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Are some pieces better than others in Blokus? Obviously the smaller pieces are generally easier to get rid of than the larger pieces, but I'd be interested to know which pieces I should aim to get rid of first, and which pieces I should save. I'm sure this largely depends on the gaps on the playing board, but are there some pieces that go better in the majority of cases? <Q> For scoring purposes alone placing the pentominoes first is the optimal approach. <S> What you place first depends on your strategy. <S> Sometimes I like to go straight after another player to attempt to block them in. <S> Y, I, and L are good opening pieces for that. <S> For a more balanced to the middle approach, I like to open with F or W. <S> They give lots of corners to build off of and are not immediately threatening to the other players. <S> I, P, T and X can be difficult to place later in the game, <S> so I like to get them out as soon as possible. <S> F, U, L, W and Z are all great for cutting other players off, so I like to save them for when I get close to another color. <S> Usually only 2 of the 4's give me trouble; the straight piece, and the perfect square. <S> I tend to prioritizing placing them over all the smaller pieces and even some of the 5's. <S> In most games what you place becomes highly dependent on what the other players are doing. <S> Especially in later turns. <S> You need to give yourself room to grow while simultaneously denying space to your opponents. <A> Most certainly; all pieces are NOT created equal, some pieces are greater than others. <S> The fewer points a piece has, the easier it is for an opponent to fully block all expansion opportunities. <S> The more points a piece has, the more opportunities you'll have for branching the next piece off of it. <S> Accordingly, I try to play my "low-point" pieces early, and in 'unimportant' locations. <S> I try to save my "high-point" pieces for when I begin encountering the enemy and expect resistance. <S> To list: <S> I = <S> 4 <S> P = 5 <S> V = 5 <S> L = 5 <S> N = <S> 6 <S> T = 6 <S> U = 6 <S> Y = 6 <S> Z = 6 <S> F = 7 <S> W = 7 <S> X = 8 <S> Of course, none of that takes into account how easy or difficult a piece can be to play, merely how strong it can be after it's been played. <S> Additionally, the situation can make a piece much stronger; the long bars are excellent for making a long jump into enemy territory, and if they can be played to block an opponents expansion into that area then they're the perfect piece for the moment. <S> In general though, the vertex count gives me a good and easy way to rate pieces. <A> Late in the game, the "best pieces" are the ones you can still play. <S> That will depend on what your opponents have done already,and won't always be the same ones. <S> All the pieces are both "good" and "bad",but in general the ones with lots of corners (like, F and X and W)are <S> "more useful" than those with long straight edges, (like L and I). <S> But every piece has both good and bad qualities, and times it shouldbe used, and times it should be saved. <S> Take for example, the I (or I5 as it called in online games): Good qualities: it takes you as far as possible in one direction, it can cut off an opponent in some situations where no other piece will, because it's the only one that's 5-long. <S> Bad qualities: only 4 corners, so vulnerable to being cut off easily itself those long edges set up nice places for the opponents to play on (called 'leaks') <S> which cannot be blocked by the color of I5. <S> That, and just about every other piece, is a two-edged sword(with the I5 being most sword-like in appearance!) <S> For a detailed look at "The 4 most valuable Pieces"written by an expert player, see http://blokusstrategy.com/?p=470 <S> And for standard piece naming among online players, see http://blokusstrategy.com/?p=48 <S> The previous answer that said the the I4(straight piece 4-long) and O4(square)are the hardest to play was absolutely right. <S> In online games, they arethe most frequently unplayed pieces, with the square failing to play over half the time.
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I've found that the 'better' pieces are the ones with more vertices. Like so many Blokus questions, the answer is: "It depends".
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Can you use a planeswalker ability even if the planeswaker doesn't have enough loyalty? For example Tamiyo, the Moon Sage . Can I use the -8 ability even though she only has 4 loyalty? I understand it would kill her. Or would I have to get 8 loyalty first with the +1 ability? <Q> Wizard's wording on the matter is thus: 606.5. <S> It doesn't specify how those counters get there. <S> It could be through +X abilities, proliferate, or even cool things like Doubling Season . <S> But they must exist on the planeswalker in order to pay the cost. <A> First things first - planeswalkers don't have "life", they have "loyalty counters". <S> Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on the side of the table you're sitting on), you can't play an ability with a negative loyalty cost unless the planeswalker has at least that many loyalty counters on it. <S> See here for this and other official rules for planeswalkers in Magic. <A> This works in the same way as casting a spell/ Activating an ability. <S> In order to do so you must pay its cost. <S> If you don't have the manna for the cost, you cannot cast the spell. <S> The abilities of a Planeswalker require the costs next to them to use them. <S> Even the +1 abilities are a cost. <S> (However, it would be very rare/ impossible to be unable to pay that cost.) <S> -1, -2, -10, etc... <S> costs act the same way but you would require that specific amount of loyalty counters or higher to use them: 606.5. <S> A loyalty ability with a negative loyalty cost can't be activated unless the permanent has at least that many loyalty counters on it.
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A loyalty ability with a negative loyalty cost can't be activated unless the permanent has at least that many loyalty counters on it
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Where can I find the most reliable information on upcoming boardgame releases? Usually I just troll my FLGS to see what new has popped up and that works for me. However, right now I have a pressing need to figure out what games have been recently released, and which will be released very soon. Now I can (and have done) some Google searches to try to figure this out. I'm not looking for answers with barebones information like that. What I'd really like is to hear from people who have been keeping a better eye on game release cycles for a while. What sites or sources of material have you found to be truly reliable? I'm particularly interested in shorter lists of popular hobby games. I don't have a need to hear about new Monopoly expansions or tracking down every Indy game release. <Q> It then lets you sort these by number of people with it on their wishlist, which should give you an idea of how popular they are. <A> The most reliable data is usually to troll the various publishers' websites. <S> For a singular point of information, it varies by game type. <S> Miniatures Games: <S> The Miniatures Page For Board Games and Card Games: Board Game Geek , especially the Recent Releases page. <S> In general, I've found these sites to have excellent notes on upcoming releases. <S> Moreover, many of them have notification services for registered customers. <S> Most list items once they've been solicited for them and submitted an order; if the order is late, they will often pass along information on revised due dates. <S> Another source, albeit one that's even more unreliable, is Kickstarter.com . <S> Search for games on KS, and you'll find out about a lot of forthcoming games... <S> but many of those, you'll need to preorder using KS in order to get them at all. <S> The least reliable, in my experience, has been Amazon.com. <S> I've had items in hand from my FLGS that Amazon says have been either canceled or delayed for several months past the date I bought the item. <A> The new releases section in the Internationale Spieltage is also a very important resource to consider. <S> Basically, if it's not there, it's not going to be available soon.
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Boardgamegeek has a section where you can look at games released within the last 1/3/6 months, as well as unreleased games based on their expected release. Somewhat less reliable: online game retailer websites, such as Boards & Bits , Thoughthammer or Troll and Toad .
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How can I learn to play chess blindfold? I'm an intermediate-level amateur chess player. How would I go about learning how to accurately play a complete game of chess, blindfolded? What skills are needed, and how are they practiced? In particular, how can I maintain an accurate representation in my head of the board state over time? Whenever I've tried this, I get a dozen or so moves in, and it all starts to fall apart. Are there specific techniques or representations to help with this? <Q> I think you have to take a closer look at mnemotechnics. <S> Probably Memory Palace technique in particular. <S> You can read about it here , for example. <S> Here is a discussion about techniques used with Chess games. <S> Mainly about memorizing them. <S> A book called How to develop a perfect memory is suggested reading. <S> If you know Derren Brown <S> (he's British mentalist, a "mind-reader", if you like), he has done a bit about playing 9 simultaneous chess games with top English players. <S> You can watch it on youtube with explanation on how he did it . <S> Of course, he only had to remember 8 moves at a time, but it's still pretty tricky not to get confused. <S> If you are interested, you can read Derren's book Tricks of the Mind , it has whole section about Memory . <S> Best of luck! <A> "I get a dozen or so moves in" Great start! <S> I am another intermediate-level amateur chess player interested in learning blindfold play (because I am told that it can help me in appreciating the role of pawns). <S> Don't worry about inaccuracies or complete visualisation now. <S> Practice is most important in learning most of the skills. <S> And one tip: Play a fixed number(say 12) of moves blindfold, then play a few moves (say 5) in the normal way, then again (say)12 moves blindfold, then (say) 5 normal moves and so on. <S> You will be able to gradually increase the number of moves you play blindfold. <S> This is good when you start practicing blindfold play (that's where I stand now). <S> When you can play a decent number of moves blindfold, you can stop this and play whole games blindfold. <S> Goodluck. <S> PS: <S> Having accurate representations of positions in your head is not possible even for blindfold experts. <S> People who studied the skill of blindfold play does not associate it much with visual memory! <S> The book Blindfold chess by Eliot Hearst and John Knott shares truths like this and give useful techniques to develop blindfold skill. <A> I basically agree with Cyriac, but have one added training twist. <S> That is, I try to read accounts of games without the use of a board. <S> That is a test of one's memory. <S> Of course, everyone knows how the board looks at the beginning. <S> Say White moves 1. <S> e4, Black e5. <S> That's just a standard king's pawn opening. <S> Say the next moves are 2. <S> Nf3, Nc6. <S> Now you know that you are heading for a Ruy Lopez, or maybe a Guoco Piano or <S> Four Knights' Game. <S> The next move seals it; 3. <S> Bb5 a6. <S> Now it is a Ruy Lopez. <S> Play the game in your head, from the "score" without looking at a board. <S> One help in most chess books is that there is a diagram every 20 moves or so. <S> Say you are fine up to move 12, and then get lost. <S> Then look at the diagram. <S> You can use it to "look ahead" to the 21st, 22nd, 23rd move, etc. <S> But also, "retrace the moves. <S> What did the board look like at the end of move 19 before the 20th moves were played? <S> How about move 18? <S> Go back to move 17, working back toward the picture you had at move 12. <S> Try to "reconcile the two pictures. <S> You might work up to move 12, and backward from move 20 to move 15. <S> Then you might need to play out moves 13-14 on a board. <S> But use this only as a stopgap and train your memory and visualization skills. <S> One way to train yourself to play blind is to (initially) allow yourself a look at various intervals, say move 15, move 25, move 35, etc. <S> Then lengthen the intervals so you can play a game blind. <S> I have deliberately NOT included diagrams to illustrate the thought process.
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My advice is try playing blindfold to weaker players.
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Rival Executioner draws Robespierre...does this end the day? The Rival Executioner card requires that, upon his execution, you take the noble from the top of the deck and "collect" it. My friend drew Robespierre, who, when collected, ends the day. We didn't like the way it affected the game (my friend was in second place, and it was day three), so we let it go. But I'm still curious...do you reap the side effects of the card drawn after beheading the Rival Executioner? Rival Executioner reads: Collect the top noble of the noble deck after you collect this noble Robespierre reads: The day ends after you collect this noble. Discard any nobles remaining in line. <Q> Yes, you end the day if you collect Robespierre via the Rival Executioner. <S> The game only has one verb for the process of operating the guillotine: "collect." <S> When a noble is collected, you do all of the side-effects of that noble. <S> Guillotine is a mix of tactics and luck, so drawing Robespierre due to the Rival Executioner is well in line with the way the game typically plays out. <A> This is a very simple, but extremely fun game due to it's luck and unpredictability, if you take that away, you are taking the soul of the game away. <S> There's always another round to play and many more chances to play again. <A> Yes , as others have said. <S> The trigger word is "collect" which applies regardless of where you collect the noble from. <S> It's also worth mentioning that there are other cards that also have effects regardless of where you collect them from, such as the Fast Noble , who allows you to collect an extra noble from the line.
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Yes, you have to follow the rules and end the day.
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Does the Battlestar Galactica game spoil the TV series? I've watched the first few episodes of Battlestar Galactica, and a friend recently got the game. We love The Resistance, and I'm eager to try a similarly deceptive game with more going on than just deception. But, I don't want to spoil the suspense of the TV show. Do I need to watch more before I play the game? <Q> Absolutely (Very) broadly speaking, the base game spoils Season 1, Pegasus spoils Season 2 (and the start of Season 3) and Exodus spoils Seasons 3 and 4. <S> At least one exception to this that I can remember is that one Pegasus character's card spoils an event in Season 4. <S> (Spoiler follows) <S> Dualla's disadvantage <S> Having said that, I've played with multiple people who were watching the series at the same time. <S> As long as you're roughly half-way through the first season, you should be (mostly) fine for the base set (as long as you don't read too much flavour text!). <S> I'd hold off on the expansions until you've seen a lot more though. <A> If you have watched the mini series, and the first disk of Season 2.0 you will be.fine. <S> The Battlestar Galactica expansions contain spoilers that go well into the 4th season. <S> As for some specifics (SPOILERS) Cylon Sympathizer card image, Helo character card, Adama is an Admiral.... <A> Yes. <S> I will not link to specific examples because that would defeat the purpose of not spoiling, but the the Crises cards encountered, character abilities,and still-frames chosen to illustrate the cards contain major spoilers as to events, identities, and loyalties of various characters. <S> I don't remember how far in the series the Pegasus and Exodus expansions span. <A> The best you can do is to say that a game will be "minimal spoilers" as opposed to "no spoilers". <S> Problem is, someone who's more perceptive in observation and putting two and two together will notice things that give away plot points, personalities, and situations from the various cards. <S> Hell, many of the crisis cards depict struggles in the TV show, with some of them the actual names or the main plot of the episodes themselves. <S> Even just looking at the box front, backs, and reading the game description will do that too! <S> If you want to reduce the # of spoilers, have everyone watch at least the miniseries before playing the base game. <S> Otherwise: mini-series = decent chunk of the base game season one = roughly base game. <S> Do NOT read flavor text in this case! <S> Season 2 = <S> Pegasus season 3 = <S> Exodus Season 4 = <S> Daybreak Note though that some of the stuff does spill over, hence the "roughly". <S> For example, there was probably a crisis cards in Pegasus that was actually a season 3 occurrence.
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The base game contains several spoilers that are not completely revealed until you finish the first season, and a couple of episodes into Season 2. Once you have seen all of Season 1, you are clear to play the base game.
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How is the board game version of Words With Friends different from Scrabble? I like to play a game called Words With Friends, which is a freenium version of Scrabble. I thought it was however functionally the same. However, I've just seen that Zynga, the creators of the game, have released a boardgame version. Here is a picture: How does this compare to Scrabble? What are the differences? <Q> Words With Friends: <S> Scrabble: <S> Also, the distribution and points scored for the letters in Words With Friends is slightly different to Scrabble . <S> For example, B and C score 3 points in Scrabble, but 4 points in Words With Friends. <A> The tile distribution is different, as are the tile values. <S> Scrabble WWF Letter (#, Value) (#, <S> Value)A (9,1) (9,1)B (2,3) (2,4)C (2,3) (2,4)D (4,2) (5,2)E (12,1) <S> (13,1)F (2,4) (2,4)G (3,2) (3,3)H (2,4) (4,3)I (9,1) (8,1)J (1,8) (1,10)K (1,5) (1,5)L (4,1) (4,2)M (2,3) ( <S> 2,4)N (6,1) (5,2)O (8,1) (8,1)P (2,3) (2,4)Q (1,10) (1,10)R (6,1) (6,1)S (4,1) (5,1)T (6,1) (7,1)U (4,1) <S> (4,2)V (2,4) (2,5)W (2,4) (2,4)X (1,8) (1,8)Y (2,4) (2,3)Z (1,10) (1,10)Blank (2,0) (2,0) <A> Another difference, that actually has a bigger impact on strategy, is that the BINGO bonus (the bonus for playing all 7 tiles in one move) is reduced from 50 to 35. <S> Together with the placement of the bonus squares (see above) often allowing quadruple letter words and 9-time scoring letters (12 if placed also in both directions), you can sometimes score higher by good placement rather than bingos. <A> Here is a link . <S> If you cannot access that page, let me explain it below: <S> The Scrabble grid looks like this: (P for red cells, B for pink cells, T for blue cells, and D for light blue cells.) <S> P--D---P---D--P-B---T--- <S> T--- <S> B---B--- <S> D-D---B--D--B---D---B--D----B-----B-----T--- <S> T---T---T---D--- <S> D-D---D-- <S> P--D--(B)--D--P--D--- <S> D-D--- <S> D---T---T---T--- <S> T-----B-----B----D-- <S> B---D---B--D--B--- <S> D-D--- <S> B--- <S> B---T---T---B-P--D--- <S> P---D--P <S> The Words With Friends board looks like: ---P--T-T-- <S> P-----D <S> --B---B--D---D-- <S> D-----D-- <S> D-P--T--- <S> B---T--P--D--- <S> D-D--- <S> D--- <S> B---T---T---B-T <S> ---D-----D--- <S> T--- <S> B--(-)--B---T---D-----D---T-B--- <S> T---T---B---D--- <S> D-D--- <S> D-P--T---B---T--P-D-- <S> D-----D--D--- <S> D-- <S> B---B--D-----P--T-T--P--- <S> Letter Distributions: <S> (S=Scrabble, W=Words with friends) Letters ? <S> A B C D <S> E F G H <S> I <S> J K L M N <S> O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZS count 2 9 2 2 4 12 2 3 2 9 1 1 4 2 6 8 2 1 6 4 6 4 2 2 1 2 1S score 0 <S> 1 3 3 2 1 4 2 4 1 8 5 1 3 1 1 3 10 1 1 1 1 4 4 8 4 10W count <S> 2 9 2 2 5 13 2 3 4 <S> 8 <S> 1 1 4 2 5 <S> 8 2 1 6 5 7 4 2 2 1 2 1W score 0 1 4 4 2 1 4 3 3 1 10 5 2 4 2 1 4 10 1 1 1 2 5 4 8 <S> 3 10 Other differences: - Scrabble uses the OWL2 dictionary, while Words with friends uses ENABLE. <S> - BINGO (using up all seven tiles from your hand) gives you 50 points on S, while 35 points on W. - S's center square is a Double Word Square, while W's center square is regular. <S> - On Mobile S Apps, they show your score for the whole game. <S> But on the W app, they don't.
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The board layout - the positioning of the bonus squares is different.
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Avoiding stealing a resource when moving the robber in Catan Is it allowed to move the robber, but not take a random resource from another player? Avoiding stealing a resource may sound odd. One reason you might want to: you need to play a soldier card to move the robber, both to block another player from getting resources and to remove the robber from a vital hex for yourself. However, you already have seven cards in hand, and gaining one would put you at risk of discarding if a seven is rolled afterwards. There are a few more related special cases: Can you move the robber to the hex with no adjacent settlements (no stealing)? What if the only player whose city is adjacent to hex of your choosing has no resources - can you move the robber there? What if there are two cities adjacent from two players, but only one of them has resources - do you have to steal one from him or can you choose to steal from the player with empty hand? <Q> Answering the question and its follow-ups: <S> In general, you are not allowed to decline to take a resource. <S> Page 12 of the rules gives a more detailed explanation of the rule Pat Ludwig cited. <S> There is no option about whether or not to take a resource card if you place the robber next to a city/settlement of one or more players, all of whom have at least one resource card. <S> However, as the answers to your other questions will indicate, you can may have some tactics to wiggle out of this requirement if you really want to move the robber away but not get your (presumably 8th) resource. <S> P. 12 again states, " <S> You must move the robber away from his current spot andonto the number token of any other terrain hex." <S> (p. 11 clarifies that the desert is legal even though it does not contain a number token.) <S> Any other indicates that a hex is legal even if it contains no neighbors that have a stealable resource. <S> Yes, you can deliberately choose to steal from a player who has no resources. <S> Again from p. 12: <S> If there are 2 or more such players, you may choose your victim. <S> The player you elect to rob keeps his cards face down while you take 1 of his cards at random. <S> If he has no cards, you get nothing! <A> See “Rolling a ‘7’ and Activating the Robber” above and follow steps 1 and 2. <S> Step 1 tells you how to move the robber. <S> Step 2 tells you to randomly take a card. <S> These are the rules of the game and they're quite clear. <S> It certain cases it is understandable not to want to take a card. <S> Absent a rule allowing that, you must take the card. <A> Yes, in some cases, but you'd have to work at it. <S> You can move the robber to a hex that is not adjacent to anyone. <S> Even to the desert (this wasn't always the case.) <S> You can move the robber next to someone who has no cards and choose to steal from them, even if the robber is also next to someone who has cards. <S> What you can't do is move the robber next to someone and choose not to steal resources from them. <S> The exact steps are: Pick a new hex for the Robber and move it there. <S> Pick someone with an adjacent settlement or city. <S> Take one random resource from them. <A> Yes, you can avoid taking a card. <S> The rules state you have to: Move the Robber to any other hex <S> Take 1 resource card at random from a player who has a city or settlement adjacent to that hex. <S> It does not specify that that player cannot be you! <S> This means if you really don't want a card you can place the robber either: <S> On a hex with no players <S> On a hex where at least one player has no cards <S> On a hex where you have a settlement <S> This would only be in your interests if you were playing a soldier card before rolling the dice, and the currently robbered hex offered you a greater chance of winning this turn than rolling any other number and taking a random card from another player.
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Yes, you can deliberately place the robber in a spot where you will not able to steal a card. No , From the rules : If you play a Knight Card, you must immediately move the robber.
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Scrabble variation: use double and triple word scores (but not double/triple letter scores) twice? Is there a popular Scrabble variation that: lets you play double/triple word scores twice, once vertically and once horizontally? does NOT let you play double/triple letter scores twice? This is how I've always played, so it surprised me to learn that official Scrabble rules do NOT permit using double/triple word scores twice. Perhaps this was true in an older version of Scrabble (I started playing in the 70s). <Q> I searched Changes to the Box Top Rules, 1949 - 1999 and found the following clarification was made in 1953: 1953: If a word is formed that covers two premium WORD squares, the score is doubled and then re-doubled (4 times letter count), or tripled and then re-tripled (9 times letter count) as the case may be. <S> Nowhere in the rules was there any mention of being able to use the same premium square twice. <S> The Diamond Anniversary Edition rules includes some interesting variations, but does not mention your scoring rules. <S> Personally, I would find your scoring variation confusing and prone to error, since Scrabble tiles are not transparent, and therefore a novice may have trouble realizing that they are reusing a premium word square. <A> I have certainly played Scrabble games with people that thought you could re-use bonus squares, though I haven't heard of the distinction you make between word and letter bonus squares. <S> I think this is not so much a common variation as it is a common misconception (like Free Parking in Monopoly). <S> I have had reasonably-good success weaning people of their attachment to this non-rule by purposely making solid blocks of tiles that have to be carefully lifted and replaced for every word I play :-) <A> Your question isn't completely clear. <S> Once a word has been played. <S> the bonus can't be used again in a later turn, for whatever reason. <S> If, however, you play a letter that makes one word across and another word down (usually filling in a block of four), then you score both words; if the letter is on a bonus square, presumably you count the bonus twice. <A> Does that make it alright? <S> Sure, if every player participating preemptively agrees upon it, <S> much like they must agree to limitations of time, specify what book will settle their disputes should they arise and so forth. <S> Does that make it wrong? <S> Technically, yes it is incorrect but who cares? <S> Anyone considering playing this way is obviously no Joe Edley <S> so naturally they wouldn't! <S> The beauty of Scrabble lay in its malleable nature! <S> In no two parts of the world are there identical rules and conventions set in place that agree with the next game's set of rules; Everybody uses a different dictionary. <S> Everybody subscribes to their own personal rendition of the game. <S> I have encountered many people over my lifetime of scrabble who have been confused and or were insistent on this variation you bring to light being The Rule. <S> Though I do not agree that this is a proper rule of the game as its creators and overseers have seen fit to include - I do not see any just cause for stifling your own enjoyment of the game!!! <S> I say play it however the hell you please and let no other signal guide than those variantions that move you :*) <A> I'm playing right now. <S> And the rules state it CAN be done. <S> Rule 7. <S> When two or more words are formed in the same play, each is scored. <S> The common letter is counted (with FULL premium value, if any) for EACH word.
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To answer your question directly - yes, I have come across many people, many times, who were unsure or even adamant that bonus squares should be considered following their intial play.
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Is it possible to counter cards that boost a creatures power during the combat phase? For example, if someone attacks with a 3/3 creature, and you have a 5/5 creature that will ultimately block and destroy his creature. If they boosts their creature with a +3/+3 spell, can you counter the spell?If they boost their creature with an equipment card, during his combat attack phase, can you counter that? What, if anything, does this have to do with the "Stack"? <Q> It depends on what he's doing, and what you have available. <S> If your opponent has a card like Serra Avenger , which is a 3/3, and he attempts to cast Giant Growth , giving the avenger +3/+3 until end of turn, then you can counter that with a spell like Cancel or by activating the ability of Judge's Familiar (assuming he can't or chooses not to pay the cost associated with the familiar). <S> Otherwise, the aveneger, now a 6/6, will swallow a 5/5 in combat. <S> Note that he can cast the Giant Growth during his attackers step, or during your blockers step (after you've declared blockers). <S> Consider the following scenario: <S> Him: delcare attacks Him: declare Aveneger as attacker You: block with Thundermaw Hellkite , a 5/5 Him: <S> cast Giant Growth on Avenenger <S> Result: <S> Aveneger, 6/6 lives, has 5 damage on it, and Hellkite is dead <S> It's important to note that this is not equipment, but an instant speed spell. <S> Equipment plays by different rules: here's how those scenarios might play out. <S> If your opponent has a card like Manaforce Mace <S> then he can't equip that during his combat phase, because he can only attach it at sorcery speed. <S> But if you had three basic land types, then you'd have +3/+3 allowing you to take out the Hellkite in the above scenario. <S> Note that this wouldn't really be a surprise like the Giant Growth would be, because you'd have to do this during combat. <S> If your opponent has a card like Cranial Plating <S> then he could equip that during his combat phase with the activated ability. <S> You can counter this only if you have something that allows you to counter abilities (not spells), for example Stifle <S> Another option would be something that allows equipment at instant speed, like Brass Squire . <S> You could do this: Him: delcare attacks Him: declare Aveneger as attacker You: block with Thundermaw Hellkite , a 5/5 Him: <S> tap Brass Squire, attaching Manaforce Mace (which was already on the field, not from your hand, and assuming you have 3 basic land types) to Avenger. <S> Result: <S> Aveneger, 6/6 lives, has 5 damage on it, and Hellkite is dead <A> using the term 'equipment card' in your question is confusing. <S> Is your opponent using an instant/sorcery spell to provide the +3/+3 or an actual equipment artifact? <S> Because of this confusion, I will answer this question as if your opponent boosted his creature before attacking. <S> (same stack rules will apply, but in almost all cases your opponent will not be able to play socercys or use equipt abilities [other abilities that boost power and toughness are still available]) <S> If the opponent is boosting his creature by use the 'equipt' ability of an artifact he controls (or any ability on a permanent), NO, you cannot play a counterspell. <S> You can however play a different spell that would destroy or remove the artifact from his creature and then block. <A> Before I answer, I'm not sure that you understand what a spell is, so I'm going to cover that first. <S> My apologies if you know. <S> A spell is a card on a stack, which is to say a card that has been cast but hasn't yet resolved, hasn't been countered and hasn't otherwise left the stack. <S> e.g. <S> If you cast Llanowar Elves , it is a spell from the time you take it out of your hand until it enters the battlefield. <S> e.g. <S> If you cast Giant Growth , it is a spell from the time you take it out of your hand until it resolves to give a +3/+3 bonus to a creature. <S> A continuous effect is not a spell. <S> e.g. <S> The +3/+3 granted by Giant Growth is not a spell. <S> Cards on the battlefield are not spells. <S> e.g. <S> An artifact attached to a creature is not spell. <S> Now on to the questions. <S> If they boosts their creature with a +3/+3 spell, can you counter the spell? <S> Depends on the spell you used to counter. <S> Counterspell : <S> Yes. <S> Dispel : <S> Yes. <S> Bone to Ash : <S> No. <S> If they boost their creature with an equipment card, during his combat attack phase, can you counter that? <S> It's not clear what you mean. <S> If they are casting an Equipment spell, you can counter that. <S> They wouldn't normally be allowed to do cast an Equipment spell in the Combat Phase, though. <S> If they are using the Equip ability Equipment, you can counter that, there are a very few cards (e.g. Stifle ) that can do it. <S> They wouldn't normally be allowed to use Equip in the Combat Phase, though. <S> If they are attaching the Equipment using an ability other than Equip (e.g. Brass Squire 's), Stifle would do the trick again. <S> Keep in mind that you can't counter permanents (objects on the battlefield) and the effects of their static abilities (e.g. Bladed Bracers 's +1/+1), just abilities on the stack and spells.
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If the opponent is casting an instant/sorcery spell to provide the +3/+3 the answer is YES, you can play a counterspell and then block and destroy his creature.
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When should a player decide to fold in Texas Hold'em Poker? In Texas Hold'em poker, when it is a player's turn, he tries to make a best hand out of his hole cards (private cards) and the communal cards. Now my question is: On what factors does he decide to add more chips and play for the next round or fold? <Q> It's a hard question to answer, and depends on the player's style and whether the player likes to bluff, as well as the style and skill of the other players. <S> If I don't have decent hole cards (low cards or nothing matching) <S> I fold. <S> I might risk it if I'm one of the blinds, but if I'm raised I'll fold. <S> If I have a decent starting hand I usually wait for the flop. <S> In my opinion you should bet based on the strength of your cards. <S> Generally speaking, the games I've won have always been ones where I've consistently been conservative, and I find the same applies to my opponents. <S> By conservative I mean don't bet unless you're sure the odds are in your favor. <S> For more on odds, read this article . <A> The general concept here is known as "pot odds". <S> The basic goal is to figure out your probability of winning, and then compare the amount of money to "call" to the total amount of money you would win if you are successful. <S> Neither of those are known values though, so you need to do your best to guess what they are. <S> That requires both thinking about both the probability of upcoming cards that might improve your hand, as well as what hands you opponents might be able to create based on their private cards and upcoming cards. <S> All of this ignores the idea the concepts of bluffing as well as the fact that you often want to raise people if you feel you have better pot odds than them, to raise the amount of money you can potentially win and to decrease the chance that they stay in the pot and win on a lucky card on the river. <S> So you can imagine that many books have been written on this subject, and thus it is impossible to give a complete answer on a site like this. <A> I can think of two reasons why someone would decide to add more chips: <S> He thinks he has the best hand at the table (he wants to win a large pot). <S> He thinks he can convince others that he has the best hand at the table (he wants the stakes to be too high for others to continue). <A> A player "folds" when someone bets and he decides he can't win. <S> The players at the table can't be bluffed out (particularly in limit), and are not known for playing hands worse than the player holds.
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He may have a bad hand, with "long odds" to improve, and there are one or more bets from players that seem to have a better hand.
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Should I buy Gold or Hoard? Hoard is a treasure worth 2 that also reads: While this is in play, when you buy a Victory card, gain a Gold. It costs the same as a Gold (i.e. 6) and while it's not immediately worth as much as a Gold, it obviously generates Golds. I get the impression that Hoard is suited to being bought under specific conditions and at specific points in a game. What should I consider when choosing between Gold and Hoard? <Q> One common mistake people make is picking up a Hoard right away, and then buying a Duchy (or even Estate) to get the extra Gold. <S> When you do that, you have added 3 cards to your deck, for a total of $5 money. <S> That's less money-per-card than just a Silver gives you! <S> Each time you buy a Duchy and get a Gold, you're adding 2 cards for $3 money... again, worse than Silver. <S> But Hoard certainly has it's place. <S> If there are other useful Victory Cards, like Island or Tunnel or Nobles, then Hoard becomes great. <S> Also, if you think that it's likely that a Gold would give you $9 to spend on the turn you see it, then Hoard will probably be better, because then you'll have $8 to spend, which is still enough for a Province. <S> To figure out how likely it is that you'll be able to get a Province, it really depends on the rest of your deck. <S> If you have lots of other money, or you have a good engine that can draw a lot of cards, then it's a pretty safe bet usually that buying Hoard over Gold won't cost you that Province. <S> A general rule of thumb that I personally follow on most boards is to buy a Gold first, and <S> then Hoards after that. <S> Here's a good article on Hoard strategy: http://dominionstrategy.com/2010/12/02/prosperity-hoard/ <A> Buy hoard when you plan to buy victory cards early or often. <S> Hoard is a great card to pick up if there are victory cards in the kingdom cards that interest you. <S> Don't buy it when you think the game will end with you just having your share of provinces/colonies. <S> These are expensive, meaning you will need the extra $1 from the gold. <S> also, you will likely buy these too late in the game to make use of the extra gold in your deck. <A> The usefulness of Hoard depends on a few things: <S> If there are any dual-type Victory cards (Great Hall, Nobles, Harem, Island, Tunnel, etc...) in play, buy those with Hoard. <S> Are there any cards that let you trash cards in play? <S> If so, buy Estates and Duchies, then trash them later. <S> This works even better if you have multiple buys, as Horde applies to every Buy while it's in play. <S> Bishop (2 VP for trashing Estates, 3 VP for trashing Duchies) or Expand are the best two trashing cards for this strategy, but things like Remodel work almost as well. <S> Are there any special Victory cards in play (Gardens, Silk Road, Feodum)? <S> Buying those with the Hoard works fairly well, although this works better in late game. <S> Are there any cards that let you draw multiple cards? <S> If you can gain enough other money, you can buy Provinces and Colonies with your Hoard(s) in play. <S> As an example of #2, if you have 2 Hoards and a card that gives you a second Buy, buying two Estates gives you 4 Golds.
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In end game, if you have a lot of money, adding a Hoard can't hurt as every time you buy a Province/Colony with the Hoard out, you add another money card to help offset the additional Victory card in your deck.
