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How can I teach kids how to play Battleship? I like playing Battleship, and I would like to teach my nieces to play. What's a good, simple strategy to teach someone new to Battleship? In my particular case they are 8-12. <Q> Teach them two things: <S> Don't let your ships touch each other. <S> Don't let your sh...	I'd recommend breaking the game into steps, something like this: Help them set up the board. Start with a real world example. Don't teach them strategies, because they'll be less likely to want to play more often.
What are the restrictions on picking up locomotives? If, after drawing one of the five cards from the face up train cards, and after replacing that card, the second card is drawn from the top of the deck and is a locomotive card, is the player allowed to keep that card? Likewise, if both cards are drawn from the th...	You can only pick a face up locomotive if it is the first and only card you pick up.
What's a good handicap for a less experienced player in an MTG Draft? My drafting group has a few hardcore players like me who have been playing magic for a while. We've memorized almost all the commons and uncommons in the sets we're drafting (usually Innistrad or 2012), know a lot about how to win at drafts, know the...	Edit: I've never tried it, but the more I think about it, the more I think giving the new players an extra non-drafted booster is the way I would do a handicap in a casual draft. Impose a time limit for deck creation after the draft on the experienced players Give the new players more flexibility around side boarding b...
"Ticket to Ride: Europe": how to accommodate differences in players' strength? I play "Ticket to Ride: Europe" with my kids (age 8 and 12) and I win too often. They do not want me to let them win: there's no fun in winning if you know the opponent didn't play to their full ability. We would all love a fair way to accou...	One easy handicap that works in many games like this is to simply give extra turns.
If I put a copper and add 4 more random cards into my hand from my starting deck, does it change the odds of getting the 5:2 split? I was thinking about a situation where someone accidentally reveals a copper from their starting hand while shuffling their deck or discovers that they only have 9 cards in their starting ...	The odds of getting a 5:2 split over the more common 4:3 split is unchanged, even if the first card is intentionally chosen to be a copper.
Does a creature with Lifelink provide lifegain equal to its power, or the defender's toughness? I have recently began playing a deck that has a number of creatures with lifelink in it. I want to be certain I understand the mechanic and the following question occurred to me. Which damage total do you use to determine ...	The life gain is the damage dealt.
What happens when a deal is passed out in Duplicate Bridge Tournaments? I understand how duplicate bridge works, but I'm still missing one small conceptual part of the scoring, being the outcome when a deal is passed out. Is the score for that hand just assumed to be 0 for both sides, making it identical to a hand that...	In tournaments, certainly, a passed hand is treated like any other; both pairs get a zero score.
In Ticket to Ride, how do you overcome bad initial tickets? I've played fewer than a dozen games but have noticed that I can now guess with about 75% accuracy whether I'll win or not just based on my initial 3 tickets drawn. If I have a long transcontinental route and a shorter one which partially overlaps it, I'll pro...	Something you may be missing is that if your tickets are only short routes, you can finish them easily and them spend the rest of the time doing two things: Claiming 6 train routes Preventing your opponents from completing tickets.
What are effective strategies for playing control against aggro-control? In Magic, there's a style of deck known as " aggro-control ", which plays a mixture of cheap threats and disruption (especially counterspells). Against a pure control deck, aggro-control seeks to set up quickly in the early turns and then protect ...	A good way to get around his disruption with mass removal is cards like Pernicious Deed or Engineered Explosives which you can play any turn you think it's safe.
How to decide if I should use a counterspell in MTG? I always have a hard time to decide if I should use a counter spell in a given situation and one step earlier if I should save enough mana for a counter spell this round. I am currently facing this problem with my variation of Solar Flare . The main idea of this de...	Well, knowing the (approximate) deck of your opponent well will certainly help you immeasurably when deciding what to counter.
Why is Bazaar of Baghdad supposedly such a good card? I've been looking at the card Bazaar of Baghdad : (Land) Tap: Draw two cards, then discard three cards. Almost everywhere I've seen has it as over 200$, and most of the Arabian Nights set is much cheaper than that, so I assume its ability is extremely powerful....	Bazaar of Baghdad is a very good card. There are plenty of game mechanics that like to have cards in the graveyard the most simple is a reanimation deck which will love the chance to draw the key spells it runs on, while also getting some of its high cost targets into the graveyard The key is that in an open format (es...
A reference of practical tsumego? There are insanely many tsumego in existence, but many of them are very artificial and would never occur in real games. While any tsumego helps to improve, specifically learning shapes likely to be encountered in actual games would be of great benefit. I'm especially thinking of fast g...	SmartGo has a wide mix of problems, many of which fit with what you are looking for. Get Strong at Life and Death starts with a section on standard shapes.
