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Carcassonne: The Grass Connection Been looking into the rules a bit but can't find all the answers I want and it's possible this is more of a house rule with no definitive answer, but what I'm looking for is some official ruling if it exists. Do grass continue under bridges? i.e. is the grass connected? I'm thinking o...	I can't answer your other questions with the same certainty, but I can say that my group and I have always played it that the wooden bridges you place over the tiles do not block fields.
What games are similar to Risk? Are there any other board games that have similar game mechanics to Risk ? <Q> I generally think of Axis and Allies as being like advanced Risk. <S> Of those I'd recommend 2210, but if you can handle the complexity, which isn't bad in the grand scheme, Axis and Allies is the way to go...	History of the World is played much like Risk . Also there are all of the different Risk clones, 2210, LoTR, Star Wars, Godstorm and others which introduce slight variants in maps and rules. Quest for the Dragonlords also plays a little like risk, but, to be honest, fails miserably at being any fun to play. Shogun is a...
House rules for Crokinole? Any recommendations or variants for playing Crokinole? We say that you have to stay seated in your chair with at least one cheek touching to make your shot. <Q> I believe that rule to be incorrect, but interesting. <S> You must hit an enemy disc, but you can hit a friendly disc first to make ...	Also the one cheek rule is standard here in clubs in Ontario as well as not being able to move/shift your chair in any way once play begins.
Official Diplomacy sets, variations and where to buy Diplomacy only seems to have one set available to buy widely that I am aware of, built by Gibson Games. It's nothing special, an averagely constructed cardboard board with plastic piece s. Are there any other officaly distributed boxes available? Preferably ava...	The other highly recommended edition is the 1992 Deluxe Diplomacy by Avalon Hill, which turns up very occasionally and very expensively on eBay.
Cluedo and the Great Museum Caper characters Are there any other games in the Cluedo series that has the same characters? The only other one I could find was The Great Museum Caper... <Q> http://www.theartofmurder.com/ is probably the most comprehensive list I know of. <S> It goes through all the editions, variants, s...	There's a Cluedo card game , too, but I can't personally vouch for it.
What is the Best Random Card Setup Tool? In this question I received two different recommendations for iPhone specific apps to assist with Dominion setups. My group uses a third (non iPhone specific). Which is the best, and why? Please, only one app per answer, thanks! <Q> Zack Hiwiller's Dominion Card Randomizer ...	Buy Ensure +Action Blacklist for cards you're just sick of Swipe to replace any card in the set with a new one Dominion Minion (iOS Only) Similar to iDominion - was the first Dominion related app on the App Store.
What is a good strategy for using the Doomsday card? Doomsday - The card text reads as follows: Pay half your life, rounded up: Put your graveyard on top of your library, then remove all but five cards of your library from the game. Put the rest on top of your library in any order. I have never managed to do any...	Doomsday + Mind's Desire + Beacon of Destruction is a quick win-the-game combo.
Seating orders effect on Puerto Rico Within my group its taken for granted that some seats in Puerto Rico are better (if only slightly) than others. There's a general consensus that 3rd and 4th seat are strictly better than 1st, where 2nd and 5th lie is a matter of debate. I remember stumbling across some hard numb...	The seat that wins the most is 1st Corn (based on World Boardgaming Championship stats).Here's one of the tourney pages with stats , if you look around you'll find more.
What's the difference between ante and blinds? What is the difference between an "ante" and a "blind" in poker? <Q> Ante is a bet that everyone in the game must make in order to stay at the table. <S> It forces there to always be at least some payout in the pot, increasing the relative value of playing a hand to fol...	Ante and blinds are both forced bets.
In Magic, when can I tap my opponent's creatures to prevent them from attacking? Whilst I haven't played Magic in a while, use of the stack was something that I always found a little confusing. When I first started out, our group could tap an opponents attacking creature after attackers had been declared and effectivel...	However, there are occasions before the Declare Attackers step when opponents are allowed to tap potential attackers; in particular, the end of the pre-combat main phase, and the end of the "beginning of combat" step.
What's better for Ork Nob in Warbiker Mob: Big Choppa or Klaw? I've been assembling a warbiker mob recently and I've wanted to make one unit a Nob. According to the Ork Codex I can then give him either a Big Choppa (+10 points) or a Klaw (+25 points). I know the Klaw is more powerful but it also carries the disad...	For all Nob units, you don't have to give every Nob a Klaw.
Building a Blue Deck on a budget? My daughter is a huge Blue card fan (she loves mermaids especially). How can I build a solid blue deck on a limited budget with easily obtainable cards? <Q> You should be able to build a reasonable deck of any colour for casual play using just standard commons. <S> It won't be particul...	If you're referring to Merfolk, then yes, you should be able to build a reasonable deck based on that theme relatively cheaply.