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Is there any economical game which demonstrates social-democratic economy rather than capitalism? As much as I enjoy games like Monopoly or Settelers of Catan, I'm very concerned about the way these games affect players' concept of economy, as they demonstrate extremly capitalistic economical rules where the goal of each individual is to financially crush his/her friends. I know that since competition is an important factor in many games, the use of capitalism is natural, but I'd anyway like to find out about any economical board games that demonstrate a different approach. <Q> Puerto Rico is an economic game but it's hardly purely capitalistic. <S> While you can trade goods for money, you get at least half if not more of your victory points by shipping goods, and each type of good is worth one victory point regardless of value. <S> However, I'm not sure what you mean <S> when you say Catan is capitalist. <S> It's a pre-capitalist barter economy with no money. <S> You use raw materials to build settlements and roads, and there is no mention of leveraging worker's labor to maximize your personal wealth. <S> Perhaps you are conflating capitlism with societal /economic competition, which is not remotely the same thing. <A> You may want to look at Indonesia. <S> It's still outwardly capitalistic, but the concept of cooperation, mergers, and acquisitions gives you an alternative route to achieving your objectives. <S> It's a shipping game, and you can play as a production company, a shipping company, or a combination of both. <S> Production companies must to rely on shipping companies to deliver their goods to cities, and must pay fees for using their network. <S> This means you might have to rely on other players depending on your strategy, and other players will have to depend on you for their shipping companies to work. <S> This setup makes for a very dynamic distribution of wealth within the game. <S> Mergers and acquisitions happen when companies start to combine on the board based on the division of land or shipping routes. <S> This allows you to create bigger and more efficient shipping lines. <S> There's a nice rundown of the game on YouTube . <A> Since games usually need a winner, crushing your opponent is often just part of the process. <S> This is why I sometimes like to play cooperative games. <A> Like most other decisions in Chicken caesar , the tax rate is determined in a democratic way. <A> There is the " Anti-Monopoly " which gets the game origins of the Monopoly, i.e. the Landlord's game. <A> The fact that the economic part is important but not predominant make 7 Wonder kind a more Social-democratic game than capitalism, since money is not the main objective of the game. <S> Plus, giving the choice you tend to buy resources from a poorer civilization. <S> Another game, which doesn't have economic dynamic at all, but do have <S> a gameplay dynamic involving democratic resolution which tend to lean forward social-democratic behaviour is Mafia, surprising as it is considering the name. <S> At the start of the game, the townpeoples do have their own destiny in hand, it's their choices, base on a ballot, that will eventually dictate the outcome of the game.
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My favorite is currently Pandemic , but it is not an economic game like Monopoly/Catan (Pandemic's economic component consists mostly of making efficient use of limited actions and limited turns ).
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What (if any) is the relationship between your Active and In Decline race? If the special power of the active race pertains to regions occupied by the race you have in decline, are you allowed to collect coins for that? For example, you control the Iron Dwarves which are in decline and occupy Mining regions. Your new Active race are Mining Drow. Can you collect extra coins for the Mining regions that the Iron Dwarves occupy even though it's the Drow special power that allows you to collect extra coins for occupied mining regions? What is the relationship between races that are Active and In Decline? Can your Active race occupy a region that's already occupied by a race you have in Decline? <Q> No, powers cannot be shared between races. <S> They are specific to one race only. <S> Sometimes though, powers carry on in to decline. <S> When you flip over your race/power tokens to go in to decline, it usually has symbols or graphics on the back that show what powers remain in decline. <S> If it is just blank then you have no decline powers <S> (See backside of <S> Dwarves, Ghouls, and Trolls race cards here (Courtesy of BoardGameGeek.com). <S> See also spirit power). <S> However, these decline advantages are still specific to that particular race. <S> For the second question, how does an active race occupy a region owned by your race in decline?.. <S> Page 4, section 2, 2nd Column, says: A player may choose to conquer a Region occupied by his own In Decline token, if he wishes to: He will lose that token, but might gain access to a Region that is more profitable for his new Active Race tokens to occupy. <S> This is the only for your active race to occupy a region in control of your decline race. <S> The same rules apply as conquering any other region. <A> No, Races have only one Special Power badge associated with them. <S> You will see it referred to as a Race and Special Power combo throughout the rules . <S> Races in decline usually lose their Special Power badge. <S> (excerpt from Entering In Decline , page 8). <S> The relationship between your Active and in-Decline races is that you score Victory coins for the regions both occupy at the end of each of your turns. <S> To do so, the player flips his current Race banner upside down, so that the duotone In Decline side becomes visible to all, and discards the Special Power badge that was associated with it as that Special Power badge is no longer in effect, unless dictated otherwise (e.g. Muddy, Reborn, Royal, etc…). <S> Your Active Race cannot occupy your In-Decline race without conquering its Region (and discarding the in-decline race token). <S> Nothing prevents you from attacking your in-decline race as noted on page 6. <S> Note: <S> A player may choose to conquer a Region occupied by his own In Decline token, if he wishes to: He will lose the tokens, but might gain access to a Region that is more profitable for his new Active Race to occupy. <A> The only relationship (unless a specific power says otherwise) is that they both give money to you. <S> They don't interact, so your Drow example would garner no extra income. <S> For you second question the answer is simple, you occupy the region the same way anyone else would, exterminate* the in decline race there and take it. <S> * <S> Sorry, I've been watching a lot of Doctor <S> Who lately. <A> The only relationships are that... <S> both pay you victory points <S> /coins <S> when your active race goes into decline, your prior in-decline race goes away. <S> Each race's special powers are explicitly only for the race they are on. <S> Each Special Power badge gives a unique benefit to the race it is associated with. <S> (p. 8) <S> and The Races <S> The list that follows details the benefit(s) conferred to each race; the number of matching Race tokens received when selecting <S> this Race banner is indicated by the numerical value listed on the banner. <S> (p. 9) <S> and Special Powers <S> In the description of Special Powers that follow, when we use the term "you" or "your", we mean the Race tokens of your race associated with this Special Power. <S> Unless explicitly stated otherwise, this usually excludes any token In Decline from your earlier race. <S> (p. 11) <S> Note that the only power that affects another in-decline race in the base box is "Spirit" and then only by virtue of not eliminating it when the spirit race goes into decline.
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A Race does not share its Special Power with any other Race. The only relationship between your Active and In-Decline races is that you score Victory coins for both of them.
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Where do Auras go when a card is put on top of its owner's library? Say a player casts a card that returns a permanent to the top of owner's library, for example Banishment Decree , and the targeted creature card he chooses has two Auras enchanting it. Where do the Aura enchantments go, to the players hand, graveyard or library? <Q> It goes to the graveyard. <S> You seem to be under the misconception that Auras follow the permanent to which they are attached to the graveyard. <S> That's not the case. <S> It's just a coincidence that both end up in the same place. <S> When an object changes zone (e.g. goes from the battlefield to the graveyard), it becomes a brand new object. <S> The original object ceases to exist, and a new one is created in the new zone. <S> 400.7. <S> An object that moves from one zone to another becomes a new object with no memory of, or relation to, its previous existence. <S> There are seven exceptions to this rule: [...] <S> No matter whether the enchanted permanent goes to the graveyard or to the player's library, the object the Aura was enchanting has ceased to exist. <S> The game doesn't tolerate that since Auras are suppose to enchant something, so it sends the Aura to the graveyard. <S> 303.4c <S> If an Aura is enchanting an illegal object or player as defined by its enchant ability and other applicable effects, <S> the object it was attached to no longer exists , or the player it was attached to has left the game, the Aura is put into its owner’s graveyard. <S> (This is a state-based action. <S> See rule 704.) <S> If it was an Equipment or Fortification instead, it would remain on the battlefield unattached. <S> 704.5p <S> If an Equipment or Fortification is attached to an illegal permanent, it becomes unattached from that permanent. <S> It remains on the battlefield. <A> Bold is mine. <S> 303.4c <S> If an Aura is enchanting an illegal object or player as defined by its enchant ability and other applicable effects, <S> the object it was attached to no longer exists , or the player it was attached to has left the game, the Aura is put into its owner's graveyard. <S> (This is a state-based action. <S> See rule 704.) <S> Some popular cards, like Rancor and Angelic Destiny , may appear to violate this rule. <S> There are a number of cards that have triggers that will pop the Aura out of the graveyard and send it to your hand. <S> Many players will take the shortcut of simply taking the card from the battlefield to their hand instead of taking the intermediate step of putting it in the graveyard. <S> If there's any confusion about such a short cut, make sure to ask your opponent or call a judge, because you do have an opportunity to respond before the trigger resolves while the card is still in the graveyard. <S> Also, if you were referring to another enchantment type you'll have to clarify. <S> As far as I'm aware, only Auras can attach to creatures and other permanents. <A> If an object ceases to exist, and creatures can only exist on the battlefield, <S> any Auras attached to the creature are placed in their owner's graveyard as a state-based action. <S> 303.4c <S> If an Aura is enchanting an illegal object or player as defined by its enchant ability and other applicable effects, the object it was attached to no longer exists, or the player it was attached to has left the game, the Aura is put into its owner’s graveyard. <S> (This is a state-based action. <S> See rule 704.)
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Assuming when you say 'Enchantment' you specifically mean 'Aura', they are sent to the graveyard.
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What is the maximum allowed number of repeats in a Pokémon deck? I've realised that, when playing Pokémon, the trick to winning is to evolve your Pokémon. This takes a bit of luck, in that you have to have the first level Pokemon on the table, then you have to have drawn its corresponding first evolve card, and then you have to have drawn its second evolve card. So, if I want to create the ultimate Pokémon deck, I'd simply buy 5 water type decks, then assemble a deck containing 25 Totodiles, 10 Croconaws and 10 Feraligatrs. It would make for a less interesting game, but I'm guaranteed to evolve my Pokémon, and my opponent doesn't have a chance unless he does the same thing I do. I wouldn't be the first person to have thought of this. Is there an official rule specifying the maximum number of any one Pokémon in your deck? <Q> The official website does have the rules , and the maximum limit for any card is 4 , unless the format restricts the card further. <S> 1.1 <S> Constructed - <S> In a Constructed event, players arrive at the tournament with a 60-card deck. <S> The cards used to build the deck come from each player's personal collection. <S> Some cards may have additional construction restrictions on them, which are treated as exceptions to the 4-copy rule. <S> Matches are played for 6 Prize cards. <A> The short answer is four cards of each name, for a sensible deck. <S> This is similar to the equivalent rule for Magic: The Gathering. <S> Quoting from the unofficial rulebook : <S> 100.2 <S> A deck for Constructed Play can include a total of only four copies of any card with the same name. <S> Basic Energy cards are an exception to this rule. <S> Decks can include any number of Basic Energy cards. <S> Decks for Limited Play can include any number of cards with the same name. <S> You can find this four card ruling repeated in many places on the internet, but definitive rules for Pokemon are scattered among the many theme decks, so it's a bit of a pain to find an official ruling. <S> The rulebook I've quoted here, while not official, is reviewed by tournament judges and the Pokemon TCG community as a whole. <A> For a constructed deck format, the maximum is four cards, except for the newish Prism Star cards (all quotes from the current official <S> Play Pokémon rules <S> ): <S> Decks may not contain more than 4 copies of a single card, as defined by the card’s English title, with the standard exception for basic Energy cards. <S> Some cards may have additional construction restrictions on them, which are treated as exceptions to the 4-copy rule. <S> Prism star have a limitation of just one card per deck (this is printed on the card). <S> "Ace Spec" cards are similar to Prism Star cards. <S> For a limited format, there are different rules. <S> For sealed deck (often used for pre-release events), and for booster draft games, you may have more than four copies of a non-basic energy card, excepting again Prism Star cards and similar: <S> Unlike Constructed, a Limited deck may contain more than 4 copies of a single card, as defined by the card’s English title, with the exception of cards that are limited to one per deck by card text. <S> There are some additional rulings that are helpful to know. <S> Cards that have the same name are the same, even with different abilities. <S> But when the name is different - the "GX" version, for example, versus regular, or Alolan Rattata vs. Rattata, or similar - you may have four of each . <S> These are explained in the appendices of the Rulebook . <A> In the official Pokemon Trading Card Game Rules, it is stated that only four copies of a single Pokemon is allowed within a deck, and that also applies for special energy and trainer cards. <S> However, Basic energy is unlimited within a deck, up to 59 ( because there must be at least one Pokemon in a deck.
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Decks may not contain more than 4 copies of a single card , as defined by the card's English title, with the standard exception for basic Energy cards.
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How can I practice my opening leads in bridge? After playing bridge for several months, I feel my declarer play and bidding have improved to a beginner-intermediate level. However, I think my skill at making an opening lead is that of a novice at best. I have memorized some basic rules about evaluating my hand and inspecting the bidding for clues (and plan to do plenty of additional reading), but I'm curious if there are any good ways to practice my opening leads. With bidding and declarer play I can get quick feedback on whether my choices were good or bad, but with opening leads I rarely have any idea if my lead was brilliant, average, or terrible even after the hand is over. How can I tell if I made a good lead or a poor lead? I could examine what gives the best score after recording the cards of all players, but I still won't be able to tell if discovering that lead would be possible without knowing everyone's cards. Is there slightly more guesswork in opening leads than in the rest of bridge? When I find two leads that seem to be equally good, sometimes I just pick one at random. Obviously professionals would be able to evaluate leads far better than I could, but do they sometimes encounter the same situation and do a mental coin-flip? <Q> Evaluating opening leads objectively can be very difficult. <S> In fact, it would be hard to do so without doing an extensive computer simulation in many cases (which in itself, is a hard problem). <S> Of course, there will also be situations where one call tell what a good/poor lead is, without any simulations. <S> To answer your other question, yes there is more guesswork in opening leads, than in the rest of the play. <S> That said, when thinking of opening leads, you need to listen to the bidding, look at your hand, try to decide what might happen during the play and then come up with a general strategy before deciding what suit/card to lead. <S> (Note: scoring might also change the way you think). <S> Some typical categories of the general strategy are: 1) <S> Active Defense : <S> Do you think you need to get your tricks in a hurry? <S> Then you might want to consider an Active lead, like underleading Kings/Queens in order to set up your tricks. <S> For instance you hold Kxx, Axxx, xxx, xxx. <S> Opponents are in a small slam in clubs, after a normal auction. <S> Many good players will consider leading a spade (from Kxx), hoping partner has the Q and setting up a spade trick before the heart A gets knocked out. <S> 2) <S> Passive Defense : <S> Does declarer need to work to make his tricks? <S> Then you consider a lead which is less likely to blow away tricks. <S> 3) <S> Forcing defense : <S> In game or lower level contracts, if you know that the trumps split badly (like 4-1), you might consider a strategy where you lead your suits, forcing declarer to ruff and lose trump control. <S> 4) <S> Trump leads : <S> Does it look like declarer <S> will use dummy's trumps to ruff out his losers? <S> A trump lead might be called for. <S> There are lots of good books on opening leads which teach you to think in these general terms (the link in thesun's answer is good with examples, and overlaps with this answer partly). <A> Also, the opening lead decision for a given contract and auction can vary depending on whether one is playing IMPs or matchpoints. <S> Because it is the least informed action of the hand, one should take care in matchpoints to not give away the hand with the lead. <S> Leading "with the field" is often advocated, on the premise that in most hands one gets another chance to at least obtain an average. <S> Alternatively in IMPs more aggressive leads are less risky, and employed by experts more often. <S> The loss of an overtrick is inconsequential if any measurable chance of setting the contract ensues. <S> As always, visualization of the opponent hands is paramount in making good lead choices. <S> Understanding whether the opponents have stretched to the current contract, or failed to investigate higher, can assist one in evaluating the appropriate level of risk for a given lead situation. <S> Update : Richard Pavlicek has an excellent online site addressed to Beginners, Intermediate Players, and Experts. <S> Here is a link to his Beginner lesson on Opening Leads: http://www.rpbridge.net/1u29.htm <A> A potentially massive question, this. <S> I could recommend the almost-goes-without-saying-stuff, like: <S> Definitely read up on opening leads as much as possible and try to correlate what you learn with how various leads work out for you in practice. <S> I'm sure there are a million essays out there on the art of the opening lead, but here's one to start you off . <S> Maybe other people will turn up even better expert advice! <A> It is difficult to objectively analyze opening leads , due to the temptation to assess accuracy on the specific individual results. <S> If you can actually assess your leads objectively, you are probably already the best leader in your club. <S> Focusing on that is the wrong approach to improvement. <S> A far better practice is to assess the accuracy of the information on which you made your lead decisions. <S> If you are creating an accurate mental image of all four hands before making your lead decisions, both of point count and distribution, then you will be making significantly better lead decisions than most players. <S> In a typical evening's bridge, of 24 or 26 hands, you can expect to be on Opening Lead 6 or 7 times. <S> Set yourself the goal of determining your partner's shape and strength accurately (see below) at least 4 times a session. <S> Once you can do this consistently you will, in doing so, have also created an accurate image of the hands held by Declarer and Dummy. <S> From here, accurate and deadly opening leads will start to become a habit for you. <S> So, how accurate is the goal. <S> Aim for strength to be within plus-or-minus one point, and the sum of outages (unsigned) in all four suits to be <= 3. <S> This counting exercise will improve every aspect of your game in addition to opening leads, eventually also opening up the expert territory of squeezes and endplays, as well as their defence, to you. <S> Make an informed deadly lead against the better players of your club a few times, with sound reasoning and counting to back it up, and you will start to receive game invitations from players you can currently only dream of having as a partner. <S> Defence is the most difficult aspect of the game, and very highly regarded by expert players.
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play a lot of bridge, make a note of the different leads that you considered before choosing one, asking your partner afterwards if another lead might have been better.
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What should you do when someone mistakenly builds the same building twice? You're not allowed to build the same building more than once. I noticed that this rule is easily overlooked, especially in 7-player games and when the table is not that big (and so the cards need to be partly stacked). If a player has built a building twice, but it is only spotted in the following round(s), what can you do? Discard the card Discard the card and give the builder 3 gold Let the builder choose: discard card for 3 gold OR use the card to build the wonder Keep the building … something else? Of course there might be other side effects, as when the builder (or neighbours) already made use of the illegal building. It could be very hard to retrace everything, so I guess it'd be best not to try to undo any side effects. <Q> If it is too late to undo, option 3 is your best bet (assuming they can build their wonder). <S> If it's been more than 2-3 turns, and other people have been using their resources, I might consider letting it stand. <S> Especially true if there are a lot of people who haven't played before in the game. <S> Really it's not the end of the world, unless a player consistently does it (e.g. more than twice) in which case it's probably cheating. <A> 7 Wonders is a fast game that I try to keep the game moving at a brisk pace, and the 3-gold discard eliminates the extra decisions <S> (should I build a Wonder stage, can I afford to, which neighbor should I pay, wait <S> did my neighbor even have the resources I needed to buy all those turns ago) that would otherwise keep the game waiting. <S> It's relatively rare that there are important side effects that need to be undone (rarely do you need to buy more than one of a resource from a single opponent) <S> but it should be straightforward to reverse a military victory/ <S> defeat if there's been an age ending in between. <A> Since this happens most often with science buildings, which means you won't really have gained any new capabilities with them, we just have the player discard for 3 gold and move on. <S> The other one that it seems to happen with is basic brown cards, which may have enabled the player to build something they shouldn't have been able to build. <S> If we can identify any of those buildings, they'll have to hand over payment to a neighbor as well. <S> That's all the unwinding we've ever done, really.
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Our group's practice has been to discard the extra building and treat it as if the player discarded the card for 3 gold.
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Is splitting your 3 settlements allowed? Let's say I've placed settlements in two separate forests. In both forests there are still (more than) 3 fields free. Now I draw another forest card and have to place my 3 settlements. Am I allowed to split my 3 settlements and place 1 settlement in terrain A and 2 settlements in terrain B? (next to my other settlements, of course) Or do I have to build these 3 settlements in the same forest terrain, if possible? <Q> <A> Hymie's answer is completely correct. <S> Quoting from the rulebook : <S> the 3 settlements must be built successively one after the other . <S> And BGG FAQ : <S> There is no rule that you must necessarily place your 3 settlements in a single contiguous group (though sometimes you must , and sometimes you may choose to). <A> You must build 3 settlements consecutively (which means all 3 right now, in a row, one after the other) during the current turn. <S> So long as they are placed next to existing settlements, they can be split up. <A> What you are NOT allowed to do is use an ability while placing the mandatory settlements. <S> For example: Place one mandatory settlement <S> Use paddock to gallop it somewhere else <S> Build your remaining mandatories. <S> Those three settlements have to be played sequentially.
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As long as you are next to your existing settlements and the terrain types match the card, there is no requirement that the three settlements that you play be in the same physical piece of terrain.
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Citadels: Can two Circus Tents be built in the same city? In the latest German edition of Citadels, there is an action card Circus Tent . It is played from your hand without paying any gold (and in addition to your normal building action). It's text says: You can put the Circus Tent in front of you. At the end of the game it counts as a building without points and without color. It cannot be destroyed by the Warlord. Is it possible to have more than one of these in your city? This is not allowed for "normal" districts, but the card only states that it counts as a district at the end of the game . <Q> I would say technically yes, but that it wouldn't be as much of an advantage as it initially seems. <S> That would lead me to say that during play having more than one is allowable. <S> However, having two (or 3 as there are 3 in the deck) of your city elements leading to ending the game being worth no points and not counting toward any of your bonuses (except perhaps the 4 points for being the first to complete 8 buildings) seems to limit the usefulness of such a tactic. <S> Especially since they would have been worth one point in your hand at the end of the game anyway. <S> With all that said, it is enough of a rules interpretation required issue that disallowing it would not be any sort of stretch either as it may very well have not been intended to be used that way regardless of how it was worded. <S> Also, I think once this tactic is used in a game <S> or two <S> I believe it would be revealed rather quickly whether allowing this is unbalanced or not. <A> <A> I just noticed, that the rules explicitly allow multiple circus tents in one city. <S> It is also noted, that only one of them may be built in every players move (even if he is the architect), because only one action card per round is allowed. <S> Sorry for missing this when reading the the rules before.
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I'd be inclined to say no for two reasons: first because allowing more than one of them seems to make them a bit too powerful; secondly, because unless the text on the card explicitly says you can build more than one of them, I'd suspect the intention should have been that no, you couldn't. Going from a purely literal interpretation of the rules you are right that the Circus Tent is an action and doesn't count as a building until the end of the game.
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Is the Go! action card ever worth playing? In Monopoly Deal, there is a Go! Card which uses one of your three plays for the turn in order to draw two additional cards. It seems the key to winning in this game revolve around emptying your hand to draw 5. Let's start from that scenario: turn x : draw 5, play 3, leaves 2 in handturn x+1: draw 2, play 3, leaves 1 in handturn x+2: draw 2, play 3, leaves 0 in hand So with this we have 3 turns, 9 cards, or an average of 3 cards per turn. Now let's say we play a go: turn x : draw 5, play 2 and a go, leaves 5 in handturn x+1: draw 2, play 3, leaves 4 in handturn x+2: draw 2, play 3, leaves 3 in handturn x+3: draw 2, play 3, leaves 2 in handturn x+4: draw 2, play 3, leaves 1 in handturn x+5: draw 2, play 3, leaves 0 in hand So now, in six turns, we've instead managed to draw 17 cards over 6 turns, or 2.8 cards per turn. So we see FEWER cards per turn if we play a go, plus one less action. Should I be using my goes for money instead to maximize the number of cards I see? <Q> In addition to cards, it is very important to consider tempo when deciding what moves to make in a variable-hand-size card game... <S> if your hand is strong enough on its own merit without having to draw additional cards, that's great, but you're going to run into situations where playing the 'Go' as a money card and playing another card already in hand is not going to be as good as playing the 'Go' card as an action card and then playing one of the cards that were drawn by the 'Go' action. <S> I would say that the only time that you should play the 'Go' card as money <S> EVERY TIME is when it is the last card in your hand, and <S> the last action you can take (but even then you're only betting that the 5 cards you'll draw at the beginning of your next turn are better than the four cards that you'd draw if you played the go card and drew two your next turn.) <A> It may serve at one moment of the game. <S> So do not play your goes card for money. <S> It may gives you a second wind to your hand with two brand new cards which enables you to build a new strategy. <S> Imagine that in the two new cards there are cards like "Deal Breaker" or other cards which could be combined with another of your hands to get lots of money or properties. <S> Is it better to get only 1M in your bank ? <S> Not so sure... <A> Yes it does! <S> Because if you still have 3 or 2 turns and have run out of cards to play, put down your 'Go' card and you get 2 extra cards you can put down! <S> Playing the 'Go' card as money is fine too, but as @air-dex said: <S> This is a bad idea to play an action card for money (except if you run out of money of course).
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This is a bad idea to play an action card for money (except if you run out of money of course).
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Software to search for MTG decks based on a list of cards I haven't played MTG for a while, but I still own about 500 cards. Some of them were from pre-built decks, but now the cards are all randomized. I have the full inventory (quantity and name) on a text file. Although I've seen a lot of programs that allow you to build and share decks, I'm looking for something that searches for a deck based on the cards you have (or on a list you provide). Update: I may have misguided you with my explanation, so here it goes in different words. I want to know what decks are out there that I can build with the cards I have . Something like: here's the list of cards I possess; show me what decks exist that I can build with them, without needing to buy more cards. <Q> Inspired by this post I've managed to implement the requested feature in my program Mtgdb. <S> Gui , it's free and opensource . <S> The screenshot below shows the list of decks filtered by a condition that you own 90% or more from the Main deck. <S> So to search the decks based on cards you have collected, you need to Step 0. <S> Import the decks to Mtgdb. <S> Gui. <S> It can be be done as easy as drag-n-dropping a bunch of files or folders into it. <S> See Wiki for details. <S> I used Forge to quickly download ~5000 decks. <S> Step 1. <S> Import your collection to Mtgdb. <S> Gui. <S> E.g. you can import from a plain-text file where each row is more or less like this: 2 <S> Accomplished Automaton <S> You can also import your Magic The Gathering Online collection . <S> Step 2a. <S> Sort the list of decks by percent of cards from Main deck you own in descending order, by clicking the corresponding field. <S> Step 2b. <S> Alterternatively as in the screenshot above, you can filter the list of decks by using search input. <S> P.S. Let me stress it, I am the author of Mtgdb. <S> Gui . <S> It has to be perfectly clear, because the rules of this forum, as well as common human honesty, I believe, require people to be explicit when promoting their own product. <A> In addition to the aforementioned sites, Star City Games' deck database also has a number of decklists from various formats, searchable both by individual cards and combinations of cards. <S> With that said, I think the thrust of the question is somewhat misguided; if the goal is to be competitive <S> then you'll have much more luck by making strategic trades and the occasional purchase rather than building to the needs of your current collection. <S> If the intent is somewhat more casual, then I think there's an argument to be made that much of the enjoyment comes out of building your own and exploring (or discovering!) <S> cards and interactions that you hadn't paid close attention to before. <S> If all you want to do is play the game (as opposed to the deckbuilding 'game'), you're probably better off either with preconstructed product or with a limited format (draft or, if you really want to stick with your present collection, a homemade cube built from the materials 'at hand' - see <S> http://www.cubedrafting.com/what-is-the-cube/ for an introduction to the subject). <A> On the other hand, if you want a place where you can build your decklists and share them, TappedOut is a pretty popular site. <S> They don't feature a "card name" field in their search engine, but they do look into card names for matches. <S> If you're looking for the original pre-built decklists, this wikipedia page compiles all the links to the official Wizards of the Coast site. <A> Shoebox is almost what you want. <S> It's new, so at the moment you can only compare your collection to top decks on TCGplayer.com between certain dates. <S> There's also MTG Goldfish's SuperBrew feature, which wasn't worth it for my small collection either. <S> Cube it is! <A> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Magic:_The_Gathering_theme_decks This is a list of pre-build decks if you know what set there from you should be able to find your deck.
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If you're looking for competitive decklists, MtgTop8 has a nice deck database that you can query by card name (even several cards at a time).
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"Diplomacy" rule clarification, unit under attack Referring to the original game. If a unit is under attack from Province X, can it still interfere with the actions of a unit on Province Y? For example: English fleet unit on "English Channel" ordered to convoy an army unit French fleet unit on "Mid Atlantic Ocean" ordered to move to "English Channel" English fleet unit on "Irish Sea" ordered to move to "Mid Atlantic Ocean" I think that the order #3 should keep the fleet unit at "Mid Atlantic Ocean" busy in the stand off and thus not able to interfere with the convoy. I've been told this is not the case but we could not find verification in the rule book. Can someone please explain? Here is an image of the Diplomacy board if it helps: <Q> All good. <S> Only way to disrupt a convoy is to dislodge the convoying fleet unit. <S> So even if order #3 was not present, the convoy action would proceed <A> No, a movement is not interrupted by an attack . <S> Nor is a convoy, per se. <S> But the attack on the convoy is still not strong enough to prevent it ! <S> Unlike supports (which you can interfere with by a single attack, by std rules) <S> a convoy is only interrupted if the convoying fleet has to retreat . <S> A support would be interrupted, though. <S> It would be changed to a hold order (and could be supported as such) <S> Just some hypothetical additions to your scenario: <S> F MID-ENG is an unsuccessful move which has a defense strength (in its start region) of 1. <S> (In standard diplomacy all unsuccessful moves have a defense strength of 1. <S> Since you can not support to hold a unit that is ordered to move this is always the case when the move is blocked.) <S> F IRA-MID is therefore also just an unsuccessful move , because it has not enough strength to dislodge F MID . <S> A convoy F ENG con A Bel-Lon is therefore successful. <S> Even it there were an additional support of F Bre sup F IRA-MID which would dislodge F MID and the convoy would be successful. <A> Basically, a fleet that exists in a "square" can't be dislodged by the attack of a single fleet. <S> But a fleet under attack in a square is prevented from supporting ANOTHER fleet. <S> Without help, the fleet in the MidAtlantic Ocean can't dislodge a hostile fleet in the English channel on convoy duty. <S> But if that fleet were supporting say, an allied fleet in the North Sea, the attack from the Midatlantic would "cut" the North Sea support. <S> Likewise, the fleet in the Irish sea can't dislodge the enemy fleet in the Midatlantic ocean. <S> At least not without the help of the fleet in the English Channel. <S> But then THAT fleet could not conduct convoy duty on the same turn. <A> If a unit is under attack from Province X, can it still interfere with the actions of a unit on Province Y? <S> Yes, but the only action you can 'interfere' with is support, and only against other provinces. <S> So in this case if the unit in province Y had a support order OTHER than supporting an attack against this unit, it would be cut.
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In your case, Y has a Convoy order, which is unaffected by an attack that doesn't dislodge it.
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Where can I purchase extra wood pieces for Settlers of Catan? I have two full sets of Settlers of Catan plus one 5-6 player expansion pack. Originally the second set was bought to replace the older one, which was missing a few pieces and cards. However, the epicness of the possibility of a huge SoC game entranced me, and I decided to use all three game sets to make one very large game. By cutting three frame pieces, I was able to craft a 48-hex island, suitable for up to 10 players. (Apologies for the cell-phoneness of the photo.) So now I have two sets each of blue, orange, white, and red wooden pieces, and one set each of green and brown. By marking half the double sets (dots with a Sharpie), it is possible to differentiate one half of each double color from the other, resulting in ten sets. Sets can also be combined for fewer players. The development and resource cards which were missing were minimal, so that's not an issue. But sometimes the wooden pieces pose a problem. Sometimes, with four players, the green and brown sets are used as backup pieces for the remaining four double sets which are missing a few. But if I ever want to play with 10 players, I'll have to come up with substitutions, which I'd like to avoid. Where can I find extra wooden pieces for the original Settlers of Catan? <Q> Replacement parts can be found from Mayfair Games , although this will match your 4th Edition color pieces. <S> (Older editions came in different colors). <S> If you want Seafarer's , or other sets they have those too. <S> Settlers of Catan- Pieces <S> - Set 4 player -White Blue Red and Orange with Robber ( MFGP3061-41 ) Price: $12.00 <S> If you wanted some approximate replacements, PnP Productions has wooden ships (Seafarer's), wooden blocks (Knights & Cities, city walls), plastic hotels & houses (settlements/cities), and wooden cubes (roads?) <S> in quite a few colors that differ from the original 4th Ed. colors. <A> http://www.spielematerial.de/en/game-components/catan-all-about-the-settler-universe.html Great website from Germany that sells all the Settlers playing pieces; many options ... you can buy sets of pieces or just the missing parts :). <A> A quick search there should turn up quite a few options. <A> For a slightly more DIY approach, you can purchase square dowels from most craft stores that are the exact size of the roads in Catan. <S> Buy a dowel for around $2, cut it down to size, you have roads. <S> A slightly larger square down could be done for the settlements, then a larger round dowel could be cut down for cities. <S> You could also paint or color the pieces in any color you wanted, making the distinction easier than between sets of the same color with sharpie dots. <S> Just a thought.
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There are a number of sellers on ebay that have replacement parts in a variety of colors, including a bunch that aren't part of the actual game (purple, pink, gold, etc).
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Is it legal to take advantage of my opponent's priority mistakes? Suppose I attack with a creature with infect, and then my opponent tells me he won't block. My intent is to use Giant Growth on my infect creature regardless of whether or not my opponent blocks. HOWEVER, my opponent forgets that I have priority and goes straight for the Lightning Bolt . Now it seems as though my opponent has just made a game-play error by casting that bolt when he didn't have priority. Is it legal for me to take advantage of that, and play Giant Growth in response, thus benefiting from the error? <Q> When playing a game, players typically make use of mutually understood shortcuts rather than explicitly identifying each game choice (either taking an action or passing priority) <S> a player makes. <S> and also: <S> 716.1a <S> The rules for taking shortcuts are largely unformalized. <S> As long as each player in the game understands the intent of each other player, any shortcut system they use is acceptable. <S> Clearly your opponent's intent was to cast Lightning Bolt assuming you just planned to pass priority. <S> Therefore, after your opponent has tried to cast Lightning Bolt, you have the option of either: Telling your opponent that he doesn't have priority and forcing him to undo the casting of Lightning Bolt <S> Allow the shortcut to happen at which point you can still cast Giant Growth as you should now have priority <S> Yes, it is legal for you to cast Giant Growth in response to your opponent ignoring your priority. <S> Edit <S> Some people claim that only the player with priority can propose a shortcut. <S> While the rules do state this, they also state that any shortcut method that is understood and unambiguous is acceptable. <S> Since players in every magic game I have ever seen (including MTG pro tour and similar high level play) ignore their opponent's priority when moving from their upkeep to their draw phase it seems to me that this behavior should be acceptable during other phases as well. <S> Players may also go into the declare attackers phase by just tapping some of their creatures effectively skipping their opponent's priority. <S> This is fairly common and took me no more than about one minute to find this example and this example. <S> Skipping your opponent's priority in this manner is exactly the same as skipping it after they declared attackers so you can cast Lightning Bolt. <S> What is not okay is saying you are going to do something <S> and then not actually doing it after your opponent decides to not respond to it. <S> (I'm not really sure how this situation came up as it isn't in the original question, but some answers have addressed it) <A> While I initially believed Matt was correct, it was pointed out (by LJ2?) <S> that one cannot create a shortcut if one doesn't have priority. <S> 716.2a <S> At any point in the game, the player with priority may suggest a shortcut [...] <S> As such, your opponent is merely requesting priority, leaving you the following two options: Tell your opponent that he doesn't have priority, preventing him from actually casting the Lightning Bolt at this time. <S> (Any action he already took would be rolled back.) <S> Acquiesce his request and give up priority. <S> Since no shortcut was proposed, he's not required to follow up with Lightning Bolt or he could change his choice of target, but he must follow up with an action (other than passing) according to the Tournament Rules. <S> (If he doesn't, the game rolls back to when you had priority.) <S> So, you have the option of casting your spell before his Lightning Bolt, in response to it, or even after it resolves. <A> In a friendly game with someone just learning the game, I would let him take the Lightning Bolt back. <S> But if it's a tournament situation, and he did not wait for you to say "done" "go" "no fast effects" " <S> moving to damage" or something similar, you're well within your rights to respond to the Lightning Bolt with a Giant Growth. <S> (I took a look at section 4.2 Tournament Shortcuts of the MtG Tournament Rules , and I didn't find anything specifically saying taking advantage of information due to skipping of priority was illegal.) <A> You should reverse actions until the game is in a legal state. <S> He should not be able to play the spell until you pass priority. <S> I have not been able to find anything regarding you using the information gleaned from his misplay. <S> It is probably not stated anywhere, but is an ethical decision based on your setting. <S> In a tournament setting, your opponent might even receive punishment. <S> See section 2.5 Gamplay Error - Game rule violation http://www.wizards.com/ContentResources/Wizards/WPN/Main/Documents/Magic_The_Gathering_Infraction_Procedure_Guide_PDF1.pdf <S> If the error was discovered within a time frame in which a player could reasonably be expected to notice the error and the situation is simple enough to safely back up without too much disruption to the course of the game, the judge may get permission from the Head Judge to back up the game to the point of the error. <S> Each action taken is undone until the game reaches the point immediately prior to the error. <S> Cards incorrectly placed in hand are returned to the location in the zone from which they were moved (if the identity of the incorrectly drawn card is not known to all players, a random card is returned instead). <S> Once the game is backed up, it continues from that point. <S> However is it not a good idea to try and rely on this as a meta strategy. <S> Doing so can be considered fraud. <S> http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=10794
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Your opponent attempting to cast Lightning Bolt when they don't have priority is a legal shortcut as outlined in the comprehensive rules: 716.1.
