-1, 2-2-2, 3-3-3, because those tiles could be interpreted as 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3).


Can we buy multiple houses in one turn When we land on a space that you own, you are allowed to buy houses and hotels.

But does the rule book say that you can only buy one house or one hotel per turn? Or you can buy more than one in the same turn?

You can buy more than one per turn.

According to the official Monopoly Millennium Edition rules, you can buy multiple houses per turn.

  Following these rules, you may buy and erect at any time as many houses as your judgement and financial standing will allow.

Also, you don't have to be on the space that you want to make houses on to put houses on them.


Can I conduct an auction to sell my property? In Monopoly, I can sell an unimproved property (mortgaged or non-mortgaged) to another player at any agreed price. Instead of negotiating the price with individual players, can I just conduct an auction?

From the rules:

SELLING PROPERTY...Unimproved properties, railroads and utilities (but
not buildings) may be sold to any player as a private transaction for
any amount the owner can get; however, no property can be sold to
another player if buildings are standing on any properties of that
color-group. Any buildings so located must be sold back to the Bank
before the owner can sell any property of that color-group. Houses and
hotels may be sold back to the Bank at any time for one-half the price
paid for them. All houses on one color-group must be sold one by one,
evenly, in reverse of the manner in which they were erected. All hotels
on one color-group may be sold at once, or they may be sold one house
at a time (one hotel equals five houses), evenly, in reverse of the
manner in which they were erected.

You can see that it can be sold to any player as a private transaction. There is nothing in the rules that forbid an auction.


Does the School of Magic count as all colours, or do you choose one colour when it's played and it is that colour permanently? It states that it has the colour of your choice (for calculating income). Do you make that choice when the card is played and it becomes permanently yellow for example, or can you change it each round?

I believe you choose each round.

In my version of Citadels (Fantasy Flight, 2009) there isn't a card called 'Mage Tower'.  There is however a very similar card called 'School of Magic' which text states.

  For purposes of Income, the School is considered to be of the colour
  of your choice.  If for you are the King this round, for example, the
  school is considered to be a nobel (yellow) district.

To me that sounds like the card you are describing with extra text clarifying which sound like it may be missing from your edition?  Also if you had to decide when it was build there should be some way of marking that and the game does not come with tokens for doing so.


Does a God's own mana cost count towards its own devotion? I'm quite new to playing MtG, and had a question about Erebos, God of the Dead. It needs five devotion (5 black mana symbols on permanents on your field) to be a creature. Does the 1 black mana symbol on that card count toward my devotion to black? My friends and I were unsure.

To quote one of the rulings on Gatherer:

  If a God enters the battlefield, your devotion to its color (including
  the mana symbols in the mana cost of the God itself) will determine if
  a creature entered the battlefield or not, for abilities that trigger
  whenever a creature enters the battlefield.

Also from the rules:

  700.5. A player’s devotion to [color] is equal to the number of mana symbols of that color among the mana costs of permanents that player
  controls. A player’s devotion to [color 1] and [color 2] is equal to
  the number of mana symbols among the mana costs of permanents that
  player controls that are [color 1], [color 2], or both colors.

Since the god is a permenant, it's mana symbols in it's casting cost count towards your devotion.


Is it possible to get old Vanguard cards? If you start Magic Online today, is there a way to acquire Vanguard cards that do not come with the client but have been released in the past? Can they be bought or traded?

Yes, they can be traded.

I don't believe they are sold by Wizards, when I used to play they were given as tournament or set release perks.

Ah, looks like nowadays new players get a booster pack of default Vanguard cards.


Does the mayor count as multiple knights during taxes? We were playing Carcassonne last night using the expansions Wheel of Fortune and Abbey & Mayor.  A situation came up where a player had his mayor on a large unfinished city with several pennants and the wheel landed on taxes.

  When taxes occurs, should the mayor be counted as multiple knights (as many as there are pennants), a single knight, or no knights?

Relevant rules:

In my interpretation, "when a city containing a mayor is scored (but at no other times, e.g. taxes) the mayor is counted as..." with the (but at no other times) implied would mean that the mayor has no effect during taxes and is treated as though it is not present.  However, arguably the taxes is a sort of "scoring the city" (though I see it more as scoring the knights).

In my opponents interpretation, any follower (be it the wagon, mayor, big follower, or ordinary meeple) when played in a city would be considered a knight from then on until removed from the board (or in the case of the mayor as multiple knights).