How often should I bluff in poker? Obviously bluffing is an important element of poker, and bluffing too often, or not often enough will negatively affect your winnings, but is there a rule of thumb for how often you should bluff? For example, if I bluff once or twice an hour, is that too infrequent? If I bluff about o...	It varies by how often you think other players are bluffing.
When is it optimal to purchase a Mint on a 5/2 split? Every now and then, what seems like a golden opportunity comes up: you start the game with five coppers, and the Mint is in play. By purchasing this, you can instantly trash five of your starting copper. However, this leaves you with only two copper in your deck: ...	A first turn Mint wrecks your economy, and being able to buy good cards on turns 3 and 4 is really important in order to not fall behind your opponent.
What is a good resource to discover new games? On this site recomendation questions are banned. You are not allowed to ask: I often play risk and Axis & Allies. I don't like Settlers of Catan because bla bla bla ... What other games would I like? See meta pages: Game Recommendation questions are banned Should...	By far my best source of recommendations for games that are new to me are my gaming friends.
Should You Take "Your Opponent's" Sheep In A 2-Player Game? As you may well have guessed by now I play a lot of online Agricola; here's a situation that comes up all the time. If I'm the second player, and sheep come up as the round one action card, quite often my second action will be to take starting player, take 2 ...	If you can ensure that the other player takes a begging card if you take 'their sheep' then that is at least a 3 point move (with the exception of Mendicant ).
Sacrifice enablers for EDH I'm building my first EDH deck and have chosen Thraximundar (Grixis) as my general. My deck has a lot of synergy centered around sacrificing creatures. I find it easy to benefit from sacrificing and have plenty of targets for sacrificing but I need more ways of enabling the sacrifice trig...	Lyzolda, the Blood Witch can be sweet, drawing you cards when sacrificing black creatures or dealing damage when sacrificing red ones. Attrition is also worth mentioning, since it's such a cheap outlet with one of the best beneficial effects.
What is a good strategy for selecting commons and uncommons for trade folders? I recently came into several large collections of Magic cards that I am looking through for trade stock, obviously cards such as Counterspell tend to be good trade stock even though they are common; however, what is a good strategy for goi...	I'd recommend looking up lists of common and uncommon EDH staples and seeing what cards you might have.
Which of the 5 resources in Settlers of Catan (base version) is most important? Why? Experienced Settlers of Catan players know that the answer to this question will vary based on many board setup factors such as resource productivity, 2:1 ports, whether you can corner the market for one resource and thus trade for the...	However, wheat is essential to virtually any strategy, ore is needed for a city/development card strategy, wood and brick are necessary in at least small amounts for any expansion via new settlements and roads, and wool is overall probably least useful. But you cannot win a game without ore.
Is there a best character in Button Men? Is there a worst character? Button Men is a free Print&Play game for 2 players. Each player chooses a character card, and the polyhedral dice associated with that character, and takes turns trying to capture their opponent's dice. There are over 200 characters created for it. D...	My feeling is that Lab Rats is the best button, as its 2-dice will allow skill-attacks on far better dice than it has to give away. The worst by far has to be the dragon with d30s
How does the cost of designer board games compare to other forms of entertainment? Some people complain about the cost of designer board games. With most board games near the $50 mark, and some approaching $100, they might look at the price of a movie ticket, DVD, or video game and think that this is an expensive hobby...	If you are measuring dollars per player-hour , board games are an excellent value--provided you find a game that your group actually will play time and again.
Do physical implementations of single player board games have any advantages over their electronic counterparts? While multiplayer board games can give you the enjoyment of hanging out with your friends and family, and all the social benefits you reap from those kinds of interactions face to face, instead of being in f...	In addition to the other answers given, I'll offer: Physical board games don't require a computer, or electricity .
How can I tell what has changed in a Comprehensive Rules update? As an example, the Comp Rules were updated February 1, 2012. I know that a reference to "Fateful Hour" was added to 207.2c since I know to search for fateful hour, but how do I know what else changed? Does Wizards of the Coast release an official list o...	Wizards releases what they call Update Bulletins.
How are jokers colored in decks with more than two jokers? So, normally you have two jokers, a big joker and a little joker. The big one is sometimes distinguished by being red (or colored). How does it work with decks with 4 or more jokers? Is is supposed to alternate black, red, black, red, or is only one supposed to...	To the best of my knowledge, there's no standard for ranking jokers.
What's a good counter-strategy to Workshop/Garden? If we play a board that has Workshop and Garden kingdom cards, I almost exclusively play them as my strategy. In the early game, I focus on buying Workshop and by the third round I typically get two "buys", one in the Action phase with Workshop and the other in the Buy...	Another way to counter a Gardens strategy is with trashing attacks -- Thief or Pirate Ship removing your spare treasures might keep you below your next point-shelf, especially if you're rushing things.