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How long can I wait before choosing to counter a spell? Today, I was playing a duel, and my friend played a Wall of Reverence , which he then ended up enchanting with an Ethereal Armor . Between those two actions he asked me if I would counter it, to which I answered that I would wait for him to play the rest of his cards so I could choose what to do. He said that I had to counter the Wall of Reverence before he played Ethereal Armor for the counter to work. Was he right about that? <Q> Your friend was right. <S> Casting spells and activating abilities puts them on the so-called Stack before they actually resolve and turn into creatures, enchantments, and so on. <S> The Stack is a pretty important part of MtG. <S> You can only counter spells and abilities while they are on the stack; indeed, a spell can only be a spell on the stack, and if you read your counter spells carefully, they say exactly that: counter target spell. <S> Therefore, if it's not on the Stack, you can't counter it, because it can't be a spell. <S> Once a spell has resolved, it's off the Stack <S> and it's too late to counter it. <S> That means, if your friend first played a creature (the Wall of Reverence), and then an enchantment (Ethereal Armor) on that Wall, <S> the Wall can no longer be on the Stack and must already be on the battlefield. <S> Not to mention that this enchantment requires a target, which can in this case only be a creature that's already on the battlefield. <S> The only situation where you can choose which spell to counter is, obviously, when multiple spells are on the Stack. <S> The first spell can be anything, and the other spells are typically instants. <S> Note that your opponent is not required to respond to a spell, even if he could (which he could not in this case) <S> - if he so chooses, he can just let any spell resolve, then cast the next, let it resolve, and so on, until he has played everything he wanted to. <S> Indeed, this is a common strategy against a player like you who plays counter spells, because he forces you to decide on incomplete information. <S> If all spells were on the Stack at the same time, you would of course have a much easier time to decide which spell to counter, if any, which is why a smart player would deny you that opportunity, and he has every right to do so. <A> He's right. <S> He cast Wall of Reverence. <S> He didn't want to cast anything in response, so he passed priority. <S> ("Do you want to counter it?") <S> At this point, you either had to cast a spell or pass priority. <S> If you were to pass priority, Wall of Reverence would resolve, so it would no longer be a spell, so you would no longer be able to counter it. <S> You have to <S> Cancel it there and <S> then, or lose your chance. <S> Ethereal Armor is not an instant, and Ethereal Armor can't enchant Wall of Reverence before the wall enters the battlefield, so he didn't even have the option of casting Ethereal Armor in response to Wall of Reverence. <A> You can counter an Ethereal Armor only if you don't counter Wall of Reverence . <S> If you counter the wall, there would not be a legal target for EA. <S> Since EA isn't an instant, your opponent cannot cast it until the stack is empty. <S> This implies that the wall has either been countered, or you have decided to allow it to resolve. <S> You cannot choose to wait to see what else your opponent casts.
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Most spells, like creature, enchantment, or sorcery spells can only be played while the stack is empty, among other things.
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Adding money to a game of Risk A friend and I recently had a conversation around making a set of rules for a buy-in variant on Risk, and I wanted some help from experienced players to review them as they stand now. Risk is not a game that I know well, but well enough to ask some questions about. The example we talked about splitting the pot on all 42 countries at $5 a piece; between 6 players, that's a $35 buy in. Players get their $5 bills (or chips that represent them) and must trade money upon losing/gaining territories at the end of each turn. As for quitting a game, a player can't quit unless they forfeit all of their money and walk away from the table, allowing for automatic defense rolls from the other players. To enforce fairness (and to avoid an annoying "winner take all" result each game), if all players from 2nd place until the current last place player all agree to "flag" their places and end the game, first place must then quit and take their money, as does all players. With this approach, placing troops may result in one player taking all of their infantry on just a few territories; another may start with a larger amount of territories with less reinforcements. Would a French setup work better for this type of play? Are there other pitfalls that I may be overlooking? Anybody out there tried to add money to a game of Risk? What were the results? <Q> Be careful. <S> Usually tinkering with houserules, if you overlook something, you can make it up on the spot. <S> If there is real money at stake, suddenly the game becomes much more serious and the ability to quickly tweak something which might be in one player's favor or another is gone. <S> From your initial idea, I see several dramatic flaws. <S> First is that Risk is designed as a winner-take-all game. <S> You propose to have the ability to end the game short by unanimous-save-one consent. <S> This will not work. <S> One player, for instance, might have relatively few territories, but be well-fortified, well-positioned and have cards prepared for a powerful game-winning strike. <S> Will this player be considered to be in the lead? <S> If not, he will never agree to end the game. <S> If so, he will lose out, controlling many fewer territories although the favorite to win. <S> You would need to make careful rules about when the game is allowed to come to an end. <S> Can it be ended before a powerful attack? <S> After an unlucky turn? <S> Before whose attack--because the last attacker can just spread himself thin, without any regard to defense, and collect an unfairly large share of the pot. <S> With directed attacks, you may face accusations of favoritism or collusion that are much more venomous than in a non-stakes game. <S> In this case, I think that playing Risk for money is a questionable idea , and playing with house rules to allow any stakes other than winner-take-all would be potentially disastrous. <A> I would recommend another approach: Each player can buy treasury bonds for every country. <S> You play with the countries in which you have a majority of bonds. <S> You can still attack your enemy, but when you do that, remember that someday that country you weaken may be yours because you have more treasury bonds that the other players. <S> But wait! <S> Don't bother creating a game like that, it already exists. <S> It's called Imperial (old European version) or Imperial 2030 (World version). <S> Change your thinking for these kind of games, if you play them, though. <S> They are 100% strategy games with absolutely no luck whatsoever, even for the fights. <A> I have considered & re-considered the concept of involving a gambling aspect to the classic game of Risk. <S> The best games of Risk that I have played are the games that I lost. <S> Introducing a financial loss to theses amazing games would diminish this experience. <S> But if you must, I have come up with these concepts:1) <S> Everybody puts a certain amount in a pot & the winner takes the pot. <S> OR2) <S> You must buy all of your soldiers that you start with that you will place on the map at the beginning of the game & throughout the game. <S> A penny for every soldier or a dollar for every soldier or anything in between. <S> When you buy your soldiers the money goes into the winner’s pot. <S> As you kill soldiers on the map you keep theses soldiers as your own to cash them in at the end of the game. <S> You might have to make soldier swaps with other players during the game as you have their coloured soldiers & they have yours, but the swaps are 1 for 1. <S> When a game ends the losers get to take the money out of the pot for the soldiers that they have paid for but not put on the map yet & the money for the soldiers that they have killed & not trade with other players. <S> If at any point in the game it is agreed by all other players to concede a game to the obvious would be winner the game is cut short & the winner takes a smaller pot. <S> A longer game would make for a larger pot. <S> You can actually play with real coins that have been spray painted to the colour of each player.
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I have come to the conclusion that playing this classic game should not involve money as people whom like money games will gravitate towards poker & people who like strategy & balance of power will gravitate to Risk.
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Can I cast spells in the middle of another spell resolving? Say I had Vedalken Orrery and I used Cloudshift on something, could I respond to Cloudshift bringing the creature back into play with Day of Judgement or something similar? <Q> No, Cloudshift is resolved as a single, atomic event. <S> There is no time in between the parts of its effect in which anyone has a window of opportunity to cast a spell. <S> From the Comprehensive rules: 116.2e Resolving spells and abilities may instruct players to make choices or take actions, or may allow players to activate mana abilities. <S> Even if a player is doing so, no player has priority while a spell or ability is resolving. <S> See rule 608, "Resolving Spells and Abilities." <A> "To respond to X" means "to cast or activate after X is placed on the stack but before X resolves." One can respond to Cloudshift , but not to "bringing creature back". <S> That's not a spell, activated ability or triggered ability. <S> You do not get priority in the middle of a spell resolving [CR 116.2e]. <S> If you cast Day of Judgement in response to Cloudshift, it you would resolve before Cloudshift does anything at all. <S> Cloudshift cannot save a creature from Day of Judgement, but <S> Fiend Hunter and Sudden Disappearance could. <A> You could Day of Judgement before you cast or after you cast cloudshift, but you cannot remove your own creature, Day of Judgment, and then put it back.
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I would say no, Cloudshift removes and puts back a creature as part of the same effect, so you cannot 'inturrupt' the effect in the middle of its action by casting some other spell.
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Can a creature token represent a different creature token? I have quite a few cards that have the ability to create creature tokens when they're played or their ability is activated. The only problem is I don't have the specific token for each one, but I have a handful of other creature tokens. Can I substitute creature token Y for creature token X? For example, if the ability allows creating two 2/2 Black Zombies, but I don't have any Black Zombie tokens, could I use, say, a Green Wolf and a White Human to substitute as placeholders? I don't see why not since the tokens are pretty much empty objects that are filled in whenever they're brought into battle. <Q> You can represent your tokens however you want with coins dice <S> sleeves <S> deckboxes <S> your smartphone, etc <S> If you have different types of tokens, I normally put them face down. <S> But there are some things to be careful of however. <S> (mostly applies to competitive scenarios) <S> If you have many of the same token, Avoid using dice to represent the quantity. <S> If you do this, you'll have issues differentiating tapped tokens from untapped, and tokens with summoning sickness from tokens without. <S> If a card produces a token, avoid turning that card face-down for your token. <S> If that card is in your graveyard, your graveyard is where it belongs. <S> find another object to represent your token with. <S> To Summarize: You can represent your tokens in whatever manner you want, so long as they're clearly and accurately represented. <A> The only conditions are that it has to be clear which object represents which token, and that each object can be tapped, i.e. you have to be able to tell whether a token is tapped or untapped. <S> Of course you must also avoid confusion with real cards, so you best don't use a card as a token if the same card also appears in your or your opponent's deck. <A> You don't need to use those pre-printed tokens, they are only a convenience. <S> You can use a scrap of paper with the stats written on it, an upside down magic card, anything at all really. <S> It only gets complicated if you have multiple different types of tokens in play at once, then you will want to make sure you can distinguish them. <S> You could use a normal pack of playing cards, with each suit being a different type, for example. <S> If you start generating large number of tokens (eg more than 5) its probably easiest to use a small piece of paper with a name written on it and a dice to show how many of those tokens there are. <S> Then if you attack with some of them, make a new card with the same name with a dice and use one to represent tapped and one untapped tokens of that name. <A> Yes, you can use anything to represent a token. <S> As long as it is clear to both players what the token actually represents. <S> However, using a token of a different type can be confusing. <S> Instead of using a different token I have seen the following used: face down card from a different deck (as long as this wont be confused with morph) <S> empty card sleeve scraps of paper <A> If I don't have the actual token I like to use the blank advertising cards that I sometimes get in boosters instead of tokens. <S> Failing that you can always order packs of tokens for fairly cheap on eBay if you want to.
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You can use whatever physical object you want to represent a token, including actual MtG cards.
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Do you have to have exactly 60 cards in a Magic the Gathering deck? Do you have to have exactly 60 cards in a Magic the Gathering deck? Some people I've talked to at FNM say yes, others say no. <Q> No, not at all. <S> For limited (draft and sealed) events, your deck must have at least 40 cards [CR 100.2b] . <S> Additionally all decks no matter the format must be "able to be shuffled within a reasonable time" <S> There are many formats that impose additional limitations. <S> Notably, For Commander games, your deck must have exactly 100 cards (including your Commander) <S> [CR 903.5a] . <S> I could quote you the rules, but Battle of Wits is much more convincing :) <S> Note: <S> When this answer was originally written the side board was limited to exactly 15 cards. <S> This has changed. <S> I have updated this information to match current rules since it doesn't affect the answer. <A> 60 card decks are the minimum in most Constructed formats, but there is no upper bound. <S> Commander decks are all the same size... but they are 100 cards big, not 60. <S> In typical Limited environments (Draft/Sealed) <S> the minimum size is 40, with an upper limit determined only by the size of your cardpool (and even then you can add a LOT of basic lands on top). <S> If you want to prove to someone that a Magic deck doesn't have to have exactly 60 cards in it, the quickest way is probably to refer them to Battle of Wits - a famous card that doesn't even make sense in a world of uniform 60-card decks. <A> By default, sixty is just the minimum in constructed, and the minimum is forty in limited: 100.2a <S> In constructed play (a way of playing in which each player creates his or her own deck ahead of time), each deck must contain at least sixty cards. <S> […] 100.2b <S> In limited play (a way of playing in which each player gets the same quantity of unopened Magic product such as booster packs and creates his or her own deck using only this product and basic land cards), each deck must contain at least forty cards. <S> […] 100.5. <S> There is no maximum deck size. <S> The only official variant that changes this is Commander, which requires exactly one hundred cards: <S> 903.5a Each deck must contain exactly 100 cards, including its commander.
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For constructed events, your deck must have at least 60 cards [CR 100.2a] (plus an optional sideboard of no more than 15 cards [CR 100.4a] ). You certainly don't, not in any normal MtG format. You probably should keep it near the minimum since a deck of minimum size will provide more consistent results than a larger deck, but you are not obligated to do so.
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What is e3 Feedback Implants good for? Whenever you break a subroutine on a piece of ice, you may pay 1 cred to break 1 additional subroutine on that ice. When would I need this card? With most icebreakers, it's 1 cred to break a subroutine. <Q> As of right now, there are two situations in which E3 feedback implants are useful. <S> The first is that it isn't always 1 cred to break a subroutine. <S> Aurora, Peacock, Battering Ram, and Wyrm all cost more than 1 cred to break a subroutine. <S> Two of these (Aurora & Peacock) are the same faction as E3 feedback implants. <S> So it's feasible that you'd save a little bit of money over time. <S> The second use is against bioroid ice. <S> Bioroid ice subroutines can be broken by spending a click. <S> So with E3 feedback implants any bioroid ice can be bypassed by paying 1 click + 1 cred/remaining subroutine. <S> Which makes things like Janus only cost 1 click + 3 creds. <S> EDIT:There was discussion about whether or not E3 feedback implants could be used as the triggering condition for itself, so here's a link to a thread on BoardGameGeek where this got answered. <S> (It does trigger itself) <S> http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/910289/e3-feedback-implant-official-answer <A> As more cards come out, new synergies will obviously appear, but I think its best use at the moment is against some of the incredibly tough Haas-Bioroid ice which allow the runner to spend clicks to break subroutines. <S> For instance, Janus 1.0 is an 8 strength HB ice and has four subroutines which read Do 1 brain damage , but allows the runner to spend clicks to break subroutines, one click breaks one subroutine. <S> It might be very expensive in credits to beef up your icebreaker of choice and break all four subroutines, or expensive in clicks (if you even have enough) but with an E3 Feedback Implants , you could spend one click and three credits to break all the subroutines, which is much cheaper. <A> The rulings on e3 Feedback Implants from the Official FAQ : <S> e3 Feedback Implants triggers itself, so the Runner can break all subroutines on a bioroid ice by paying credits after spending a single click. <S> Here are some situations where e3 Feedback Implants can really be useful. <S> Click to break - <S> Like the official ruling says, bioroid ice is a good use for e3, look at Janus 1.0 , 4 clicks is expensive to break one piece of ice, impossible without extra clicks or a free run, but 1 click and 3 credits is not nearly as bad. <S> Same is true for Always be Running . <S> Free break - Quetzal breaks one barrier subroutine for free each turn, triggering e3 and letting you break the rest without an icebreaker at all. <S> Discard to break - Using <S> Faust to break the first sub then e3 and credits to break the rest keeps more cards in hand. <S> Remove counters to break - D4v1d and the Cerberus breakers ( Cerberus "Lady" H1 , Cerberus "Rex" H2 and Cerberus "Cuj.0" H3 ) remove counters on the card to break ice, counters that are put on during install. <S> e3 lets you use only one counter then credits, making them useful longer. <S> Trash to break - the B&E breakers ( Crowbar , Spike and Shiv ) trash to break subroutines, you won't need to trash a second crowbar if the ice has more than 3 subs, just pay into e3. <S> More expensive breakers - Some icebreakers cost more than one credit to break subroutines, they usually have effects or high power to offset the downside, but e3 can reduce that downside even more.
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If there are things added in the future that allow breaking subroutines via non-icebreaker methods, E3 implants would also be useful in those situations.
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How to find a game of Munchkin? I've been playing Munchkin for about two years. I just moved to a new city, and now that I'm away from my friends, I've realized that not many people know the game even exists and most have no interest whatsoever. How do I go about finding people to play with? <Q> I'd start with store finders on sites like Wizards.com. <S> If you don't have a specialized hobby store, you can try more general stores that sell that product type such as Hastings. <S> People at these locations might know other players, or even have places set up to play / hang out. <S> Check sites like Meetup and Facebook for board game groups. <S> Also check any local universities for that type of group as well. <S> Sometimes you have to dig, but there are gamers out there! <A> Steve Jackson Games, the makers of Munchkin, have a Gamer Finder . <S> You can check to see if there are any stores or individuals are nearby, and even register yourself so other SJG players can find you. <S> If you are really gung-ho about the game, you might also want to join the MIBs which is a not so secret group of gamers who run demos of Munchkin and other SJG Games at Hobby Shops and conventions. <A> If you're even in a moderately urban area You should be able to find a board/tabletop/card games store, and it's not entirely rare for people to come to the store just to play non-specific board/card games. <S> You can probably ask the owner if he knows of such a group. <S> Odds are that he does.
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Look for stores that sell board, CCG, or role playing games.
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Can I activate a bloodrush ability at instant speed? Can I use a card with bloodrush in response to something? For example: If an evil opponent wants to kill my attacking Skarrg Guildmage with an Izzet Charm can I discard Scorchwalker and use it's ability to save my guildmage? <Q> Yes. <S> All activated abilities are at instant speed unless they specifically indicate otherwise <S> *. <S> Because the ability is written with a colon, it is an activated ability. <S> It does not need to be on the battlefield to be activated, and your opponent does not need to know it exists to activate it (although you must reveal it, obviously). <S> In this particular cast, you're discarding the card as part of the cost. <S> That's the only reason you have to discard the card. <S> If it didn't say discard, you could activate the ability as many times as you wanted. <S> This is spelled out in 112.3b, emphasis mine. <S> 112.3b <S> Activated abilities have a cost and an effect. <S> They are written as "[Cost]: [Effect.] <S> [Activation instructions (if any).] <S> " A player may activate such an ability whenever he or she has priority. <S> Compare this to the rules text for instants, 304.1. <S> A player who has priority may cast an instant card from his or her hand. <S> So the timing for activated abilities is the same as the timing for instants. <S> As for it being in your hand, this is spelled out here: <S> 602.2a <S> The player announces that he or she is activating the ability. <S> If an activated ability is being activated from a hidden zone, the card that has that ability is revealed. <S> That ability is created on the stack as an object that's not a card. <S> Note: I said specifically indicate otherwise. <S> This specification does not need to be on the card. <S> For example, the Comprehensive Rules state that planeswalker activate abilities can only be activated on your turn at sorcery speed, but this is not stated on the card. <A> Yes. <S> "Bloodrush" has no rules meaning (as indicated by the use of italics), but it's only used on activated abilities (that can be activated from your hand), and you can activate activated abilities whenever you have priority ("instant speed"). <S> 112.3b <S> Activated abilities have a cost and an effect. <S> They are written as "[Cost]: [Effect.] <S> [Activation instructions (if any).] <S> " A player may activate such an ability whenever he or she has priority. <S> They will resolve before the instant, so <S> the Scorchwalker in your hand can save your Skarrg Guildmage . <A> Yes, your Bloodrush would stack on top of Izzit Charm and thus resolve before the damage. <S> Bloodrush was specifically designed to be used in the combat phase, at instant speed and only on target attacking creatures. <S> Also note that because this is an activated ability, this should go without saying but is still questioned again and again, cannot be countered by counter-spells. <S> It can however be countered by the following only because Activated Abilities are named.
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So yes, you can activate Bloodrush abilities in response to instants like Izzet Charm .
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When should a bridge defender return the second, rather than fourth highest card in suit? Against a bidding sequence of 1NT, 3NT, partner, West, opens with what looks like the fourth highest of a suit. Dummy goes down with two small cards in the suit. I have four to the king in the suit, two of them little ones, with this question revolving around my second highest card. I take the king, which is allowed to hold. If my original holding was something like K642, I was taught to return the 2, my original fourth highest. On the other hand, if my holding were KJ42, with the second card being the J, one is supposed to return the Jack. With KJ2, I would return the Jack to "unblock." Does a similar reasoning hold here with two small cards? One thought is that partner (West) and declarer (South) probably have the ace and queen between them. If South has Axx, it doesn't matter what I lead, but if South has Qxx, leading the Jack will "trap" the queen. Is that the reason to lead the Jack? More to the point, how high does my second card have to be, before I lead it in preference to the 2? That is, would I also do this with KTxx or K9xx? <Q> With KJxx and 10x in dummy, leading the J seems right. <S> This way you pick up the suit if declarer started with eg Q8x, and doesn't hurt on other holdings. <S> But if dummy started with eg 6x <S> (ie something that can't force your partner's high honor if declarer ducks) and your high spot is low enough that you won't block the suit when partner holds 5, it's important to convey the count to your partner by leading low. <A> This is an important part of why many experts now use 3rd and lowest leads instead of 4th best, particularly against suit contracts. <S> In this fashion one leads 3rd best from an even number, and lowest from an odd number. <S> Although it takes a little practice to get used to, and of course must be agreed with partner in advance and marked on your card, this lead system has many advantages over standard leads. <A> A defender should lead the second highest card in a suit for the same reason s/he would as declarer: into a tenace in partner's hand. <S> Partner has opened with an honor. <S> If that honor is the queen, then it doesn't make a difference. <S> But suppose partner has the AT9x to start. <S> Then you want to lead the jack into the tenace, so that if the queen doesn't cover, you can lead a second card into the tenace for a finesse of the queen. <S> This example would be better if there were only one card in the suit in dummy, and partner, you, and declarer all had four. <S> Then it be imperative to lead the jack, keeping the lead (unless the queen covers), so you have a second lead into the tenace, making all four tricks in the suit. <S> The move wouldn't work with your KT42 against declarer's presumed QJx. <S> But it would work if the J were in the dummy and the K dropped it on the first turn, making your T the third highest card (after the A and Q).
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The most common reason you'd lead back your second highest card from four would be to smother a relatively high card in dummy.
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How do you keep track of which units have already moved? Let's say you have fifty different units on the board. When it's your turn, you get to move each of them. How do you keep track of which units you've moved already and which ones you haven't? <Q> Avoid unnecesary moves in the combat move phase Belive it or not, I found out that the typical source of confusion is that most players move units that are not going to fight (nor Aircraft carriers that won't provide a landing base to attacking airplanes) in the combat move phase. <S> It's not against the rules <S> but.. there is no benefit in doing so. <S> In fact it's much better to wait for the result of the combats to know where to move. <S> Never doing that helps a lot: every unit that is not in a combat area, has not move prior to non-combat phase move. <S> The airplane combat nightmare <S> This happens with japan and germany, specially in 1940 editions. <S> Even though you know that airplanes have moved to the combat zone you need to keep track of the ammount of movement left <S> There is an idea introduced <S> I think in the revised edition: fuel markers. <S> Simply, have a die or any other thing that can mark from 1 to 5. <S> When you gather many airplanes in one zone start adding one marker for each airplane, each showing the ammount of movement (fuel) left. <S> Separating of course each kind of airplane. <S> When selecting airplanes casualties simply remove the lowest fuel marker (that's called being a good captain) <S> so you are sacrificing airplanes with the least movement. <S> On the non combat move phase move the remaining airplanes and each fuel marker shows the movement of any given airplane. <S> Have your enemies pay attention <S> This is a gentlemen's game. <S> They can tell you what has moved and <S> what not. <S> They know because they are looking at your positions for possible attacks all the time Hope any of this helps! <A> Any marker token that can be distinguished from the marker tokens (gray/red) already included in the box will do. <S> This could be something as simple as pennies, or other small change, glass beads, wooden cubes, etc. <S> I had a similar problem with a chariot racing game, so we used coins to mark the hexes that the chariots moved from, just in-case <S> a player changed his mind about a move and wanted to know where their piece started. <A> You just flip the unit you've moved on its side. <S> For planes, flip upside down. <A> I also picture a front like a line of territories followed by other lines of territories. <S> When moving I can then take care of each 'lines' one at a time. <S> This way I never move units into a territory where local units will have to be moved later and, most of the times, I only have to manage each territory once. <S> This prevents the confusion of the back-and-forth. <S> Also to avoid confusion, I never leave a chip(s) without a unit piece on top of it. <S> It's more manipulations <S> but it's much safer.
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I use a pattern where I move the units on the front(s) first and work my way backward toward my industry(ies).
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+Cards, do you have to draw right away? How do the +cards work in Dominion? Do you have to draw the card immediately or can you wait? For example, let's take the Spy cards where it says +1 cards, and then all players must reveal the top card of their deck, you decide whether they discard it or put the card on top of the library. As of now, I'm doing the latter before the +card label, as it lets me see the card I might draw or not. <Q> YES <S> You must draw right away. <S> Page 6 of the Rulebook : <S> Common terms used on the Action cards: "+ <S> X Card(s) <S> " – the player immediately draws X number of cards from hisDeck. <S> If there are not enough cards in his Deck, he draws as many as hecan, shuffles the Discard pile to form a new Deck, and then draws therest. <S> If he still does not have enough cards left after forming a new Deck,he just draws as many as he can. <S> You cannot wait to draw the cards after you have performed the other phases of your turn, or perform other actions on the card after the "+X Cards" line before drawing the cards. <S> Also note your specific example is clarified in the rules on page 7 (emphasis mine): <S> Spy – Spy causes all players, including the one who played it, toreveal the top card of their Deck. <S> Note that you draw your cardfor playing Spy before any cards are revealed. <S> Anyone who doesnot have any cards left in their Deck shuffles in order to havesomething to reveal. <S> Anyone who still has no cards to revealdoesn't reveal one. <S> If players care about the order in whichthings happen for this, you do yourself first, then each otherplayer in turn order. <S> Revealed cards that aren't discarded arereturned to the top of their players' Decks. <A> You do the actions on the card in the order it says. <S> So in the case of a spy, the +1 card comes first, so you draw a card. <S> Then all players reveal their top cards and that part of the Spy is resolved. <A> The rules claify this in several places. <S> (page 6) <S> To play an Action, the player takes an Action card from his hand [...] and follows the instructions written on the card from top to bottom. <S> (page 6) "+ <S> X Card(s) <S> " - the player immediately draws X number of cards from his Deck. <S> [...] (page 7, First Few Turns guide) <S> Spy - Spy causes all players, including the one who played it, to reveal the top card of their Deck. <S> Note that you draw your card for playing Spy befoe any cards are revealed. <S> [...] Page 7 covers how other '+' cards differ from +Card kingdom cards. <S> Notably, the +Card instructions must be performed immediately, where the other cards bank those additional Actions, Buys, and Coins for use at a later time.
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You must immediately draw the cards.
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Has online play testing been an important part of any boardgame designs? I am wondering if any game designers have used an online implementation of a game to balance and tweak it before commercial release. <Q> VASSAL offers a way to create on online version of a game easily. <S> I was involved in play testing Crown of Roses using a VASSAL module. <S> The map for Clash of Monarchs has been critised as being difficult to use and the reason provided for this was that most of the play testing was done online which had a much clearer map. <A> Donald X. Vaccarino, the designer of Dominion, tested it with a program he wrote himself. <S> Later expansions were playtested in a private room of the Isotropic online Dominion server. <S> He discusses it briefly here : <S> I did not know Doug prior to him making isotropic; Wei-Hwa knew him. <S> Before isotropic, I used a DOS program I wrote in Pascal, cbtest. <S> It didn't do the internet part, we handled that via irc. <S> (Doug is dougz, the creator of the now-unavailable Isotropic Dominion .) <A> I'm pretty sure " <S> Day and Night" was tested online before release. <S> But the online game was only limited to a small beta testing audience. <S> The website used to say that the online version would reappear at some point, but the website is now dead and the developers appear to have vanished. <S> Since Day and Night is an asymmetric game, getting the two sides balanced is important, and the developers claimed that they were very close to 50:50 based on online testing. <A> Most of the beta testing was done online, in a combination of LackeyCCG and a very rough alpha web client for Yomi. <S> I actually put some footage up on YouTube . <S> Someone brought up the objection that writing an online client is much harder than just designing the game. <S> While it's true to an extent, you can cut a lot of corners if you're just testing. <S> You don't need a lot of flair, or rules enforcement, or even "something that isn't dog-ugly", and your early testers won't care because it's not a finished game anyway. <A> A significant proportion of wargames released these days (e.g., by GMT ) is playtested using VASSAL .
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I was a beta tester for a few of David Sirlin 's card games.
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Can extort be triggered for countered spells? Extort (Whenever you cast a spell, you may pay b/w. If you do, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain that much life.) Questions: If my opponent has a creature with extort out, then casts a spell that I counter, can he still pay the 1 mana to trigger extort? And if not, Does he have to choose whether to spend the mana before or after I have countered the spell? <Q> Yes. <S> If the spell wasn't countered, the following would happen: He casts the spell. <S> (Puts it on the stack, pays costs, etc.) <S> Extort triggers. <S> Extort is added to the stack. <S> Players get priority. <S> Extort resolves. <S> He chooses to pay the mana. <S> Each opponent of his loses 1 life and he gains that much life. <S> Players get priority. <S> The spell resolves. <S> The spell can be countered in step 3 (in response to extort) or in step 5 (after extort resolves), but as you can see, extort has already been added to the stack at that point. <S> The choice of paying mana happens on resolution, so whether he chooses to spend the mana or not depends on when you counter the spell. <S> If you counter in response to extort (step 3), he chooses after you counter. <S> If you counter after extort resolves (step 5), he chooses before you counter. <A> If my opponent has a creature with extort out, then casts a spell that I counter, can he still pay the 1 mana to trigger extort? <S> Yes. <S> According to the Gatecrash <S> FAQ <S> here's the official rules for extort: 702.100. <S> Extort <S> 702.100a Extort is a triggered ability. <S> " <S> Extort" means " <S> Whenever you cast a spell, you may pay . <S> If you do, each opponent loses 1 life and you gain life equal to the total life lost this way." <S> So Extort is a triggered ability that is added to the stack when a spell is cast. <S> Triggered abilities are added to the stack before priority is passed. <S> Does he have to choose whether to spend the mana before or after I have countered the spell? <S> The Gatecrash FAQ clarifies when the mana is paid: You may pay {W/B} a maximum of one time for each extort triggered ability. <S> You decide whether to pay when the ability resolves. <S> If the counterspell is added to the stack after the triggered ability, it will resolve first. <S> Of course, this has implications if the counterspell was something like Spell Rupture . <S> However, as @AlexP rightly points out, the smart counterspell caster will wait for the extort trigger to resolve, and see whether their opponent decides to pay the mana for it, then decide whether or not to cast a counterspell like Spell Rupture when they receive priority. <A> Absolutely, Extort triggers for spells which are countered. <S> "Casting" a spell isn't dependent on whether that spell goes on to resolve (or "be successfully cast", if it helps to think of it in those terms). <S> Per the comprehensive rules: 601.2. <S> To cast a spell is to take it from where it is (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. <S> So yes, when you put your spell on the stack and pay its costs, the Extort trigger takes place and is put on the stack. <S> The triggered ability will therefore be on the stack above the originally cast spell; though the original spell can be countered either before or after the Extort ability resolves!
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The player whose spell is countered gets to choose whether or not to pay the extort after the counterspell resolves.