We allowed the mayor to count as a number of separate knights equal to the number of pennants (banners) in order to let play resume, which caused some very high points.  At the time, there were seven banners and only the mayor present in the city in question for a total of 7 knights x (7 banners + 7 knights) = 98 points.  The irony I suppose is that although my opponent scored massive points for the first taxes, I turned the tables on him by scoring massive number of points on the next two times taxes came up using the same ruling.  Still, 100+ points for taxes while the other wheel of fortune tiles scoring an average of 8 or so points seems absurd.

The mayor counts as only one follower for all purposes other than the final scoring of a city.

The answer seems to hinge on the definition of scoring, so I went and looked that up. The whole section is about scoring roads, cities and monasteries. All very specific about traditional scoring, so not very relevant to your case. Then, it ends with this:

  After scoring a road, a city or a monastery – and only then – the followers used in the scoring are returned to their
  player's supply.

I don't think both of you thought to do this. It's in clear contrast with what you're supposed to do when the wheel of fortune hits taxes. If taxes would count as scoring, both players would have to remove all of their knights after taxes.

Therefore I don't think taxes count as scoring, and so the mayor does not count as a multiple of knights during taxes.

Whether or not the mayor should count as a follower at all, is hard to ascertain by the regular rules. Fortunately, this question has been asked often enough that it's included in the annotated rules FAQ (Footnote 118 on page 42):

  Question: What is the status of the mayor, the barn and the wagon? Are they followers or 'special figures' like the builder and
  the pig?
  Answer: Ah… that old chestnut! The mayor is a follower, subject to the usual rules of deployment and affects the majority.
  The barn is a special figure, although it can also be counted as a follower. As far as the wagon is concerned, I'm a little uncertain,
  but I'd nevertheless count it as a follower.


Is it possible to copy a land with Mimic Vat that is turned into creature by an enchantment? I am considering creating a deck which utilizes a strange combo if it can be done.  It uses Mimic Vat in combination with Awaken the Ancient.

I want to make it so that when my land, which is a 7/7 giant with haste (that's still a land), is sent to the graveyard I can copy it with Mimic Vat's imprint ability.

Is it possible to do this? (Awaken the Ancient's is sent to the graveyard separately, and it's ability is what is making the Mountain a creature?
When Mimic Vat creates the token copy, will it be a 7/7?

When a non-creature card such as a land is put into a graveyard from play and it is a creature when it dies, you can use Mimic Vat to exile it, and create tokens later.

When you do this, you will create tokens of the card that was exiled, Mountain, not the creature that it was when it died.

One of the rulings on the Gatherer page says:

  You may exile a noncreature card with Mimic Vat's first ability. For example, if a nontoken artifact that's become a creature is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, Mimic Vat's first ability triggers and you may exile that card.

With regards to whether the triggered ability will still trigger, even though Awaken the Ancient stops enchanting the Mountain when it dies, rule 603.6d says

  Leaves-the-battlefield abilities... will trigger based on their existence, and the appearance of objects, prior to the event rather than afterward.

This means that since the Mountain was still a creature before it left the battlefield (and caused the Aura to become unattached), it does trigger Mimic Vat.


Does the Bavarian Illuminati make a privileged attack in addition to their two actions? The special ability of the Bavarian Illuminati allows them to make a privileged attack for the cost of 5MB. Is this a free action?

No, the Bavarian Illuminati's special attack is not a free action.

It is not listed as an example free action in the list on page 7 of the rules.  It's function is built into the regular attacks used.  Note that the only mention of the special power in the rules section is inside of the Interference section on page 7.

The Bavarian's privileged attack is simply a way for them to avoid paying the usual cost to make an attack privileged. Instead of Discarding a special card, they can spend $5 once/turn to make an attack privileged.

This does not mean that the groups participating in the attack are exempt from the general rule that each group may only participate in one attack per turn.


Can Munchkin Quest be used for classic Munchkin? I received "Munchkin Quest" as a gift. I had expected to get the classic "Munchkin"; I don't really know this variant but exchanging it is not an option.

I wish to play this with some of my not-so-board-game-aholic friends, and I imagine that the classic version is way easier, what with the tiles and creatures and markers taken out of the equation. I hope to "upgrade" them as time goes by, but better to start them on Level 1, right?

So, finally, my question: Can one play a round of classic Munchkin using a box of Munchkin Quest? Or, are there prohibitive differences?

Thanks...

