When a land becomes creature, can you kill it?

From the Magic Comprehensive Rules (effective as of November 11, 2016):

119. Damage
119.1. Objects can deal damage to creatures, planeswalkers, and players. This is generally detrimental to the object or player that receives that damage. An object that deals damage is the source of that damage.
...
119.6. Damage marked on a creature remains until the cleanup step, even if that permanent stops being a creature. If the total damage marked on a creature is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed as a state-based action (see rule 704). All damage marked on a permanent is removed when it regenerates (see rule 701.13, "Regenerate") and during the cleanup step (see rule 514.2).

For absolute clarity, here is part of the rules on "State-Based Actions"

704.3. Whenever a player would get priority (see rule 116, "Timing and Priority"), the game checks for any of the listed conditions for state-based actions, then performs all applicable state-based actions simultaneously as a single event. If any state-based actions are performed as a result of a check, the check is repeated; otherwise all triggered abilities that are waiting to be put on the stack are put on the stack, then the check is repeated. Once no more state-based actions have been performed as the result of a check and no triggered abilities are waiting to be put on the stack, the appropriate player gets priority. This process also occurs during the cleanup step (see rule 514), except that if no state-based actions are performed as the result of the step's first check and no triggered abilities are waiting to be put on the stack, then no player gets priority and the step ends.

So the sequence goes like this.

You cast Lightning Bolt (when you have priority), spell goes on the stack.
You have priority. If you pass:
Opponent has priority. If they pass:
Lightning Bolt resolves. Three damage is applied to land creature.
If it's your turn, you have priority, if it's opponent's turn he/she does. Regardless. WHOOP WHOOP game checks for state based effects first.
State based effect: damage on land creature >= toughness. It is destroyed.

You certainly can "kill" a land, but "kill" is not the proper Magic term. Over the years Magic has become very specific about the terms used to describe cards, abilities and effects just to avoid "intuitive" confusion like this (how can you kill a land???) The term your friend was looking for was:

701.7. Destroy
701.7a To destroy a permanent, move it from the battlefield to its owner's graveyard.

There are plenty of magic cards which have the words destroy target land in the rules text.


How can I tell if these vintage boardgames are worth anything?

If you look at who wants a game on BoardGameGeek, you can get an idea if there is any demand for the game.  (It's under the statistics section on BoardGameGeek.)   Unfortunately, for any item in a market, it's hard to know if people are actually buying that item.  While I haven't done it for board games, I've followed eBay auctions with active bids to see what they close at.  It can be difficult to see if an item will sell, without trying to sell it.  I'm skeptical of price guides for antiques cause just cause people say something will sell for X, doesn't meany anyone will pay that for it.

You could always donate them to a something like the Salvation Army or Goodwill if you'd just like to have them find new homes.  I'm not sure it costs money to put things up in the BoardGameGeek marketplace, but you could list them on their instead to see if they're interesting to general gamers.


Move Animals Between Pens During Harvest

Usually you can drag the animals to the storage bar at the bottom of the screen to assist in moving them around.  Just like whenever you get new ones and have to drag them out, I have usually just dragged them onto that bar, near the location of their little respective icon.


No, your friend is wrong. The creatures simply deal damage equal to their power:

  701.11a 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.

A 9/8 has a power of 9, and it doesn't matter what its base power was. The whole point of power/toughness-changing effects (like +1/+1 counters) is that they change the power/toughness of the creature.

So your friend's 5/5 will die, and your 9/8 will survive.

Terminology: we say your creature has base power/toughness of 3/2, but its power/toughness is 9/8. Pretty much nothing in the game cares what base power/toughness is; the only time it's mentioned is when it's being set, like on Turn to Frog. Everything normal in the game just looks at the actual power/toughness.


Othello Vs Checkers -- are there any complexity and skill comparisons?

From AI point of view, or at least from a Search-intensive approach, Othello is harder.
Checkers has been weakly solved at 2007. Othello has not been solved yet.
From the paper Checkers Is Solved:

Search-intensive approaches to AI will play an
increasingly important role in the evolution of the field.
With checkers done, the obvious question is whether
chess is solvable. Checkers has roughly the square root of the number of positions in chess (somewhere in the 10^40 - 10^50 range). Given the effort required to solve checkers,
chess will remain unsolved for a long time, barring the
invention of new technology. The disk-flipping game of
Othello is the next popular game that is likely to be solved,
but it will require considerably more resources than were
needed to solve checkers.


How do two Notion Thieves interact with each other?

They cancel out.

Alice casts Think Twice, it resolves, and Alice is instructed to

  Draw a card

Bob's Notion Thief's replacement effect kicks in, changing the instruction to

  Bob draws a card

Then one looks if any other replacement effects apply. Alice's Notion Thief's replacement effect kicks in, changing the instruction to

  Alice draws a card

And that's the final effect. Bob's Notion Thief has already modified the event, so it can't modify it again.

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 it.

616.1e Once the chosen effect has been applied, this process is repeated (taking into account only replacement or prevention effects that would now be applicable) until there are no more left to apply.

616.2. A replacement or prevention effect can become applicable to an event as the result of another replacement or prevention effect that modifies the event.


How would these Ticket To Ride variants change the game?

I wouldn't say they're terrible ideas. I REALLY like the first one as it would add another layer of depth to the game. The second I personally would leave out, just because racing to get the train cards you need is part of the fun. Being able to cut other players off too easily could change things. The penalty would need to be pretty hefty, because you could easily rob somebody of 20 points as they try to complete a long route.

There's usually a few routes that end up critical to certain people in the game, and I could see a mechanic of "find out what destinations you opponents are trying to get to and do everything you can to stop them," which could make it a competition to see who has the highest negative score since nobody could complete their destinations. When you have to claim routes normally, you are loosing the privilege and resources to do something that would benefit you, and you need to have the right cards at the right time. Unless you happen to have a lot of cards or have been gathering cards of the same color by chance, you can't block. With contracts you'd be able to stop anyone at any time during your turn at the expense of just a few points if you didn't follow through later.

In the original Ticket to Ride there's a powerful connection of short routes down the center of the country that link almost everything together. You could easily contract as many of these as possible in the beginning, work on your own destinations, then 'complete' your contracts at the end of the game since they're all short colorless routes.

I've found hardcore players have shot down almost many variations I've seen posted, such as drawing 3 cards per turn, having the option to build AND draw in a turn, having 7 cards face up the whole game, etc. See a list of those here. The game is very carefully balanced in the sense of East vs. West, long vs. short routes, and attack vs. defense. This doesn't mean variants are bad, and if you have any revisions or others I'd love to see them. It just means that there is a delicate balance you have to be careful not to destroy if you want the game to retain its original feel.

I haven't found many actual variants to the gameplay, but if you are able to print them and the additional cards there's a TON of fan created maps that give the game a new feel.

and there's always the catapult expansion...


Is it possible to build a wide variety of decks at low cost? If so, how?

Yes. The key is to get common and uncommon cards, avoiding rare and mythic rare cards (Note: A year after answering this question, I wrote a lengthy comprehensive guide on how to keep cost low while still having fun with MtG. I still stand behind the following answer, but I did find out other ways to keep costs low).

Here's how:

If you don't already know the game, your buying will be much more efficient and effective if you learn it first. You can learn the rules and play some sample games on an iOS or Android device with the official app (at the time of this writing, it's Duels of the Planeswalkers). You don't have to spend any money to play a few sample duels but if you want to play all of the different duels you'll have to pay to unlock additional duels ($15 on iOS). You should begin to get a feel for different possible deck strategies.

Alternatively, if you have a friend with several (or more) decks, have your friend teach you the game using his or her decks. Be sure to try out several different styles of decks.

Read about deck types.

Armed with knowledge of the basic deck types, you're ready to go to a local store that processes a lot of cards. A good resource for finding a store near you is the official store locator.

Stores will vary in their policies so you'll have to find one that sells bulk common cards at very low cost. The store I go to lets me sift through many thousands of unsorted common and uncommon cards and pile them into a box that fits about 500 cards, at a cost of $5. It's time consuming, but I get to choose the cards.

This low card cost is possible because some stores generate so many common and uncommon cards as byproducts of events or buying collections that they can't possibly sell them all. They pick out the rares and unusually valuable uncommons/commons. The remaining commons/uncommons will eventually get recycled, so some store owners are happy to sell them for something.

The first time you do this, you will make mistakes, and you'll quickly realize that you don't have enough of certain kinds of cards and too many junky cards. That's okay. You've only spent $5. So you go back to the store a few more times. By your 4th trip you should be a lot better at knowing which cards are interesting and which to avoid. It helps to bring a list of what kinds of cards you want, including specific cards.

By the time you've accumulated around 2500-3000 cards (at least a few hundred of these will be lands and dual lands), you'll find that it's possible to construct a wide variety of decks and pursue a wide range of deck strategies. You have the potential to create hundreds or maybe even thousands of different, effective decks. However, you'll only be able to have 12-15 decks going at one time due to limited number of lands, and different decks competing for certain cards that tend to get used in many decks.

All this can be done for around $25-$30.

It is also possible to buy "fat packs" on sale for $30 or so, and then you can sell off the rares and mythic rares for $15-$45, depending on the market value of what you were lucky (or unlucky) enough to get. But doing it this way subjects you to a lot of randomness and you may get stuck with lots of commons you don't want.

If you decide to participate in tournaments (which you can do with the pauper format or the peasant format), you will likely want to supplement with a few commons you lack. So you may end up spending another $5 or $10 to supplement your several thousand card collection.

All told, it is possible to get quite a variety for less than $50, which will provide plenty of fun and variety in casual play. For a few more dollars, you can fine tune some of your decks to compete well in pauper or peasant formats.

