Are contractions like "I'm" legal according to the rules of Codenames?

TL;DR.  'I'm' is fine as a clue.  Others may disagree but they are 'looking for trouble'!
The rules to Codenames here give lots of rules on what is or isn't a valid clue.  I think the most important is this heading

DON'T BE TOO STRICT

They also say

Sometimes you have to make judgment calls about what is valid and what
is not. Different groups may prefer to play the game differently.

and

anybody who says you can't say sparrow when ROW is on the table is just trying to cause trouble.

I think the rules are weirdly clear that this is a game where rule lawyering is NOT encouraged.  They say if you're not sure they to asked your fellow spymaster but I think the insinuation is to keep the game light and fun unless its a very clear rules break.   This is a light party game after all and should be kept that way.  To reiterate  "DON'T BE TOO STRICT".
Saying "I'm" is something that is very common usage and a clue people will know.  It's not like you've invented something "OKIsland" to indicate 'Fine', 'Good' and 'Lost'. or nonsense like "Penal'TV".  Yes it might be a contraction of two words but it's common usage is said as one word.
I'd argue that a clue like "'Twas'" is valid for "Night" and "Christmas" as it is said out loud as a single word
You might also to want look at this English StackExchange question which debates if "It's" is one word or two. If you type "It's" into a word processor and do a word count then it counts as one word.  "I'm" does the same.


Eldritch Horror skill test for multiple combat encounters on same turn

From the base rule book, page 9:

  Combat Encounters

  If an investigator is on a space containing one or more Monsters, he
  must resolve a single Combat Encounter against each Monster on that
  space, one at a time, in the order of his choice. Combat Encounters
  are described in detail on page 14.

  After an investigator resolves all Combat Encounters, if there are  no
  Monsters in his space, he may resolve another encounter.

  The card effect only lasts as long as the combat encounter, and the
  combat encounter lasts only for fighting a singular monster.

The Wither Card states:

  When resolving a Combat Encounter, you may test Lore. If you pass, gain +3 Strength during that encounter.

Hence, the combat encounter is the process in fighting a singular monster and you can have multiple combat encounters in a singular encounter phase. Wither only lasts for a singular combat encounter (single monster) and gives +3 strength for it.

You would need to cast the spell again in the next combat encounter if you wanted it's effects again.

Make sure you flip the card each time you cast the spell to resolve the effect on the back.


Setup for more than 4 players in Dominion?

The official rules for 5-6 players in Dominion is outlined in the Dominion: Intrigue rulebook, as it requires the extra treasure and Province cards included with that expansion.

To set up for 5 or 6 players, combine the Treasure cards from Dominion and Dominion: Intrigue. Use 15 Provinces in the Supply for a 5-player game and 18 Provinces in the Supply for a 6-player game. All other Victory card piles (Estates, Duchies, and Victory Kingdom cards) remain at 12 cards per pile. Use 40 Curse cards for a 5-player game and 50 Curse cards for a 6-player game.
In a 5 or 6 player game, the game ends at the end of any player’s turn when one of two conditions is met: the Supply pile of Province cards is empty OR any 4 Supply piles are empty.

I would recommend using these rules with proxy cards for the extra treasures, Provinces and Curses if you don't have the Intrigue expansion.


Do I need Magic Wisdom to defeat the Spectre in Pathfinder ACG?

If there is a way to augment a Wisdom check with the Magic trait, I'm unaware of it except with using Divine spells or items.

Weapons and/or spells with the Magic trait work for the Combat check.

Either way, you cannot use a straight Wisdom (or straight Divine) check to defeat a Spectre; as it's Incorporeal, it must be defeated by magical means.


How to search opponents library when playing remote via webcam?

You need the proper tool. Webcams are not designed to keep track of MtG game states, so use a tool that can. There are many choices available MTG Online III (offical product, costs money for cards and packs), Apprentice (one of the first, but not a favorite of mine), Magic Workstation (my favorite), Magic Suitcase, Magic Studio, ...

The card manager keeps track of the game state, and the webcam allows you to observe the reactions of your opponent.


Where to start:  I like to start in the hottest area so I can infect as many cities that are already infected with another color as soon as possible.  This way you get the infection deck working for you when a city infected with purple is drawn it's a double whammy.  I have found that to be the best tactic for exhausting the purple cube supply quickly.  The beauty is if they concentrate on fighting your purple disease the other ones inevitably bite them in the behind.

Should I avoid drawing and discarding:  So far I draw often but rarely keep a big hand.  I do this because I want to be able to infect remotely as often as possible.  I generally play to exhaust the purple cubes asap(which has been unstoppable so far).  The exception is when I'm trying to destroy a research facility I might draw often to obtain that color.  Few things are more satisfying in this game than sabotaging a research facility the turn right before they plan on curing there.  Drawing as often as I do is making the infection discard pile larger and therefore decreasing the risk of outbreak post epidemic, however, I find it worth it when infect cities are drawn that already contain a purple cube.  It starts snowballing fast if you are consistently infecting locally and remotely.

Another strategy I've contemplated is sitting far off from any other infected cities, continually infecting one city till it outbreaks, and daring the good guys to come after you.  This would avoid drawing cards and keep the infection pile small so as to maximize the chance of outbreak.

