The best way to deal with variable count randomization is to use a drawing bag

Create two sets of tiles.  Whenever you add a tile to the board, add its copy to a drawing bag.

Now whenever you need a random tile, draw it from the bag.

This technique requires all your tiles to be unique. If they are not unique, and can't be given a unique identifier, then create a double set of numbered tokens, and assign a number to each tile as it is placed.

Deck vs Draw Bag

StartPlayer mentioned using a deck, which is also an excellent suggestion. The two options have slightly different use cases, so which one you choose should depend on how you need them.

Draw bags are better if you are frequently adding items between draws, because it is easier to shuffle a bag, especially if there are only a few items.

On the other hand, a deck is better if you need to remove specific items in a manner besides randomly drawing them, because it is easier to search a deck than a bag.


What GSM of paper should I use for reprinting cards to use in deck sleeves

Paper is a bit more complex than just the GSM as you can get different thickness, stiffness and other properties.

The general "best" GSM for cards will be around 300GSM, but you'll want to feel the sheet of paper first for thickness and stiffness as well. It'll be no good to have a lovely printed card that flops about in your hand or flexes too much to shuffle easily.

This thread on BGG suggests using paper stock that's designed for business card usage as it's widely available.

This custom card printer uses 300, 310 or 270GSM for their playing cards depending on paper type and required quality.

You will find a lot of home printers won't be able to print on high GSM paper - check your specifications for your printer if you want to print at home.

If you're getting it professionally printed at a print shop, ask for some paper samples, and have a test page to print on each paper so you can see the differences.

I had some success in printing at home some card dividers on 180GSM matte photo paper and laminating the entire page in high quality 125 micron before cutting out using a paper guillotine. This produced a very stiff card that was slightly glossy, despite the stock being not that stiff to begin with. As you're planning on sleeving, I'd go the higher GSM paper straight away and skip laminating.


Can you block with a creature then return it to your hand before it takes damage?

Yes, you can return a blocking creature to your hand before it takes damage. What happens is:

You block with Dryad Arbor
You and your opponent both get a chance to cast instants and activate abilities
Damage is dealt

Note that if the blocked creature has tramble, it will still assign all of its damage directly to the player

Rules 509.1 through 509.7 cover what happens during the declare blockers step, which occurs before damage is dealt. The two rules that are relevant to your question:

  509.1. First, the defending player declares blockers.
  ...
  509.5. Fifth, the active player gets priority. Players may cast spells and activate abilities

Here is a diagram that illustrates the turn structure. It shows all the opportunities that you get to cast or activate things.


Know the difference between an early game card and a mid game card

Quickly evaluate what cards will be good for your first few buys (besides money). This is the only time where it doesn't matter if an action is terminal or not because you won't really have many actions. Deck thinning cards like chapel, cards that let you draw a lot like smithy, and cheap attack cards like militia can all be good investments. Plan your first few buys out of the good starter cards.

Other things to keep in mind:

Cards that give you +actions. This will help you judge how many combos to go for. If there's tons, stock up on those and draws to get some major combinations.
Cards that give you +buys. You definitely want a few of these for your later game, its a matter of what options you have. Don't go for woodcutter unless you don't really have any better choices. Having a good amount of buys can also help you end the game early if you want, but that requires some advanced planning.
Cards that give you +cards. How much money do I need to buy? Are cards that give +actions but NOT +cards going to be effective?
Cards that give you +$. If your only source of $ is from treasures, don't skimp on gold because your action chains will only get you more cards and maybe some attacks.
Attack and reaction cards. Helps you judge how much interaction there will be and how you will prepare. If there's going to be a cursing war (witch), might as well not get left out/defenseless.
How strong is big-money? This helps you know how hard you should go on actions. If all you need to win happens to be some silver, gold, a witch, and some counsel rooms, make sure you take that into account. Actually evaluating how strong this combo will be is more complex, but recognizing that it exists is a good start.
Unique cards that need certain combos to work well. Don't get adventurer unless you have a higher density of gold in your deck. Only get gardens if you plan to have the cards to expand your deck to 40+ cards. Don't get a throne room unless you have something worth throne-rooming. Get a library or two if people are going hard on militia because it lets you redraw all the cards you lost.

As per your request, here's an analysis of the starting cards they recommend.

Cellar, moat, village, militia, workshop, woodcutter, smithy, remodel, mine, market. They're listed here.

There's one strong attack card, so a moat or two would probably be a good investment if people end up buying as they should. Hit the village and market pretty hard (maybe cellar as well if you have a lot of weak cards in your deck) because they're the only ones that give +actions and you're main hope for getting big combos if you choose to go that route. Remodel and mine will let you get rid of bad cards, like estates, so get on that soon if possible. woodcutter and market both give +buys. Woodcutter is one of my least favorite cards as a silver is almost always a better bet. Since you can get +buys from market I personally wouldn't buy any Woodcutters at all. Village will be good for combos because there's a few terminal actions that are very useful (militia, smithy, workshop, etc.) Since remodel is available you will able to hone your deck to a slight degree later in the game, so don't be super afraid of buying cards that will only be mostly useful short-term, like a mine at the beginning of the game.

for the beginning:

2-5 split: Get either a moat or a cellar for the 2$ buy and a mine. At this point, anything that gives you extra actions isn't really very beneficial, AKA village. Anything you can do to get rid of your bad cards (AKA mine) in the beginning is almost always a good idea. A moat will protect you from the early militias that will likely be played, but a cellar would help you go through your deck more quickly and get to the better cards in it. I'd probably go with the moat first and then cellar in the next few turns.
3-4 split: Get a workshop and a smithy/remodel/militia. These are all great early 4$ cards, the smithy will let you draw lots of cards, the remodel will let you trash bad cards, and the militia will put you ahead and slow others players down, all of which are amazing strategies. I'd probably go with the remodel or militia, but you'll be able to get more 4 cost cards with workshop soon after anyway, so it won't make a huge difference.

Here's some rough estimates of how many I'd go for long term.

cellar: 2-3, great cards that keeps your chain going. Good if you've only got 2$,  otherwise go with something more powerful.
moat: 1-3, Only get if militia is being used a lot, or maybe you need to draw cards for cheap, a cellar won't work, and you don't have many action cards (otherwise you'd probably have something better to play in your hand).
village: 2-3, good for mid game combos, depends on how many +cards cards you have.
militia: 1-3, beat on your opponents while getting money, what's not to like?
workshop: 1-2, good at the beginning, only buy 2 if you can remodel into market later or have a strategy that works with lots of cards costing 4 or less.
woodcutter: 0, go with a silver instead. This isn't a kingdom set where trading an action for a buy is going to be worthwhile very often.
smithy: 1, good at beginning of the game, maybe remodel later into gold. Only get 2 if you have a couple of villages or a big money strategy (not many actions in your deck).
remodel/mine: 1-2 of each. Try to get them early so you can upgrade your deck. Think about the odds of you getting them and the cards you want to upgrade at the same time. A mine is a total disadvantage if you have very little copper or silver, so plan accordingly. Remodel I'd probably go with 2 just because you can remodel gold into provinces in the later game.
market: 2-5. This is a pretty generic cards that is almost always helpful and will be strong with this kingdom set, but be sure to weigh it properly against the other options and don't just choose it because its a good all-around card.
gold: buy lots early, there's not a set number. As I said earlier you will want to determine how much money you'll want to buy early in the game. Buy some silver early if you like, or use mine/workshop to get it instead. In the beginning you'll want to get gold whenever you have 6, especially since you can remodel them into provinces. Once you get to late game you might want to go with a duchy instead.

Potential combos:

remodel + gold = make money into provinces during end-game.
remodel + workshop = get lots of cards costing 3-4 and crank them up to better stuff later. Workshop is a good early card that you can remodel later if you need to as its not very strong in the end-game.
remodel + mine = get 2 mines early and upgrade as many copper and silver as possible. Then remodel the mine into a gold once you don't need it anymore.
workshop + village = Use workshops to get lots of villages and smithy's while you use you actual money for better things. A village in your deck never hurts as long as you aren't using to much energy to buy it, and the village + smithy combination can get you some mega drawing action.
village + militia = launch a relentless attack with 3+ militias to keep other players' cards down. Add village to keep your chains going. If you buy up moats you can be even more evil.
cellar + moat + village = get some silver and gold
woodcutter + mine = get some woodcutters early with $ or a workshop. Use the extra buys to stock up on copper, and have 2 or 3 mines to crank up the copper into silver and gold. This is sort of a modification of big money, so getting a smithy can help. Just watch your number of terminal actions. I crossed this one out because its actually pretty weak. Buying copper is rarely useful, and relying on getting lucky to use a mine to upgrade it to a silver is pretty bad as it really dilutes your deck.

These are only guidelines. Dominion is a dynamic enough game that no strategy should ever be followed to the letter. Use your judgement and knowledge of combos to make a good choice, but flexibility is always important.

Another very interesting read is about the silver test, which is basically where you weigh all your $3, $4, and $5 choices against a silver. If you read this, be sure to skim through read the replies with +20 score to make sure you get both sides of the story!

Evaluating a kingdom set properly takes practice, and experience is the best teacher. However, this should give you a pretty good start to learning some of the most important issues.

If you want to see some other specific sets analyzed, post them in a different question and I'd be glad to help. :)


Play all but one + hand limit zero + draw one = stalemate?

Future printings have been revised to:

  Play all but 1 of your cards. If you started with no cards in your hand and only drew 1, draw an extra card.

https://faq.looneylabs.com/archives/faq-tags/play-all-but-1

That avoids this situation.


Can I build a settlement if I don't have the building piece for it?

This is super clear in the rules.

Under Build in the Game Rules section:

  You cannot build more pieces than what is available in your
  pool—a maximum of 5 settlements, 4 cities, and 15 roads.