What are the order of actions in Monopoly? Another question arose from my previous question : What is the order of actions in Monopoly? There are a number of actions that may take place: Roll dice Move token Purchase property Pay rent Improve properties Trade with players Go to jail I'm sure there are other...	In many games, there are "house rules" that say a player may buy and sell improvements (including mortgage and unmortgage) only during his/her own turn.
Can Russia make a truce with Japan (without USA/UK knowing)? Just played a 16 hour game of Axis & Allies (classic). I thought the guy playing Russia just didn't know what he was doing, but it turns out he had made a deal with Japan to just leave him alone. Thus it basically became Russia kept to himself while the UK ba...	Russia did have such a truce with the Japanese (actually, there was no declaration of war until Germany had been beaten), and I'm sure Stalin would have loved it if the US and Japan had pounded each other into shreds while the Red Army was busy.
Making 2-player Starcraft more enjoyable In theory and according to the rules book, Starcraft can be played by 2-6 players. From my own experience and what I heard from others, it does not work at all for 2 players. The random factor gets really high and the game--which takes quite some time to set up--is over within...	More people is a lot of fun but the game is definitely enjoyable with just two. I think it mostly comes down understanding the game mechanics that allow you to stop early attacks such as the air defense module and simply blocking their orders.
What's the highest score that can be achieved by pegging? Nearly every cribbage player knows that 29 is the highest-scoring hand that one can achieve, and that 19 and some others are impossible to score. However, I'm curious to know what is the highest score one can achieve during the play of the cards (also known a...	The maximum number of points that can be scored in a single deal by the dealer in a two player game is 78 (pegging + hand + crib):
Where can I find a copy of Starbase Jeff? One of my favorite games is a now out-of-print game from Cheapass games called Starbase Jeff. I've been looking for a copy of it for years and haven't had any luck. Sadly, the game wasn't designed by James Ernest but another game designer, so I doubt it will eventually join t...	you can check the boardgamegeek.com marketplace, auctions or auction forum periodically.
Are Summon - [insert-creature-type-here] cards creatures? Back in the day we didn't have Creature - Name card types, instead we had Summon - Name card types. Long ago in magic, cards were printed entirely differently, and this actually creates some interesting situations with the present day rulings. For example, i...	Older creature cards were printed with “Summon [creature type]” on their type lines.
Is pawn promotion to rook or bishop something that is seen in play? Reading What is the proper Algebraic Notation for a pawn being promoted? made me wonder whether pawn promotion to rook or bishop ever happens. The only time I can think this might happen is when promotion to a queen would provide stalemate. Are the...	I have seen situations where under-promotion to a rook or bishop has been a key move to prevent a stalemate.
Can the "Sacrifice (this card):" activated ability be placed back on the stack? This is a broad question so for simplicity I will use Seal of Fire and Naturalize . Scenario 1: Common exchange- creating a baseline. Player A uses Naturalize on Seal of Fire Player B Sacrifices SoF in response. SoF is highest on t...	It is not possible to sacrifice a permanent twice.
Is Duplicate Bridge (standard Matchpoints) a game of pure skill? I'm inclined to say "no" because because each of the following could be considered lucky: A finesse can be tried 2 different ways and your partnership selectsthe one that works You play a routine, obvious hand against the strongest partnership ofthe ma...	Of course, most of the time it is your skill that matters, but luck does factor in, especially against equally matched opponents.
Should I prefer Farmers or other followers? My friends and I have played three or four games of Carcassonne with varying winners, and fortunately we're all about the same experience with board games in general. I'm beginning to find, however, that our games are being decided by the farm at the end. It is common for th...	The answer, as ever, is it depends. Farmers are a great way to swing the board and win a game, but you have to be really careful because your meeples are essentially trapped.
MTG: Enchantments that require opponent to pay mana to attack I had a deck many years ago that was blue/white and used a blue enchantment that made players pay 2 colorless to attack. I can't remember the name of the card, but it was around Mirage, no later than Urza block. I also had Kjeldoran Outpost and Thawing ...	Here's the cards you were thinking of: Ghostly Prison Propaganda
What interesting 3-player strategy games are available? In my apartment there tend to be 3 of us wanting to play board games regularly, and we're fond of strategy games. Unfortunately, 3 is not the optimal number for most of the more interesting ones that we've come across. We're familiar with Carcassone, Cataan, and ...	The other game that is universally acclaimed to be amazing, and is very good for different number of players, is Agricola . Another quick recommendation if you want to play something with a variety of player (3 player included) would be 7 Wonders .
What is optimal end play in Settlers? Part of what makes Settlers of Catan both balanced and exciting are two sets of slow-the-leader rules: The robber and trade embargoes. While this means you have a chance to win even after a slow start or a seemingly poor starting position, it conversely means it can be difficult to...	In addition to the hidden Victory Point cards, you can use Monopoly, Year of Plenty, Road Building, and sometimes even Soldier cards to unexpectedly snatch up the final point or two that you need to seal up the game. Hoarding development cards and developing self-sufficiency, as mentioned by other answers, are two good...