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In A&A-Europe - When does an economic attack makes sense? I've been playing Axis & Allies Europe (first version) for a long time and have never found a real value in using my bombers to run Economic Attacks. It seems that the strength of the bomber is to inflict a lot of damage while supporting ground attacks. I'd rather destroy a tank that cost 5 IPCs plus the 3 turns to get it to the front than to gamble on the off-chance that I could remove 6 IPCs in an Economic Attack. Am I seeing this wrong? Is there an advantage to Economic Attacks that I'm not seeing? <Q> Before the latest adjustments to 1940 editions, bombing has not been a favorite by players in tripleA and in A&A forums . <S> Personally I disregard it as well as most friends I play with. <S> I'd rather destroy a tank that cost 5 IPCs plus 3 turns to get to the front than to gamble on the off-chance that I could remove 6 IPCs in an Economic Attack. <S> This applies to all editions of <S> A&A. I agree, and I would add two more significant reasons not to bomb: <S> You are risking loosing a bomber (expensive unit)and most importantly: If that bomber is bombing there.. <S> what is it not doing? <S> Bombers can do many thing, ranging from a sacrifice (I.E. clearing out an infantry unit to open the path for an allied blitz) to desperate defense <S> (I.E. Need to defend moscow one turn and with range 6, only bombers can reach). <S> In this version bombing is even more crippled because of the escort rules. <S> The defender gains even more advantage. <S> I never saw a game were bombing was decisive. <S> The only thing I can point out is: Russia has usually only one fighter <S> If Leningrad and or Archangel have fallen, as germany you may be just waiting to more units to have better odds in Moscow's last stand; a SBR can help in that turn that you don't assault and want to deal some damage. <S> Germany is going to take Archangel/Leningrad? <S> Move the AA's out of there and when they conquer, you may have a free money drain as allies. <S> That bomber is going to hang around for a final stand in moscow or Dday. <S> But even in these scenarios, there is usually an alternative to the SBR. <S> We have sometimes adopted a house rule for AA fire on bombings: roll once to abort (on 2 or less); if suceed , roll once more to destroy (2 or less). <S> Even then bombings are rare <A> The biggest advantage, as I see it, is that the effects of a successful economic attack are more widespread. <S> So while throwing your bombers into battle at your front can help make that battle more decisive, throwing your bombers on a Strategic Bombing Run can impair the defender's ability to reinforce any other front on the map . <S> If, for example, you're strong on one front but one of your allies (or one of your other fronts) is being pummeled, a Strategic Bombing Run would let you take some heat off without (or in addition to) turning around and reinforcing it directly (which not only takes time, but also weakens your original line). <S> Yes, overwhelming your opponent can be a good tactic, but sometimes all you need to do is hold the line long enough for reinforcements to arrive, or for your allies to break through elsewhere. <S> And if you can do that without committing (all of) your bombers to the battle, the territory-wide effects of a well-timed economic attack can be significant. <S> Europe during WW2 was not a one-front war. <S> So when committing your bombers, just ask yourself how important any particular front is right now to the overall war. <S> (Full disclosure: I've played A&A, but never A&A: <S> Europe in particular. <S> Feel free to downvote me to oblivion if this post isn't actually useful and/or applicable.) <A> Suppose all your potential targets are filled with infantry (3 IPCs), which can absorb losses, while there are enemy fighters to "kill" your bomber. <S> Then it might be worth trying to destroy 6 IPCs, while having only a one in six chance of your bomber getting shot down vy antiaircraft fire. <S> The expected value of the damage to the industrial complex is 3.5 IPCs, slightly more than the value of the infantry. <S> On the other hand, if there are good targets of artillery, tanks or planes that your bomber can reach, it would be better to attack them, because they are worth more than 3.5 IPCs.
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The economic war works best when you have no good military targets to attack.
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Why are Shocklands better than Guildgates? I recently read a review about Return to Ravnica and the reviewer says that, for example, Temple Garden is way better than Selesnya Guildgate . Can someone point out the reasons behind that? Additionally, why is Temple Garden called a Shockland? <Q> Oftentimes, getting your land into play untapped is worth two life; shocklands give you the option to set that up. <S> Excellent color-fixing with fetch effects . <S> The synergy between shocklands and fetchlands is what makes Modern mana bases so strong. <S> I can crack a Misty Rainforest and get any of these color combinations: W/G, W/U, U/B, <S> U/R, U/G, <S> B/G, R/G. See <S> this answer for more information about the shocks + fetches style of mana base. <S> We can have four- and five-color decks in Innistrad/RTR Standard thanks to Farseek 's ability to fetch any of the ten shocklands. <S> Shocklands interact positively with other cards that care about basic land types as well. <S> In particular: Shocks power up M13 and Innistrad "buddy" lands (like Sunpetal Grove ), which require you to have lands of specific basic land types in play. <S> In a three-color deck, a single shock in play is sufficient to make every single one of your "buddy" lands enter play untapped. <S> Shocklands have powerful synergy with " Kird Ape " creatures like Wild Nacatl (which was once banned from Modern for being too consistent of a 3/3 on turn 2) and Flinthoof Boar (which saw tournament play in Standard Gruul decks). <A> Flexibility. <S> If you choose to have the land enter tapped, then the cards are no different, but only Temple Garden gives you any choice at all. <S> The difference from being able to use that mana on the turn that you play it may amount to less life lost than the 2 you pay to have it enter untapped. <S> Shock was the quintessential burn spell for a while when WotC thought that Lightning Bolt was too quick and powerful. <S> Shock was released in multiple base sets, and since it deals 2 damage, people called the cycle of lands that deal 2 damage to you Shocklands. <A> Adding to user1873's existing answer: as you say, the fact that Shocklands have the same land types as basic lands (e.g. "Forest Plains") is huge. <S> A manabase judiciously combining both Fetchlands and Shocklands is pretty close to the ultimate way of having the right colour of mana available exactly when you need it, in a 3+ colour deck. <S> And if you're using fetches to get your Shocklands at the end of your opponent's turn, the "comes into play tapped" restriction isn't even a drawback, at that point. <A> Shock lands get their name because of the spell "Shock", which deals 2 damage to target creature or player. <S> With the shock lands, in order to get them into play untapped, you have to hit yourself with a shock. <S> Shock lands are so expensive becuase of mana fixing. <S> Anything that is invunerable (lands are the hardest thing in MTG to kill, except emblems) and can help you get the colors you need to the battlefield, will be worth a good portion of money. <S> The cost is increased as well becuase of the shock lands' synergy with the "fetch lands". <S> These are lands that can grab other lands. <S> The shock lands are the only nonbasic lands with basic land types in their card type, so they are the only non-baic land that the fetch lands can fetch you.
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Shocklands (which allow you to " Shock " yourself in order to get an untapped land) have many advantages: Good color depth without loss of tempo . It means you can fetch them up with Fetchlands, or any other spell that looks for a Forest or a Plains (though not of course "a basic Forest", or "a basic Plains').
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In bridge, should a defender play differently with most, about half, or few of the partnership's points? This example is from Victor Mollo's "Test Your Defense, Where the Points are Won." You are East. The bidding has been 1NT pass 3NT pass. West leads what looks to be the fourth highest spade. You hold: (s) Axx (H) KQJ9 (d) Kx (c) xxxx. Dummy shows (s) Kxx (h) Txx (d) Axxx (c) Kxx. You take the ace of spades. Normally you would return a spade, partner's suit. But Mollo recommends establishing the hearts for a "set." The key features are: 1) Dummy's T falls under your J, making the 9 good 2) you have the guarded K of diamonds "offside" the ace, hence a sure entry and 3) You have 13 of your partnerhip's HCP. West has the J of spades at most (Q if South has only 15 HCP). So is your strength the reason you should deviate from the usual rule of returning partner's suit? Should you return your partner's suit if you didn't have the heart honors (meaning that partner has about 7 HCP), or if you had only the A of spades (partner has about 10)? Conversely, if you were "West" (on lead), would you lead differently with the three different hypothetical hands? <Q> I don't think the number of points in your hand it the relevant feature here at all. <S> Essentially, you look at your hand, and see that you can easily take down the contract if you establish your 3 hearts winners before your opportunity to regain the lead with the KD is removed. <S> Returning a spade isn't going to help much as we're pretty certain partner isn't going to win that trick with his Jack. <S> As such, you have to forget the "usual rule" of returning partner's lead, which isn't going to help in the current situation, and just make the best play for beating the contract instead. <S> Partner has basically nothing, and you have an excellent defensive hand here: it's not up to him to dictate the whole play of this contract via his lead, just because of the seat he happens to be sitting in. <A> Yes, defensive strategy can vary considerably depending on where the points are in your partnership. <S> Your real goal is to look for tricks, of course, but often points are a good guide as to where the tricks are going to be. <S> There are exceptions, of course, so you must take each hand by itself, but generally if one defender has many more points than the other, that is where the bulk of the tricks will be. <S> The hand you describe is a typical example. <S> Partner's spades will be difficult or impossible to set up because partner is weak, whereas your hearts are easy to set up because you are strong. <S> Generally to set up a long suit against no-trump, you need one of the following to be true: Running suit <S> Suit can be set up and you have an outside entry Suit can be set up, partner has entries, and partner has some length in the suit <S> The first two cases usually (though not always) require that you have some points. <S> Occasionally you get the third situation where the weak defender has 5 or 6 of a suit and partner has 3 or 4, enough to set up the suit and then lead to be overtaken by the weak hand. <S> A consequence of this is that if you are very weak against no-trump, it is rarely worthwhile trying to set up your own suits, even on the opening lead (unless you have reason to believe partner is also strong in your suit). <S> Generally you are better off looking for partner's suit to attack. <S> And if you are the strong defender and your partner is very weak, don't continue partner's suit unless you have help for him. <S> At suit contracts, matters are less clear-cut, although defenders' points can still serve as a helpful guide. <S> High cards remain a good source of tricks, and the defender with more points has more of them. <S> However, a weak defender with a lot of trump or just useful distribution can often take multiple tricks. <A> When West leads the fourth best from his "best" suit, spades, presumably headed by the J (or Q), he is hoping to do one of two things: 1) <S> Establish the suit with your help or 2) lead the suit as a "pivot" for you to take the trick and do something else. <S> Given partner's scarcity of points, 1) is highly unlikely. <S> Opposite Jxxxx, you'd need at least AQx to establish the suit, and then only if you can force out the opposing king before the third round, because partner has no other entry. <S> This, you simply cannot do, with Kxx of spades visible in dummy. <S> Partner's lead to your ace did manage to preserve the lead in your hand. <S> This gives you the opportunity to "pivot" into another suit, hearts, where the setting tricks are.
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If the two partners are comparable in strength, the one who leads their suit first has taken the first step to setting the suit up, so it is often advantageous to continue it unless you have a clear alternative.
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Are there many mandated "time outs" in tournament bridge? In " Points, Schmoints ," Marty Bergen related an instance in which he announced "skip bid," before "jumping" his partner's two diamond bid to the five level (instead of three). According to him, his Left Hand Opponent had to wait ten seconds before reacting (in order not to give away information by the speed or slowness of his reaction to the unusual bid). Are there many instances where tournament rules mandate that players take such a "time out" in either bidding or play? This is a "companion" to my other question: Can one ask for a "time out" to study the hand in bridge? <Q> The Laws of Duplicate Bridge indicate (in Law 73) that Calls and plays should be made without undue emphasis, mannerism or inflection, and without undue hesitation or haste. <S> But the Regulating Authority may require mandatory pauses, as on the first round of the auction, or after a skip-bid warning or on the first trick. <S> The ACBL is a Regulating Authority that does require mandatory pauses for skip bids. <S> The ACBL Codified Minutes , Chapter XII, Section A have this to say: A. <S> How and When Made Players should protect their rights and the opponent's by announcing, prior to making an opening bid on the two level or higher, or prior to making any subsequent bid that skips one or more levels of bidding: <S> When bidding orally by saying, "I am about to make a skip bid. <S> Please Wait!" <S> When using bidding boxes, by placing the stop card so the LHO sees it (the skip bidder is responsible for gaining LHO's attention). <S> The skip bid is made. <S> The stop card is replaced in the bidding box. <S> ... <S> C. Opponents of Skip <S> Bidder <S> All Players <S> In waiting the player's manner must be one that suggests he is an active participant in the auction (the hand should be studied during pause). <S> any (sic) obvious display of disinterest is most improper. <S> Experience Players Experienced players expected (sic) to maintain proper temp (sic) whether a skip bid is announced or not. <S> I've never seen a director called to protest that opponents are not using the stop card but would expect to see one called if an opponent was clearly using the stop card only for weak bids. <S> I have seen director calls after a player took far longer than 10 seconds to make a call after a skip bid and his partner took a bid at his next turn. <A> I have played in many tournaments in the US and haven't come across any mandated "timeouts" during the play, apart from the STOP card which is (inconsistently) used when making a skip bid. <S> I expect it will be something similar in Europe and other areas. <A> There is one additional "mandated time-out" in addition to the STOP card: <S> When dummy comes down, declarer is required to study the hand for a few seconds before calling a card. <S> Depending on how closely dummy resembles any bidding made, that would be on the order of 3 to 5 seconds. <S> To call a card quicker than this is highly unethical, and declarer's RHO is allowed to allowed to take this time in lieu if declarer refuses to do so. <S> There is no inference penalty for opening leader in this case, as declarer has willfully instigated the situation.
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When RHO has announced a skip bid, the player following the skip bidder must wait for a suitable interval (about 10 seconds).
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Can one creature block multiple attacks? I'm not much of a Magic player myself, although I do know a bit about the game. Recently, I got into an argument about whether one creature can block multiple creatures' attacks. It looks like rule 509.1a specifies that each blocking creature blocks one attacking creature: 509.1a The defending player chooses which creatures that he or she controls, if any, will block. The chosen creatures must be untapped. For each of the chosen creatures, the defending player chooses one creature for it to block that's attacking him, her, or a planeswalker he or she controls. But the point of the argument was, can "one" creature be chosen multiple times? Because it seemed like multiple blocking creatures could block one attack, but not the other way around. <Q> No, one creature cannot be chosen to block multiple attackers (unless otherwise specified on the card, like Avatar of Hope ). <S> Each blocking creature may be assigned to one attacking creature. <S> The rule, as you've pointed out, states (emphasis mine): 509.1a <S> The defending player chooses which creatures that he or she controls, if any, will block. <S> The chosen creatures must be untapped. <S> For each of the chosen creatures, the defending player chooses one creature for it to block that’s attacking him, her, or a planeswalker he or she controls. <S> The rule starts out by saying that the defender chooses all creatures that will block. <S> Declaring all blockers at the same time is important. <S> The defending player then assigns each blocker to one creature to block. <S> Since all blockers are declared at the same time, it cannot be assigned to block one creature multiple times; each blocker is assigned to one attacker when blockers are declared. <A> No, a creature can normally only block at most one attacking creature. <S> You have already quoted the relevant rule. <S> I will bold the part of the rule that answers your question: 509.1a <S> The defending player chooses which creatures that he or she controls, if any, will block. <S> The chosen creatures must be untapped. <S> For each of the chosen creatures , the defending player chooses one creature for it to block that’s attacking him, her, or a planeswalker he or she controls. <S> The chosen creatures referred to are the defenders . <S> Your mistake in reasoning was that you applied the rule to attackers, not the defenders, basically the other way round. <S> For each defending creature, you pick one attacker which to block. <S> Of course you can chose the same attacker multiple times for multiple defenders. <A> (You can of course block one attacker with multiple different creatures: as long as each blocker is only blocking one attacker). <S> Check out this link for examples of creatures and other cards that can break the one-creature-blocked-per-blocker rule. <A> Technically yes, if it has "can block any number of creatures" in the text. <S> Otherwise no.
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No sir, one creature can only block one creature, in any ordinary circumstances.
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Unique and fun rules for UNO I know the regular rules for UNO, but over the years, playing with different people, I hear all kinds of different rules. I've hear different rules when a specific card is played, you and/or everybody does something. For example: When someone plays any '5' card, everyone must slap the discard pile.The last people to slap must draw 2 cards from the pile. I've also heard different rules over the years but I can't seem to remember them. I don't think they were House Rules, more like "underground" rules that people over time have added and eventually were passed on through different people. I've heard different rules like switching cards in your hand with someone else, and etc. But I don't really know the specifics. So I guess my real question is, what are some unique rules that are apart the standard UNO Rules? Maybe even rules that "you" personally have made up that have made your time playing UNO enjoyable? Any information and/or help will be appreciated. Thanks! <Q> We have some house rules to make is faster and fun: <S> Every time you ask if it's your turn you draw a card <S> If you play an invalid card, you draw a card <S> If the rest think you are taking too long, you draw a card. <S> If someone plays a card that you also have in your hand, you can play it as well, but you need to be faster than the next player. <A> You might want to look at Mao (also known as "Chairman"). <S> Mao has gameplay similar to Uno <S> but the rules are secret, only communicated through penalties. <S> Typically, new rules are added over the course of play. <S> Of course, the in-game secrecy doesn't stop fans from discussing their house rules online. <S> I think it's a good source of inspiration because Mao house rules include both purely functional rules (like Konerak's pass-the-draw-card example) and action triggers (like your slap-the-5 example), with all sorts of levels of complexity and silliness. <S> One of the more-or-less standard rules, for instance, is that players must announce the name of any spade card they play; another is that you must thank people for forcing you to draw cards (under penalty of having to more draw cards, in both cases). <S> You can easily adapt rules like these to Uno to make it a more raucous game. <A> This combines a little bit of @gbianchi's and @Konerak's: we've always played that if you can exactly match the card on top of the pile (both color and value), you can play out of turn, and play continues as if it had been your turn. <S> If you have two identical cards in your hand, you can play them both at once. <S> When penalty cards are played this way, they can stack. <S> For example, if someone plays a yellow Draw 2, and you hold one as well, you can choose between playing it immediately to make the person after you pick up 4, or waiting for the naturally next player to pick up 2, then playing out of turn to make the person after you pick up 2. <S> Draw 4 <S> Wild cards can also stack, which often leads to one unlucky person drawing 12 or 16 because people hoard them. <S> Two Skips skip two people, two Reverses have no net effect. <S> The one exception to playing out of turn is that you can't play a card out of turn if you just picked it up as a penalty (Draw 2, Draw 4 Wild) <S> , you have to wait for another player to play at least one card before you can use those. <S> These rules speed the game up significantly because people want to play fast to prevent their turns from being stolen, and want to play even faster if they can steal someone's turn! <A> If someone plays a +2, you can throw a +2 on that and it becomes a +4 to the next one. <S> He again can add another +2... <S> This goes for punishments (+2 or +4 or other house rules that force a draw) too. <S> Forgetting to say 'UNO' adds 7 cards to your hand. <A> The only one I'll add is whenever a '0' is played, all players pass their hands to the person to their right (regardless of the direction the turn sequence is currently going). <S> Players who receive a hand of one card must say "UNO" or receive the penalty. <A> When we play we let +2's stack. <S> It makes the game much more fun when draws are running around the table and one unlucky person picks up 12 cards. <S> We also reduce the penalty for not saying Uno to one card because we always forget that. <A> Instead of each player starting with 7 cards, what I do is have each player start with 10, 20, 30, 40, or even 50 cards.
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Right after drawing a card but before adding it to your hand, if you can play the card you just drew, you are allowed to.
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When should you not place the robber to do the most damage in Settlers of Catan? If you have the robber and are playing against the field, you might want to place it where it can do the most damage. But my understanding is that sometimes the better use is to "sic" the robber on the player who is in the lead. How do you decide between the two courses of action or others? And what about the times when one or another course of action will do YOU some harm? <Q> The robber is a political action. <S> If it's early days in the game, you may well want to shrug your shoulders and say "I don't care, I'm just going to put this where it will cause the most damage to the most players who aren't me. <S> Nothing personal." <S> If it's later on, you might want to attack a player who's been giving you hassle, and make it clear that that's what you're doing. <S> Or you might want to avoid doing anything to hurt a player who's behind - they may be grateful to be "given a break", and return the favour later. <S> Naturally, if another player is about to do rather too well, putting the robber on him may be everyone else's last chance not to lose the game. <S> Or if you're about to grab the last few points necessary to win, then a well-judged resource-steal may be a timely action. <S> But in general I don't think you need <S> to micro-analyse your robber plays. <S> Use the robber to make friends and punish enemies, and maintain some approximation of a status quo (until you're ready to break free of that). <S> Sometimes it can even be advantageous to place the robber where it will do <S> the <S> least harm. <S> Everybody likes a nice person, right? <S> Where I come from, it's not nice guys who finish last, but overly competitive ones :) <A> The placement of the robber should take into account several factors: <S> Does the next player have a Knight card? <S> (or Development card, since this isn't open information) <S> If they do, they are likely to use it before rolling for their turn, likely putting it on your settlement/city. <S> You should consider placing it on a hex that blocks the player to your right, because it has the highest probabilty of remaining there. <S> Does another player have a higher pobability of having a good you need right now? <S> Stealing from them may help you improve you board position this turn, allowing you to build that road, settlement, or city this turn intead of having to hold cards in hand until next turn. <S> Who is in the lead? <S> Does placement of the robber make your trade goods more valuable, or a good less available? <S> If you become the sole provider for a good, it will trade for more or make it harder for someone to get a good you want to make more scarce. <S> Does this hurt the most (more blocked pips) without hurting you? <S> You rarely want to block your own settlements/cities. <A> One obvious choice is when an opponent threatens to take the Longest Road (card), and thereby reach 10 points, with the help of a city on wood/brick with a 6/8. <S> I would block a hex to stop this course of events, even if I had a settlement adjacent.
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If a player is closer to winning than any other player, hurting them is usually a good course of action.
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What happens when you blink a cipher-ed creature? if I have a cipher ability encoded on a creature, and I cast a Restoration Angel , thus exiling and returning the creature to play, does the creature still have the cipher ability? How about creatures returning from the graveyard (undying ability)? <Q> The creature ceases to exist (permanently) as soon as it leaves the battlefield for any reason. <S> 400.7. <S> An object that moves from one zone to another becomes a new object with no memory of, or relation to, its previous existence. <S> There are seven exceptions to this rule: <S> None of the exception help cipher. <S> That leaves the card with cipher in exile, encoding a creature that no longer exists, and which will therefore never deal any combat damage again. <S> When the card returns to the battlefield, it becomes yet again another object. <S> This is why it comes back untapped, untransformed, with summoning sickness, without any counters it used to have, and of course, without any cards encoded on it. <S> There is a rule to remind you of this: 702.97c <S> The card remains encoded on that object even if it changes controller or stops being a creature, as long as it remains on the battlefield. <A> When a creature leaves the battlefield and returns, whether by blinking or undying or anything else, it returns as a new creature. <S> The creature that the cipher spell was encoded on no longer exists, and the new creature doesn't have a spell encoded on it. <S> This is the same reason you can do things like blinking a creature to save it from being targeted by a spell or to remove it from combat. <S> With respect to cipher in particular, the comp rules do say: 702.97c <S> The card with cipher remains encoded on the chosen creature as long as the card with cipher remains exiled and the creature remains on the battlefield. <S> The card remains encoded on that object even if it changes controller or stops being a creature, as long as it remains on the battlefield. <S> It's not quite explicit, but it pretty clearly implies that once the creature leaves the battlefield, the cipher relationship is gone. <A> Just remember when anything hits the exile zone that it is a reset of that creature,enchantment,artifact, or land. <S> If it was a token it dissipates. <S> If it creature it enters the battlefield for the first time. <S> Anything stolen, taken, by spells will reset and become your new property.
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The card with cipher remains encoded on the chosen creature as long as the card with cipher remains exiled and the creature remains on the battlefield.
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How much money would I have to spend to play in tournaments? In posing this question, I realize that it may be out of scope for boardgames.SE; this question could be subjective and the monetary costs vary quite a bit between cheapest and most expensive decks. Having said that, I think this could have value if it falls within the Q&A format appropriately. I've been a casual player for awhile, but I've rarely dabbled in tournament formats. I think I spent some time between Mirrodin and Ravnica playing Standard, but beyond that I have had very little exposure. I am realizing that I'd like to start participating in the more competitive tournament side of Magic, but I'm concerned about the cost. I get the sense that it is a much larger initial investment to start in Vintage and Legacy because there is a solid base that most decks use in land and mana artifacts, and the upkeep may be minimal as new cards come out that fit a deck, whereas the initial cost in Modern and Standard is lower, but there are continual costs as new sets come out that consistently change the format. Beyond that, I don't have a great sense of how much these costs are, and the average costs of these would partially determine what style of tournaments I'm likely to be attracted to. What is the average cost of a deck for each of the major tournament types? These would at least include Vintage, Legacy, Extended, Modern and Standard, plus any others I may be unaware of. <Q> The easiest way to compile the information you're looking for that <S> I know of is with tcgPlayer's deck search: <S> http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/deck_search.asp <S> Choose a "Format" Choose " <S> Places Finished" : 1st, 2nd, 3rd-4th, 5th-8th <S> Choose "Deck Origination" : Event and Article Decks <S> Only Only took me a minute or two to compile that for the most recent star city games legacy open the top 8 decks had a min price of $1100, max of $2500 and median around $1600. <A> For tournaments lets elaborate the types available: Draft: 3 pack boosters, usually 10-15 $ price range, and may last around 3-5 hours. <S> Standard: sets that are from previous year and including this year. <S> The cost of playing a constant standard environment is usually very expensive as most of the packs rotate. <S> There are cases for like the zendicar and scars block that it made every single deck into a single deck. <S> Sometimes to win may cost more than just playing for fun. <S> The current standard is good played a homebrew and it can still win. <S> Modern: <S> Sets from 8th edition moving forward. <S> The idea of this deck style is to enable all types of standard decks to be viable in modern to increase diversity. <S> Wizard constantly nerf spells or ban them for being to fast. <S> Cost depends on card choices mono red for example <S> is usually is a 100-200 $. <S> You don't need fetches, all you need is skill, and luck. <S> Legacy: <S> The 2nd most expensive format ever, as it has 50-100+ lands, spells that have a price range of 20-110+ aka JTMS, and the most diverse decks you will ever see which is the plus side. <S> Mono red hardly works in this format as turn <S> 3 batterskull can cost you a card to pitch which would be 3 damage. <S> Goblins also cost over 200 as the lands to interrupt lands played by opponents is needed. <S> Vintage: <S> Moxes and everythign stated on top. <S> Mostly combo decks that end in turn 1 with either 5 - 6 cards in hand of average. <S> What is your best investment as a competitive player? <S> Well, my recommendation would be draft as high priority, use the draft games to improve your card collection and play the most average win percent on standard(Percentage may mean its chance of winning), and then modern to use your remaining card pool and make something awesome. <S> My tips: <S> Do not invest on any Return to ravnica or gatecrash lands. <S> Next set dragon maze will have a chance for a dual land on every pack. <S> Making lands extremely cheap. <S> When building a deck make sure you don't destroy your deck after side boarding. <S> Seriously this happens a lot, people get intimidated by decks and put so much counter that their decks are no longer viable. <S> Put enough but don't destroy your deck. <S> Good luck <A> Vintage almost always runs power-9 and other "tenth power" cards such as Mishra's factory and Library of Alexandria. <S> Vintage decks tend to get into the ten thousands . <S> the major expense of Legacy decks is lands. <S> Other cards can be fairly expensive, but not as much as the lands. <S> Outliers include things like Jtms, FOW, Moat, Goyf, and candleabra. <S> you can also run fetchlands, which tend to be a bit cheaper than straight-up duals <S> You can generally put together a decent legacy for around $600 . <S> Affinity, Elves, and Goblins can be as low as $200 , depending on the build. <S> Modern decks vary in price. <S> I estimate the cost of a typical tron deck at $300 to $400 , but you can definitely go cheaper with things like burn <S> The cost of modern is kinda in flux at the moment, and with modern masters on the way, IT might be going down. <S> Standard decks should normally run you around $200 for all of the best stuff, but when one card dominates the format as much as say... <S> Jace, the price can go way up. <S> But you can go way lower than that, especially if you're running mono-red, mono-green, or something like that. <S> Before, RTR, I ran a $40 mono-green deck that could come in first place at the local FNM through tier-1 delver and wolf-run decks. <S> right now standard is a bit inflated with all the legacy and modern playability of the cards(like shocks) keeping the prices up. <S> If they do, I'd recommend checking out nearby LGS's to see if they have the event deck at MSRP. <S> Some LGS's do, and some don't. <S> an event deck is a simple deck that has about 7 rares, but is geared toward being a decently playable deck. <S> It will generally run a bunch of good commons and uncommons, and it is expected to win about 25% of the time at a competitive tournament.
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If you're just looking to play at some of the local FNM tournaments, you should pick up an event deck , they retail for about $25 , but sometimes they have more value than the MSRP so your Local Games Store might charge more than that. Some of the more expensive legacy decks, which run playsets of jace or moats can get up to $2000 .
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How to store cards when game boxes don't have slots for them I have two board games which use a lot of cards, but their boxes don't have dedicated space to store them in an ordered manner and whenever I'd like to play them again I have to start with sorting all the cards by type. How can I store these cards so they don't fly all over the box? The exact two games I have in mind are Lord of the Rings LCG and Dragon's Ordeal , but I'm looking for a solution which I could apply to a greater variety of dimensions. I am not from the UK or US so I'd prefer more generic items, because it might be difficult/too expensive to purchase stuff from Amazon or online shops. <Q> Hair Bands <S> Similar to using rubber bands, <S> but they don't deteriorate and stick to the cards over time. <S> If possible get metal free ones, rather than the type on the right - less likely to catch on the cards. <S> Small Cardboard Boxes Have a look around your house, you'll probably find something that's the right size. <A> Rubber bands - Extremely cheap solution . <S> Allows you to group cards of a similar type together. <S> Over a long period of time though, the rubber will crack and may even stick to your cards. <S> If you sleeve your cards this is of minor concern. <S> Plastic Sandwich bags - If you submit your games to high humidity, these do not "breath" and may cause moisture damage. <S> Custom Dividers <S> - You can create custom dividers for your game boxes by cutting cardboard, chip board, foam core, or wood into horizontal and vertical slats with notches. <S> When pieced together, they should hold the cards in place. <S> Custom Tuck boxes - Many games have custom tuck boxes that have been designed by fans. <S> Check the BGG file section. <S> If not, you can always use a deck box for Magic the Gathering or similar card game. <A> I bought a bunch of these grip seal bags in various sizes. <S> I did buy these from Amazon, but have seen them in stationery shops if you prefer not to get them shipped. <S> These ones for cards cost me £1.34 GBP with free shipping for 100 (1.3 pence each). <S> Unless eBay/Amazon shipping is super extortionate for you, I think they are worth the investment; I've found them great for storing decks of cards as well as other components. <S> http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0026DGN00/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1 <A> If you do not find tuckboxes for your favorite game at boardgamegeek.com already, you may always easly create your own boxes here. <A> I use Hugo's Amazing Tape . <S> It works similarly to plastic wrap; but it doesn't tear like that does. <S> And you can either re-wrap it around the deck each time, or slide the wrapped ring on and off the cards ( <S> unless they are sleeved, then it won't slide). <S> I use the 1/2 inch, but I think the 1 inch would actually work better. <S> Very similarly, a friend of mine actually uses bondage tape for this. <S> It also works in the exact same way, but is at least 2 inches wide I believe. <A> Amazing tape or ziplock bags. <S> A craft store should have bags in various handy sizes — look in the beading section. <S> Edit to add: I also bought online a tiny hole punch. <S> Small enough holes that I use it on bits bags and don’t worry about small game pieces falling out.
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Plasters often come in boxes that are a good fit for cards.
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Do Gather The Townsfolk's (or cards like it) tokens go on the stack separately? A friend of mine was playing a deck that uses Cathars' Crusade and Gather the Townsfolk (and cards like it) to pump his creatures. Another guy was watching and said that all the tokens went on the stack separately so each subsequent token was smaller than the last. This leads to my question: Is this correct? And, if it is, what happens if, in response to the first or second token going on the stack, someone played a split second spell so nothing else could enter the stack (like the rest of the tokens)? <Q> Tokens don't go on the stack, only spells and abilities. <S> Gather <S> the Townsfolk creates both tokens simultaneously. <S> You cast Gather the Townsfolk . <S> Gather <S> the Townsfolk resolves: <S> Put two 1/1 white Human creature tokens onto the battlefield. <S> Cathars' Crusade 's triggers twice. <S> Cathars' Crusade's ability is placed on the stack twice. <S> The second instance of Cathars' Crusade's ability resolves: <S> Put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control. <S> The first instance of Cathars' Crusade's ability resolves: <S> Put a +1/+1 counter on each creature you control. <S> Both tokens (and any other creatures you might have had) got two +1/+1 counters. <S> As for your second question, someone casting a split second spell would not change anything. <S> A split second spell between steps 1 and 2 would resolve before step 2, then you continue with step 2. <S> Same goes for one cast between steps 3 and 4, or between steps 4 and 5. <S> Split second merely stop you from casting a spell or activating an ability in response to the split second spell. <A> NO, only the spell is put on the stack. <S> This Bog Post from magicjudges.org talks about that exact situation. <S> When the Cathars' Crusade triggers resolve both tokens get a +1/+1 counters for each trigger, and therefore both creatures are 3/3. <S> EDIT: <S> For a similar situation see this question's answers <A> Gather <S> The Townsfolk is one spell on the stack that generates multiple tokens. <S> Each token entering the battlefield triggers a separate Cathars' Crusade "enters the battlefield" ability. <S> (This is probably what that guy was talking about.) <S> However, all the tokens enter the battlefield simultaneously. <S> The "enters the battlefield" abilities on the stack each resolve in turn, and all the tokens are already on the battlefield, so all the tokens will get a +1/+1 counter from the effect of each ability. <S> This is clarified with the Cathars' Crusade ruling on gatherer: <S> The creature that entered the battlefield and caused the ability to trigger will also get a +1/+1 counter, provided it's still on the battlefield when the ability resolves. <S> The second part of your question. <S> And, if it is, what happens if, in response to the first or second token going on the stack, someone played a split second spell so nothing else could enter the stack (like the rest of the tokens)? <S> We've established that tokens aren't going on the stack, only the spell that creates them. <S> They all enter the battlefield simultaneously, so there's nothing Split Second can do to prevent a token from being created. <S> Split Second also doesn't prevent triggered abilities from going on the stack, so there's nothing it can do to prevent the tokens from receiving all the +1/+1 counters.
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Once Gather the Townsfolk resolves both tokens enter the battlefield simultaneously and then the Cathars' Crusade triggers go on the stack.
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Can we fake-advance any card? Some Assets can be advanced (e.g. Project Junebug) and some can't (e.g. Snare!). Is it OK to advance any asset cards to make them look like Agenda? For example, with the ambush assets the Runner would be lured, but the advance token(s) would have no other effects. <Q> No, you cannot fake advance cards that do not specifically say they can be advanced. <S> Page 14 in the rule book: Cards other than agendas can only be advanced if their text box allows it. <S> Related: <S> http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/892149/can-you-advance-snare <A> The rules say you can advance Agendas, and any other card which says it can be advanced. <S> If a card says you can advance it, you can. <S> For Assets which don't say you can advance them, you cannot. <S> (Normally card effects only apply when they are ressed and active.) <A> The answers already given are correct and were correct at the time of the question, however there is a change to how this works as of 2014. <S> The card Mushin <S> No Shin puts three counters on the card as it is installed, this card does not need to be advancable to hold advancement counters, it only needs to be advancable to advance it through the normal advance action. <S> Queen's Gambit lets the runner advance an unrezzed corp card, gambling that it is not an agenda or asset that would benefit from these advancements for credits. <S> Priority Construction functions like Mushin but for ice.
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If a card does say you can advance it, you can advance it even when it is unrezzed, unless it says otherwise.