Then, later, under Build (Building) in the Almanac:

  You can build as many items and buy as many cards as
  you desire—as long as you have enough resources to “pay”
  for them and they are still available in the supply.
  [...]
  Each player has a supply of 15 roads, 5 settlements, and 4
  cities.

(Emphasis added.)

and again later, under Settlements:

  Note: If you have built all 5 of your settlements, you must
  upgrade 1 of your settlements to a city before you can build
  another settlement. You will then have the settlement in your
  supply, so you can build another settlement.


Food Truck Champion: Does the Owner card count to the 6 card hand limit?

The  English meaning of the quoted text is that, yes, the Owner card counts as one of the six cards you are limited to when it is in your hand. (So you can only hold five other cards)


Is Ashaya still a land while enchanted with Kenrith's Transformation?

You are right, Ashaya should not have the Land type in this situation.
When to effects are in the same layer, as the type changing effects are here, there are two ways that the order can be determined: dependencies, or timestamps if there are no dependencies.
The criteria for a dependency are defined in rule 613.8a:

An effect is said to “depend on” another if (a) it’s applied in the same layer (and, if applicable, sublayer) as the other effect; (b) applying the other would change the text or the existence of the first effect, what it applies to, or what it does to any of the things it applies to; and (c) neither effect is from a characteristic-defining ability or both effects are from characteristic-defining abilities. Otherwise, the effect is considered to be independent of the other effect.

This pair of abilities fails test b: Ashaya's effect only applies to creature permanents, and Kenrith's Transformation doesn't change whether Ashaya is a creature, so Ashaya's effect does not depend on Kenrith's Transformation's. On the other side, Kenrith's Transformation's effect is applied unconditionally to the creature it is attached to, so Kenrith's Transformation's effect does not depend on Ashaya's.
Since there is no dependency, timestamp order is used instead. Ashaya must have entered the battlefield before Kenrith's Transformation became attached to it, so Ashaya has the earlier timestamp. This means that Ashaya's ability is applied first, adding the Land type, then Kenrith's Transformation is applied, removing the Land type. The result is that Ashaya does not have the Land type.


Does Kasmina, Enigma Sage replace planeswalker abilities?

I would think that all other planeswalkers gain those abilities and do not lose their own abilities.
Consider the case of Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God

Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God has all loyalty abilities of all other planeswalkers on the battlefield.

Nicol Bolas, Dragon God has a static ability similar to Kasmina, Enigma Sage's ability except it gives itself other planeswalker's abilities.  If it removed its own abilities, then the very act of printing abilities on it would be pointless.
Furthermore, Kasmina does not have the text "and loses all other abilities" that is present on other cards like, say for example Imprisoned in the Moon.


Artscow.com is the site I always hear about. I've never used it but it's constantly mentioned on boardgamegeek.com as the place to go for printing custom cards. See:

http://www.artscow.com/photo-gifts/card/multi-purpose-cards-rectangle-394


What is the purpose of the Attack stat for a unit with no melee weapons?

All models have a close combat weapon in addition to the listed equipment (described in page 183 of the 8th Edition Core Rule Book). It is Strength: User, AP: 0, Damage: 1.

I think this is supposed to represent fighters using their fists, guns as clubs, body slams and any small knives etc they carry.

Some people have been taking advantage of this for units (like helbrutes) that have a bonus for having two melee weapons. It also allows models with weapons like power fists (2x strength, good AP, -1 to hit rolls) to use a different attack against targets where the power fists abilities would be wasted.


Auction when player has not enough money to buy?

No he is not.

According to the rules (Pdf):

  The player chooses one power plant from the actual market (top row) and then makes a bid to purchase it (the player must bid at least the minimum bid (number of the
  power plant), but may start with a higher bid.

The player starting the auction must start with the opening bid.

If he wins the bid he must pay the bank:

  He pays his highest bid to the bank and takes the power plant.

This implies that one must have enough money for the bid.


To answer the original question: White's corner is unconditionally dead, it cannot be rescued even with White playing first. The points P1 and R1 are miai, when White takes one of them Black takes the other.

In the actual game White uses the aji left in the corner for some Ko threats, that's all White can get out of the local situation.


using real names / images in a board game

Images tend to be copyrighted. You'd have to take into consideration both the rights of the photographer, and the depicted person. I'd expect you would have to get both the player's and the photographer's permission to use the images. That permission will most likely cost you a lot of money, especially for people like Messi.

You should probably just read this Wikipedia page about photography and the law. The biggest problem is that copyright law is different in each country. Depending on where you are and where your game will be made available, you'd need to simultaneously comply to a bunch of different countries' copyright laws.


Is Prismite considered colorless or all colors for the purpose of Brawl/Commander decks?

It's colorless:

  903.4. The Commander variant uses color identity to determine what cards can be in a deck with a certain commander. The color identity of a card is the color or colors of any mana symbols in that card’s mana cost or rules text, plus any colors defined by its characteristic-defining abilities (see rule 604.3) or color indicator (see rule 204).

Prismite's ability says: "{2}: Add one mana of any color." and not "{2}: Add {W}, {U}, {B}, {R} or {G}." No mana symbols appear in the rules text, so it's colorless.

Note that Brawl uses the same definition of 'color identity' as Commander:

  903.11a Brawl is an option for a different style of Commander game. Brawl games use the normal rules for the Commander variant with the following modifications.


How does Confusion in the Ranks trigger itself upon entering the battlefield?

Triggers look at the board state immediately after the spell resolves and moves from stack to battlefield.  The "event" is object of given type moved from stack (or other zone) to battlefield.  The state of the board is checked for triggers that see that event immediately after the event, and so there it is.  I guess there isn't really a better answer than, the comp rules say so, so here it is!

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

  603.6d Normally, objects that exist immediately after an event are checked to see if the event matched any trigger conditions.


In bridge, how can you "see" (locate) most of 52 cards halfway into the play?

To make a quick stab at this, first consider that there are distinct steps towards learning how to perform this visualization feat:

Train your memory to know (i.e. be able to recite exactly) where all 52 cards were at the end of the deal. The rest is irrelevant until you can do this (though it can be practiced simultaneously).
Practice (and practice and practice) visualization of the opponent's hands at every call and play. As each deal starts there will obviously be 13 blanks in each opponent's hand, but every bid, call and play should be adding constraints to each card. A 1-level overcall in spades by the opponent should immediately trigger a visualization like:
     KJ9xx xx Axx xxx
in your mind.
Practice using the deductions you are making about the opponents' hands. This will help develop the habit of paying close attention, by providing yourself with an occasional carrot for good analysis.
Remember to always pay particular attention when you have a weak hand. Most of the field at almost any event will be asleep with those poor cards, so the opportunity to make a big gain on the field is greater than usual. Tournaments can be won on these hands.

Update:
Richard Pavlicek has an excellent online site chock full of useful lessons for Beginners, Intermediate Players, and Experts. Here are two links to an expert example of good card reading and to an analysis of some important considerations when reading the opponents actions:
(1) http://www.rpbridge.net/7c04.htm
(2) http://www.rpbridge.net/7z75.htm


Does the Waymoot get 4 VPs if it shows up on the 1st round?

No, Waymoot would only get 1 VP Tokens placed on it, since it isn't in play.
The Builder's Hall (page 12) of the rules tells you to take the 3 VP Tokens for the round, and distribute one to each building tile for purchase. The Waymoot has special rules text that takes effect at the When Purchased/Start of Round, but this only occurs if it is "in play."

When Purchased and at Start of Round: Place 3 VP tokens on this space.

Once on page 8 under Start of Round

Start of Round - The rounds track on the game board starts out with 3 VP tokens [...] remove the 3 VP tokens from that round’s space and place 1 VP token on each face-up Building in Builder’s Hall.
When Purchased/Start of Round: Some Building tiles have special instructions to be followed when the Building is purchased and at the start of each round. If any of those Buildings are in play, follow the start-of-round instructions for each.(See Appendix 1: Buildings on page 12 for descriptions of these effects.)
Once all start-of-round effects are complete, players take turns in order.

On the same page under Assign Agent, they define what it means for a building to be in play.

Assign Agent
If you have any Agents in your pool, you assign 1 of them. To assign an Agent, place it on any unoccupied action space of a Building, whether a basic Building or one that has been put into play. You cannot place an Agent on an action space that contains another Agent (yours or another player’s) or on Buildings that are not yet in play.


Simplest bidding system for introduction into bridge

2 sections to my answer:

How to get up and running in 20 minutes
Next steps to progress from the 20 minute version to solid Bridge beginner

How to get up and running in 20 minutes

It's simply not possible to play the full game of bridge itself after 20 minutes in a way that satisfies or even makes any sense. However, one can make use of a Gateway game which is similar to bridge to get such a quick start.

Spades is a terrific gateway to bridge. Apart from lack of dummy, trick taking play is identical to bridge. No Trump is not an option There is only one possible trump suit: spades. Eliminating choice in suits vastly simplifies bidding - you simply call out the number of tricks you think you can take. To make it feel closer to bridge, you could eliminate the "nil" bid and sandbags. Or you could keep them in as they keep the game more interesting.

Regardless of which spades rules you use, the play of the hand feels similar to bridge (though not identical due to no dummy, different scoring incentives, and much less information exchanged during bidding).

I taught my son to play Spades when he was 5, and a few months later taught him beginner level bridge, as follows:

Next steps to progress from the 20 minute version to solid Bridge beginner

Now that you've played a number of spades hands, you now have a good introductory feel for the play of Bridge hands. It's time to move on to the more time-consuming part for beginners: bidding.

I believe it's simplest to learn the most popular system in your area, for the following reasons:

There will be ample learning materials.
Learning materials will have different levels and you can start at the beginner level.
Most bridge players will know it even if they don't play it - so you can play other players in your area and they will usually by happy to help you learn.
You will be able to understand a substantial portion of the bidding of bridge players in your area.
Bridge learning software tends to do a good job of giving you practice hands for the most popular systems.