Does the flanking provided by Slivers stack? If I was to play 2 Sidewinder Slivers would the 'All Slivers have flanking' ability stack causing creatures blocking my Slivers to get -2/-2 until the end of the turn or would it gain flanking twice but the second instance has no effect so creatures blocking my Slivers onl...	Flanking is a triggered ability, so it can trigger separately for every instance of the ability that the creature has.
Is Saboteur biased towards the miners? I recently played a couple of games (i.e. six rounds) of Saboteur with ten and then nine players. The miners found the gold every round, and it was only a close thing once. The saboteurs win a bit more gold than the miners if they're successful, but I'd be surprised if this wa...	Saboteur 1 does seem to be biased towards the "good dwarves" if you don't play it in really cutthroat fashion.
If you disturb a Jenga block, can you push it back into place? In Jenga, when you are moving your block out and another block next to it moves, are you allowed to push the other block(s) back? <Q> According to the official 2000 version of the rules: <S> As play proceeds and the weight of the tower shifts, some blo...	You can touch other blocks to find a loose one — but if you move a block out of place, you must fix it (using one hand only) before touching another block.
What is optimal robber placement in Settlers? Every time I think I've mastered Settlers, I discover yet another novel tactic or strategy. This time it's Robber placement. I've usually selected robber placement based on a combination of factors, including who is winning, which hex reduces the most dots worth of product...	For the reasons you mentioned, you should place the robber on the player to your right, ALL OTHER THINGS BEING EQUAL.
Erasable yet bold crayon for Empire Builder Games (e.g. Eurorails)? We have kids, so we have lots of types of crayons in the house. Everything from airline freebie to crayola. None of them are very satisfactory for Eurorails (and related games). Either they are too light to see or they won't erase easily. The origi...	I found Crayola brand washable crayons to work the best. Your best bet is to take the map to a map or printing shop, laminate it properly, and use overhead pens. Rolled clear vinyl is available in many fabric stores (for making covers for furniture and for covering lace tablecloths).
Programme to help with face to face diplomacy Can anyone suggest a programme or website that will allow playing diplomacy with all players on one computer. Ideally this should not involve logging in and out, or having a window open per player. I would like to use it purely as a movement judge, so once all orders are ...	The kind of software you are looking for exists. MSN - Gaming Zone used to support Diplomacy, but something must have happened between Hasbro and Microsoft to change this.
Why does an open pinfu get 2 extra fu added to the score? In riichi mahjong, a concealed pinfu hand is worth 20-fu if it goes out on a tsumo. However, a hand with no points that has been opened gets a 2-fu bonus for no reason other than being an open pinfu. Even if the hand has another yaku to go out on (since yaku...	The apocryphal historic reason was that before modern riichi mahjong, there were many things that were not part of the game.
What is the best way to learn chess strategy and tactics? I am interested in learning chess. I am already familiar with the rules of the game, but I am very weak when it comes to tactics and strategy. I am afraid that if I just register at chess.com and start playing games, my ability to improve to my chess score wil...	When I started working on my chess, I improved a lot just by playing at least one game a day with more experienced tournament players who would point out reasons why I lost afterwards.
Do copied spells use the original's casting location? Let's say I flashback an Increasing Vengeance in order to copy a Shock twice. Then, I cast Reverberate from my hand targeting the Increasing Vengeance which in turn will also copy the Shock. Will the new copy of Increasing Vengeance make one copy of the Shoc...	A copy of a spell is owned by the player under whose control it was put on the stack.
What game mechanic can be used for evenly selecting other players but not yourself? I am looking for a game mechanic for a game I am designing, that would let players randomly select other players, but that by the end of the game all the players were selected equally. My first instinct was the destiny deck from Cosmi...	If it is acceptable that the order of the players turns is different every round, you could have a deck with a card for each player, then draw the top card and let that player have the next card as target, and then the next player takes the third card as target.
Where can I practice MTG draft online and actually play against my opponents for free? I've been having fun practicing drafts on draft simulators like this one , but sometimes I'd like to actually be able to play with the deck I built. Since all of the other players on these simulators are Bots, I have to be content w...	You can draft at CCGdecks.com, tappedout.net, or drafts.in, and the free client Cockatrice is excellent for playing.
Why play Land Grant? When looking through recent results of Pauper daily events in Magic Online , I noticed that some of the Infect decks are using Land Grant . For the life of me, I can't figure out what this card is doing in the deck. It doesn't accelerate your mana It doesn't find lands other than Forests You...	The card has a lot of uses, similarly to fetch lands and cantrip spells. It's a free way to shuffle your deck.