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Where can I find price-lists for Star Trek CCG cards? I have some Star Trek CCG cards from the Decipher game in the 1990s. I'm looking to discover if any of these cards have economic value. I've tried looking at starcitygames.com and tcgplayer.com, but neither seems to cover older CCG games. I checked ebay but people's asking prices are varied and I suspect unrealistic. I know Scrye magazine used to list prices but that's out of print. Are there any online or paper sources for Star Trek CCG card pricelists? <Q> Ebay is a good way to offload cards, although the "value" you get is sometimes questionable. <S> For example, the Future Enterprise can sell for anything from £20 to £40 depending who is watching/buying, but then you might buy 1,000 cards for £12 and get 2 of them <S> (i've recently won a bid for 1,000+ cards for £22, and the only reason I went this high is because I could see a small stack of cards which i have hardly any from that set!). <S> Bulk sales will sell the cards quicker, and will get more people at least watching, but you will get less in return. <S> I have tried to sell stacks of 200 randoms starting at £2, but had no interest at all - yet a friend sold half-a-dozen 3/4 card lots for £1-2 each, simply because the buyers could see the cards. <S> If you know your cards, it might be worth splitting them into lots of 3/4 Rares, and start these listed at £1 or some similar value. <S> You again will be unlikely to get their full "value" but will get more from a sizable collection than either blind-bulk sales, or holding on to them for a "rainy day" - because as people have said, they are unlikely to increase in price. <S> Depending what you have... I might even be interested!! <S> :¬D <A> For the most part, out of print CCG's have very little value, except if you have a lot and can find someone that wants to buy the whole collection so they can play the game with just what you provide. <S> So, in short, no, there are no recent sources for ST:TCG card prices. <A> www.trekcc.org maybe able to help you out, as the game is not dead as others are trying to tell you. <A> Trollandtoad.com has listings for all sorts of Star Trek singles. <S> Of course, that is the price they're selling them for, so if you're trying to sell them yourself, you're going to get a lot less than that. <S> They seem to be selling most cards for less than $5. <S> Future Enterprise is listed at $40 (and out of stock).
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There is almost no market for single cards for any CCG that isn't played by a lot of people at the current time, so there's no reason for anyone to keep track of prices to sell them individually.
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What is the appropriate way to snipe a king that castles through check? In lightning chess matches (matches with time controls of 3 minutes or less on each side), some players play with the rule of "king sniping" - that is, to save time, if the opponent played a move that left his king in check, the other player can simply capture it (thereby winning the game) rather than forcing the opponent to retract his move. Combined with the rule that the king cannot castle through check (cannot move two spaces if the space between the origin and destination is attacked by an opposing piece), the problem arises of what the appropriate way is to capture the king if this actually happens in a lightning match, as the king is not in a position of check either before or after the opponent's turn. Simply taking the king away might confuse the player because the other piece will have made a technically illegal move, but moving to the square that the king castled through (which amounts to a sort of "en passant" capture, capturing a piece/pawn that moved two squares in a special case as if it had only moved one square) captures the rook instead of the king. Is there any convention for this? <Q> When the king castled through check, your opponent made an illegal move. <S> Call it, and you win. <A> I'd say the en passant method is the way to go. <S> There's no conventions for this that I know of. <A> In blitz, you can take the opposing king (whereas in normal chess, it's illegal to move such that you're in check). <S> Not all blitz is this way: online chess typically just retains the rule that leaving yourself in check is illegal, and this is fine since the computer enforces the rule. <S> In real life blitz, because of the fast pace, the usual convention is that you lose if you leave your king in check. <S> This is to stop people from wasting your time by moving into check, hitting the clock, letting YOUR time run, then taking the move back afterward... <S> it's hard to restore the time you lost. <S> Normally you just capture the king outright and claim victory in over-the-board blitz. <S> But as you note, you can't do this in a clear fashion when your opponent castles through an attacked square. <S> There are similar illegal moves that could occur: castling with a rook that has already moved, or with a king that's already moved, or simply making an outright illegal move. <S> The convention <S> I have always used is that illegal moves must be retracted. <S> But simply moving through an attacked square would not qualify, and you would simply hold down your clock button (to stop your opponent from starting your clock) and say, " <S> Illegal castling... please retract the move". <S> You would not be entitled to capture his king.
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If the king is OUTRIGHT left in check, you may capture it and declare a win.
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Do other players replenish their traded cards after a trading phase in Bohnanza? In Bohnanza say I have 5 cards during a round. Another player is in his trading phase and I trade a card with him, I put the traded card on my trading area and then plant it on my field. I'm now down to 4 cards so, do I have to take a card from the pile for the one I traded? <Q> To the best of my knowledge, there is no "minimum hand size" rule in Bohnanza. <S> The active player draws three cards at the end of his round, but it's perfectly possible to start your round with no cards at all in hand! <S> As demonstrated by this line in the "1. <S> Plant bean cards" section of the rulebook: <S> If the active player has no cards in his hand, he omits this step. <S> So, no, you don't draw to replace cards you used in trades, at least not in any variant of Bohnanza <S> I'm familiar with. <A> No. <S> Beyond this, there are no other actions the non-active players make to process a trade. <S> The rule book mentions in a side note <S> By trading or donating cards from their hands, players get rid of cards they do not want to plant. <S> The point of trading is to get cards out of your hand, so replacing them with new cards by drawing would be counter-productive. <A> The other answers are right, only the active player draws cards. <S> So the standard-rules make it possible that you empty your hand through trades. <S> The extension Ladybohn offers a rule variation. <S> Instead of the active player drawing three cards, everyone draws one card at the end of the turn. <S> That makes the game faster for higher numbers of players. <S> We usually use that rule, even if we don't use Ladybohn.
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There is no where in the rules to indicate that this would be the case in any situation. The rules clearly state that The non-active players may only trade/donate cards from their hands.
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Can I target an indestructible creature with a 'destroy target creature' spell? Of course the spell won't resolve, but is the indestructible creature a legal target for a spell with the effect "destroy target creature"? For example, can I target Gideon, Champion of Justice , animated by its second ability, with Rapid Hybridization ? <Q> Yes, Indestructible creatures are legal targets for spells/abilities that say "destroy target creature." <S> The spell actually does resolve, but when it attempts to destroy the creature rule 700.4 prevents it from happening. <S> The requirements for a "legal target" for a spell must be a permanent, unless the spell/ability specifies otherwise. <S> Indestructibility does not modify the rules for targeting, unlike the rules for protection (702.15b A permanent or player with protection can’t be targeted by spells with the stated quality and can’t be targeted by abilities from a source with the stated quality). <S> You can target Gideon with Rapid Hybridization , and when it resolves it will fail to destroy Gideon and will create 3/3 frog owned by Gideon's controller. <S> 114.2. <S> Only permanents are legal targets for spells and abilities, unless a spell or ability (a) specifies that it can target an object in another zone or a player, (b) targets an object that can’t exist on the battlefield, such as a spell or ability, or (c) targets a zone. <S> 700.4. <S> If a permanent is indestructible, rules and effects can’t destroy it. <S> (See rule 701.6, “Destroy.”) <S> Such permanents are not destroyed by lethal damage, and they ignore the lethal-damage state-based action (see rule 704.5g). <S> Rules or effects may cause an indestructible permanent to be sacrificed, put into a graveyard, or exiled. <A> Unless it says "destroy target creature that's not indestructible" than yes, you can target it. <S> And yes, the spell will resolve. <S> Gideon won't be destroyed, but his controller will still get his Frog Lizard <S> The same goes for spells that cannot be countered and tapping and untapping creatures. <S> ` <A> Rapid Hybridization <S> has you pick a target creature . <S> Since Gideon, Champion of Justice is a creature (at this time), you can pick it as the target. <S> But Gideon is indestructible (at this time). <S> It can't be destroyed [CR 700.4], but Rapid Hybridization instructs you to destroy it. <S> Can't trumps <S> do <S> [CR 101.2] <S> , so you're asked to do something impossible. <S> 609.3. <S> If an effect attempts to do something impossible, it does only as much as possible. <S> So in this case, the following happens: Destroy target creature. <S> It can't be regenerated. <S> That creature's controller puts a 3/3 green Frog Lizard creature token onto the battlefield. <S> Gideon's controller will get to keep Gideon, and he will gain a Frog Lizard. <A> this is from the ruling section from the gatherer link for 'Rapid Hybridization' If Rapid Hybridization resolves and the creature isn’t destroyed (perhaps because it’s indestructible), its controller will still get the Frog Lizard token.
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You can target anything that matches the description given for what's a legal target (unless Shroud, Hexproof or similar prevents you).
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Preventing early elimination from ruining someone's first game of Diplomacy? I'm planning a game of Diplomacy with my friends for this weekend. The problem is, none of us have ever played before, so I'm trying to fill the gaps in my understanding so that our inexperience doesn't reduce the fun. One of the issues I'm worried about is someone getting eliminated, or practically eliminated, early in the game. I'm not sure how often eliminations happen in the game, but I really don't want to ask someone to reserve four hours of their time to play, only to have them get taken out of the running very early and have to watch the rest of us play. Note that I'm not opposed to someone getting eliminated, but to someone not having fun because they were eliminated. How often do early eliminations happen in Diplomacy? Do you ever find player elimination to be a problem? What, if anything, do you do to reduce the potential negative impacts of player elimination? What tips would you give a group of noobs with regard to eliminations? <Q> Like Ry4an said, it is pretty much guaranteed that some people will be eliminated (or nearly so) early on. <S> You'll want to make people aware of this at the beginning, and set some expectations going in of how people will react (ie Is it OK to just give standing orders for 1 or 2 units and leave? <S> Is it OK to proxy control of units to another player and leave? <S> Are eliminated players allowed to listen in on negotiations between other players?) <S> Another option that I mentioned here is to plan to play several mini-games with pre-determined ending years. <S> You won't get the full end-game experience, but several shorter games with some time to debrief in between might be a better first Diplomacy experience than one full game with a number of eliminations. <A> The game will most likely contract from seven players down to six or five within the first 6 turns, with someone hitting zero SCs in Fall 1903. <S> The first people eliminated will probably be pretty bummed, but usually not so much at the game as at the person they trusted, who stabbed them. <S> You could arrange to make the first eliminated player become the adjudicator for future orders. <S> That helps everyone and keeps them in a position to learn more about the game with everyone else. <A> Let the first eliminated player be the Judge for the remainder of the game - assuming you don't have a Judge already and the player understands the rules well enough. <S> The Judge can keep and enforce official time, adjudicate the orders, resolve disputes. <S> Once there are two or more eliminated players, start a second game. <S> Poker maybe. <S> Just overhearing the action can be sorta fun. <S> Team play! <S> Eliminated players can serve as Ambassadors for remaining players and be hired or fired, or defect, at any time. <S> (Spy games!) <S> Ambassadors may not submit orders. <S> As such, this is actually not a rule change or house rule, because nothing in the rules as they are prevents such a thing. <S> (Now if Ambassadors can submit orders, that's a whole other thing entirely, and would require very specific and clear house rules.) <S> (For email games where seasons last multiple days) Ratings Wars! <S> The "Europa" news magazine releases an issue twice a year, publicly (all players receive it). <S> Eliminated players become columnists, who receive adjudications, interview the remaining Powers and publish their columns in Europa each season. <S> No one is required to talk to columnists, and columnists are not required to interview players. <S> (Who needs sources ?) <S> If there are multiple columnists, each player may optionally cast votes (up to one vote per owned center) to the columnists in any combination they choose along with their seasonal orders. <S> Europa is then published alongside the adjudication. <S> Columnists have their own meta-game competing for votes. <S> This could affect the "real" game quite a bit. <A> Players can be eliminated in two ways. <S> 1) <S> They get "wiped out," losing all of their supply centers and pieces. <S> 2) <S> They are surrounded and about to get wiped out, so they resign by declaring "civil disorder. <S> " <S> Their piece remain on the board until eliminated, and they can't move, but other players can "support" individual pieces located in cities to prevent them from being captured by a third party. <S> Elimination usually takes time (at least two or three game years), but is part of the game, so people need to learn this. <S> And even after elimination, there is an incentive for people to stick around: 1) to see others get eliminated and 2) to learn from the experience of others. <S> One way to greatly reduce the chances of your new players' being eliminated early is to have them draw separately for the corner countries that are less likely to get eliminated. <S> In Diplomacy, Should You Have Separate Country "Draws" For Players of Different Experience? <S> Once these players have drawn their countries, you can have a full draw for everyone else.
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You might want to have other games on hand so that eliminated players can entertain themselves during the negotiation phase and check in on the Diplomacy game occasionally if they're interested in the final outcome. If everyone is new, there may be a lot of back and forth that will prevent people from being eliminated quickly.
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How can I balance mandatory quests in two-player games of Lords of Waterdeep? I am looking for a variant to balance out mandatory quests when playing 2 player. I understand that normally they are powerful, and exist as a catch up mechanic, allowing all players to target the leader. This does not work in a two-player game. In a three-player game when a mandatory quest is played, the biggest winner is the player not involved in the play. In a two-player game the biggest winner is the player playing the card. What I find bad is not that mandatory quests are powerful, but how weak all the other Intrigue cards are. Instead of getting a boost, they are mostly weakened. Cards that get you agents and points get you less. Cards that give things to opponents, make you give things to "all" opponents. This seems to make the game much more luck-based, as drawing mandatory quests is just so much better than any other Intrigue card. This is the aspect that I really dislike. One solution might be to create a dummy player. This player would always do what the person playing the Intrigue card wants, giving agents or VP for instance. I would like to know if there are any other ways that would balance the cards out better. <Q> First, I agree that Mandatory Quests can be a little unbalancing. <S> I've never played 2-player, but I can see how they could be even worse in that case. <S> I've seen a handful of alternatives, any of which may work for you and your opponent: <S> Don't use them . <S> Remove them from the Intrigue deck beforehand, or discard and draw again if you draw one during the game. <S> Allow, but penalise, completing other quests while they're in play . <S> Make them not mandatory. <S> Allow the receiver of the Mandatory Quest to complete other quests, but any VP reward is reduced by, for instance, the VP reward of the Mandatory Quest, until they complete the Mandatory Quest to remove this penalty. <S> Allow other quests, but penalise taking time over the Mandatory Quest . <S> You could lose 1 VP the first turn, 2 the second and so on, tracking with VP chips if necessary (or think of a flat rate per turn - 2 VP maybe? <S> - if you prefer). <S> You could probably ignore a Mandatory Quest late in the game (when they're most annoying, in my experience), but early Mandatory Quests should be completed before they snowball. <S> Allow counters . <S> You can reveal a Mandatory Quest from your hand to cancel out being given one. <S> Both are discarded. <S> This would reduce how often they're played, since you may keep one in your hand in defence. <S> Hopefully one of these suggestions will help you out, or inspire you to come up with your own solution that you feel is right! <A> Late answer, but how about allow other quests and for every mandatory quest not competed at the end of each round, deduct 2 points. <S> So an annoying penalty that can get progressive worse, but not devastating, and can be ignored, especially late in the game. <A> I like some of the suggestions here and wanted to throw in one more. <S> My wife and I play with a dummy player specifically for the Intrigue Cards whereby you say, remove Orange from each player - and you get Orange for each player that has none. <S> The "Dummy" player always has none, making these cards worthwhile. <S> Also, with respect to cards where you're given 4 Gold for 4 points or whatever, we've assigned these values. <S> White/Purple - 8 pointsOrange/Black - 4 <S> points4 Gold - 8 Points
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Allow other quests to be completed, but at the end of every one of your turns when you have an incomplete Mandatory Quest in front of you, lose some VP.
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Are counters (noun) physical things? Card example: Beckon Apparition (Gatecrash) There are a lot of cards that use counter as a noun. I did some Googling but I'm just not clear on what I need to use for counters. Are they physical things I can buy and if so, what is a good online resource? Can I just make do with coins or something? <Q> Yes, counters should be represented by physical objects. <S> 122.1. <S> A counter is a marker placed on an object or player that modifies its characteristics and/or interacts with a rule, ability, or effect. <S> [...] There has been official products for use as counters. <S> Punch cards including -1/-1 counters and brick counters were provided alongside the Amonkhet block (Apr 2017). <S> To help support the keyword counters it introduced, the Ikoria set (Apr 2020) provided punch cards with +1/+1 counters and keyword counters. <S> You aren't required to use these. <S> The objects used as counter can be anything. <S> Dice and flat-bottomed glass beads meant to be used in flower vases are popular. <S> You can get the latter at Michaels or Jo-Ann, among others. <S> Some gaming stores carry them as well. <S> I've seen people use pennies, but they will scratch your cards if the cards aren't protected. <S> (Anything could, but beads and dice have rounder edges.) <A> From the Magic Rules: 100.2. <S> To play, each player needs his or her own deck of traditional Magic cards, small items to represent any tokens and counters, and some way to clearly track life totals. <S> and 121.1. <S> A counter is a marker placed on an object or player that modifies its characteristics and/or interacts with a rule, ability, or effect. <S> Counters are not objects and have no characteristics. <S> Notably, a counter is not a token, and a token is not a counter. <S> Counters with the same name or description are interchangeable. <S> I tend to use D6s, although there are rare occasions when I have to use D10s or D20s, depending on the card. <S> I find it easier to keep track of the number of counters on a card if I am using dice to mark them. <A> I always use dice, which makes it real easy to keep track even if you have a lot of counter.i got something like this .
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Any object will do to mark counters on a card.
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Why does Wizards of the Coast print terrible MTG cards? I understand that there needs to be a wide variety of power levels in Magic: The Gathering. Even bad cards will see play in limited formats, some because they fill a specific niche ( flying removal , fat colorless flyer , providing a counter to certain decks ), and others because those decks can't afford to be too picky. However, some cards are just unforgivably terrible . I'm talking about cards that you would only run in sealed if you had absolutely no other options: Mindless Null : Black 2/2 for 3 with a big disadvantage Defensive Stance : literally does nothing in exchange for you getting card disadvantage Merfolk of the Depths : Would still be bad if it only costed 5... Archangel's Light : 8 mana just to gain some life and put cheap cards back into your deck. And it's a mythic rare.... There are many more examples, but I think these best illustrate my case. Obviously I'd rather have these cards in the game than not have them at all, but I feel like Wizards of the Coast could have made Magic a more enjoyable game just by keeping the flavor and making all of these cards a tiny bit better...yet they didn't. Why? <Q> I already posted a link to Maro's article , but here's his summary: <S> By definition, some bad cards have to exist. <S> (The most important reason.) <S> Some cards are “bad” because they aren’t meant for you. <S> Some cards are “bad” because the right deck for them doesn’t exist yet. <S> “Bad” cards reward the more skilled player. <S> Some players enjoy discovering good “bad” cards. <S> Some “bad” cards are simply R&D goofing up. <S> I agree with his "most important reason" very strongly. <S> If all cards were created equal or almost-equal, then skill-intensive deckbuilding formats such as draft would come down to the luck of the draw, rather than card-analysis skills, a lot more often than they should. <A> Tom LaPille, When Cards Go Bad, Part 2 , a followup to the first When Good Cards Go Bad article thesunneversets linked, has a few more points that haven't been fully explored yet. <S> Some cards aren't fun when they're good. <S> Here he uses the example of Scrambleverse , which has really cumbersome and complicated mechanics, explaining that it is costed very high so that it doesn't get played often. <S> The only people that play it are the people that really want to. <S> Limited needs to be balanced. <S> I think Limited play is the biggest reason there are "bad" cards in modern MtG. <S> From the article: …there was a meeting when both blue and black were doing much better than we wanted in our playtests. <S> Lead developer Aaron Forsythe decreed that we needed a weak blue card and a weak black card. <S> None of us came up with a blue card that was weak enough, so Aaron created Defensive Stance to fill the hole. <S> So while Defensive Stance does have some narrow infect-hosing mechanic, it was basically created just to keep blue drafters in New Phyrexia in check. <S> Draft needs to be human-processable. <S> Drafting is a complex enough task already without every card being extremely close together in power, so we include plenty of cards of widely differing power levels so that the right answer can be a little bit less ambiguous. <S> This doesn't simplify the task of correctly identifying those power levels—a challenging task in itself!—but it does make deciding between correctly-identified power levels a little bit easier. <S> Imagine if every card in a pack had the same power-level. <S> I have a hard enough time deciding between two or three similar power-level cards in a draft. <S> If all cards had a similar power level, each decision becomes stressful and agonizing. <S> Drafts would slow to a crawl. <S> If there are some "last pick" cards and definite common "bombs", it makes the draft a bit more smooth and manageable. <A> It might be worth noting that Archangel's Light was specifically designed to be at a "safe" power level because it was designed very late in development, to replace a card that was turning out to be rather broken and couldn't be salvaged. <S> R&D don't have an infinite amount of time to balance each set, and they'd rather leave some cards at a safer power level than risk pushing them up to a level where they can't tell if it might be bad for the health of the constructed format. <A> In addition to the other answers, most cards are designed with limited in mind. <S> Creatures are never dead cards in limited, especially if you are short on creatures in your Simic deck (in Gatecrash limited) or don't care about blockers (i.e. the mindless null). <S> We can also see that certain cards are played in Wizard's Future Future league, where they playtest standard decks with the sets that haven't come out yet and those "unplayable" cards have homes there, but when they release to a wider audience find that the power level they thought was there, just wasn't with the wider sample size. <A> Unforseen interaction. <S> I have looked at the comments on gatherer for each of your examples and have come up with specific instances where they would interact positively. <S> Defensive stance seems to work pretty well with: <S> Aura Gnarlid <S> It could be useful against weenie infect/wither/deathtouch creatures Mindless Null: <S> is immune to lure/forced blocking and at the same cost as scathe zombies. <S> Merfolk of the Depth: Suprise blocker that can trigger your evolve cards. <S> Archangel's light: I can see this really pissing off someone playing a mill deck. <S> It would also combo decent with threshold cards. <A> The vast amount of MTG packs are cracked for limited play, because of this the vast amount of cards are designed for the format that cracks the most packs, ie limited. <S> Only a handful of cards in regular release sets are designed with constructed play in mind, if you look at it from WOTC point of view constructed play just simply does not promote the cracking of packs in the same manner that limited does and it is in the cracking of packs that woTC makes money. <S> With that in mind you should realise what the charm of limited play is really. <S> Limited is a format where you are confronted by a selection of bad and mediocre cards and are expected to make decks from a weak selection of cards. <S> You have to make good decks from bad cards. <S> This is both hard and very rewarding and brings a depth of gameplay that many other tcg's lack.
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Some cards are “bad” because they’re designed for a less advanced player.
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Why is card counting considered illegal in Blackjack? As far as I can see, a card counter is still subject to the same mechanic as any other players, but they are able to perform better then most people within these confines. So why is card counting a justification for casinos to kick people out? Obviously, a card counter will cost them money, but if that is the only justification, then it's like the casino is cheating- they only allow sucky players to play. If you are too good you get thrown out. Is that all there is to it, or is there a valid gameplay justification for this? <Q> Card counting isn't considered illegal. <S> Casinos have the right to deny service to anyone, and of makes sense to deny players from playing a game in which they have an advantage versus the house. <S> This isn't cheating in any sense of the word. <S> 994 P.2d 1151 (2000) CHEN v. NEVADA STATE GAMING CONTROL BOARD and Monte Carlo Resort & Casino: <S> This case presents a conflict between two inconsistent public policies that have developed over the years with regard to the gaming industry. <S> On one hand, gaming establishments have the unquestioned right to protect themselves against so-called "card counters" who have developed expertise in the game of "blackjack" ("twenty-one"). <S> On the other hand, neither card counting nor the use of a legal subterfuge such as a disguise to gain access to this table game is illegal under Nevada law . <S> cheat transitive verb 1 : to deprive of something valuable by the use of deceit or fraud 2 : to influence or lead by deceit, trick, or artifice 3 : to elude or thwart by or as if by outwitting intransitive verb 1 a : to practice fraud or trickery b : to violate rules dishonestly [...] <A> Just a little addition to the previous answer: <S> Imagine you have the opportunity to play blackjack against a thousand people. <S> You have a few advantages, but also have to play by strict and predictable conventions, but the thousand can play in any manner they choose. <S> You also know that one of those thousand is capable of card-counting. <S> You wouldn't risk your money betting against someone with such an advantage would you? <S> You'd stick with the odds, and play only the other 999. <S> A perfectly sensible and logical position, which is, in essence, the same position the casino takes. <A> Card counting ISN'T illegal. <S> (Unless you use a "device" such as a computer to do so in Nevada, which is a felony under Nevada law.) <S> From the CASINO's point of view, it is a case of "if this isn't illegal, it ought to be. <S> " <S> Hence they take measures such as barring, or harassing card counters, which go to the border (and sometimes beyond) the law. <S> But Nevada courts do tend to side with the casinos for economic reasons. <S> If a player played "Basic" (optimal) strategy, and "flat bet," (bet the same on every hand), the casino would have an edge of about 1%. <S> What card counters do is to watch for a handful of situations that come up occasionally, where the player is favored. <S> Then they "jump" their bets by five or ten times to take advantage of these situations, and bet a "basic" unit at other times, shifting the odds in their favor. <S> A variation of this is "team" play, whereby a team of counters will "spread" among the tables, watching for favorable situations, and making a minimum bet of say, $10 a hand. <S> This is a form of "trolling. <S> " When the cards get "good," they will signal a well dressed team mate called a "big player" to come to "their" table, and make "outsized" bets of $50 or $100, or even $500-$1000 (these situations are rare enough that you will seldom have two "good" tables at a time). <S> This strategy calls for the big player to "table hop" in a seemingly random fashion (but actually based on signals from his teammates). <S> Needless to say, "trolling" and "table hopping," whether or not for the purpose of making money, while not illegal, are socially gauche. <S> So casinos will eject players for that kind of behavior alone, whether or not connected with card counting. <S> (And the assumption is that most people would not engage in that kind of behavior unless they are card counting.) <S> Card counter Kenny Uston won a court case in New Jersey that prohibits Atlantic City casinos from barring or harassing card counters. <S> They are allowed to take "defensive" measures such as shuffling up after every deal. <A> Card counters exploit a flaw in the game implementation <S> which is not actually part of the rules of the game. <S> The rules of blackjack say nothing about dealing multiple hands from the same pre-shuffled stack - but that's exactly what makes card counting possible. <S> This flaw (and thus card counting) can actually be neutralized in two ways: <S> Shuffling manually after each hand - but that slows down the game and thus reduces casino winnings on the game that already gives them a rather small house edge. <S> Not gonna happen. <S> Continuous shuffling machines - but <S> players and dealers hate those, claim that they destroy the atmosphere, etc. <S> Some casinos use them, but most seem to prefer making a fuss about card counters.
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Card counting is frowned upon because it violates the UNWRITTEN "law" (that the casino is supposed to have the edge).
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Is there something like Gatherer but with inventory management? Gatherer is great (sort of) for building decks, but I'd like the additional filter of specifying the search specifically to the cards I own. Is this a feature I'm just not seeing or is there an app of some sort that does this? I'd also like if it were always as up to date as Gatherer is. <Q> To manage my collection, I have used deckbox.org . <S> Since it uses gatherer as a "database" to know what all the cards are, it stays up to date with the current set. <S> You will have to tell it what cards you do own however, so there is some up front work to tell the collection manager what you have. <S> It also uses magic.tcgplayer.com <S> to let you know both the individual pricing of your cards and the contents of your entire collection. <A> As an additional resource, if you have an iOS or Android device, there is an app called Decked that I use for deck building. <S> There are a lot of nice features to this app. <S> Not only does the search criteria make it easy to find cards, it lets you create and manage decks right in the app. <S> There are a lot of other useful features: it also allows you to test decks you've made in the app; you can have it automatically add the appropriate amount of land; you can see prices from multiple sources such as TCGPalyer and CardShark. <S> The downside to this is that, while there is a free lite version on iOS, the app does cost money if you want the ability to manage your collection: $3.99 on iPhone and Android , $5.99 on iPad, plus $2.99 for the collection manager <S> (so between $7 and $9 total to get the management feature). <S> But for the small cost, I find the benefits of this app are far beyond what I get with online search engines and collection trackers. <A> Mtgdb. <S> Gui , a free program I wrote can do this. <S> The screenshot below demonstrates searching by text (left arrow) while limiting the search to the cards from collection you own (right arrow) Besides managing your physical collection, you can import your collection and decks from Magic The Gathering Online , build your decks in Mtgdb. <S> Gui and load them back into MTGO. <S> Wiki to get more information and screenshots <A> iMtG for iOS has full blown inventory management system linked with Deck Builder. <S> It is completely free for people with collections which would fit in 3 binders. <S> iMtG is made by myself (as someone who cares), it has had regular database updates since 2011. <S> It is important as many other MTG collection manager apps failed to keep updating their databases over the years. <S> https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/app/imtg/id412798013?mt=8&at=10l74t
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Decked includes the ability to manage your collection so you can select cards and build decks exclusively using what you already own.
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Are Basic Lands (Mana) Block/Set Agnostic? What is the point in Wizard creating RtR Forests and M13 Forests , for example? It seems like it would be a lot more efficient and cost effective to everyone involved if these basic land types were not specific to a set. Wizard wouldn't have the cost of manufacturing (as many of) them and we wouldn't need to buy new ones just to stay legal. <Q> You don't need to buy new ones just to stay legal. <S> You can use any card that has been reprinted in a recent set in Standard. <S> All the basic lands are printed in just about every set. <S> For Instance, it's perfectly legal for you to use your Urza's Saga Rancor s or Onslaught Pacifism s. <S> Secondly, some people like collecting different land arts, so they produce lands with new arts every set, and many people try to collect one or more of each. <A> As has been said in the comments, the point is largely the art; functionally the basic lands are always the same and always legal. <S> Sets are designed with a coherent theme and world in mind, and the lands should fit with that as much as the other cards should. <S> You can see a fairly convincing demonstration of this in view of lands in Innistrad and Avacyn Restored . <S> They're all the same locations, but while in Innistrad they were dark, cold, and barren, in Avacyn Restored <S> they're brighter and warmer, often with more life. <S> It's well worth looking at the link for all the full-sized art, but for example, here's one of the mountains: <S> Alternatively, you can just go to Gatherer and click through the various sets to see the huge variety in art! <S> Here they are: Plains , Island , Swamp , Mountain , and Forest . <A> As long as it has the same English name as a legal card, a white or black border [1] and a normal back (including shape and size) [2] , you can use the card. <S> You can even use a Forest from Unhinged or an Island from a Japanese set of Lorwyn if you so desired. <S> Keep in mind that a card's characteristics is determined by Gatherer, not by what's printed on the card. <S> If you use a card that has received an errata, Gatherer overrides the characteristics printed on the card. <S> For example, despite the print showing otherwise, a Mountain from Arabian Nights is a Basic Land — Mountain with no ability besides the one granted by rules. <S> Some promotional cards have a Gold border. <S> These aren't legal for play. <S> Alpha's rounder corners rule them out, and oversized cards are novelties. <A> (If they reprint Lightning Bolt, you can use your 20-year old Bolts). <S> The same is true for the basic lands (because I don't think there's been a moment where the five basics haven't been legal. :) ) <S> As for <S> why they reprint them, there's a really simple reason - accessibility for new players. <S> At any given moment, there is a new player starting the game, and no matter what product they pick up, Wizards wants to make sure there's lands for them.
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As others have noted, lands fall under the same rule as any other Magic card - any version sharing the same English name is legal in any format where any version is legal.
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Can one 40k army fight another of the same? My friend is starting a Necron army, and I was going to start a Space Marine army, but Necrons are really an interesting army to play, while the Space Marines are very generic. Could I build a Necron army and fight his Necron army? Is this against the rules? <Q> I would just be sure that you can tell who each model belongs to; this is not too difficult once they are painted, but it could be easy to lose track of who is on which side if there are all just bare plastic. <S> With the current fluff, Necrons Overlords have their own Dynasties and it is easy to justify a power struggle between two of them. <S> Most other codexes can have fluff reasons to fight amongst themselves. <A> Any army can fight against any other army, even Space Marines of the same chapter. <S> It depends on how much you care about the story of your battles as to how odd this may feel. <S> If you want to run a coherent story or campaign then you'll need to justify why the two armies are fighting, and that may be difficult. <A> Short answer:If you both want to play with same armies, I don't see what the issue is; AS <S> LONG as you know which models belong to who. <S> If you want to be a player that respects lore, then 2 players might not be able to play the same race v each other (haven't played for a while, but <S> -> <S> Imperials would not fight each other, whereas Orks totally would.) <S> So Necrons could fight each other and it would make sense.
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There is nothing in the rules to prevent two armies from the same codex from fighting one another. If you are just playing games, it won't be an issue.
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Can somebody continue a road after it has been cut off/separated from its nearest city? I have - - - - - o (a settlement at the end of my road). Now an opponent builds -- x ---o (a settlement along my road). Can I do o - - x - - - - o (build a second settlement at the other end), or do I lose my road once it is cut off from my original settlement? <Q> To build a settlement, you just need to obey the relevant rules for building a settlement, which are: You may only build a settlement at an intersection if all 3 of the adjacent intersections are vacant (i.e., none are occupied by any settlements or cities—even yours). <S> Each of your settlements must connect to at least 1 of your own roads. <S> Assuming that the site you want to build at isn't adjacent to another settlement or city, then all you need to worry about is that you have a connecting road. <S> And in this instance you do: there's no reason to suppose a road ceases to be yours just because someone has interrupted its length. <A> Yes. <S> There are two weird related rules, though: <S> An opponent's settlement at the end of your road prevents you from expanding through that settlement. <S> o - - -x <S> [cannot place more roads <S> here]o - - -x- [can place more roads/settlements here] <S> This is illustrated on the official website. <S> Even though you can keep building, your road is considered to be cut in half for the purposes of Longest Road. <S> Longest Road length = 6o - - - - - -Longest Road length = 4o - - - -x- - <A> Yes -- the only requirement to build a settlement or road is that it be connected to an existing single road. <S> That road doesn't need to be connected to anything else.
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The roads remain yours, and you can continue to expand them and settle on them.
