Whose turn is it when the end-of-round 5 turns are called and the turn is being passed?

The turn has not yet ended.

To end your turn, all players must pass priority until the stack is empty, all players must pass priority once more to end the current step or phase, and then all players must pass priority again if you ever regain priority (e.g. in subsequent steps or phases).[1]
Since you can't unilaterally end your turn, telling the next player they can take their turn is merely proposing a shortcut to have all players pass priority until it becomes the next player's turn. The others need not accept the shortcut in its entirety, so the turn hasn't ended yet. Only once the last player has accepted the shortcut does the turn end.[CR 719.2a-c]
Having taken no action since your proposal, the other player has not accepted (or shortened) your shortcut (explicitly or implicitly, e.g. by untapping), and it hasn't occurred yet.

There are effects that override these rules. e.g. Sundial of the Infinite

719.2a At any point in the game, the player with priority may suggest a shortcut by describing a sequence of game choices, for all players, that may be legally taken based on the current game state and the predictable results of the sequence of choices. [...]
719.2b Each other player, in turn order starting after the player who suggested the shortcut, may either accept the proposed sequence, or shorten it by naming a place where he or she will make a game choice that’s different than what’s been proposed. (The player doesn’t need to specify at this time what the new choice will be.) This place becomes the new ending point of the proposed sequence.
719.2c Once the last player has either accepted or shortened the shortcut proposal, the shortcut is taken. The game advances to the last proposed ending point, with all game choices contained in the shortcut proposal having been taken. If the shortcut was shortened from the original proposal, the player who now has priority must make a different game choice than what was originally proposed for that player.


Is it possible to fill an Othello/Reversi board with one color?

Yes, it is possible.

Here is a youtube link showing a game where black fills the entire board:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prWG1OFgVqg&t=0m30s

(the game starts at 30s)


How Has The Fluxx Core Game Changed Over The Years?

The Fluxx Wiki has lists of the composition of the various decks linked off this page.
Here's my attempts at answering your specific questions:
Cards in v2 not in v3:

Doughnuts

The Eye

The Pyramid

Taxes

Coffee & Doughnuts

Death & Taxes

The Great Seal

The Mind's Eye

Money (No Taxes)

Pilfer the Trash

Trash Hand Limit

Trash Keeper Limit

Brain Bonus

Final Card Random

Government Cover Up

Hand Limit 3

Money Bonus

Secret Data

Tax Bonus

Time Bonus

New cards in v3:

Sleep

Baked Goods

Bed Time

Dreamland

Hearts & Minds

Rocket Science

Squishy Chocolate

Winning the Lottery

Empty the Trash

Go Fish

I Need a Goal

Jackpot

Let's Do That Again!

Let's Simplify

No Limits

Rotate Hands

Double Agenda

Reverse Order

First Play Random

No-Hand Bonus

Poor Bonus

Rich Bonus

Inflation/X = X + 1

The Looney Labs newsletter from Nov 14, 2002 explains the changes in v3.0 this way:

1.) What will be different? Roughly half of the cards in the deck have changed in some way, but in many cases the revisions are so minor that only a few people will notice them. Over 25% of the cards have been radically changed or are completely different.
2.) Can you be more specific about what's changing? The 4 "Bonus" rules have been replaced with a trio of stronger ones, called the Rich bonus, the Poor Bonus, and the No-Hand Bonus. The 3 new rules which we made into promos for Origins 2002 (X=X+1, Double Agenda, and Reverse Order) have all been added. Those annoying "hide a Keeper" rules are all going away, and we're getting rid of 4 rather wimpy Actions and putting in 7 better ones. We thinned the Keepers down a bit, increased the number of Goals, and made sure no Keeper was useful for only 1 thing. The 5 Keepers being dropped are the Eye, the Pyramid, Coffee, Donuts, and Taxes, but in their place we're adding 2 totally new ones: Sleep and Dreams. Changing the Keeper mix required us to drop a number of Goals that no longer made sense, but of course others were needed for the new Keepers. A couple of Goals also got renamed. Other minor changes included replacing the artwork for War (as I described a few weeks ago) and for Chocolate (since we've learned that a certain powerful Chocolate Corporation has strong attitudes about their trademark on a little slip of paper sticking out of a piece of candy). Final Card Random has been changed to First Play Random (it works better), the blank card has been eliminated (it's obsolete), and the rules insert will be larger (featuring the cartoon shown here). The tuckbox will be the same size, but it will look a bit different; the 6-pack display carton will change only slightly. To sum up: it's way better than before.

Looking further at the v3.x page, I think these are the minor changes:

The chocolate keeper has a kiss in 3.0 and a bar in 3.1
The 3.0 "The Sun & the Moon" goal is called "Night & Day" in 3.1
The "Go Fish" and "I Need a Goal" actions are only in 3.0
The "Jackpot" action is only in 3.1
The 3.0 "X = X + 1" rule is called "Inflation" in 3.1
The 3.1 Fluxx packaging included another card to "Join the Fluxx Fan Club"


Which enchantments allow tapping a creature to inflict direct damage?

There are a few Aura cards that grant creatures the ability to tap to deal damage to a target (some with more restrictions than others). To find these cards, I used the magiccards.info search o:"Enchant Creature" o:"Enchanted creature has" o:deal o:"{T}", which finds Auras that enchant creatures that mention dealing damage and have an ability with a tap cost. Those cards are:

Archery Training

  At the beginning of your upkeep, you may put an arrow counter on Archery Training.

  Enchanted creature has "{T}: This creature deals X damage to target attacking or blocking creature, where X is the number of arrow counters on Archery Training."

Burning Anger

  Enchanted creature has "{T}: This creature deals damage equal to its power to target creature or player."
  Fire Whip

  Enchant creature you control

  Enchanted creature has "{T}: This creature deals 1 damage to target creature or player."

  Sacrifice Fire Whip: Fire Whip deals 1 damage to target creature or player.

Hermetic Study

  Enchanted creature has "{T}: This creature deals 1 damage to target creature or player."
  Hypervolt Grasp

  Enchanted creature has "{T}: This creature deals 1 damage to target creature or player."

  {1}{U}: Return Hypervolt Grasp to its owner's hand.

Lavamancer's Skill

  Enchanted creature has "{T}: This creature deals 1 damage to target creature."

  As long as enchanted creature is a Wizard, it has "{T}: This creature deals 2 damage to target creature."

Lightning Prowess

  Enchanted creature has haste and "{T}: This creature deals 1 damage to target creature or player."
  Power of Fire

  Enchanted creature has "{T}: This creature deals 1 damage to target creature or player."

Predatory Urge

  Enchanted creature has "{T}: This creature deals damage equal to its power to target creature. That creature deals damage equal to its power to this creature."
  Psionic Gift

  Enchanted creature has "{T}: This creature deals 1 damage to target creature or player."

Quicksilver Dagger

  Enchanted creature has "{T}: This creature deals 1 damage to target player. You draw a card."
  Sinstriker's Will

  Enchanted creature has "{T}: This creature deals damage equal to its power to target attacking or blocking creature."


Playing with less or more than 10 Kingdom card types in Dominion

I think playing with less would be fine.  From the games I've played with there are about 2-5 stacks that never get any buys, and 1-2 that get bought down really fast.  For inexperienced players I think it would be a big plus.

However, for experienced players it could change some of the strategy a bit.  The other stacks, even if unbought, can serve as a threat that players may buy those.  For example, if there were multiple reaction cards then the attack cards seem less desirable.  So right there 2-4 stacks may be off-limits on the premise of mutually assured destruction.  However, with no reactions attack cards gain a lot of value.

Thus adding more cards would be bad IMHO for experienced and inexperienced players but for different reasons.  The inexperienced players would be too confused while the experienced players would settle on 'sure fire' strategies with so many other strategies to game against.  A limited selection limits the amount of competing strategies, and hence may reduce the number of spoilers to more entertaining card selections.


Interaction between Leonin Warleader and Divine Visitation

This is covered in the rulings for Divine Visitation (emphasis mine):

  The token’s characteristics are entirely replaced by a 4/4 white Angel creature token with flying and vigilance. It doesn’t have any abilities the token would have been created with. Anything else specified in the effect creating the token (such as tapped, attacking, “That token gains haste,” or “Exile that token at end of combat”) still applies.

So you make two 4/4 Angel tokens that are tapped and attacking.


How can I modify Green Tron to better combat Aggro Spirits?

Disclaimer: not an expert on Modern. The following comes from my understanding of other formats & my reading of Modern strategy articles.

As Hall-of-Famer Paulo Vitor Damo Da Rosa wrote, Tron is slightly favoured against spirits, especially pre-board. However, your build of Tron is subpar because your payoff cards are less than ideal. Cards like It That Betrays cost so much mana to cast, doesn't immediately impact the board, and even if you survive to attack with it, you might not win (opponent can sacrifice 2 lands and swing back for lethal). You're also running cards like Nature's Claim in the maindeck, which is completely dead against spirits (this is the reason why Nature's Claim is a sideboard card: it's dead against too many strategies; you only bring it in when it's good). As a result, a complete answer would be very big indeed since it'd involve a complete rebuilding of your deck. I'll refer you instead to these two primers on G/X Tron and Eldrazi Tron on MTG Salvation. Note they are different decks and play out differently - you should choose one and build that way, not try to be both.

For cards themselves I'll mention only these, because they're the most critical to the matchup when both decks are well-built.

Oblivion Stone: I see you're already running four, so you should know how good they are.

Wurmcoil Engine: gaining 6 life means they can't kill you, and it's too powerful for them to trade with. They basically need to have Path to Exile or lose.

Ugin, the Spirit Dragon: Ugin's second ability is a one-sided sweeper against Spirits.

Walking Ballista: this lets you snipe off all their X/1's easily and still maybe have a body left over. Remember it also instantly kills Phantasmal Image.