EDIT: About half a year after writing this, I started to get serious about competing with Pauper. While still much less expensive than other formats, there is little chance of staying under $50 if you want many competitive pauper decks. Depending on how many competitive decks you want, your total cost could range from $300 to $1200 to have a wide variety of top pauper decks all built and ready to play.

Expenses for competitive pauper are higher than casual play because there is high demand for many "staple" commons that cost $2 or more, such as Lightning Bolt, Rancor, Gitaxian Probe, etc. that you are very unlikely to find in a penny commons bin. If you want to stay under $500 total you'll have to avoid cards costing well over $5 such as Sinkhole, Three Visits, Chain Lightning, and Oubliette. Most competitive Pauper decks do not need individual cards costing over $5.


Your opening style seems fine, but responder should prefer to bid 1 heart or 1 spade holding four cards in the major to go along with support in your minor. That is, after you have opened 1C, partner should respond 1H holding

x
xxxx
xxx
AKxxx

There are a number of reasons for this; perhaps the most important is that making ten tricks in a major-suit contract is almost always easier than make 11 tricks in a minor-suit contract when you have a 4-4 fit in the major and a 5-4 fit in the minor.


A complicated interaction with Sakashima's Student

After Step 5, you would have to sacrifice Sakashima's Student or Etrata, The Silencer.

706.2. When copying an object, the copy acquires the copiable values of the original object’s characteristics and, for an object on the stack, choices made when casting or activating it (mode, targets, the value of X, whether it was kicked, how it will affect multiple targets, and so on). The “copiable values” are the values derived from the text printed on the object (that text being name, mana cost, color indicator, card type, subtype, supertype, rules text, power, toughness, and/or loyalty), as modified by other copy effects, by its face-down status, and by “as . . . enters the battlefield” and “as . . . is turned face up” abilities that set power and toughness (and may also set additional characteristics). Other effects (including type-changing and text-changing effects), status, and counters are not copied.
704.5j If a player controls two or more legendary permanents with the same name, that player chooses one of them, and the rest are put into their owners’ graveyards. This is called the “legend rule.”

(Emphasis mine)

But let's say the legend rule didn't apply.
Your plan would work. The following choices are made when activating an ability:

Choice of mode[CR 601.2b]
Choice of targets[CR 601.2c]
Choice of how to divide/distribute an effect among one or more targets[CR 601.2d]
Choices that affect the cost to activate or how it's paid

All other choices, such as choice of creature to copy as Sakashima's Student is placed on the battlefield, are made on resolution.


Is Old Betsy immune to dynamite and gasoline?

Old betsy will survive. The only things affected are those listed on the card (zombies and heroes)


Failure to take a call for step in Pokemon

It depends whether you are playing casually or in an official tournament. For tournaments, it also depends on its type - beginner-friendly Tier 1 tournaments like League Challenges are different to Tier 2 tournaments where players are expected to abide by the rules all the time.

In casual play, both players have to agree on the resolution of the game state, i.e.

ignore the mistake
try to rewind the game state to the point before the mistake
the opposing player draws a Prize card (or more of them)
player who made the mistake loses

In tournaments, everything depends on the official judge (or more of them) - they are the only ones who can rule the resolution of the game state. In addition to possible resolutions above, they can also give a Caution or a Warning to one or both players.

The main document for judges is Pokémon TCG Penalty Guidelines, available from Rules & Resources page of official website.

  A coin was suppose to be toss and if tails the Pokemon could not attack. I failed to (overlook) the toss, several turns later I realize my mistake.

Using Penalty Guidelines from October 2019, the actual resolution depends on "rewindability" and overall damage of the game state. Because several turns have passed, the problem would probably fall into 8.1.2. Gameplay Error - Major, but might also be closer to 8.1.3. Gameplay Error - Severe.

Both players are responsible for maintaining the game state. If the game state is irreversibly broken, the opponent might get a penalty for 8.1. Gameplay Error as well.

The actual penalties strongly depend on the particular situation.


Can my commander ever not be my commander?

No, 'commander-ness' is an intrinsic property of the card that nothing can take away.

903.3. Each deck has a legendary creature card designated as its commander. This designation is not a characteristic of the object represented by the card; rather, it is an attribute of the card itself. The card retains this designation even when it changes zones.
Example: A commander that’s been turned face down (due to Ixidron’s effect, for example) is still a commander. A commander that’s copying another card (due to Cytoshape’s effect, for example) is still a commander. A permanent that’s copying a commander (such as a Body Double, for example, copying a commander in a player’s graveyard) is not a commander.


In UNO with card stacking rules, can you stack the opponents final card?

We have played with this house rule in our gaming group before and we resolved it in the same way we resolve MTG (Magic the Gathering) chains and that is the action must resolve upon the final valid play. So, if you are playing with the chain draw 2 house rule, in your scenario where there are two players remaining, the player who is unable to add another draw 2 into the chain is the one who gets stuck drawing as many cards as are in the stack.

If this results in one of the two players going out, that player wins. Otherwise, they draw more cards and the game continues.

The "As soon as one player goes out" rule as it was originally written for Uno did not take into effect this "chain stacking" house rule. In order to be the most correct, it must be interpreted to mean "As soon as one player goes out at the end of a play". In this case, the draw 2 chain is considered a single play as the draw 2 chain only stops (resolves) on the player that cannot place a draw 2 on the stack.

As a final note, we ultimately did away with Chain draw 2 combinations because of this exact argument we would have every time a new player arrived. If two players remain, player one has 5 cards, player two has 2 cards, player two gives player one a Draw 2, then player one draws 2 cards, then plays a Draw 2 back on Player two. No stacking or chaining is in effect, so Player two now has 3 cards and Player one has 6, and the game continues.


How to recognize the 2nd edition of Railways Of The World?

Besides for the Mexico variation, the reprint have slightly grayer art and a photo of the game in use on its backside..

Here is the two games for comparison :


Blackjack dealers have no options for the in-game decisions of whether to hit or stay; they follow a strict algorithm that will depend on the casino. The dealer waits until the players have exercised all their options, then the dealer reveals his hidden card and hits until he has at least 17 (most common).

The only variation I'm familiar with is a rule where the dealer will hit a soft 17 (any 17 with an Ace taking the value 11--denoted "H17" for Hit 17, as opposed to "S17" for Stand 17), but this is not the dealer's choice, it will be determined by the casino. According to Wikipedia, this rule will generally be printed on the table if it is being used, and it hurts players. Wikipedia phrases it the other direction: going from H17 to S17. 'Substituting an "H17" rule with an "S17" rule in a game benefits the player, decreasing the house edge by about 0.2%'

See @NiceVerAz's answer below for a nice explanation of "meta-game" options that the dealer does control.


What is a safe and accurate technique for shuffling cards?

When I shuffle I use a mixture of two techniques: riffle and stripping (as defined quite adequately in the Wikipedia article on shuffling). Riffle separates adjacent cards while stripping cycles cards from the top of the deck to the bottom.

I use both because riffle alone will very slowly push cards in the bottom half of each cut down, but tends to leave the top of the deck the same; stripping mitigates this drawback. Stripping alone takes too long to separate adjacent cards.

Early in the game when the deck is small (< 20 cards) it's very difficult--and unnecessary--to riffle so I only strip.

Wikipedia points out that riffling can be hard on cards; however, I've found that damage typically occurs because the person isn't good at shuffling and either excessively bends the cards or doesn't get good interspersion between the cuts. Being able to execute a bridge also reduces card wear as it evens out the bending and prevents the cards from acquiring a camber. In fact, I think proper riffle shuffling breaks in cards and makes them less stiff and prone to sticking to each other.

It seems that you're looking for something potentially easier to learn the riffling, but nothing is as fast (vital in Dominion) or as reliable at randomizing a deck. Honestly, anyone with reasonable motor skills should be able to learn to riffle with practice.

Wash shuffles are great for randomization but totally infeasible for Dominion since they take so long and take so much table space.

Weaves have the same end results at riffles, so if you weave you should strip as well. A weave is easier for many people to do, but will damage cards quickly as you have to slam or wiggle the edges of the deck together. Cards were made to return to their original shape when gently bent; they were not made to take stresses on their edges.


Yes, they'll work together. The definition of hexproof is:

  702.11b "Hexproof" on a permanent means "This permanent can’t be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control."

The Archetypes' abilities don't target, and they're not controlled by your opponent, so hexproof definitely does not prevent them from applying.


Where can this FAQ be found on an official site?

There doesn't seem to be any information about why the FAQ is being hosted at the fan site, and not at Mayfair Games itself, but there are several circumstantial pieces of evidence.

Mayfair Games don't have a FAQ for Empire Builder.
Mayfair Games links to the fan site (implying endorsement) from their official Empire Builder page.
That site is also the developer of the official computer version (i.e. licensed from Mayfair Games).
The resources for the game are comprehensive. It's unlikely they would make the FAQ up and then claim it was from the publisher.
There is another FAQ on the same site which indicates it is the set of rules by which the largest tournaments are played. That argues that this site is indeed the keeper of the de-facto most "official" FAQ.

For completeness, I did do some digging in the Internet Archive for a FAQ from 2008 hosted at Mayfair Games, but found nothing.

Interesting question. The linked FAQs look detailed and helpful. Now I'm curious as to why you require proof of provenance.


What is the detailed token content of "Firefly: The Game" and its expansions?

After doing some more research, I found this table.[1]

|                      | Firefly  | Pirates  | Blue sun | Kalidasa |
|----------------------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
| Dino                 |        1 |          |          |          |
| Reaver/Alliance card |        1 |          |          |          |
| Disgruntled          |       20 |        4 |        7 |        6 |
| Parts                |       20 |        5 |          |          |
| Fuel                 |       44 |       10 |          |          |
| Warrant/Goal         |       13 |        5 |        4 |          |
| Passenger/Fugitive   |       28 |        5 |          |          |
| Cargo/Contraband     |       40 |        5 |          |          |
| Haven                |          |        7 |        7 |          |
| Alert Tokens         |          |          |       70 |       36 |
| Complete             |          |          |          |       18 |
| Higgins field        |          |          |          |        1 |
| Corvette card        |          |          |          |        1 |

It is not an official source but it corresponds well to those unboxing videos I've seen.[2][3][4]

The numbers for the Kalidasa expansion was counted during unboxing performed by post author.