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When should Italy NOT take over Tunisia on its second turn in Diplomacy? Tunis is the only supply center that Italy is guaranteed to have by the first fall of the game, but are there any playable openings or situations where Italy should delay getting this guaranteed build? If Italy moved their fleet to the Adriatic Sea, it could help attack Trieste or convoy into Albania, and if it moved to the gulf of Lyon it could attack Marseilles or convoy into Spain. It looks like the extra unit outweighs the benefits of an early attack on either Austria-Hungary or France because they could repel the attack or re-take their territory before you build a fourth unit. However, I was curious if anyone preferred an opening that didn't involve ordering a fleet into Tunis in the second round. <Q> Well quickly to address the last sentence. <S> It is actually quite common for Italy to take Tunis with an army rather than a fleet. <S> Then with F ION and A TUN, there are options for ION-AEG, ION-EAS and the convoys TUN-ALB, TUN-GRE which aren't possible with a fleet in Tunis. <S> The other case one sees is if Austria has let Italy into Trieste in the spring, Italy is now guaranteed a build and can order ION-AEG instead of going to TUN in order to gain position in an attack (allied with Austria) against Turkey. <S> But I should emphasise that not taking Tunis is a minority opening, and almost always played with an expectation that Italy will be getting a build elsewhere. <A> Good question. <S> A short answer is that Italy doesn't "need" Tunis as a fourth supply center when it ALREADY has a fourth supply center. <S> As another answerer pointed out, this may occur when Italy can use the Fleet Ionian to take Greece, (with the help of an ally) or better yet, has Trieste in hand after capturing it the first move. <S> Italy is, in fact, one of the weaker countries in the game. <S> Its main advantage is that it represents "no threat" to the others, but is just strong enough to tilt the balance of power in its favor if it has a fourth supply center. <S> Usually, that fourth supply center is Tunis. <S> But if it is another one, then Italy might be advised to refrain from taking Tunis as a FIFTH supply center in the first year, in order to remain "non threatening." <S> The reason is that Tunis is "only" a supply center that is not strategic. <S> Whereas Trieste and/or Greece are STRATEGIC supply centers. <S> If Italy has one of those, she is already ahead of where she'd be with Tunis, and "nothing" else. <A> I played a 7 player game many years ago as AH, when Italy decided that taking Trieste in Spring 1901 was a better deal than taking Tunis. <S> Accepting that I could no longer WIN the game, I instead played to ensure that Italy finished 7th. <S> I finished 4th for my worst result of that tournament. <S> You are not truly playing any particular country in a Diplomacy game, you are playing your opponents, and your own strengths and weaknesses. <S> The ability to build trusting and/or respectful relationships with your fellows will have far more influence on your success in the game than any answers to questions such as "When should I take Greece/Trieste instead of Tunis as Italy?". <S> Make your alliances explicitly time-limited; learn what those lengths should be as each co-party to an alliance; and earn a reputation for backstabbing only when provoked, but completey, utterly, and ferociously when that occurs. <S> Earn a reputaion as a player who ensures increased success for your allies, and you will have more allies, on better terms; and more wins overall.
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Occasionally Italy will forgo the Tunis build to try to take Greece. But to answer the question in the title, there are certainly occasions when Italy does not take Tunis on the second turn (and is still playing intelligently), but these are rare.
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How can I minimize Black Market set up and clean up time? The Black Market (promotional) card requires considerable set up time. From description: Before the game, make a Black Market deck out of one copy of each Kingdom card not in the supply. There are a few ways to approach this: 1) Follow directions literally: take 1 of the 10 cards from each Kindom. For those with several expansions, this would involve drawing over 100 cards, and even more time consuming, putting away these cards when the game is over. Depending on the number of expansions, this could add anywhere between 3 and 15 minutes overhead per game. 2) When we first got the card we used it a lot. So to save time, we did not put away the extra card - instead we always kept a single card out for each Kingdom. This saves on put away, but when setting up the game you have to find the 10 cards for the game (whether or not Black Market is used), which adds 3-4 minutes to every game. 3) An idea we'll soon try: Use the randomizer cards for the Black Market deck, removing the 10 cards in play (which is especially easy if you randomized Kingdoms for a given game, as you already have the cards out). Then, each time a Kingdom is purchased from the Black Market, the regular card is pulled and placed into the purchaser's discard pile, while the randomizer card is removed from the play area (The back of Randomizer cards are a darker shade of blue so that's why you don't want them mixed in with the regular cards). (1) is too tedious and we'll never do it. (2) was doable but still a bit of chore. I suspect (3) will be best though we haven't tried it yet. On the other hand, perhaps Dominion players have come up with better methods? Obviously this is not an issue with online or other form of electronic play, but I'd like to know about the best way to minimize Black Market set up and clean up time with regular play. <Q> Here's an option used by Donald X. Vaccarino. <S> When you're doing normal randomization, just add the chosen cards to their respective kingdom stacks, and after the game, take one card from each stack to add back to the new randomizers. <S> Then, when you play Black Market games, you will have a ready-made Black Market deck! <S> The 10 cards in the kingdom will already be out of the randomizer deck, and the backs are the normal backs so you don't have to pull cards from the box like you do with your option 3. <S> Donald X. Vaccarino talks about this method here . <A> You already kind of mentioned it in your question, but the randomiser cards are definitely the way to go . <S> If you're like me, you store them together as one deck, separate from the cards that make up the kingdom supply. <S> I tend not to use the randomiser cards to generate the supply, but it would be pretty trivial to draw a replacement if you ever draw a card that is already in the supply. <S> Obviously, if you do use them to set up, just don't add them back into the Black Market pile before play. <S> Since the randomisers also have different backs, it should go without saying that you cannot use the randomiser itself to add to your deck, but you should take a "normal" copy of the card when you decide what to buy. <A> Some randomizer apps have an electronic solution for this that works with tabletop play, but most of them have some lag when new expansions come out. <A> With this new, free web-based program , you can create and use your Black Market deck online, only needing to fetch the physical cards when purchased, greatly simplifying game set-up and clean-up. <A> Another option is to just have a smaller Black Market deck. <S> Each player picks 5 or so cards that aren't being used, and those become the deck. <S> In a two player game you might want to pick 10 each.
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Instead of using the normal randomizer cards, take one card from each kingdom stack and use those for randomizer cards.
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Can I sacrifice a permanent to pay an ability cost while the permanent's spell is still on the stack? At what point does a creature/artifact/whatever become a legal candidate for being sacrificed to pay an activation cost? For example, suppose I cast an artifact creature spell, and my opponent responds with an instant that would kill it (like a Lightning Bolt ). I have an Atog that lets me sacrifice an artifact to give the Atog +2/+2. Can I use the artifact creature, even though the spell that "summoned" it has yet to resolve, to pay the Atog's ability's activation cost? <Q> A card on the stack is not a permanent, so you may not sacrifice it. <S> When a card refers to a permanent type, like "artifact" or "creature," it refers only to permanents — meaning a card on the battlefield. <S> Note that this includes the Lightning Bolt spell in your question — you can't sacrifice the creature until it is on the battlefield, but your opponent can't Bolt the creature until it is on the battlefield, either. <S> Cards in other zones are referred to as cards — e.g. Unburial Rites : "Return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield." — or spells if they're on the stack — <S> e.g. Essence Scatter : " <S> Counter target creature spell ." <S> (Compare to Murder , which affects creatures on the battlefield: "Destroy target creature.") <A> No, but it's not a valid target for Lightning Bolt either. <S> 701.14a <S> To sacrifice a permanent, its controller moves it from the battlefield directly to its owner’s graveyard. <S> A player can’t sacrifice something that isn’t a permanent, or something that’s <S> a permanent he or she doesn’t control. <S> [...] If it's a spell, it's on the stack, it's a not on the battlefield, and it's not a permanent. <S> 110.1. <S> A permanent is a card or token on the battlefield. <S> [...] 111.1. <S> A spell is a card on the stack. <S> [...] <S> 111.1a <S> A copy of a spell is also a spell [...]. <S> For example, suppose I cast an artifact creature spell, and my opponent responds with an instant that would kill it (like a Lightning Bolt ). <S> He can't do this. <S> It's not a creature until the spell resolves to become a permanent. <S> The same reason preventing you from sacrificing it to the Atog (not a permanent yet) is preventing him from targeting it with Lightning Bolt. <S> 109.2. <S> If a spell or ability uses a description of an object that includes a card type or subtype, but doesn’t include the word “card,” “spell,” “source,” or “scheme,” it means a permanent of that card type or subtype on the battlefield. <S> He has to wait for your artifact creature to resolve. <S> (In fact, it's presumed he did if he casts Lightning Bolt targeting it.) <S> In response to him casting Lightning Bolt, you may activate your Atog's ability using your new creature as the sacrifice. <S> Compare Lightning Bolt with Bone to Ash . <A> At what point does a creature/artifact/whatever become a legal candidate for being sacrificed to pay an activation cost? <S> When it enters the battlefield. <S> This happens when the spell or ability that creates (usually, "summons") it resolves. <S> (Though note that "summon" is no longer a word with any official meaning in the rules.) <S> It's worth noting that a creature becomes eligible to be targeted by Lightning Bolt, or anything else that says "target creature," at the same time it becomes eligible to be sacrificed. <S> Also at the same time, the object switches from being a "spell" (or "creature <S> spell"/"artifact spell"/etc.) <S> to being a "permanent" (or "creature"/"artifact"/etc.)
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If it's not a permanent, it's not a valid object for a sacrifice payment.
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Is there a term for: "Doesn't untap during next untap step"? There are a lot of cards that have the effect Target permanent does not untap during next untap step For example: Kashi-Tribe Elite and Vorinclex, Voice of Hunger . Is there a term for this? Because it's kind of a mouthful to say "that permanent is not allowed to untap during the next untap step." <Q> Short answer, "no". <S> Long answer, "noooooooooo". <S> However, in casual games I [personally] tend to use the term "locked" or "locked down" if something doesn't untap during untap phases at all. <S> As SocioMatt suggested in the comments, "exhausted" would be a good turn for a single-hit of this on creatures. <S> For permanents in general, you could say "delayed" - or for flavour representing disruption of a player's magical link to their permanent, something along the lines of "obscured" or "tangled". <A> If you want a term to use casually, then I suggest <S> Paralyzed <S> (a la Paralyzing Grasp or Paralyze ). <S> I also like <S> the suggested term exhausted ( Exhaustion ), tangled ( Tangle ) or sleeping ( Sleep ). <A> I'm not sue of its legality in tournaments, but in casual play, my area usually calls this "Super-tapped" and often turn the card upside down to represent it being essentially "tapped twice". <S> (assuming tapped is turning the card 90 degrees. <S> Super-tapped would mean turning it 180 degrees.) <S> However I cant think of an official name for this. <S> Also as you can see there are plenty of informal names for this action.
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No, there is no official term for it.
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How do Isochron Scepter and the Fuse mechanic interact? The split cards in the expansion set Dragon's Maze contain a new mechanic "Fuse". This mechanic allows you to cast both sides of the spell, a new option for cards of this type. Isochron Scepter allows you to imprint any instant card with casting cost 2 or less, and then produce copies of that card once per turn. The interaction of Isochron Scepter and instant split cards is a highly useful one, in that you can imprint a split card providing one side meets the requirements of Isochron Scepter, and then cast either side of the card using Isochron Scepter's linked ability. The fuse mechanic allows you to cast both sides of the card. How does this mechanic interact with Isochron Scepter? This is relevant so far to Turn // Burn and Far // Away . <Q> You cannot use Fuse. <S> The reminder text reads "You may cast one or both halves of this card from your hand . <S> " <S> The scepter allows you to cast a copy of the card from Exile. <S> That it's not a card may or may not be relevant, but the addition of "from your hand" will surely be present in the rules, so it's pretty clear that Fuse cannot be used here. <S> As such, it's as if you were casting a regular split card. <S> You can cast either side (even if the mana cost of that side is more than two), but not both. <S> UPDATE : <S> The rules have been released, and the "from your hand" is indeed present in them. <S> 702.101a <S> Fuse is a static ability found on some split cards (see rule 708, "Split Cards") that applies while the card with fuse is in a player’s hand. <S> This choice is made before putting the split card with fuse onto the stack. <S> The resulting spell is a fused split spell. <S> 702.101b A fused split spell has two sets of characteristics and one converted mana cost. <S> The converted mana cost of the spell is a number equal to the total amount of mana in its two mana costs, regardless of color. <S> 702.101c <S> The total cost of a fused split spell includes the mana cost of each half. <S> (See rule 601.2e.) <S> 702.101d <S> As a fused split spell resolves, the controller of the spell follows instructions of the left half and then follows the instructions of the right half. <A> This post on Tumblr from a judge makes this pretty clear: <S> YOU CAN ONLY CAST BOTH HALVES OF A SPELL WITH FUSE WHEN YOU CAST IT FROM YOUR HAND. <S> Sorry for having to yell there, but people don’t seem to be getting that point, so I have to keep reinforcing it. <S> Also, you can cast either half of a split card that’s imprinted on Isochron Scepter. <S> Just not both. <S> As ikegami said, this is because of the clause in the Fuse reminder text that says "from your hand." <S> So after you imprint it, you can use either side like with other split cards, but not both at the same time. <A> I realise this thread is a number of years old, and I wouldn't normally necro such a thread. <S> However, because I just had the same question myself now with new Split cards about to be released in the Return to Ravnica set in October 2018, I thought to check the Gatherer rulings on Isochron Scepter directly: http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=413765 <S> 18/04/2017 <S> The converted mana cost of a split card is determined by the combined mana cost of its two halves. <S> When you activate the second ability, you may choose to cast either half of the split card, but you may not cast both halves. <S> It seems that the rules might have changed slightly since the Dragon's Maze expansion, and the current thinking is that you would NOT be able to imprint cards such as Turn // <S> Burn and Far // <S> Away any more, because their CMC (for both halves) would be 5 in both instances. <S> Edit: <S> See also: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/news/amonkhet-split-card-rules-changes-2017-04-04 <S> Isochron Scepter can't imprint Far // <S> Away or Bound // <S> Determined .
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If a player casts a split card with fuse from his or her hand, the player may choose to cast both halves of that split card.
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How well do sleeves protect against spilled drinks? People really like to have food around during long gaming sessions, to avoid the discomfort of hunger and dehydration. Sleeves are pretty useful for keeping crumbs and dirt off your gaming cards. Sometimes, however, a player will knock a drink over onto the table, risking water damage to your hobby materials. How well do typical card sleeves protect game cards from spilled drinks? How effective is double-sleeving in this situation? <Q> On a surface that wicks moisture, an indirect spill will not get in. <S> A direct spill (can knocked over onto cards, for example) will penetrate. <S> I've seldom double sleeved, and will note that it's a major pain to get done, requires two sizes of sleeves, and makes the cards really feel wrong. <S> And I've seen a card ruined by a direct spill despite double sleeving - a hockey card, to be specific, which was better material than most game cards. <A> This is going to be largely based on the situation in both instances of single and double sleeve. <S> The single sleeve will probably not protect if the open end is facing the spill and certainly will not if the spill completely surrounds the card. <S> The double sleeve is going to be better at the directional spill but still cause you problems because it is not sealed. <S> There is still an open end. <S> You may be able to defeat the open end of a double sleeve issue with some clear tape. <S> Also how fast you react to the spill is important. <S> Sleeves are not intended to protect from liquids. <S> They can actually cause more harm than good because they are going to be trapping any liquid that contacts them and the card, on the card. <S> If you were going to use sleeves to prevent liquid damage , I would suggest double sleeves with the open end taped. <S> As an aside: If you wanted to make your cards reasonably spill proof, I suggest getting a food saver and sealing them. <S> Only way you are going to make it air tight <S> and you are going to seal the cards from damage as well as preserve them from oxidation. <S> I understand this is extreme <S> but if you are playing with small children it is sometimes justified. <S> This can also cost money and take a lot of time. <S> But you will have a very well sealed card. <S> Plan on having to make custom boxes also. <A> As an alternative suggestion (considering the effort involved in effectively laminating your deck), I would suggest proxying your entire deck. <S> A common printer can create an excellent facsimile of any card, and printing out a copy of your deck could be easier than making it vacuum-sealed. <S> Then you'd get to play with your cards as, you know, cards. <S> If you like that sort of thing. <S> Which I do. <S> And as a bonus, Chaos Confetti !
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My own experience is that, barring using a bag sealer on the sleeves, sleeving is not going to protect against direct spills nor large spills on a hard surface.
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How can I used double-faced cards in casual play without checklist cards? I recently bought a "deck builders" kit that included, among other things, a Dark Ascension booster with Scorned Villager (a double-sided card) in it. It did not include a checklist card for me to use. If I wanted to use this in tournament play, I realize I'd have to buy sleeves or acquire more checklists, but for now I'm mostly playing casual games. Are there any alternatives that would be "generally accepted" among M:TG players for using these cards? e.g. marking up the face of some land card to indicate that it's really my Scorned Villager? Alternatively, is there a good place to get checklist cards that won't also result in getting more double-sided cards to go along with them? <Q> A checklist card is simply a tournament-sanctioned proxy with a specialized purpose. <S> In casual play, you could make a proxy more-or-less any way you want. <S> Writing with a marker on a basic land is probably the most common custom. <S> I recommend including the mana cost as well as the card's name, so you can quickly tell whether you are able to cast it without having to look over at your double-faced cards outside of play. <S> If you wish to get some more of the official checklist cards, you can buy them online for about 10 cents each through a major singles dealer like Star City Games or Channel Fireball (since they resell the token cards that come in boosters). <S> Note that Innistrad and Dark Ascension have their own separate checklist cards. <A> This should be fine in a casual setting. <S> Make sure to let your opponent know before hand and pick a card that wouldn't normally be playable in your deck (eg off-color) to avoid confusion. <A> I Have a Wolves/werewolves deck, and I only had one marking card from Eldritch Moon since I traded it for the other werewolves I had. <S> I used my marking card for my Smoldering Werewolf//Erupting Dreadwolf, and then took some plains basic lands and jotted down the name and mana cost. <S> Everyone I played so far has accepted this, so I would probably do this.
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Use a different card from your collection as a proxy (whether you mark it or not is up to you).
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Can someone Bioshift counters off a creature after combat damage has been assigned? A friend has a Primordial Hydra with 10 +1/+1 counters on it, giving it trample. I block it with a Vampire Nighthawk , causing it to die. My friend then uses Bioshift to take the counters off "in response to it taking lethal damage". A: Can he do this? B: Would my creature die and I take the remaining damage if he does it? <Q> Damage does not use the stack. <S> 510.1. <S> First, the active player announces how each attacking creature assigns its combat damage, then the defending player announces how each blocking creature assigns its combat damage. <S> This turn-based action doesn't use the stack. <S> A player assigns a creature's combat damage according to the following rules: 510.2. <S> Second, all combat damage that's been assigned is dealt simultaneously. <S> This turn-based action doesn't use the stack. <S> No player has the chance to cast spells or activate abilities between the time combat damage is assigned and the time it's dealt. <S> This is a change from previous rules. <S> Then once the damage is assigned and SBA are checked, IE it goes to the grave yard, then players have priority. <S> 510.3. <S> Third, any abilities that triggered on damage being assigned or dealt go on the stack. <S> (See rule 603, "Handling Triggered Abilities.") 510.4. <S> Fourth, the active player gets priority. <S> Players may cast spells and activate abilities. <S> So at the time he wants to move the counters the creature would be dead and gone. <S> EDIT: <S> In response to B: Since the nighthawk only has a toughness of 3, in step 510.1 your friend would assign 3 damage to the nighthawk and 7 damage to you if the hydra was 10/10 with trample. <S> When it comes to trample you only ever have to assign lethal damage to the blocker before you assign damage to the player the blocker is blocking. <A> Question A <S> No. <S> Now, let's look at the real question. <S> Is there a time when Bioshift could be cast such that the Hydra will deal full damage without dying? <S> No. <S> Here's how the turn goes: ... <S> Declare Blockers step. <S> Blockers are declared. <S> Damage assignment order of each attacking creature is announced. <S> Damage assignment order of each blocking creature is announced. <S> Stated-based actions are performed. <S> Abilities that previously triggered (if any) are placed on the stack. <S> Players get priority. <S> Combat Damage step. <S> Damage assignment of each attacking creature is announced. <S> Damage assignment of each blocking creature is announced. <S> Combat damage is dealt. <S> (Simulatenously) Stated-based actions are performed. <S> (Destroying the Hydra) <S> Abilities that previously triggered (if any) are placed on the stack. <S> Players get priority. <S> ... <S> Bioshift would need to be cast between 3.2/3.3 and 3.4, but players do not get priority then. <S> This has not always been the case. <S> From 6th Edition (1999) up until Magic 2010 (2009), Combat damage was placed on the stack, and one could respond to it. <S> Item 5 of this article explains the reason for the change. <S> Question B <S> He has to assign at least 3 damage to the Vampire Nighthawk (since it has three toughness and hasn't yet taken any damage) and up to 10. <S> The difference (presumably 7) would be assigned to you, the attacked player. <A> It's a little bit of a tangent, but I thought it might be worth adding an answer about what the controller of Primordial Hydra should do if he wants to bioshift his counters onto another creature. <S> He can't do it in response to damage , as has been expertly explained in other answers, so <S> I wont repeat it here, <S> this answer is mostly about improved strategy . <S> He can kill your nighthawk and save at least most of his counters, he just wont be able to trample over the damage from them this turn. <S> If he casts bioshift after you have declared blockers, but before damage is dealt, he can transfer all but 3 counters from his hydra onto another creature he controls. <S> This lets him kill the vampire nighthawk but keep most of his counters on another creature. <S> If the creature that gets the counters is also attacking, then he still gets all the damage, in the instance that it isn't, then at least he keeps most of his counters for later attacks(and a creature with 7 +1/+1 counters on it in addition to anything else it does is pretty sweet to have!)
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First of all, one can only do something in response to a spell or ability being added to the stack, so one can't cast Bioshift in response to damage. No he can not do this.
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What is the meaning of "count your losers" at no trump, and "count your winners" for a trump contract? Are no trump bidders taught to "count your losers" because their 25-26 points represents enough material for nine tricks so that they should "play not to lose" (i.e. to prevent their opponents from getting five tricks before they get nine)? And if trump bidders are taught to count your winners, does this mean that their 25-26 points are good enough for only 8-9 tricks and they need to "manufacture" the tenth and maybe ninth trick through trumps or otherwise so they have enough winner? <Q> Typical advice is exactly the opposite. <S> See: https://www.google.com/search?q=count+winners+losers+trump+notrump <S> "In trump suit contracts, we count losers. <S> (In notrump contracts, we count sure winners.) <S> " <S> This is a simplification, but with a trump suit you can often ruff when you cannot win tricks with high cards or set up intermediate or long suit winners. <S> Take for instance: S 98765H 2D 32C 65432S <S> AKQJTH 5432D 432C 2 <S> In a spade contract you have 1 heart loser, 2 diamond losers, and 1 club loser, so all being <S> well you might come to 13 - <S> (1+2+1) <S> = 9 winners. <S> If you draw too many trump, though, or your opponents realize that they should lead trump, you will come up short. <S> This might not be a realistic example since your opponents can take 12 tricks in hearts or diamonds... <A> In Notrump declarer typically must concede some tricks in order to set up length winners. <S> The advice to count losers is a reminder to watch that setting up the ninth trick doesn't first concede the fifth defensive trick (assuming a 3NT contract; adjust for other levels). <S> In a suit contract, declarer is more likely to be setting up tricks with ruffs, before letting the opponents in at the end. <S> In this case, one must be sure that the winners will add up to contract. <S> The advice is meant to be a pithy reminder to weak and intermediate players, that counting is important, and that some errors are more likely in Notrump, with complementary errors more likely in trump contracts (for this level of player). <A> Since you have no trump suit that allows you to regain control, there is a greater ability for your opponents to exploit your losers. <S> While personally, I have never heard this advice quite as you tell it <S> (I've been away from bridge a while) <S> when your are considering a trump bid you can use ruffing/cross-ruffing to avoid losers. <S> In no-trump your only way avoiding a loser is establishing a suit; which you typically won't be able to do. <S> (If you could count on establishing a suit you likely would have chosen that suit as a trump.) <S> The other way of thinking about this is that in a no-trump game the tricks will be spread pretty evenly among the suits. <S> If you have Kxx, you will likely win one of three tricks. <S> In a trump game, more tricks will end up being played with one or more trumps played: there is a greater possibility that only two tricks with that suit will be played (or played without being trumped by you or your partner). <S> It is more feasible that you will only have one trick lost in that suit even though that is considered a "two loser" suit. <S> Stoppers are probably even more important to consider when making a no-trump bid than losers, but that's somewhat similar in considering your losers. <S> A difference being that xxx (or xxxx) is considered only 3 losers, but since there are no stoppers you could easily lose four or more.
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While I'd argue that you should always count both your winners and losers regardless of whether you have a trump, I think this advice stems from the reduced control you have over the game in a no trump bid.
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In Axis and Allies, how do you choose which player plays which country? Can players choose because there enough diversity of interest so that everyone can get their first or second choice? Do you use a bidding system where players "bid" for a country by specifying the "handicap" there are willing to take to play it? Do you "draw" for country as in diplomacy? Is there a consensus that the "newest" players play the U.S. (or Britain) while the more experienced players play the harder countries? <Q> Whatever works for your group. <S> Only if multiple players want to play the same country is a "method" even necessary. <S> Until your group knows the game well, handicapping is extreme; use random selection, but even then only to break contentions <A> My group just need to talk to find a solution. <S> But since we play more games when we play we switch nations with every game so everyone can play his favorite nation at least one time. <A> I'll assume we're talking about "global" A&A versions (whole world map) <S> Is there a consensus that the "newest" players play the U.S. (or Britain) <S> Good question! <S> I found out that US is the worst option for new players because over and over they are overwhelemed with the question: "what to buy?" <S> "when do I get to roll some dice?". <S> With no exceptions they have ended up rushing wich results in either loosing their fleet or loosing their ground units, with frustration feeling that had no impact in the game. <S> I think these setups might help: 3 players: <S> US: most experienced RUS + UK: <S> intermediate AXIS: <S> less experienced 5 players <S> US: Most experienced UK: <S> next most-experienced JAP: <S> third-most RUS: second least-experienced GER: least experienced <S> The reason is: US that us and UK may loose heavily at the beggining of the game; and between begginers, those with germany have more chances to smash russia, so an exp player in UK balances. <S> Most importantly, new players should get the chance to buy and roll many dice :) <S> Do you use a bidding system where players "bid" There is a bid system. <S> start at 1, no one takes it? <S> bid is 2.. <S> so on. <S> You can assign the amount between the nations that got it <S> (i.e. if bid is 5 to axis, you can distribute germany 5 jap 0, or germany 4 jap 1, etc) <S> You can then buy units with this extra cash and place them in a friendly territory before the games starts, max one per territory. <S> You may also not buy anything and save the cash <S> Hope <S> it helps
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It depends on the people you are playing with. In short, if your group agrees that either axis or allies are weaker; you start bidding the ammount of cash that the players will get if they get the weaker team (axis or allies):
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Is it common in Munchkin to allow characters to reach higher than level 9 I only recently learned that you're not allowed to go above level 9, unless it's from combat (or some special cards). I had played for years allowing higher levels, except you didn't win until you killed a monster. Is this a common house rule? Or something similar? <Q> It probably is a common mistake, although it seems pretty clear to me from the rules , page 1 under Starting and Finishing the Game <S> The first player to reach 10th level wins ... <S> but you must reach 10th level by killing a monster, unless a card specifically allows you to win another way. <S> Some amount of people must make the same mistake since it is the first rule included in their FAQ . <S> Important Note <S> #1: Reaching Level 10 <S> The general rule is that you may not reach Level 10 except by killing a monster. <S> If you are at Level 9 and something else happens that would normally let you go up a level . <S> . . <S> you don't. <S> You stay at Level 9. <S> If you have a card or an ability that lets you mess with another player and get a level in return, you cannot play that card or use that ability. <S> This is all under the assumption that you aren't playing Epic Munchkin , where the rule wouldn't apply. <S> (But, a similar 19th & 20th level rule would apply instead) <A> Basically, if you want to play further, that's completely up to you. <S> You can play to any level, just make sure to respect the "Winning Level" rule. <S> So if you're playing to level 25 or 30, you can keep going, however, you cannot go from 24 to 25 or 29 to 30 by purchasing a level, or using a go up a level -type card. <S> This does not apply to cards that specifically allow you to gain the winning level. <S> For example: The Divine Intervention card makes all clerics to go up a level, even to the winning level. <A> It is not a common house rule and it does affect the balance of the game (such as there is a thing of balance in the game. <S> If you start allowing higher levels it makes you unfairly strong enough to defeat the terminal monster. <S> If Alice is at level 19 and Bob is at level 9 and they both need to defeat one monster to win. <S> Alice is at an unfair advantage. <S> If however both need to get to level 19 before the terminal kill <S> then it's more fair. <S> Munchkin is a fairly unbalanced game already but this particular home rule doesn't help. <S> In the first scenario it's much easier for Bob to lose his next monster and fall back to level 8 whereas Alice loses her next monster and falls to 18 and still has only to fight a single other monster for victory whereas Bob needs to defeat two monsters.
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You can set the victory level to whatever number you see fit as a house rule but allowing people to use, for instance, level up cards, or sell items beyond that victory point will unbalance a game that's precious already. By limiting you to 9 the game gives you a base level chance of defeating a monster.
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How can we remember to score points for claimed routes? When we play Ticket to Ride we sometimes forget to score the points and move the score markers. You know; you're playing not only to get points , but to enjoy the game. And when someone realises they forgot to score a route, we need to recalculate all the routes from the beginning, and that's not very fun. What are the best ways to not forget that you need to score? Maybe there's a specific way to mark what you're going to do, like scoring first and only then paying for the route? But when playing games with tunnels I fear we could forget to "unscore" such points if we couldn't complete the route. I hope we're not the only forgetful players out there, and someone already came up with a solution to this. We've played ten games so far and are still having this issue. <Q> We usually just don't bother to score any points at all until the end of the game. <S> Then, you go over all the claimed routes and score them, as well as scores for tickets to determine the winner. <A> We keep score during the game but almost always are off by a few points at the end. <S> It's not always from forgetfulness - it's also possible to bump the score markers. <S> Even when counting at the end it's easy to miss a route or count one twice. <S> So at the end of game, here's what we do: <S> We count one player at a time. <S> To minimize chance of error, the longest continuous string of routes is traced first and fingers are sometimes used to mark a section that was skipped because it was not part of the longest string of routes. <S> A separate person moves the score marker, keeping their eyes only on the score track. <S> If the score is very far off from the accumulated game score or if there is any doubt whatsoever, we count again. <S> If the second count is different from 1st count, we count a 3rd time. <S> This may seem laborious but it usually takes about a minute per player. <S> We find that most errors occur when there are many different side branches. <S> A player with a string of 30 or more cars with no branches is easier to count accurately the first time. <A> I keep track on a piece of paper. <S> Doing this lets you go back anytime during the game to see if a claim was not scored. <S> At the end of the game, if the game scores are close, I'll go back through and double check or re-score the claims. <S> Something like this: <S> Plr1 <S> Plr2 Plr32 <S> 2 <S> 4 <S> 4 <S> 4 <S> 44 <S> 6 <S> 1 <S> 51 <S> 7 <S> 2 <S> 74 11 <A> In at least 2 of the maps, scoring after the end of the game will not work. <S> On the Great Britain map, you get bonus points during play :From the moment you have purchased the «Boiler Lagging» card, you score 1 extra point for each route that you claim. <S> Also, from the moment you have purchased the «Steam Turbines» card,you score 2 extra points for each Ferry route that you claim. <S> When combined with «Boiler Lagging», you score 3 points for each Ferry route that you claim. <S> Because thescore for some routes may be affected by technologies such asthe Boiler Lagging or the Steam Turbines, waiting until the endto compute Routes points doesn’t work in this expansion.» <S> Reference : <S> Rules for Ticket To Ride United Kingdom : https://ncdn0.daysofwonder.com/tickettoride/en/img/tt-mc5_uk_rules_2015.pdf <S> Something similar occurs in TTR - Africa. <S> From the rules : <S> « <S> When Claiming a Route, in addition to playing Train car cards, a player may also simultaneously play some of the Terrain cards in front of him to double the points value of the Route he’s claiming.» <S> At the end of the game you will have no way of knowing which Terrain Card doubled the point value of any route. <S> Reference : <S> Rules for Ticket To Ride The Heart Of Africa : <S> https://ncdn0.daysofwonder.com/tickettoride/en/img/tt_africa_rules_2015.pdf <S> A solution <S> The only way that I have found to not forget to score as you play is to use the «Talking Feather» (or some other unique objet) used by many native American Indian tribes. <S> One can use, for example, the letter-holder from Scrabble, which reminds me of a rail. <S> Whoever has the object plays. <S> In order to start your turn, you must receive the object from the previous player. <S> That action reminds everyone to score the route that has been claimed before the player starts. <A> I have written an app for that: Ticket To Ride Score Calculator app for Android . <S> The app allows you to scan your Ticket To Ride game board using your phone's camera to calculate the game scores automatically. <S> With this app you can simply take a picture of the game board using your phone's camera and it will automatically recognize player trains and calculate the scores for you. <S> You can find additional information about the app here and a video overview here . <S> Support for iOS devices is coming soon.
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From the rules: «Some players like to add up the points for the routes they claimat game end, rather than each time a route is claimed. For each player: One player will examine each route and call out the score for the route.
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Can people win at Diplomacy using a "Qin strategy?" The Qin was one of seven (yes, seven) "warring states" in China several hundred years B.C. During its rise to power, it often followed a policy of "ally with the three far states against the three near states." Has anyone won (or lost) a game of Diplomacy using such a strategy? Does it work better using some countries than others (e.g. England, allied with Turkey, Austria-Hungary, and Italy against France, Germany, and Russia)? Or are there any good articles on such a strategy? <Q> I have a hard time seeing this being successful. <S> The problem is that it doesn't mean much in the early game for England to be allied with Austria or Turkey. <S> So effectively you'd be playing EI versus FG, while Austria and Turkey teamed up on Russia. <S> The likely scenario is that the 2 v 2 battle doesn't go very far, and the 2 v 1 battle goes well, resulting in a stronger Austria and Turkey. <S> At that point, Turkey pretty much has to attack Austria or Italy, and either way doesn't seem to bode well for England. <S> In general, having an ally across the board is nice, but it isn't a replacement for having an ally that you can coordinate with directly, especially in the early game. <S> You'd need to look at it as more of a long-term alliance. <S> Perhaps as England you coordinate with Austria, Turkey, and Italy, but you start by getting Germany to help you take apart France quickly (with Italy's help), then activate your cross-board alliance to take out Germany. <S> It's debatable whether that really meets the criteria of a "Qin strategy" though. <A> There are certain context for this strategy. <S> Qin's strategy was only used for the major powers , any of which could crush others and were ready to do so. <S> In general, there is great distrust among great powers, who cannot be permanent allies due to conflicts of major interests. <S> In that case, allying with your neighboring powers against farther powers is not a good strategy. <S> Because first of all, maintaining interests faraway is costly; Even if you can afford it, neighboring powers would be threatened by the encirclement so that they alliance could not be genuine. <S> Their betrayal could be deadly. <S> Instead, working with farther powers is much easier. <S> They have "common interests" (containing your neighboring powers who are more likely to threat their interests than you are) with you. <S> Combined you are also in an advantageous strategic position. <S> They can also be lured into an alliance by greed. <S> The infamous example is the short alliance between Hitler and Stalin. <A> In Diplomacy <S> you are not playing countries; you are playing your opponents. <S> Which is better in any particular game has more to do with the players, than the countries. <S> That is why the difference between countries diminishes as the player quality increases. <S> In a really strong game I don't see any particular disadvantage to playing Italy or Germany, but in a weak game it is important to be Britain or Turkey. <S> Update: Every country starts with three neighbors, except Italy and Russia who start with four. <S> Anyone who starts by quickly making enemies of all neighbours is on he fast track to finish seventh. <S> A strategy like the Qin strategy (which of course was also popularized by Machiavelli) only works for someone who is actually stronger than his collective neighbours, or can at least withstand them singlehanded. <S> In Diplomacy, as in Survivor , you win by having more allies than our enemy does.