In USA, the most popular system is currently Standard American (5-card majors). It is so popular and well known in USA that at tournaments there is something called "Standard American Yellow Card" which is often used when two strangers are paired with each other.

I quite liked the pair of books I used to learn Standard American, 5-card majors, and the other most common techniques and conventions associated with it:

Commonsense Bidding by William S. Root
Modern Bridge Conventions by William S. Root & Richard Pavlicek

A real strength of this pair of books is how well structured it is for beginners. You can start by trying to master the first 10 chapters in Commonsense Bidding (and chapter 17) and that would be a very reasonable place to stop to enjoy a beginner level of bridge. This is exactly what I taught to my son when he was 5 (he did not read the books - I explained everything to him over the course of a few weeks while we played at least a few minutes every day). If you want to gradually learn more you can continue progressing through that book and then start on the 2nd book.

A real key to learning bidding that I wish I had known when I started is to start with just a very small number of the most common bidding techniques and conventions that will cover perhaps 60% or 70% of hands and concentrate on learning those well before going on to techniques and conventions that cover less common hands.


What's a sensible interpretation of the new rules?

I am going to assume you mean the rule you quoted above. Mystery Cards are a new card type that is available in Gloom: Unhappy Homes. Mystery Cards unlike Modifiers, Events, or Untimely Deaths may be placed on Locations. Gloom's card components are mostly transparent, but the parts that are not, cover up previous cards that were played before the current one (and remove those previous effects if they are covered). From the rules on Atlas Games

  You can't play Modifiers, Events, or Untimely Deaths on a Location. Nothing can take your house rule away from you, so enjoy it while you can.

What's the purpose of the pathos points on the blue-themed mystery cards if the residences are unkillable?

Those points count towards a families final total. From the Official Site.

  A Mystery is the only card that can be placed on a Residence (and only a Residence), and can be placed on any Residence as either of your two plays. It gives that Residence's player a special effect and Pathos points that count toward his final Family Value. A Mystery remains even if the requirements for playing it are lost. You may discard a Mystery from your hand as a free play.


On playing the Agricola Bielefeld minor improvement called Bielefeld Playing Cards, does it include animals?

You are right, the chances of getting any cows on your farm are going to be limited.

There is a nice post about the deck that includes a discussion of this card.

You are getting a lot of points in exchange for a lot of extra management of resources, so that is all factored in.  You have to decide if it is worthwhile and it probably depends on what other cards you might have that could assist.


Can I terraform outside of my turn, or during my turn in some other action?

Yes, if you ever get a spade you must use it immediately, or forfeit it. The only way to get a spade outside of taking an action on your turn though is the end-of-round cult bonuses that give them.

From the rulebook:

  You may not save Spades for future Actions. Spades need to be
  used immediately.

Note that the spades that you get for the cult bonuses must be used by themselves; you cannot also spend workers to terraform more, nor can you build a Dwelling at that time. Those are things you can do in addition to getting spades when you choose the terraform and build action or a power action that gives you spades.


Priority and timing between enchantments and instants

It's not "immediately after" at all. Between the bolt resolving and the strength resolving, the game goes through a whole bunch of steps that are usually glossed over in casual play.

State-based actions are checked and then performed. This includes, but is not limited to, destroying creatures with lethal damage dealt to them, and causing players with 0 or less life to lose.
Repeat 1 until nothing new happens.
Abilities that triggered during the resolution of the bolt (e.g. "Whenever this creature is dealt damage") and during steps 1 and 2 are put on the stack.
Repeat 2 and 3 until nothing new happens
Players gain priority and may play instants and spells with flash.
If no player played anything, now the Unholy Strength resolves, sees that it has no valid target, and is removed from the stack to your graveyard with no effect.


"Outs" are the cards left in the deck that could possibly make you win.  Usually these are discussed most when players are all-in and the cards have been revealed.

If the only way you can win is to draw one of the 3 Aces left in the deck, you have 3 Outs.


No, you cannot sacrifice a sliver to Necrotic Sliver's ability and then return it to your hand with Hibernation Sliver's ability.

When you activate Necrotic Sliver's ability, you sacrifice the creature as part of the cost. By the time the ability is on the stack and you have a chance to do anything else, the creature is already off the battlefield, so it cannot activate the other ability.


Summary: Inside Job bypasses the first piece of face up ice on a server, regardless of when that was rezzed.

Note: there are some effects that can cause to to encounter ice that hasn't been installed, such as Archangel, or that is installed on Awakening Center.  These can also be bypassed with Inside Job if the server has no rezzed ice in front of it.

The specific rule for encountering ice is:

  If the approached piece of ice is rezzed after the Corporation has the
  opportunity to rez cards, then the Runner encounters it.

The confusion here probably comes from the fact that "rezzed" is both an adjective and a verb, depending on context.  In this particular piece of rules, we are dealing with the adjectival form.  Let me translate:

  If the approached piece of ice is [face up] after the Corporation has the
  opportunity to [turn cards face up], then the Runner encounters it.

If the ice is face up, it is encountered.  This includes ice that has been turned face up on previous runs/turns.  The reason for the extra bits of the sentence is to clarify that even if the ice was rezzed just now, it is still encountered (see the run structure chart at the end of the rulebook).

If you want to stop Inside Job, try effects that prevent bypassing, like the ability on Guard.


Player C has no access to Player A's secret choice and cannot activate the ability. We can see this reflected in a ruling on Emissary of Grudges:

  If you didn’t choose an opponent when Emissary of Grudges entered the battlefield, you can’t pay the cost to activate its last ability. This will usually happen because you gained control of another player’s Emissary of Grudges or because a creature already on the battlefield became a copy of Emissary of Grudges.

As you mention, Player C never made a choice, so they cannot reveal the choice they made. They also have no privilege to access Player A's secrets; they just control a creature.

We see this same ruling and behaviour on Stalking Leonin.


Can experts roll dice with non-uniform distribution?

In theory, yes (the macro nature of the dice and the table overcoming any quantum-level randomness, leaving you with classical physics). In practice, the bulk of the evidence says no, that the chaos in the system is greater than human skill can overcome, but some people claim such a special skill.
See the short wiki article for (the scant) details.
In response to the addition to your question: "is there statistical proof"? The answer is (in 2018, at least): "no", according to this article in the UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal

We do not assert whether dice control is possible or not (there is a lack of published evidence).

This assumes that you throw them in a standard way. If you "throw" a die in an obviously forced way (pick it up and drop it from a small height with no shake and no bounce), then obviously the side that was on top in your hand has a greater likelihood of staying on top. Any throw of a die with the usual features of a throw (shake and roll, true roll) will be too chaotic to control.
Exception: for n=2 in the particular expression of a coin, it is possible to "not flip" the coin but instead make it wobble in the air, fooling most people and yet resulting in significant deviation from fair. Again, this deviates from a true "roll" of the die, but unlike other faux rolls, this one can be mistaken for a true roll.


Are there any known "available for purchase" life spans for expansions for Android Netrunner?

Theoretically?  I don't see them ending production on a specific cycle.  The way Fantasy Flight talks and creates cards, they plan on keeping all of those options available for the future.  The LCG philosophy makes it so that no one person is going to wreck another one because of the super power of money.

Realisticly?  I'm sure FFG will find a time in the future (given that Netrunner continues to run for a long time) where they don't see as many sales of the older cycles.  At that point, I can see the company doing one of two things: they will either roll up an entire cycle and sell it as a bulk set at less of a price (say the entire Spin Cycle as one whole purchase) or they will try and discontinue the set and put it into archive.

All of that being said, my suggestion to you is to NOT be behind more then one cycle of cards.  Right now, if you don't have the whole Genesis Cycle, you need to get it.  Also, if you don't have a few packs of the Spin Cycle, you're a little behind.  And if you don't have Creation and Control, I feel that your deck building options aren't as robust as they could be.  I'm not saying you won't be able to make a deck.  But the newer cycles, C&C and H&P all have some 'golden' cards that are defining the meta of the game right now.  You can still play, but competitive play will be seeing people playing along with the meta.

EDIT:

A few months ago, FFG did mention that they will be cycling out current sets of cards as being tournament viable.  Much the same way that Magic has a Type 1 and Type 2, Netrunner will only have the latest 6 cycles active at any one time.  Meaning that when we get to the 8th cycle, Genesis and Spin cycle will be phased out of tournament play.  This does NOT mean that they'll end production on these cards, but it's a pretty good guess.


In Twilight Struggle, can I place influence in countries that border my superpower?

Upon closer inspection of the rules, I found the answer:

  6.1.4 Influence markers may always be placed in any country that is adjacent (connected) to the phasing player’s superpower space.

So, yes, the US player can place influence in Mexico, just because it's adjacent.


A German friend of mine translated the card game (I also bought it in Germany, but can't read German), it is available here: Translation of Shaun the sheep card game


Bunker up.  The scenario you describe relies on people leaving a path of territories with single defenders.  Barring the unlikely event where they are revealed and claimed in the same round, you likely know they're coming, so don't leave yourself that open.  Use mountains, leave extra defenders, etc.  Wall them in, so that they are surrounded by highly defended regions.  If they can only take 3 regions, they only get one extra guy and only 6 points, which is far more manageable.
Attack their declined race.  A solid score generally relies on both races, so if you take out their declined race, they will be forced to rely on just the skeletons or decline them.  If they are the player's first race, they can still fall behind someone with two solid races.
Attack them.  Yes it is a high cost to destroy one skeleton, but destroying one might be all it takes to slow down their growth pattern.

Highlighting specific race/power combos is kind of pointless, since the chance of them being available is exceedingly small.  There are plenty of defensive races that could withstand them or aggressive races that could knock them out early.  Pretty much the only thing you don't want to do is decide that it is too expensive to attack them and let them continue to grow turn after turn.