So the answers to my original questions would be

Yes.
See table.
See table.

References

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/18195471#18195471, read 2015-02-18 20:00.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHS373VHmNk&t=0m48s, viewed 2015-02-18 20:02.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r95D01XO14&t=2m22s, viewed 2015-02-18 20:02.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BNFi0W6w0s&t=1m15s, viewed 2015-02-18 20:02.


Are treasure cards spent by Storyteller still in play?

No, treasure cards stay in play. You may view the process as follows:

During your action phase, you play any action cards (or treasure cards, as well with the help of the Black Market) that generate Coins.
You play the Storyteller; you gain +1 Action and +$1.
You may play now up to 3 treasure cards from your hand.
Any total money that you have generated and have available so far (as you might have spent some with the Black Market), is lost; you draw that many cards.
Any subsequent money you generate is not lost and may be spent in the Buy Phase.

While the Storyteller card explicitly mentions that you have to "pay all your coins", it does not mention anything about any card leaving play. A card only leaves play during the Clean-Up phase (base game rulebook) or when a card effect explicitly says so (e.g., the Mint from the Prosperity expansion, or the Duration cards).

Furthermore, the Adventures rulebook (p.15) makes it crystal clear that "spent" treasure cards stay in play:

  You can track that the Treasures have been "spent" by putting them under the Storyteller.

However, if for some reason you have $5 and two buys, it is perfectly legal to buy a Mint for $5, trash all your treasure cards in play because the Mint says so, and then buy the Alms event, gaining a card costing up to $4. But not with the Storyteller.


What is a proper bidding sequence after a "weak 2" bid?

I'm not at all sure what the prevailing agreement is by rubber players, but the Standard American Yellow Card is marked "RONF" (raise-only non-forcing), which I suggest you and your partner adopt. The SAYC booklet has this to say:

“RONF” on the card means “Raise Only Non-Force.” A new-suit response is
forcing one round and shows at least a five-card suit. Opener should raise a major
suit response with a three-card fit, or perhaps with a doubleton honor.

With no fit for responder’s suit, opener rebids:
 With a minimum weak two-bid (5–8 points), rebid the suit at the lowest level.
 With a maximum weak two-bid, name a new suit or bid notrump.

The reason for playing RONF is that it is very rare that you can profitably improve partner's preempt to a new suit when you hold a weak hand and a void in partner's suit (which is one situation in which many beginners try to bid 2H over 2D). On the other hand, it is not so uncommon to have the potential for a game across from partner's preempt with a hand that has its own suit (as your partner had here). What's more, the gain from finding those games is much higher than any loss that may be prevented by improving a partscore with a nonforcing bid.

In fact, your hand is not weakish. Your suit is not so good but you have an outside ace. I would put in 2NT with your hand. Now you should discuss further bids with partner, but I would suggest that responder's next bid should be taken as a concentration trying to determine whether 3NT is the correct contract (unless opener rebids the suit), so I think a reasonable auction is:

2D   2H
2NT  3C
3D   3H
4H   5D (1)

(1) Partner may also consider passing given that you've shown a heart doubleton and denied a spade card; they can see two spade losers are likely but a club loser is not (would you have bid 2NT without a spade stopper and without the club ace?), but that a diamond loser is also possible. If hearts are 3-3 (36%), you'll (usually) take the same number of tricks in hearts and diamonds, meaning you can make 4H when 5D goes down. When hearts are 4-2 (48%), you'll likely make one fewer trick in hearts than diamonds (making 4H when 5D makes). It's only when hearts are 5-1 or worse (16%) that hearts is likely to be a a worse contract than diamonds.


Can an interrupting settlement allow opponents to move previously unmovable ships?

No, you may not move it, your ship is not open. From the official site.

  A ship is “open” when it is located at the end of a ship route. As soon as a ship route connects two settlements, the ship route is considered as closed. A ship in a closed ship route can not be moved. This rule also applies if another player builds a settlement on the intersection of your closed ship route. In this case, the continuous road is considered as interrupted in terms of being counted towards the Longest Road; however, the two settlements of the ship route are still connected, meaning that the ship route remains closed.


How does this interaction between Rustmouth Ogre and Padeem, Consul of Innovation resolve?

In this situation, Rustmouth Ogre's ability can target and destroy the Ornithopter.
First of all, triggered abilities trigger immediately when their trigger event occurs, but don't get put on the stack until the next time a player would gain priority. The rules that describe this are in the triggered abilities section of the rules:

603.2. Whenever a game event or game state matches a triggered ability’s trigger event, that ability automatically triggers. The ability doesn’t do anything at this point.

603.3. Once an ability has triggered, its controller puts it on the stack as an object that’s not a card the next time a player would receive priority. [...]

603.3d The remainder of the process for putting a triggered ability on the stack is identical to the process for casting a spell listed in rules 601.2c–d. [...]

601.2c The player announces his or her choice of an appropriate player, object, or zone for each target the spell requires. [...]

As you can see, even though the ability triggers immediately, its targets aren't chosen until the ability is put on the stack. This is important because the State-based actions rules include this rule:

704.3. Whenever a player would get priority (see rule 116, “Timing and Priority”), the game checks for any of the listed conditions for state-based actions, then performs all applicable state-based actions simultaneously as a single event. If any state-based actions are performed as a result of a check, the check is repeated; otherwise all triggered abilities that are waiting to be put on the stack are put on the stack, then the check is repeated. Once no more state-based actions have been performed as the result of a check and no triggered abilities are waiting to be put on the stack, the appropriate player gets priority. This process also occurs during the cleanup step (see rule 514), except that if no state-based actions are performed as the result of the step’s first check and no triggered abilities are waiting to be put on the stack, then no player gets priority and the step ends.

In short, the highlighted section of that rule means that triggered abilities are put on the stack after state-based actions have been completely evaluated. The state-based action that is relevant to this question is

704.5g If a creature has toughness greater than 0, and the total damage marked on it is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed. Regeneration can replace this event.

So, in the situation described, the sequence of events plays out like this:

Combat damage is dealt. Rustmouth Ogre's ability triggers.
State-based actions are checked. Padeem dies.
Rustmouth Ogre's triggered ability is put on the stack. Its targets are chosen at this time, and Ornithopter is a legal target because Padeem is no longer on the battlefield.
Aaron gets priority for the first time after combat damage.
After Aaron and Nick both pass priority, Rustmouth Ogre's ability resolves and the Ornithopter is destroyed.


In a two-player game, is it allowed to choose the flag symbol to bid 0 during war?

Michael Coe, the designer of Tiny Epic Kingdoms, responded to this question and said that it was allowed:

  Yes, a flag is a zero in 2 player games. If both choose zero, it's a tie and regular rules apply (tie goes to defender).

As Benjamin Cosman pointed out in his answer, a player may be forced to choose the flag if they have no resources available, so it would be very problematic for the flag to be disallowed in a two-player game.


How does Jester interact with the Knights?

The Golden Rule of Dominion is "do as much as you can".

If no copies of a card exist (e.g. because they've all been trashed) then no card is given out by a Jester.

Since Knights are unique cards, no-one gains anything when a Jester reveals one.


What happens if a slapped player plays a card before playing a Slap

Double Slap reads:

  End your turn and make a player take any other turn you have plus two more.

When you play a Slap card, your turn ends and all your remaining turns are transferred to the slapped player. That means the second player illegally played Skip when it wasn't their turn in your example.

What should have happened:

Alice plays a Double Slap targeting Bob. Play transfers to Bob, which must play 2 turns (as per the text on the card).
Bob plays a card (thus taking a turn instead of responding to the Slap with a Nope or another Slap).
Bob plays a Double Slap targeting Chuck. Play transfers to Chuck, which must play Bob's remaining turn plus two more, for a total of 3 (as per the text on the card).
Chuck responds with a Double Slap targeting Darlene. Just like playing Nope, this is played out of turn. Play transfers to Darlene, which must play the 3 turns Chuck would have had to play plus two more, for a total of 5 (as per the example in the rules).


Who has the winning hand in this Texas-holdem scenario?

Yes, it is a split pot. Both players have AAKK8. You always make your best 5 card hand from the cards available. From Wikipedia:

  A hand always consists of five cards. In games where more than five cards are available to each player, the best five-card combination of those cards must be played. Any cards not included in the hand do not affect its ranking. For example, if player A holds 3♠ Q♦ and player B holds 3♣ A♣, and five cards 4♣ 5♦ 6♦ 7♠ 10♥ are available to both players, the players hold equally ranking 3-4-5-6-7 straights despite the fact that the player B's ace ranks higher than the player A's queen.


Online Scrabble-like game with play-ahead feature?

If you play on any Play-by-email site, such as http://www.gamerz.net/pbmserv/scramble.html, then you could tell your email client to automatically respond to their move with your preplanned move. If your new move is invalid, it would just get bounced.


Can Alolan Pokémon evolve to non-Alolan or vice versa?

Alolan and non-Alolan forms are not interchangeable because they have different "names"

The 2017 Pokemon Trading Card Game Rules in the section What does and doesn't count for a Pokémon's name? makes it clear that the Alolan and non-Alolan versions are not the same Pokémon.

  An owner or form name in a Pokémon’s name is part of the Pokémon’s name:

  Meowth, Alolan Meowth, and Rocket’s Meowth have different names

There are other rules for what counts as the same or a different name, but for our purposes, "Alolan X" is not the same name as "X".