Should I worry about being captured:  The only time I really worry about this is when I'm intent on sabotaging a research facility and need a specific card I'm carrying.  Other than that I actually enjoy moving into a city with a player in it and infecting locally.  Make them use an action capturing you.  I do feel like the ease of escape is an imbalance in the game.

How do the other roles affect tactics:  The operation expert does affect my strategy when it comes to sabotage.  It's still worth it often times if his turn is far away and it delays a cure.  The other major one I see is the quarantine specialist.  She could really hamper the bt's infecting ability resulting in more of the cat and mouse game.  If the medic is in the mix I try and spread out the purple cubes as much as possible.  If they are concentrated it can be much easier for the medic to eradicate the disease, ending the game for the bt, especially if the dispatcher is in the game and moves the medic on his turn after the cure has been found.

Ultimately even if you have poor strategy as the bt it still makes the game near impossible for the good guys, in my opinion.

Has anyone been able to win a game against the bio-terrorist?  I played a 3 player game, 2 good guys and 1 bio terrorist, and the bio terrorist was not very good at all strategy wise.  Still, it was pretty much impossible to win.

We played another game last night with only 3 epidemic cards, 3 good guys, and me as the bio-terrorist.  The game was over relatively fast as I was able to spread my cubes out so much that they ran out of purple cubes thus ending the game.

We have yet to try hand-picking the roles to assemble the anti bio-terrorist dream team.  But aside from that, I frankly don't see how victory is possible playing against a competent bio-terrorist.  Has anyone out there beat him?


Fluxx: Does this person play all cards or does his turn end with new cards in hand?

The most logical way of doing it would be to end the turn with 3 cards in hand. This is because "Get on with it" always requires you to have at least one more play, and it still causes your turn to end. There is no reason for a Play All to effect the card any differently than any other Play X rule.


Angel of Condemnation - Exile creature with second ability

Since it's not specified by the effect, the creature enters the battlefield under its owner's control.
Generally, if the effect that does the zone-changing does not specify it, an object that changes zone has no memory or relation to its previous existence. It doesn't "remember" its previous controller when it returns to the battlefield, so it takes its owner instead.

400.7. An object that moves from one zone to another becomes a new object with no memory of, or relation to, its previous existence.

In your specific case of an object that is "exiled until some condition is true", the rule is explicit in the Comprehensive Rules:

610.3. Some one-shot effects cause an object to change zones "until" a specified event occurs. A second one-shot effect is created immediately after the specified event. This second one-shot effect returns the object to its previous zone.
610.3b An object returned to the battlefield this way returns under its owner's control unless otherwise specified.


can keepers kill creepers in same turn over and over again?

Disclaimer: I don't have this edition of Fluxx, so I may not have found all of the relevant keepers.

Yes. The keepers with creeper removal from this edition specifically care about being on the table. It only takes one of your plays to actually play a card, not to use an effect they provide. These "free" actions can be taken at any time (in between card plays) unless specified otherwise.

The relevant keepers are as follows:

  Excalibur: If you have this on the table, you may move one of your Creepers to another player during your turn.
  Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch: If you have this on the table and it's your turn, you can discard it along with any Creeper of your choice.
  Finger of God: If you have this on the table you may smite (i.e. discard) any Creeper. After smiting, you must put this card back into your hand.
  The Animator: Counts as the Finger of God if the real Finger of God is not on the table.

Excalibur specifies "one of your Creepers during your turn", so you can do this once per turn.
You can use this "during your turn", but only once because it's discarded, unless you have a way to recover it from the discard and play it again.
You can use this at any time between plays. If it's your turn and you have multiple plays, you can repeatedly play and use this card.
If this counts as the Finger of God, it copies all the properties of that card, so it can be used to smite.


What do you do with unused well tiles after your turn?

They stay in your hand. I'm not sure if there are any official rules available online, but the drawing-from-a-common-pile mechanism, shared by many games (e.g. Scrabble, but also Ticket to Ride) permanently puts tiles/cards in your hand. If it were differently for Triominos, the rules would explicitly mention this.


Power Grid Deluxe - Discard Power plant in market

The rule is not referring to the number of cities the plant can power.  It is referring to the number of the plant -- the unique number that you use for ordering the plants in the market.


When can I cast Eternal Scourge from exile?

You can only cast Eternal Scourge from exile during your pre-combat or post-combat main phases if the stack is empty. (eg. with the same timing restrictions as casting it normally)

This is addressed specifically in Eternal Scourge's rulings:

  7/13/2016: You must follow the normal timing permissions and restrictions and pay its cost to cast Eternal Scourge from exile.

As for what "normal timing permissions and restrictions" means, look to the comprehensive rules for casting a creature spell:

  302.1. A player who has priority may cast a creature card from his or her hand during a main phase of his or her turn when the stack is empty. Casting a creature as a spell uses the stack. (See rule 601, “Casting Spells.”)

The ability text on Eternal Scourge just lets you substitute "from his or her hand" with "from exile", but nothing else about casting creatures changes.

As a side note, if you have any spells that would modify when you are able to cast creature spells (for example, Aluren) unless they specify "cast from your hand" those modifications would apply to Eternal Scourge as well.