Ideas for handicapping strong players? My family enjoys playing Boggle . Usually it's all adults that play, but come the holidays it's not uncommon to have elementary and junior high aged cousins, nieces, and nephews interested in playing but lack the vocabulary (and practice time!) the adults enjoy. Any suggestions ...	For the less skilled players, you could try something more like Word length 3 4 5 6 7 8+Points 2 3 4 6 10 15 which increases the reward for finding any words not found by the veteran players, and gives huge bonuses for large words (which are even more unlikely for them). You could use different scoring for the kids and...
Alternatives to the coins supplied in Puerto Rico After getting the Rio Grande Treasure Chest for the two Puerto Rico expansions, I want to spice up my set of Puerto Rico a little bit. Can anyone recommend any good sites where I could get physical coins to use instead of the $1 and $5 pieces in the game? I was thinki...	You could get some cheap plastic pirate coins you can get at pirate stores.
How can I tell if these vintage boardgames are worth anything? My grandparents passed away recently, and my mother is cleaning out their house. They have some vintage board games (ca. 1960's, maybe?) in their house, and she's wondering what to do with them. I don't know if any of them are collectible or not; she sent m...	While I haven't done it for board games, I've followed eBay auctions with active bids to see what they close at.
What Mahjong set of rules can be recommended to beginners? I play Mahjong with friends every now and then, using a set of rules that we sort of invented along the way: we knew the basics, but had no internet connection for one summer and played with what made the most sense. Now, we'd like to settle on established rule...	I'm generally a fan of Riichi Mahjong, but what I use for teaching beginners is Zung Jung , a very simple and logical ruleset.
Are there good two player rules for resource trading in Settlers of Catan? I've tried playing two-player Settlers, where each player controls one set of pieces, and each time a player builds they need to play a piece of the same type for one of the two uncontrolled colors (so there are two non-player nations in play). ...	There is a two player option developed Nick Barko where players can only trade with the bank and played on a smaller board .
Optimal Leading Card in Cribbage In the "Play" phase of Cribbage (31's), what is the optimal leading card to play. I have always played a 4 if I had one, because it can't be fifteened and is less likely to result in a run, because an opponent is unlikely to play a 5 or a 6. It is also not as useful as 1s, 2s or 3s at t...	Playing a 10 is not too bad, especially if it is a double (no chance for them to redouble for 12), and that same principle is true for all cards 8 and up, there is no danger if they match your card.
Hello World game for many game systems Ron Hale-Evans mused about creating a benchmark game that could be ported to many different game systems as a design exercise. Do you think that would be a useful tool, and can you suggest a game that would be simple enough and flexible enough to fit in many game systems, such as...	An Icehouse set is almost ideally suited, as you have 5 copies of every piece, with just enough attributes different between the pieces (4 colors, 3 sizes, a few different orientations you can place them in, a few ways to stack them) that rules are relatively easy to judge and not too hard to guess; but you can use pre...
Where can I find reviews of board games? Before buying a board game, I would like to read some detailed reviews. It's also hard to tell if the review is just a paid announcement from the publisher. Is there any website that is " the reference " for those? <Q> BoardGameGeek can be a great resource, but it can be a bi...	BoardGame Review is a blog that provides useful board game reviews.
Restoring worn-out deck of cards. Many board games have a special deck of cards and over time get worn out. When they start to get worn out, they get "sticky" and difficult to shuffle. Is there a way or a product that can be applied to a deck of cards to make them "slippery" again? <Q> You need deck sleeves . <S> ...	You can also just take a hair dryer to them, in a spray paint motion where you never stop moving the airflow, then wipe them with a dry paper towel immediately. I don't know of any products to return them to slippery state, but most games you can buy replacement parts for through the manufacturer, right down to individ...
How would you "study" Risk? This question is not about a particular situation in the game, but rather how to study the game in the sense of if I wanted to learn Scrabble, I would spend time focusing on how certain uncommon letters can be used in words of length X or the goals of different strategies. If no one had eve...	Learn the most likely die rolls
With both Seafarers and Cities & Knights expansions, how many victory points should I play to? I've recently gotten Cities & Knights and plan to play it with my existing Seafarers of Catan expansion once I get the hang of it. Looking through the manuals for both Seafarers of Catan and Catan: Cities & Knights, I can't ...	There is a thread on BoardGameGeek about combining the two expansions, in which two separate people mention that the official rule is to add 2 victory points to the Seafarers scenario if you're playing with Cities and Knights.
How do you configure the people playing Werewolves to not give each other away? Werewolves, if you're not aware, is a group game played with hidden roles. It's also best played with a fairly large group -- 10, 15 or more. During various stages of the night, people need to do certain things. However, both noise and mov...	I played this recently and the group I played with had established the practice of having everyone repeatedly smack their hand on the table while heads are down during the night phase. I try to take great care not to talk to people directly, sliding the head around all directions while speaking so that it's not easy to...