The "evolves from" name must exactly match the name of the pre-evolutionary Pokémon

From the same section:

  When evolving, the “evolves from” Pokémon name must match the Pokémon being evolved. So Graveler can evolve from Geodude, or
  Geodude LV. 12, but not Brock’s Geodude.

The "evolves from" Pokémon is referring to the Pokémon in the upper left corner of an evolutionary Pokémon.

Alolan Pokémon follow these same rules

Consider Alolan Persian:

Alolan Persian's card says in the upper left corner "Evolves from Alolan Meowth". Since "Meowth" is treated as a different name, you cannot evolve a Meowth into an Alolan Persian. This is reiterated in Appendix K of the rules:

  Note that “Alolan” is part of the Pokémon’s name—this means that Alolan Persian can only evolve from Alolan Meowth, not from Meowth. Also, you can have up to 4 Persian and up to 4 Alolan Persian in your deck if you wish.

There are some circumstances where a non-Alolan Pokémon can evolve into an Alolan Pokémon, such as Alolan Raichu.

In this case, the upper left corner of the card explicitly says "Evolves from Pikachu", thus a regular Pikachu will work (but not something like Surfing Pikachu, as fitting as that might be).

In your particular case, Ninetales' card says that it evolves from "Vulpix". Since "Alolan Vulpix" is considered to be a different name, it cannot evolve into Ninetales. Similarly, an Alolan Ninetales' card would say that it evolves from "Alolan Vulpix", so "Vulpix" cannot evolve into it.


When Oko turns food into an Elk, is the creature still food?

No, it stops being a food token and loses its self-sacrifice ability. You can't sacrifice it to its own ability any more, or use it for other abilities referring to food tokens.

We can expect a change to 205.3g that includes "food" as an artifact subtype:

  205.3g Artifacts have their own unique set of subtypes; these subtypes are called artifact types. The artifact types are Clue, Contraption, Equipment (see rule 301.5), Fortification (see rule 301.6), Treasure, and Vehicle (see rule 301.7).

When an effect calls to do something with treasure tokens, it refers to an artifact permanent with the treasure subtype. Expect the same for food tokens:

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

When you create a Food token, it's a token with type "artifact", subtype "food", and name "food".

  110.5c A spell or ability that creates a token sets both its name and its subtype. If the spell or ability doesn’t specify the name of the token, its name is the same as its subtype(s). A “Goblin Scout creature token,” for example, is named “Goblin Scout” and has the creature subtypes Goblin and Scout. Once a token is on the battlefield, changing its name doesn’t change its subtype, and vice versa.

Oko's +1 ability changes, among others, an artifact's type and subtype. Only the name remains unchanged. A food token affected by its ability becomes a green 3/3 creature token without abilities, with the name "Food", and with the only subtype "Elk". It loses the "Artifact" type, the "Food" subtype, and its self-sacrifice ability.

The Food token loses its "Food" subtype for two reasons. One, because Oko's ability directly overwrites the subtype without retaining the old value:

  205.1b Some effects change an object’s card type, supertype, or subtype but specify that the object retains a prior card type, supertype, or subtype. In such cases, all the object’s prior card types, supertypes, and subtypes are retained. This rule applies to effects that use the phrase “in addition to its types” or that state that something is “still a [type, supertype, or subtype].” Some effects state that an object becomes an “artifact creature”; these effects also allow the object to retain all of its prior card types and subtypes.

And two, since the token loses the Artifact type, it also automatically loses its specific subtypes:

  205.1a Some effects set an object’s card type. In such cases, the new card type(s) replaces any existing card types. Counters, effects, and damage marked on the object remain with it, even if they are meaningless to the new card type. Similarly, when an effect sets one or more of an object’s subtypes, the new subtype(s) replaces any existing subtypes from the appropriate set (creature types, land types, artifact types, enchantment types, planeswalker types, or spell types). If an object’s card type is removed, the subtypes correlated with that card type will remain if they are also the subtypes of a card type the object currently has; otherwise, they are also removed for the entire time the object’s card type is removed. Removing an object’s subtype doesn’t affect its card types at all.

Whenever an ability or effect refers to an object by name, it will always explicitely say so ("card/object named", or "card(s) with the same name" and so on). Otherwise, it will always refer to the appropriate category of characteristic, such as color, type, or subtype. Therefore, if something refers to a "Food" token, it looks for the subtype "Food", which an artifact affected by Oko's +1 no longer has.


Help me identify this card game with secret, changing rules

Sounds a lot like Mao (which I was introduced to as Chairmen).

It's a card-shedding game (i.e. like Uno) with secret rules that can vary by playing group. As the game goes on, more rules are added but not directly explained. The game typically goes on until everyone gives up.

EDIT:
Some sample starting rules might include these ones that are fairly common when I've played it:

Ace skips the next player's turn
Jack reverses the play order
8 allows anyone to play a card of the same suit immediately. Play continues from that person onwards.
Spades must be named out loud
7 must be followed by saying "That's the badger" (after saying "7 of spades" if appropriate)
Kings and Queens must be saluted
You must say "last card" when you have one card remaining
You must say "Mao" when you go out ("Taking the Chairman's name in vain" at any other time faces a hefty three-card penalty)


I don't think it's that the joseki move is forcing, it's more that the joseki move is better.  5 here is pretty sad for White.  For 4 to be joseki, you would need a response to this move that turns out better than the accepted sequence for White.

$$ ----------
$$ ..........|
$$ ..........|
$$ ..3.2.....|
$$ ..54..1...|
$$ ..........|


Why are there so many easily avoidable game changing translation errors in Dominion?

Sorry that this is not strictly an answer to the question, but it is too long to be a comment and it does give some information about where to find more.

From the late 1990s to the mid 2010s I was a frequent participant in the Spielbox discussion forum. During that time we had a couple of threads about that topic. This is a link to the oldest one from the archive (the site has since then moved to a new URL, but old threads are archived): Eurogames-Spiele nicht mehr kaufen.
Unfortunately the search engine will ignore "dominion" because of too many hits :-(
If you search for "Übersetzung" and restrict it to "Nur im ersten Beitrag der Themen", you will get 207 hits in the Archiv of Spieleforum. Several of them are specific to issues in one particular game, but often some people with insight (working for the publisher or translators) gave answers.

What I do remember from those discussions was different publishers have different approaches - some hire professional translators (sometimes translators with little or no ties to gaming, which is considered a big problem in the gaming comunity, because they lack the knowledge of particular or usual gaming terminology), sometimes games are translated by gamers with good English knowledge.

On a few occasions some of the latter stated something like:

  I just got a pdf of the original language rules and had one(!) week to translate it. I didn't even get a copy of the game so that I could have played it at least once as I would have preferred. I know that the translation is not good, but it is the best that was possible under these circumstances

So if there is a short answer to your question, it is quite trivial: time pressure.


What is the name of the following chess opening? What are its pros and cons?

Moving your bishop like that is called a fianchetto.  There are a lot of openings which fianchetto the king's bishop; what you are describing sounds somewhat like the King's Indian for white.

The advantage of fianchetto-ing your bishop is that it very quickly puts the bishop on the long diagonal, its most powerful position.  However, it takes two moves, and weakens your kingside (specifically the f3 and h3 squares), giving your opponent potential areas to attack.  For example, a common plan for black in many openings (if his pawn structure allows it) is to force the trade of bishops by Bd7, Qc8, and Bh3.  Once the bishops are traded, your king would be very vulnerable to attack.

Traditionally (beginning with Steinitz), it was taught that one of the goals of the opening phase was to control the center by occupying it with pawns.  However, Nimzovich introduced hypermodernism, which states that the center should be controlled from a distance by pieces, not occupied by pawns.  Neither view is more correct than the other - even today, both have very strong Grandmaster supporters, and accepted opening theory draws from both sides.  I mention this because yours is a hypermodern opening.


How should I group rare Magic cards when selling them online?

Primarily, you need to judge how much your time is worth. In the general case, you can get more money per card by selling them as singles, or as small groups (such as playsets of 4). However, that will take a lot of time, especially for a large collection. Dumping your whole collection at your LGS for a bulk price is extremely quick and easy, but you're not going to get anywhere near as much money as selling each card individually online... but making all of those online sales will take a long time and require a lot of effort. (Shipping costs should also be considered.)

Rares and old desirable cards are more liquid, meaning it's easy to find someone willing to buy them, which means less time and effort spent selling them. Foils may or may not be liquid, depending on the cards in question.

I do not recommend trying to sell loose old packs over the internet. In the very oldest sets, it is possible to determine the exact contents of the pack before opening it, meaning the savvy buyers will refuse to purchase any packaged old cards unless they're in a factory-sealed box/case. (The assumption being that the seller has determined the pack contains nothing of worth already.)

Even in the sets new enough where that isn't possible, box mapping has been a thing for years, so a seller could pull out all of the worthwhile packs from a box before selling the rest; Wizards has made efforts to counteract this over the years, but they have only really been effective in the most recent sets (roughly Avacyn and onwards -- mapping is still possible, but it is no longer financially beneficial). The possibility of repacks also makes online buyers wary of purchasing loose packs from older sets.


Does Strionic Resonator cause Medomai, the Ageless to let me take 3 turns upon hitting someone?

Yes, extra turns can stack in this way.

500.7. Some effects can give a player extra turns. They do this by adding the turns directly after the specified turn. If a player is given multiple extra turns, the extra turns are added one at a time. If multiple players are given extra turns, the extra turns are added one at a time, in APNAP order (see rule 101.4). The most recently created turn will be taken first.


How does Ixalan drafting work with its double faced cards?