What are the differences between Chinese and Japanese rules in Go?

From Wikipedia:

Although there are some minor differences between rule sets used in different countries, most notably in Chinese and Japanese scoring rules, these differences do not seriously affect the tactics and strategy of the game.
There are two basic scoring systems used to determine the winner at the end of a game; they almost always give the same result. Territory scoring counts the number of empty points your stones surround, together with the number of stones you captured. While it originated in China, today it is commonly associated with Japan and Korea. Area scoring counts the number of points your stones occupy and surround. It is associated with contemporary Chinese play and was probably established there during the Ming Dynasty in the 15th or 16th century.

Read the full article here.


How does Inquisitor's Flail interact with Trample?

Inquisitor's Flail doesn't let you assign damage any differently, it is merely a replacement effect for how damage is dealt.  So essentially, you have a 5/2 trampling Runeclaw Bear up against a regular 2/2 Runeclaw Bear.  You must assign lethal damage to the blocking Runeclaw before you can assign any damage to the defending player, so you can only assign a maximum of 3 to the defending player.  When damage is dealt, Inquisitor's Flail doubles everything, resulting in 4 being dealt to each Runeclaw Bear, and 6 being dealt to the defending player.


Does marking a card affect its legality?

You can use those cards as lands, as long as they are clearly those basic lands. The tournament rules on acceptable cards says

  Artistic modifications are acceptable in sanctioned tournaments, provided that the modifications do not make the card art unrecognizable, contain substantial strategic advice, or contain offensive images. Artistic modifications also may not obstruct or change the mana cost or name of the card.

However, that rule also says

  The Head Judge is the final authority on acceptable cards for a tournament.

So, it's up to the Head Judge to make the final decision about whether you can use those cards as lands.

You cannot use them as the cards they are proxying in a tournament. The official proxy tournament policy says

  A proxy card is used during competition to represent an Authorized Game Card that has been accidentally damaged or excessively worn in the current tournament (including damaged or misprinted Limited product) as determined solely by the Head Judge.

and

  Players may not create their own proxies; they may only be created by the Head Judge.

Basically, you can't even use a proxy card in your deck unless it is replacing a card that was accidentally damaged during that tournament, and you can't use proxies that you make yourself.


I disagree strongly with aramis and goldPseudo's answers. Using the data from Isotropic, we can see that in all the games played on the site, people who bought 4 fewer Saboteurs than their opponent increased their win rate by a factor of 1.5. In fact, this graph suggests that the only worse attack card is Thief, and that even buying a single Saboteur hurts your odds of winning relative to someone who doesn't.

In my play group, I decided not to buy them at all, and I typically won when they were available. We've since decided that it's not a fun card, so now we don't play with it.

To quote the Dominion Strategy Blog, "The best counter to Saboteur is probably not getting one."


Custom game boards and pieces for existing games

I am not a lawyer, but as long as you just create things for personal use, you're probably fine.

Even if you make pieces and sell them, it's probably ok. You can already buy meeples and assorted tokens online. Both shops are around for years already, so I guess it's fine.


Is exchanging life the same as losing life?

The relevant rules governing exchanges of life totals are these:

701.9c. When life totals are exchanged, each player gains or loses the amount of life necessary to equal the other player's previous life total. Replacement effects may modify these gains and losses, and triggered abilities may trigger on them. A player who can't gain life can't be given a higher life total this way, and a player who can't lose life can't be given a lower life total this way (see rules 118.7-8).
701.9g. A spell or ability may instruct a player to exchange two numerical values. In such an exchange, each value becomes equal to the previous value of the other. If either of those values is a life total, the affected player gains or loses the amount of life necessary to equal the other value. Replacement effects may modify this gain or loss, and triggered abilities may trigger on it. A player who can't gain life can't be given a higher life total this way, and a player who can't lose life can't be given a lower life total this way (see rules 118.7-8). If either of those values is a power or toughness, a continuous effect is created setting that power or toughness to the other value (see rule 613.3b). This rule does not apply to spells and abilities that switch a creature's power and toughness.

In both cases, an exchange does cause a gain or loss of life. So yes, in the situation you describe, your opponent has lost 27 life and Rakdos's abilities will recognize that.


Interpretation of "If x R.R.'s are owned"

The use of passive language here is quite annoying, and the official Monopoly rules from the Hasbro website don't actually provide enough detail to give a definitive answer. There are plenty of websites that argue in favour of the interpretation that it's based on how many Railroads are owned by the player collecting rent, but for a definitive answer? We have to go back.

In fact, the version of the rules that seems to most clearly explain how to collect rent on the railroads is the 1904 version of the Landlord's Game, by Lizzie J Magie, whose design was taken and rebranded as Monopoly (and Clarence Darrow credited as inventor) about 20 years later. In these rules:

  If one player owns 2 railroads, he charges $10 fare; if 3, he charges $20; 4, $50.

This is reflected in several versions of the rules available on the linked site. Unfortunately, I've found it hard to find exactly where the rules stopped bothering to explain this, but as far as I can tell this has always been the common interpretation (but Monopoly is famous for having rules that "everyone knows" even though they aren't official, so this doesn't necessarily mean much).


Does turning a card face up cause it to lose any counters it had on it?

Any enchantments or counters that were on the creature when it was face down will remain when it is turned face up. The creature never changed zones. It is still the same object.

Morphs and Manifests have the "Creature" card type, but no subtypes.

  701.31a, 702.36a It becomes a 2/2 face-down creature card with no text, no name, no subtypes, and no mana cost.

When it gets turned face up, it just regains its normal characteristics, but it is otherwise the same object:

  702.36e Any time you have priority, you may turn [a morphed card] face up. The morph effect on it ends, and it regains its normal characteristics.

Transform means something special and is not what happens with morphed cards. I like to say "morph" and "turn it face up".


Can I shortcut a loop with conditional actions?

This loop definitely includes conditional actions, because when you have 999,999 Wireflies, when activate the ability and it resolves, you make the following choice:

If the ability created a Wirefly, you stop
Otherwise, you flip again

Rule 101.2 says

  When a rule or effect allows or directs something to happen, and another effect states that it can't happen, the "can't" effect takes precedence.

Therefore, the restriction in 716.2a overrides the allowance in 716.1a.

In addition, if you assume that 716.1a effectively allows any shortcut that both players agree to, then the restrictions in 716.2a don't really make sense.


Do permanents controlled by a player with hexproof also have hexproof?

You are the only one protected from opponent's spells that target you with a witchbane orb. Saying a player is hex proof is not the same as saying all of their permanents are hex proof as well.

As for wrath of god and other 'All creatures' or 'all players' spells. Since there is no targeting hex proof does not protect a creature from Wrath of God. Indestructible would protect a creature from wrath of god, but not hex proof.

Looking at Comp rule 114.1a a definition for targeted is made. It says that the verbiage 'target [something]' is the indicator that a spell is targeted.

Looking at 702.11 the definition for hex proof says a permanent can't be the target of a spell. meaning it can't be targeted.

So a Wrath Of God that says 'Destroy All Creatures' is not considered a targeted spell and thus is not hampered by hex proof.

Furthermore looking at 114.9a it is clarified that just because a spell or ability can affect objects and players they don't target does not mean they have atrgeted that player or object.


Using the Chamber of Commerce as Alexandria

Your friend is correct, Chamber of Commerce and other cards like it only count resource cards, not your starting resources or resources produced from other sources such as Wonder benefits or Yellow cards.

On the Description of the Wonders page of the rules you'll see a clarification at the top

  Clarification: the resources produced by the boards are not considered
  to be cards.


No, there is no interaction. Emissary of Grudges can change a target, but the Annihilator ability does not target.

"Target" has a specific meaning in Magic. If an ability does not specifically include the word "target" somewhere, then there is no target for Emissary to change.

  115.10a Just because an object or player is being affected by a spell or ability doesn’t make that object or player a target of that spell or ability. Unless that object or player is identified by the word “target” in the text of that spell or ability, or the rule for that keyword ability, it’s not a target.

Annihilator does not target anything:

  702.85a Annihilator is a triggered ability. “Annihilator N” means “Whenever this creature attacks, defending player sacrifices N permanents.”


Can I activate a tap ability multiple times, though on different turns?

Yes, you can use that ability once a turn (usually), but not the turn it entered the battlefield. The ability you describe is an activated ability, where the cost is tapping the creature and the effect is adding one mana to your mana pool. You can only pay the cost (by tapping) when a creature is untapped, so you can't use the ability multiple times in a row.

To tap a permanent, you turn it sideways. At the beginning of each of your turns, you untap all of your permanents, so generally you can use abilities that require you to tap the permanent once per turn. There are also effects that can untap permanents (e.g. Twiddle), so if you use one of those you can activate the ability again.

Creatures have summoning sickness. This means that you cannot tap the creature to pay an activated ability's cost or attack with it unless you controlled it since the beginning of your turn. So you can't use this particular creature's ability until the turn after you play it.

To summarize:

You can use a 'tap' ability on a permanent as long as:

The permanent is on the battlefield and currently untapped, AND
The permanent is not being prevented from tapping, either by summoning sickness or by another ability (e.g. 'cannot use activated abilities')

All permanents untap automatically during your untap step (at the start of your turn) unless something has prevented them from doing so
If a permanent has Haste, it ignores summoning sickness, and therefore can be tapped on the turn it enters the battlefield (unless otherwise prevented from doing so as per above)


Game from 1978: Why does this fuseki position favor black?


In Euchre, can you call a misdeal with "No ace, no face, no trump"?

This is a house rule.  I have seen it played in informal games, but never among serious players.  Once, I saw a person try to declare "ace, no face" in a $5 game.  Since this person shared information about their hand it was ruled that they should be bumped and forfeit 2 points even though no cards had been played.  All of the spectators and other players agreed with this decision, including the player's partner.  The person who declared "ace, no face" was told not to do that again.