How does Infect interact with Lifelink? When a creature with Infect and Lifelink puts poison counters on a player, does the controlling player gain life? Do all abilities that trigger on combat damage still occur? A link to an official ruling would be helpful. <Q> Yes, the creature's controller will gain life. <S> I...	The FAQ for Scars of Mirrodin states that creatures with infect deal damage to players in the form of poison counters; that's still dealing damage, so lifelink and other abilities that trigger on combat damage take place as normal.
What is a "dead hand"? This book states that "If a claimed tile is not taken within the next two opponents’ turns, i.e. before another two discards has been made, the player has a dead hand." What is a dead hand, and how does it affect the game? <Q> "Dead hand" has a few different meanings. <S> It's hard to tell just ...	What I call a dead hand is one where there is no possibility of winning.
Can Expansion Combining "Break" the Game? There are a lot of different Carcassonne expansions available and I'm curious if anyone has any insight in to telling if combining them may break game play? Recently we've been using Inns & Cathedrals with Cult, Siege and Creativity . It seems to have drastically changed th...	There's no way to break the game by combining expansions, so feel free to combine any and all of them.
How important is memorizing chess openings in casual play? I've played chess since I was kid and after much practice have become a decent player. I still though, have little strategy to my opening moves besides starting with a King's Pawn Game . I know professional players and grandmasters have a large repertoire of...	However, if you have a wide set of openings memorized, you may find that while you are moving down your 'optimal opening', ready to transition to a strong midgame, your opponent may have other plans, and make a move that takes him off your chosen opening.
Is there a viable corn-only strategy for Puerto Rico? In the last Puerto Rico game I played I wound up with all corn. I tried to make this work with the following strategy: Office + large market + small market for income Harbor + wharf to ship all my corn for maximum points This didn't work as well as I had hoped....	A corn-heavy strategy can be a good one, but corn-only is vastly inferior. To win, you'll need to "mix it up" with other commodities, and/or buildings.
Do great Scrabble players ever turn in their tiles? Presumably you would trade in tiles if you thought you would get in one turn, after trading, more than what you'll get in the next two turns without trading. But then, maybe you should make defensive plays even in some of those situations? <Q> Yes, most definitely. ...	Yes, you bet. The other time to exchange is if any legal play would make your rack worse.
What games are suitable for a large number of people with only a pack of playing cards? What card games work well with a large number of players (say 6+ players) and only require a standard pack of playing cards? I'm particularly interested in games where the rules can be explained fairly quickly, but there is still a...	If you have enough players (8+) you can play werewolf with playing cards: Clubs 2-9 The best large-group card game that I know of is Up and Down the River , which Wikipedia knows as Oh, Hell .
Carcassonne -- problem telling the difference between the Big Meeple and regular Meeples In our gaming group, we have a very hard time picking out the Big Meeple from the other Meeples on the board. While the Big Meeple certainly is bigger than the others, it's not by a significant factor, and most of our group (epsec...	I would suggest that if you wanted to do something simple to make the big meeple stand out, that doesn't cost a thing, juts make a house rule to play it on it's head or some other similarly different position.
What are good strategies involving Remodel? A basic strategy of using Remodel to upgrade Estates to Remodels, Remodels to Gold, and using Gold to buy or upgrade to Provinces is a powerful but slow strategy, so I haven't been able to win with it. Are there circumstances in which you would use a Remodel-heavy strategy...	1: in the early game, if there are no other better cards to take on turns 1/2 like baron/militia/smithy, then remodel can be a great pick because it let's you trash those estates.
Without breaking the game, how can I fix Memoir 44's problem with having no cards to order units in a certain section? I find Memoir 44 very interesting and exciting, but it seems everyone I introduce it to has the same gripe. They (and I) don't like having a unit getting pummeled by the opposing force without being ab...	Have a rule where you can skip your turn and instead discard and replace any number of command cards of your choice.
How can I get my heavy card stock game board to lie flat? I have a game board made of heavy card stock that doesn't lie flat at the creases, and the sections bow a little. Is there a way to keep it lying flat? Maybe a way to mount it? The board is from Commands & Colors: Ancients . <Q> From the discussion about prot...	Another option is to find a larger board from another game and glue your board to it, trimming the edges of the board and re-wrapping them with paper tape. I found a sharp Exacto knife was the best way to cut the board.
What is the best first development to purchase in Roll Through the Ages? Played my first 4 player game of Roll Through the Ages official last night. I've played the solo game quite a bit but I quickly discovered that the multiplayer game plays a bit differently! What development should be purchased first and why?...	In my games, I almost always purchase Irrigation first, because Drought can be really devastating to your score and Irrigation provides some defense against the fact that you can't reroll skulls in multiplayer.
