Damage is one of the ways a creature can be destroyed, but it's not the only way. The Wanderer only prevents (non-combat) damage, not other "destroy" effects like Doom Blade.

701.7. Destroy
701.7a To destroy a permanent, move it from the battlefield to its owner’s graveyard.
701.7b The only ways a permanent can be destroyed are as a result of an effect that uses the word “destroy” or as a result of the state-based actions that check for lethal damage (see rule 704.5g) or damage from a source with deathtouch (see rule 704.5h). If a permanent is put into its owner’s graveyard for any other reason, it hasn’t been “destroyed.”


Do Obosh and Brash Taunter together cause quadruple damage to an opponent?

If your Brash Taunter would fight your own Obosh, the Preypiercer, Brash Taunter would deal 12 damage to your opponent.

Fighting means two creatures deal damage equal to their power to each other:

  701.12a A spell or ability may instruct a creature to fight another creature or it may instruct two creatures to fight each other. Each of those creatures deals damage equal to its power to the other creature.

Obosh doubles all damage from sources with odd CMC. Obosh is such a source, so it deals 3 damage to Brash Taunter, doubled to 6. Taking damage triggers Brash Taunter, so it deals 6 damage to a target opponent, again doubled to 12.

Obosh's doubling ability is a replacement effect, which can only apply once to any given event.

  614.5. A replacement effect doesn’t invoke itself repeatedly; it gets only one opportunity to affect an event or any modified events that may replace that event.

However, the damage from Obosh to Taunter, and from Taunter to opponent are two separate events that can both be replaced by Obosh's ability, so you end up with quadruple the total damage to your opponent.


You must do everything in your power as the debtor to pay off the debt

Count your cash
Sell houses
Mortgage properties

If you then still don't have enough you can ask other players to buy the mortgaged properties from you to raise enough cash.  This could come from the person you owe money to.  Otherwise, you are declared bankrupt.

In practical terms, not many players want to continue playing with no money and wholly mortgaged properties, therefore usually bankruptcy is the best option.


Betrayal at House on the Hill: Haunt 2: The Séance

For the heroes, there are two ways to win:

  they either defeat the ghost after the traitor takes control of it, or they burry the ghost's bones after they summon it.

They have 5 turns to find and bury the bones. The track marker advances after the players turn. If that hero is dead but other hero's are alive, you just advance the marker at the time the dead hero should have had his or her turn.

So no the heroes only lose if the last one of them died.


Urza's Legacy was the first set to feature foil cards available in booster packs. However, the previous set (Urza's Saga) had a foil prerelease promo card. [Source]

From Urza's Legacy until 8th Edition, the "old-style" foil treatment (with the Wizards of the Coast shooting star across the bottom) was used. The process to create these cards involved a problem where certain foils would include a "cutline": a seam in the foil treatment across the face of the card (see below for an example; the seam runs through the shark in the background).

Details on the modern foil treatment can be found here: Where the Foil Goes.

Note that special releases (e.g., the "From the Vault" series) may use a different foiling process from standard sets. [Source, search for "varnish"]

Additionally, many promos have unique foil treatments, like this Sudden Shock:


No.

You are reading too much into this rule. “Fully used if possible” can also be understood as “used as much as possible”.

Now, let's assume your interpretation is the correct one. Using the boardstate you described minus the New Vinland. You could consume only one good (or even 0 by arguing that it is not more than 3), which is against the spirit of the rules (you must consume as much as possible).

So, while I do not have an authorative source, I can say that your interpretation is not the intended one.


Do triggered abilities still trigger if the creature is tapped?

Yes. Whether an permanent is tapped or not has no effect on its abilities. This is the case for abilities of all kinds (static, triggered and activated).

Three things change when a creature is tapped:

It is considered tapped by anything that cares.
It cannot be tapped. (Effects instructing to tap the permanent are skipped. Costs consisting of tapping the permanent can't be payed.)
It cannot attack.

Do note that the first two items can indirectly prevent abilities from triggering ("Whenever an untapped creature dies, ...") or from functioning ("..., tap it. If you do, ...").


Last Night on Earth guns should say "Item - Ranged Weapon - Gun" beneath the picture, and also  have a little red icon of a gun in the top right corner of the text box.

I don't have the card to hand, but my understanding of Signal Flare is that it doesn't conform to the above and isn't a gun (despite the obvious superficial similarities).

It seems a bit strange that a priest would have moral compunctions about using a signal flare in any case!


Are Twilightsworn considered Lightsworn?

Yes they are also considered Lightsworn cards.

The key part is to notice that "Twighlightsworn" also contains the word "Lightsworn" on its name, so they are also considered part of the Lightsworn archetype.

Another case are the Tellarknight achetype, which include cards with "Satellarknight" or "Stellarknight" on their names. Example cards that belong to this archetype are Tellarknight Ptolemaeus, Satellarknigth Vega, and Stellarknight Triverr.

Other strange cases are cards like Darktellarknight Batlamyus (also Tellarknight archetype), and Satellarknight Zefrathuban (which is both Tellarknight and Zefra archetypes).

In case this was not convincing, there is another reference from the Yugioh Wikia that states:

  "Twilightsworn", known as "Twilightlord" (トワイライトロード Towairaitorōdo) in the OCG, is a series of DARK monsters introduced in Code of the Duelist, and a sub-series of the "Lightsworn" archetype.

Furthermore, if we compare the Japanese names of both we can see they share a same root which enables them to belong to the same archetype.

Lightsworn or "Lightlord" in the OCG is spelled "ライトロード Raitorōdo", and Twilightsworn or "Twilightlord" is spelled "トワイライトロード Towairaitorōdo".

This is similar to the case of the Archfiend archetype, which due to translation from Japanese, includes now all cards that in their OCG names include the "Daemon" character (デーモン).

This means that cards like Summoned Skull, which OCG name is デーモンの召喚 (Summoned Daemon, translated), are part of the Archfiend archetype.


Where can I find wooden pieces (or alternates) for Diplomacy?

Please, check the following question: What's a good source of generic pieces/components? There are a lot of board game components shops listed there.


Does anyone know the name of this card game?

We used to play this game with our grandma from Leeds over 40 years ago. We knew it as Queenie. She used to keep us up until she won all our money.
We are trying to remember the rules and thats how we found your post.

When we played we only had two pots one for the queen and one for finishing first. I thought we used to bid for the spare hand, but I could be wrong.

Yours is the first mention of the game I have found online.


King of Tokyo, effects of cards after monster death

There are no rules that say effects that originated from a monster go away once that particular monster has perished, so they persist.

Other than being logical it saves on bookkeeping too, otherwise you'd need to track who gave you which counter because powers can be stolen and multiple monsters may have given you a counter from the same power...


Is there a strategy for consistent winning in the base dominion game with the base setup?

My favorite Dominion article, Building the "First Game" Engine, looks at this problem. The article works out some very good strategies, comparing them to a baseline of Big Money + Smithy. They run simulations to "prove" which one is best. A Village/Smithy/Province (V/S/P) strategy beats Big Money + Smithy a little more than half the time, and eventually the find a strategy that beats V/S/P a whoppping 89% of the time. Best of all, the article showcases the depth that a single set of 10 kingdom cards can have.

Their best answer is complicated (surprising to some, given the common overestimation of Big Money + 1 or 2 other card strategies). It uses a Workshop to pick up early Villages and a Remodel, a Mine, several Smithies and eventually a Militia, with Markets and Cellars "sprinkled in".

Of course it's not a definitive "best solution", but it's several clear steps ahead of an already very competitive baseline.


What board game was found in this Viking tomb?

The game is most likely Hnefatafl, the ancestor of a family of derivative modern games referred to as tafl games. Hnefatafl was the most popular board game in early-Medieval Europe, having accompanied the Vikings (who invented it) around Europe during their conquests and raids, until displaced by chess later in the era.

I was able to find Whittaker, H. (2006). Game-boards and gaming-pieces in funerary contexts in the Northern European iron age. online, one of the citations in the original article. It discusses (in English) the context, analysis, and conclusions derived from the frequent association of board game pieces and equipment with high status, usually male, individuals from iron age Nordic burial sites.

  The game-boards and gaming-pieces found in northern European graves of this period are usually considered to have been used for playing Hnefatafl, a game which is well known from textual evidence. Hnefatafl was clearly a game of war, and it would seem not unlikely that playing the game was regarded as useful to the development of warrior abilities.

The older citation from van Hamel (1934) appears to not be available in English.

Although no description of the board or of the pieces has yet been obtained in answer to this question note the following:

Numerous tafl variants, on various board sizes and with different numbers of men for both sides,  have been described in the Nordic Sagas and discovered in Viking graves.
The tafl variant most commonly mentioned in saga literature, and most commonly found in Scandinavian graves, seems to have been Hnefatafl itself; as noted above by Whittaker.

Hnefatafl is an asymmetric game, with a designated attacker and defender of unequal strength. One of the defender's pieces is a King, and the object of the game is, respectively, to capture the King (attacker) or rescue the King (defender). Typically the Attacker would have about twice as many pieces as the Defender, not counting the King.

The old 1960's era game Goldfinger, by Milton Bradley, is similar and would impart some of the flavour for this style of game, for those old enough to remember. Certainly my brother and I spent many enjoyable hours playing this game in our pre-teens.

  Goldfinger is hiding in Fort Knox (the center of a 9X9 grid) guarded
  by 8 henchmen (blue). 16 agents (red), under the guidance of Mr. Bond,
  have been sent to apprehend him.

  Movement of pieces is easy... move any one of your men any distance
  along a straight line. If you can trap an opponent's piece between two
  of yours, it is captured and removed from the board. Goldfinger
  requires all four adjacent points occupied before he is captured.

  The object for the red player is to capture Goldfinger; for blue to
  win, Goldfinger must escape.