This FAQ has all the answers. Tl;dr: For the majority of tournaments, you reveal all double-faced cards as they are opened. And, since picks are put in a pile in front of you, any opponent can see when you pick a double-faced card. For further details (including e.g. what happens if you don't want to pick a card until you know if your opponent is choosing a double-faced card or not), see the FAQ.

There is also a way to draft completely normally using double-faced cards: tournament officials can open the packs beforehand and sleeve everything in opaque sleeves. However, while Wizards of the Coast does do this at some high-level tournaments, they suggest that your friendly local game store does not use this method so that the store and the judges can't get accused of stealing valuable cards from the packs they'd pre-open.


Is a creature considered to have died if it has negative toughness?

Festering Mummy's triggered ability will trigger.

"To die" is synonymous with "to move from the battlefield to the graveyard" (for any reason). This includes when State-Based Actions move a creature to the graveyard for having negative toughness.


To answer the first half of the question:

Which of the three road pieces would be considered valid placements for the meeple?

(cited from the Complete Annotated Rules ver 7.4 pages 142-143 available here)
Alternatively, the player may place a follower as a flier on a flying machine symbol to get the follower in the game.[378][379]  The flying machine symbol has an arrow showing the direction (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) in which the follower will fly.  Now the player rolls the die.  The die result is the distance that the follower will fly (1 to 3 tiles in a straight line).
If possible, the follower must be placed on the resulting landscape tile representing the end of the flight.  The active player can choose which feature to place the follower on.  However, the following rules must be followed:

The follower must only be deployed to an unfinished[380] structure (road, city, or cloister). [381][382][383][384]

The follower may be placed on a feature that is unoccupied[385] or already occupied (either by one's own follower or an opposing follower).

The follower may not be placed on a field segment, even if there is not a farmer on the field already.

The follower may not be placed in a location where no landscape tile is located.

Further:

(cited from the Complete Annotated Rules ver 7.4 page 136)
The ferry connects the ends of the road to form a continuous road.  A road segment without a ferry on a lake is closed at this end.

According to your picture, at the time the road from the lake to the city is considered to be complete at the time and as such the flier could not be placed there.  The remaining two segments which each have the ferry attached are legal locations to put the flier.
(It is worth mentioning that if the die roll had instead been a 1 or a 2, that there would be no legal placement and the follower returned to your supply.  As it is pictured, I would have instead simply occupied the road instead of using the flying machine or I would have tried placing the flying machine somewhere else.)

Can the yellow player move the ferry?

(cited from the Complete Annotated Rules ver 7.4 page 137)
If a player places his landscape tile and extends a road that includes a ferry,[364] the player may move the ferry, but he or she is not required to do so.  The ferry must always connect 2 road ends.  The player may move the ferry such that it no longer connects to the road that has just been extended.  If there are two ferries on the road that was just extended, the player may only move the first ferry in the road - the ferry that is closest to the tile that was just placed.[365]

It continues to read:

The sequence of actions relating to lakes and ferries:

Place (lake) tile

Place follower

Place ferry (if new lake tile placed)[366]

Move ferries on other lakes (if placed tile extends a ferry road)[367]

Score features (if needed)

[364] The road must include a wooden ferry to allow movement of that ferry in this situation.  Thus if adding onto a road that ends at a lake without the wooden ferry connect, the ferry cannot be moved.
[366] The RGG version of the rules incorrectly adds "if he placed a follower on the road" here, even though there is no such stipulation in the body of the rules.
[367] The RGG version of the rules incorrectly adds the requirement "if he placed a follower on the road" here, even though there is no such stipulation in the body of the rules.

It is my understanding then that the only reason why you will ever move a ferrry is because of the road connected to the ferry extending through the addition of a landscape tile that connects to the road.  As the tile placed in the turn in question did not in fact extend the road connected to the lake, the ferry may not be moved.  Nowhere does it mention that having placed a follower on the road (but not extending the road) will allow the ferry to be moved.


Will any route (built without a destination ticket) be counted as points?

You score points for EVERY route you claim, based on its length (length 1 is 1 point; length 2 is 2, 3 is 4, 4 is 7, etc), at the time that you claim it. Destination cards are awarded (or penalized) at the end of the game.


How many units can a new factory produce?

According to the Wikipedia article Comparison of Axis & Allies games, some versions of the game had that restriction and some didn't have it.

  The number of units that may be deployed in territories with Industrial Complexes per turn varied depending on the game: in Classic and Pacific, Industrial Complexes that were held by the player at the start of the game (including those that were lost and subsequently recaptured) allowed an unlimited number of units to be deployed, while captured or built ones were able to deploy units equal in number to the value of the territory (to a minimum of 1 in Classic). Revised simplified the rule to all Industrial Complexes' production being limited to the value of the territory.

Checking a few different versions of the rules I was unable to find any that removed the IPC rule completely, however they did move around where they list the restriction. Some versions have it right under the Mobilize New Units heading, and some have the restriction under the subheading Restrictions on Placement.

Regarding your specific version, I was unable to find that version of the rules. However I did find the 1986 version which also has the 4423-X1 serial/catalog number. It states on page 21, under Section 7 Place New Units On Gameboard:

  Other considerations:
  The production capacity of industrial complexes: Original complexes (ones you started the game with) give you unlimited capacity - you can place any number of newly purchased items in a territory with such a complex; new complexes (one you purchased and placed or captured) give you limited capacity per turn - the number of unites you can place is equal to the income value of the territory the complex is in.


Do artifacts count as creatures when they are put into a graveyard while March of the Machines is in play?

TL;DR: Yes, it triggers. Sunbeam Spellbomb stops being a creature once it's in the graveyard, but for the 'leaves the battlefield' it's important how it looks like on the battlefield, not the graveyard.

Salvaging Station's last ability is a so-called 'leaves the battlefield' ability, even though it's printed more like an 'enter the graveyard' ability. However, the current Oracle text of that ability reads:

  Whenever a creature dies, you may untap Salvaging Station.

'Dies' is short for something else:

  700.4. The term dies means “is put into a graveyard from the battlefield.”

Therefore, it's a 'leaves the battlefield' ability:

  603.6c Leaves-the-battlefield abilities trigger when a permanent moves from the battlefield to another zone, or when a phased-in permanent leaves the game because its owner leaves the game. These are written as, but aren’t limited to, “When [this object] leaves the battlefield, . . .” or “Whenever [something] is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, . . . .” (See also rule 603.10.)

Let's have a look at 603.10:

  603.10. Normally, objects that exist immediately after an event are checked to see if the event matched any trigger conditions, and continuous effects that exist at that time are used to determine what the trigger conditions are and what the objects involved in the event look like. However, some triggered abilities are exceptions to this rule; the game “looks back in time” to determine if those abilities trigger, using the existence of those abilities and the appearance of objects immediately prior to the event. The list of exceptions is as follows:

(emphasis mine)

  603.10a Some zone-change triggers look back in time. These are leaves-the-battlefield abilities, abilities that trigger when a card leaves a graveyard, and abilities that trigger when an object that all players can see is put into a hand or library.

The appearance of the Sunbeam Spellbomb on the battlefield was an artifact creature, so Salvaging Station's ability will trigger.


In Settlers of Catan: Explorers and Pirates, who gets the gold when the pirate is paid?

From the Explorers and Pirates rules under the Paying Tribute to the Pirate section (page 11):

  The tribute costs 1 gold, and you pay it to the supply.

From earlier in the rules, in the Preparation section (page 6):

  Place the resource cards and dice from the base Catan game beside the game board to form a supply area.

So it is paid to the supply, which is commonly referred to as the bank.


Is there an extensive source where one can look up artworks of Magic: The Gathering expansions?

Wizards releases some of the card arts in larger size in their wallpaper gallery, however I didn't see any Coldsnap art in there.

Other than that I would suggest seeing if the artist for the card you are looking for has their own website, since the artists do retain some right to their artwork. For example John Avon and Steve Arglye are both artists for Magic that have some of the artwork they've done at higher resolutions.


Is mandatory to play at least one skill card in skill checks?

The base rules, page 17, has an "Example of a Skill Check" (emphasis added):

  The player to the current player’s left plays two Skill Cards into the pile. The next player decides not to play any cards, and finally, the current player plays a single card.

I don't think they would have included this if a person had to play a skill card.


Smallworld: scoring points during decline of second race

You are correct, when you choose to decline your current race, the previous markers of the previous race in decline are immediately removed and not scored (Unless of course the previous race in decline has the Spirit special power.)

See Entering in Decline on page 6 of the rulebook. Emphasis mine.

  Each player can only have a single race In Decline on the map
  at any given time. If the player still has tokens from an earlier
  In Decline race left on the map, those are all immediately
  removed from the map and placed back in the storage tray,
  before flipping the new tokens into Decline.

  The Race banner of the now vanished race is placed at the
  bottom of the stack of Race banners, or in the lowest empty
  slot in the banner column, if any. The same is also done when
  the last token of a race In Decline is wiped off the map as the
  result of their last Region being conquered.

  The player can make no conquests during the turn his race
  goes into decline; his turn ends immediately after scoring! He
  gains 1 Victory coin for each Region his newly In Decline tokens
  occupy, but unless stated otherwise, he scores no Victory coins
  from his now In Decline Race banner power or discarded Special
  Power benefits.


What are the differences between Small World and SW Underground?

There's a great "first look" at Small World Underground here.  This section in particular caught my eye:

  After you choose a map, do not use powers that depend on features
  that are not present.
  The following features are considered equivalent concerning their
  interaction with powers:
  -- Black Mountains / Mountains
  -- Mudpools / Marshes
  -- Mushroom Forests / Forests
  -- Mines / Mine symbols
  -- Mystic Crystals / Magic Symbols
  -- Rivers / Seas & Lake

  I would add that some of the special powers in SWU duplicate racial
  powers in SW, or vice versa. If they happened to get combined
  (Immortal Elves, for example), I would simply put them back in the bag
  and draw again. [Edit: Many such combos are OK, since they enhance
  each other -- e.g. Commando Ogres, Vampire Sorcerers -- just like
  Pillaging Orcs in SW.]