What's a good table-topping material for tile-based games? On my polished wood table any disturbance (and I have kids, so you can imagine the disturbances...) can shift tiles around, which I then feel compelled to try to adjust to be flush with those around them. I want to get a mat to fix this, and was wondering if an...	You could also try a table-top gaming mat, or simply skip the tablecloth and just use a large number of the no-slip mats I mentioned above, and place your tiles directly on the rubber mats. For Settlers of Catan , there is an expansion you can get that consists of six interlocking long sections that frame the pieces in...
What are the most effective action combinations in Dominion? I've only played a few games of the base set, but I already noticed some very powerful combinations: Laboratory can be repeatedly combo'd with itself to draw a massive amount of treasure from your deck early in the game. Remodel can be used on Gold to quic...	I have not personally pulled this off but I have seen this in action - in which, you can use a Remodel card to remodel a remodel card so that you can increase your costs to gain a card of a higher value. Buy one Counting House, several Golems, and an extra Copper (or four, if you're going for Colonies), and you're guar...
Pre-drawing cards or tiles This goes for many games where players take turns to draw cards, but I specifically wondered about Carcassonne: Do you allow players to pre-draw tiles and look at those tiles before it's their turn ? So they don't have to wait until it's their turn, but somewhere between their last turn and ...	We allow pre-drawing, but once a player has seen their tile they may not give advice on where to place the current tile.
Chess client for e-(g)mail I'm looking for something that would let me store the board setup and move the pieces manually so that I can play with a friend via email/msn. It doesn't have to handle mailing or anything for me as long as I can move the pieces around :) <Q> GamesByMail to play Axis & Allies, <S> and I noti...	GamesByMail Scott Michtell just introduced me to
Starting Hands in Texas Hold'em How many possible starting hands are there in Texas Hold'em? <Q> 169 While Chris is technically correct <S> , as far as strategy is concerned, there is no difference between having an Ace & King of spades vs. Ace & King of hearts. <S> There is however a difference between having a suite...	There are 169 different hands consisting of the following: 13 pairs (one for each of 13 denominations from A to 2.78 combinations of (X, Y) of the same suit.
How to minimize Puerto Rico setup time? It takes quite a lot of time to set up Puerto Rico, especially when switching between games with a different numbers of players; a quarter of an hour I'd say. The problem is that it is rather time consuming to separate the different types of chips, count the colonists and victory...	If you write the contents of what the 3, 4 and 5 player bags should have, you can fill those up, and the remainder goes into the 2 player bag.
What are the most busted cards in Agricola? There's quite a few Occupations in Agricola that elicit a traumatized shudder from hardened Agricola players. I'm thinking of cards like the Taster, which basically allows one player to be in a position BETTER than being starting player during any round of the game, for the ...	Field Watchman , Head of the Family , and Braggart . Ratcatcher: You're giving up a stage 1 action + food so that everyone else loses 2 actions much later down the road. The only card I'd truly call broken is the taster. Without any exposure to game forums or outside advice, our play group outright banned Taster, Chamb...
Determining which areas to use in 2- or 6-player Power Grid Pretty straight-forward question here: In the 2- and 6-player versions of Power Grid , you are instructed to use only 3 areas and 5 areas respectively, but it doesn't say how to pick the areas, leaving it up to the players. What are good recommendation...	We use the system where player 1 picks an area to keep, player 2 picks an adjacent area, etc.
When to make a continuation bet and how much in Texas Hold'em? I am aware of the idea of a continuation bet, where you bet again on the flop, after a pre-flop raise. However, I'm not that sure on when I should and shouldn't do it. I tend to do it if I get the idea (from other players checking, say), that other players ...	I would say that you want to make a continuation bet a large percentage of the time if you have signalled you are in the lead and no opponent has signalled otherwise.
Possession and Masquerade - are these too powerful in 2 player games? Just encountered this yesterday. Player A plays Possession Then, it's player B turn (with player A deciding), and there's a Masquerade in the hand. Player A decides to play the Masquerade, Player A chooses the card to swap in both hands! Swa...	The only person doing something wrong is the one who buys a Masquerade into their deck while Possession is on the table!
Proper use of Dominion card Upgrade In what situations is Upgrade (Intrigue) useful? I have never seen anyone buy Upgrade in the games I've played where it was available. Whenever I play with Upgrade and Swindler, I always give Upgrade to my opponents in exchange for their 5-cost cards. They never know what to do with ...	You can use it to trash 0-cost cards that you no longer want in your deck (coppers and curses). You can use Upgrade to gradually improve your deck while also carrying out a larger strategy.
Good set of cards for teaching beginners We have 1 or 2 new people who are interested in joining our lunch Dominion games where I work. We'd like to teach them about the various rules unique to each of these sets: Base, Intrigue, Seaside, and Prosperity. Can anyone recommend a card set that will teach all the importa...	I'd say having them read the rules and then play with a veteran (or better, play online with a veteran by their side) is the best way to learn the rules.