Where can I find a database with a list of all magic cards? I am going to write a program to manage my library of Magic cards and I am looking for a database file or list of all of the cards that have been released. I know that the Gathering site is useful, but it limits the number of cards I can return in a search. ...	as an alternative, you can also get the full set of cards in JSON format - including all sets, languages, printings and detailed information - from this website: http://mtgjson.com/
How to describe the strengths and weaknesses of white to a new mtg player? When I'm teaching Magic: The Gathering to a new player, one of the things I usually give them early on is a run down of each of the different colors and its pros and cons. I usually try to come up with 2 sentences and no more than 3 example card...	White is the strongest defensive color with protection, damage prevention, life gain and spells that are only able affect creatures attacking them.(Card examples: I would not associated white directly with western concepts of 'justice.'
When should you side lands in and out? Some Magic writers advise players to side out a land when on the draw in Limited, in order to improve the probability of drawing a strong starting hand. Is it reasonable to do the same (side out a land on the draw) in Constructed? And, if so, why isn't it commonly done? Assumi...	Firstly, in constructed the impact of a single land on the mana balance of your deck is smaller than in limited due to larger decksize (and the effect is quite small to begin with).
What happens when a piece is kinged in checkers? In checkers, what is supposed to happen when a piece gets to the other side of the board and becomes a king? Does the move end? Can the piece continue to skip in the same turn it becomes a king? Can it choose not to be kinged and skip again? I've looked up a couple of di...	From the Wikipedia article on checkers : If a player's piece jumps into the kings row, the current move terminates; having just been crowned, the piece cannot continue on by jumping back out (as in a multiple jump), until the next move.
How to mitigate the intial luck factor in Race For The Galaxy? Background (feel free to skip) : My mom and I often play RFTG together (I am a very fortunate child to have a game-playing parent :), and we've noticed that there usually isn't as much luck in the game as we initially thought; there are few situations wher...	In my experience, the most effective way to reduce luck at the beginning is to give players a choice of two start worlds .
What is the duration of copyright on a board game map? If copyright on a board game map exists, how long will it last? When does the map become public domain? For example, there are plenty of Sokoban maps on-line.Some of them were created by Thinking Rabbit, some by Yoshio Murase.When will their copyright expire? <Q> ...	As a general rule, for works created after January 1, 1978, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years.
Too many Tech-Victories seen in 2-player rules for Civilization I have been playing Civilization The Board Game some times with my girlfriend, but each time, the game quickly becomes a race for the tech-victory. Since it is a large advantage to research tech in general, this victory is easy, and we do never even atta...	So we thought it might work to restrict level 3+ tech until after the 4 ancient wonders are placed, then restrict level 5 until all medieval wonders are placed.
How does Infinite Reflection work with Commander and commander damage? Does a Commander which has been turned into a copy of another card still do commander damage (i.e. will 21 damage dealt to a single player from the copy lose the game for that player)? Alternately, does a card which has been turned into a copy of a...	A commander that's copying another card (due to Cytoshape's effect, for example) is still a commander .
In bridge, what are the proper followups to a Jacoby transfer? In bridge, over a 1 NT opening, a responder might bid 2D/H with five hearts/spades asking the opener to "transfer" to 2H/S. The idea is to try to find an eight card fit, assuming that the NT bidder has three in the major. But suppose the 1NT bidder only ha...	In Standard American with strong 1NT openings (typically 15-17 or 16-18 points), the 1 NT bidder must accept the transfer, even with only 2 in the suit.
How do Layers work? Trying to expand my knowledge of Magic, and hopefully become a better player, I've come across several references to "layers." From what I've been able to find, they are as follows: Copy Control Text Type Color Add/Remove Power Could someone elucidate the significance of the order and exac...	The basic answer is that the layer system determines how to apply continuous effects to every object in the game so that they get their actual state beyond what's printed on the actual card.
Backgammon Statistics To Know I recently committed to memory the likelihood of "Entering from the Bar" in a game of backgammon. i.e. 1 point defence - 97%2 point defence - 89%3 point defence - 75%4 point defence - 56%5 point defence - 31% Besides the usual likelihood of "throwing a number x", what other statistics ar...	100% 100% Chance of moving X points in a single roll: (direct and indirect combined; direct alone is always 31% for 1-6 only).
What is a good 'Baker's Dozen' solitaire strategy? I am wondering what a good strategy is to win the 'Baker's Dozen' solitaire variant? So far, I have tried to keep the cards descending in the same suit, wherever possible, but when the Kings are at the top of the tableau pile, it makes it very difficult. <Q> OK, so I ...	when building a stack the primary task is to bring a card that can potentially trap cards above it, and only secondarily to match suits.
Phage the Untouchable as a Commander? I was looking through the Black Legends with thoughts of building a mono-black EDH deck, when I came across Phage the Untouchable . Am I right in assuming that if she is cast from the command zone, you lose the game? (As the command zone is not considered your hand.) Is there any ...	You're correct in assuming that you would lose the game. Lich's Mirror should also work to get her out.