There are 2 aspects to this question:

Why is it necessary at all to include extra actions, why not just transform Jace?

Answer: If Jace was simply transformed from creature to planeswalker, he would not get his 5 loyalty counters and would go to the graveyard as a state-based action. A planeswalker only gets the initial loyalty counters when the permanent that represents it enters the battlefield as a planeswalker.

It's also in the card's rulings, indirectly:

In some rare cases, a spell or ability may cause one of these five cards to transform while it’s a creature (front face up) on the battlefield. If this happens, the resulting planeswalker won’t have any loyalty counters on it and will subsequently be put into its owner’s graveyard.

To solve problem 1, why exile Jace instead of taking all required steps manually?

To fully "reset" a creature so that nothing can continue affecting the planeswalker or generally cause confusion, you would have to take care of many things: Remove all counters, unattach auras (there are "enchant permanent" auras that do not fall off automatically) and equipments, end permanent effects that would continue to be active after transformation such as change of controller and color, remove effects such as Cipher, and so on; finally you would have to add 5 loyalty counters manually.

Exiling and returning the creature transformed takes care of all of these issues at once, and, maybe most importantly in this context, it also takes care of any future issues that could crop up from new mechanics and interactions.

Furthermore, solving these issues explicitly would require much more rules text on the card.

In conclusion, the answer is From a rules perspective it's one possible solution that produces a functional planeswalker, and from a design perspective it's the most elegant and future-proof way of doing so.


What's the difference between King of Tokyo and King of New York?

King of New York is essentially King of Tokyo with some modifications:

Victory points on the dice are less dominant, having a single VP result. The other 2 faces are replaced with buildings and skulls.
There are regions and things to do for people not in the middle.
Buildings are able to be destroyed, adding a risk/reward mechanic as destroying buildings adds military units. This also adds a potential way to heal in the middle.
The skull results allow you to target people you couldn't attack if they're in a region with lots of military units.
Staying in Manhattan is more rewarding than staying in Tokyo, and the rewards grow with time.

For me, the biggest difference is how the game encourages getting in and smashing things up. In King of Tokyo, being in Tokyo was very risky and offered little reward. In my experience, the dominant strategy was staying outside and rolling for points. In King of New York, with the improved rewards for being in Manhattan, the possibility of healing or taking other rewards, and the decreased value of rolling VPs, staying in is much more viable.


How can we avoid big money in casual games?

For my suggestion of a house rule to use, please see the section of this answer titled "Embargo Counters".

If I understand correctly, you were learning the game naturally by playing it - it's just that at the current stage of learning it you have got to, it isn't very interesting, which makes it harder than it has been to carry on learning it simply by playing it.

So, it may be that all you need is to see, or be shown the strategies that are more powerful than Big Money in a natural way, so that you can have fun exploring them, rather than feeling forced into big money all the time.

As part of that I would draw your attention to this list; http://councilroom.com/openings. This is a compiled list comparing how good the first two opening moves are. Silver / Silver (so buying silver with your first and second purchase) is only rated as a +1 - there are 962 better opening moves. The best move involving silver at all is rated as a +4, with 86 possible openings rated as being better.

Similarly the Thief isn't especially powerful, and wont show up highly on the list above, but does actively and obviously combat BM. With no moat or other defence cards in play BM could look a lot less attractive with a Thief available, particularly if there are some action cards that give money, like festival and market out as an alternative.

My suggestions

You could intentionally play a few games with cards specifically from the top of this list (same as linked above), and set a house rule like those suggested in Jefromi's answer, my suggestion involving embargo counters at the end of this answer,  or those in other answers, to force you to experiment with these strategies, while still enjoying the game. You should find yourself exploring ways that beat BM anyway. I suggest you employ the lightest touch home rule you can find that does the job in pushing you both away from BM.

You shouldn't need to always play with any particular cards, or with house rules, but seeing and playing a deck built around the cards at the top of this list should help show most obviously and quickly that BM isn't the best strategy. And hopefully do so in an enjoyable way.

Play with others

Having a few games playing with other people - who know the game better than you do. You will hopefully quickly see a wider variety of strategies, without having to put effort into learning them. It might help to see a strategy like Chapel being played for example - it is one of the most powerful cards in the game, as you can see from it's presence in a fair number of the best openings in the list linked above, though you never want more than one, and it's power is not immediately obvious.

Prosperity

Lastly, the top answer here: How can I beat "Big Money" in Dominion? suggests counter intuitively that including cards from Prosperity advantages Kingdom Card strategies, because it slows the game down. - I realise that question isn't the question you are asking, but thought it'd be worth pointing out as a potentially subtle way to further disadvantage big money. That said, it probably wouldn't be enough on its own.

Embargo Counters

It might work to put a small number of embargo counters on each coin denomination at the beginning of the game, so that whenever a player buys one, they gain that many curses. This house rule has the advantages that it should make BM less attractive while not preventing certain other kingdom cards from working, it uses a game mechanic and it doesn't require constantly remembering that you aren't using the cards as printed.

The disadvantage of this home rule is that it could be too heavy handed, particularly at the start of the game (especially with certain setups; for example one that manages to combine no ability to trash curses with no alternative, low cost sources of purchasing power).


Can I stack Miracle and other "at the beginning of of your draw step" triggers however I want?

You can order the triggers as you like.

Draw Step

504.1. First, the active player draws a card. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack.
504.2. Second, any abilities that trigger at the beginning of the draw step and any other abilities that have triggered go on the stack.

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

You first draw the normal card. If you want to play it for its Miracle cost, you reveal it.
Then  Howling Mine and Miracle goes on the stack at the same time. Since you control both triggers, you can arrange them as you like.
Then you get priority and afterwards the stack starts resolving.
Note that if another player controlled the Howling Mine, you would have to place them on the stack in turn order, starting with you.

405.3. If an effect puts two or more objects on the stack at the same time, those controlled by the active player are put on lowest, followed by each other player’s objects in APNAP order (see rule 101.4). If a player controls more than one of these objects, that player chooses their relative order on the stack.


Can you spend one production unit to offset population loss from plague cubes on a population 0 location?

For Pandemic Legacy, always follow the rules in exact order, use the rule book as a check list. You can not progress through to subsequent steps until you have completed the entirety of your current step.

During end game, if the population decreases to 0 during step 1, then that city is forsaken. It remains at population 0 until you (may) spend 2 production points during step 4.

If you want to prevent a drop in population, then build a supply centre on that location during the game, as end game Step 1 is holistic in regards to supply centres and plague cubes.

When in doubt over any of the rules, do what is in the least interest of the players.


Do you need more to "pre-empt" with a major, than a minor suit?

Your statistical analysis is completely wrong:
 As a preempter, your shortness in unbid major(s) increases the likelihood of opponents having an eight-card major fit. This fit doesn't have to be their longest suit, and the hand will often play for more tricks if it isn't. As a matter of systemic agreement the opponents will often choose to play in an eight-card major fit regardless of other hand features, unless a running side suit with stoppers has been identified.

So no, no-one suggests that you need more to pre-empt in a major than in a minor (at the three level). That 3-level pre-empts in a major may typically be made on stronger hands than in a minor is because the top=end of minor preempts tend to open a Gambling 3NT instead.


Supporting Routed Units in A Game of Thrones

One of the players in the game in question just sent me this link: http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/98106/supporting-routed-units

  Routed units have no combat strength. They still count towards a player s Supply limit, but if a routed unit is forced to retreat again in the same game turn, it is automatically destroyed. Routed units may never be taken as casualties in battle. Routed units may not participate in a march, even if a March order token is resolved at their new location. After all March orders have been resolved for the turn, return all routed units to their normal upright position.

It seems that the accepted interpretation is that routed units may give battle (with a strength of zero) and may be supported.


What if the queen is pocketed along with all remaining carrommen?

You win and are awarded 3 points (or 1 point if the score is 22+)

This can be verified on the International Carrom Federation rule book, as long as you made a proper stroke.

  a) While covering the Queen a player pockets the last C/m of his own together with the last C/m of his opponent by a proper stroke, he shall be awarded 3 points. If the score is 22 or more he shall win by 1 point.

  b) While covering the Queen, if a player pockets the last C/m of his own together with the last C/m of his opponent by an improper stroke the opponent shall win by three points. If the score is 22 or more he shall win by one point. if demanded, an additional point for the improper stroke shall be awarded to the opponent.

This is of course assuming that you didn't pocket the Striker as well. In that case you lose.

  a) If a player pockets the Queen, his last C/m, the last C/m of his opponent by a proper stroke together with the Striker, the player shall lose the Board by 3 points. If the score of the opponent is 22 or more, he shall lose by one point. One additional point for the pocketed striker shall be awarded, if demanded by the opponent.

  b) ...improper stroke...


When playing Talisman as the assassin, can I assassinate creatures I encounter following the draw of a card?

According to the official errata (linked here for reference), yes, you can assassinate creatures you encounter on cards you draw.

Q1: Can the Assassin assassinate any creature, regardless of whether or not it is drawn from the Adventure deck or already faceup on the space when he encounters it?
A: Yes.

Essentially you can always assassinate a creature you do battle with (i.e. has a strength value that you are choosing to engage in battle), unless the rules on some other card specify otherwise. Regarding pit fiends or the werewolf (or other board enemies like the sentinel, mutant, ice beasts, etc.), that seems like a separate question so I'd post that separately.


You will take damage, because the creatures don't die

If a creature without first strike or double strike is killed during the first strike step, it will not deal damage.  It is not on the battlefield during the regular damage step, therefore it cannot deal damage.

However, Kusari-gama does not work the way you think it does.  Kusari-gama reads

  Whenever equipped creature deals damage to a blocking creature, Kusari-Gama deals that much damage to each other creature defending player controls.