From the sound of it, there has been some effort to "integrate" the two different games so that they are not basically incompatible (i.e. making sure there are analogous terrain types), but this only goes so far.  Some races may not work, and some races may get special powers that duplicate their racial powers.  So it could prove a bit annoying making them work together, if you like things to be really neat and tidy...


Your opponent would still gain control of Humble Defector.

I assume that by "after it is activated", you mean before the ability has resolved. After you activate Humble Defector's ability the second time, then there will be two instances of its ability on the stack, both targeting an opponent of yours.

When the second activation resolves, you draw two cards and you give control of the card to the previously chosen opponent.

Then, the first activation resolves. Even though your opponent has control of Humble Defector, you still control the ability that's resolving, so you draw two more cards you give control of the card to the previously chosen opponent (if it's a different opponent than the one that currently controls it).

Even if the effect were written along the lines of "Opponent of your choice gains control of Humble Defector", it would still end up under the control of an opponent since you control both abilities.


Do cards like Giant Growth create a one-shot or continuous effect?

Not quite correct. It is just a simple continuous effect.

  611.1. A continuous effect modifies characteristics of objects, modifies control of objects, or affects
  players or the rules of the game, for a fixed or indefinite period.

  611.2. A continuous effect may be generated by the resolution of a spell or ability.

So Giant Grown resolving generates a continuous effect. No one-shot effect happens:

  610.1. A one-shot effect does something just once and doesn’t have a duration. Examples include dealing damage, destruction a permanent, putting a token onto the battlefield, and moving an object from one zone to another.

"Getting +3/+3" is a continuous effect, not something that just happens at one moment in time. This can also be seen in the examples listed under the Continuous Effects section of the rules:

  611.2c ... Example: An effect that reads "All white creatures get +1/+1 until end of turn"...


What defines "Isolation" in Third Reich?

My rulebook index has "Isolation (out of supply units)" and a reference to the rule that units that both started and finished the turn unsupplied are eliminated.

So I would think
isolated is a shorter way of saying out of supply.


Who draws a card if my opponent has stolen control of Pelakka Wurm when it dies?

Your opponent would draw the card. When an ability triggers, what matters is who controlled the object with the ability (in this case the Pelakka Wurm) when it triggered. With "dies" triggers, what matters is who controlled it just before it died.

112.8. The controller of an activated ability on the stack is the player who activated it. The controller of a triggered ability on the stack (other than a delayed triggered ability) is the player who controlled the ability's source when it triggered, or, if it had no controller, the player who owned the ability's source when it triggered. To determine the controller of a delayed triggered ability, see rules 603.7d–f.
603.6d Normally, objects that exist immediately after an event are checked to see if the event matched any trigger conditions. Continuous effects that exist at that time are used to determine what the trigger conditions are and what the objects involved in the event look like. However, some triggered abilities must be treated specially. Leaves-the-battlefield abilities, abilities that trigger when a permanent phases out, abilities that trigger when an object that all players can see is put into a hand or library, abilities that trigger specifically when an object becomes unattached, abilities that trigger when a player loses control of an object, and abilities that trigger when a player planeswalks away from a plane will trigger based on their existence, and the appearance of objects, prior to the event rather than afterward. The game has to “look back in time” to determine if these abilities trigger.


Does Catan expansion edition have to match base game edition?

When the 5th edition of Catan came out, I remember reading an official source (Catan FAQ) explaining that it would be completely backwards compatible. The only source I can find right now is this one:

  The 5th edition will also be fully backwards compatible to the previous 4th edition and will feature a more cohesive art style throughout all 4th and 5th edition expansions.

It looks a bit odd though, using different editions. So at that time I decided to buy all the old sets while they were still available. It's functionally possible to combine different editions into 1 game, but not aesthetically correct :)


Damage redirection in Warhammer Invasion

The order should proceed like this:

All damage is assigned (leave the damage tokens near the unit to be damaged)  Note: a target may be over assigned damage at the player's discretion but this is not required except in the case of damage cancellation even when you know the unit will survive due to other protective effects
Certain effects trigger and are resolved including redirecting damage.  In this case, the Priests are able to redirect one damage point, preferably to a unit with toughness
Damage is moved onto the card, destroying any cards that still have damage equal to its hit points.

Source - FAQ and Rules on Fantasy Flight's website


Can enchantments (briefly) go on protected creatures?

The player must choose a legal object or player according to the Aura’s enchant ability and any other applicable effects.

Now, what is a legal object? That isn't explicitly defined, and neither is illegal object:

  303.4c If an Aura is enchanting an illegal object or player as defined by its enchant ability and other applicable effects, the object it was attached to no longer exists, or the player it was attached to has left the game, the Aura is put into its owner’s graveyard. (This is a state-based action. See rule 704.)

However, the same word legally is used in

  702.16n Some Auras both give the enchanted creature protection and say “this effect doesn’t remove” either that specific Aura or all Auras. This means that the specified Auras can legally enchant that creature and aren’t put into their owners’ graveyards as a state-based action. If the creature has other instances of protection from the same quality, those instances affect Auras as normal.

which would lead me to conclude that a creature with protection from blue is an illegal target destination for a flickered Reality Acid.


In Pegs and Jokers, is it legal to split a seven card between my peg and my partner's peg?

I think it depends on the variant that you're playing. This site lists the rules that come into play here. First, the basic rules:

  In the basic game, except in special circumstances described below, you may only move your own pegs.
  ...
  When playing a 7, you may either move one of your pegs forward 7 holes, or split the 7 between two of your pegs, moving them 1 and 6, 2 and 5 or 3 and 4 holes forwards. Of course the split move can only be made if you have at least two pegs in play.
  ...
  When, and only when, all five of your pegs are in the home (safe) position, occupying the five holes of your home track, you use your turn to move the pegs of your left-hand partner, if that player still has playable pegs. If left partner's pegs are also all home, you move the pegs of the next partner around the table who still has playable pegs.

As I read this, the ability to move your partner's pegs depends on the state of the game at the start of your turn. Player A still has pegs out, so he would not be able to split the 7 with his partner's peg; he only has one peg out, so he could not split the 7.

If you're using Arizona Rules, then it would be allowed:

  Throughout the game, you may move any of the pegs belonging to your team (so for example any of 20 pegs in the 8-player game with 4 on each team). Therefore you may discard without moving only if you are unable to play a card (other than a joker) that moves any of your team's pegs.

and this situation is explicitly mentioned in the North Carolina Rules:

  As in the basic game, you can only move your own pegs until your last peg is home. After that you move the pegs of the partner nearest to your left. You can use a split move to take your last peg home and move your left hand partner's peg with the remainder.

Because it's explicitly mentioned in the last variant, I do not think it is permitted in basic play.


How can I compete against the unit armies tactic in Risk?

Convince the other players of the power of his tactics and the need to 'break his continent' before he 'runs away with the game'.  Lead the coalition against his evil ways.  Use this coalition to mask your own strategy, as you set yourself up to emerge most powerful from the ashes.

Risk is all about controlling the perceptions of the rest of the table.


What happens when I successfully attack a player's home stronghold?

The token, representing the garrison of the stronghold, is removed once it has been taken by an enemy player.

If the original owner of that territory retakes it, the token is not replaced.

Relevant quote from the rule book, page 26

  If a Garrison is defeated in combat (whether defending by itself or
  with other friendly units), it is permanently removed from the game,
  regardless of the number of Sword or Fortification icons on House
  cards played in the combat.


Is there a consensus on if blocking king and pawns together so opponent cannot move in Tablut (Hnefatafl) is stalemate, or a win?

This set of rules for Saami Tablut ("Historical Hnefatafl") includes an explicit handling of that case:

7b. If the attackers surround the king and ALL remaining defenders, then they
win, as they have prevented the king from escaping.

And it's even broader in this set of rules, which captures the king if he cannot move (even if the king's side has other pawns that can move):

The king himself is captured if he is surrounded with enemy pieces or restricted
squares in all four cardinal points, so that he
cannot move in any direction.

(emphasis added)
The case is also present in the rulesets for other variants presented on this page.
In this summary of the history of the game, under the section of "correcting the errors" of Murray's mis-translation of the rules, they say that Helfrid included this additional rule (that agrees with your link to the PDF by Zorya):

If a defending piece is beside the king and the king is trapped, the companion is taken rather than the king.


Sell and Buy houses from bank in the same round?

From the current rules at Hasbro, under the Selling Property section (emphasis mine):

  Houses and hotels may be sold back to the Bank at any time for one-half the price paid for them.

And then from the Houses section (emphasis mine again):

  When you own all the properties in a color-group you may buy houses from the Bank and erect them on those properties.  If you buy one house, you may put it on any one of those
  properties. The next house you buy must be erected on one of the unimproved properties of this or any other complete color-group you may own.

  The price you must pay the Bank for each house is shown on your Title Deed card for the property on which you erect the house. The owner still collects double rent from an opponent who lands on the unimproved properties of his/her complete color-group.

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

So I see no reason why you couldn't sell a house and buy it back again in the same round.  Just remember that you have to sell houses evenly as well.


Can I take a jack if I'm at the hand limit?

The "Hand limit" is a soft limit.

You can take a card when at or above the hand limit. Including a Jack.


Are there any cards that can help change that and make it to where they can attack the turn they are summoned?

Hardly. The thing is that Toon monsters have that restriction because most of them, if not all, can attack your Opponent directly.

This condition balances their power, preventing Toon players to abuse of such relatively powerful cards, by summoning them and make a direct attack right away just like that. That delay gives your Opponent at least one chance to counter them before you start blasting their LP directly.