Thornwatch - How does paying for Hero Actions work?

There are two types of powers - tracker powers and action cards. In order to use either you must pay for them either with slotted cards or discarded cards. See page 14 / 15 of the rules.

If you have stacked power cards under an Action Cards, then when you activate that Action Card the Action Card and all the stacked cards that are powering it are discarded. You do not pay a second time with cards from your hand.
When using an Action Card that you had slotted on your Tracker, it and all stacked cards powering it are discarded. You don't get to keep the Action Card to re-use again later.
Yes you can slot, power then use an Action card in one turn, on the understanding that you can only Act once a turn. In this case I don't think there is a difference between stacking cards to power the Action Card or simply discarding straight from your hand to power the Action Card.


If I use a trainer card that removes damage, can I remove less than that amount of damage?

In Pokémon, there are some core rules. Two of them are relevant here:

"Do as much as you can" -> you can heal less than given amount of damage
"Every card played must have some effect" -> you can't heal zero damage


Can you cast an instant damage spell between first strike and normal damage?

It seems that you can cast instants and trigger abilities that run at instant speed between first strike and normal damage.

510.4. Fourth, the active player gets priority. Players may cast spells and activate abilities.
510.5. If at least one attacking or blocking creature has first strike (see rule 702.7) or double strike (see rule 702.4) as the combat damage step begins, the only creatures that assign combat damage in that step are those with first strike or double strike. After that step, instead of proceeding to the end of combat step, the phase gets a second combat damage step. The only creatures that assign combat damage in that step are the remaining attackers and blockers that had neither first strike nor double strike as the first combat damage step began, as well as the remaining attackers and blockers that currently have double strike. After that step, the phase proceeds to the end of combat step.

The 510.4 and the highlighted portion of 510.5 shows that the combat damage step begins anew, and just before this, the active player gets priority. So therefore instants can be cast.


Do I loose æmber after plaing Full Moon, then Chota Harzi?

The active player (presumably you) chooses the order. The result is likely that you choose to end up with 1 æmber.
The Full Moon effect trigger and Chota's play trigger both happen when you play the card, at the same time. As such, the active player chooses the order they resolve in. Unless you're somehow doing this on your opponent's turn, you'll get to choose which comes first, and thus whether or not you end up with the æmber.
From the rules, page 9:

ACTIVE PLAYER
The active player is the player taking the current turn. The active player makes all necessary decisions for all card abilities or timing conflicts that need to resolve during their turn.


I doubt there's an official rule to cover this. The possibilities I can think of, with my favorite bolded:

You aren't delayed at all - you just return. Seems too...nice for Arkham, like you're cheating your way out of the bad effects of an encounter.
You are delayed, so you stay in the Dreamlands one more turn then return to your original location. I think this makes the most sense in terms of the ideas of the cards - you fall asleep, end up in the Dreamlands, and you wake back up as soon as you're done with whatever you find yourself doing there. In this case you find yourself stuck there, so you have to wait until you stop being stuck there to be done and wake back up.
You are delayed and also return immediately, so you're stuck in your original location for an extra turn. If you squint at the rules, this seems totally logical: "stay here next turn" = "delayed" = "skip your next movement". It just feels a little weird flavor-wise.
You are delayed so you miss out on your chance to return to Arkham so you're stuck in the Dreamlands. If you really want to go by the spirit of "the worst possible thing always happens to you in Arkham", this is your option, but turning a mostly-benign Arkham encounter into a waste of several turns (delayed, stand up, move, try to return and get lost in time and space...) seems pretty excessive.


Why Do People Use "Precision" Bidding in Bridge?

I think Precision is - with some caveats - an absolutely brilliant system, and one that everyone should try out at some point.

I used to play Bridge with, not to put too fine a point on it, a group with players of various different levels of skill.  Playing with standard systems, some of them would just not get it quite a lot of the time.  Presented with anything other than a balanced 1NT hand, they just wouldn't really know how to bid it, much less respond, or deal with an overcall!

The beauty of Precision is that it takes a lot of the mystery out of at least the early game.  A junior player can't fail to alert you to their strong hand if they are in first seat with 20 HCP.  Likewise, they tend to have less trouble finding the correct suit and level, because of Precision's tightly circumscribed bids.

Is Precision better than other systems in the long run?  No, because once you have a genuine feel for the game you don't really need a system with so little room to maneuver.  Your talent and ability to think quickly will fill in any games in a looser, more economical system.  But don't underestimate Precision's value to beginners.

As for your problems with the 1C opening bid to indicate a strong hand, you might as well say you have problems with conventional bids in general.  Conventional bids are shortcuts to success, taking the place of bids that would otherwise have little value.  1C is a terrible bid, in a literal sense - I have not especially good points, no good majors, and strength in clubs?  Well, that's not going to get me very far, really, is it?  Unless I have 80 below the line or something.  It's almost never useful in actual practice though.  So being able to indicate a strong hand while retaining a whole level of bidding space is usually much better.  It gives you an extra bid and response to accurately describe your hand to partner, and reach that slam that a 16+HCP hand is often capable of making!