What are the differences between the four editions of The Settlers of Catan base game? I haven't played Settlers of Catan yet, but I've been considering asking my gaming group if they want to try it. As I understand it, Settlers of Catan is now in its fourth major version. If I do get a Catan box, should I just get t...	I would get the 4th edition, since it's easier to find, and the expansions will be easier to get.
Is it unsportsmanlike to concede when you believe you cannot win? I've had a long running debate with some folks I play with regarding concession. Some argue that is it is unsportsmanlike to concede a game if you are not doing very well. I contend however, that if it often more frustrating to sit there and be miserable...	I believe that a player should be allowed to concede, if it doesn't affect the game, or if it affects the game in a POSITIVE way. In Settlers of Catan, a person should be allowed to "resign in place" as in Diplomacy.
What's an effective Small World strategy for new players? I've played one game of Small World. I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite losing badly. For one, I had no game plan, and was sort of just trying things randomly. Is there an effective, yet basic, strategy I can use next time to at least play with a sense of purpo...	I believe that you need to earn VPs from declined empires as often as you can. So a simple strategy that may work reasonably well is to start with a race that has a high number of troops, deploy those into as many mountainous regions as possible, and then decline on turn two.
Examples of board games with good/interesting rules for trading? Trading is in my opinion often an overlooked aspect of rules for board games. The lack of such rules often results in players modifying or making up these rules themselves. While making up the rules can be part of the fun I was wondering if you know of an...	Container One of my favourite trading type games is Container.
What factors should I consider when choosing card sleeves? There seem to be a lot of options when it comes to card sleeves. What factors do I need to consider about different sizes, materials, and quality of sleeves when deciding which to purchase? How much larger should the sleeves be compared to the cards? What d...	Sleeves with simple opaque backs are favored in tournaments because they make it harder to mark cards. The most important aspect of sleeves is of course size.
Dominion - Defeating the Alchemist I have a friend who loves this card. I know that every time it's on the table, he will load up on them, and chain long turns that take ages. It's even more powerful when Scout and/or Apothecary are available, too. Obviously, I should be able to defeat this strategy by 1) beating hi...	If you've got a set lacking any +buys and that has other powerful cards, you can defeat the Alchemist if you can get to the Provinces before his deck hits critical mass.
Getting started with trick-taking games (whist, euchre, bridge, pinochle, etc.) I've heard there are a lot of different trick-taking games out there, such as whist, bridge, euchre, pinochle, oh hell, hearts etc. I've heard a lot of good things about these games, but have very little experience. A few questions: Wha...	However, if you're only going to actually learn one game, I have to say that I find Hearts and Spades to be the most boring. Hearts may be easy to learn, however it is counter intuitive compared to the rest of the games.
Tales of Arabian Nights -- Story versus Destiny and variants? In the ZMan version of Tales of Arabian Nights, you choose 20 points between Story and Destiny. I tend to do 10 of each or something similar. Is this the best strategy? Also, the game is very random, which I'm OK with, but are there any variants where ther...	It seems that Story is a bit easier to get than Destiny (and there's a couple effects that convert Destiny to Story, plus some that remove Destiny), so I tend to skew a few points towards Story. I suppose you could invent your own variant where it's known ahead of time what will happen at each location instead of rolli...
When do trading deals become too unbalancing? I've played a few games of Settlers of Catan with friends and seen some deals emerge in the trading that don't seem quite right to me. When do deals that extend beyond the current trade become unbalancing? For example: Player A is planning to build a road that will block...	According to the rules of Catan, players can't trade unless they're both exchanging resources.
How can I play Dominion with 5+ players without expansions? I am going to get a Dominion expansion (probably intrigue based on its popularity) but in the meantime I'm curious about what I can do with just the basic set. I know it was designed for 2-4, but I don't see any real solid reason why it can't go to at least 5....	What I do to play with five or more is double the supply and make it so six piles are gone instead of the normal three are gone. The best house rule I've played with for large numbers of players is the simultaneous turns rule.
How long does it take to play Diplomacy? I guess this varies a lot from game to game, but I've seen everything from 120 to 360 minutes, and wondered where the average lies. If it's closer to 360, I don't think I will bother to buy it. I know how rarely Axis & Allies is taken out of its box... <Q> Odds are that you're ...	As mentioned in other answers, 4-5 hours is an accurate average length.
Minimum bid rule for Monopoly auctions Other questions have asserted that many people don't actually auction properties as instructed in the rules. Monopoly doesn't specify any rules to control the auction. I have seen auctions stretch on with many +$1 bids, making the process painfully slow. Seems to me some combin...	If you're playing for "fun", as I typically do, we set the minimum bid to be face value.
How can I recognize games I should avoid buying if I only play with non-hardcore gamers? I started with this question about good games for new players and got plenty of good answers. But now I want to look at things from the other end and figure which games I should definitely avoid. I was thinking about buying Powe...	On the whole, I would say that dice games lend themselves more to non hardcore gamers than card games.