But, like Yami Yugi would say: "Ha ha, not so fast! I activate my trap card:" Skill Drain.

This is an old trick of mine that I've included in several variants of many decks (for further reading, check Beast King Barbaros, that and Skill Drain are a killer combo, as you can normal summon without tribute a 3k Atk monster just like that lol). Skill Drain, as you probably know, is a powerful continuous trap card that basically negates the effects of all monsters on the field (yours also):

  Activate by paying 1000 Life Points. The effects of all face-up monsters on the field are negated while those monsters are face-up on the field (but their effects can still be activated).

You could be able to attack the turn you summon a Toon monster if Skill Drain is active before the summoning, that way the moment they are summoned their "cannot attack the turn it was summoned" effect won't go off, and you will be able to conduct an attack that turn.

Of course, as Skill Drain is up their effects of attacking directly are also negated, so you can only make a direct attack if your Opponent has no monsters. However, this would suffice to what you asked, and be able to successfully attack the turn you summon them.

Also, this could work with other cards that continuously negate effects, but only if that negation applies when they are summoned. In other words, if you summon a Toon and then negate its effects (say, with Breakthrough Skill) that Toon is still not able to attack that turn, as the card came into the field (thus it's condition activated) before the negation.


Is there a solution to this freecell game, shown below?

I downloaded an open source solver and attempted to solve this, but it was unable to using any of its different algorithms.
c:\Program Files\Freecell Solver 6.2.0\bin>fc-solve -t -m c:\files\fc.txt
I could not solve this game.
Total number of states checked is 133770.
This scan generated 133770 states.

c:\Program Files\Freecell Solver 6.2.0\bin>fc-solve -t -m -me dfs c:\files\fc.txt
I could not solve this game.
Total number of states checked is 133770.
This scan generated 133770 states.

c:\Program Files\Freecell Solver 6.2.0\bin>fc-solve -t -m -me bfs c:\files\fc.txt
I could not solve this game.
Total number of states checked is 133770.
This scan generated 133770 states.

c:\Program Files\Freecell Solver 6.2.0\bin>fc-solve -t -m -me patsolve c:\files\fc.txt
I could not solve this game.
Total number of states checked is 198952.
This scan generated 1 states.

c:\Program Files\Freecell Solver 6.2.0\bin>fc-solve -t -m -me soft-dfs c:\files\fc.txt
I could not solve this game.
Total number of states checked is 133770.
This scan generated 133770 states.

c:\Program Files\Freecell Solver 6.2.0\bin>fc-solve -t -m -me a-star c:\files\fc.txt
I could not solve this game.
Total number of states checked is 133770.
This scan generated 133770 states.

c:\Program Files\Freecell Solver 6.2.0\bin>fc-solve -t -m -me random-dfs c:\files\fc.txt
I could not solve this game.
Total number of states checked is 133770.
This scan generated 133770 states.


King of Tokyo: Dice resolution -> Yield -> Card buying?

This is what the rules have to say:

  If you are attacked while in Tokyo
  and you don’t want to be there
  anymore (and who can blame you
  – it can be rough!) you can yield
  to the Monster that attacked (he
  has to take your place). You still
  take the damage, however.

And close by:

  Warning: A Discard card that
  deals damage to you is not
  an attack

Does he think he can leave at any point in the turn after he is attacked?

The rule says "if you are attacked", not "if you were attacked". Everyone with whom I've played has understood the first paragraph I quoted to mean one can only choose to cede Tokyo as one is attacked. There is no chance to leave Tokyo at any point until the monster in Tokyo is attacked again.

Does he think taking damage from a card is an attack?

The second paragraph I quoted makes it clear it isn't.


40K: What are the disadvantages of playing Necrons?

Necrons are a fairly solid codex right now.  They don't have any glaring issues like some of the older codexes do.  They come with very impressive shooting and decent resilience.  I would say they are a top-tier army this edition, but they aren't all-powerful.

They are not the greatest army in melee.  They have units that can be good at melee(Overlords, Wraiths, C'Tan, several of the elite choices), but the core of the army(Warriors and Immortals) won't stand up very well in assault.  And those units that are good tend to be fairly expensive.  Lynchgaurd and Pretorions cost the same as TH/SS Terminators but are just not quite as good.  6th edition is shaping up to have an even bigger emphasis on troops than 5th, so it's probably not wise to overpay for average quality assault units.  Wraiths and Command Barge Overlords tend to be the exception.  These are assault units that will find their way into most competitive Necron armies.  Scarabs are a special case since they are really only effective against vehicles, but, boy, are they effective:)

While the Necrons at first glance seem very resilient, a competent opponent that knows your codex can compensate for that advantage.  High strength/low AP weaponry can make short work of Necron vehicles even with their Quantum Shielding.  Since Necron vehicles are opened top any penetrating AP1 hit will destroy you on a 3+.   Reanimation protocols can also be overcome if your opponent focuses fire effectively.  If a whole unit is knocked down, no one can get up.  Plus the inclusion of precision shots could allow opponents to knock out your res-orbs at an inopportune time.

Necorns also don't have as wide a range of allies open to them as some other codexes.  Though they need them to be competitive a lot less than some others.  And they can ally with Grey Knighs...'nough said about that.

I had mentioned how many Necron assault units where expensive.  That's a trend with many of the options in the codex.  While there are many units that are cheep and effective(Warriors, Nightscythes, Annihilation Barges) there are others that can end up costing too much.  The special characters are all very expensive.  The rest of the HQs are decently priced, but you should be weary of giving them too many upgrades.  You won't get a good return on investment if you give them more that 2-3 options. Most of the Elite choices are expensive for what they do.  The efficiency of the cheaper options won't always compensate for the more costly ones.  Necrons are typical of xenos armies with the amount of dead entries present in the Codex.


how to find that 8 number puzzle is solvable or not?

This article has an extensive discussion of the solution:

http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~mdr/teaching/modules04/java2/TilesSolvability.html

The summary for the 3x3 board is:

  Lay out the board as a 9x1 row (row 1, then row 2, then row 3).  Count the number of inversions (instances of a higher number coming before a lower number on this row).  The board is solvable if and only if the number of inversions is even.

For example,

8   1   3
2       5
7   6   4

Written as a row is:

8, 1, 3, 2, , 5, 7, 6, 4

The 8 gives 7 inversions, the 1 gives none, the 3 gives 1 inversion, the 2 gives none, the 5 gives 1, the 7 gives 2, and the 6 gives 1.  This example has a total of 12 inversions, which is even, so it is solvable.


Auction of mortgaged properties in Monopoly

You can offer any trades to any players; and there’s no specific rules about the format that these offers take. So you can make offers in such a way that it’s basically an auction. If someone says they are willing to pay $100 for your property, then you can always ask if anyone else is willing to pay more.
So yes, you could auction your properties in this way; but really it’s just a series of offering different trades and trying to get the best deal for them. And it’s possible no one will be willing to trade with you; in which case you are stuck with the properties.
From the rules:

SELLING PROPERTY... Unimproved properties, railroads and
utilities (but not buildings) may be sold to any player as a private transaction for any amount the owner can get; however, no property
can be sold to another player if buildings are standing on any
properties of that color-group.

Note that the player who received a mortgaged property in a trade/sale must immediately either pay the mortgage price + 10% to unmortgage it, or pay just the 10% and leave it mortgaged, which means they’ll have to pay the extra 10% again if they want to unmortgage it later.

The player who mortgages property retains possession of it and no other player may secure it by lifting the mortgage from the Bank.
However, the owner may sell this mortgaged property to another player at any agreed price. If you are the new owner, you may lift the mortgage at once if you wish by paying off the mortgage plus 10% interest to the Bank. If the mortgage is not lifted at once, you must pay the Bank 10% interest when you buy the property and if you lift the mortgage later you must pay the Bank an additional 10% interest as well as the amount of the mortgage.


As per the rules reference in the answer you linked (i'll change emphasis to make this clear) :

  707.6. If you control multiple face-down spells or face-down permanents, you must ensure at all times that your face-down spells and permanents can be easily differentiated from each other. This includes, but is not limited to, knowing the order spells were cast, the order that face-down permanents entered the battlefield, which creature attacked last turn, and any other differences between face-down spells or permanents. Common methods for distinguishing between face-down objects include using counters or dice to mark the different objects, or clearly placing those objects in order on the table.

If the opponent doesn't remember that the third face-down creature was the one revealed as the shapeshifter, that's not on you. However, you must be honest about a question such as "Which is the third face-down creature you cast this game?"

CR 707.6 also seems to make explicit that you must answer such questions as "which creature attacked last turn" or the order they entered the battlefield.

  But that can get a bit tricky, as I may move them around in the course of the game, perhaps rearranging for attacking and blocking or anything else.

If you're not using counters or dice to mark the face-down creatures, you must at least keep them always in the same order after combat manipulation, obviously, whether it's "tricky" or not to do so… in a tournament setting you could get in trouble if you don't.

I think, in the spirit of CR707.6, which says "this includes, but is not limited to…" if you're asked "which creature did you turn face down last turn?" – you should answer truthfully. I know this is basically the same as saying "which creature is the Shapeshifter?" but you made the information public.

I'm not sure how this situation is handled in a tournament, but once a creature has been turned face down, as your opponent I would immediately request some sort of die or counter be placed on it so I can keep track of which one is the Shapeshifter.


Who goes next after a double auction card with no auction?

From checking the rules in front of me the next player clockwise would be next auctioneer.

In the 'running and auction rules' it states :-

  When an auction ends, the player who made the highest bid pays the
  auctioneer the amount of the bid.  If the auctioneer made the highest
  bid the money is paid to the bank instead. If you win an auction, take
  the painting and place it face up in front of you. (...) The player to
  the left of the last auctioned now offers a painting card from his
  hand for sale.