Short answer: No

Longer explanation:

They are totally different games. Munchkin is a card game. Munchkin Quest is a board game. They share:

A theme: Kill the monsters, take their stuff, stab your buddy - parodying power-gaming RPGers of a certain stripe
An artist: John Kovalic
A goal: Reach level 10 first
A Publisher: Steve Jackson Games
An official website: http://www.worldofmunchkin.com/

But the materials in MQ will not allow you to play Munchkin. And no amount of Munchkin sets will allow you to play MQ.


If a chariot dies, does the character die also? In warhammer fantasy. If I put a character into a chariot and the chariot dies in combat, does the character die with the chariot?

For example, putting a necromancer into a corpse cart and the cart dies in close combat.

In the character mounts section, the rules say:

  A chariot mount follows all the rules for ridden monsters, save for the fact that a chariot does not need to take a monster Reaction test if the character is slain. (pg 105)

As such, if the Corpse Cart were to die, the Necromancer in question would proceed on foot, as he would have if he were on a Ridden Monster which died.


Agricola - Land Parcel point The card Land Parcel states that:

When you play this card, you receive 1
forest tile that you must immediately
place on an empty space in your
farmyard.
At the end of the game, you
receive 2 bonus point if you have 1
unused farmyard space, you receive -1
bonus point if you have 2 unused
spaces, and you receive -3 bonus point
if you have 3 or more unused spaces.

At the end of the game, say that I have 1 unused farmyard space.
Does this mean that I will get 1 net point (+2 from the card bonus points and -1 because I have 1 unused farmyard space) ?

According to the rules, p8, "the [scoring] categories are scored one after another", so yes, if you consider these two categories in isolation, if you had a single unused space, you'd lose a point at the unused farmyard spaces scoring category stage, and then gain two in the bonus points category stage.

The card doesn't alter the way you score points in the unused farmyard spaces stage, it operates by providing you with (or costing you) bonus points. (For example, note that with this card, your first unused farmyard space, with only the two scoring effects operational, gets you a point, the second costs you three points, the third costs you four points, but the fourth only costs you one point.)

Don't forget that other cards might also add, or subtract, points for unused farmyard spaces and the game has to be designed so that all the pieces can interoperate with one another.
(For example, you might have a card that says something like "when calculating your score for unused farmyard spaces, you don't lose any points for such spaces"... in conjunction with the Land Parcel card, this would give you 2 points for one unused space, cost you 1 point for 2 unused spaces, and cost you 3 points for three or more unused spaces, because again the bonus points get accounted for after the unused farmyard spaces points.)


Can you attack twice in one turn? I'm talking about Dungeons & Dragons: The Fantasy Adventure Board Game published in 2002 by Parker Brothers, a division of Hasbro.
In the "Actions" part of the rulebook it says:

Each Hero may take 2 Actions on each turn. You can choose to take 1 or no Actions if you wish.
The following Actions are all possible within the game and use 1 Action each:
[...]

It doesn't specify whether you can choose the same action twice in the same turn or not but in a later example (only in the Dungeon Master's Guide (pg. 8)) it says (explicitly for Monsters):

[...]
You can decide not to move or attack with a Monster or not to attack and take a double move. [...]

I am pretty sure, that they want to say that Monsters can't attack twice, but I am not so sure about player characters.

I would say that player characters are capable of attacking twice. The rules state you have 2 Actions to spend each turn, spent on a list of actions that cost 1 Action each, with no further limitations beyond the cost.

This is reinforced when they explicitly state that this option is not available to Monsters, a case of "the exception proves the rule".

I.e., "no free parking on Sundays" implies parking is free every other day. Monsters can't attack twice (without stating otherwise for players) implies Player Characters can.


Picking colors for an abstract game (game design) What are the "do's and dont's" when it comes to picking colors for the two players and the board in a 2 player abstract game? When you ask the players themselves, everyone has their own finicky preferences, with no real consensus between them. (Red & green might be the only way to go for player A, while player B hates red & green because he's colorblind.) Anyway, how do you come up with a colorscheme that pleases everyone - or what ones are already used that work?

If it's only for two players, you're in luck. Chess and Go are both over a thousand years old, and both use the classic combination of Black and White.

If you insist on having a colour, though, you want to follow black and white's example; have lots of contrast between them, and keep in mind accessibility. Amy's preference for red and green is far less important than Bill's colour-blindness when it comes to designing your game. Any dark colour and white will do this job, and this is commonly seen in chess sets; Red and White is common.