How are + Action cards used in Dominion? We were confused by the + action cards. It says you have to start at the top of the card and work your way down. so when do you play a second action card and are you allowed to play another action card if you havent done everything on the first action card. Also, can you total...	You should total up all the extra coins on the cards you've played for one purchase unless you have played cards with + Buys.
Handicapping an experienced Agricola player. One of my friends and I often play Agricola, and he's considerably better than me at it - I'm getting better, but he seems to be advancing at a faster rate, and it's getting to the point that although I like playing the game I'm finding it less fun to be constantly losing. ...	I suggest the stronger player secretly applies a handicapping rule to themselves. I suggest rules like: Never take sheep.
Rewards and punishments for card games With playing a long board game you have the satisfaction of the endurance and outsmarting your opponents. It's a struggle and winning is the glory. When you play something like poker or Uno you are playing several games over and over again. When I play with friends we play with ...	You can play poker "without money" if you use chips.
Dominion: When to use Platinum and Colony I recently acquired Dominion: Prosperity (yay Christmas) and came across the Platinum and Colony Cards which are designed to be new Basic Cards (like Estate, Copper, etc...). My question is, should I (or do you) always play with Platinum and Colony even when you're not usi...	You can include them whenever you want to; they are always used together.
When should Curses be used? Should Curses always be laid out as a supply pile even when no kingdom cards give curses? Or should the only be available when a curse kingdom card is chose? An extension of this question could be should Curses be able to be purchased without being forced to get them by a card. <Q> The Do...	When playing with "Fairgrounds" from the Cornucopia expansion I sometimes buy a curse just to have another type of card in play.
Is the Catapult expansion as cool as it sounds? I've often heard of the Carcassonne Catapult expansion, and I'm wondering, is it actually cool to use, or is it one of those novelties that will quickly wear off? Please give me your experience with this expansion. Thanks! <Q> I have seen it demoed before, and I have no i...	The catapult among other extensions is one of the best improvements to the game.
Must a player take a jump in checkers? Is a player in checkers required to take a jump if one is available? What about a double or triple jump if that is available? <Q> In short -- for tournaments, yes . <S> I never played with forced jumps as a kid, but my father-in-law always plays with forced jumps. <S> So I d...	All capturing moves are compulsory, whether offered actively or passively...
Are the Goons un-fun? At my weekly boardgames night earlier this evening I was roped into an all-expansions, 6-player game of Dominion. A girl on the sidelines piped up: "You should take out the Goons card. It takes all the fun out of the game." Needless to say... one of the ten cards randomly selected was the Goons...	While attacks usually get meaner in Dominion games with more players, Goons isn't really one of the attacks that gets nastier in larger Dominion games. I think the real issue you're having is with attack cards in general.
What can dead Werewolves players be doing? When you've been lynched by the villagers or ripped apart by the werewolves, I believe the rules say those players are completely out of the game and should not contribute in any way. In the handful of Werewolves games I've played, some of those dead characters are put out t...	A house rule I've played is that the first dead person becomes a ghost.
What is the logic behind the bean cards to be removed from the deck in Bohnanza? With 3 players, remove the Cocoa Beans from the game. With 4 or 5 players, remove the Coffee Beans from the game. With 6 or 7 players , remove the Cocoa Beans and the Garden Beans from the game. What's the logic behind this? Is th...	It seems clear that the very valuable, very scarce beans will work best when there are neither too many nor too few players at the table. With increasing numbers of players, it seems likely that they would just get thrown away.
Correct/Recommended use of Masquerade in Dominion: Intrigue According to the rulebook, when using Masquerade, the cards passed between players must remain invisible until each player chooses the card to pass and places it down. I've always assumed it means that the passing itself is also done when the cards are face-do...	Do not reveal the cards.
How do you play the Master Spy in Guillotine? Guillotine is a fun, quick, bloodthirsty little card game that would grace any group's collection. It is very simple, which is just as well, as the rulebook errs on the side of vagueness. There is one card, though, where it's hard to work out how the creators envisaged it...	I play double feature and execute the action, collecting the master spy and the next noble, or a noble and the master spy depending on their order.
Fluxx - What counts as a 'play'? When the current rules in play are along the lines of 'Play 4', does that include any cards you have already played as the result of other actions / playing your Keepers, or do they have to be fresh cards from your hand? If I have 2 action cards and 2 keepers in my hand and I have to p...	Putting a keeper in front of you counts as playing it, so yes, in your example you would have to play all 4 cards.
Do you know any good miniature wargame that is fairly easy to learn and play? I have various miniatures (sci-fi and fantasy one), some grounds (tree, hills, barricades) and many many dices. I host regularly every week in a Barcelona bar a boardgame meeting with new people to boardgames and from various language and nat...	Heroscape is a solid game that may you may be able to repurpose.