Edit: remembered that spirits runs Aether Vial, so maindeck Nature's Claim aren't dead. However, it's still not worth it. They will have hands which don't contain Vial, and it's not like you auto-win if they don't have Vial either. Nature's Claim is for fighting the likes of Stony Silence (which, if it resolves, almost paralyzes you) and Affinty; the sideboard is the place for these narrow hate cards, not the maindeck.


Can I have more than four non-basic lands with the same name in my deck?

No, the maximum allowed number of copies for each card is four. The only exceptions are basic lands (Forest, Snow-covered Forest) and cards which specifically mention they're exceptions (like Relentless Rats).

  100.2a In constructed play (a way of playing in which each player creates their own deck ahead of time), each deck must contain at least sixty cards. A constructed deck may contain any number of basic land cards and no more than four of any card with a particular English name other than basic land cards.

(from the Comprehensive Rules)

So in the rare case that you're playing a Fifth Edition draft (that's a Limited format) and manage to draft five Bottomless Vaults, then it would be allowed.


What is done with discarded Tides of Battle cards?

The FAQ indicates the cards should be reshuffled each combat, as you have been doing:

  Reshuffling the Tides of Battle deck: Immediately before the "Choose
  and Reveal House Cards" step of every combat, all Tides of Battle
  cards are reshuffled together to form a new deck.


Is it possible to achieve a negative score?

You cannot go below 0 points, so you will get a break on the penalty you have to take.

From the rules, under scoring:

  Finally, at the end of the Wall-tiling phase, check if you have any
  tiles in your floor line. For each tile in your floor line, you lose
  the number of points indicated directly above it. Adjust your
  scoring marker on your score track accordingly (however, you
  can never drop below 0 points).


Ancestor dragon. Inclusive or cumulative

Ancestor Dragon says:

  Whenever one or more creatures you control attack, you gain 1 life for each attacking creature.

It triggers only once for each attack if you attack with one or more creatures. If you attack with 3 creatures you gain 3 life.

To clarify, the ability doesn't trigger for each attacking creature, just for each time you attack.

If you attack the second time (for example if you have an additional combat phase) then the ability will trigger again.


It's a little hard to tell from your question, but it sounds like it might be worth making sure you understand what the card does.

First off, "Cumulative upkeep - Pay 2 life". The definition from the comprehensive rules is:

  702.23a ... “At the beginning of your upkeep, if this permanent is on the battlefield, put an age counter on this permanent. Then you may pay [cost] for each age counter on it. If you don’t, sacrifice it.” ...

So the first upkeep after you play this, you'll pay 2 life, the next you'll pay 4 life, then 6 life, and so on, until you decide not to pay and sacrifice it instead. So assuming you start at 20 life, and aren't gaining any, the longest you can keep it is three turns, at which point you'll have paid 2+4+6=12 life, and paying 8 more would kill you. You could also sacrifice it after less than that if you don't want to pay that much life.

In the meantime, it's preventing all damage that'd be dealt to you. So if your opponent is trying to kill you with damage, which is reasonably common, you're pretty much invincible for three turns. If it prevents more damage than the life you've paid to hold onto it, you've come out ahead on life (though you'll be down two lands).

So, is that useful? Could be, in the right sort of deck.

If your deck is one that struggles to survive until it sets up for victory, that could be quite helpful. Maybe a couple turns of preventing damage is all you need, and then you can kill your opponent before you even have to worry about not being able to pay the upkeep. Maybe all you really need is to prevent damage for one turn, and then you'll be able to stop what your opponent is doing some other way, and can sacrifice it before you even need to pay life. If you're in situations like this, you don't care at all about whether your creatures can attack, and you may not even have any creatures.

On the other hand, if you don't manage to get ready to win the game in time, you'll eventually have to sacrifice it and your opponent will be able to hit you again - and you'll have been paying life, so you'll be in worse shape to survive.

In all, this is a pretty niche effect. On top of that, it's an old card that can only be played in formats with all kinds of other powerful old cards, so it faces pretty stiff competition for inclusion in serious decks. There are plenty of other ways to stave off defeat for a couple turns (including dealing more directly with threats), and often it's better to try to win faster than to try to just delay your opponent.

But, nonetheless, it still sometimes sees play in legacy lands decks like this one. That's a deck built around using lands to provide effects, so it's actually a bit of an upside that Glacial Chasm is a land: it can be searched up with Crop Rotation or brought back from your graveyard with Life from the Loam. It'll still only be useful in certain situations, so it's just a one-of in a sixty card deck, and many lands decks don't include it at all. But some do, so there you go: sometimes useful.


Can you sacrifice a creature you block with to fulfill Annihilator?

Annihilator happens before blocks.  When the attacking player declares attackers, the Annihilator trigger goes on the stack.  The defending player has to resolve it first.  Then the phase can move to the Declare Blockers step.  If you still have a creature at that point, you can block.


Are equip cards destroyed when you attack the equipped monster twice

In duel links equip cards like intrigue shield and amazoness heirloom are destroyed when the equipped monster is attacked twice i want to know does this happen in the real game of yugioh or just in the game

This you are experiencing is part of such equip card effects. Both of them happen to have the ability to save the monster they are equipped once, so when your monster has to be hit twice before it goes.

From the Intrigue Shield, emphasis mine:

  Target 1 face-up monster you control; equip this card to that target. Once per turn, while the equipped monster is in Attack Position, it cannot be destroyed by battle. You take no battle damage from attacks involving it.

And from Amazoness Heirloom:

  Equip only to an "Amazoness" monster. Once per turn, that monster cannot be destroyed by battle. When the equipped monster attacks, after damage calculation, destroy the attack target.

So this is part of the YuGiOh ruling in general, more specifically, due to the specific card texts and effects you mention.


Permanent +1/+1, and −1/−1 until end of turn

Unfortunately, you've misunderstood - there's nothing to cancel here. Korozda Gorgon doesn't hand out any counters.

Only effects that explicitly say "counter", like "remove a +1/+1 counter from..." or "place a -1/-1 counter on..." use counters.

An effect that grants ±X/±Y doesn't involve counters, whether it be until the end of the turn like Korozda Gorgon's "Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn." or Honor of the Pure's "White creatures you control get +1/+1." These effects just modify power/toughness.

So while it's true that -1/-1 counters cancel out with +1/+1 counters as a state-based action, Korozda Gorgon never places a -1/-1 counter on anything, so there's nothing interesting going on here. The +1/+1 counter never goes away, and the creature really does just get -1/-1 until end of turn.

Hypothetically, if Korozda Gorgon said "...put a -1/-1 counter on target creature. At the end of the turn, remove a -1/-1 counter from that creature." and you used it on a creature with a +1/+1 counter, then they'd cancel when the -1/-1 counter is added, and then at the end of the turn there'd be no counter to remove and nothing would happen. But it doesn't say that, and cards generally won't. Counters are used when the effect is meant to last: you put the counter on the creature and it stays there as a probably-permanent reminder of the effect. Nothing ever says "put a -1/-1 counter on target creature until end of turn"; it'll always say "target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn" like Korozda Gorgon does.

Thanks to Kevin in the comments, there are a couple cards that do this: Bounty of the Hunt and Shambling Swarm. They're definitely the exception though. I suspect if they were printed today they would not use counters; the text is a lot longer, the unfamiliarity makes it even harder to read, and it doesn't even cause very much functional difference. And Kevin helpfully pointed out an example: Seeds of Strength avoids using counters.


This appears to be called a "filler" card, and that word seems to be key to successful Googling.

See here for more info, entry 031 is the one you posted.

http://www.magiclibrarities.net/348-rarities-filler-cards-english-cards-index.html

Seems to be pretty rare.


Can I trade my own resources in exchange for another player's Settlement, City, or Road?

No, you may not trade game pieces.

The rules have this on trading:

  Trade
  Afterwards you may trade freely (using either or both types of trades below) to gain needed Resource Cards:

  a) Domestic Trade

  On your turn, you can trade Resource Cards with any of the other players. You can announce which resources you need and what you are willing to trade for them. The other players can also make their own proposals and counter offers.
  Important: Players may only trade with the player whose turn it is. The other players may not trade among themselves.

  b) Maritime Trade

  You can also trade without the other players! During your turn, you can always trade at 4:1 by putting 4 identical Resource Cards back in their stack and taking any 1 Resource Card of your choice for it. If you have a settlement or city on a harbor, you can trade with the bank more favorably: at either a 3:1 ratio or in special harbors (trading the resource type shown) at 2:1.
  Important: The 4:1 trade is always possible, even if you do not have a settlement on a harbor.

It is allowed to trade the resources for a road for some other resources, with this restriction: You are not allowed to trade the same goods. This means you cannot exchange brick for brick, or in this case 4 bricks for a brick and a wood. I believe handing over entire roads, settlements and/or cities worth of resources is tactically a dubious move for your opponents under most circumstances, but it is allowed.

  You may not trade like resources (e.g., 2 wool for 1 wool).


What happens when, and can I return face-down non-creature cards to my hand?

Yes, you can return the face-down card to your hand, and yes, you do have to reveal it.

The first rule about Manifest, 701.31a says

  "Manifest [a card]" means "Put [that card] onto the battlefield face down." That permanent is a 2/2 creature with no text, no name, no subtypes, and no mana cost. That permanent is a manifested permanent as long as it's face down. The effect defining its characteristics works any time the card is face down and ends when it's turned face up.

In addition, rule 707.9 says

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


Heliod, Sun-crowned combo with Walking Ballista

Sure, they can:

kill either Conclave Mentor or Heliod, Sun-Crowned as soon as you play Walking Ballista (i.e. put it on the stack, before it resolves and enters the battlefield)
kill Heliod or the Ballista in response to you activating Heliod's last ability (if they kill Heliod, the Ballista will gain lifelink, but it won't get more counters)
kill the Ballista after you activate its last ability for the first time; you can activate its ability again in response to that, but after paying the cost of the ability it won't have any +1/+1 counters on it and will die from state based effects, unless you have an anthem-like effect in play. In that case, you would be able to activate the Ballista's ability an arbitrary number of times before the kill spell resolves.