In the scenario you've presented, your double striking creature is dealing damage to an attacking creature.  Therefore, Kusari-gama's effect is not triggered, and no damage is dealt to the attacking 2/2s.  Since the 2/2s do not actually die in the first strike step, and they were not blocked, you take damage from them.

Were you to use a card like Brigid, Hero of Kinsbaile to deal damage to the attacking 2/2s at any point before they deal damage, then they would die and you would not take damage.


Does a creature with Lifelink provide lifegain equal to its power, or the defender's toughness?

Yes, you've been shortchanging yourself!

  702.14b Damage dealt by a source with lifelink causes that source's controller, or its owner if it has no controller, to gain that much
  life (in addition to any other results that damage causes).

A creature with 10 power blocked by a creature with 1 toughness deals 10 damage to that poor little blocker.  Creatures with 10 power are not known for their discretion or moderation; they don't deal 1 damage on the grounds that that will be enough to do the job.  No, they smash that blocker into smithereens and leave behind a smoking crater!

I think your confusion may arise from the old card Drain Life, whose text reads:

  Drain Life deals X damage to target creature or player. You gain life
  equal to the damage dealt, but not more life than the player's life
  total before Drain Life dealt damage or the creature's toughness.

Drain Life is the exception though, not the rule; for lifelinkers the creature's toughness is irrelevant in determining how much life is gained.  (See also though Abattoir Ghoul, a recent card which offers a kind of new spin on the Drain Life idea.)


When both players have the same 2 pair, can a 3rd pair be used as a valid kicker?

Player B wins. All that matters is the best 5 card hand you can make with the combined 7 cards. So player A does NOT have a pair of 4 as a kicker... player A has K,K,Q,Q,4. Player B has K,K,Q,Q,A. Both identical 2 pairs, but player B has A which beats 4.


What led to the creation of games in antiquity?

Most of these games (running, jumping, chariot racing, fencing, javelin throwing etc.) were based on skills useful in war.

In fact, many considered these games a "civilized" form of war that allowed for the release of hostilities, without having the real thing.


How to bid and make a grand slam with 28 HCP between the partnership?

The answer is; you don’t.  Not with normal 2/1 methods, anyway; and even pretty out there methods would have a hard time finding this.
Why?  Because it’s dependent on so many things. The seven card heart fit AND the short jack. The spades splitting 2-2, or guessing the finesse.  The partnership has only eight top tricks, and the rest depend on distribution. In NT even a small slam is risky if you get a club lead!  No one would bid the grand knowing even every card in both hands for EW - you need 70% to bid a grand and you won’t get that here (hearts are 61% and spades are 46% roughly between the length and the finesse possibilities, so the grand is about 30-35%, plus some small chance for a club trick with a squeeze).  6S is probably the ideal bid double dummy (only the spade split is really a problem there, hearts don’t matter, and extra chances appear in clubs).
A normal 2/1 auction is simple here.
1NT - p - 2H - p
2S - p - 4S - pass out
Some would bid 3NT instead of 4S, and some would leave it there.  Some have ways of showing really good spades (superaccept), though KTx feels borderline to me for that. Could the spade hand see the slam?  I guess?  But 28 points and pretty average distribution beyond the one extra spade isn’t super exciting.
Some bidding systems are very control oriented very early on, for what it’s worth, and would find most or all of the eight trucks in the early going plus the space fit.  Things like this precision system would have a shot at the small slam I think.
Don’t assume that the few hands that bid the best score did so by being smarter than everyone else. Usually it’s that they were more risk-taking than usual, or misstated the strength of their hands, and got lucky. But for every top they get for this kind of thing they get four or five bottoms when they’re down 2 in grand slam and everyone else is making 4S+1.


How does Fae of Wishes / Granted work in a THG limited event?

You can search for any card from the combined pool.

From the Magic Tournament Rules for the Two-Headed Giant Limited format:

  Cards not used in a team’s starting decks are considered a shared
  sideboard by the two players that both players can access.


No, it would not.

You misunderstood how Gleam of Authority works. Gleam does not place +1/+1 counters on the creature it enchants, it simply gives it +1/+1 for each counter on other creatures. The difference is that counters remain on the permanent they are placed on while the +1/+1 granted by an enchantment disappears when the enchantment is destroyed.


The last one is correct: you decide how many guys you send to the forest. You roll the dice and then decide to add one or more tools to this.

Tools can't be "broken" (a tool with value of 3 can't be used for 2 in the woods and 1 in the mountain), but you can choose any of your tools for a given place.


Does untapping lands trigger Wake Thrasher's ability?

Wake Thrasher is a Rare 1/1 merfolk with a converted mana cost of 3. The value of the card is he gains power and toughness when you untap permanents you control.

From the oracle rulings:

  If permanents you control become untapped during your untap step, Wake Thresher’s ability will trigger that many times. However, since no player gets priority during the untap step, those abilities wait to be put on the stack until your upkeep starts. At that time, all your “beginning of upkeep” triggers will also trigger. You can put them and Wake Thresher’s abilities on the stack in any order.

Lands are permanents. They untap during your untap step. This would cause the ability to trigger, and "wait to be put on the stack until your upkeep starts." For the three lands you untap, Wake Thrasher will get a total of +3/+3.

This is right.

Edited to add: A second reading of the question highlights the possible consternation. If you are under the impression that the triggered ability of Wake Thrasher puts +1/+1 counters on the creature, which have a measure of permanence, dissuade yourself of that idea post haste. Counters are not put on the creature. Instead, it is temporarily granted +1/+1 untill end of turn. There is a distinction between the concept of +1/+1 counters (MCR 121), and the continuous effect of +1/+1 (MCR 612).


Axis and Allies 1942 second edition and attacking subs

http://axisallies.com/rules/axis-allies-rules-1942-2nd-edition.pdf

From "3. General Combat"

The Battleship can defend itself during "Step 4. Defending Units Fire" as long as it is alive, or if it was moved behind the Casualty Strip in "Step 3. Attacking Units Fire".

If the Battleship is destroyed during "Step 2. Submarine Surprise Strike or Submerge", then no, it does not get to defend itself.

  Step 2. Submarine Surprise Strike or Submerge ... Once all attacking
  and defending submarines that conducted a Surprise Strike have fired,
  the casualties they have generated are removed from the game and this
  step is over for this round of combat.


Use the current modified stats, not the base stats printed on the card.
In your particular case, it would require a "Destroy a minions of power [3] or less" card. From the FAQ,

Q: "Destroy a minions of power [X] or less." Does [X] refer to a minion's base power (i.e. what's printed on the card) or the minion's current power?
A: Current (i.e. modified) stats.


Interaction with printed stats and token/equipment with stat reduction

It becomes 2/2.

The ability in question is

  Target creature gets -4/-4 until end of turn.

To determine a creature's power and toughness:

Start with the printed value (or the value with which a token was created).
Apply power- and toughness-setting effects (e.g Turn to Frog) in the order they were created.
Apply power- and toughness-modifying effects (e.g the ability and the counters mentioned above).

The result is the power and toughness of the creature.


Can you suspect false carding from the following situation?

Dear Frank has omitted one additional possibility - there is a throw-in working against West when (a) it is actually possible to make the contract and (b) West holds T762 of Clubs. Once the Club Q falls on trick three this play should be visible to Declarer.

Cash three Spade tricks ending in Dummy to leave this for Declarer

S: -
H: 3
D: AT94
C: 5

S: -
H: K7
D: QJ82
C: -

and the possible West holding to be these:

S: -     or  J     or  J    or  J
H: AQ8       AQ8       AQ8      AQ
D: Kx        KX        K        Kx
C: 6         -         6        6

In all cases West has at most three cashing tricks, and no exit - just lead the last Club to West, pitching a diamond from hand, and wait for your last 2 tricks.

Update #2 - Play details:

Spades should be cashed in the order K; then Q; then A to maintain control if Spades break worse then 4-2. Then the Diamond Q should be pitched from hand on the 4th round of Clubs to unblock; there is no need for more than 2 Diamond tricks and we desire to win both in Dummy.

Update #3 - Odds of both lines of play:

After trick 1 there is only a 11*10 / 20*19 = 11/38 chance that Hearts are split 4-4 (ie that both unplaced Hearts are with East, with 9 and 11 cards unknown in West and East respectively). Combined with the Diamond finesse that gives roughly a 64.5% chance to make the contract.

Testing the Club Q first gives a 50% + 1/3 * 48% = 66% chance to make on a straight doubleton Q, plus the additional chance, as here, of an expert defender attempting a subterfuge that fails on an endplay.

Update:

Note that an expert West holding the Diamond K, and thus knowing that his partner has at most three HCP, will almost always false card in Clubs so that (a) a false card by his partner in the suit is believable; and (b) if East cannot false card in Clubs then Declarer won't know whom to believe because the signals are inconsistent. It is a mandatory play at that level, and cannot hurt because his partner (a) already knows what to return if he gets in and (b) has nothing to be fooled about.

The guideline here is that when the defensive values are split decidedly unevenly between the two hands, the weaker hand false cards only out of necessity while the stronger hand will false card frequently. This can sometimes assist Declarer in placing cards, but works to Defenders' advantage more frequently.


From the rulebook:

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

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

  Keeper Turn in Detail

  Step 1 Investigator Trading Step

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

  Step 4 Monster Attack Step

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

And from the FAQ on the Fantasy Flight website:

  Q: Can stunned Investigators perform actions?

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

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


Is there a canonical way of placing the scoring meeple to signify having gone round the scoring track?

The official, pre-expansion rule to keep track of 50 points was to lay down the scoring meeple like a farmer.

Start of page 4 of the official rules (pdf):

  Note: if your score passes 50 points, lay down your scoring meeple to show your 50+ points

Of course, any way to mark 50+ or 100+ points that your group agrees on and that can be clearly distinguished from each other is fine.