The attacking creature will die, the blocking creature will survive, and the defending player will not take damage. If you destroy a creature before the combat damage step, or otherwise remove it from combat, it will not deal combat damage. There is an opportunity after declaring blockers to play spells like Smite to accomplish that.
Combat has the following steps:

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

In each step, after taking the relevant turn based actions, such as declaring attackers or blockers, or dealing combat damage, each player gains priority, which is the opportunity to take actions such as casting spells and abilities. This means that the defending player can cast Smite during the declare blockers step, before the combat damage step begins.
The important thing, in this particular situation, is that combat damage is both assigned and dealt in the combat damage step, and no players gain priority in between those two actions. This is described in the following rules regarding that step:

510.1. First, the active player announces how each attacking creature assigns its combat damage, then the defending player announces how each blocking creature assigns its combat damage. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack. [...]
510.2. Second, all combat damage that’s been assigned is dealt simultaneously. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack. No player has the chance to cast spells or activate abilities between the time combat damage is assigned and the time it’s dealt.
510.3. Third, the active player gets priority. (See rule 116, “Timing and Priority.”)


In go, is it possible to guess the opponent's strength from their play?

Probably the best way to gauge a player's strength (aside from playing against them of course) is to present them with Tsumego of varying difficulties. From Sensei's Library:

Tsumego, a Japanese go term adopted into English, are problems mainly about life and death, but also about ko, capturing races, cutting, connecting, etc. As a rule they are local problems, but a few involve the whole board.
There are many published collections of tsumego, or life-and-death problems, many in Asian languages but increasingly many in Western languages. Many collections are available on the internet. SL also has a growing collection of go problems.
Most professional players and top amateur players agree that solving tsumego is the best way to improve.

Sensei's Library has a plethora of tsumego from a variety of sources.
Personally, I've also used GoProblems.com a lot to improve my own skills. I like that they try to associate individual tsumego with what rank should be able to solve them. They also have an incredible number to choose from. As of this posting they claim to have 11,196 problems.


Are you required to pay all mandatory additional costs for Wild Evocation?

If Anthony can pay the cost, and it isn't a mana cost, and it doesn't involve cards with a specific quality in a hidden zone, it must be paid if able. If it is a mana cost and there is enough mana in his mana pool to pay it it must be paid, otherwise he has the option to activate mana abilities to pay for. If the cost involves cards with a specific quality in a hidden zone Anthony may choose to pay for it if he wants to, but is not required to. If the cards mandatory additional costs can't be paid, or he chooses not to pay an additional mana cost the card is uncast and stays in his hand.

  117.8c. If an effect instructs a player to cast a spell “if able,” and that spell has a mandatory additional cost that includes actions involving cards with a stated quality in a hidden zone, the player isn’t required to cast that spell, even if those cards are present in that zone.

From the Gatherer Rulings:

  If casting the revealed card involves paying a mandatory additional cost (such as the one Fling has), the player casting that card must pay that cost if able. If he or she can't, the card remains uncast in his or her hand. If the mandatory additional cost includes a mana payment, the situation is more complex. If the player has enough mana in his or her mana pool to pay the cost, that player must do so. If the player can't possibly pay the cost, the card remains uncast in his or her hand. However, if the player has the means to produce enough mana to pay the cost, then he or she has a choice: The player may cast the card, produce mana, and pay the cost. Or the player may choose to activate no mana abilities, thus making the card impossible to cast because the additional mana can't be paid.


What happens if I use Sudden Disappearance?

No, his creatures will not have summoning sickness. He will control them continuously since the beginning of his turn.

  302.6. A creature's activated ability with the tap symbol or the untap symbol in its activation cost can't be activated unless the creature has been under its controller's control continuously since his or her most recent turn began. A creature can't attack unless it has been under its controller's control continuously since his or her most recent turn began. This rule is informally called the "summoning sickness" rule.


Do opposing forces immediately fight upon a Declaration of War?

They are not forced to fight immediately.  However, if the Prussian corps remains in Mecklenburg, at the conclusion of its movement phase, it would fight a trivial combat with the Russian depot garrison.


From the official rules on Hasbro's website:

  Premium Word Squares: The score for an entire word is doubled when one of its letters is placed on a pink square: it is tripled when one of its letters is placed on a red square.

The Triple Word square triples the value of any word played on it. So in your example, SO would score triple points, but PICKLES only scores normally. However, if the triple word square was directly to the right of PICKLE, then by placing the S on it you'd triple the score for both words.


What happens to an investigator who arrives at a gate already explored by another?

Yes, you're correct about both.

Until the Arkham encounter phase, it doesn't really matter that there's a gate there. So you can do whatever you like during movement, including exchanging items.

When you arrive at the Arkham encounter phase, each player in a location with a gate will be drawn in if they haven't been through the gate before. So depending on turn order, as you say, either the player who's been through can close/seal the gate first, or the other player will be drawn in.


The Storm of Souls rulebook says:

  When an Event card flips into the Center Row, immediately move it to the Event Zone on the board, and then replace it in the Center Row.
  [...]
  If a new Event flips, the old Event immediately goes to the Void and the new Event becomes the current event.

The keyword is immediately. Therefore, if Souls Unbound enters the Center Row right after you kill Mephit (or any banishing Monster), you can only banish Heroes and Constructs from the Center Row.