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There are tremendous advantages to allying with nearby countries; as there are tremendous advantages to allying with non-adjacent countries.
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Is there a Diplomacy variant that does not contain stalemate lines? The standard Diplomacy game can often end up locked in a stalemate, with one player pushing for 18 territories, and two or more defenders trying to stop them. There are already many articles about this, including a useful visual index to stalemate positions . However, I have so far failed to find a Diplomacy map that was designed to prevent stalemates. Firstly is it even possible to have such a map using the standard rules? Maybe there is logical reasoning that proves that a stalemateless board does not exist? If it is possible, has it already been done? Does the lack of stalemate lines make the game more dynamic, or does it mean players have to be more edgy about attacking? If it is not possible to create such a map, is there a variant that avoids stalemates with some other change to the rules? In one of the articles I saw it mentioned that "it is difficult to see" how certain variants could allow stalemates, but have any variants been designed with this goal in mind? <Q> Erlend Janbu's variant South America v. 3.2 for four players was designed with the explicit aim "to create a variant where there are no stalemate lines. <S> " <S> In a 2001 article on the variant he admits that he does not know for sure whether there is a stalemate line in his variant, but "I and others have searched, and after 100 games, no game has ended in a stalemate." <S> He claims in that article that only "[ <S> f]ew variants are stalemate-free," but unfortunately he does not name any. <S> As to how the lack of stalemates would affect the game, it might be worth reading what Andy Schwarz has written on his variant Hundred (based on the Hundred Year's War). <S> As he wrote in an article from 1996, "eliminating draws was a big part of the design of Hundred. <S> " This has encouraged solo wins and alliances-shifts, making the game very dynamic. <S> This should also apply to any variant which reduces or eliminates stalemates. <S> As to variants which avoid stalemates by means of changes to the rules, Stephen Agar wrote about this specifically in his article from 1992, " Designing Maps for Diplomacy Variants ," where he notes that "[s]ome variants avoid stalemate lines through the rule mechanics." <S> The only example which he gives is the Multiplicity variant, where multiple units can occupy a single space. <A> Somewhat trivially, the Pure variant has no stalemate lines. <S> This is a simple traditional variant of diplomacy. <S> There are the usual seven countries. <S> There are seven spaces on the board - one corresponding to each country - its home supply center. <S> These spaces are all connected by land one with another. <S> Initially, each player begins with one army in his home supply center. <S> The objective of the game is to accumulate four supply centers. <A> I've considered playing diplomacy with the 35th supply center to make an odd number. <S> But haven't been able to persuade others to play with this variation. <S> That would be Egypt. <S> It's not on the "official" map <S> but it can be "inferred" (or extrapolated) as being in the southeast corner of the board, between Syria and Libya (with the latter being next to Tunis), and bounded by sea by the Eastern Mediterranean. <S> IMHO, it would open up the game by creating another route to and from the eastern Mediterranean. <S> It would give life to the so-called Lepanto opening (Italy and Austria-Hungary vs. Turkey), making the game more fun for the Italy and Austria-Hungary players, otherwise the two most difficult and least fun countries to play. <A> Roland Röllig created the epic Gilgamesch <S> variant -- a highly fantasy-enriched Diplomacy game: With buildings, Magic Spells, Army fusion, Heros and so on. <S> It is not proven, but because of the complexity I am very sure that there are no stalemate lines. <S> The existence of Heros alone probably prevents that. <S> Oh by the way: The rule book I have has 180 pgs... But its great! <S> On the standard map you should play it remotely, it just takes too long. <S> But we played it on a Standard Dippy map once and had quite a "quick" game. <A> One variant that I've seen used was to allow real-world bribery. <S> That is, the lone player offering real cash money to one or two players to let them win. <S> (This bought me dinner more than once.) <S> Another is to set a time limit; at the time limit, the player closest to victory is declared the winner. <A> Here is a rule variant that I believe would prevent long-term stalemates: After two full years (Spring-Fall-Build; Spring-Fall-Build)) of stalemate, the weakest country on the board collapses into civil disorder and the controlling player receives that finishing position. <S> Repeat as often as necessary. <S> Essentially that is what happened to the Russian and Ottoman empires in WWI.
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Until one could prove that there is indeed a stalemate line in the South America variant, the answers to your main questions should be positive: yes, it is possible to design a stalemate-free board and yes, it has been done before.
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What is the point in disclosure of the bidding system to opponents? I fully understand and agree with the rule "do not communicate in illegal ways" (pose, tone of voice, etc), but I don't quite understand the point in requiring the disclosure of one's bidding system to one's opponents. What does this aim to achieve? True disclosure sounds hard to achieve in practice. Partners know each other's habits, and as a result bidding communication still has "hidden" parts - it is just not possible to describe every habit to opponents. This raises a related question. Suppose the bidding system should be disclosed. Why not then require only a single bidding system for all players? <Q> Bridge players hate guessing. <S> Allowing non-disclosure will basically turn the game into a pointless guessing game, with luck (and to some extent, the bidding system) becoming the predominant factor, rather than skill. <S> This will surely drive away the good players, and all that will be left will be self proclaimed bidding theorists... Just because you cannot achieve <S> 100% full disclosure does not mean you get rid of it completely. <S> The current rules [of full disclosure, different systems] allows for (somewhat reasonable) innovation in bidding while trying to pit opponents on an even ground, making skill the predominant factor. <S> Making skill the main factor, with the right amounts of luck, is what keeps people coming back. <A> With knowledge of your bidding system however, I can now determine that your bidding was indeed consistent with how you got to your final contract. <S> (My system notes with one partner comprise over 30 pages of densely typed notes, and some expert partnerships have much more than that. <S> It is not necessary to have such complete notes, but it can be useful, especially if some question comes up about one of our bids. <S> On long drives to a tournament, my partner and I usually spend the time discussing these notes, often adding new points as we think of them. <S> It all depends on your investment in the game.) <S> As an example, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I played a lot of pinochle. <S> Partner and I developed a complete bidding system for pinochle, that was completely disclosed to our opponents. <S> The only information passed was by the numeric jump of our bids, but we did reasonably well in passing what info we needed. <S> Our frequent opponents were told of our system, and we explained the bids as we made them. <S> Interestingly, after a while, our results suddenly went downhill, then we found out why. <S> Our opponents had come up with their own secret system, that involved tugs on their ear, etc. <S> We gave up the game completely, as there was no longer any reason to play, certainly against those opponents. <S> The point is, without disclosure, the game is a waste of time, no longer a game at all. <S> At the very least, it is no longer bridge. <S> Next, bidding is indeed a major factor in bridge. <S> If you think that just knowing what contract you are in is all you need to know in bridge, then you have a lot to learn. <S> A huge part of bridge is correlating ALL of the available information at hand, bringing it all together and using that information to then play the hand. <S> For example, did your opponents overcall? <S> Did they bid at all? <S> Even if they did not, it is still a case of the dog that did NOT bark in the night. <S> Use all information to play the hand. <S> Until you do that, you are still a novice. <A> Imagine the opportunities for abuse. <S> Without a disclosure rule, partners can make up any system they want and thereby communicate in illegal ways. <S> There's really no difference to the other players between "qble and Monica's private bidding system that we won't disclose" and conducting the conversation in Swahili; either way it's obfuscating information that should be available to all players. <S> (I am neither a bridge player (my husband is) nor a speaker of Swahili, just in case that matters.) <A> It is a "sporting" rule as much as anything else. <S> The opponents need to be given an opportunity to learn your bidding system. <S> Some will take it, and some won't. <S> But you can't have a situation where the opponents had "no chance" at understanding. <A> To address the second question - where would new bidding systems come from if all players were required to play the same system? <S> How would one enforce that?
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If the bidding system is not disclosed, then it becomes trivially easy to cheat.
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Is it possible for players to gain an advantage from colluding in blackjack? Blackjack basic strategy makes the assumption that the player is playing independently, with one person's decision to hit/stand having no affect on another player's decision to hit/stand. If the results of every single hand were independent from each other, then there would be no way to improve upon basic strategy and gain a positive expected return. Blackjack hands, however, are not independent events. Card counting takes advantage of the fact that the next hand is not independent of previous hands, due to the limited number of decks in the shoe. A few days ago, I realized that there might be another way to gain an advantage by using the fact that the results for individual players during a single round are not independent of each other. For example, most players will win when the dealer has a weak hand, and most players will lose when the dealer has a strong hand. Also, one player's cards reveal information about the probable outcome for both other player's hands and the dealer's hands for that particular round (even when there is a continuous shuffle machine being used). If player A and player B have expected returns that are not independent of each other, is there a way for them to work together to alter their strategy in a way as to decrease the house edge? <Q> In a loose sense, players can collaborate by signaling each other their hole card when the deal is one up one down. <S> this allows far better optimization by almost doubling the known number of cards for the sharp who counts. <S> Especially true if one or more goes for small bets and lots of draws. <S> The more cards are known to a sharp, the better he's able to account the odds. <S> Note that signaling, if caught, is potentially grounds for removal from the facility and forfeiture of any chips. <A> I think that if one was betting table minimum and the other max bet x 2 or or close to it, with the small player in front of the gorilla, taking advantage of the count if they know it, and trying to hole card the dealer, they could make a decent living. <S> The ideal situation would be the gorilla playing 5/6 with the small player at 4. <S> The small player would try to act like a hunch or amatur player. <S> This is going to work at only the lowest of venues as any decent surveillance operator is going to see right through it even if they try to cap black with green or red, and have more than one stooge to be the small player. <A> So why don't card counters typically recommend playing multiple hands? <S> Card counting works because the player's winrate is dependent on the distribution of cards remaining in the deck . <S> Most of a card counter's edge comes from adjusting their bet before the hand is dealt. <S> Playing multiple hands means getting less information between placing bets, not more. <S> It is true that one player could alter their playing strategy based on the results of another player's hits, but there are some serious problems: <S> If you're talking about the information gained from the dealer's hole card, this is unaffected by your decision to "collude" The times when the probabilities seriously change based on the turn of one or two cards, the shoe is probably marginal so you should be betting near the lower end of your spread anyway <S> Flagrantly altering your strategy based on a card count is so obvious a card counting flag that even card counters will often advise against doing it, especially given that the edge will be marginal <A> A way for colluders to gain an advantage in blackjack is the "Big Player" tactic, discussed in my answer to this question: <S> Why is card counting considered illegal in Blackjack? <S> And in one of his "Bringing Down the House" series of books, Ben Mezrich talked about how a skilled player would insert the "cut" (and shown) card at exactly a particular place in the deck. <S> Depending on whether they wanted the dealer to draw or "miss" the card, the players would either draw or stand on the round that the particular cut card was dealt. <S> That gave the players a ONE HAND advantage that was apparently enough to more than cancel out the house advantage. <A> When you break it down statistically and you're dealing with someone who can card-count, ace-track, shuffle-track, and perform / maintain a running tally of any other relevant factor in the game, it will always be to their advantage to be in control of as many hands as possible. <S> Playing on a team allows for a single mindset or approach to be taken towards every position on the table. <S> Because a professional card counter is very 'informed' of the state of the remaining deck, they want to be able to manipulate the way those cards are dealt to the players as much as possible. <S> This is why they would want to play every position on the table, as long as it doesn't interfere with their ability to count. <S> Because of casino policies this may not be possible without having teammates who are under your 'command' and play the hands that you are not able to safely play without being asked to leave.
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Looking at it purely mathematically, given that there is no hidden information, there is no difference between a "team" of blackjack players playing as you describe, and one player playing multiple hands.
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Implementing a map exploration mechanic cheaply I'm building a game in which players explore and steal from a castle. There needs to be an element of surprise and risk, so I've been considering a tile-based system like that used in Carcassonne. However, I'm not a fan of the (monetary) costs associated with producing such a mechanic. What would be a good, low-cost way to allow exploration of rooms/halls with the risk of guard/maid encounters? <Q> There are several methods. <S> instead of tiles, cards. <S> Less cost to produce. <S> Benefit: <S> cheap drawback: usually not square. <S> a pile of larger geomorphs with just the rooms, not the contents thereof; cards by room type Benefit: <S> sturdy board chunks, highly flexible mode drawback: <S> rooms fall into well known patterns <S> movable chunks of wall on a gridded board Benefit: extreme flexibility drawbacks: component costs, setup time, easily disrupted. <S> laminated grid board with overhead pen, cards for what to draw. <S> Benefits: the most flexible Drawbacks: lots of work, lamination required. <A> I'd suggest you look into existing games of a similar nature and explore what they've done. <S> You'll see what does and doesn't work, and how well it works. <S> That should help you decide on a good mechanic for your game. <A> If your game has a DM role, I'd consider looking at the sort of "predetermined map" with slowly revealed information, with games such as HeroQuest and Descent being examples. <S> If your game has no DM and randomly generated maps, I'd look at a game such as Dungeons & Dragons: Castle Ravenloft for some ideas (this one in particular is similar to your Carcassonne-like tiles idea). <S> The "Zombies!!!" <S> games also work in this manner I believe.
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HeroQuest Descent Dungeon!
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Can abilities with a [Click] cost be used during a run? Some abilities have a [Click] cost to them, such as Crypsis' ability to add a virus counter to it. Does it count as a "paid ability" for the purposes of the Run Timeline ? I.e. could I, mid-run, add a virus counter to Crypsis for the cost of one [Click]? <Q> No . <S> If an ability has a [Click] as part of its cost, it can only be used as a main action in the controlling player's turn. <S> It cannot be used on the other player's turn or during a run. <S> From the rules ( PDF ) page 21, under Paid Abilities (emphasis mine): Paid abilities can be triggered at the beginning of each turn, before and after each player action, and at certain points during a run, unless the ability requires a click, in which case it must be triggered as an action . <A> So since a run is an action you must wait for the run to finish before activating Crypsis. <S> (Or use it before the run.) <A> No. <S> Any abilities that cost a click are actions, and actions can only be used in that players action phase, and that action must be fully resolved before another action can be used. <S> There are some cards where clicks are still spent during a run. <S> The most notable card which is printed with a click costed ability is Adjusted Matrix , which modded an icebreaker into an AI with: <S> [Click]: <S> Break Ice Subroutine. <S> This ability has been errataed to: <S> You may spend [Click] to break any subroutine on a piece of ice currently being encountered. <S> To prevent this confusion. <S> This is the same wording as used on bioroids, such as Eli 1.0 , which are the most common exception to not spending clicks outside of the action phase.
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No, the rules state that abilities with a Click cost can only be used as an action.
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What reasons would a designer want to employ squares over hexes in a battle simulation game? In many games I have played, initial editions (eg the 1960s version of Midway) use squares for their boards. Often, later editions (eg the 1990s edition of Midway) change to a hex pattern. Hexes get around awkward movement rules (like being able to move 14 squares, or 10 on the diagonal ( 10 / sqrt of 2 is very close to 14)), but I wonder when squares would give a better feel for the environment? In Clue it makes sense because they represent tiles in the hallways (and while you can be whisked around the house by being involved in an accusation or via tunnels, the hallways analogy makes sense). However, in a simulation game, I cannot see how squares could be useful. When are they a good mechanic in simulation game design? <Q> Well one point towards squares is simplicity. <S> It is a much easier system to grok (outside of weird rules for diagonals) <S> The most important thing to consider is what your playing field is. <S> However if you were going with, say, an urban layout, then a hex system would have a harder time with all the straight edges (not impossible, but difficult) while also not helping too much, since diagonals aren't a huge deal with hallways. <A> What is the nature of your game? <S> Combat, commerce, both? <S> This might shape the role of movement in your game as well. <S> Hex-based maps makes movement slight less expensive, especially when trying to around obstacles. <S> For example, if the player is trying to move their token from South to North, but another player's token is in their way. <S> On a square-based map, it would take four moves to get around the obstacle (W, N, N, E). <S> On a hex-based map, it would take only three (NW, N, NE). <S> This is assuming you're not using a facing/turning mechanic, such is used in Battletech. <S> The Civilization series on the PC also made the transition from squares to hexes. <S> My friends who play the game were all pleased by the change because it made movement smoother and less frustrating. <S> Unfortunately you can't foresee where your game will go in the future. <S> I'm sure hexes where the right solution for Battletech when the scenarios were all played on an open battlefield. <S> But hexes make things really weird when you try to take the battle into a city. <A> Indoor areas or city terrain can be easier to represent using squares because they tend to follow 90 degree angles anyway. <S> Most games with movement in a dungeon or similar places use squares. <S> There are board and miniature games that combine hex or free movement outside of cities with square movement in cities. <S> I have seen tabletop RPGs played with a hex map for overland terrain movement, but switching to square grids for encounters and dungeon exploration.
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If you are talking about a mostly open plain with very few obstacles, then a hex field is great as it avoids the diagonal rule cleanly.
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What general approach should be taken opening hands with 3=1=4=5 and 1=3=4=5 shape? If my hand is not good enough to reverse, what should I do with a hand like KxxxKJxxAQxxx That is, a minimum opener with a singleton major, 4 diamonds, and 5 clubs (assuming that I'm playing Standard American or 2/1 with a strong NT opener)? Should I open 1D or 1C? What's my rebid if partner bids my singleton? <Q> If the diamond quality is vastly better than the clubs, then open 1D planning on rebidding clubs; otherwise open 1C. <S> If the club quality is vastly better than the diamonds, then open 1C and plan on rebidding 1NT if partner responds 1H; the club suit can be expected to run in such a situation, and so how much trouble can you get into in 1NT. <S> Remember that if partner passes a 1NT rebid by you this shows 6-9 points to go with your minimum opener. <S> If you can't make 1NT on power and the club suit, the opponents can probably make at least 2S (or 2H!); going down 1 or 2 undoubled is a win. <S> The big misconception newer and intermediate players make is thinking that 5-card suits, by either responder or opener, are a preferable rebid; this is untrue; rebidding a 5-card suit is a desperation rebid to be done only in dire circumstances, or to reveal a 5-5. <S> Both opener and responder should try keenly to avoid rebidding 5-card suits, and save such rebids for 6-card suits. <S> Partner will preference back with 3-card support unless her hand is strongly no-trumpish, at which point the 8-card fit can be revealed. <S> In regards to Rud's statement about opener's raise of 1M with 3 card support; I have always felt comfortable raising partner's suit with 3 and a side singleton . <S> If partner cannot handle the occasional Moysian fit, I find another partner. <S> (And I never have difficulty finding partners.) <A> I'm aware of 3 general approaches to this problem. <S> Each of these approaches has its adherents, and most people seem to think that their own answer is obviously the best approach. <S> I'll list the 3 approaches and their major weaknesses (assuming opener has 3 spades, 1 heart, 4 diamonds, 5 clubs). <S> Open 1C, plan to raise diamonds or spades, and rebid 1NT after hearts. <S> Some people prefer never to rebid 1NT with a singleton and therefore recoil from this approach. <S> The main weakness with this call is that partner may correct to 2 of their major with a good 5-card suit and thus play a 5-1 fit. <S> Some players have no system to handle 1C-1H-2H if opener may raise on 3. <S> Open 1C, plan to rebid 2C over 1H (and maybe even 1S). <S> In the ideal 1C-1H-2C auction, opener has a 6-card suit. <S> Partner may well pass with a minimum and two small clubs. <S> Worse is that responder may have a good hand and you'll wind up in the wrong strain at a higher level. <S> When partner has a minimum and is 2-2 or 3-3 in the minors, you'll end up playing in 2D when 2C plays a trick or two better. <S> In a competitive auction, partner doesn't know about your best suit -- you may never get a chance to show clubs, causing partner to compete in the wrong suit or to lead diamonds instead of clubs. <S> As a side note, you may notice a common thread to all three approaches is that your life is made more difficult if opener can't raise responder's suit with 3-card support. <S> 1C-1S-2C is definitely inferior to 1C-1S-2S when opener has 3 spades and only 5 clubs, but if partner will bid on as though opener has 4-card support in this auction, 2S is not an option. <A> I'd open one club, 1) because there are five of them and 2) to give partner a chance to respond in all three higher suts (or no trump). <S> With your length in clubs, partner is less likely to have four or five of them. <S> If he responds in your singleton, I'd bid one NT, denying a four card spade suit, and denying support for his suit, implying that most of my strength is in the minors.
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Open 1D, plan to rebid 2C over 1H (and maybe even 1S).
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Is the four move checkmate the fastest way to win a game of chess? Is the four move check mate (1. e4 e5 2.Qf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5?? 4.Qxf7#) the fastest way to win a game of chess, or is there a quicker way? <Q> The moves that demonstrate the checkmate are: 1. <S> f3 e52. <S> g4 Qh4# <A> Fool's mate is the quickest way to mate , not win . <S> Technically the fastest way to win is for your opponent to resign on the first move or for them to lose on time (e.g. not show up but their clock is running). <A> The fastest way for Black to mate is 1. <S> f3 e52. <S> g4 Qh4 <S> # 1.f4 is also possible so there are two versions of this. <S> There are more versions for a fast mate by White: 1. <S> e4 g52. <S> d4 f53. <S> Qh5 <S> # Coupled with this f, g pawn advances there is also <S> another neat versionwhich takes the same amount of moves for White to mate: 1. <S> e4 e52. <S> Qh5 Ke73. <S> Qxe5# Thereby fastest white mate can happen in three moves (precisely 2½moves) whereas fastest black mate can happen in two moves.
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There is a quicker checkmate called the Fool's Mate which only takes 2 moves.
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Is there a way to beat Standstill? If your opponent has a standstill on an otherwise empty board, is there a way to remove it without your opponent drawing cards? krosan grip doesn't work because split-second doesn't apply to triggered abilities, and stifle or trickbind don't work either, because they themselves will trigger the ability. <Q> You need to look for abilities that can be activated from places other than the 'field, since abilities don't trigger Standstill . <S> You can cycle Resounding Wave targeting Standstill and a land, as cycling is an activated ability it won't cause Standstill to trigger. <S> 702.28a Cycling is an activated ability that functions only while the card with cycling is in a player’s hand. <S> “Cycling [cost]” means “[Cost], Discard this card: Draw a card.” <A> Okay, I think I've found another solution. <S> first, when it's your turn, play Alchemist's Refuge , and then when it's your opponent's turn, you activate it, and flash in Genesis hydra for at least 4. <S> Since it's your opponent's turn, your trigger goes onto the stack last, and resolves first. <S> Then, genesis hydra would have to find a notion thief , and it will put that directly onto the battlefield. <S> At that point, standstill gets sacrificed, and you draw the 3 cards <A> You can counter it when it is being cast. <S> If you wanted to ensure that if it triggers it does not get a chance to be sacraficed, then you need to use an ability that wipes the stack like the one found on Sundial Of the Infinite . <S> You could use the ability of a creature already on the battlefield to destroy it after it is played. <A> Removing a player from the game removes their permanents along with them. <S> Attacking with man lands such as Stirring Wildwood or with tokens from Decree of Justice will either kill the player or pressure them to break standstill themselves. <S> Standstill decks will usually run 2/2 man lands, so having lands bigger than that (such as the 3/4 Wildwood) can win that battle (though do watch out for Wasteland ; you will probably need a set of these yourself).
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Also, if you have an effect like Boseiju, Who Shelters All (since Standstill decks are usually chalk full of counterspells), you can nullify the effects of standstill with cards like Wit's End or Mind Twist . Another way would be to destroy it without casting a spell.
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How can I destroy Possibility Storm? If an opponent plays Possibility Storm , what would be the best way to destroy it? If I played a card which allowed me to destroy target enchantment, would this destroy Possibility Storm before my card becomes exiled or would I need to rely on one of the cards I need to draw? Also does Possibility Storm trigger when playing creatures or lands/basic lands? <Q> It triggers whenever you cast a spell from your hand, no matter what kind of spell. <S> This includes an instant or sorcery you might play to try to destroy it, as well as creatures. <S> (Playing lands is not casting a spell - it's a special action you can do.) <S> So yes, it's difficult to destroy. <S> Keeping it from ever reaching the battlefield by countering it is of course the easiest way. <S> If you happen to have something on the battlefield with an ability that can destroy it, like a Keening Apparition that'll work too. <S> Similarly, if you're lucky enough to have a spell with Flashback already in your graveyard like Ray of Revelation , you could use that - it's not cast from your hand, so it's not affected. <S> But otherwise, yes, you'll have to rely on luck - cast your spells, and hope you hit something good. <S> Do note that you don't necessarily have to destroy it <S> ; you could well cast a vanilla 1/1 creature and luck into something enormous, and your opponent is just as dead if you kill them without being able to control what you cast! <A> This question can be answered just like a question about Standstill that was asked earlier this week , by User Akedren. <S> Basically one great way to get rid of enchantments, which are permanents, is to pull them off the table or otherwise destroy them without casting a spell from your hand. <S> 702.27a Cycling is an activated ability that functions only while the card with cycling is in a player’s hand. <S> “Cycling [cost]” means <S> “[Cost], Discard <S> this card: Draw a card.” <S> .- <S> Akedren <A> Casting Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre will destroy possibility storm, as the "when you cast" ability on Ulamog still triggers, even though Ulamog gets replaced with a different creature. <S> Possibility Storm only affects cards cast from your hand, so if you have ways of casting removal spells from other zones, that will work. <S> If you have Ray of Revelation in your hand, you could wait until you have 8 cards in hand and then discard it, thus enabling you to play it via flashback. <S> Alternatively, Nivix, Aerie of the Firemind can let you play removal spells from exile. <S> Baring those specific cards in your deck, play a card with the same type as your removal (for example, if you have Disenchant in your deck, play other instants) and eventually Possibility Storm will have your spell turn into the removal spell you need.
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Also if the board is not empty you can easily use creatures that have abilites that allow you to destroy enchantments . To quote the answer I mentioned above: You can cycle Resounding Wave targeting [Possibility Storm] and a land, as cycling is an activated ability it won't cause [Possibility Storm] to trigger.
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How can I keep Magic foils flat? Anyone who's collected Magic for a while knows the unfortunate tendency for foils — especially older foils and the heavier promotional foils — to curl up towards the foil side (presumably as the cardstock expands from moisture). Unfortunately, this not only makes it harder to use the foils in decks (they become clearly marked — not a serious problem but still an annoyance for formats like Commander, and a more substantial problem for someone hoping to put e.g. some old foil Rancors into a Standard deck), but it presumably also decreases their value notably. Unfortunately, just sandwiching the foils in between regular cards doesn't work very well — there isn't generally enough pressure from the regular cards to keep the foils flat; worse, this scheme doesn't really allow for storing a number of foils together (where they'll all curl together). Does anyone have any good suggestions for how to straighten out curled foil cards, or to keep foils from curling in the first place? <Q> Sleeving cards helps keep them flat. <S> The stiffness of double-sleeving will help a card maintain its shape, as well as protecting expensive cards from rough shuffling or when they are migrating between sleeves. <S> This, in combination with a deckbox that compresses the cards a little (most of the ultra pro plastic boxes will fit 75 double-sleeved cards, just about) will keep your foils from bending too much. <S> In general, the best advice is to keep them in a deck and keep that deck packed tightly. <A> My understanding is that the tendency for foils to curl is due to humidity. <S> With the caveat that I've not tried this myself, I suggest adding silica gel or a similar desiccant to your storage box. <S> As far as storing foils together, you might try flipping each card so the foil sides and back sides touch. <A> As far as the silica gel idea, I believe it does help quite a bit, as I to was wondering why my foil Archon of Triumvirate bent far worse than my foil Hypersonic Dragon(about 4 months older than my newly opened Archon) which i keep in my desk drawer. <S> Upon getting a new laptop earlier in the year, I threw the silica gel that came with the packaging into my desk drawer and my foils stored in the drawer showed a significant difference to newer foils i obtained and did not store within the same drawer. <S> Even today a foil i got less than a week ago reached the same condition of Archon when kept outside of said drawer and my hypersonic is still holding up pretty well unsleeved while in the drawer. <A> To straighten out cards I would suggest you dry them in an oven. <S> Test with one or two first. <S> Set the oven to 60°C and leave for 30 mins, you may see them curl the other way! <S> After cooling place directly into a sleeve. <S> The theory behind curling is water absorption into the card itself causing expansion thus drying it should to a degree reverse the process. <S> Using a desiccant over a longer period, weeks, should have the same effect. <S> The water should not interact with the card itself over short periods of time but could over longer periods causing a potential change the in the cards molecular structure, since they are cellulose base they are naturally hydrophilic and water hydrogen bonds to the structure. <S> Note that all plastic sleeves will allow the diffusion of moisture through the faces but clearly an open end will be worse. <S> so double sleeveing is a good idea but you could still see curling
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Additionally, there are "perfect" or "pro" fit sleeves, which fit cards tightly and can be inserted inside other sleeves. The difference in moisture absorption between the foil side and back of the card causes the card to curl.
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Is there a card that protects me from a (self-)milling death? Is there a card with the ability: You do not lose the game being for unable to draw a card ? I've found one so far; Mine, Mine, Mine! but it applies to all players. A little back story; I have Reliquary Tower that has the ability; You have no maximum hand size . I also have several cards that allow me to get an abundance of card draws: for instance I have Dragon Appeasement , if these two are paired in my devour deck I can get a wealth of cards, enabling me to play out Thromok the Insatiable all the sooner. This would of course mill me out pretty quickly, so I was hoping for a card that does for me in prevention of loss by having no library what Phyrexian Unlife does for having 0 life. I'm hoping there's a keyword I didn't think of, and that someone has a card in mind for this. <Q> Win the game Cards which change "draw from an empty library" into a win condition: <S> Laboratory Maniac is the most famous card to do this. <S> Jace, Wielder of Mysteries has a static effect to do the same. <S> Thassa's Oracle has an enters the battlefield trigger which causes you to win if the number of cards in your library is less than your devotion to blue. <S> Shuffle your graveyard into your library <S> Some cards can cause you to shuffle your graveyard into your library, including Emrakul, the Aeons torn (among other mythic eldrazi cards). <S> Other similar cards exist, including Finale of Revelation . <S> Gaea's Blessing is notable for shuffling your graveyard into your library specifically if it itself is milled. <S> Don't draw a card <S> Blue Sun Zenith <S> You can read this as "UUU: don't draw a card" <S> Don't lose the game <S> Miscellaneous <S> There is also the slightly convoluted combo of Consecrated Sphinx , Notion Thief which you then Donate to your opponent before doing anything to cause you to draw a card outside of your draw step. <S> The draw will be redirected to your opponent, which will trigger the sphinx, which will allow you to redirect 2 more draws and repeat the process to mill your opponent out to defeat. <S> Probably not as good as Lab maniac, but worth remembering. <S> Nexus of Fate has a replacement effect which causes it to go to your library rather than your graveyard, so you never deck yourself if you can cast it every turn (unless something else causes you to draw). <S> As Nexus of Fate gives you an extra turn, this is a win con if you have some way of damaging the opponent on every turn. <S> Murderous Rider goes to the bottom of your library when it dies so you can play a similar trick with this if you can draw it and kill it every turn. <A> Note that you don't lose for having an empty library. <S> You lose for drawing from an empty library. <S> Dragon Appeasement already probably does what you want. <S> It lets you skip your draw step, and its draw ability is optional, so you will only get milled if another player has a spell or ability that forces you draw a card (such as Braingeyser ) or you play a card that forces you to draw (don't do this). <S> For cards that protect you from being milled in general, there are: Cards with replacement effects for card draws. <S> The key phrase in the oracle text is "would draw a card". <S> This comes in several variations: <S> "if you would draw a card", such as Abundance , Laboratory Maniac , or Obstinate Familiar "the next time you would draw a card", such as Words of Worship "if a player would draw a card", such as Uba Mask Cards that let you shuffle your graveyard back into your library, such as Emrakul, the Aeons <S> Torn or Elixir of Immortality Cards that say "you can't lose the game", such as Platinum Angel or Gideon of the Trials <A> Jace, Wielder of Mysteries is a planeswalker from "War of the Spark" which can protect you from self-mill death, by making it a game winning condition.
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Various cards include a "you can't lose the game" effect, such as Platinum Angel and Angel Grace . Elixir of Immortality will do the same, cheaper for a gain of 5 life.
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Keeping track of many independent variables on a physical board? I have a large number of independent variables which I would like to represent on a physical game board. One idea I had was to implement these using rotating disks, a little like the metal spinning mechanism used to select numbers on some types of lock. Would it be possible to implement these spinning mechanisms on a physical board game as smaller plastic spinning disks? Have any games made use of this idea? Three or four of them would have to fit on a little square with many of these little squares on the board. Alternatively, is there some other mechanism that would solve the problem more elegantly? Here is a picture of what I am considering implementing. However I am not sure of the feasibility of adding about a hundred of them to a board. <Q> Battlestar Galactica does this to track resources; Chaos in the Old World tracks both advancement towards victory and threat. <S> Using 100 moving-parts dials sounds problematic. <S> It would be a huge effort to set up, expensive to produce, and there's a lot of pieces to break. <S> Assuming that each number to be tracked is small, another solution would be a six-sided die for each number, or using a few counters in a specified location. <A> It's not uncommon to <S> use dice to track values , turning them to the appropriate side. <S> For instance, in Shadows over Camelot, knights use D6s to track their health in this way and for no other reason (i.e. they're never rolled). <S> If you need to track higher numbers, consider using D20s <S> or even two D10s to get numbers from 00 to 99. <S> The advantage with this is that they don't take up board real estate and they're easy to understand for new players. <S> A downside might be that they're easy to knock over, but most board games suffer from knocking the table. <A> Dials have been used on a number of board games. <S> They have usually been used on the main board as randomizers; in this role, the archetypical ones are Life and Nuclear War. <S> Life uses a plastic base affixed to the board and a plastic wheel setting on a pin in the base, which is spun. <S> In Nuclear War, its a plastic arrow connected to a hub, and the hub passes through a hole on the cardstock display. <S> The other common mode is as a choice indicator. <S> The most notable use being Avalon Hill's Dune boardgame, but several other designer games make use of them. <S> Almost all of these use a pair of cardboard wheels with a plastic hub, sometimes 1 piece, sometimes 2 pieces, separate from the main board. <S> Rarely used, but I've seen it done, is a cardboard disk with a hub which drops into a hole drilled into the board. <S> Chaos in the old world does this with 4 dials. <S> Another mode is just a marker which sits on a dial printed on the board. <S> Supremacy, Imperial, and a many others use variations on this, either linear as with Supremacy, or circular as with Imperial. <S> Note that this allows "overloading" a given track by having multiple markers on the same track, as with Supremacy using a black disk on the player board for Nukes and L-Stars, and colored disks for Neutron Bombs (on the Nukes track) and K-Sats (on the L-Stars Track). <S> One of the optional rules is to use colored markers for the action type bids, placing them on the turn outline as if it were a track. <S> So, yes, there are multiple ways to create and use pseudo-lock-dial displays, and spiners. <S> Plastic hub and arrow assemblies are standard parts commercially available in bulk. <S> Plastic hubs are available as well. <S> Bindery Screw Posts can be purchased as well, which can be used with cardboard or plastic wheels to bind them to cardboard boards. <A> Depending on how your board is arranged, you could try using stiff rectangular strips of numbers instead of circles, which might be easier to make. <S> You'd need a big enough 'window' that players with large fingers can easily slide the strip up and down (or you could just make people use a pencil eraser to push the strip -- style the pencil <S> and now you have a cheap, nifty component!). <S> If you're OK with just a two-digit number, a pair of disks or strips could work -- the left one represents the 10's place, and the right one the 1's place. <S> If you're still prototyping game mechanics, the dice-based suggestions are great, but there's definitely an aesthetic difference between dice sitting on a board and numbers embedded in it, especially if you have other objects on the board. <S> Good luck! <A> You could just write the numbers on the board. <S> If there are different types of numbers, you could use different colors as well as different sections of the whiteboard to keep things clear. <S> This is probably a more expensive option, but it would be quite space-efficient. <S> A 2"x1" rectangle should provide plenty of space for three 2-digit numbers. <A> Gaming Counters <S> These are some nice counting devices that I use. <S> They could probably do a custom sticker for whatever variable you are tracking. <A> It soulds like you want to mark several values per each space on the board. <S> One of cheapest solutions that works both in tight space and with arbitrary values is to simply use counters. <S> Depending on what exactly you're trying to accomplish it might get a bit fiddly, but for the most part it should be perfectly manageable. <S> Twilight Struggle is a good example: http://dicehateme.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/ussr.jpg
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Wits and Wagers gives each player a small plasticized card and a white board marker, you could have similar built in to the board. One solution I've seen to this is a cardboard disk with a hole cut out; the disk can be rotated to reveal any of several items below.