Are there any websites for keeping score of various boardgames?

Boardgamegeek (http://boardgamegeek.com) has a play reporting feature which can include who played, what position each played, their score, and additional notes. Play notes can be publicly accessed. (It can be a bit of a pain, tho, to find someone else's plays.)

It does exactly what you're asking for. If the same person reports every time, it's readily viable to find it.

Further, one can create a private geeklist which lists the games, instead of using the play reports feature.


Can you do a field of ruin and kefnet the mindfull combo

No, you can't do this.
The reason is that sacrificing Field of Ruin is part of the cost of its ability; not part of the effect. The cost is paid when you activate the ability, as part of the process of activating the ability. So by the time you can respond to the ability while it is on the stack, Field of Ruin is already in the graveyard; no longer on the battlefield, which means that you no longer control it.
From the comprehensive rules:

602.1a The activation cost is everything before the colon (:). An ability’s activation cost must be paid by the player who is activating it.
602.2. To activate an ability is to put it onto the stack and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect.

The rule that you are thinking of is that an ability can still resolve even if the source of the ability has left the battlefield. So if someone destroys Kefnet in response to you activating his activated ability; it won't stop you from drawing a card and being allowed to return a land you control to your hand. Be careful not to casually use the phrase "abilities will trigger", because a triggered ability is a specific type of ability; activated abilities never "trigger".


An Outlaw gets Married. Where should the Origin Token be placed now?

From this FAQ document provided by the game publishers,

  If some other game effect forces you  to  move your Destination or Origin marker, you lose the effect (i.e. the status) associated with that marker!

When the player became Married, and moved the Origin Token, they lost their Outlaw status.

The Origin Token goes in the location which resulted in the Married status.


How can I collect information on all the MTG decks that have ever been played in standard/type 2?

All Standard MTG decks will be hard, but I assume you're mostly interested in the most successful ones. In that case, I'd start with the Event Archive on Wizards' website. Especially for older events, the format isn't always shown in the list, but a few clicks will be enough to determine the format.

Now, for example, let's take the 2000 Pro Tour Chicago. Scrolling down the coverage article, you'll get to the Top 8 Decks page, which shows you the archetypes which were successful back then:

White Rebels
Red/Green Aggro
White/Blue Rebel Control
Blue Control (Rising Waters)

(not sure about the names, though)


How do I take advantage of the Japanese Anti-American offense?

One thing that you could do would be attacking anything in the Japanese sea zone with the American fleet.  The British would then advance on Japanese controlled Asia and with the Americans keeping the Japanese from building ships, it will make it a lot easier as the game continues.  The US will still need to build a slightly bigger navy in order to destroy the rest of the Japanese.  Try not to break up your navy into several smaller armadas.  Just hold off the Germans the your British in Europe and the Russians.  Once Japan is relatively helpless, you can take all but one ship from the Pacific and then, if you can keep Japan at bay, you can start to creep into Europe to help your allies.  Hope this helps!


Are 2 2-card-swishes a valid 4-card-swish?

I decided to email support at Thinkfun.com with:

  I played Swish last night for the first time and was unclear about
  something after both reading the rules multiple times and viewing your
  video:

  The question is whether a pair of 2-card-swishes constitute a valid
  4-card-swish, so long as the hoops and balls don't overlap among all 4
  cards. The rules don't comment on this situation one way or another so
  I am assuming the answer is yes (and can be extended equally to 2+3=5,
  2+2+2=6, etc., again so long as the hoops and balls don't overlap when
  you stack the subsets together.

  Another way of asking the same question is if you have what seems to
  be a valid 4 card swish per the rules, is it still valid if the 4
  cards can be rearranged into 2 sets of 2 swishes?

  I asked this question on Stack Exchange (Board and Card Games) and
  the person who answered came to the same conclusion I did - that the
  rules as literally stated indicate this is a valid swish (see link
  beneath my signature). However, this sits uneasily with me because
  2+2=4 swishes are easier to find than 4-swishes that can't be
  decomposed into 2 sets of 2. Yet the scoring system does not reward
  finding more difficult swishes.

  If you don't know the answer, can you pass this on the game creators
  to find out their intent?

Here's the answer I received:

  Below is the answer to your questions from one of our Production Team
  Members:

  The short answer for his question is no, Two 2-card Swishes do not
  “count” as a 4-card Swish. But, they do count as a legal move in the
  game, and the person who finds two 2-card Swishes still wins 4 cards,
  just as many as a person who makes a 4-card Swish. So, to answer the
  second point, at first blush this would seem not to make sense, since
  as Joe points out, the scoring system does not reward the person who
  found the more complicated Swish. This is actually done deliberately.
  The reason is that the winner is simply the player who has won the
  most cards. We tested versions where harder Swishes (higher counts)
  where worth more, but we decided on this version because it allows
  multiple players, of multiple skill levels, to play an equally
  challenging game. As in, when families play, Mom or Dad can be limited
  to 3 or higher card Swishes, whereas Jr.(s) can go for any number.
  This way, all players will be challenged, and Jr.(s) have an equal
  chance to win the game.

  We understand that for more experienced gamers, this will seem
  somewhat “off”. But this was the version that had the greater appeal,
  and we assume that people that really get into games like this can
  adjust the rules as they see fit, adding additional points for higher
  card Swish. I would suggest +1 for a 3-card Swish, +2 for 4-card, and
  so on. Keep in mind, though, that if you play this way, you have to
  keep all your Swishes separate as you win them, or else do the math in
  your head and remember it. This is another minor detail that can add
  complication, something that we try to avoid.

I interpret the answer as saying it doesn't count as a 4 card swish yet you can collect 2 2-card swishes simultaneously. It's phrased this way so that if an experienced adult is playing a kid using the variant that kids can do 2-card swishes while adults can't, then the adult is not allowed to simultaneously pick up 2 pairs for a 4 card swish, even if there is no ball/hoop overlap.


What is the difference between countering spells and exiling spells?

is it able to exile even uncounterable spells?

Yes.
When a rule, spell or ability refers to a keyword action (a verb with a rule definition), it strictly refers to that action.
Pearl Lake Ancient can't be countered (a keyword action), but it can be exiled.

Difference between countering spells and exiling spells

To counter a spell, move it to its owner's graveyard.
"Exile" isn't a keyword action. It's simply short for "move to the exile zone".[1]
In both cases, the spell will never get a chance to resolve since it will never be the topmost item on the stack after all players have passed in succession.

"Move" also isn't a keyword action. That's why many different verbs are used for the action. The verbs include: "move", "put", "place", "return", "exile" and "die".

Keyword Actions

701.1. Most actions described in a card’s rules text use the standard English definitions of the verbs within, but some specialized verbs are used whose meanings may not be clear. These “keywords” are game terms; sometimes reminder text summarizes their meanings.
701.5. Counter
701.5a To counter a spell or ability means to cancel it, removing it from the stack. It doesn’t resolve and none of its effects occur. A countered spell is put into its owner’s graveyard.
608.1. Each time all players pass in succession, the spell or ability on top of the stack resolves. (See rule 609, “Effects.”)


End turn by Drawing from Bottom card after Triple Slap?

I see from the rules that the slap cards give multiple turns, not multiple draws.  Thus, the only cards that will allow you to avoid those extra turns are the Slap cards, which explicitly pass all your remaining turns to your target.

"Ending your turn" in general only affects the current turn, not your next turn or the turn after.


What does an Evil Twin of an opponent's Essence of the Wild look like?

First, the Twin enters the battlefield as a modified copy of the Essence. It's a green 6/6 Avatar named “Essence of the Wild” that costs 3GGG and has two abilities. These are:

“Creatures you control enter the battlefield as a copy of [this] Essence of the Wild.”
“UB, T: Destroy target creature with the same name as this creature.”

It's not blue or black, and it's not a Shapeshifter.

When the Diregraf Ghoul would come into play, two replacement effects are relevant. One is a copy effect that causes it to become Essence of the Wild, and one is a regular effect that causes it to become tapped. Rule 616.1 specifies that the copy effect is applied first. Once the copy is applied, the creature no longer has Diregraf Ghoul's text, so the tap effect ceases to exist and is never applied.

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

  [...]

  616.1c If any of the replacement and/or prevention effects would cause an object to become a copy of another object as it enters the battlefield, one of them must be chosen. If not, proceed to rule 616.1d.

  616.1d Any of the applicable replacement and/or prevention effects may be chosen.

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

Diregraf Ghoul comes into play as a copy of your evil Essence of the Wild. It has all the characteristics of your evil Essence, including the destroy-same-name ability and the name “Essence of the Wild”. This is because characteristics modified by a copy effect are themselves copyable (706.9a). It has none of the characteristics of Diregraf Ghoul. It's not black, and it's not a Zombie.

  706.9a Some copy effects cause the copy to gain an ability as part of the copying process. This ability becomes part of the copiable values for the copy, along with any other abilities that were copied.

You now have two copies of Essence of the Wild, both with the extra ability granted by Evil Twin. Your opponent's Essence probably doesn't have long to live!


Civilization A New Dawn: How may additional control tokens be placed when resolving the Civil Service focus card

The FAQ's got your back:

  Civil Service: Trade tokens spent with this card allow the player to place additional control tokens following the usual rules for placing control tokens, not the special rule for Civil Service’s secondary effect.

Source: Official FAQ (as of 03-JUL-2018)


Normally you would want to put it on top of your deck.  Getting a silver (essentially) is generally a pretty good move.

If you create a deck that draws a lot of cards you will be shuffling in the middle of your turn fairly often.  In that case, you definitely know whether you want to draw more treasures now or not.