Do you need to buy a card when playing treasures in Dominion? So I ran into a situation where I had a single treasure, the Loan card. I wanted to play the Loan card but I did not want to buy any cards. So can you play treasure cards and not buy anything? I believe I read in the rules that you play treasures first, t...	Players do not have to use any or all of their Buys.
What are the blue-backed cards in Dominion for? There is a set of one of each card, but with blue inner border on their backs instead of beige. What are they for? <Q> They are listed among the contents (on page 2) and the main use is detailed on pg 5 of the rules . <S> For example, the players can shuffle the Ran...	The blue backed cards are the randomizer cards.
Information gain from discarded tiles in Mahjong What information do you gain when another player discards a tile apart from seeing which tile it is? In particular from the position from which the tile is discarded. I neglect the timing side-channel in this context. You can sort your tiles, but no good player will do ...	If you have a very good memory, you can remember what tiles were discarded by whom.
Best set of blank cards Where can I get a good cheap set of blank cards? Amazon sells them, but it is apparently difficult to get a pen to work on them. In my case I ask because I like bohnanza, but can't tolerate the illustrations. Others may have other uses. <Q> I was poking around the other day looking for the sam...	Plaincards.com sells software to design your own cards and blank cards to print your designs on.
Missions in Risk -- is Australia really an island? For some reason, I agreed to play Risk with my wife and her friend the other night, and we decided to try the Mission cards in Risk because no one wanted to go for global domination. I would soon be reminded why I don't play this game. One of the mission cards states...	By this definition Australia would not be an island, since in the game it's divided into two territories. The rules for the 2003 edition define an island as follows:
Games to learn a foreign language or to enrich your vocabulary in your native language? I like Scrabble for learning a foreign language or enriching my vocabulary in my native language. What other games also help you do that? Please submit one game per answer only - that works best with voting. If you want to submit m...	Quiddler http://www.toycrossing.com/quiddler/basic-rules.shtml (follow the link to see the rules) is "a cross between Scrabble and Rummy" that might suit your needs - it's just a deck of cards with letters on really, so you could probably make your own if you needed to, and it'd be good for playing on trains too!
How can I make Dominion play better with 5+ players? I just got Intrigue, and it seems cool that it opens up the game to 5 or 6 players. However, the common consensus seems to be that its possible, but not recommended . Is there anything I can do to make Dominion play better with 5 or 6 people? <Q> The biggest problem...	I'm thinking of cards like the Spy, where you get to choose whether or not to trash the top card of each player's deck. This next part wasn't really what you were asking for, but for each player over 4, you should add 3 Estates, 7 Coppers, 10 Curses, and 3 Provinces to the game. Instead of trying to make rules about th...
In Monopoly Deal, can you pay with houses or hotels? Can you pay with houses or hotels or do they remain with you forever? <Q> From the Monopoly Deal FAQ (scroll down to near the end): <S> Q - WHICH <S> CARDS <S> CAN I USE TO PAY OTHER PLAYERS? <S> (E.G. FOR RENT, BIRTHDAYS ETC.) <S> A - You can choose to pay: ...	However, if a player charges you money and you decide to pay with some of the property from your completed set that includes a House and/or Hotel, the House or Hotel must be placed on the table next to your property section until you complete another set and it can be placed on top.
Settlers of Catan play takes hours I was under the impression that the play time in Settlers of Catan was more modest than say, Risk. However it seems almost as long. This is often due to a lot of trading and talk which drags on for a lot of time as people propose variations on a declined trade. Have any of you found s...	Some minor encouragement to speed things up usually helps, and if not you can think about imposing a turn timer if you think its necessary. If you let everyone trade during the trading phase, discussions could take a while. I just combine two decks to simulate a dice roll.
Water damage on cardboard pieces Someone just spilled water on my Carcassonne tiles. The illustrations are coming apart from the cardboard (they're wrinkling). What's the best thing to do? How can I dry them with best results? <Q> Here's what I did, and they don't look bad. <S> Used my fingers to press out the wrin...	Used a towel to pat dry the tiles. In the long run, you may find that the easiest, least expensive (in terms of materials and time) solution is to simply buy another copy of the game (and ask the water-spiller to help defray the cost, if you feel comfortable doing that).
What is a safe and accurate technique for shuffling cards? Especially for games which involve frequent card shuffling by multiple players of decks of uneven sizes is there is a technique for shuffling which is quick and easy for everyone to learn yet also reliably random? Ideally this would work with cards which were...	For Dominion, I commonly just use an under-over-hand shuffle.
How is Settlers of Catan different when playing with the 5-6 player expansion? I've read a few reviews , and these are the things I've picked up: game will be longer. This is totally fine and normal, but I'm curious, what's the average time increase? Ports are a little less valuable and harder to get, and trade with...	Building in-between turns is probably the biggest contributor to the game going longer, since you have an extra phase to do it in.