Which player is responsible for completing a pawn promotion in tournament-level chess?

From the official laws of chess:

  3.7.5.1 When a player, having the move, plays a pawn to the rank furthest from its starting position, he must exchange that pawn as part of the same move for a new queen, rook, bishop or knight of the same colour on the intended square of arrival. This is called the square of ‘promotion’.

(emphasis mine)

Of captures, nothing is said apart from

  3.1.1 If a piece moves to a square occupied by an opponent’s piece the latter is captured and removed from the chessboard as part of the same move.

In practice, any place on the table where it does not hinder either player is fine, e.g. you shouldn't put them in front of or even on the clock.


Do my own villages/cities interrupt my "longest road" in Catan?

You are correct.

Your own cities do not affect your status towards the "Longest Road" You can view the official rules here, from pg. 9 (emphasis is mine).

  You can break an opponent’s road by building a settlement
  on an open intersection along his road!

On page 8, in the example, Emily has the longest road card with 7 segments.  She has two houses within those 7 segments.

This was also answered directly in the online FAQ as pointed out by @shemmon.


First Strike does not apply because it isn't combat.

701.10d The damage dealt when a creature fights isn’t combat damage.
702.7a First strike is a static ability that modifies the rules for the combat damage step.


What is the reasoning behind some of the allies, in 6th edition Warhammer?

I'd say the reasoning behind the allies matrix is 60% fluff, 10% balance, and 30% Matt Ward lolz.

A lot of the matrix is what you would expect from reading the basic fluff.  Guard working with the other imperial factions and with a few of the others to represent renegades.  Tyranids can't ally with anyone because they would just eat them.  Tau will work with anybody if it will advance the greater good.  There's been some talk of the Emperor giving instructions to certain Marine legions to protect a certain alien race(hence the Marines and Tau being battle brothers).  And the Eldar/Dark Eldar works a little better if you consider one part of the pair to be Eldar Corsairs instead of true Craftworld or Commorragh Eldar.

The fluff is in a state of flux right now.  The Matt Ward authored codexes have done a number on established cannon.  This is behind some of the weirder combinations you see in the matrix.

I think game balance was secondary to fluff when deciding who gets to ally with whom.  Otherwise the Tyranids would have at least one ally option.


"Dakka! Dakka! Dakka!" will still apply to the 2 "natural" 6s.

The wording can be a little confusing, but Warhammer uses "unmodified hit rolls of 6" and "hit rolls of 6 before modifiers are applied" interchangeably.

Essentially it only cares about the number showing on the dice and doesn't pay attention to modifiers being applied.

The place this is most clearly set out is in the Designers Commentary


When the ancient one awakens, do we pass the first player token?

The rules for The Final Battle (page 22 of the rulebook) state that the first player token should be passed at the start of the turn, when the investigators refresh:

1. Investigators Refresh
At the beginning of a round of combat with an Ancient One, the investigators may refresh their cards, use any character abilities, and adjust their skill sliders as though it were the Upkeep Phase. Next, the first player marker should be passed to the left. Finally, they may trade items among themselves as if they were in the same location (see “Trading Equipment” later in these rules).

(Emphasis mine)


http://www.duelingnetwork.com/

I used to hit problems with the intro and needed to block the music file they use (it's not a part of the flash file for some weird reason), but it works well for what it does.


Is there a significant advantage to being at an 8 person pod over a 6 person pod?

The number of players in a draft certainly affects the draft, but the effect is symmetrical; all players are affected similarly.

One reason that 8 players is optimal is because the pairings work out perfectly; no one is going to get paired up/down.

From your opening pack you get:

the 1st, 7th and 13th pick in a 6 person draft
the 1st, and 9th pick in an 8 person draft
the 1st, and 11th pick in a 10 person draft

In a smaller draft the signals are clearer, you see the same pack more times. Correctly reading the signals is rewarded with more information about what cards might wheel (come back around to you).

In a larger draft the signals are weaker, you see more packs, but less picks per pack, nothing worthwhile wheels in a 10-person pod. In an 8-person pod, wheeling cards is rarer than in a 6-pod, but still happens occasionally.

  Is there a clear total strategic advantage to being in the 8 person pod over the 6 person pod?

No, if anything the advantage goes the other way; a 6-person pod will favor the players who read signals the best. The large the pod the more it favors card-evaluation skills. Different skills are rewarded differently depending on the pod size.


How can I use chess piece value to balance my homemade TCG?

When Glorfindel linked you to the Chess piece relative value article, he was providing an example of how you can compare relative strengths in very simple situations.

In the case of your game, you would need to:

Pick a card which is fairly simple, and whose value is preferably quite small.
Give that card a value of 1.
Compare every other card to that card, and give them values based on their relative strength.
Use those values to calculate the total value of each deck, and compare those to each other.

For example, if you have a card that says "Do 1 damage", then you might decide that it's your value 1 card. Then a card that says "Do 2 damage" has a value of 2. A card that says "Flip a coin. If it's heads, do 2 damage" might have a value of 1, because on average it does a point of damage.

However, here's the nasty part - if steps 3 and 4 are easy to do, and can be done consistently, then your game will not be very fun. So such value calculations can only ever be approximate, and you will want to use them to get starting points to create what you think might be balanced decks, and then playtest those decks to see how accurate you are. Because, for example:

Players usually prefer safe bets to risky ones, so the "flip a coin" card will not be considered of equal value to the "do 1 damage" one, even though on average they're the same. But, if you need to deal 2 points of damage to your opponent to win otherwise they will win on their turn, then the "flip a coin" card has a 50% chance of letting you win while the "do 1 damage" card has 0%.
A creature with 1 strength is probably better, most of the time, than a card that does a single damage. But how much better? Does it matter how long the creature is likely to stay in play?
How do you value a rock-paper-scissors set of cards? The value of one is dependent on whether your opponent has the one it beats, or the one that beats it.
The valuation completely ignores things like card combos. Two cards can be completely useless on their own but game changing together, so how to value that?

Hence - do something quick and simple that you can then verify with actual playtesting. Anything else is too much effort for too little reward.


A somewhat similar game to this exists, called DVONN, in which pieces stack onto each other and then a stack can move a number of spaces equal to the number of pieces in the stack.  However, the rest of your game is different and as far as I know is not identical to any currently existing game.


When Vesuvan Shapeshifter copies turn face up replacement effects, why do they work?

Compatible replacement effects can chain together.

Vesuvan Shapeshifter's abilities are indeed replacement effects:

  614.1e Effects that read “As [this permanent] is turned face up . . . ,” are replacement effects.

Replaced events do not happen:

  614.6. If an event is replaced, it never happens. A modified event occurs instead, which may in turn trigger abilities. Note that the modified event may contain instructions that can’t be carried out, in which case the impossible instruction is simply ignored.

The event to be replaced is "Vesuvan Shapeshifter is turned face up", and is replaced with "The Vesuvan Shapeshifter is turned face up as the chosen creature". When that happens, the Shapeshifter has not yet turned face up:

  707.11. If a face-down permanent would have an “As [this permanent] is turned face up . . .” ability after it’s turned face up, that ability is applied while that permanent is being turned face up, not afterward.

If the copied creature has its own replacement effect on being turned face up, it is now in effect as it is being turned face up, and it happens as well.

  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.

So the sequence of events is:

You decide to turn Vesuvan Shapeshifter face up
As you turn it face up, before it's actually turned face up, you choose another creature with a replacement effect that replaces getting turned face up.
Before the copied creature is turned face up, its own replacement effect happens and does something.
The copied creature is actually turned face up with its replacement effect applied, as if it was that creature all along.


Are "East trading post" and "West trading post" considered identical structures?

The East and West Trading Posts are considered separate structures because they have a different name and illustration. Using the short form on the Forum card indicates that either the East or West Trading Post can be the base for chain construction.


I have found some rules. They agree on the 2, but disagree on the Jack.

The problem with these games, is that there are a lot of house rules. So there is a high probability that there are some differences in the rules.

The best way to avoid problems is to discuss and fix the rules before play. So you can focus on the fun part.


Maximum attainable points for a single player in a two player game of Carcassonne

Note: This answer below is using 1st Edition scoring rules (Cities only scored once). Although parts of the analysis are valuable to calculating the highest score possible (36 Scoring opportunities, try to score with Meeples that have a high point value per the 36 turns, the highest score of 278 is not correct. I will have to do further analysis to determine if 7 farms can be created scoring the most cities multiple times, will result in a maximal score. (Edit: The maximum theoretical score is 338, as posted in my other 3rd Edition rules analysis)

Hackworth's analysis about optimal play exists is correct, although he is right about the difficulty in evaluating all possible moves, I believe that tengfred is closer in estimation of what we need to determine the maximum score possible. We only need to evaluate ending maps, not all possible moves from the beginning to the end. Once we have found the maximum scoring map, we only need to backtrack to find a legal set of moves that will lead to that end map. That is as tengfred points out, a much smaller problem.

The Rules show 72 tiles, and scoring as follows:

  Road (1 point per tile), Cities (2 points per tile, 2 Points per pennant), Cloister (1 point for each tile, cloister tile and surrounding tiles), Farm (3 points per completed city)

A similar question was asked on The Opinionated Gamer.

  My challenge to you is to see how many points you can score using only the 72 tiles in the base set – following all of the rules as printed in the box — EXCEPT that you can only use one meeple!

Wie Hwa (animation) solved that problem with 277 points.

He didn't always score on odd turns, so his solution isn't the correct answer to this question. But, someone with more desire than me might want to take his end map and modify the order of the turns so that player 1 is always the one to score.