The iOS version of the game follows the same logic.


Your instinct is correct, you can not use Simulacrum to save yourself.

If you cast Simulacrum as a response to Hurricane, while Hurricane is on the stack, then when Simulacrum resolves (before Hurricane does), it will give you 0 life, because you have taken 0 damage this turn. Assuming of course that you had not been dealt other damage previously this same turn.

If you wait until after Hurricane resolves, then you will lose the game the next time a player would receive priority, when state-based actions are checked.

  116.5. Each time a player would get priority, the game first performs all applicable state-based actions as a single event (see rule 704, “State-Based Actions”), then repeats this process until no state-based actions are performed.

For Simulacrum to save you, it would have to instead be a spell that creates a replacement effect for damage that will be dealt later, such as Captain's Maneuver or Withstand

It is worth noting that the Oracle wording of Simulacrum is all that matters; not the wording printed on the card. So the correct wording is:

  You gain life equal to the damage dealt to you this turn. Simulacrum deals damage to target creature you control equal to the damage dealt to you this turn.

This removes the confusing bit about damage being "instead retroactively applied to one of your creatures in play", which would incorrectly imply that you never actually receive that damage. The card as printed wouldn't work within the MTG rules, because the damage was already done; the game can't look to the future to know if that card will be cast later this turn before moving on.


How do I get the "5 routes" achievement?

Yes. Get all the 5-car, 10 point scores, there are 8. You must also win the game too. Recommend playing against only one bot.


Can I still trade 4:1 with the bank if I own any 3:1 or 2:1 port(s) just to get rid of more cards?

Based on my read of the rules, specifically the section in the Almanac on Maritime Trade, I don't see any reason why you couldn't trade at the 4:1 rate even when you have a better rate available. I even see this text:

  Generic Harbor (3:1): Here you may exchange 3 identical resource cards for 1 other resource card during your trade phase.

The use of the word "may" makes me think it's optional. If they wanted you to only be able to trade 3:1 after getting a port, they probably would have used stronger language.


Can Harvey Walters solve the final rune puzzle with his special ability?

There is nowhere mentionning you cannot use the character's power against the "boss"

I would find it rather hard to believe you can use the statuette that reduces the boss's damage to harvey to 1 but couldnt save the 1shot power versus the "boss puzzle"

Anti-climactic yes, but then again what's the point of wasting a good power to get a 1shot use if you cannot use it when it really counts


Do I have to say how I'm ordering my cards after Scrying?

You need to tell them how many cards are placed in which location, but need not reveal whether their order has changed.

  401.4. If an effect puts two or more cards in a specific position in a library at the same time, the owner of those cards may arrange them in any order. That library's owner doesn't reveal the order in which the cards go into the library.


May dice used to complete a task be secured?

The timing for Spells that secure dice has been updated to make it clear that you can choose to use the Spells that allow you to hold dice, after you roll. The FAQ agrees with this as well, but in any case all versions of the rules make it clear that held dice only remain on the spell card until they are used to complete a task.

  Spells that hold dice are cast after a player’s roll, not before. The player looks at the roll, then, if he wishes to save a particular die, casts the spell and places the die on the spell. The ‘held’ die remains on the spell card until used to complete a task or until removed (as described below).

The revised rules say:

  To cast such a spell, the player places the card faceup in front of him after rolling dice during his turn. Then he chooses one die from that roll. Without changing its result, he places the die on the Spell card’s securing icon.
  When a die is secured on a Spell card, it remains there until any player chooses to use it to complete a task, removes it from the spell to roll it (see “Removing Secured Dice” on page 14), or until another effect locks that die (see “Locked Dice” on page 12).

  For spells that secure multiple dice, the player may remove dice from it one at a time or all at once.

The original rules say:

  Spell: Most Spells allow a player to place the spell card next to the play area immediately before any roll of the dice. Then, after the player rolls, he chooses one of the dice and, without changing the die’s result, places it on the Spell card on the following icon:

  While a die is on the Spell card, it is not re-rolled when the active player tries to complete a task, but the die’s result may be used to meet a task’s requirement. Only one die may be placed on a Spell card (unless otherwise indicated on the card) and a die on this card remains on it until it is used
  to complete a task.


A port is coastal.

A ship can be build if a settlement or city is present (or as a continuation of other ships).


Simple games that involve psychological factors?

I cannot think of a better game to match what you describe than Diplomacy. It requires seven players, and it is lengthy. You can speed it up by having all the negotiation happen at the table in front of everyone, but that changes the nature of the game. However, there are plenty of places on the internet where you can play "by email" for free (for example, The Diplomatic Pouch) -- there, you can enter games all by yourself, but the time taken to play a game typically spreads out over days, weeks, or months (because you spend a few days emailing negotiation letters, before each time you "submit orders" for the next turn's actions).

Diplomacy's rules do include strategy, and the rules are quite simple. The game has been around for fifty years, so there are lots of online resources describing various strategies and tips and so forth.

Note that BoardGameGeek has a Negotiation style category for boardgames, and there are lots of other games listed in it; many would be suitable for fewer players and less playing time, but Diplomacy is pretty much the prototypical experience for what you describe in my opinion.