In The Resistance is it always a bad idea for the spies to fail the first mission?

No.

You should almost never let the first mission succeed as a spy. So what if your opponents know that one of the participants is a spy? They don't know which one, and they won't be able to win without figuring out which of you it is.

By making the first mission fail, you give your opponents fewer opportunities to make mistakes as the game progresses. This greatly outweighs the fact that failing a later mission reveals less information.

You do need to get your acting skills into high gear immediately after the mission is revealed as a failure, however. You have to pretend it's obvious to you that your mission-mate was a spy, and appear extremely frustrated if the other players side with her. This can be challenging, but you can't afford to sacrifice a victory point to avoid it.


Infect isn't just "dealing 10 damage is enough to win". It's "dealing 10 damage with creatures with Infect is enough to win," which means that you have to go all-in on Infect to do well with it. This means that Infect decks are very creature heavy and are very vulnerable to board wipes; a single Terminus can set you back several turns.

Infect creatures are also generally easier to remove than other creatures. A total of 4 Infect creatures have abilities that make them more difficult to remove: Blightsteel Colossus, Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon, Tel-Jilad Fallen, and Toxic Nim. Every Infect creature can be removed with Path to Exile, and most can be killed with Lightning Bolt.

Plus, besides Blighted Agent, Infect creatures can be blocked like any other. My 2/2 Infect for 3, like Contagious Nim, still trades with your Grizzly Bears. And that extra mana can make the difference. By turn 4 or 5, the player not playing Infect should have creatures that are bigger than the player playing Infect. And attacking into a group of larger creatures still ends up with your creatures dead, even if they did have Infect.

Overall, cheap Infect creatures with cheap pump spells can get close to victory shockingly fast. But they can also be stopped by cheap removal and countermagic.

Blightsteel Colossus is a special case: it costs so much that Infect decks don't play it; instead it's mostly played as another win condition in decks that can cheat creatures onto the battlefield, and those also play other ridiculously powerful creatures like Griselbrand, Iona, Shield of Emeria, and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn.


Optimal Dimensions for a Checkerboard-style board?

I don't think 'optimal' is easy to answer without getting into personal preference. There are certainly minimal and maximal sizes. A good example of a very small grid would be Halma (or Go). A good example of a large grid would be human chess. As long as you can make out the pieces and see the whole board. So it depends on the size, complexity, variation and even degrees of freedom in movement of your pieces.

Also squares might not be your best option. Go uses rectangles, so that when you view the board at a normal playing angle it looks like a square grid.


First of all, simply playing joseki does not mean the result will be even (or even good for you) on a given board.

A joseki is a sequence that is considered as often optimal given a particular situation. If the situation changes, a joseki which was fine before might suddenly become a terrible choice.

The situation depends on the whole board. In particular, ladder breakers have a huge impact, as does thickness (or the opposite, existing weak groups). Lots of other stuff can be considered in addition.

The high approach and the following moves are, to my knowledge, pretty much exclusive to only two situations:

As a ko threat
To enforce central and top side influence

If played as a ko threat, the situation is completely different, and white will certainly not continue locally in case black answers. Thus I'll talk about point 2 only.

This is played for instance when white already has a lot of central influence and feels compelled to expand it at any cost.

Comparison with the low approach

Let us suppose this situation.

$$W
$$ --------------
$$ |.............
$$ |.............
$$ |.............
$$ |...X.1...,...
$$ |.............
$$ |...2.........
$$ |.............

Approaching high instead of low mostly removes the possibility to invade at 3-3, because there is no good connection between 6-4 and 3-3 possible. If it were low, a connection would be easier to achieve in good shape: Contrast white 1 with white a.

$$W
$$ --------------
$$ |.............
$$ |.............
$$ |..3..a.......
$$ |...X.1...,...
$$ |.............
$$ |...2.........
$$ |.............

Typically, black can block at 2 and draw back to 4, which leaves white in an uncomfortable position that is actually not easy to live (depends on a ladder). Either way black will get great influence, which is contradictory to white's initial move.

$$W
$$ --------------
$$ |.............
$$ |.............
$$ |..12.........
$$ |.3.X.O...,...
$$ |.............
$$ |.4.X.........
$$ |.............

I'm not certain, but black might possibly consider simply drawing back, to continue with a or b to harass the white shape, which would not be possible if white had approached low.

$$W
$$ --------------
$$ |.............
$$ |.............
$$ |..13ab.......
$$ |..2X.O...,...
$$ |.............
$$ |...X.........
$$ |.............

So we see that the high approach has less nice continuations locally. Why is it ever played then? Because sometimes we don't really care about the corner! We are rather interested in the center and top side.

$$W
$$ --------------
$$ |.............
$$ |.............
$$ |.....1.2.....
$$ |...X....a,...
$$ |.............
$$ |.............
$$ |.............

Had we played low, black could easily pincer us with a move like 2 or somewhere around a. It would then be reasonable to enter the corner:

$$W
$$ --------------
$$ |.............
$$ |.....7.......
$$ |..35.1.2.....
$$ |..4X6....,...
$$ |......8......
$$ |.............
$$ |.............

Now black controls the outside and possibly the top side, while we "only" got some comfortable corner territory. We will see why this is not always good for black below.

$$W
$$ --------------
$$ |.............
$$ |.............
$$ |.......a.....
$$ |...X.1.b.,...
$$ |.............
$$ |.............
$$ |.............

It is possible to pincer around a or b instead of responding, but this pincer has much weaker continuations. White has a bunch of options how to continue, and it will be very difficult to refuse white center access.

$$W
$$ --------------
$$ |.............
$$ |.............
$$ |.....1.2.....
$$ |...X.4...,...
$$ |.............
$$ |.............
$$ |.............

With the low approach, it would be questionable to tenuki. Black can connect his stones and gain a quite strong outside shape once he covers white with 4.

There are a lot of additional variations of importance here, but I'll leave them to you do discover. I'll now try to answer the actual question :)

After joseki

$$W
$$ --------------
$$ |.............
$$ |..4..........
$$ |..213....5...
$$ |...X.O...,...
$$ |.............
$$ |...X.........
$$ |.............

In the above situation, white established a reasonable base for herself. As we found out earlier, black will usually follow a path similar to this, so white can expect this result with rather high probability.

$$B
$$ --------------
$$ |.....a.......
$$ |..X..........
$$ |..XOO..b.O...
$$ |...X.O...,...
$$ |.............
$$ |...X.........
$$ |.............

We discussed that white will only chose the high approach if she is fine with yielding local profit. We can assume white to have more influence in the other quarters of the board, possibly a large framework of stones on the fourth row.

You correctly recognized that black 4 is a very big move - if white were to play there, the corner territory white is very important in endgame would be white's. At the same time, 4 opens up continuations against white, which we will look at now.

$$B
$$ --------------
$$ |...5314......
$$ |..X..26......
$$ |..XOO....O...
$$ |...X.O...,...
$$ |.............
$$ |...X.........
$$ |.............

Let's start with the monkey jump. I would expect something similar to the above line. White is confined to a narrow space, and locally, it seems like white is too tight. However, white was also made quite strong - the white group will find life without problems (possibly playing a tiger mouth shape with 6 instead).

White being strong means black won't have a target to attack, which further implies black won't be able to start a running battle with a white group. A running battle might be a great way to destroy white's framework (which we implied earlier). Black might be a little sad to lose this opportunity.

In case everything else on the board is settled and black is winning, the monkey jump is likely a good idea. Just don't play it too early.

$$B
$$ --------------
$$ |.............
$$ |..X..........
$$ |..XOO..1.O.a.
$$ |...X.O...,...
$$ |.............
$$ |...X.........
$$ |.............

We could also invade at 1. This invasion may be difficult to handle for white. This means that black should consider this option instead of blindly monkey-jumping and forcing white to become very solid.

My knowledge of this particular shape is too thin to explain much about it. You may be interested in looking it up or exploring it in your games. Obviously, a stone around a will be greatly helpful for b. I would consider a checking extension to a as probably sente for black.

Note that there are other invasions to consider in addition.

$$B
$$ --------------
$$ |.............
$$ |..X.....e....
$$ |..XOO.c.dO.a.
$$ |...X.Ob..,...
$$ |.............
$$ |...X.........
$$ |.............

Black b or c are conceivable. With support at a, black can also think about moves like d or e.

If white is afraid of an invasion, she might simply extend less far:

$$W
$$ --------------
$$ |.............
$$ |..4..........
$$ |..213...5....
$$ |...X.O...,...
$$ |.............
$$ |...X.........
$$ |.............

With 5 being one space closer, it will be almost impossible to invade. However, white had to slow down her speed considerably, and obviously the monkey jump will leave white even more concentrated.

Result

We found that white will only play the initial joseki if she strives for certain influence. Locally, white is worse off. If white is not fine with that (i.e. the influence is not worth it), then white should simply not pick the high approach.

Your proposed move at 4-2 is large yose and also somewhat strengthens the white group. However, it would be contrary to white's original goal and thus should only be played later.

Variation

Note that it is also possible to play a high extension (this applies to quite a lot of josekis, actually).

$$W
$$ --------------
$$ |.............
$$ |..4..........
$$ |..213........
$$ |...X.O..5,...
$$ |.............
$$ |...X.........
$$ |.............

Once space closer and higher is fine as well. Obviously, this aims even more for the center. White is unlikely to gain much territory at all in this situation, but she won't care, because her whole attention is on the center.


How does the stack work for the item "Device"?

Yes, you can discard Device after rolling.

You don't have to declare any sort of intention about your attack; stealing isn't something you "attempt" to do. When you attack, if you inflict 2 or more points of physical damage, then you can choose to steal an item instead of doing the damage. You don't have to declare before you roll whether you are trying to steal or not. Stealing is an option you have if you roll high enough.