Is Go played for money? Playing for money in this meaning would be single games played for some stake, not tournaments with a prize money. Backgammon has a large tradition to be played like, chess a smaller one (I think). I havn't heard of Go in such a context. Is this (widely) done? <Q> In the West, Go is almost excl...	In Korea, betting games are called Bang Neki , typically with a fixed sum for winning and extra money for each bang (score difference of 10 points). There is no particular tradition of players gambling over a game of Go.
In the official rules of Monopoly, can you offer immunity to other players in deals? In the official rules of Monopoly, can you offer immunity to other players in deals? Also, what about tournament play, which has different rules again? For example, it was a common house rule from my childhood that where two players w...	I can see nothing in the rules that would explicitly prevent one player offering immunity to another player.
Would a turn order opposite the disprove order affect the strategy or gameplay in Clue? The official Clue rules call for a clockwise turn order, and a clockwise order of disproving suggestions. Would changing the order of the turn, or the order of disproving a suggestion so one is the opposite/reverse of the other ha...	It doesn't seem to affect things. Changing the order of proving a suggestion True or False, could change things if the order was dynamic.
Trashing Estates in Dominion How vital is it to trash Estates in the early rounds of a Dominion game, given that there is an action card available to trash Estates? <Q> Multi-card trashing, when available, is usually the best way to open the game. <S> Indeed, as The Chaz says, you want to get rid of your coppers as wel...	If you have a card that can trash an Estate in your deck during the early game, you will most likely be better off trashing it.
What is the "shuck-shuck" strategy? I've seen lots of Axis & Allies discussion refer to "shuck-shuck" in passing. I understand it has something to do with the US and UK supporting Russia in northern Europe using fighters and transports. Due to my inexperience with the game, I can't really figure out what's going on bey...	Shuck-shuck is when the US player uses a fleet of transports to move land units (mostly infantry) from Eastern Canada (and Western C, in most rule variations) to Europe, usually Finland.
What card sleeves should I get for Cards Against Humanity? They measure 63mm wide by 88mm tall. The base set has 550 cards (460 White cards and 90 Black cards). The expansion has 100 cards (80 White cards and 20 Black cards) plus 12 blank cards (8 white, 4 black). For the uninitiated, Cards Against Humanity . <Q> ...	I bought ultra pro black sleeves and ultrapro white sleeves (700) for my cards against humanity
What brand of card sleeves are most reliable for Magic the Gathering? I use Dragon Shield, KMC and Ultra-Pro. The reviews and forums don't seem to have a consensus on the question, "Which brand is the best?" But have there been any quality control tests that show statistically one brand is more reliable than the ...	For a 60-card deck, it's always KMCs (Only available in 80ct). I personally loves ultra pro, since I am able to double sleeve it without being too thick. For a Commander deck I invariably choose Dragon Shields (100ct).
Traditional 1-stone handicap before komi In "traditional" handicap, when there is a ranking difference of 1, black plays first and there is no komi ( Sensei's Library uses this term). But if you play without komi anyway, this is no handicap. In the days before komi, how was the 1-stone handicap handled? Or did the wea...	If one player were clearly one stone weaker, he would ALWAYS take Black (with a "free" first move).
Which effects affect both opponents and which only one in Two Headed Giant? Say, for Cruel Edict I have to choose which one of my opponent's heads sacrifices a creature. But I think that Sudden Disappearance makes all of their permanents go away, not just one person's. Can someone tell me why? <Q> Cruel Edict and ...	In general, the only cards that would affect both heads of an opponent in two headed giant (2HG) are cards that say each or A card that reads in part "target player takes an extra turn" will cause both heads to take an additional turn.
How can I play around targeted discard? Many decks in competitive Magic have access to targeted discard spells, like Duress and Thoughtseize . Against counterspells, you can rely on a variety of tricks like baiting counters, bottlenecking your opponent's mana, and good old-fashioned counter wars. Targeted discard c...	You could try to play out the cards more vulnerable to discard first.
How does one set up a 1/4 board for Go – and is it a good way to start? As a beginner, I was handed a full go board. And, somehow figured it out. A beginner friend wants to start "small" on something like 1/4 of the board. Personally, I think that we should start with the entire board. <Q> There is a lot of discussio...	You might want to use a smaller board for the first five or ten games, just to learn the mechanics, but you'll want to transition to a full sized board as soon as possible so that you don't learn strategies that work on the smaller board but may be inappropriate for the full version.
Is it advantageous to go first in Dominion? The rulebook says: If the highest scores are tied at the end of the game, the tied player who has had the fewest turns wins the game. What advantages does the first player have over the other players? Do these advantages overcome the detriment of losing in a tie when the...	There are many advantages to going first.