This gets you a grand total of 278 points (the board actually will have an unmatched city tile that cannot score I think, and still place a farmer). It is amazing that Wei Hwa almost achieved this using only a single meeple in single player. Feel free to figure out if his end map is an optimal solution for 2-player.

The maximum number of scoring opportunities is 36 if you go first since you can only place meeples on your turn. The optimal solution will include:

one farmer, 45 points
15 completed cities, 116 points (10 pennants = 20 pts, 48 city edges = 96)
6 cloisters, 54 points.
The remaining points divided between the most points that can be scored on roads with the remaining 14 moves (1x Quad road = 4 pts,7x Tri Road = 21 points, 32 straight/elbow non terminals, 5x Dead End)


Did a bridge column make errors in discussing a hand?

No; swap the club 5 and 6 and South still makes the hand. Deal it out with a deck of cards and see.

If West wins the second club and returns a diamond the diamond loser has been eliminated; if West returns a club the 4th club is now set up for the diamond pitch; if West returns a trump or heart Declarer wins and leads out the 3rd round of clubs, wins the diamond return by East and goes to board with 3rd round of trumps to pitch the losing diamond.


Effect of Viper's Kiss on Heroic creatures

Viper Kiss only prevents activated abilities, ones that contain a :.

Anthousa, Setessan Hero has a triggered ability, since it contains "whenever", this is a different kind of ability and is thus not affected by Viper Kiss


What's the legal stance for online versions of games?

IANAL (I am not a lawyer): this does not constitute legal advice. (Side note: Is it even necessary, i.e. do lawyers actually say this on the internet? Doesn't everyone assume that any advice you receive over the internet is suspect, and you should consult a professional?)
Paul Edward Nowak has a great thread on the geek related to many of the common misconceptions regarding Intellectual Property.
Yes, art and the specific expression of the rules in rule book are protected by copyright, which protect an original artistic or literary work. If you reword the rules and use your own artwork, you can most likely recreate any game that you like with no legal repercussions from copyright. There are other concerns though, like trademark infringement. Trademarks are there to protect the public from being unable to distinguish one maker/source of a product from another. Trademarks may include fictional names of people or places (Catan, Darth Vader), product (Blokus, Monopoly, Magic: the Gathering) or company names (Apple Inc.). You should avoid copying aspects of a game that might confuse your version of a board game with that of the originator.
Is this typical? That is difficult determine. There have been lawsuits in the past. Anti-Monopoly creator was sued, but eventually Parker Brothers settled out of court, and granted the creator of the game a license to distribute the game. Facebook's Scrabble-like board game creators were sued, but they modified the game enough that the lawsuit was withdrawn.
Rio Grande might be looking the other way because it doesn't see a good positive cost/benefit analysis. In general, developers and publishers would probably send a Cease and Desist letter to the website hosting the alleged infringing content. The website will probably remove the offending content if they are a third party, but afterwards the creator of the infringing content can deny any infringement. Court is costly, and it is difficult to determine on which side the court will settle.
The components of board games that are protected are:

Art: Is protected by copyright.
Rules: As written. You cannot copy verbatim any rule book.
Name (maybe): The name of the game might be a trademark, or a registered trademark. Trademarks are location/industry specific. This is why Apple Inc. (iPad creators) and Apple Records can both have very similar trademark names and icons.
Terminology (maybe): You probably cannot directly copy fake technical terminology. You definitely cannot have Romulan Disruptors in your spaceship battle game. You probably could have lasers, or photo torpedoes, or other real technology.
Mechanics (probably not): You cannot patent a game mechanic. Everyone is free to create Roll and Move games (Monopoly, et.al.), or Deck Building games (Dominion clones), Tactical Wargames (Warhammer 40k), etc.
Mechanical Inventions (maybe, but it is harder than you think): Mechanical inventions in games that are novel and not obvious are able to be patented. They have to be new though. You cannot patent "inventions" that existed before your patent in the public, or that are obvious extensions of prior art (Quarriors! creators could not patent custom die faces on six sided dice, because this invention existed previously and is obvious). WizKids sued Wizards in an attempt to declare Wizards constructible game patent invalid. On this same page you can see other cases where Wizards sues Nintendo (settles).

A software developer should be worried about all these types of infringement. The worst that is likely to happen to you if you are creating a freeware online implementation though is that you will probably be sent a cease and desist letter. If you choose not to fight and remove the infringing work at that point, little if anything will happen to you. If you are charging money, and are earning a profit, then (if the amount of money you have made is considerable) you might be headed to court. While it is possible that you might be liable for up to $150,000, they would have to prove that your reproduction wasn't Fair Use DMCA.

In a civil suit, an infringer may be liable for a copyright owner's actual damages plus any profits made from the infringement. Alternatively, the copyright owner may avoid proving actual damage by electing a statutory damage recovery of up to $30,000 or, where the court determines that the infringement occurred willfully, up to $150,000. The actual amount will be based upon what the court in its discretion considers just. (17 U.S.C. 504)
Violation of copyright law is also considered a federal crime when done willfully with an intent to profit. Criminal penalties include up to ten years imprisonment depending on the nature of the violation. (No Electronic Theft Act, 18 U.S.C. 2319)


Does damage dealt by Searing Blood's delayed trigger cause Satyr Firedancer to trigger?

The ruling is incorrect. The source of the damage is the Searing Blood spell. When Searing Blood resolves, it creates a delayed triggered ability

  When that creature dies this turn, Searing Blood deals 3 damage to the creature's controller.

The "Searing Blood" in the triggered ability refers to the spell Searing Blood, so when the triggered ability resolves, the spell is the source of the damage. Since the spell no longer exists, its last known information is used.


Do starting positions make a significant difference in Senji?

The most important part of senji from my experience was the ability to attack.  Unlike a normal area of control game where the primary purpose of troops is to conquer territories, in Senji the primary purpose of soldiers from a time perspective is to die in combat thus gaining you honor.  While holding territories does give you more actions each turn, it also makes you more vulnerable to attack due to the very low piece limit on troops.

Naval attacks confer fairly low penalty compared to the high value of the attack opportunities they can create, so naval connectivity is usually the most interesting feature of territorial positions rather than land connectivity (another difference from other area of control games).  As a result, black, yellow, and purple are in the more advantaged offensive positions in that they have starting territory on both seas, allowing them to attack almost any territory on the board (with the exception of the two inland territories controlled by red and green).  Thus, if there is a tempting opportunity for combat (such as a situation where you can win a 6 on 5 battle), these players will almost certainly have it available, while other players only have a 50% chance that they will be able to get to that territory.

The check against this is that the seas go both ways: these players can also be attacked by anyone from pretty much anywhere.  This is less valuable than in a classic are of control game, but attacking a player that has just taken a fourth territory can matter a lot.

Do they make a significant difference?  Not when compared to games like Game of Thrones.  I would say starting positions in Senji are more comparable to starting positions in classic Risk; they are not symmetric, but the map is connected enough that the asymmetry is merely enough to add nuance rather than throw off game balance.


Per this FAQ:

  The Reach ability allows a figure to make a melee attack targeting
  both adjacent spaces and spaces at a range of 2

I think it's pretty clear from the way that's phrased that "adjacent spaces" means the same as "spaces at a range of 1".


I found a good answer in the really good Spades book Master Spades by Steve Fleishman, his answer is the following:

Lead the second-lowest card in a safe suit.  This signals to partner that this suit is safe and that you have one lower card.

Why this is good: when opponents play a low card in this suit, because partner knows you have another low card he don't have to cover and can save his high card for next trick.

This convention also lets you inform your partner if you hold a low singlton, by playing the 2 (or the 3 when the 2 either held by partner or will be played) partners know that you don't have a lower card in that suit, hence you had a singlton.  Now partner will lead that suit on the first oppratonity, so you can discarde a high card in a diffrent suit.


How does Dread work in a Two-Headed Giant game?

Comprehensive rules, 810.9:

  [In a Two-Headed Giant game, d]amage, loss of life, and gaining life happen to each player individually. The result is applied to the team’s shared life total.

If Player A has a Dread on the battlefield, "you" refers to its controller, Player A109.5.  Dread's ability will only trigger if player A is dealt damage.  Attacking A's partner will not trigger the ability.


What happens if your opponents never let you win the bid?

I will expand on Benjamin Cosman's answer by noting that:

The behaviour you are observing is bad bridge; and
The (scoring) line in Rubber Bridge is simply that, and a means (other than a time limit) for ending the match. The winner is determined by the total of points obtained both below and above the line.

However, to expand on point 1 above, learn to double the opponents to truly penalize them for their unsocial behaviour, and enhance your defensive skills to get those extra tricks that turn a collected penalty of 100 or 200 into 800 or even 1100. A couple of those should slow down your opponents penchant for stink bidding.

If collecting penalties is still insufficient, offer to play for a little pocket change. A one cent a point stake over 3 or 4 hours can comfortably net $40 to $80 profit over weak players. There are two common forms of scoring in money bridge: rubber and four-deal or Chicago. Tough money players will deliberately play rubber against weak players as it creates additional strategic considerations that those players fail to grasp. Only against players that they respect do they opt for Chicago scoring, as it reduces the luck element.

Finally, I will note that the scoring of doubled not vulnerable under-tricks was changed about 20 years ago. Formerly all doubled undertricks after the first were scored at 200 points each, but long experience revealed that this was inadequate. A change was made that the 4th and subsequent doubled undertricks not vulnerable undertricks  now became 300 points each, the same as when vulnerable. Make sure that you are using the current scoring table - and practice your doubling and card-reading skills.

Good luck!


Activating Field of Ruin's ability without a target

No, you won't be able to do that.
Abilities aren't split into parts by colons, or anything of the sort. They have an activation cost, and everything behind it is one block of effect text that is to be treated as a single entity:

602.1. Activated abilities have a cost and an effect. They are written as “[Cost]: [Effect.] [Activation instructions (if any).]”