In the double auction rules it states :-

  If it goes back around to you, with no player offering a second
  painting, then you get the double painting for free.

Whilst the word 'won' isn't in the rules that player did win the auction and paid nothing to the back and place it in front of them so the next player clockwise becomes auctioneer.

Also I think the idea that the player who played a double auction card had had nothing goes again is unlikely.  This kind of exception to a rule is likely to be explicitly clarified so it feels even more likely that play would just go clock wise as in all other parts the auction rounds.


Can I attempt to get rid of my Cursed condition on the same reckoning phase that a Warlock inflicts me?

Page 10 of the Rulebook:

  Resolve these effects in the following order: Monsters, Ancient One sheet, Ongoing Mythos cards, and lastly investigator possessions and Conditions.

Would suggest that you can, however, in the Reference Guide it states:

  If a Monster is spawned or an investigator gains a component while investigators are resolving reckoning effects, they do not resolve the reckoning effect on that Monster or component.

Since cards are components, you cannot get rid of it on this turn.


Aura Mutation vs. indestructible enchantments

The spell still resolves and gives you tokens; being indestructible means nothing more than

  702.12b A permanent with indestructible can’t be destroyed. Such permanents aren’t destroyed by lethal damage, and they ignore the state-based action that checks for lethal damage (see rule 704.5g).

(source: Comprehensive Rules)

This is different from being an illegal target because of protection from white, shroud or hexproof.


Can Feather bring back a spell with Jump-Start?

Yes, Feather's ability can return jump-started spells to your hand.

Feather's effect is a replacement effect. When an eligible spell would be put into your graveyard as part of its resolution, you may exile it instead and return it to your hand at the end of turn.

  614.1a Effects that use the word “instead” are replacement effects. Most replacement effects use the word “instead” to indicate what events will be replaced with other events.

The exile part of jump-start spells is also a replacement effect that affects where the card goes after resolving:

  702.132a Jump-start appears on some instants and sorceries. It represents two static abilities: one that functions while the card is in a player’s graveyard and another that functions while the card is on the stack. “Jump-start” means “You may cast this card from your graveyard by discarding a card as an additional cost to cast it” and “If this spell was cast using its jump-start ability, exile this card instead of putting it anywhere else any time it would leave the stack.” Casting a spell using its jump-start ability follows the rules for paying additional costs in rules 601.2b and 601.2f–h.

Your example of Chemister's Insight is a bad one, because it wouldn't be eligible for Feather anyway, since it doesn't target a creature. Maximize Velocity would be an appropriate example.

As you can see from cards with Jump-Start, they fit the definition of replacement effects, and the following rule applies:

  616.1. If two or more replacement and/or prevention effects are attempting to modify the way an event affects an object or player, the affected object’s controller (or its owner if it has no controller) or the affected player chooses one to apply, following the steps listed below. If two or more players have to make these choices at the same time, choices are made in APNAP order (see rule 101.4).

Therefore, you can choose to exile a jump-started with Feather so it returns, or exile it through Jump-Start so it won't return.


Is it advisable to play Legacy without having played Pandemic before?

Go for it and have fun!

The Pandemic Legacy rulebook covers this contingency on page 3, telling you what sections of the rules to use to play a "vanilla" Pandemic game and advises you to play that way at least twice before starting the Legacy campaign.


Chess: Move 2 pawns one space each as first move

This was never legal. Rule 1.1. of the FIDE rules clearly states that the moves have to alternate. This was probably more of a house rule. Of course you can advance a pawn two spaces on it's first move (Rule 3.7b).


The Procession rules state:

  If you Procession a Procession, you will play one Action twice, trash
  it, gain an Action card costing more, then play another Action twice,
  trash it, gain an Action card costing more, then trash the Procession
  and gain an Action costing more than it.

There is no reason to assume that Throne Rooming a Procession would behave any differently: they both allow you to "play an Action card from your hand twice".

So your second scenario is correct: you would play two different action cards twice, not one action card four times over.


How do you score 5,5,5,5 in-hand with a non-ten, non-face card turned up?

You have 6 pairs (CD,CH,CS,DH,DS,HS), and 4 ways to make 15 (CDH,CDS,CHS,HDS), for a total of 20 points.


Why don't ground-types (fighting) in Pokemon TCG have resistance to electric?

Pokémon Trading Card Game follows original type effectiveness table only loosely. In each generation, there can be found some patterns, like originally Ground Pokémon having Lightning Resistance in earlier generations, but those usually change in time and also some cards can diverge. Some of those patterns were applied according to one of the types of dual-types Pokémon, without regard to the second type.

Let's have Gligar as an example. In the past, there was a pattern of Originally Ground-type Pokémon having Grass Weakness¹. Even though Gligar is damaged normally by Grass and is resistant to Bug and Poison² (types that were represented by TCG Grass type back then), it was printed with such Weakness:

In the past, there was also a pattern of Originally Flying-type Pokémon having Lightning Weakness³. Even though Gligar is immune to Lightning² in games, it was printed with such Weakness:

Later, Gligar kept its Water Weakness and Lightning Resistance for a long time, loosing the Resistance during 6th Generation, which is the same for Sandshrew as well. It's possible that card creators changed their patterns recently. You can compare Gligar from 2012 (5th generation) with Gligar from 2014 (6th generation):

During the 7th generation, Gligar's Weakness changed to Grass once again:

Officially, there is no information about how the conversion from game types to TCG Weaknesses and Resistances work.


What is this Soviet Russian game featuring a complex path on a black background?

I think it is a dice game. The rules of the game are indicated on the game itself: you need to play a two or more, throw a dice and move according to the fallen number


What would happen if I used regeneration on a creature that was the target of Annihilating Fire?

Summary: Annihilating Fire replaces the effect of destruction, but regeneration replaces the destruction itself. Annihilating Fire would not exile.

Replacement effects are not applied in APNAP order; they are applied in the order the affected object's controller or the affected player decides [CR 616.1]. But that doesn't matter here.

The effect of the state-based action being replaced is as follows [CR 704.5g]:

  that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed.

which is to say [CR 701.6a]

  that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed [move it from the battlefield to its owner’s graveyard].

Say Annihilating Fire replacement effect is applied first:

  that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed [exile it from the battlefield].

Regeneration doesn't replace death, it replaces destruction [CR 614.8], so we get:

  that creature has been dealt lethal damage, has all damage marked on it removed, and is tapped. If it’s an attacking or blocking creature, remove it from combat.

We get the same result by applying the effects in the opposite order.


No. Each die is used in toto of itself. You cannot re-combine the pips in other combinations. As for the special case of entering, the rules are clear on this.

Pieces may only leave the nest with a roll of a five on a single die or the sum of the dice. A double five can be used to move two pieces from the nest simultaneously.


Which property group colour gives the best ROI , undeveloped or fully developed, in Monopoly?

My understanding is that the best three property groups are light blue (Angel Islington, Euston Road, Pentonville Road), orange (Bow Street, Marlborough Street, Vine Street), and dark blue (Park Lane, Mayfair). Light blue is good because the buildings are very cheap but give excellent returns. Orange is good because the likelihood of landing there is substantially higher, due to forced starting from Jail (gets you on a 6, 8 or 9). Finally, the dark blues are a good choice because eventually someone will draw the Advance to Mayfair card.

There is a much more detailed analysis here. The names are from the American set, but the calculations are the same.


Can nonbasic dual lands such as "Azorius Chancery" be destroyed by the card text "destroy target land"?

You are correct, you can destroy any permanent with the type "Land" using a card that says "Destroy target land."

The ultimate authority in these matters is the Comprehensive Rules (CR). They are updated regularly, and are free to download.

The simplest rule from the CR that clarifies that nonbasic lands are lands:

  305.8. Any land with the supertype “basic” is a basic land. Any land that doesn’t have this supertype is a nonbasic land, even if it has a basic land type

So, all lands that don't have the Basic supertype are lands that are nonbasic, even if they have a basic land type. There are several lands with a basic land type that aren't basic lands, like the original dual land cycle (Badlands et. al., Pain Lands Sulfurous Springs, etc.), while there are only 5 basic land cards. The basic lands have card names Mountain, Swamp, Island, Plains, and Forest.

Then the rule below shows that a card like Boros Garrison is a legal target for Poison the Well, because it is referencing an object with "Land" in the card's Type Line.

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

If the card were specifically referencing only nonbasic lands, the rules text would have specifically said so. (Examples: Ruination, Blood Moon, Dust Bowl). Similarly, if a card is referring only to basic lands or lands with a basic land type, it would say so. (Examples: Fiery Fall, Global Ruin, Null Chamber, Flashfires).


A Game of Thrones Feast breaking ties for objectives

Rulebook, p.8 (emphasis added):

The outcome of all ties in bidding is decided by the player holding the Iron Throne token. This player places the Influence tokens of tied players on the highest (i.e., left-most) available positions on the track, in the order of his choice.

Rulebook, p.11:

The Iron Throne Token
The player holding this token decides the outcome of all ties that occur in
the game, with the exception of ties in combat (which are resolved by a player’s
position on the Fiefdoms track) and ties in determining the winner of the game.

Of course there is no reference to the FFC objective cards in the rulebook for the base game (since the expansion came afterwards), but I think a strict reading of the objective card itself (control more X than any other House) combined with the normal use of the Iron Throne token in the base game (breaks all ties in bidding, but not in combat or determining the winner of the game) means that if two players are tied for the most X, the player holding the objective for having the most X cannot score it.
Edit: The only reference to scoring in the FFC rules that seems relevant is on pp.7-8:

In turn order, each player may choose to score one Objective card of his choice from his Objective hand (if the criterion described is fulfilled) ...

In my opinion, this doesn't shed any further light on the issue, but I included it for completeness.