No, you cannot. The rules don't specifically clarify this; but there is nothing that would ever allow you to destroy a starbase or ship of your own. A combat only occurs when multiple ships/starbases belonging to different players are in the same sector; and combat is the only way that the rules allow for something to be removed from the board.


Floodtide Serpent and Can't Attack Enchantments

In this situation, the Floodtide Serpent cannot attack.

For this situation, the most important quote (from 508.1) is

  If at any point during the declaration of attackers, the active player is unable to comply with any of the steps listed below, the declaration is illegal; the game returns to the moment before the declaration.

The rest of 508.1c says

  If any restrictions are being disobeyed, the declaration of attackers is illegal.

So once you got to the point that you are disobeying the restriction from Incubation Krasis, the attack is illegal and the game returns to the moment before declaration.

If Incubation Krasis was instead enchanting a different creature and you try to attack with, then when we get to 508.1c, it is not restricting Floodtide Serpent's ability to attack. Then when we get to 508.1g, you determine that the cost of attacking is returning one enchantment you control to its owner's hand. Then when you get to 508.1i, you pay that cost by returning Incubation Krasis to your hand. Then Floodtide Serpent becomes an attacking creature.

Note that the text on Floodtide Serpent is not a restriction, it is a cost. The difference is that restrictions have the form "This creature can't attack" or "This creature can't attack unless [some true/false statement about game state]", while attack costs have the form "This creature can't attack unless [you do something]". It wouldn't make sense to count those costs as restrictions because then every attack with an additional cost would have already failed at 508.1c. That would make cards like Propaganda nonsensical.


What impact will Kickstarter have on how Designer Board Games are released?

Many kickstarter games (at least on the RPG side) have either demo modules or playtest rules, which you can read BEFORE committing. I've seen a couple on the boardgame side as well, where the rules PDF was posted; the kickstarter was for a nice set.

I can see boardgames relying upon components to move stuff via kickstarter.

Given the typical mode for Kickstarter, you have to get people trusting that you (1) have a clue and (2) made at least a passable game, and then get them to promise money.

If you can't convince them, then you don't get your cash, and they don't get charged.

If you convince them, but they dislike the game and/or components, they can leave bad feedback... so after two or three tries, you're not going to get any but the most clueless.

So no, it's not going to bring a rash of get-rich-quick scammers. It's self-limiting.


Why do effects that exile a card from the graveyard use the characteristics the card had in the graveyard?

There is a flaw in the basic premise of the question that these are conflicting rulings on comparable cards.

Deicide has an effect that moves an object to another zone and then further examines that card.  This is what 'the expected zone' clause in 608.g covers.  There is consistency in the rulings when an effect moves a card between public zones and then checks types using the present tense, it looks in the new zone.  (See Defy Death). As opposed to an effect that moves a card between public zones and checks its type in the past tense (lots, Death's Caress). It seems that does not have particularly clear basis in comp rules without rulings clarifying the intended interpretation.

Dread Defiler has an effect that looks for characteristics of an object.  Paying the cost for the ability that generated the effect moved that object, but the effect did not move the object.

So the two rulings are not in conflict.

Soul Separator is not doing a conditional check, so, assuming the ruling on it is correctly worded, that seems to be our plausible explanation.  If it said "if that card is Power 5 or greater" we'd be in a pickle for which zone to check in I think...

I agree it is entirely possible for a rational person to have come to different conclusions from reading the comp rules and cards in isolation.  Sometimes a card like Deicide with odd nonstandard templating just needs the guy who wrote it to explain what they intended.  (The use of 'God card' rather than simply 'God' combined with two public zones makes it close to unique.  Almost everything that checks the type/subtype of a "card" rather than a game object and involves a zone change also involves a hidden zone)


Can a reverse follow a 2-over-1 response?

There are a few answers to this question :)

First, technically that is a reverse, though it does not necessarily show extras. The best definition of reverse I've seen is "A non-jump rebid by opener that would force responder to give preference at the three-level." So in the example you gave, if partner prefers diamonds to spades they would have to bid 3D, making it a reverse.

However, what you're really asking is: Does a reverse after a 2/1 response show extras? Here, it depends strongly on partnership agreements. You do not say what system you are playing, but I will assume that it is either Standard American or the related 2/1 Game Forcing.

If you are playing Standard American, the Yellow Card booklet says that a reverse still shows extras, but some partnerships modify this agreement.

If you are playing 2/1 Game Forcing, there's two different types of auctions to consider:

1D-2C: This auction bears special discussions since there isn't a particularly widely accepted standard treatment. As an example of the variety of opinions, see this thread on BBO about 1D-2C.
1M-2m: I'm going to sound like an echo, but partnership discussions apply. My sense is that most pairs play the reverse as not showing extras, although my preference is to play that it denies a dead minimum.

Rebids after reverses are in general a field where I find most beginners and intermediate players have a different idea of what is "standard"; I strongly suggest discussing this situation with any new partner you sit down with, or at least do as Marty Bergen suggests, and pray they don't come up.


What's the name of this board game about a Middle East oil war?

With help from Pat Ludwig's answer I found out the right game.

It's The Game of Nations.

This game probably was release to exploit the first oil big crisis in 1972. Good to know that the world changed :-)


Yes, you can choose a shrouded permanent. And if a shrouded permanent isn't chosen, it must be sacrificed.