Would Pillar of Flames get rid of a Blightsteel Colossus? Blightsteel Colossus is indestructible. The rules for indestructable says: 700.4. If a permanent is indestructible, rules and effects can’t destroy it. (See rule 701.6, “Destroy.”) Such permanents are not destroyed by lethal damage, and they ignore the letha...	Blightsteel Colossus is indestructible, so it would not be destroyed by damage to begin with and never trigger the replacement effect.
How do you calculate the likelihood of drawing certain cards in your opening hand? In Magic, at the start of the game, you draw 7 cards. How would you calculate the likelihood of drawing a specific card in your opening hand? For example, let's say I have a 60 card deck, and I'm running 4 Birds of Paradise . What is t...	Magic Workstation besides many other tools for collection management, deck building, and online play has a very powerful probability calculator.
Can you place units in an Industrial Complex the turn you place it? Me and my friends were playing Axis and Allies: spring 1942 and one player placed an industrial complex on a country and then placed their units there, in the same turn. We looked through the entire rule book and we couldn't find it. We looked under th...	You cannot place units in a just-captured territory that has an industrial complex on it - you must wait until your next turn to place units there.'
Where to buy or how to cut blank hexes for own game prototype? Fellow board game player wants to test his game prototype, which uses a number of hex pieces (prefreably smaller than Catan or Eclipse ones). Is there a place to buy some blank ones? We could then use adhesive paper labels printed on inkjet printer. Or mayb...	Prawn Designs , based in California, sells custom bits and bases , including hexes. If you want to cut your own uniform hex tiles, you are going to need a die cutter ($600), and a custom die .
Can nonbasic dual lands such as "Azorius Chancery" be destroyed by the card text "destroy target land"? My cousin and I play MtG together sometimes. He has many years of experience, and I just started playing recently and we have had an argument when I tried to destroy his nonbasic dual lands such as Azorius Chancery ...	You are correct, you can destroy any permanent with the type "Land" using a card that says "Destroy target land."
What first turn kill in multiplayer FFA provides the best ratios? People love to figure out first turn kills in Magic: the Gathering, and have been around since the beginning, when someone threw together a deck with Channel , Black Lotus , Fireball , Mountain . Pulling off a first turn kill in multiplayer is much h...	Play Overgrown Tomb ($14)
How does Talisman 4th Edition compare with earlier versions? I played Talisman back in the 1980s - I don't know whether it was the first or second edition. I enjoyed it. Lots of years later I'm back into board games - particularly Catan, Dominion, Carcasonne. I see that the latest version of Talisman is a 4th edition...	Many small changes address the balance issues from previous editions.
What to keep in mind when copying a small card game? There's an old card game I want, but it's been out of print for 15 years and currently going for >$1000 used. There are just 80 cards in the game, and I've got a friend who does own it. My plan is just to scan the cards, print them two-sided, laminate them and cut t...	You can avoid the issue of illegal copyright infringement if you have permission.
Are all jenga blocks of exactly same size? If you ever play the game it's easy to conclude that blocks dimensions vary, otherwise the occurrence of loose blocks would be symmetric/regular when the tower initially built. However, I was unable to find any reference to that fact anywhere in internet (apart a vague mentio...	I do not believe that the block dimensions vary much, except because of manufacturing error. Even if they were made of aluminum, nothing is exact and there will be statistical variations that could be in the 5th decimal place, but nothing is exact.
Can a takeout doubler pass a redoubled contract? South opened one diamond. West doubled for takeout with the following hand: s) Axxx (H) Kxx (D) Kxx (C) Qxx North redoubled. This took me (East) off the hook with something like s) xxx (H) xxx (D) xxx (C) xxxx. I could pass, because the redouble allowed West to bid aga...	It does of course depend on what you've agreed in your bidding system, some systems would require a shortage of the doubled suit (2 or less).
Can I mix Fantasy and 40k in a game? I'm trying to get my fiancée interested in playing Warhammer games. She's interested in fantasy and I'm interested in the sci-fi 40k branch of the game, plus I've already got an army in the making. If we got a fantasy army, is there any adapter between the two rulesets? <Q> Unfortun...	The same demon models can be used in fantasy and 40k with the appropriate army book.
Do I have to physically cut into my Necron Overlord's Staff of Light to upgrade it to Warscythe? I'm just double checking so that I don't ruin a $20 model. Clarification: I don't plan on playing in tournaments, however, I would like to stick to the rules as far as my army is concerned just to make casual games smooth...	You are able to get a war scythe from a package of lychguard/praetorian (same box) and use it for the overlord, if magnets are used right you should be able to switch back and forth at will.
How can I get the trait clips in Betrayal at House on the Hill to stay on? Betrayal at House on the Hill features character pentagons with 4 traits that can increase or decrease and are marked by clips. I find (at least with my copy) that the clips slip and slide too easily; we often lose track of our stats. We've t...	Using paper clips works great! We might try packing tape next time because it's a wee bit thicker. We would just set the trackers down on top of the character cards pointed at the proper numbers.