Simply read literally, Device seems to imply that you can use it after rolling. It simply says "discard this card to add 3 to your attack roll". It doesn't give a restriction on when you can do that. So I make the attack roll, and then I can use Device if I want.

Although the wording on Device by itself does not make it completely clear if you need to discard it before or after rolling, we can look at other items to get an answer. Adrenaline Shot says "Before you attempt a trait roll you can use this item to add 4 to the result of that roll." So it specifies that it must be used before attempting the roll. It is a safe assumption that if Device intended you to have to use it before the tole, then it would have similar wording.


What is forcing after opening a minor and partner bids a major, and I jump to 2NT?

This is very system dependent. See this article for example for a long discussion of various options.
Standard, everything other than pass or a game jump is forcing. Remember you have 19 and partner has 5-6 at least usually, so you’re probably in a game.  I would at least play Gerber here (so 4C is not natural) but 3 level bids are forcing and usually natural, other than 3NT of course which is to play.
The most common conventions I see here are to play various puppet options - basically every bid by responder transfers to the next higher suit at the 3 level (3c-3D-3h transfer to 3D-3h-3s), and either that is the weakest option (responder passes the transfer) or the stronger (if responder bids on).  Jump to game is middle. But it really depends on your tolerance for various systems -  it can get very complex, as is appropriate for a circumstance where you could have anywhere from a part score to slam, and one partner knows which.
The question is why you’d want 3D to be nonforcing.  Responder is totally 100% in charge in the auction at that point, so it’s not a question of forcing or not - it’s responder either tells you to bid again or tells you to pass.  You could make 3 level bids sign off, but that takes up a lot of space; you’d rather not if you can avoid it.  That’s why you use puppet bids there - it lets responder double dip and have both signoff and exploration bids both available for the same bidding space.


Do I take two prize cards when a Pokemon-EX is discarded?

The wording on Cursed Shovel says

If the Pokémon this card is attached to is Knocked Out by damage from
an opponent’s attack, discard the top 2 cards of your opponent’s deck

Looking at The rules here for Pokémon-EX say

When one of your Pokémon-EX is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.

The appendix for 'knocked out' says

A Pokémon is Knocked Out if it has damage greater than or equal to its
Hit Points. That Pokémon goes to the discard pile along with all cards
attached to it. When one of your opponent’s Pokémon is Knocked Out,
take one of your Prize card

So you would not be entitled to take two prize cards.  You only take a prize card when you knock a Pokemon out.  Cursed shovel places Pokemon in the discard pile, it is not the same as 'knocking out' and would not give a prize at all.


In Puerto Rico, does it make sense to shift to a corn-based strategy mid-game?

It makes sense to take Corn at every point during the game.

As you point out, Corn requires fewer colonists to manufacture and is worth the same amount of VP tokens when shipped.

It actually doesn't make sense to go for the higher yielding cash crops in the beginning of the game, until you have one or two other crops to protect it. Imagine only having your cash crop, Coffee or Tabacco. If you choose Craftsman, many if not most of the other players are likely to choose Captain and force you to ship your cash crop, since you will benefit the most from a Trader phase. Taking an early Corn helps protect your cash crop from being shipped during the Captain phase, and usually it will require two other crops.

Mid-game, you should still be focused on setting up your economic engine. A Corn (or any other good) is helpful in emptying the Trading House so that you can still trade in your cash crop.

Late-Game, every Corn you can ship either before your opponents on a boat that will not empty (if you have Warehouse for storage), or on a boat that will fill before your opponents can place Corn is VPs gained on your opponents.


Why can an ability resolve even if I exiled the creature it came from?

Your understanding of how the stack works is correct: your path will resolve and exile the fireslinger before its ability resolves. What you're missing is rule 112.7a, which says that the fireslinger's activated ability exists independently of the fireslinger. Once you put it on the stack, the 1 damage is its own object and exists even if the fireslinger itself leaves the battlefield:

  112.7a Once activated or triggered, an ability exists on the stack independently of its source. Destruction or removal of the source after that time won't affect the ability. Note that some abilities cause a source to do something (for example, "Prodigal Pyromancer deals 1 damage to target creature or player") rather than the ability doing anything directly. In these cases, any activated or triggered ability that references information about the source because the effect needs to be divided checks that information when the ability is put onto the stack. Otherwise, it will check that information when it resolves. In both instances, if the source is no longer in the zone it's expected to be in at that time, its last known information is used. The source can still perform the action even though it no longer exists.

If you want to actually counter the ability, there are very few ways to do so. Less than 20 cards in all of magic can counter activated abilities.


Can I play a different colored Draw 2 Card on top of a Draw 2 Card in Uno or Uno Flip

Yes, Player C can play a different colored Draw 2 Card on top of Player A's Draw 2 Card.

  Draw 2 Card - ... This card may only be played on a matching color or
  on another Draw 2 card.

Here's a great place to read the rules yourself:
From mattel.com: https://service.mattel.com/instruction_sheets/42001pr.pdf


Should trample damage get through a creature with protection from the attacker?

The trample damage should get through in this situation.
Protection prevents damage, but it does not have any effect on how damage is assigned in combat. The attacking player must still assign 1 damage to the token before assigning any damage to you. The token will not take the damage and will not die, but the rest of the damage assigned to you is not prevented, so it will still be dealt to you.
One interesting note here is that this attacking creature has double strike because Embercleave grants that ability. This means that it will deal damage in both the first strike and regular combat damage steps, and since the damage is prevented by the protection ability, the token will be undamaged after the first strike combat damage step, so the attacking player will need to assign another 1 damage to it in the regular combat damage step.


Does each stable in a pasture double the number of animals allowed?

Each stable doubles the capacity of the pasture.

While not usually a great move, there are situations where this could be useful.

From the rules, top right on page 9: (Emphasis is mine)

  Each stable costs 2 Wood and can be placed on a fenced or empty unfenced farmyard space.
  A fenced stable doubles the holding capacity of a pasture. Each farmyard space can hold 1
  stable. Each space within a pasture may have its own stable: the pasture’s capacity is then
  multiplied by 4, 8, etc.


What are good general strategies for Pandemic?

A few points:

Movement is usually the most expensive action. Sure, you're getting closer to be being able to do something useful, but the moving itself isn't technically doing anything - it's just using up a turn. Because of this, if you go to a city with 3 disease cubes on it - strongly consider clearing them all off. If you don't, it just means you'll need to return sooner, and waste more turns getting there. The exception is late in the game - you're probably safe reducing it to the point where it cannot outbreak (ie. when there are two Epidemics left...you only need to reduce a city down to 1 disease cube).

When you have an Operations Expert in play, build research stations liberally. There are lots of instances where you can save someone else 2 (or many more) actions at the cost of building 1 research station with an Ops Expert. Even something that seems like a 1 for 1 tradeoff is probably worth it, especially if your Ops Expert doesn't have any pressing needs. Late game, you might be able to save someone who has a cure (or is about to have one) 3-4 movement actions that they would have needed just to get to a research station. Build a station in the city they are already in.

I used to place one research station in the middle of a problem area, then fan out from it to clear the surrounding cities. Now I build one station at either end of a problem area, so I can enter on one side, sweep across the problem cities, and leave from the other side, without having to backtrack. (But don't leave huge gaps - I'm talking like: research station -> city -> city -> research station)

This might be obvious, but pay attention to how many cards of a particular color you've already played. Later in the game, you'll have to make decisions about which to keep. Keep the colors that you've discarded the most of, since there are fewer of them in the deck.

And when deciding what to keep: I used to think that it made sense to keep the cards that are furthest away from existing research stations. Now, I believe that it might be better to keep cards that are closest to research stations, since you'll be able to quickly get to that area, and you'll probably be there often since it's a problem area, you can use those cards for charter flights - which offer greater flexibility.

Also, wait as long as possible to make the decision of which color to go for (since you'll have to discard so you don't go above 7). If you have 3 red and 3 blue, don't even think about picking one and discarding the other. Get rid of whatever the 7th or 8th card in your had is. Even consider using a special, that is if it will provide a solid benefit at that moment. (An exception would be if another player has 4 red or 4 blue - then you know that they will be curing that disease, not you - so you'd probably rather keep those 2 yellow cards.)

I know I said movement is the most expensive action, but getting together 5 of one color is probably worse. It takes a TON of move actions to use the Share Knowledge action.

That said, if you have the Researcher at the start, find someone with two or more cards of one color, and give them more of that color. This will be the easiest chance you'll have the entire game to use Share Knowledge.

As for eradicating - I only do it if I can guarantee eradication in the next two player turns (using all 8 of their actions). No scientific basis for that really, but it's something that I have to be able to almost guarantee, given the state of the board (where an Epidemic is unlikely, or unlikely to stymie the attempt). The number of movement actions this will save you down the line is massive. This most often happens with the Dispatcher, Medic combo you mentioned. Also, don't eradicate late in the game (unless it somehow won't negatively affect your ability to cure the other diseases).

Plan ahead as much as possible, but be wary of Epidemics. Don't plan out 4 player turns ahead if an Epidemic is probably going to happen before then. Having a long term plan get interrupted (because of a new emergency) can be devastating.


Unfortunately, play-by-mail isn't really an appropriate medium to play Risk, for a number of reasons.

Gameplay is too long, even when just considering playing in person.
while only one player can "act" during a turn, defending players get to roll defending die on each attack
choices to invade where, and in what quantity, are made by evaluating the whole board--something that can't be done if played simultaneously.

Gameplay is too long

Risk can, depending on the players skill levels, take several hours.  This is with immediate feedback from rolls and direct communication. To turn it into mail adds months to complete a single game.  I'm not sure a single game of Risk can maintain engagement over that long a time.  Even with email being much faster, it still suffers the other below issues.