Shogi Notation notes which piece is moving, and where they are moving to. So P7f means that a Pawn is moving to square 7f. If there is ambiguity as to which piece is moving then the starting location is added to the front (ex. G6i-5h when there is more than one Gold piece that can move to the 5h square)


Can I use Settlers of Catan (older edition) with Catan: Explorers and Pirates (2015 ed.)?

Yes. Aside from some slightly different artwork and renaming of soldiers to knights, the only difference is that the newer edition comes with a frame that has the ports printed on it. You don't need the frame, so you just play without it.


I contacted the publisher and got the official rule:

"In concept, a small fish moving into a square occupied by a predatory fish means the small fish gets eaten."

So, the small fishes can indeed rush head on into the mouth of a predator. Seems like my daughter can continue feeding my beautiful little fishes to sharks, and there's nothing I can do about it.


Cruel Entertainmet's effect will still work in full as long as the two targeted players are in the game, whether or not the player who cast the spell is still in the game. And Liliana's ability will last until her controller's next turn would have started.
The following rules about Multiplayer games are relevant:

800.4a When a player leaves the game, all objects (see rule 109) owned by that player leave the game and any effects which give that player control of any objects or players end. Then, if that player controlled any objects on the stack not represented by cards, those objects cease to exist. Then, if there are any objects still controlled by that player, those objects are exiled. This is not a state-based action. It happens as soon as the player leaves the game. If the player who left the game had priority at the time he or she left, priority passes to the next player in turn order who’s still in the game.

800.4b If an object would change to the control of a player who has left the game, it doesn’t. If a token would be created under the control of a player who has left the game, no token is created. If an object would be put onto the battlefield or onto the stack under the control of a player who has left the game, that object remains in its current zone. If a player would be controlled by a player who has left the game, he or she isn’t.

800.4j When a player leaves the game, any continuous effects with durations that last until that player’s next turn or until a specific point in that turn will last until that turn would have begun. They neither expire immediately nor last indefinitely.

"Objects" in 800.4a refers specifically to the things defined in rule 109.1:

An object is an ability on the stack, a card, a copy of a card, a token, a spell, a permanent, or an emblem.

Importantly, this does not include effects that were created by spells or abilities, and rule 800.4j explicitly points out that effects created by a player stick around after that player leaves the game. So if a player casts Cruel Entertainment and then leaves the game, the effect will still exist in the game.


If you counter a spell cast for its Flashback cost from the graveyard, it gets exiled. The rule that covers flashback is 702.33a, and it says

  Flashback appears on some instants and sorceries. It represents two static abilities: one that functions while the card is in a player's graveyard and the other that functions while the card is on the stack. "Flashback [cost]" means "You may cast this card from your graveyard by paying [cost] rather than paying its mana cost" and "If the flashback cost was paid, exile this card instead of putting it anywhere else any time it would leave the stack." Casting a spell using its flashback ability follows the rules for paying alternative costs in rules 601.2b and 601.2e-g.

Countering a spell normally sends it to the graveyard (or, in some cases, exile, its owner's hand, or their library), but the flashback ability makes it go to exile instead.

It's worth noting that if a counterspell says to exile the spell it's countering (like Spelljack, for example), and then does something with it after it's exiled, that still happens. That's because if the spell is getting exiled anyway, the flashback ability doesn't change anything.


What is wrong with Escaped Shapeshifter's original wording?

There are three situations that are affected in meaningful ways by this wording change, all of which had different behavior with the old wording.
In the first situation, two players each have an Escaped Shapeshifter, then one plays a creature with one of the named abilities (e.g. flying). Under the old ruling, both Escaped Shapeshifters would gain flying. With the new wording, only the Shapeshifter opposed to the creature that naturally has flying would gain flying. There is nothing really problematic rules-wise in this situation, but I suspect that the behavior with the old wording was a worse fit for the flavor of the card.
The second situation is the one you describe, where you start with the same creatures as in the first scenario, and then the creature that naturally has flying goes away. With the old wording and the current rules, both Shapeshifters would lose flying. With the new wording, it is pretty clear that the opposing Shapeshifter would lose flying. This is a problematic scenario, because under the old wording it's not obvious to most players what would happen.
In the third situation, two players each have an Escaped Shapeshifter, and one also has a creature with flying and the other also has a creature with first strike. With the old wording and the current rules, unintuitively, one Shapeshifter would gain only the ability the opposing creature has naturally, and the other would gain both abilities, and which one gets which depends on the order in which they entered the battlefield. With the new wording, each one only gets the ability that the opposing creature naturally has. This is the most problematic situation, because the old behavior is surprisingly asymmetrical and requires players to track an unusual piece of information: when the creatures entered the battlefield.

To understand why this ability behaves this way under the old wording, we have to delve deep into the rules regarding the interaction of continuous effects. In Magic, evaluating the outcome of effects like this uses what is commonly known as the "layer system". In this case, the layers themselves are less important because the ability in question only operates on one layer: "Layer 6: Ability-adding effects, ability-removing effects, and effects that say an object can't have an ability". When applying multiple effects in the same layer, two subrules of that section apply:

613.6. Within a layer or sublayer, determining which order effects are applied in is usually done using a timestamp system. An effect with an earlier timestamp is applied before an effect with a later timestamp.

613.7. Within a layer or sublayer, determining which order effects are applied in is sometimes done using a dependency system. If a dependency exists, it will override the timestamp system.

This dependency system is the way the rules rigorously represent the idea of "one Shapeshifter gains flying because the other Shapeshifter gains flying". The rule for deciding whether the dependency system applies is 613.7a:

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 (see rules 613.1 and 613.3); (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.

Using the old wording, we can see a difference in how this would be evaluated in the two situations:

Let's call the Shapeshifter controlled by the player with the flying creature Shapeshifter A, and the one controlled by the opponent Shapeshifter N. We can see that there is a dependency here: (a) they are both in the same layer; (b) if Shapeshifter N's effect is applied first then it gets flying from the creature that naturally has flying, which changes the outcome of applying Shapeshifter A's effect; and (c) the ability is not a characteristic-defining ability. The same is not true the other way around: applying Shapeshifter A's effect first will do nothing, which will have no effect on what Shapeshifter N's effect will do.

In this case, if you apply either Shapeshifter's effect first, it gains no abilities because none of the opponent's creatures have any of the named abilities (yet), which means that it doesn't change what the other Shapeshifter's effect does. So, this fails the second condition and there is not a dependency.

This case is similar to the first, except that the second condition is true in both directions. If you apply Shapeshifter A's effect first, Shapeshifter N also gains first strike. And if you apply Shapeshifter N's effect first, Shapeshifter A gains flying.

Once there are dependencies, rule 613.7b describes how to apply the effects:

An effect dependent on one or more other effects waits to apply until just after all of those effects have been applied. If multiple dependent effects would apply simultaneously in this way, they're applied in timestamp order relative to each other. If several dependent effects form a dependency loop, then this rule is ignored and the effects in the dependency loop are applied in timestamp order.

With this we can see how the effects actually get applied in each situation.

In the first situation, Shapeshifter A's effect depends on Shapeshifter N's effect, so we wait until after we apply Shapeshifter N's effect to apply Shapeshifter A's effect. Shapeshifter N sees an opposing creature with flying, so it gains flying. Then Shapeshifter A sees an opposing creature with flying, so it gains flying.

In the second situation, there is no dependency, so we use the timestamp order. Whichever Shapeshifter entered the battlefield first sees no opposing creatures with the listed abilities, so it gains no abilities. Then the other Shapeshifter does the same.

In the third situation, since each creature's effect depends on the other there is a dependency loop, so we end up using the timestamp order again. In this case, whichever Shapeshifter entered the battlefield first sees one opposing creature with one of the abilities, so it gains that ability. Then the other Shapeshifter sees two different creatures with different abilities that it can copy, so it copies both of them.


Yes.

  Any word that is found in a standard English dictionary can be used in the game of Scrabble. There are also Official Scrabble Dictionaries that can be purchased for more word options. (Rules source)

Any word found in a standard English dictionary is allowed, which includes plural words.

You can look up a word to see if it is legal here, and searching "tables" shows it is legal.


Does Silence stop working in the Cleanup step, allowing more spells to cast in the same turn when discard triggers effects?

Yes, the play was legal.
Normally, during the cleanup step, no player gets priority to cast spells or activate abilities. However, since the player affected by Silence controlled The Gitrog Monster and had to discard cards during cleanup, one of which was a land, players got rounds of priority. By that time, Silence had already ended and that player was allowed to cast spells.

Cleanup Step

514.1. First, if the active player’s hand contains more cards than their maximum hand size (normally seven), they discard enough cards to reduce their hand size to that number. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack.

The Gitrog player discarded 3 cards here. One of them was a land (Mana Confluence), so the Gitrog Monster ability triggered and was waiting to enter the stack.

514.2. Second, the following actions happen simultaneously: all damage marked on permanents (including phased-out permanents) is removed and all “until end of turn” and “this turn” effects end. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack.

Silence ended here.

514.3. Normally, no player receives priority during the cleanup step, so no spells can be cast and no abilities can be activated. However, this rule is subject to the following exception:

514.3a At this point, the game checks to see if any state-based actions would be performed and/or any triggered abilities are waiting to be put onto the stack (including those that trigger “at the beginning of the next cleanup step”). If so, those state-based actions are performed, then those triggered abilities are put on the stack, then the active player gets priority. Players may cast spells and activate abilities. Once the stack is empty and all players pass in succession, another cleanup step begins.

The Gitrog Monster's ability entered the stack here and players get rounds of priority, allowing everyone to cast spells.


Do Status Effects End In Mansions of Madness?

No. The keyword in the rules (found here) is "ongoing." Status effects do not end until an action is taken to end them.


Is there an API to find Warhammer 40K model pictures by name?