The rules for activating abilities are identical to the rules for casting spells:

602.2b The remainder of the process for activating an ability is identical to the process for casting a spell (...). Those rules apply to activating an ability just as they apply to casting a spell. (...).

And just like for spells, you can't activate them without declaring the maximum number of possible targets - in this case, one.

601.2. To cast a spell is to take it from where it is (usually the hand), put it on the stack, and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect. Casting a spell follows the steps listed below, in order. If, at any point during the casting of a spell, a player is unable to comply with any of the steps listed below, the casting of the spell is illegal; the game returns to the moment before that spell started to be cast (...)
601.2c The player announces his or her choice of an appropriate player, object, or zone for each target the spell requires. (...) If any effects say that an object or player must be chosen as a target, the player chooses targets so that he or she obeys the maximum possible number of such effects without violating any rules or effects that say that an object or player can't be chosen as a target. (...)


Can I bring multiple prerelease packs into a prerelease tournament?

You cannot bring extra prerelease packs into the tournament like that.
Limited tournaments (such as drafts) work like this: The tournament officials (such as the game store owners running the pre-release) issue you boosters/cards, and they must issue everyone the exact same amount of cards. They will issue you one pre-release box, because if they issue you two, they have to issue everyone else two as well. That is the one and only box you get to use.
If you happen to possess other boosters or pre-release boxes, they don't count (even if you bought them from the tournament organisers, since they weren't issued to you for use in the tournament). They're outside the tournament scope, and you can't bring them into the tournament and use the cards inside them for that tournament, even to pick between them and another box. You use exclusively the box and boosters given for the tournament entry, or you're breaking tournament rules. (Suffice to say, breaking those rules will get you a stern talking to from your hosts, and/or disqualificiation from the tournament.)
MTG Tournament Rules as of May 2014:

7.3 Card Use in Limited Tournaments
Cards must be received directly from tournament officials. This product must be new and previously unopened. Pro Tour, Grand Prix, World Magic Cup, and World Championship events may have had boosters opened in order to stamp them. Each player (or team) must be given exactly the same quantity and type of product as all other players participating in the tournament. For example, if one player receives three Return to Ravnica boosters for a booster draft, all other players must also receive three Return to Ravnica boosters.

Emphasis added. If you bought extras, they're just extras you'll use in your own time. Don't bring them into the tournament.


Identify this strategic, war board & card game about Italy (not Carcassonne)?

This is Condottiere.

From Board Game Geek's description:

  The object of Condottiere is to acquire four connected provinces in renaissance Italy. To do this players auction off different provinces on the board and bid on these provinces with a hand of cards representing mercenaries, seasons, scarecrows, and political figures.


Can a creature be set up to regenerate and still deal combat damage?

We are able to regenerate Skithiryx and assign combat damage. Option 2 is not accurately depicting how regenerate works.

When we use an ability or spell that says "regenerate (some creature)", we are not then and there performing the regenerate procedure (tap it, remove it from combat, remove damage marked on it). Instead, we're applying a sort of shield. Next time the creature dies, the shield gets used up and the regenerate procedure happens.

Specifically, Regeneration is a replacement effect that replaces the next time the creature would be destroyed. You can read about it in the comprehensive rules under rule 701.14.

It's a bit confusing and that's part of why regenerate has faded away.

In the case of Skithiryx, this is what will typically happen in your example:

I attack with Skithiryx. You block it with your 5/5.
At the end of the blocking step, before combat damage happens, I activate Skithiryx's regenerate ability. Nothing happens now, but the regeneration shield is made.
We advance to combat damage. Simultaneously, your 5/5 deals 5 damage to Skithiryx, then Skithiryx assigns 4 infect damage to your 5/5.
Immediately after combat damage, state-based actions are checked. Skithiryx has lethal damage marked on it and so would be destroyed. The regeneration shield we created is now applied and expended: we tap Skithiryx, remove all combat damage from it, and remove it from combat (which hardly matters since combat is almost over at this stage).

So ol' Skithy deals its damage and survives, and you now have a 1/1 flier.


How is Hnefatafl related to Chess and Go?

History of these ancient boardgames is a bit murky due to their really old age.

The wikipedia article on Hnefatafl is a good starting point, but you can already see from that how vague the information is. Hnefatafl being played since around 400 is certainly older than Chess. In fact, it can be considered a predecessor of Chess.

A not so easy relation is that between Hnefatafl and Go - if it exists at all.

What can be said for certain is that written documents on these three games can placed in a timeline like this:

Go is the oldest with (written!) references dating back to ca. 400 BC
Hnefatafl appears around 800 years later
Chess appears again a few hundred years later.

What is particularly interesting is that Chess is believed to have originated in India, from where it basically traveled to Europe. By around 1000 Chess was far-spread in Europe.

As for the initial development of Hnefatafl, I am not aware of the influences. What is known is that Hnefatafl is tied very closely to the Vikings. Due to their enterprising nature they traveled through most of Europe helping to spread Hnefatafl. Also note that the end of the Viking age coincides with the time of the introduction of Chess, so it is not surprising that the latter continued to dominate the European scene for centuries to come.

Edit: In terms of influence between Hnefatafl and Chess, I'd wager neither significantly influenced the other. From the mere timeline it is possible that Hnefatafl may have influenced the development of Chess. But that would be a risky theory, as I am not aware of any written connection between these two and the spacial separation between Vikings and Indians makes it ever so unlikely.


In Monopoly, Is it OK for a third party to make a trade with a player who is about to lose?

The usual ruling is that if you are threatened with bankruptcy (you've landed on a property and don't have enough cash), you can only make trades with other players if they will allow you to avoid bankruptcy.  If you can't avoid it, the bankrupting player gets everything you owned (cash and property) at the instant you landed on them, after selling houses/hotels to the bank.

A strict reading of the rules would indicate that if you land on a property and don't have enough cash to pay the rent, you're bankrupt immediately and have no opportunity to sell/trade (or even mortgage) stuff to raise money.  Most people consider that silly, and allow trades to raise enough cash to avoid the bankruptcy.

Another common house rule related to bankruptcy -- a player may accept LESS than the amount they are owed if they wish.  A common use: You land on my hotel on New York and owe me $1000.  I offer to let you off for a $1 if you sell me Boardwalk for $1.  Otherwise you might sell it to the player that owns Park Place for $1000 to pay your rent.  I can't just buy it from you for $1000 as I don't have that much cash on hand.


I've been able to find a partial match for what you're describing. It isn't your exact game, but I'm posting it hoping it'll help someone find that game — it sounds like a possible ancestor or derivative.

The former Ideal Toy Company produced Logus Sr. and Logus Jr. in 1971. This is a 2-player game that gives the players a 4×5 grid of letters, two spaces missing, making for 18 letter tiles. You're assigned challenges of various formats by cards. There's no wheel and there's no 4-player.

First: Logus Sr. Image credit: Bagherra on Board Game Geek. // Second: Logus Jr. Image credit: Amazon

(Logus found thanks to Graham Toal, Steffan O'Sullivan, and the wordgame-programmers mailing list.)


Is the partner of a no trump opener also the team "captain" on defense?

This is nonsensical reasoning.

In any sort of team game you would be frequently doubling the opponents in to game (minus 530 or 730) for a long shot at a doubled set (of plus 100 or 200). To make matters worse, the double will just refine the ability of declarer to place defensive cards properly, which is already tuned by the 1NT opening. This is simply losing bridge.  Even at match-points, white against red, I cannot conceive of a game situation where I am not better off to try and get a plus by defending better than the field.

Further, captaincy in defense is a separate concern than in bidding. In defense, the captain is the partner who first figures how to maximize defensive tricks, and is most often the defender with the most points. Captain, once that is known, is entitled to lie with defensive signals while non-captain should only make mandatory false cards and otherwise signal honestly.


Will double strike trigger cipher twice?

Cipher triggers whenever the encoded creature deals combat damage to a player. An unblocked creature with double strike will deal combat damage to the player twice; once in the "first strike" combat damage step, and again in the regular combat damage step. As a result, if an encoded creature with double strike is not blocked, you will be able to cast the encoded card twice.


Lord of the Ring LCG: Gandalf and Expert Treasure-hunter

TLDR; Your assumptions are correct - you can 'automatically' draw three cards on a successful quest with three Expert Treasure-hunter attached to your heroes and a Gandalf (hero).

To answer your first question, yes. If have Gandalf (Hero) and Expert Treasure-hunter attached to a hero when you quest successfully on Expert Treasure-hunter's triggered ability activation you can name the type of the card on the top of you deck, then discard and draw it.

For the second question I think the key is Gandalf's Play with the top card of your deck faceup. This means that the top card of your deck (provided your deck has cards in it) is ALWAYS revealed as long as you have Gandalf's ability. Thus during each activation of the three Expert Treasure-hunters the top card of your library will be revealed and you can name its type, then discard and draw it. Id est you can automatically draw three cards on each successful quest with Gandalf and three Expert Treasure-Hunter's attached to your three heroes.

The source for my interpretation is the "The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game Online Rules Reference" found on the Fantasy Flight Games website. In particular the second Golden Rule (page 2):

  If the ability text of a card directly contradicts the text of either the Rules Reference Guide or the Learn to Play book, the text of the card takes precedence.

implying that the top card of your deck is ALWAYS revealed if you have the Gandalf hero's ability. And the definitions of Response (page 14):

  Response:
  Response abilities are labeled by the word “Response” followed by ability text. Unlike action abilities, which are resolved during action windows, response abilities may be executed after the specified triggering condition occurs, as described in the response’s ability text.
   - It is possible for multiple responses to be executed from the same triggering condition.


In UNO, is it legal to throw a Draw 4 card that you just picked up on purpose?

Yes, the play is illegal. It doesn't matter that the card was just drawn; it is still prohibited.