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How are Swindler's effects resolved in a multiplayer game? I play Swindler in a 3-player game. Does each player reveal, trash, and gain in turn order, or all reveal, then trash and gain in turn order? I was thinking that it would matter in the following situation: the player to my left reveals and trashes a Province, so I give him another Province. This triggers the Fool's Gold in the hand of the next player in turn order. At this point, would he have already revealed the top card for Swindler, or, since he comes after the player who revealed the Province, is he able to use his Fool's Gold to put a gold on top in time for Swindler to hit it? <Q> Each player reveals, trashes, and gains in turn order. <S> The relevant text of Swindler is: Each other player trashes the top card of his deck and gains a card with the same cost that you choose. <S> In Dominion, you do each instruction in order. <S> The convention is that each instruction is one sentence. <S> For Swindler, the instruction is "trash and gain." <S> Having multiple parts of a single instruction is common in Dominion. <S> For instance, the Bureaucrat uses the same construction. <S> In resolving Bureaucrat, the first player must reveal a Victory card and put it on top of their deck, then the second player does both of those things, then the third. <S> If Swindler wanted everyone to trash, and then everyone to gain, it would have to be written as two separate sentences, and it would be a really messy wording to make sure that the cost of the gained card matches the cost of the card trashed from that player's deck. <A> Yes. <S> If order matters, then resolve in turn order. <S> From Intrigue <S> Rulebook: <S> Swindler - A player with no cards left in his Deck shuffles first; a player who still has no cards does not trash a card or gain a card. <S> If the order matters (such as when piles are running low), resolve Swindler in turn order starting with the player to your left. <S> Gained cards go to discard piles. <S> If a player trashes a 0-cost card such as Copper, you may choose to give him Curse (if there are any left). <S> You can give a player another copy of the same card he trashed. <S> The gained cards have to be ones from the Supply, and you have to pick a card <S> that's left if you can <S> (you cannot pick an empty pile). <S> If there are no cards in the Supply with the same cost as a given player's trashed card, no card is gained by that player. <S> A player who Moats this does not reveal a card from his deck, and so neither trashes a card nor gains a card. <S> If in doubt or unable to determine if turn order matters, I'd suggest using turn order. <A> The Fool's Gold reveal is optional, but yes, the order is: Play Swindler. <S> Resolve any cards that trigger on playing an attack. <S> (Go in order around the table, each player revealing and resolving eligible cards until they are done) <S> For each player, reveal and trash that card. <S> Resolve anything that triggers from that trashing (gaining a gold from Tunnel, returning Fortress to hand, discarding Market Square, etc), and resolve anything that triggers from that (like revealing a Watchtower to put that Tunnel Gold on top) <S> Then choose the card to gain. <S> Then anything that triggers off of that gain is resolved, (like gaining another card from Border Village). <S> Then, go onto the next player. <S> I'm not quite sure who gets to use their Fool's Gold first, if there are not enough Golds. <S> But in your question; if one has not yet been swindled, trashing the Fool's Gold will result in the gained Gold being swindled.
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I think you would start with the player who played the Swindler, and then go around, starting with them.
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Too few resource cards to distribute, but only one player receiving that resource type. Do they get the cards? Let's set up a simple example to illustrate what I'm getting at: A player has a city bordering an ore tile, and they are the only player with a settlement bordering an ore tile. There is only 1 ore resource card left in the "bank". Someone rolls for resource production and it causes the ore tile to produce 2 ore for the city owned by the player in question. Do they get the 1 remaining ore resource card? Personally, I would assume no. The rules do state that if there are not enough resources of a given type to distribute, nobody gets anything. But this situation is a little different just because there is only one player receiving resources. I'll note that I've never actually had this happen, but am working on a computer based simulation and am trying to be precise. <Q> The Official FAQ at catan.com answers this directly. <S> Resource Cards - <S> In case not enough Resource Cards of a certain type are available, does a player get nothing even if he is the only one to receive this resource? <S> No. <S> In this case, he receives all available Resource Cards of this type. <A> Just from a Rules- <S> As-Written reading, it literally says "nobody" which should mean nobody . <S> From a spirit-of-the-rules view, I believe that rule is intended not to give unfair advantage to certain players at the cost of other players, but in this case there's no cost to other players, so no unfair advantage would be gained. <S> Either way, as you pointed out, it is an extremely narrow edge case. <A> The rules that I have state that you first give cards to whoever is getting the most of that resource. <S> So if you have only one player getting cards, they get all the cards. <S> If one player should get 4 cards, and one 2 cards <S> and there are 3 cards left, the first player gets all 3 and second gets nothing. <S> This is >10 year old edition of the game though.
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Yes , the lone player gets the cards.
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What are all the promo cards available for Dominion? What are all the promo cards available for Dominion? I found Black Market , Envoy , Walled Village , Governor , and Stash on the Board Game Geek Store . Are there more? Some of the promo cards are out of stock. Are they limited edition cards? Or do they come in and out of stock periodically? Are they available anywhere else? <Q> According to "Hans im Glück", which is the publisher of Dominion in Germany, there are only those five promo cards available. <S> At the moment they sell the german version of the stash (Geldversteck) and the Governor (Gouverneur) in their online store <S> http://www.cundco.de . <S> They also say that as soon as they are out of stock, they wont sell any new cards. <S> The description of the Dominion big box at amazon.com, however, says Additionally it contains promo card sets which may vary <S> So this box will most propably not contain all of the promo cards. <A> A new promotional card was released at Origins 2014 and it is now available in the Board Game Geek Store . <S> It is the Prince card. <S> This is in addition to the other promo cards that have already been mentioned: Black Market , Envoy , Governor , Stash , and Walled Village . <A> Those are all of the promos, and some of them were available when you bought whichever expansion was coming out at the time, or at events - apparently some of the TableTop Day store promotional packs included a few Dominion promos - but generally the BGG store is the place to get them all.
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There is a german Dominion big box available at amazon.de which contains all promo cards.
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Differences between Dixit versions? I'm concerned my niece, who's ten and has been raised on the likes of Hannah Montana, has little to no imagination or creativity. I want to find games we can play that will push her thinking out of the Disney drone-mold and I think that Dixit looks perfect for this. However, there's a problem; there are too many versions. Amazon.co.uk stocks the following versions of Dixit: Dixit Dixit 2 Dixit 3 Dixit Odyssey Dixit Journey To me Odyssey looks the most random, but may be too far out for someone with little imagination, at least to start with. Common sense suggests starting with Dixit, as it's the first, but that also makes it the oldest; theoretically the newest would be the most stable and well made. I'm not looking for opinions here, rather I'm after facts about the different games that may help decide which one is right for us. So my question is: What makes each version of Dixit different, and what can you tell me about each that may help decide which version is best for my situation? <Q> I personally own all of the above apart from Dixit Journey (which I didn't even know existed). <S> You should know that, Dixit 2 and 3, aren't technically stand-alone games; they're only sets of additional cards. <S> As far as I remember it has all the rules the original had, plus some additions for bigger number of players. <S> It also has a set of pieces for greater number of players (up to 12, I think). <S> The biggest difference are the actual cards - those are entirely new when compared to original. <S> My recommendation is to buy the Oddysey, as it contains the game pieces helpful* in playing a game and a manual. <S> Then if your niece likes the game you could buy the others for additional cards. <S> *) <S> As long as you have access to the game rules, you don't really need anything apart from the cards. <S> All the other pieces in the boxes are used to keep track of players score, and to 'vote' for the cards - if you can manage this some other way (easiest and most crude would be pen&paper solution) you could buy only the cards. <A> The concept of all the Dixit games are the same, they just have different images. <S> The regular Dixit's images are definitely random. <S> The Odyssey and Journey are more themed around travel and adventure. <S> If you are a fantasy adventure person, I'd recommend Journey because there is Harry potter and Lord of the Rings references galore to be made. <S> As for the regular Dixits (1,2, and 3) they all will be of the same quality of playing so if you have the chance to look at the cards, pick the pack with your favorite artwork. <S> The whole point of the game is to see the creative things people see in each card. <S> You and your niece may not think of the same idea for one card and that is the beauty and re-usability of the game. <A> We bought the Journey version for our 8 year old a couple of years ago. <S> We liked the concept of the game, but the images used in this version are dark and a bit disturbing. <S> Almost all of them depict sad or angry characters in depressing or distressed scenes. <S> I do not recommend this version as a family-friendly game. <A> old thread, but I stumbled upon it when googling, so I'm sure others will to. <S> There's a good comparison of all the dixit products here: https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/171700/dixit-product-guide <A> the journey is a complete set with all of the board, pieces, and rules, but if she is more Disney then abstract the pictures on this may just be a little more freighting then fun.
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Dixit Oddysey is nearly the same as original Dixit when it comes to rules.
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Mechanism to balance all game stages I am designing a game in which players add tiles to the board (similar to Carcassone) in order to create sequences of symbols (which are on the tiles) - they are then used for playing cards. This mechanism works nice, but the problem is, that the first few rounds - there are just not enough tiles (and symbols) on the board so players can only place a tile and pass the turn because they are unable to play any card. Midgame is fine and at the end of every round, there are enough symbols on the board to play almost any card you have in your hand... which is not what I was hoping for when designing the game. Do you have any idea for a mechanism, that would eliminate this "slow" start and too "easy" end of every round? I was thinking about dealing some tiles on the board in the beginning at random and limiting the total numbers of tiles avaliable, but I am not sure if this wouldnt spoil the game... I havent found any boardgames which uses this exact kind of mechanism (paying for cards with sequences of placed tiles) so I am trying to come up with something that would balance the gameplay. Thanks for any tips (I can provide some additional info if needed)! <Q> You need to try it and see. <S> It's the most natural solution, and that's what playtesting is for. <S> If it turns out not to be fun, you can always bail midgame. <S> Other suggestions: Are all the symbols the same rarity? <S> If some are associated with more "basic" or introductory actions, you could choose a few specific starter tiles that contain only those symbols and start the round with those in play. <S> You could include cards that can be played for a reduced effect without the appropriate matching symbols. <S> This would encourage players to match the symbols, but give them something to do early on while the board develops. <S> As midgame passes, perhaps players move to replacing existing tiles rather than placing entirely new ones. <S> This would keep the board from becoming too full of options while not cutting the round short. <A> First, I'd make sure this is a real problem. <S> The beginning game of "play a tile" should be really quick, so it may not be as big of a deal as you think it is. <S> I'm thinking of some of the "flip a tile" games for exploration, where it's an obvious move, and those plays go by quickly. <S> I like sitnaltax's idea of limiting the board to a fixed number of tiles. <S> This would encourage strategy of limiting other player's actions and duplicating symbols on the board (or having some cards require multiple of the same symbol for an enhanced effect). <A> I would recommend having a starting block. <S> This could be a 4/4 printed board with some of the symbols on it. <S> Players could then add their tiles to this block. <S> You could also draw some tiles randomly and build this block. <S> It may be less balanced, but a random starting condition often makes games better. <S> You could even have a suggested starting block for beginners printed in the rules. <S> What I would be concerned about in this case is 1st player advantage. <S> They would have an easy time attaching to a random block first and taking full advantage of it. <S> In a way I like your game's start where going 1st has a disadvantage until you take your second turn <A> Other answers have come up with good points. <S> It's hard to say whether this is really a problem without seeing the rest of the game and how it plays. <S> I think a "slower" early start is almost certainly not a bad thing. <S> It's too easy decision-making in late game that most likely needs addressing. <S> Here's my contribution: You haven't said how players get cards in hand in the first place. <S> If players are unable to play cards at the start, maybe don't give them many to start? <S> Or conversely, perhaps you want these cards played and you need to give them more to start for more play possibilities, and have them not fill up as fast as game progresses in order to limit options. <S> There's lots of randomness vs. strategy dials to tweak there. <S> If decisions become too easy later, perhaps you need to add some "hoser" cards of some kind, where symbol tiles are changed or removed. <S> Although your description is vague, perhaps late game is easy because your symbol constraints are too easy. <S> Are symbols evenly distributed or are there more rare ones? <S> Perhaps a card could only be played if two of a particular symbol touch? <S> Or three? <S> You could have common cards with easy constraints, and rarer cards with harder constraints/rarer symbols. <S> You said you were hoping for there not to be every symbol <S> These decisions will surely need lots of playtesting to see where the "most fun" mix of randomness, strategy, and pace of game intersect. <S> One final point: <S> Midgame is fine and at the end of every round, there are enough symbols on the board to play almost any card you have in your hand... which is not what I was hoping for when designing the game. <S> An easy solution used in many board and card games is to set aside a randomly selected pool of unrevealed "dead" tiles at the start of the game. <S> (I'm presuming the tiles, as in Carcassonne, are hidden and selected randomly as the game progresses.) <S> This limits the number of symbols available, and the knowledge of which cards in hand are now harder to play is unknown to the players. <S> It also improves replayability since each game has a different pool of tiles.
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I was thinking about dealing some tiles on the board in the beginning at random and limiting the total numbers of tiles available
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Are there any non-green, non-artifact mana ramp cards? I have looked and can't seem to find any. I have seen many green cards and some artifacts that do this, but nothing in Red, Blue, Black or White. Are there any? Note: By "Mana Ramp" I mean a card that generates mana, or one that lets you play more than one land per turn. The end result, for example, would be on turn 4, playing a white only deck, I could tap more than 4 mana. (Normally you only get one land per turn so a max of 4 mana on turn 4.) <Q> There are, but they are purposefully few and far between. <S> Mana acceleration is considered to be in green's part of the "color pie," with the exception of the occasional black card, and a little bit of a fast-mana theme in red (formerly black). <S> Blue and white occasionally get ways to cheat on mana a bit, but only when they're tied into some other element of those colors. <S> This answer has discussion tailored to Commander, which also applies pretty well to other casual and multiplayer decks. <S> In competitive terms, the most relevant cards are: <S> It's still an influential card in Legacy. <S> High Tide features in Legacy blue decks. <S> The trick with this is to take one "big turn" where you develop tons of mana by playing cards that untap your lands, like Time Spiral and Candelabra of Tawnos . <S> In Modern, Desperate Ritual , Pyretic Ritual , Seething Song (this one's banned at the moment) — along with Manamorphose , which actually gives you extra mana if you have a cost-reducer or copy-card in play — are commonly played in storm decks. <S> In formats with fetchlands, Deathrite Shaman is a mana dork that doesn't actually require a green deck to work very effectively. <S> Note that there are a lot of colorless cards that are used to cast normal colored cards (like Ancient Tomb ). <S> Also note that oftentimes it's more effective to "cheat" on costs (using reanimation or hand-to-play cards like Show and Tell ) than to accelerate your mana. <A> Mana ramp is definitely a very green thing; it's a natural effect for the color of life and growth (among other things). <S> This is a great example of the color pie at work: there are just some things that not all the colors can do. <S> But there are some cards outside green (and artifacts) that help produce mana. <S> In other colors, mana producing abilities are often more conditional - maybe it's a one-time effect, or maybe you have to pay something else to get it. <S> Here's a Gatherer search that'll find (hopefully) all the directly mana-producing options (along with some things that don't actually ramp, like ones that just turn one color into another). <S> The same search restricted to Standard only finds six cards, only three of which are repeatable: Crypt Ghast , Deranged Assistant , and Liliana of the Dark Realms . <S> (Liliana isn't exactly speedy ramp, of course.) <S> You could restrict to permanents if you don't want one-offs. <S> It's hard to search directly, but there are also non-green nonartifact things which help put lands onto the battlefield. <S> Here's a deliberately inclusive search ; most of those are false positives, but there are a few cards in there that put lands onto the battlefield for you: Braids, Conjurer Adept , Dreamscape Artist , Firebrand Ranger , Knight of the White Orchid , and so on. <S> Again, they're more conditional - and this time, none of them are in standard. <S> (And some of them are from Planar Chaos, where the colors were a bit wonky.) <A> White has very little ramp of its own; <S> the effects it does have relating to mana are generally dependent on you controlling fewer lands than your opponent, and most of those put land in your hand, rather than on the field (which is not ramp). <S> Examples: Land Tax , Kor Cartographer , Knight of the White Orchid , Oath of Lieges . <S> Blue also has very little. <S> Dreamscape Artist is a spellshaper that knows a color-shifted version of Harrow , there's the infamous High Tide , and most (all?) <S> of the "free mana" cards from Urza block are blue, such as Palinchron . <S> Don't forget twiddling effects that can hit lands, like Turnabout ! <S> Black has enough ramp to spawn an archetype -- Big Mana Black! <S> Between cards like Cabal Coffers , Nirkana Revenant , Crypt Ghast , Liliana of the Dark Realms (ultimate), Skirge Familiar , and rituals along the lines of Dark Ritual , a black deck can achieve absurd amounts of mana. <S> Devotion <S> If your deck is a devotion deck Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is a powerful ramp card. <S> While older black cards included many rituals, modern rituals tend to be Red . <S> See: Battle Hymn , Brightstone Ritual , Desperate Ritual , Infernal Plunge , Koth of the Hammer (first two abilities), Mana Geyser , Pyretic Ritual , Seething Song , etc. <A> Terrain Generator is a land that not only can add colorless mana <S> but if you have extra land at the end of your opponents turn <S> it allows you to put a basic into play
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Dark Ritual is the classic mana acceleration card, in black.
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Where can I learn to draft online? I'm new to MtG and I really want to go to Friday Night Magic, but I've never done a draft before. Are there online resources with good advice for what to pick and when? <Q> I would recommend http://www.channelfireball.com/all-strategy/ . <S> They have videos of expert player drafting and playing, which are a great (and fun) way to learn. <S> Luis Scott-Vargas set reviews on the same site are also great (e.g. http://www.channelfireball.com/articles/magic-2014-set-review-artifacts-and-lands/ ). <A> Not really an answer to your question, but useful information: There are lots of draft simulators online. <S> You can try out drafting strategies and see what kind of cards you end up with, giving you some insight on whether or not that strategy will actually work. <S> http://draft.bestiaire.org/ (no sign up, draft against computers) <S> http://tappedout.net/mtg-draft-simulator/ <S> (requires sign up, but you can draft against other humans) <A> Arthur, 1st: <S> Go here: <S> Draft Magic Lots of card "Spoilers" here. <S> Set overviews, and strategies. <S> There is a lot of video content on this website. <S> 2nd <S> : Take the time to read the following article. <S> Booster Draft 101 B. R. E. A. D. <S> The concept was mentioned in a comment by Affe. <S> The article referenced has a great description of each step, which I will summarize here: B (Bombs) - Creatures, or cards that allow you to take control of the game, or win outright. <S> These are game changing cards, and are usually pretty obvious. <S> They tend to be rare. <S> R (Removal) <S> - Cards that remove threats effectively, especially the aforementioned bombs. <S> E (Evasive/Efficient) <S> - Creatures that are difficult to block/kill, or creatures that pass a "Vanilla test". <S> Which is to compare their casting cost and power and toughness to a plain 2/2 for 2 mana, 2/2 for 3 mana, or 3/3 for 4 mana. <S> Does the card have a better (more stats for less mana) ratio than the "Vanilla" examples? <S> If it does, then it's probably more efficient, unless there is some other downside. <S> A (Aggressive/Card Advantage) <S> - Creatures you can attack with (article suggests 14 to 18 creatures in a consistent draft deck) <S> This will depend on the set. <S> Card advantage cards would be cards that allow you to have more cards than the opponent, so cards that let you draw cards, or discard opponents cards. <S> D (dregs) <S> - This refers to cards you would use in very specific situations to counter something. <S> A card you would put in a sideboard. <S> Maybe a card that destroys all plains, or a card that removes all blue creatures from play, or destroys all artifacts. <S> Anyways, I hope this helps. <S> Go read! <S> Then I would recommend going to a draft and having fun! <S> Before the draft starts you should ask other players about cards to look out for in the set you'll be drafting.
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I have found that a mixture of talking to friends, and reading articles about sets, and draft strategies really helped my draft skills a lot.
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Can multiple Thorncaster Slivers grant multiple copies of the same ability? If I have two Thorncaster Sliver s, does their effect stack? That is, do the other slivers I have get the "1 damage" ability twice? If not, why? What rule makes it so they can't have the ability twice? If I had a different card with same ability would they get it twice? What if the different card had a slightly different wording? Or caused 2 damage instead of 1? In what situations would a creature be allowed to have two copies of the same ability (if ever)? <Q> Yes, they will have two copies of the ability: 112.2c <S> An object may have multiple abilities. <S> If the object is represented by a card, then aside from certain defined abilities that may be strung together on a single line <S> (see rule 702, “Keyword Abilities”), each paragraph break in a card’s <S> text marks a separate ability. <S> If the object is not represented by a card, the effect that created it may have given it multiple abilities. <S> An object may also be granted additional abilities by a spell or ability. <S> If an object has multiple instances of the same ability, each instance functions independently . <S> This may or may not produce more effects than a single instance <S> ; refer to the specific ability for more information. <S> Two copies of the triggered ability will mean two damage whenever a sliver attacks. <A> In what situations would a creature be allowed to have two copies of the same ability (if ever)? <S> There is no limit to the number of copies of the same ability a creature can have. <S> They are each added to the list of things that creature can do, and triggered abilities will each trigger separately. <S> If you have 4 Thorncaster Slivers on the field, each sliver's attack will cause it to deal 1 damage 4 times. <S> Notably, this allows you to distribute your damage however you like--you are not limited to dealing damage in packets of 4. <S> This doesn't mean that multiple copies of the same ability are always useful . <S> For example, it's stated in the rules that multiple copies of flying, haste, lifelink, and many other keyword abilities are redundant, so a creature that gains flying twice doesn't have any advantages over a creature that has it once, and a creature with two instances of lifelink doesn't gain you twice as much health (although cards like Armadillo Cloak , which don't use the keyword but have similar effects, will stack with lifelink). <S> See this list for which abilities stack and which don't. <S> Also worth noting that in cases where the duplicated abilities have a cost, such as Prodigal Pyromancer being enchanted with Arcane Teachings , it doesn't simply increase the effectiveness of the ability. <S> Prodigal Pyromancer will have 2 copies of the "{t}: <S> deal 1 damage" ability, but each of those costs must be paid separately-- <S> tapping once will allow you to activate either the innate ability or the one granted by the enchantment, but not both. <S> Triggered abilities which have a cost (e.g. "When X happens, you may pay Y. <S> If you do, Z.") must also be paid for separately. <A> Yes , you get two instances of the ability. <S> You can also reference the _Gatherer page for Thorncaster Sliver which has official rulings. <S> If you change the creature type of a Sliver you control so it’s <S> no longer a Sliver, it will no longer be affected by its own ability. <S> Its ability will continue to affect other Sliver creatures you control. <S> Abilities that Slivers grant, as well as power/toughness boosts, are cumulative. <S> However, for some abilities, like flying, having more than one instance of the ability doesn’t provide any additional benefit.
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As others have said, yes, the ability will exist twice on each of your Sliver creatures, and each of those creatures will trigger it twice upon attacking. If you control multiple Thorncaster Slivers and a Sliver you control attacks, each ability will trigger separately.
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How can I counter Plasma Missiles? Our group has recently started playing Eclipse (without any expansions), however we have been having trouble with Plasma Missiles. More specifically, simple "nothing but plasma missiles and possibly a computer" ship designs have been completely dominating combat, which is making the ship-building aspects of Eclipse somewhat uninteresting in the late game. I believe that the main problem is just that we haven't found a suitable counter yet, and that if we found a way to counter these designs they would become less common (or we would at least have some more interesting battles), however at the moment our group is yet to come up with an effective way of fighting these ships other than "more plasma canons with higher initiative" (so your plasma canons fire first). If another player starts building a lot of Plasma Canons, what should I research / build / upgrade in order to counter them? <Q> In the base Eclipse game, there is no hard counter to Plasma Missiles. <S> However, there are tactics that work well against Plasma Missile-focused ships. <S> Cutting off the retreat of missile fleets can be devastating, since they often work best by unleashing their missiles to deal crippling damage and then retreating to fire again the next round. <S> A missile-only fleet with its retreat cut off will be annihilated by even a single surviving ship with a single cannon. <S> (And sending another ship with beam weapons to reduce this threat also reduces the potency of the missile fleet, which is what you want.) <S> Speaking of surviving missile fleets, Improved Hulls are a good way to build a fleet to do so, combined with enough Shields to neutralize the opponent's Computers. <S> Diplomacy will be important because this fleet will be vulnerable to a more traditional fleet. <S> Many missile fleets will be Interceptor-based, since those small ships allow you to deploy more raw missiles for cheaper. <S> You can take advantage of this by using the large number of Move actions this fleet will require to outmaneuver the interceptor fleet. <S> If the missiles are scary enough, nobody will mind if you slip a cruiser past and neutron bomb that faction's planets. <S> Neither of these technologies requires a component--all your ships get them for free. <S> Rise of the Ancients also features another soft counter in the form of Flux Missiles, which are 1-power missiles that also provide an initiative bonus. <S> These are powerful against the traditional fragile Plasma Missile fleets. <A> One thing to note is that a plasma missle armanda is meant to completely devastate one battle, but it is pretty hard to split off and attack multiple hexes. <S> Also, keep in mind that winning battles does not equal winning the game. <S> My most recent game was a three player in which both my opponents got plasma missles and tried to conquer my territories. <S> Though we all went down to negative 30 in the final round, I still won because they both went bankrupt. <S> Another option is to have enough hull to tank the barrage of missiles and then respond with your cannons, but that is a little harder. <S> A large fleet of plasma missile ships is hard to move around. <S> Take advantage of that by taking other territories. <S> A final strategy is to team up with other players alse getting dominated in combat. <S> That way you can attack on two different fronts. <A> Work out the binomial probability calculation <S> * and you'll see that effective counter to the missile fleet is shields. <S> For example, let's say you're face with a force that shoots 8 missiles at +3. <S> Then a dreadnought that has a phase shield and gauss shield has only a 13.48% chance of being hit by three or more missiles. <S> So your dreadnought might look like: nuclear source (+3e)ion cannon (-1e)nuclear drive (-1e)phase shield (-1e)gauss <S> shieldimproved hullimproved hull will win that combat 86.52% of the time (i.e., survives the missile shot) and that's with only two, much cheaper, researched upgrades. <S> binomial probability calculation of n missiles hitting for an 8 missile shot at +3 targeting. <S> E(n) = <S> (8 choose n) <S> ((4/6)^n) <S> ((2/6)^(8-n)) <S> where 8 choose n = 8!/(n!*(8-n)!) <S> and 4/6 is the likelihood of any one missile hitting and 2/6 is the likelihood of any one missile missing.
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Should you have a chance to play with the Rise of the Ancients expansion , it contains two rare technologies that act as hard counters to Plasma Missiles: the Distortion Field, which grants a -2 to all missiles that attack your ships, and Point Defense, which gives your cannons a free attack to shoot down incoming missiles.
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Are there any websites for keeping score of various boardgames? My friends and I are pretty competitive. We play a lot of various games with various scoring systems used by each (i.e. 7-wonders, Catan, Dominion, etc...). Does anybody know of any website or system that can be used for keeping track of who won which game and by how much? Doesn't need to be applicable to all games, but would be nice to keep a record. <Q> Play notes can be publicly accessed. <S> (It can be a bit of a pain, tho, to find someone else's plays.) <S> It does exactly what you're asking for. <S> If the same person reports every time, it's readily viable to find it. <S> Further, one can create a private geeklist which lists the games, instead of using the play reports feature. <A> NemeStats ( http://nemestats.com ) is a new site that is purpose-built to be able to record the results of any game to get interesting statistics like win/loss percentage, list of players you beat the most, players you lose to the most, games you play the most, your average rank in games, etc. <S> It is mostly geared toward players that play in a stable gaming group but could also be used to record just your own plays against anonymous opponents if you wanted. <S> **Update as of 2016-02-26 <S> : We continue to enhance the site and also have the ability to import your geek list directly into NemeStats to lower the barrier to start creating games. <S> **Update as of 2016-07-20: We now have integration with the iOS app Board Game Stats -- providing the best web + <S> phone app experience out there! <A> It seems that Rankade.com suits your needs. <S> My friends and I use it to keep score and rankings from over 100 games, and with over 600 matches. <S> You can see the public page of our group here . <S> It's free, with apps for mobile (both iOS and Android) and webapp (which I like more, as it has more charts and features than the app). <S> I also have different groups for sports or other games, not only boardgames. <S> For example, I think it's nearly perfect for table football and table tennis. <A> I realize I'm late to the party but check out shpeely.com . <S> It allows to track all your games and creates statistics for each game and player. <S> Also it has a scoring system that allows you to track your performance across games. <A> This is an iOS app (your question mentions not only a website, but a 'system') <S> which is awesome for all boardgame tracking. <S> It has great interface, lots of stats, integration with Boardgamegeek and Nemestats, and much more: Board Game Stats . <S> (I'm just a fan of it) <A> Here is an App that keeps score for you! <S> Keep Score - Score Keeper <A> It syncs your plays with board game geek to and has pretty much all of their library available to score. <S> It's not free though. <S> Scoregeek website
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Boardgamegeek ( http://boardgamegeek.com ) has a play reporting feature which can include who played, what position each played, their score, and additional notes. I use the score geek app and it's pretty good.
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What are examples of Go played on non-flat surfaces, like on a sphere? I know there was some thought put into how Go looks or feels like if it's not plaey on a flat, rectangular surface, but the surface of a 3-d object like a sphere or a donut. I'm mostly interested in: How is the grid mapped to the surface, so that every node has 4 neighbors (the number of neighbors is important for how hard it is to capture stones)? What does the absence of a border and corners mean for the game? What are variants that are actually taken seriously as a game and played, and not only seen as obscure applications of weird topologies? <Q> I started writing another comment, but it got too large, so <S> I'm putting this as an answer instead. <S> Your other question suggests that you're envisaging playing go on the surface of an actual sphere/torus. <S> In particular that question mentions that you want "all nodes more or less equidistant". <S> Searching on the internet, I didn't find much evidence that this is how go is played on other topologies. <S> There are a few reasons why I doubt <S> Firstly - who has a suitable torus lying around that they could use? <S> Secondly - getting the stones to stay in place would be awkward, and examining the position would be even worse! <S> Instead I suggest that the usual* way to convert a flat board game into one on a sphere/torus/Klein bottle is by imagining that the edges are joined up. <S> For some diagrams of how the edges of the board should be joined see here . <S> I found a few references to playing tic tac toe and gomoku (5-in-a-row) on different surfaces, and one to playing go . <S> All of these assumed a standard square grid with the edges defined to be connected in some way. <S> The main differences from standard go seem to be: <S> Fewer corners and edges: A cylindrical board has just two edges, and a torus or Klein bottle surface game has no corners or edges. <S> The lack of corners and edges makes it harder to create immortal groups. <S> I did also come across a game of go on a cylindrical surface which was not just made of a standard board with edges connected. <S> Each point still has four liberties, but the regions between edges are not all square: <S> * <S> I'm not sure a 'usual' actually exists here, but this is at least the usual way to draw diagrams on these surfaces in mathematics. <A> I found this program that a guy at university made to abstract Go to any topology, using any number of vertices as well, it is called 3D Tashoku Go . <S> Other than as a curiosity I haven't seen anyone take play in this way as a serious variant of Go. <S> Just changing the size of the grid leads to games that feel very different from a standard 19x19 game. <S> You shouldn't let that really dissuade you from exploring weird variants of Go, the game was originally played on a 17x17 board <S> and I've seen people play on up to 31x31 on KGS at times. <S> These games are vastly different strategically. <S> At 23x23 and greater the rush for the corners and sides feel less important than the fight for the center. <S> Life is easy to be had and the game feels fairly relaxed and open. <A> The implications in the game are that board boundaries are used by players for defensive purposes (corner and side enclosures). <S> The game usually starts with corner approaching moves because turns spent in the corner are more point efficient as they protect more territory with fewer moves (with the help of the board boundary). <A> Although not strictly a new topology, I often play where the regular bound board is present, but on top of that draw n lines diagonally through points, connecting them. <S> Through having a bottom left to top right, and a top left to bottom right diagonal go through the centre point. <S> Through having 3 to 5 of these pairs of lines, they significantly change the strategy, also making it more interesting to amateur players. <S> Of course this has significant FTA(first turn advantage), which is another reason its useful with large skill differences. <S> Finally, with the few diagonal lines running along the board, connect these lines at the edges so that they are continuous, while the normal vertical/horizontal grid is bound. <S> NB: <S> Alternative rule: <S> Territory only needs to surround the regular vertical/horizontal lines, not the diagonals.
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torus/sphere go has been played on actual spheres or tori.
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