Defending players

It is definitely possible that the defending players' rolls can be taken by the player staging his attacks, but this has a number of drawbacks.

The defending player doesn't get the enjoyment of defending his own territories with his own rolls, and thus all he/she gets in return is a summation "sorry, you lost the following territories; they are now occupied with my armies in these quantities".

It is a necessity that the attacking armies do the rolls for both the attacking die and the defending die (whether manually or assisted with a phone app or website). If the defending player is given the opportunity to make his own rolls, that actually means EACH attack requires a round-trip of correspondence: one to declare the attack, how large, and what the rolls were; the other to defend the attack and what the rolls were.

Only after it has resolved could the attacking army know whether to press the attack, to give up, etc.

Simultaneous play

Even two players couldn't decide to play simultaneously, much less more than two.  Take for example, two armies incidentally and simultaneously attacking a third party's territory.

Whose resolves first?  This is natural to playing on a board, where you might just go clockwise, but simultaneous play will have to 'emulate' what it means to go clockwise then--and if so, then it's no longer simultaneous: whoever falls lower on the priority of his turn--his actions are pretty much null and void.

Consider players A and B attacking player C with only 1 defending unit.  If A and B both send 15 armies after C's 1 unit, and A is determined to resolve first, B's entire plan of taking a territory, then adjacent territories no longer is applicable.

Conclusion

In short, the nature of Risk is synchronous and to modify it to play via a medium--mail or email--is too much work for the reward.  If none of these are compelling enough reasons, even just consider the setting up the board: do you really want to send an email after each ONE army is placed, and have dozens or hundreds of emails (with their delay) to get the board set up?


I would recommend breaking this up into 3 separate questions, which would help searchers to find specific answers better and help with keeping answers 'on topic'. That being said, here's what I know about these 3:

'Defeating' Brodie doesn't mean he's dead, it just means you made him leave the area. So you poked him a few times, he ran off to (literally) lick his wounds, and then came back in the next tile for revenge. So yes, it is entirely possible for you to encounter Brodie in a tile, defeat him, and then on the next tile encounter Brodie 2: Brodie's Revenge.

In the rule book under Battle: Melee Attack (pages 10 & 11), it instructs you to roll your attack and (Emphasis mine):

  Add the number of sword and sword/shield symbols rolled for that attack. This is the number of hits the mouse has inflicted.

  If a mouse inflicted one or more hits, the player to the left of the active player rolls defense for the targeted minion and adds the number of sword/shield results rolled.

So you only roll defense dice if one or more hits are rolled. No free cheese!

Your last question isn't ringing any bells, but it has been a couple of months since I've played M&M, so I might just need to pull out the scenario book when I get home, but if you could clarify it a bit here it might jog my memory and I could edit this and answer that one as well.


Not really - X would be zero.

If you let Pernicious Deed's ability resolve, it destroys everything simultaneously. Even if it didn't, there's no chance to cast other spells or activate other abilities while something is resolving. The Jar's first ability does still trigger and try to put counters on it, but again, that doesn't resolve until after the Deed's ability does, so by the time it resolves, the Jar is also already in the graveyard. Its ability tries to put counters on it, but it's not there, so nothing happens.

So by the time you get a chance to do anything, your Jar is already gone. Your last chance to use it is before the Deed's ability resolves, but at that point your Jar has no eyeballs, so activating the ability won't do anything useful. You can still do it, but I don't think X=0 is what you were hoping for.


1)  No, negative numbers are not possible on monsters.  It is true that this is not explicitly stated in any of the official rulebooks.  However, it is most common that such values in games refer to non-negative integers, and therefore it can be assumed that it is the case unless otherwise stated.  It is the responsibility of the rulebook to explicitly state if negatives were allowed, not the other way around.

2)  No.  There is noting even remotely true about the statement, to the point of which the very concept seems rather random.  It's possible that such a glitch might exist in one of the video games, and that your friend might have been referring to that.  Even so, that is an unintentional (and theoretical) computer glitch, and does not reflect on the real game, which is not limited by such issues.


It depends on the exact wording of the card in question (it's always helpful to give specific examples in these types of questions). If you mean a card like sleep, then no, it will not stack. Sleep makes the creatures not untap during the opponent's next untap step; even if you cast 2 of them on the same turn, they would both affect the same untap step.

But if you mean something like yosei, the morning star, then 2 instances of his triggered ability would stack. Each one would cause your opponent to skip his next untap step; so there are 2 replacement effects trying to replace the untap step. One if them would replace the next untap step with skipping that step; the other would would then still be around, waiting to skip the untap step that would happen after that.


How to grant haste en masse in a mono-green Commander deck?

A simple search for cards with the words "creatures" and "haste" in their text boxes reveals a couple cards with Green color identity that grant mass haste:

Akroma's Memorial is an artifact that grants your creatures Haste, along with a few other abilities.
Concordant Crossroads grants all creatures Haste, not just yours.
Reflex Sliver gives all your Slivers Haste and Hivestone makes all your creatures Slivers, so together they give all your creatures Haste.


Where can I find a spanish language copy of the rules of Settlers of Catan.

Would this would be of any use to you?

http://www.yoda.arachsys.com/siedler/siedler_espanol.pdf

Failing that, this looks pretty thorough:

http://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/30216/catan-todo-en-uno-reglas-y-mapas-para-todas-las-ve


There's this card type in Yu-Gi-Oh that I can't quite put my finger on. It has to do with nature

It's not completely clear yet what year was this. From your post one can suppose you mean around 2015 (you said 6th grade and you imply you are now on 10th, so 4 years have passed).

--If clarification is made I'll gladly update my answer--

Assuming the cards are around 2015, and that are nature-ish themed, and some of them ride beasts, I think you are talking about the Ritual Beasts Archetype.

They were introduced mostly on the Secrets of Eternity booster expansion, and on the The Secret Forces expansion as well, which were launched on TCG January/February 2015, respectively.

Here some images of some cards of that Archetype to depict the theme they display (nature-ish, riding beasts, anime/cutesy, etc.):

Ritual Beast Tamer Lara:

Ritual Beast Ulti-Gaiapelio:


Latest Collins Scrabble Words list in text file

In official use from 1 July 2019:

Collins Scrabble Words (2019).txt (279,496 words, 3MB).
Collins Scrabble Words (2019) with definitions.txt (279,496 words, 17MB).

Old:

Collins Scrabble Words (2015).txt (276,643 words, 3MB).
Collins Scrabble Words (2015) with definitions.txt (276,643 words, 17MB).

If you find any errors, please leave a comment here.


Master of Cruelties Spiteful Returned Combo

This would not work how you want it to. Because of the timing for the different triggers in this scenario.

There are 5 parts of the combat phase:

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

The trigger from Spiteful Returned triggers is "Whenever Spiteful Returned or enchanted creature attacks", this means that it will trigger during the Declare Attackers step. While the Master's trigger is "Whenever Master of Cruelties attacks a player and isn't blocked", this means that it will trigger during the Declare Blockers step long after the trigger from the Returned has been put on the stack and resolved.

  508.3a An ability that reads “Whenever [a creature] attacks, . . .” triggers if that creature is declared as an attacker. Similarly, “Whenever [a creature] attacks [a player or planeswalker], . . .” triggers if that creature is declared as an attacker attacking that player or planeswalker. Such abilities won’t trigger if a creature is put onto the battlefield attacking.

  508.3d An ability that reads “Whenever [a creature] attacks and isn’t blocked, . . .” triggers during the declare blockers step, not the declare attackers step.


If my creature has shadow and flying, can it only be blocked by creatures with shadow AND flying?

In a general sense, you are correct. Both abilities impose a restriction that's tracked individually. A creature must satisfy all the restrictions in order to block your super-evasive attacker.
My one niggle is that there are non-flyers that can block fliers, such as creatures with reach. And there are a few creatures, like Wall of Diffusion, that don't have shadow but have "~ can block creatures with shadow as though ~ had shadow" as an ability, which allows them to block shadow creatures (and non-shadow creatures as well, since they don't actually have shadow).
Here's some comp rules for ya, with this exact example:

509.1b The defending player checks each creature he or she controls to see whether it’s affected by    any restrictions (effects that say a
creature can’t block, or that it can’t block unless some    condition
is met). If any restrictions are being disobeyed, the declaration of
blockers is illegal.
A restriction may be created by an evasion ability (a static ability an attacking creature has    that restricts what can block
it). If an attacking creature gains or loses an evasion ability after
a    legal block has been declared, it doesn’t affect that block.
Different evasion abilities are    cumulative.
Example: An attacking creature with flying and shadow can’t be blocked by a creature with flying but without shadow.

Trivia: Stronghold Overseer has both flying and shadow natively. On a 5/5 body to boot!


What's a good way to shuffle sleeved cards?

While cards are equally thick across the surface, cards in sleeves are not. They get thinner near the edges. This makes for a very easy faro shuffle.

But generally, just make sure you're shuffling the cards along their long edges. This prevents cards falling out of their sleeves and sleeves intertwining.


I hardly feel that they just guess or take it on the feels when coming up with the cards cost and ability limitations.

Actually, they kinda do.

Mana cost depends on several factors:

How common the card's ability is in the color. Flight for example, is generally least expensive in Blue, White is slightly more expensive, and red/black slightly more, and green even more and quite rare.
The rarity of the card. What makes Mythic Rare cards better isn't just how uncommon the abilities are, but how undercosted the abilities are. See Huntmaster of the Fell and Geist of Saint Traft. An uncommon flyer might be slightly undercosted compared to a common flyer.
The current metagame. Back in the day, Counterspell was a mere two blue mana. Lightning Bolt did 3 damage for 1 red mana. Control decks ran rampant, creatures like Hill Giant were expensive for what you got. Over time, Wizards wanted the Combat Phase to matter more often, so hard counters began to get more expensive, and creature costing got cheaper.
The set balance. If Wizards want to deemphasize removal in limited in a set, they might make it more expensive.

and most of all

Playtesting. Wizards does a lot of playtesting to determine which costs are appropriate in the environment.