I sincerely doubt there is, at least not officially.  I've been playing Games Workshop games for the past 15 years, and their protection of intellectual property has gotten pretty severe in the past couple of years.  Just do a Google search for "Games Workshop sues" and see all the fun that auto-complete brings up.

From their Legal Page, Bandwidth Theft and Mirroring Resources section:

  We do not tolerate deep linking to the pictures, images, PDFs or other downloads on our website. Such activity is bandwidth theft. Also, do not mirror the resources that we have on our websites. So, if you want other people to see the materials that we have produced, please use a simple HTML link to the relevant web page.

And from the Online Auctions:

  Do not use our trademarks in relation to products that are not owned by or originate from Games Workshop (see Making Terrain above).

Now, I am not a lawyer, but between Privateer Press, Chapterhouse Studios, the TalkFantasyFootball forums, etc., etc., I would be very careful in what you do.


Can I cast both parts of Commit//Memory from the graveyard with Torrential Gearhulk?

You can use Torrential Gearhulk to cast either Commit or Memory, but not both.

As you mentioned, in zones other than the stack (including the graveyard), a split card has the combination of the characteristics of the two halves [CR 708.4]. In this case, that does mean that the card is considered to be both an Instant and a Sorcery. Since it is an instant card, it is a valid target of Torrential Gearhulk's ability.

Then, Torrential Gearhulk instructs you to cast the spell. The first thing you do when casting a split card is choosing which half you are casting [CR 708.3]. In this case, Memory has a restriction (Aftermath) that says that you can only cast it from your graveyard. You are casting the card from your graveyard, so that's no problem. Commit doesn't have any restrictions, so you can cast that too. The Gearhulk's ability doesn't care if you cast the instant half or the sorcery half. It instructed you to cast an instant card, and that's what you did.


Does the Crokinole playing surface material really affect the gameplay?

When considering whether "upgrading" your board, you want to consider how it will impact your enjoyment of the game.
Enjoyment of the game is impacted in a few ways:
Gameplay:

A hard, smooth, level, and slick surface allows for accurate shots and purer deflections that allow advanced players to use "angles" better then lower quality surfaces.
The rigidity of the posts, and cleaner cut 20 hole provide more consistent bounces and 20 point hits.
A solid, thicker play surface combined with a taller rail supports having harder shots being trapped in the ditch rather than bouncing back on to the play surface disturbing the remaining pieces.

Longevity:

Stained and urethaned wood or composites are less susceptible to moisture, wear and tear and are less likely to warp and/or lose their shape over time.   Quality crokinole boards are frequently considered desirable heirlooms and can be enjoyed pass down other generations

Presentation, Aesthetic and Ergonomics:

Many owners of high quality boards consider them artwork or attractive furniture.  Over hung on a wall or displayed on a stand, the boards are often conversation starters: you are more likely to play.
Placing a substantial and attractive board on a table with high quality discs definitely changes the look, feel, sound, and even smell (esp a freshly waxed board) that engages players more than a smaller cardboard playset.

If you enjoy crokinole on small cardboard set, and think that this is a game you would be playing for many years, you might consider a handmade board a form of investment.   Its not uncommon for players to point to the size and price point of a quality crokinole board as reasonable alternative to a billiard table or shuffleboard table.


Retreat in case of slide trap in Dungeon!

Now I do not know of an official ruling, but in this instance my group has always practiced that retreat is not the same as return.

That is to say the rules are telling you, that you are to no longer occupy the same chamber/room as the monster, not that you must go back the way you came.

I have not played Dungeon! but I have played New Dungeon which was a precursor to that game.

We always played that retreat simply means you move out of the chamber/room you are in, in whatever direction you fancy.

To pretend for a moment: While you are fighting a monster you are moving all around. Who is to say you are on the same side of the room as you started and near the same door you entered through?


Where can I find a database with a list of all magic cards?

as an alternative, you can also get the full set of cards in JSON format - including all sets, languages, printings and detailed information - from this website: http://mtgjson.com/

This website also provided information to work with its associated site for serving images, found here: http://mtgimage.com. Unfortunately however, subsequently this website has been shut down by WotC.

this websites appears to be designed specifically for developers, with explanations of what each property in the JSON objects means.


Legendary Encounters - Alien: Freeing captives in the "Who's laying the eggs?" objective (spoilers)

You can begin to free the captives as soon as Who's Laying the Eggs? becomes the current objective.

From the rulebook (page 11):

  The players can only be on one “current objective” at a time. Whenever an Objective is completed, immediately put it on the bottom of the three Objective cards. Players can then work toward completing the next Objective.

This means that you cannot be working on future objectives, so could not use the text relating to buying captives before this objective becomes current.

As soon as the objective is the current one, you can use the text on it to buy the captives. While there is no explicit rules explaining this, the text for resolving events and for purchasing captives are separated, which indicates they are different abilities, so the second ability would not require the event trigger of the first.


Can I kill an indestructible creature with -X/-X and sufficient damage marked on it?

Spell order doesn't matter; either way you cast the spells, you wind up with: a 3/3 indestructible creature with 3 damage marked on it.
You've asked if you can hit it with both Lightning Bolt and Tragic Slip... but I presume you also mean to ask "will that kill it?" and the answer is no, the indestructible creature will survive.
See the part of your quote that says: "such permanents aren't destroyed by lethal damage, and they ignore the state-based action that checks for lethal damage." By that, they are talking about the fact it's a creature with 3 toughness and 3 damage marked on it (until the turn ends) — that's lethal damage. And lethal damage doesn't kill indestructible creatures, so it will be fine.
(Please note that damage never reduces toughness. Some of the MTG video games have treated it like it does, which is unfortunate and incorrect — toughness isn't like Health. Instead, damage simply sits on the creature, not changing the Toughness, but we measure it against their Toughness to see if they should normally die. Toughness is more like a Max Health attribute if anything.)

It could however be killed by tragic slip's -13/-13 effect (use the lightning bolt to kill something else for this), or by Grasp of Darkness, either of which will reduce its toughness to 0 or less, which removes even indestructible creatures. This is because lethal damage "destroys" a creature, but toughness 0 or less merely puts that creature into its owner's graveyard (without counting as "destroys"):

State-based actions:

704.5f If a creature has toughness 0 or less, it’s put into its owner’s graveyard. Regeneration can’t replace this event.
704.5g If a creature has toughness greater than 0, and the total damage marked on it is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed. Regeneration can replace this event.

Your red/black options also include exiling the indestructible creature, such as with Gild or Oblivion Strike, or using special workaround cards which nullify its abilities like Burn from Within.


Has there ever before been card text that had no effect with cards from the same block?

Eye of Ugin technically existed in the same block as Eldrazi, but the next set, Rise of the Eldrazi, was drafted separately from Zendikar and Worldwake, meaning that in these limited formats its first ability did nothing.


Is there a reason effects that introduce another combat phase also create another main phase?

No, there is nothing preventing this from a rules perspective.  Maintaining the flow of the turn (as murgatroid99 mentioned) is probably why this template has been preserved over time, but the origin of this template comes from the fact that the early rules of the game did not support such a turn structure.

Up through 5th Edition, combat did not have its own phase.  "Attacking" was an optional action that you could enter during your Main Phase.  Entering combat was essentially a special action a player could choose to take like playing a land.  As such, combat was wholly contained within a singular Main Phase, and combat was not standalone.  The very first card to do this kind of effect was Relentless Assault from Visions.  The relevant part of the original text was this:

  You may declare an additional attack during your main phase this turn.

So this automatically functioned the way it does today since every combat happened within a Main Phase and would kick you back out to the Main Phase when they were complete.  When combat was promoted to its own phase in the Sixth Edition rules update and split up the Main Phase to pre- and postcombat, the card received a new printing with wording that would allow it to function the same under the new rules:

  You get an additional combat phase followed by an additional main phase this turn.

After that, this kind of wording became the standard for effects that create additional combats in the turn.  Wizards tends to normalize templates for effects that are used on multiple cards so that players don't have to remember the slight differences between the different implementations, and this has been the basis for templating this particular effect from that point onward.


The steps are legal.  The only thing you need to remember is to let Supernatural Stamina resolve in step 2 before proceeding to step 3 (otherwise Naru Meha won't come back).  Also, when you get to step 6 and are repeating the loop, you need to go back to step 4 and use the targets there, not step 3.  Also note that in a tournament setting you would need to explicitly state where you are retaining priority to cast multiple things in a row.


You gain bonus troops at the start of your turn for controlling an entire continent so as long as you still control Eastern Australia, Indonesia, New Guinea and Western Australia at the start of your next turn you will get the two bonus troops. It doesn't matter if you lose and regain control of all area's in a continent but if you have that control at the start of your turn.


Yes, you can evolve.   Pokemon evolution doesn't depend on the type of either the basic or evolved pokemon.   What matters is that the name of the Pokemon listed as "evolves from" on the Stage 1 match exactly the name of the Basic Pokemon.    So, for example, your leaf/metal Wormadam state on the card "Evolves from Burmy".   Either can evolve from "Burmy", but neither could evolve from "Team Magma's Burmy" .


Does Supernatural Stamina return a creature token to the board?

I'm sorry to disappoint you but a token won't return with Supernatural Stamina.

This is because of the following rules:

  110.5f A token that's phased out, or that's in a zone other than the battlefield, ceases to exist. This is a state-based action; see rule 704. (Note that if a token changes zones, applicable triggered abilities will trigger before the token ceases to exist.)

So it will go in the graveyard, the trigger from Supernatural Stamina triggers and then once state based actions are checked the token ceases to exist. The trigger won't find the token and can't resolve.

Note that a token can never leave any other zone than the battlefield due to the following rule, there is no way to bring it back.

  110.5g A token that has left the battlefield can’t move to another zone or come back onto the battlefield. If such a token would change zones, it remains in its current zone instead. It ceases to exist the next time state-based actions are checked; see rule 704.