What happens if I use Sudden Disappearance? I just saw this card: Sudden Disappearance . Suppose I use it in my first main step.I attack while my opponent has his cards exiled. At the end step he gets them back. My question: Will those cards have summoning sickness when his turn comes? (for creatures) <Q> No, his cre...	The rule informally known as summoning sickness says that a creature permanent cannot attack or use abilities with the tap or untap symbol in their costs if its controller did not control it from the beginning of his last turn.
I killed myself, did I win? I played an odd game of Shadow Hunters the other day. There were five players: two Shadows, two Hunters and one Neutral. I was dealt the Neutral, Charles. For the unaware, his win condition states: At the time you kill another character, the total number of dead characters is 3 or more. ...	As for the last part of your question, I think there is no way for Charles to be the sole winner in a five player game.
In bridge, is an "uppercut" a special case of a "forcing game?" In a standard forcing game, you the defender, may have four (or more) trumps, and ypu lead a long suit in which declarer is void in order to force him to ruff, thereby shortening his trumps to your number (or less). In an uppercut situation, you might hav...	An uppercut is to try and promote an extra trump trick for your partner by forcing declarer to waste a high trump pulling a solitary defensive trump. Overall, I would say that they are different.
In bridge, are there some 13 point hands that should not be opened? Suppose you have: (s) Jx (h)KQxx (d) KJxx (c) Kxx. That's 13 points, by the usual count. But I can think of at least two things wrong with it. First, there are no aces, meaning that the hand has fewer "quick tricks" than the usual 13-pointer. Second...	To your general point, yes there are 13 point hands that are better off passed. Sure there is, but it's important to note that it's all dependent on the situation , and not the hand .
BlackJack Game with no splitting I'm playing a black jack game that does not allow splitting. My question is, do I play A/A as a soft 12 or hard 2? If I play it as a soft 12, do I follow the same hit/stand procedures as say a soft 13 (in other words, double if the dealer shows 5 or 6). Recommendations? Should I ALWAYS ...	" From what I could find, it looks to me like the consensus is to play a soft 12 just a bit more conservatively than a soft 13.
When is it ok to king-make? The other day whilst playing an epic, 4-deck game of Munchkin, I found myself well behind and in a position to let someone win so we could quit. I didn't want to leave early (I did anyway!) but the game had gotten out of hand somewhat. Would it have been ok to King-make? I'm considering a n...	The only reason you should help another player is if it increases your chances of victory during that game. In general, king making is contentious.
I died, what can I do until the world ends? The other day whilst playing betrayal at house on the hill, I died early on and didn't get back on the board as a monster in any way. What can I do to contribute without 'over doing it'? <Q> Following the haunt, the game tends to become semi-cooperative, with one antagonis...	Start the game with some number of additional characters (controlled by other players in turn). Let the knocked out player control one of the monsters (if there are more than one and player knowledge wouldn't make much difference).
What are Riggers and Contraptions in MTG and how do I assmble them? (Steamflogger boss question) I just saw this card called Steamflogger Boss today, but I've never heard of a Rigger, a Contraption, or an ability called 'assemble' in Magic. Am I missing something? Does this card refer to a very rare card type like l...	In a Limited format, such as Booster Draft or Sealed Deck, your Contraption deck can contain any or all the Contraptions in your card pool.
Are the utilities worth buying? In Monopoly, there are two utilities. They cost 150, and rent is 4x the dice roll if one utility is owned, or 10x the dice value if both are owned. Are the utilities something I want to purchase if possible? Or are they junk? How valuable are they compared to the other properties on th...	They're better in the early game for fast and easy income, but later on they're more valuable simply as squares you can land safely on; everyone has become too rich to care much about such small rents.
Is "Longest Road" an overrated strategy in Settlers of Catan? At one level, "longest road," is an "obvious" way to win the game. At another level, could it be too obvious? That is, a player clearly pursuing this strategy might stir too much fear in opponents, who will then try to break up the road, or hamper him in ot...	Longest Road, while usually important to victory, is not worth pursuing to the exclusion of other elements.
Where can I find an exhaustive inventory of cards in Ticket to Ride? I have fallen quite in love with Ticket to Ride on my iPad, but don't have the physical board game. As I attempt to master the game, I'm finding one difficulty, however- I don't have an exhaustive inventory of the destination cards in particular, nor ...	The t2r route points.xls file includes all 30 base tickets.
Are there any alternative rules for Settles of Catan to rely less on luck? Are there any rules to reduce the luck component is Settlers of Catan? I know there is one stated here , but I didn't understand this. How does this work? Are there any others? <Q> There is actually a commercially produced event deck . <S> Wh...	Cities & Knights of Catan features an upgrade that gives you a resource of your choice whenever a number that doesn't produce anything for you is rolled.

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