I don't think there's any way to come up with a strict formula and the parameters change over time. Used to be you could only get a 2/2 vanilla creature with a converted mana cost of 2 (with one mana being generic) in green. (Hello Grizzly Bears) Then white got a Glory Seeker. Recently Black has joined the club with Walking Corpse and Gutter Skulk. Red and Blue still require two colored mana in the cost or drawbacks to get 2/2 for CMC 2.

So yeah they do just cost what "feels right" then adjust after playtesting. Sometimes they get it wrong, in my opinion, compare Snapcaster Mage with Archaeomancer — absurd extra value at half the cost, even at rare. How Merfolk of the Depths ended up with a CMC of 6 for 4/2 Flash is equally baffling. Twice as big as a Shambleshark at three times the price??


Does double strike work whilst blocking?

Yes, double strike and first strike work while blocking.

Effectively, there is a "first strike combat damage step" in which one set of double strike damage is dealt, and then a normal combat damage step, where all other combat damage is dealt.

So whether attacking or blocking, that phase always occurs, and damage is dealt simultaneously within it.

So in the case of your Grovedancer:

  First strike damage step

  Two-Headed Puppy deals 1 damage to the Grovedancer
  Grovedancer dies

  Normal combat step

  Grovedancer already dead, can't hit back

In the case where you attacked with a 2/1 Golden Hind

  First strike damage step

  Two-Headed Puppy deals 1 damage to the Hind
  Hind dies

  Normal combat step

  Hind already dead, can't hit back

In the case where you attacked with a 2/2 Travelling Philosopher

  First strike damage step

  Two-Headed Puppy deals 1 damage to the Philosopher

  Normal combat step

  Philosopher deals 2 damage to the Puppy, Puppy deals another 1 damage to the Philosopher
  Philosopher and Puppy both die

In the case where you attacked with a 4/4 Rumbling Baloth

  First strike damage step

  Two-Headed Puppy deals 1 damage to the Baloth

  Normal combat step

  Baloth deals 4 damage to the Puppy (Yipe!), Puppy deals another 1 damage to the Baloth
  Puppy Dies, Baloth has taken 2 damage, so will now die to a Shock if it gets hit before end of turn, otherwise it'll heal up during
  cleanup

Hope that helps


Why first strike wouldn't work in a single fight?

First Strike has no involvement in Fights.

First Strike applies to actual Combat, i.e. the stuff that takes place during the Combat Phase, where you and your opponent(s) nominate creatures to attack and block. First Strike and Double Strike both introduce a second Combat Damage step that takes place before the usual one.

However, Fight doesn't involve any of that. Fight is an effect which just means what it says on the tin: "Each deals damage equal to its power to the other." Get their Power values, and they both deal that much damage to each other simultaneously, and that's it. This is more akin to, say, Aethertorch Renegade's activated ability in which it deals damage, than the combat damage step.


Bridges, Castles and Bazaars with Die Belargerer (the Siege)

When using castles, if a 'clam city' is completed you then make the decision to either score it as a city or turn it into a castle. If it becomes a castle, then no scoring relating to cities applies to it (and scoring for the castle does not occur until and unless a neighboring feature is completed). Since the scoring of siege tiles only applies to cities, it does not affect the scoring of a castle. A castle is worth 4 points to a farmer.

Link to official rules:

http://zmangames.com/rulebooks/Carcassonne_Exp8.pdf


Can you play a spell on your opponent's turn?

No, this is explicitly forbidden in rules
According to section "Playing cards → Rainbow cards" of the rule book (page 5):

Creatures, Buildings, and Spells with an Action cost of 0 are always Rainbow cards. They may only be played during your own turn (even after spending your 2 Actions), but require no Landscape types to play.

Link to the rule book is taken from this page


The monster pile is pretty full of things that will easily take a few turns to kill.  That's intended in this game, as Eldritch Horror is much less about monster killing and a lot more about mystery solving.  There are a few Old Ones where you will have to worry about the monsters with, but you generally don't have to keep killing monsters all over the place.  The thing you DO need to do is close those damn portals before the doom track gets too high.

Your low-level monsters (cultists, maniacs, zombies) are easy enough to deal with one-on-one, even if you're not all powered up.  It's the large ones, like Dark Young, you have to worry about.  And if a Star Spawn is sitting in front of a gate you have to close, you can team up on that thing to try and take it down.  Get everyone to the monster that you need to deal with and have them start to throw everything they have at it.  I mean, when you look at what you're trying to deal with, you shouldn't be taking on a Star Spawn by yourself anyways.  That thing's as big as a house.

And it is true that you need to get the right items to start taking some of this stuff on.  That's why I like playing with people that start with weapons or as Charley Cain.  With Cain, you can basically airdrop resources to people that need it the most (and this goes for things other then monster slaying).  Getting people the right cards when they need it helps to clear away unwanted monsters.

Early game, you should be focused on getting at least one mystery solved and ignoring monsters for a while (even if it's the Black Goat).  Once you have something solved, you have more time to deal with picking up resources.  Usually have one or two people on monster stomping duty, buying up whatever items they can, while everyone else tries to manage the doom track.


Is a Wild Card a match to a Wild Draw Color Card in Uno Flip

No. A Wild Card has no color. It can be played on any card regardless of color, number, or symbol, but it doesn't have a color itself.

From the rules:

  you must match a card from your hand to the
  card on the top of the DISCARD pile, either by number, color or symbol [...] Alternatively, the player can put down a Wild card (See FUNCTIONS OF ACTION CARDS).

The "Draw Color" card specifies that the target draw cards until they draw one whose color is the named color.


Does resolving a single fight round in A Touch of Evil also trigger "The Horseman Rides Tonight!" event?

Yes, (according to the rules) the Deadly Encounter mystery card will cause the Spectral Horseman to move along the shortest path to the Town Hall, Fighting every Hero along the way as normal for his Relentless Charge ability. The card "The Horseman Rides Tonight!" specifically tells you to do so, and Deadly Encounter causes a Fight. (emphasis mine)

Relentless Charge - At the end of any fight with the Spectral Horseman, he will ride the shortest route directly to the Town Hall, engaging in one fight round against any Hero moved over.

Unless it is canceled, **The Horseman Rides Tonight" event will take place.

Many times a card will allow you to cancel another card as it is played or that Remains in Play.  As noted earlier, an Event Card may not be canceled after it has already caused dice to be rolled or rerolled.  Mystery Cards may always be canceled.

(Note: You actual ask, can the Mystery Card cancel the event, but that Mystery Phase  would happen after the event "The Horseman Rides Tonight" is played. So it would make more sense to ask, can The Horseman Rides Tonight" Event Card, cancel the Mystery Card Deadly Encounter.)

Events are played as fast effect style cards and, unless noted otherwise, may be played at any time.
In each Game Round, every player (starting with the First Player) takes their Hero
Turn in order, moving clockwise around the table. Once each Hero has finished, there is a Mystery Phase in which the Villain gets to unleash some evil on the Heroes in the form of drawing a Mystery Card and reading it aloud.


Those cards are just filler in the printing process, and serve no actual game purpose.

It is up to you what you do with them. Whether you throw them away, keep them in the box, or maybe even try to come up with a custom scenario that utilises them somehow.

For a bit more explanation see this thread on boardgamegeek.


You do not need to give your deck a name. A name for a deck is just an easy way to describe the same set of ~60 cards (accounting for the fact that you won't need a different name for a deck that only changes two cards).

A deckname is just used to communicate about that specific deck easier. If you want to name your monored Goblin-deck "Green Guys" (since goblins have green skin) and the people you talk with know what you're talking about, there's absolutely no problem.

Note about point 3 that there's no way for your opponent to know the name of the deck you play before you start playing, unless you tell him.


Can fire spread to rooms that are connected via a ladder?

Thematically, I think it would make sense. However page 13 of the rulebook says:

  Investigators and humanoid (blue) monsters may move between spaces containing ladder markers as if they were adjacent. The spaces are considered adjacent for movement purposes only.

...which seems to suggest that doesn't apply to fire. As I commented on your question, I'd need to see the specific wording of the Pyromaniac card. Whilst I'd probably house rule it with my group to allow it, I suspect that you cannot if you're sticking strictly to the rules.


Arkham Horror - Are you allowed to take injury/madness while fighting with The Great Old One

No, you can't do that. Short version: the Ancient One devours you as soon as you're reduced to 0, so by the time the Injury/Madness tries to change how you recover after your're reduced to 0, you're already gone.

In combat with the Ancient One, you're devoured if you're reduced to zero Stamina/Sanity:

  Any investigator reduced to 0 Sanity or Stamina by the Ancient One’s attack is devoured. If an investigator is devoured during the final battle with the Ancient One, that player is eliminated from the game (i.e., the player does not draw a new character).

You're devoured, not just knocked unconscious or driven insane. You don't get to choose which way you want to get knocked unconscious (item loss vs Injury), because the Ancient One ate you.

The rules for Injuries (Madnesses are similar):

  When an investigator is reduced to 0 stamina, he may choose to gain an Injury card. If he does this, he does not lose any items or Clue tokens for being knocked unconscious, and his Stamina is restored to its maximum value instead of to 1. However, the investigator must still move to either St. Mary's Hospital or Lost in Time and Space, as appropriate.

You still get your Sanity/Stamina reduced to 0 - you just recover afterwards in a different way. So the Ancient One text still applies, and you're still devoured. You don't have the painful recovery (recover to 1, lose items, etc) afterwards that you can replace with the Injury/Madness. You can't take an Injury any more than you can say, "okay, he got me - I'll drop my useless item and keep on going!" Getting devoured is permanent.