Can the last player in a trick win with Change Rage?

No, the last player cannot win in this way. From the wikipedia link

  The 14 Rage cards in the deck have black borders and, with the
  exception of the Wild Rage card, do not count as being of any suit and
  therefore cannot win a trick.

Honestly, I'm not really sure where the confusion is. The card changes the trump color. You then evaluate the other cards played on the trick, find the highest card of the new trump (or the highest of the led suit if there are no cards of the new trump), and it wins. The only player that can't possibly win the trick is the one that played the Change Rage.


Do creature effects trigger every time they move base?

No, Invader grants a victory point when it's played, not when it's moved.

  Play: You play a card
  when it’s one of the
  free cards you get in
  step 2, or any time an
  ability specifically says
  that you’re playing it. A
  card’s ability happens
  when you play it. When
  cards are moved, placed,
  or returned, they’re not
  being played, and their
  abilities don’t happen.

  Move: This lets you
  move a card from one
  location to another.
  Moving a card does
  not count as playing it.
  Minion abilities do not
  happen when you
  move a card.


Are you allowed to take three moves with a seven?

No, when you split the 7, you aren't allowed to split it into a 5 and a 1; you have to split it in a way that adds to a total of 7. So if you moved one pawn 5 spaces, landing on a slide, then the other pawn must be moved 2, not 1.


In Seven-Wonders Can I buy resources that were built by my neighbors this turn?

Semi-duplicate of an earlier question of mine: Timing Rules in Seven Wonders...

The consensus we seemed to come to then was that, no, you can't build something with a neighbour's resources that have come into play that turn.

If it helps to clarify the order that things go in, I recommend doing it this way: everyone reveals their card, which is not yet in play.  Then everyone pays the costs of their revealed cards (buying resources from neighbours if necessary).  Then the revealed cards are put into play, and any resulting gold bonuses are added to players' treasuries.

It's a bit "Magic the Gathering" (and possibly a bit anal!) to break everything down into discrete phases in this way, but I think it makes it a lot easier to visualise what's happening, when people are still hazy on the precise timing rules...


Will returning a creature trigger Prowess?

The creature with Prowess has to be on the battlefield to trigger it.

Prowess is a triggered ability that only works while the card it's printed on is on the battlefield, i.e. as long as it's a permanent. Therefore, if you return Lotus-Eye Mystics with Rally the Ancestors, the Mystics will not get the Prowess trigger from that.

You will, however, get the enters-the-battlefield trigger from the Mystics.


Is it mandatory to draw more Destination Tickets when they are completed?

No. Your opponents should not know when you complete a route until the end of
the game. Also, you score points for every track you lay down, so you aren't just playing to block other players or to get he longest route. Completing routes is simply one of the ways to score points, it is not "the object" of the game.


Short answer: No, you can't activate Crushinator when you are forced to destroy the factory.

The Crushinator has an ability that you can activate. That activation has a cost (destroying a room). When a hero enters a room, you can choose to activate any spells or abilities you have. After that, you apply damage to the hero and resolve any effects that might trigger, but you can't activate more abilities until the hero enters the next room.

So when the hero enters the factory, you could choose to destroy it at that time, but then the factory would not deal damage to the hero. If you wait for it to deal damage, it will then be destroyed by its own text and you will not get a chance to activate the Crushinator's ability and pay for it by destroying the factory.


Battlestar Galactica: what is the most critical resource?

As with most games, it depends. It would most likely shift some using the variant rule as well, but it isn't clear to me exactly which way. You lose the game if any resource hits 0, but depending upon different game states, different resources may be more important than others. For example, if you are already at 8 distance, you can probably safely allow Fuel to be reduced to 1 rather than Morale which comes up more often on the Crisis cards. If your President is a cylon on the other hand, they most likely won't be giving Inspirational Speeches to improve your morale (even worse, if your Admiral is a cylon too). Which characters are being played in the game, and which (if any) are cylons probably has the biggest effect on the importance of individual resources.
Here is an analysis that someone wrote up on BGG.  The major points are:

Fuel: You start with 8, and you need to travel 8. There are 21 destination cards, and most Destination cards allow you to move one, at the cost of one fuel. You need to save/gain fuel at some point. One third of the cards allow you to move 2, but only cost 1 fuel. Of the 70 Crisis cards, 10 can cost you fuel, but in half of those the Admiral is given a choice of losing other resources instead. If the Admiral isn't a cylon, it is unlikely you will run out of fuel.
Food: You start with 8. Food is a volatile resource. Food Shortage shows up 9 times in the crisis deck, and the President has the option of throwing away cards or losing food. On 6 other skill check cards, if you fail to pass you lose food, these vary in color. Food is one of the few resources where it is possible to lose two steps in a single turn. If the President isn't a cylon, it is unlikely you will run out of food.
Morale: You start with 10. Morale is very skill check dependent, and in 19 of the 70 cards it is possible to lose morale. Most checks are Green and Yellow. Most of the skill check are pretty easy to pass. In 9 of the cards, the Admiral has a choice of losing Morale or other resources. The president can give Inspirational Speeches to raise morale (4 of 17 Quorum cards). Horde Yellow and Green cards to avoid losing Morale, and pray your Admiral isn't a cylon.
Population You start with 12. Most civilian ships have 1 population. 12 Skill checks have the potential of losing population, but 4 of those give you a choice, leaving only 8 must pass skill checks. The checks are usually very hard to pass, and usually require tactics. If you defend your civilian ships, you can use the FTL early, and lose 5 skill checks, and still not lose due to 0 population. If you don't lose civilian ships to cylon attacks, you can jump early and avoid more Crisis cards.

You also might want to check out a rather detailed distribution of the cards in Battlestar Galactica.


How many lands should I have in my sealed or draft decks?

Conventional wisdom is to run around 40% lands in Limited.  This means around 12-13 lands for a 30-card deck, and 16-18 lands for a 40-card deck.

Typically, you see three variations. Aggressive, low-curve decks (which curve out at at four or five) will run as few as 11/16 lands. Typical decks (one or two colors, curve out around six or seven) will typically to run 12/17 lands. Slower decks (and decks in slower formats) will often run 13/18 lands, especially if they're three-color or hitting a third or fourth land drop is very critical.

Mana fixing is always very important - anytime you can run a mana creature/artifact or filter lands of some kind, it's likely in your favor to do so.

As far as why, in Limited your reliance on never missing a land drop in the first four-six turns is much higher than usual. That consistent ramp up to four-six lands means dropping those higher-cost creatures and game-winning bombs.

EDIT: On the subject of mana acceleration, as I previously mentioned, it's almost always in your favor to run what you can (mana fetch spells, mana creatures and artifacts, filter lands, etc.), but depending on how many of them you run, you can sometimes decrease your land count.  Some people reduce by one land per mana/land-generating spell, others say one land per two spells - however, this is usually to a minimum of 15-16 lands in 40-card and 11 lands in 30-card (11 is very uncommon).


Different kinds of "two direction" finesses in bridge?

The simple, unhelpful reason/rationale is that it gives you the best chances under the circumstances.

For instance

Kxx

AJ9

You need 3 tricks and know that LHO has the Q. Your best shot is to play RHO for the Ten, (which is ~50% assuming no other information is given). Playing the J first sets up the finesse position for the Ten. (Consider a similar one way situation, xxx opposite AJ9. Needing two tricks, you first play to the 9)

You can try playing the AK to drop the singleton Q or doubleton QT, but that is inferior in terms of chances.

I remember reading a book where in one of the problem hands, the right play in trumps was to  finesse one way, and if that wins, repeat the finesse the other way! (I might add the hand later if I remember it).

Not sure if that helped.


You can't have ID cards in your deck;
so any ID hosted on DJ Fenris is not part of your deck, it's similar to Rebirth in that regard.

You don't have to bring all eligible IDs, only ones you ever plan to use.
You also don't have to show which additional IDs you have to your opponent until you actually play Rebirth or DJ.

You are still limited by the IDs legal in the format you're playing,
so for Standard; Noise and other rotated runners as well as draft IDs are out.
Your faction will limit choices too.


How does the ability of Bloodthirsty Aerialist resolve with other life link creatures?

The scenario unfolds as follows:

You declare bloodthirsty Aerialist and Blood Burglar as attackers.
Your opponent declares blockers for these creatures.
All damage is dealt. At the same time, Blood Burglar's lifelink causes you to gain 2 life.
Bloodthirsty Aerialist's ability is triggered and goes on the stack (but doesn't resolve yet).
State based actions are checked. If either of these creatures have enough damage on them to die, they are put into the graveyard.
Bloodthirsty Aerialist's ability resolves (assuming players pass priority). If Bloodthirsty Aerialist is not on the battlefield, the ability does nothing. If the creature is on the battlefield, it gets a single +1/+1 counter.

Bloodthirsty Aerialist will only deal 2 damage to the creature that blocks it, and if it is dealt three damage, the +1/+1 counter won't be placed on it in time to save it from dying.


Why is the Warhammer Fantasy species "Cold One" named as such?

2 reasons that I could find:

It is a reference to the people that use them. Only cold-blooded people can   ride them without a problem
They see all warm-blooded things as prey, so they are the cold ones and the enemy the warm ones

Source: http://warhammerfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Cold_Ones


The time does depend on # of players, as turns are sequential, yet total rounds is fairly constant.  I would say 30 minutes per player is a good average.  The game will change significantly with # of players, as it makes use of several first-come mechanics (limited board resource slots) and, of course, the voting mechanic.   4-5 players will be the closest in game-play.


No, all players' mana pools get emptied at the end of every step and phase of the turn.

  500.4. When a step or phase ends, any unused mana left in a player’s mana pool empties. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack.

There are some cards  that let you keep some or all of your mana, but they always state that clearly in the card text, and Sheltered Aerie is not one of those cards.