Can a player swap more than 4 resources of the same kind with another player

There is nothing in the rules that prohibits this move.

The following excerpts are taken from the 5th edition rules.

Page 7, "Domestic Trade":

  On your turn, you may trade resources with the other players (after rolling for resource production).  You and the other players negotiate the terms of your trades - such as which cards will be exchanged.  You may trade as many times as you can, using single or multiple cards.  However, you cannot give away cards, or trade matching resources ("trade" 3 or for 1 ore, for example).

Page 14, "Trade":

  After you roll for resource production, you may trade with other players (domestic trade) or with the bank (maritime trade).

  You may trade as long as you have resource cards.
  If you decide not to trade during your turn, no one can trade.
  You may trade with another player between your turns, but only if it is his turn and he elects to trade with you.
  You may not trade with the bank during another player's turn.
  You may not give away cards.
  You may not trade development cards.
  You may not trade like resources (e.g., 2 wool for 1 wool).

There is no mention of restrictions on the number of cards that can be traded in a single move.


What is the origin of the term 'Mana Dork'?

The oldest reference I can find for this kind of usage of the term "dork" is an event coverage article on the Wizards website apparently dated January 1, 2000. It contains this description:

  "dorks" - creatures that are "ok" but not "savage"

This may be establishing the use of this word in this way, or it may just be explaining the usage.

The oldest reference I can find for "mana dork" is this MTGSalvation Forum post dated August 29, 2005. So, it seems likely that "dork" came first, and a "mana dork" is just a "dork" that produces mana.


What happens to the dynamite when you die?

The dynamite is discarded unless the dynamite didn't kill the dead player AND Vulture Sam is playing.
From the Bang! consolidated FAQ:

If the Dynamite explodes eliminating a player, does the character Vulture Sam draw the Dynamite along with all other cards of the player eliminated?
No. To complete the effect of the Dynamite you have to discard it after it explodes. So when Vulture Sam gets all the cards of the player killed, the Dynamite is already in the discard pile.

So,

If the Dynamite hasn't exploded, Vulture Sam picks it up as normal (since he takes all cards from the dead player). From the rulebook:

whenever a character is
eliminated from the game,
Sam takes all the cards
that player had in his
hand and in play, and adds them to
his hand.

If the Dynamite did explode (killing the player), Vulture Sam does not pick it up, since it has been discarded.

If Vulture Sam (or similar) isn't playing, then the dynamite is discarded along with all other cards of the dead player. Again, from the rulebook:

When you are
eliminated from the game, show your role card and discard all the cards you
have in hand and in play.


Permitted:

One can trade a number of cards for a different number of cards.⇒ You could accept a sheep.

Forbidden:

One can't trade for nothing.⇒ You can't accept nothing.
One can't trade for resources of the same type as those being traded away.⇒ You can't accept any amount of brick or lumber.

The following are the rules concerning Domestic Trades:

On your turn, you may trade resources with the other players (after rolling for resource production). You and the other players negotiate the terms of your trades—such as which cards will be exchanged. You may trade as many times as you can, using single or multiple cards, but you may not give away cards (i.e., “trade” 0 cards for 1 or more cards).
Important: While it is your turn you must be a part of all trades, the other players may not trade amongst themselves.
Example: It is Pete’s turn. He needs one brick to build a road. He has 2 lumber and 3 ore. Pete asks aloud, “Who will give me 1 brick for 1 ore?” Beth answers, “If you give me 3 ore, I’ll give you a brick.” Cooper interjects, “I’ll give you 1 brick if you give me 1 lumber and 1 ore.” Pete accepts Cooper's offer and trades a lumber and an ore for a brick. Note Beth may not trade with Cooper, since it is Pete’s turn.

The following are the rules concerning Trades:

After you roll for resource production, you may trade with other players (domestic trade) or with the bank (maritime trade). If you decide not to trade during your turn, no one can trade. You may trade with another player between your turns, but only if it is his turn and he elects to trade with you. You cannot trade with the bank during another player’s turn. You may not give away cards. You may trade as long as you have Resource Cards. You may not trade Development Cards. You may not trade like resources (e.g., 2 wool for 1 wool).

Emphasis in both quotes is mine.


Why are the decks in Agricola called Komplex, Interactive and Easy?

My own thoughts:

Komplex Deck - Yes. The rules for all occupations and minor improvements are more complex than E-Deck. Some improvements are harder to play. For instance, the Plow(plow 3 fields a time) improvement can be played as a combo in Plow and also Sow but in Complex Deck, this is forbidden. But there are more bonus points can be collected via minors. More occupations can play additional round-action. Better oven(+5 points), better masion( +2 on stone rooms ).

Interactive Deck - There are some special minors that create additional actions allowing other players to play and the owner benefits with food, such as Tavern. Moreover, some occupations are buyers ( reed buyer, wood buyer etc.,) that can hijack other player's resource. More occupations are doing with other players instead of round-actions.

Easy Deck - All occupations and improvements are usually doing ONE particular action. And the prerequisite for them are not as hard/complex as Komplex.

In my opinion, I would not mix all these decks. I think some occupations of E-Deck/I-Deck are significantly powerful than K-Deck. For example, Fisherman, Backer, Well builder(+Village Well + Water Carrier, this combination is the most cost-efficiency food generator, I think) etc..


Why is the King of Spades the best opening lead with this hand?

Against No Trump the point is to set up tricks that will be guaranteed.  Here the KQJT9 is four safe tricks - so you lead from that hoping to later get in with the diamond King.
When you do get in, either with a spade from partner or a diamond, you have four tricks guaranteed that will set the contract.
By convention, from a run like that you lead the top one (to let Partner know you have the next one or next several).
Beyond that, Kx is a bad lead because it doesn’t set up a trick and if the ace is to your right it gives away a trick. Since right hand opponent has bid 1NT, they probably have around 16 points (A=4 K=3 Q=2 J=1) out of 40 total, while left hand opponent has between 9 and 12 or so points. So odds are RHO has the ace, and so your diamond K will be a trick if you don’t lead from it.
Most of the time in bridge in no trump you either lead a high card when it’s next to another high card or two (so leading it and knocking out the one above it makes the one below it a winner) or you lead a low card in a suit you have a lot of cards in. (In a trump contract you might lead a suit you’re short in, also.) That’s of course when you don’t know what partner has (as is true here).  A low card from length (usually your 4th highest, or near that, depending on your agreements) tells your partner what to try and lead back - even a 65432 suit can become a trick or two in no trump if nobody else has more than three of them!


Can I deal damage to the opponent’s health after I kill their creature trying to block my attack?

No, if an attacking creature is blocked, then it can only deal damage to the creature(s) that are blocking it. (Unless the attacking creature has trample.)

After attackers and blockers are declared, all attacking and creatures deal damage. Your 5/5 will deal 5 damage, and if it being blocked by a creature, then it must deal all 5 damage or that creature. So you will deal 5 damage to your opponent's 3/3, and at the same time your 5/5 will take 3 damage from the blocker. Then the 3/3 will die because it has more damage than toughness.

If your 5/5 had trample, then you could have assigned 3 damage to the blocker and the other 2 to your opponent; killing the blocker and dealing 2 damage to your opponent.

Also, you say “I kill the 3/3 creature because I have more toughness” but this is incorrect. You kill the 3/3 because your attacker has 5 power, which is more than the 3 toughness that the blocker has.

From the basic rules:

  Once all blockers have been chosen, each creature—both attackers and blockers—simultaneously deals damage equal to its power (the number on the left side of the slash in the lower right corner of the card).

    An attacking creature that isn’t blocked deals damage to the player it’s attacking.

    An attacking creature that is blocked deals damage to the creature or creatures that are blocking it, and vice versa.


Is there a Diplomacy variant that does not contain stalemate lines?

Erlend Janbu's variant South America v. 3.2 for four players was designed with the explicit aim "to create a variant where there are no stalemate lines." In a 2001 article on the variant he admits that he does not know for sure whether there is a stalemate line in his variant, but "I and others have searched, and after 100 games, no game has ended in a stalemate." He claims in that article that only "[f]ew variants are stalemate-free," but unfortunately he does not name any. Until one could prove that there is indeed a stalemate line in the South America variant, the answers to your main questions should be positive: yes, it is possible to design a stalemate-free board and yes, it has been done before.

As to how the lack of stalemates would affect the game, it might be worth reading what Andy Schwarz has written on his variant Hundred (based on the Hundred Year's War). As he wrote in an article from 1996, "eliminating draws was a big part of the design of Hundred." This has encouraged solo wins and alliances-shifts, making the game very dynamic. This should also apply to any variant which reduces or eliminates stalemates.

As to variants which avoid stalemates by means of changes to the rules, Stephen Agar wrote about this specifically in his article from 1992, "Designing Maps for Diplomacy Variants," where he notes that "[s]ome variants avoid stalemate lines through the rule mechanics." The only example which he gives is the Multiplicity variant, where multiple units can occupy a single space.


Where can I find Magic: the Gathering puzzles?

Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 includes several puzzle games.

Gatheringmagic.com has a pretty nice archive of puzzles.


Can I block with a previously bestowed creature?

No, as you've said in your question, all of the blockers have already been declared. There's not another opportunity to declare blockers, especially not after combat damage has been dealt!

The steps of combat are:

beginning of combat
declare attackers
declare blockers
combat damage
end of combat

Your creature presumably doesn't die until the combat damage step. You can't go back to the declare blockers step to declare a new blocker, and it wouldn't even make any sense to: by the time your blocker takes damage and dies, combat damage dealt to you by unblocked creatures has already happened too, so there's nothing left to accomplish by blocking.

And if your creature dies after blockers are declared, but still in the declare blockers step - destroyed by an instant, perhaps - it's of course still too late. If on the other hand it dies before blockers are declared, the bestowed-aura-turned-creature can certainly block.