  702.18a Shroud is a static ability. “Shroud” means “This permanent or player can’t be the target of spells or abilities.”

When a rule or ability uses a word with a rule meaning, it only refers to that specific meaning. Target is such a word.

Only the following target:

Spells and abilities on the stack that use the word "target".
Aura spells (since the rule text for these uses the word "target").

Keep in mind that certain keyword abilities represent abilities that use the word target (e.g. Equip).

Single Combat doesn't target, so it's unaffected by Shroud.


Identifying a version of Cards Against Humanity

You can verify your version if you look at the back of the box in the lower right corner, it's the little number inside the circle. This also applies to expansions


Bite Omen Card (and other similar cards)

It means that you get attacked following all the normal rules of an  attack from a person or monster with a might of 4. The person to your right is simply taking the role of rolling the dice.

So he will roll 4 dice, and you will then roll dice equal to your might. If his total is greater than yours, you will take physical damage equal to the difference of the rolls. If you tie or win, nothing happens.


Can you chase away the robber if your knight is not active at the beginning of your turn?

No.

According to the rules,

  A knight may not be activated and then perform an action on the same turn.


On Gatherer, Yarok has the following ruling:

  If you somehow control two Yaroks, a permanent entering the battlefield causes abilities to trigger three times, not four. A third Yarok causes abilities to trigger four times, a fourth causes abilities to trigger five times, and so on.

So, a tenth Yarok causes abilities to trigger eleven times.


Outsiders cards are just like any other card when you are searching.  You can absolutely make noise and choose not to keep them.

Once you do keep them, they go in your hand and don't take effect until you decide to play them.  You might want to hold a card that will add too many helpless survivors if you are short on food this turn.  Or maybe you're the betrayer and you want to surprise everyone by playing a bunch of helpless survivors at an inopportune moment.

Outsiders can even be requested if someone else decides that they really need another character.

Here's a post from one of the game's designers on BGG confirming these rulings.

  yes, you add them to your hand like any other card, and can play it,
  request them, and give them to a request.


When are you allowed to play monster boosters in Munchkin Quest?

I agree with Pat I think, but it was a different section of the rules that caught my eye:

  Certain cards, called monster
  enhancers, raise or lower the combat
  strength of individual monsters. (Yes,
  you can have a negative enhancement.)
  Monster enhancers may be played by any
  player during any combat.

I don't know if we're looking at the same version of the rules or different ones, but the general facts of the case seem clear!


Ecplise - Population Cubes full on return

This is from the official FAQ on BGG: (italics added by me)

Q: What happens if I cannot return a Population cube to a track because it is full? This might occur if you return cubes from grey squares to different tracks than where they originally came from.

A: The track may be filled completely, so that no number is visible. This means that you do not have any production of that Resource. If a track is full and you still need to return cubes to it, the cubes must go to any other track(s).


Why should I buy Booster Packs over Battle Packs?

My thought is the Battle Packs have two "semi-randomized" decks, so the extra $2 your spending isn't really worth the extra content. The semi-random decks won't contain rares, so the extra $2 isn't going to get you extra value in the form of chances to pull money rares. It will just get you more cards. For most players, this isn't enough incentive. Spend another $2 beyond the Battle Pack, you'd get a third booster and another chance at a quality rare. However, in your situation where you're trying to teach your 12-year-old-son, this is a good way to see some color-specific mechanics and cheaply play around with color combinations.

Another thing you might consider is the Deck Builder Toolkit. Similar to the Battle Packs, for around $20 these contain 125 semi-random commons and uncommons, 4 packs from various sets, and 100 basic land (20 of each type). From a cost perspective, you'd be looking at $0.11 per card if you don't put cost on the basic land. But once again, the semi-randomized cards reduce overall value since there is no chance for money rares. The extra $4 gets you more cards, but not more value.


Can you take 2 gems of the same kind for 2-3 players?

You are reading the rules incorrectly, they says when there are 4 chips at the start of your turn not after you take them. The rules don't care how many gems are in a stack after you have taken them just beforehand.

Rules

  Collect Gem Chips – Either:Take 1 Gem from each of 3 different stacks (not gold)
  1: Take 2 Gems from one stack, as long as there are 4 or more chips in that stack

In a 4 player game there can be 3 chips missing at the start of your turn, 3 player 1 chip missing and 2 player no chips missing.

Testing on the iOs version of the game lets me draw two chips of the same color from a stack when there is exactly 4 chips on it in a two player game.


Can I play a card using flashback without it having been successfully cast first?

Yes. The only requirements for Flashback are that the card is in your Graveyard, you are able to pay the alternate Flashback cost, and you are capable of casting the Flashback spell at that particular time (you have priority, if the Flashback spell is a Sorcery then it is you turn's first or second Main Phase and the stack is empty, etc.).

Keep in mind that if your opponent Cancels your Army of the Damned spell, that you must wait until Cancel to resolve before your spell will be in the graveyard. If it was Dissipated, it would never hit the graveyard at all.

  702.33a 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.


In the Pokemon Card Game what is a group of Pokemon called?

A group of Pokemon is called the same as group of animals.