Strategies and kingdom cards for a strong opening in Dominion? Dominion is a game of widely varying strategies and paths toward victory. But the most important part of any winning strategy is a strong opening. How can I tell if a kingdom card is a good opening card? What are some of the best cards to buy in your fir...	Trash your cards!Get a trashing card, and max out its trashing capacity every time, even if you think, "Oh, but I might need that copper later".
Does anyone have a way to modify Ticket to Ride to accommodate six people? I recently bought Ticket to Ride to play at our monthly game night, which consists of three couples, i.e. six people. Stupid me, didn't read the five player limit before ordering the game. I've played a few times now, and I really like the game,...	Ticket to Ride Asia has a double-sided board, one side for up to 5 players playing individually, and the other side for 6 players in 3 pairs. I have played TTR Europe with six players several times using an extra set of train pieces from TTR Nordic.
Creating Scenarios for Mansions of Madness OK. So Mansions of Madness is practically here. I know I can't be the only one who's hotly anticipating this game. The only question I have about it is this: The game comes 5 scenarios included, each with 3 variations, for a total of 15 unique games. Can the included scenar...	Having played the game about 4 times now, it seems to me that designing a new campaign for Mansions of Madness is possible, as everything, including which powers the Keeper has, is entirely mix-and-match.
What is a quick way to test or simulate card strategies for deck building games? Dominion is the specific example I would like to play with but this certainly applies to any game that involves decks of cards being shuffled and drawn. I often see references to various simulations that people have run or built to test t...	A sourceforge project Dominionsim is also mentioned here
What happens when playing Throne Room / King's Court twice with Caravan? What happens if you play: Throne room, choosing a Throne room, each time choosing a Caravan? King's Court, choosing a King's Court, each time choosing a Caravan? Specifically, what will your play area look like at the start of your next tur...	The basic rule is given in the Seaside Rules , pg4 If you play or modify a Duration card with another card, thatother card also stays in your play area until it is no longer doinganything.
What strategies can you use as a Renegade in 4 player games to maintain your cover? So in 4-player Bang!, there is a Sheriff (wins when all others are dead), a Renegade (wins when all others are dead) and 2 Outlaws (win when the Sheriff is dead). So your typical game opens with the two outlaws shooting the Sheriff, th...	If the renegade can come out early and get the sheriff to focus on the outlaws then it is easier to build up some strength while killing both outlaws and leaving the sheriff in a weakened state.
Can I use sleeve protectors for Dominion cards and still fit them back into the box? I am considering getting card protectors for my dominion game. Do the cards still fit back into their slots in the box? The ones I was thinking about were the ones advertised in the box with dominion from Mayday Games. <Q> I use the M...	I have no problem fitting the cards in the original box in the correct slots, except for Coppers.
What do you do about contradictory rules of Pit? The rules of Pit are oddly contradictory. For n players choose n commonities, add in the Bull and Bear, shuffle and deal out the cards. The rules state that everyone gets 9 cards. Doh! With the Bull and the Bear added in that doesn't work. The way we reconcile this is t...	Make the discarded cards public. All players will have TEN cards at all times. You cannot call pit with the Bear in hand; you can call Pit with a Bull and 8 copies of a commodity.
Settlers of Catan Data I'd like to do some statistical analysis on Catan games, but to do that I need data. Does anyone know of a place I can find empirical data on Catan play? The stronger the players, the better. Awesome datasets include: Records of tournament play Log files from electronic Catan games, with prefer...	While the World Boardgaming Championships have Puerto Rico data posted online, I couldn't find the same stats for Settlers, BUT I think you could get ahold of the gamemaster
Eurogames suitable for playing outside We're planning a camping holiday and are expecting to be outside for a fair amount of it. Most of the board games we enjoy have lots of small pieces, or require cards to be displayed on the table. Are there any Eurogames that would stand up to a strong gust of wind? <Q> Travel E...	Puzzle Strike works well outside since the chips are much less susceptible to wind than cards in similar deck-building games (like Dominion). Bohnanza - There are cards but with some stones or other items on top they should stay put.
What is the broader acceptance of resignation? Games that have developed a strong professional circuit generally consider resignation a courteous behavior. Some consider not resigning discourteous. This question is about the rest of board gaming: When (if ever) is resigning acceptable? <Q> I would say that resignatio...	In a game between two players , I would encourage resigning.
How do I tell potential game designers their ideas are bad? Many groups of gamers will eventually attract potential game designers. I love testing games or playing with mechanics and enjoy play testing or theory crafting. But a good boardgamer does not a designer make and I find that most ideas are terrible or have alr...	Don't be confrontational; it just makes life harder. Include a list of things you do and don't like about the design, rather than just the bad.
Strategy for succeeding at Crisis skill checks I've played my first real BSG game last week with three players and the humans got wiped out before we even jumped once... I did some calculations to figure out if things get easier or harder with more players. What I found out made me wonder how player manage to beat the...	In my experience, the Humans usually don't have much trouble passing checks.

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