1) Nothing to say for me here ;-)

2) I'm not sure about the actual rules, but I think the penalty of disallowing everything else would be too harsh, as the player loses a complete turn. One could argue if only the three coins should be allowed or building a part of the wonder as well. Personally, I would allow both.

3) Again, not 100% sure: as you cannot use coins that you got this turn, you shouldn't be able to use any resources that have become available in the same turn. My thinking is, everybody builds at the same time and hence completes their building at the same time, so you can't get anything out of another building to complete your own.


Do I get more cards if my hand is empty at the end of my turn?

When you get to your draw step, you must draw a single card, unless some effect lets you draw more or less. If you attempt to draw a card when your library is empty, you lose the game.

Even if your hand is empty, the rules remain the same, and you still only draw one.

Here is how the comprehensive rules states it.

  The draw step is the third step of the beginning phase.

  Draw Step

  504.1. First, the active player draws a card. This turn-based action doesn't use the stack.

  504.2. Second, any abilities that trigger at the beginning of the draw step and any other abilities that have triggered go on the stack.

  504.3. Third, the active player gets priority. Players may cast spells and activate abilities.


Behavior of Linked Abilities if their Source Object Changes Zones

[Karn] is destroyed as a result of the activation.

It doesn't matter if Karn is destroyed. Once activated, an ability exists independently of its source.

112.7a Once activated or triggered, an ability exists on the stack independently of its source. [...]

  Cards stop tracking other cards when they change zones.

Cards never track cards; only effects and abilities can "track" cards, and only under specific circumstances. This is one of those circumstances specifically allowed by the rules.

607.2a If an object has an activated ability printed on it that instructs a player to exile one or more cards and an ability printed on it that refers either to cards “exiled with [this object],” these abilities are linked. The second ability refers only to cards in the exile zone that were put there as a result of an instruction to exile them in the first ability.

If it couldn't do this, the ability would never work. There is no rule that says "If the source changes zones, linked abilities suddenly stop working."

So we've established that the ability doesn't disappear, and that it can act on the cards that were exiled by (now destroyed) Karn. As you can see, there's no mention of checking if Karn still exists. There's no rule causing the cards to forget they were exiled by Karn either. All that matters is that Emrakul was exiled by the source of the ability. Therefore, in all of the situations described, you get an Emrakul.


You can play a land but you can't cast a land

In m10 they use this convention: you activate ability, cast spell and play lands
So from mtg rules

Lands

305.1. A player who has priority may play a land card from his or her hand during a main phase of his or her turn when the stack is empty.
Playing a land is a special action; it doesn’t use the stack (see rule
115). Rather, the player simply puts the land onto the battlefield.
Since the land doesn’t go on the stack, it is never a spell, and
players can’t respond to it with instants or activated abilities.
305.2. A player can normally play one land during his or her turn; however, continuous effects may increase this number.
305.2a To determine whether a player can play a land, compare the number of lands the player can play this turn with the number of lands
he or she has already played this turn (including lands played as
special actions and lands played during the resolution of spells and
abilities). If the number of lands the player can play is greater, the
play is legal.
305.2b A player can’t play a land, for any reason, if the number of lands the player can play this turn is equal to or less than the
number of lands he or she has already played this turn. Ignore any
part of an effect that instructs a player to do so.
305.3. A player can’t play a land, for any reason, if it isn’t his or her turn. Ignore any part of an effect that instructs a player to do
so.
305.4. Effects may also allow players to “put” lands onto the battlefield. This isn’t the same as “playing a land” and doesn’t count
as a land played during the current turn.

So yes, you can choose a land and you can play it.
But it counts for the maximum amount of land played during a turn, because it's say that you play the land and not put it on the battlefield


What happens if I sacrifice the land chosen by Glacial Chasm?

No.

The important thing here is that Glacial Chasm's enter the battlefield ability does not target. Just because a spell or ability has you chose something doesn't mean that the spell or ability targets that thing.

  114.1a An instant or sorcery spell is targeted if its spell ability identifies something it will affect by using the phrase “target [something],” where the “something” is a phrase that describes an object, player, or zone. The target(s) are chosen as the spell is cast; see rule 601.2c.

If a spell targets, it will have the word "target" in the rules text. The exceptions being that aura spells are always targeted, and some keyword abilities, such as equip, have the word target in the rules of the keyword rather than printed on the card.

So in this case, because the ability does not target, you do not choose the land you will sacrifice until the ability resolves. So if you sacrificed a fetch land in response to Glacial Chasm's enter the battlefield trigger, you will still have to chose a land to sacrifice when that trigger resolves, and by that time your fetch land will no longer be available to choose.

If the ability said "sacrifice target land" instead of "sacrifice a land", then you could do what you want, because targets are chosen when the ability is placed on the stack, not when it resolves. However, the phrase "sacrifice target ____" does not appear on any MTG cards currently. It would be a strange thing to have, because "sacrifice" already requires you to choose a permanent you control.


What happens when you can't move a piece on your turn

It sounds like you have some misunderstanding of the rules, since the situation you describe can never occur (at least at the beginning of your turn). Whenever an enemy attacks one of your territories, the battle is always fully resolved immediately until either the attacker or defender has lost all their troops. Thus by the time your turn starts, every territory that still has any of your troops in it will NEVER have any enemy troops in it as well. Next, at the beginning of your turn, you always receive some reinforcements. Thus after placing reinforcements you will always have at least one territory which has more than a single troop in it. You are only required to leave one troop behind to 'defend' each territory, so at this point there are always some spare troops you can use to make at least one attack on your turn.

After one or more attacks, you may find that all your territories have only one troop left at which point yes you must end your turn.


Timeshifted were rather special. Every booster pack from the Time Spiral block had one Timeshifted card, and each Timeshifted card was equally likely to be the included card.

Quoting Wikipedia,

  The Timeshifted cards are distributed one per booster pack and three per tournament pack (taking the place of common cards), and also appear in the preconstructed decks. According to DCI-distributed tournament primers, Timeshifted cards are tournament legal where Time Spiral or the set of original printing are.

This also means that since the Modern format includes Time Spiral, it includes Undertaker.


How To Play Coup: The Resistance with more than one set of cards?

Coup: Reformation is the expansion for more than 6 players.

It contains 15 cards; 3 of each rather than 2 of each. I think the rules from the game say how many cards to use for how many players, since someone quotes it as 25(5 of each) cards for 9-10 players. Since you use 15(3 of each) cards for 6 players, I'm guessing you add 1 of each card for 7-8, 2 for 9-10 and 3 for 11-12.

The rules for reformation are slightly different, as it has 2 factions where you can take an action and 1 money to the almshouse to change your faction; 2 money to change someone else's faction; or take all the money from the almshouse if you do NOT have a Duke.

You are only allowed to attack people of the opposite faction to you, unless everyone is the same faction where you can attack whoever you want.


Why is it of high importance to control the center of the board in Chess?

In addition to the points you made, controlling the center means that your opponent will then have to form his or her attack on the wings.  Think of not only what it does for your pieces but what it means for your opponent's.

Picture the movement pattern of a knight - if you control the center, the knight can attack all eight squares.  If your opponent's knights are forced along the side of the board they're likely going to be in the first, second, seventh or eight columns (files).  That means they're less effective. ("A knight on the rim is grim.")

If you have control of the center, it's usually the time to start planning an attack.  Has your opponent castled?  If so, start getting your pieces aligned to make an attack on the appropriate side.  If you're playing more of a positional game it's time to start marching forward, taking up real estate on the board and placing your pieces and pawns onto squares that make it difficult for your opponent to move/develop his or her pieces.


Goblin Ringleader and Battle Squadron were not printed in anything that's legal in Frontier. Though they do have a recent printing, it's in a dual deck, which does not make it Frontier legal. The only cards that are not in sets since M15 which are Frontier legal are cards in Welcome decks or Planeswalker decks.


Is the black group dead in this game state? (From Nick Sibicky's lecture #246)


Bridge Scoring and sacrifice optimization against slam bids?

In duplicate bridge, 6 spades making 6 is 980 not vulnerable, and 7 clubs doubled down 8 not vulnerable (5 tricks made out of 13 contracted) is -2000. With nobody vulnerable, you'd have to make 9 tricks to come out ahead bidding 7 over 6, scoring -800 for down 4.

Not vulnerable, doubled undertricks score accordingly:

-1: -100
-2: -300
-3: -500
-4: -800
-5: -1100
-6: -1400
-7: -1700
-8: -2000

with additional undertricks being worth -300 each.


Yes, assuming the Contingency Planner isn't already "storing" a different event, that is perfectly within the rules and the text of the Contingency Planner.

During your turn, you (or any other player) can play an event card from hand, and that event goes to the discard pile.

You can then use the CP's ability to spend an action to pick up that event and store it on his card.

The stored card can be played at any time, as normal (but is then removed from the game rather than being discarded).


If player 1 takes an action then Player 2 has 3 options.

They let the action go through
They can challenge the action and if they are correct then Player 1 loses a card, if they are wrong then Player 2 loses a card.
They can claim a blocking action and that leaves Player 1 with the first two choices that Player 2 had.

What the big difference is that if Player 2 claims a block then the decision and risk of losing a card shifts back to Player 1. Which in the case that Player 2 is correct it would mean Player 1 could lose a card for the challenge. So it puts more risk on Player 1 then Player 2.


Can you trade equipment between combat with multiple creatures?

The FAQ attempts to clarify this but the answer to the Q here is still not crystal clear even after the clarification=)

  Q: Exactly where, when, and what can investigators trade?

  A: Investigators may trade any time during the Movement Phase when they are in the same location, street area, or Other World area except during combat. They may trade before, during or after movement, which means trading does not end a move.