Finally, this is just common sense. If adding Injury/Madness to the game somehow let you stay in the fight, then the Dunwich Horror expansion would make the final battle way, way easier. The expansion isn't meant to make radical changes like that.


The Urban Structures expansion contains a role that allows you to remove hotspots:


From the Legacy manual on monsters:

Monsters make a Speed roll at the start of their turn to determine their moves (minimum of 1). This applies to all monsters of the same type.

and:

Monsters don’t take damage from tile effects.

From the Legacy manual on trait rolls:

You will often be told to make a trait roll based on one of your family’s traits (for example, “Make a Might roll”). When that happens, roll dice equal to the number you currently have in that trait. For example, if you must make a Sanity roll, and you
currently have a Sanity of 4, roll 4 dice and total the dots together to get the result. The card’s or tile’s text will tell you the outcome.

As you mentioned in the comments, this text was deliberately changed from the non-legacy game that used to say "monsters can ignore any harmful text on a room tile." I am assuming that by environment you mean it was an Ongoing Event, which monsters never ignored, not even in the non-legacy game.
I do not think there is an answer for your question on the manual, not on the legacy manual nor on the non-legacy manual. I'd suggest your group house-rule this in one of the ways:

Make all monsters affected by the Ongoing Event even if only one is inside it.
Make two different speed rolls for movement, one for Monsters inside the Ongoing Event with speed minus 1, and one with base speed for Monsters outside.

I'd go with 2 because it just seems fairer and makes more sense. The manual itself acknowledges not everything is covered there because that'd be hard with all the cards.

Betrayal games mix effects on cards, haunts, rules, and tiles to create interesting combinations. We have tried to make it easy to understand how all these different effects might work together. However, the nature of the game means that you will inevitably find combinations that create uncertainty. In addition, legacy games create higher stakes since some effects are permanent. Here are a few guidelines when faced with uncertainty:

Rules in haunts trump other rules.
Rules on cards or tiles trump rules in the rulebook.
if you find a single card, rule, or effect that gives you a wildly powerful moment, that probably isn’t its intention.
If you find a combination of several cards, rules, and effects that give you an
advantage, that probably is the intention.
If an effect seems wildly unfair, that is not the correct interpretation.

Although it is a game of murder, insanity, horror, and other savagery, be mindful of other players’ experiences as well. Arguing about rules loopholes isn’t horror, it’s horrific.

This seems a fair application of Rules on cards or tiles trump rules in the rulebook.


Do you have to play the basic Risk Europe game with exactly four players?

Playing with fewer than four players and without mercenaries is not intended by the rules and will upset game balance

The main problem is the victory condition which likely is achieved too easily. As the goal for each player is to capture seven Crowns (primarily by taking cities), fewer players means more Crowns per player without any territorial struggle which upsets the game balance. With each player being closer to victory by default, a single city changing hands might end the game, quickly and without much of a build-up to that point. Maybe with two players it can even be won without ever facing your enemy.

Another concern is resource distribution. The balance here might be upset by fewer players as well. I don't remember that part of the game well enough though.

The mercenaries are introduced to balance the lack of player-controlled powers. It is not marked as an optional variant, but is the intended way to play with fewer than four players.

If you really want to play with two players and without mercenaries, my first advice would be to adjust the number of Crowns required for victory and maybe remove some of the Crown Cards, as well. This will probably require some experimentation and a different target number for two and three players, respectively, but it will help with some of the issues. Keep track of how other elements of the game like income or cities' special abilities pan out as well, and if you feel like something is consistently off, try adjusting it accordingly.


Multiple Ordeals of Nylea on one creature

The basic answer is that the creature gets 3 more counters (for a total of 5), you sacrifice all 3 Ordeals, and you search your library for 6 basic lands and put them onto the battlefield tapped.

Step by step, here's what happens:

You attack with the creature.
Abilities that trigger when you attack are put on the stack. In this case, that is the first ability of each of the 3 Ordeals attached to the creature.
The first ability of the first Ordeal resolves. You put a counter on the creature. It has 3 or more counters, so you sacrifice the Ordeal. The Ordeal's second ability triggers, and is put on the stack.
Each player gains priority, and has an opportunity to respond.
The second ability of the first Ordeal resolves. You search your library for 2 basic lands, and put them on the battlefield tapped.
Each player gains priority, and has an opportunity to respond.
Steps 3-6 repeat for each of the second and the third Ordeal. In each of those iterations, you put another counter on the creature, sacrifice that Ordeal, and search for 2 more lands.


It really works in practice. I've been part of an annual game of 1KBWC for many years, and it's still fun.
It only works for fun. Any competitive elements present are pastiches of elements of other games.
I actually play this game. That does not prevent it from being a random novelty, but it answers the first part of the question handily.


Does the bonus die for Captain of the Guard's Battle Steed ability have to be assigned a target color before the roll?

This is not a wildcard -- instead, you choose which die to focus on.  If you're in an area with 2 red minions, and 1 blue minion, you can roll 3-1, or 2-2.

Link:  Official Clarification by Richard Launius (designer.)


If I concede with a morph card on the stack, do I have to reveal the card to my opponent?

Yes, you must reveal the card to all players.

  707.9. If a face-down permanent moves from the battlefield to any other zone, its owner must reveal it to all players as he or she moves it. If a face-down spell moves from the stack to any zone other than the battlefield, its owner must reveal it to all players as he or she moves it. If a player leaves the game, all face-down permanents and spells owned by that player must be revealed to all players. At the end of each game, all face-down permanents and spells must be revealed to all players.

The other players must be able to check that you were allowed to play that card face-down. Otherwise, you could cheat by playing a non-morph card as a morph creature and never be forced to reveal that card.


Cards entering the battlefield simultaneously and "Enter the Battlefield" effects

Your opponent is correct, whenever multiple objects enter the battlefield at the same time, their enters the battlefield triggers will all see all of them as on the battlefield.

  603.6a Enters-the-battlefield abilities trigger when a permanent enters the battlefield. These are written, "When [this object] enters the battlefield, ..." or "Whenever a [type] enters the battlefield, ..." Each time an event puts one or more permanents onto the battlefield, all permanents on the battlefield (including the newcomers) are checked for any enters-the-battlefield triggers that match the event.

And:

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

Note that the trigger happens AFTER the cards actually enter the battlefield. There is no time that Valakut was on the battlefield but the other Mountains weren't; so by the time Valakut's "enters the battlefield" triggers, they are all on the battlefield. If it did not work this way, any card such as Elvish Visionary that had "when [CARDNAME] enters the battlefield..." wouldn't work, because its ability doesn't technically exist until the card was put on the battlefield.

This is also a well-known combo for Valakut.

This means that this works for Champion of the Parish as well; the Champions would get 6 +1+1 counters in that case.

See similar question here.


Does Legacy's Super-human Durability and Fortitude interact?

The order is up to you.
Under the original rules.
If you play under the original rules, resolution happens in order of whichever card was played first.
Under Conflict Resolution in the standard rules, it states:

Over the course of a game, there are situations in which multiple effects would occur simultaneously or have competing effects.  In all situations, card effects that happen simultaneously occur in the order in which the cards enter play.

The "oldest takes effect first" rule is consistently applied to resolve other simultaneous conflicts, even when they are on the same card.  For example, in the clarifications to La Capitan's "Split Across Time" ability in the advanced rules:

La Capitan’s “Split Across Time” side has an ability which reads “whenever la capitan would be dealt damage, move a card from under this card to the appropriate trash. If you do, prevent that damage”. Her advanced rules on this side say “the first time La Capitan would be dealt damage each round, redirect that damage to the non-villain target with the highest hp”. Which effect should trigger first?
Because of the order in which the abilities are written on the card, La Capitan would prevent damage by removing cards from beneath her until she could no longer do that, then use the damage redirection ability.

Thus, if Fortitude was played first, damage to Legacy would be reduced by 1 before Super-Human Durability takes effect.
But, if you don't like that, then you pick the order.
The whole "conflict resolution" section was designed to keep the game moving smoothly.  In some certain cases - and Superhuman Durability versus Fortitude is explicitly called out - resolving in order can make the game more complex or less fun.  Since the whole intent of the rules is to ensure players are having fun, players are allowed to resolve ambiguous situations as they deem fit.  So you can choose the order each effect is applied, as long as the cards are not "start of turn" or "end of turn" effects.
(Christopher is one of the developers of Sentinels, so that's about as official as you can get.)


consider looking at how other games solve this problem, For example Settlers of Catan adds a "sea" around the boad which fills in the uneven edges when using full hexagons and gives a uniform diamond at the edge. Something along those lines might be the best way to resolve your problem.

Alternatively you can design your overall boards such that the overflow hex tiles "jigsaw" together, either each board has half tiles which will always match up well (the style and substance of your tiles is important in making this decision, if you have an aliens vs robots theme for example you cant have tiles that are 50% alien 50% robot) or having some of the half tiles whole, some empty to slot together, which will also have a positive impact on the feel of your boards since they wont slide about as easily.


Do other creatures have to survive to deal damage back to Alpha Brawl's target?

Creatures dealt lethal damage will still deal their damage back to Alpha Brawl's target.

From the Oracle rulings, which you can see on the card's Gatherer page:

  1/22/2011   The two parts of Alpha Brawl's effect happen sequentially: first the targeted creature deals damage, then the other creatures deal damage. State-based actions aren't checked in the middle, so creatures that are dealt lethal damage by the targeted creature will still deal damage.

Why does it work the way it does? Because, in Magic, you carry out the instructions on a card sequentially, but you also do all the actions as one event, and only check for state-based actions and triggers afterward. "This creature took so much damage that it's going to the graveyard now" is a state-based action.

Note also that all creatures killed by Alpha Brawl will go to the graveyard at the same time.