I would say "yes, there's a period of time in between combats you can trade" however.  I think it is pretty clear all the combats do not happen at the exact same time (and rather are sequential).  Without the FAQ, I would have said "no" because the word phase was not used (and it is other places "end of Mythos Phase") and would have guessed they meant actual movement rather than the Movement Phase.  However, the FAQ specifically says "Movement Phase" which I think makes this more clear.  While you are still fighting it's still the movement phase and being that it's not over you can trade as long as not in combat.

The other thing I looked for was a multi-monster combat example, to see if they used a word like "immediately" but there was no such example I saw in the FAQ or the Rules.  This might be an additional guider if you can find it.


There is a clone of Phase 10 called Wizard Cards you could download and install.  Magmic games has released versions of Phase 10 for Blackberry and iPhone also.  There doesn't seem to be a version you can play in your browser online at this time.


You have to either move them to an appropriate power plant or lose them, if you cannot store them. From the Rulebook, p. 3, emphasis mine:

  During the game each player can have only 3 power plants at any time.
  When a player buys a fourth plant, he must discard one of his other
  power plants. The player may move resources from the discarded power
  plant to his remaining three power plants, if they match the
  resources used by one or more of the retained power plants. If there
  is no capacity left or no matching power plant for the resources from
  the discarded plant, the player returns the resources to the
  supply (not the resource market).

Please note that, even if you can store the resources elsewhere, you are not obliged to. You may still want to build over that power plant and lose the resources, if you are planning to buy them out in this round. This has been clarified by the official 2F-Spiele FAQ:

  Q: May a player dump fuel that could be moved? A player was buying an oil plant, and discarding a coal plant along with its fuel. He
  didn't want to move fuel to his hybrid plant because he was going to
  corner the market in oil. Corollary: He could have transferred coal
  from the hybrid to the coal plant just to dump it.

  A: Yes. You are not obliged to move them.

Example 1: You have plants #04 (coal), #13 (eco), #21 (hybrid). The #04 plant has 2 coal tokens on it. You buy the #26 plant (oil), wishing to build over the #04. You may either:

Move first the coal tokens on the #21, thus preserving them, and then build over the #04.
Keep the coal tokens on the #04 and build over it, thus losing them.

Example 2: On the same token, if you have plants #04 (coal), #13 (eco), #14 (trash) and you build the #25 (coal) over the #04, you can first move any coal tokens from the #04 onto the #25 that you just purchased. You are not forced to do it, though. This has been discussed here.

Please take a look at the Power Grid FAQ on BGG for similar questions that might come up during gameplay.


Can the U.S. Open With an Air-based Strategy in Allies and Axis?

The US can't afford to waste money (and time) building planes
The trap the Allies fall into when considering an airpower-based strategy for the United States is to evaluate the strategy on its own merits instead of by comparing it to the alternative strategies.
The question points out that a large bomber force can do more IPCs in damage than it would expect in AA-gun losses--which is all true. However, it neglects three important considerations:

It takes too long to implement. The US can only afford two planes a turn and starts with one bomber. This means a 6-bomber fleet takes three turns to build and it isn't available until the Combat Phase of turn 4. Furthermore, it will take an average of 15 IPCs per turn to maintain this force in the face of AA losses--about half the US economic output.
If all the US has been doing until turn 4 is build bombers then the game is probably already over (a fait accompli if not an actual economic victory). Also remember that because one bomber a turn is needed just to maintain the force at 6, the US can only afford 2 transports OR 5 infantry per turn afterwards. Granted, a smaller force can attack in the prior turns, but the net IPC swing is too small to hurt Germany, and any AA hits set back the strategy by a half turn.

The strategy can collapse in the face of bad rolls. One turn of good AA rolling by Germany, or a multi-bomber run that only does a few IPCs of total damage, and this strategy is defeated. In contrast, the typical shuck-shuck strategy can't really be defeated by bad luck. The naval force the US and UK can set up by the end of turn 2 can't be attacked by Germany without decimating their air force, and deterrence of German aggression is the entire point of shuttling a mass of Allied infantry into Europe.
Good players tend to shy from luck-based strategies, believing that they will eventually win a game decided by skill but could lose one decided by luck.

The opportunity cost of building fighters is too high. This point has some overlap with the first, but it is a distinct argument. The key metric is not how many IPCs a bomber force can destroy compared to how much it costs to maintain. Strategies have to be compared against each other. The goal is not to bleed Germany for more IPCs than the US has to spend, it's to use the US IPCs to their greatest effect. Bombers are just not as useful as a fleet of five or six transports dropping off 10 infantry a turn in Finland, France, or Algeria.

Lastly, to quickly discuss the fighter-heavy variant that was also proposed.
Sure, a stack of fighters is pretty dominating on defense, but a stack of infantry four times as high is more dominating: they will do more damage on average, are cheaper to replace, and can actually occupy territory if necessary. They are slightly less mobile, but the battle lines in Europe move slowly anyway (when they move at all), and the consequences are much less if some get caught alone in a territory because the UK and Russia decided to bail on a lost cause just before Germany's turn.
So given how much less effective a plane-based strategy is than the shuck-shuck, I would not choose it. Even if some good tech rolls made it occasionally a winner, lots of times the tech won't work out.
I'll take the eventual sure-thing over a long-shot any day.


Matel got back to me and said that the answer to question 1 is YES.  You do have to swap/shuffle everybody's cards and the answer to question 2 is that you do not have to play the swap/shuffle card if it is the only card in your hand.  You have to pick another card in the deck and then skip your turn if it isn't playable.


Playing wildcard (Jacks or multiples of a role) for a role which I have in hand

There is no restriction on wildcarding that I have seen. It can be, in fact, a good idea if you need a particular ability to use a jack instead for the role, so that you can then play the card itself onto a foundation.


I feel there are two major differences:

Go and chess are strictly strategic, whereas mahjong involves chance,
In go and chess, everyone has complete knowledge of the game at all times; in mahjong you don't know what your opponents have.

Mahjong is kinda of like poker or gin rummy in these ways; they more strongly depend on reading your opponent. So, in terms of core properties, I think mahjong is a different category of game to go and chess. Additionally, mahjong is more rules-heavy compared to the rules-light, strategy-rich go and chess.

That said, there's no reason not to play it in a club, as long as there are people who want to play it. Probably the best way to find out if it's suitable for your club is to try making the club, and offering mahjong as an option. If people don't want to play it or don't take it as seriously, then you can move your focus to the other games.


In general you must alert when your bid does not conform to the expectations of the people at the event/table you are playing at.

Various organizations and clubs have more specific bids and conditions that you must alert on.  Some have bids that never require alerts.


Can I select which ability to use on my second card after using the first card?

Yes, I believe you can believe you can choose to use Move 2 instead of the attack on the bottom half.

Like you I've struggled to find anything explicit to state this but I'm going back it up by things the rules don't say.

Firstly players reveal cards for initiative.  There is nothing here about stating what card abilities you will you.  I've have experience of planning to use two actions but by the time my turn came around it was more beneficial to use the opposition actions of what I originally planned.

Then on your turn, you will then choose to play the top or bottom half of one card in either order.   Again the rules are clear here this can be the printed ability or attack 2 / move 2.  You will then play the opposite side of the other.  Again this could be attack 2 / move 2.

What is important here is the rules is the following,

  Either card can be played first for its top or bottom action.

and

  As soon as the action of a card is completed, it is immediately placed in the appropriate area.

also

  When playing a card’s action,

So you completely resolve one card, and then the other.

The rules DO NOT SAY you must declare what actions you are doing on both cards at the start of your turn.  They infer you only decide what action to take (either the printed ability or the attack 2 / move 2) 'when playing' that card.

So say you choose the top half of one card "when playing" that cards action you can chose if you use printed ability or Attack 2.  You then move that card to the appropriate discard area.

Then you activate the bottom half or the 2nd card so 'When playing' that card you can again choose if you printed ability or Move 2.

How you ask is certainly how I've played it.  If the top half attack kills a monster then using the bottom half for move 2 instead of the originally planned attack is probably a sensible thing to do.


How can I make Kids of Catan less luck based?

In this thread on BoardGameGeek there's a house rule that the players can choose which direction to rotate the board.  In order to choose the direction, players should consider the resources they gain, as well as the resources their opponents gain (or lose).

Further down in the thread are several other suggestions for introducing more choice into how to rotate the board (e.g. roll two dice and pick one).

I also saw a suggestion that trading could be introduced to reduce the amount of luck, but I haven't seen any reports of whether that was successful or not.


In Dungeon Fighter, what is the priority between death and activating an ability?

Quick disclaimer, I've not played the game or even heard of it until I read the question.   However, I've watched a tutorial video and found the rules online here  to try and find the answer for you.

Look at the rules on page 9 for 'No Damage'  it says :-

  No damage: If activated, the hero takes no damage if he misses the target board.

This might infer that you get to activate this ability before taking damage.  However unhelpfully back on page 7 the rules say this :-

  Hint: The damage dealt while becoming defeated by a
  monster is not avoidable. No special powers can prevent that
  damage.

It would be really helpful to have that 'hint' on a page with all the abilities but it does seem to make it explicit that if a monster defeats you then you do not get to activate a special power, including those that are activated when a character misses.


In bridge, what opening bid(s) should be made with a high card point in "no man's land"?

A hand "too strong to open 1 NT but not enough to bid 2 of a suit" is of two possible ranges of interest: 18-19 and 20-21. If we are talking a balanced hand with (according to the most common partnership agreements) at worst Kx or Qxx in every suit:

18-19 points opens one of a suit (preferably a minor) and jumps to 2NT as a rebid
20-21 opens 2NT

If the hand is unbalanced then it opens one of a suit and either jump-shifts as a rebid with 20+ points, or reverses as rebid with 18+.

Don't get in the habit of opening hands 1NT that are unsuitable for notrump play, just because they fall in the 15-17 point range; you sill seriously stunt your development as a bridge player, and alienate potential partners. There is a very good reason why Victor Mollo called the member of his menagerie prone to such bids the Hideous Hog.