So for a cattle-like Pokemon it's "herd", for lion-like Pokemon it's "pride", and so on.


Will an 8/8 with trample die if it's blocked by 4 2/2 creatures?

Yes, it will die. In general, trample only affects what happens with excess damage from the attacking side, i.e. when the attacking creature's power is higher than the total toughness of the blockers. The other way around (blockers' total power vs. attacker's toughness) is not affected.
The blocking creatures will die too, except when the attacking player makes the (usually inferior) decision to distribute more than the necessary 2 damage to some of the creatures, e.g. 4 to the first and 2 to two others.


Can a runner trash ICE or Operation cards after a run on the HQ?

No, Runners do not have the option of trashing cards that have no trash costs. They may trash cards with trash costs. Special care should be taken when accessing multiple cards (see page 18). From page 18 of the rules, under Access Phase:

HQ: The Runner accesses one random card from HQ and any upgrades in its root. Any cards the Runner does not score or trash return to HQ.
Trashing Cards - If the Runner accesses a card with a trash cost, he may pay credits equal to its trash cost in order to trash it to Archives faceup.


How to score the Southampton to New York route in Ticket to Ride UK?

Nothing extra. 40 points is the amount gained for a 10-car route.

The progression of the number of points earned per car is roughly linear.

Length  Points  PerCar  Maps
------  ------  ------  -------------------------------
     1       1    1.00  [Common]
     2       2    1.00  [Common]
     3       4    1.33  [Common]
     4       7    1.75  [Common]
     5      10    2.00  [Common]
     6      15    2.50  [Common]
     7      18    2.57  Germany (x4), Pennsylvania (x1)
     8      21    2.63  Europe (x1), India (x1)
     9      27    3.00  Nordic Countries (x1)
    10      40    4.00  UK (x1)

As you can see, getting 40 points for a 10-car route fits the regular progression. It wouldn't make sense for the 40 points to be in addition to the roughly 40 points one would expect to get from just laying down the cars.


The Paladin's ability triggers when you open (flip) a door card and reveal a monster or peril worth at least 4 XP.

The "with" in the description applies to the door card, not to your character, so having 4 XP in your possession won't trigger anything.

The description also doesn't mention taking the card as loot as it triggers when the door is first opened or flipped to reveal the contents. You do not have to stay and encounter the monster/peril and can choose to flee after gaining the Heroic die. Note that if you return later, the ability will not trigger again as the door is already open.


Casting Autumn Veil in response to opponent targeting my creature

Yes, Autumn's Veil's effect will cause Dismember's target to be invalid, which means that it will be countered by the rules when it tries to resolve.

More specifically, Autumn's Veil creates an effect that says that your creatures can't be targeted by blue or black spells. Then Dismember tries to resolve, but it no longer has a legal target, so it is countered. This is caused by rule 608.2b, part of the rules about resolving spells and abilities:

  If the spell or ability specifies targets, it checks whether the targets are still legal. A target that's no longer in the zone it was in when it was targeted is illegal. Other changes to the game state may cause a target to no longer be legal; for example, its characteristics may have changed or an effect may have changed the text of the spell. If the source of an ability has left the zone it was in, its last known information is used during this process. The spell or ability is countered if all its targets, for every instance of the word "target," are now illegal.


Clue - getting suggestion right early on, what happens?

An important strategy in Clue (and its variants) is to frequently use cards from your own hand as part of your Rumor. Doing this can give you more information, and it also means that the game doesn't degenerate in the way you describe: when no one is able to disprove your Rumor, they won't all race to the center (unless they're lucky guessers, or you don't have a good poker face) because they can't know whether the cards are in the center envelope or are in your hand.

However, original Clue (assuming these are the original rules) does also solve your problem by allowing you to make an Accusation on your turn from anywhere, including immediately after your Rumor turns up no disproof.


You do not pay the cost twice. The part in parentheses is called reminder text, and doesn't actually do anything it just reminds you how Outlast works. The card would function exactly the same if it read "Outlast {1}{B}"

  207.2a Reminder text is italicized text within parentheses that summarizes a rule that applies to that card. It usually appears on the same line as the ability it’s relevant to, but it may appear on its own line if it applies to an aspect of the card other than an ability.

  702.106. Outlast

  702.106a Outlast is an activated ability. “Outlast [cost]” means “[Cost], {T}: Put a +1/+1 counter on this creature. Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery.”


Do actions that affect all cards also affect cards in your hand.?

Playing Howl, will not allow First Mate to be played on the Tsar's Palace base.

In this thread on BGG, Mark Wootton, who appears to be AEG's Director of Company Development said:

  Q: What about the Homeworld base ability and the War Raptor? The Homeworld states that when you play a minion on it you can play another minion of Power 2 or less. Is the Raptor a valid play, since before it's added to a base it's Power 2?

  A: The order of effects is:

  1) To play an extra minion check its power is correct. War Raptor = 2 Power

  2) Any abilities on that minion trigger. War Raptor becomes 3 (or more) Power

  3) Trigger any ongoing effects in play e.g Leprechaun or Flame Trap

  So if, for example you had an action played on the base that said "All your minions here gain +2 Power" you could still play a 2 power minion there. Because it is 2 power when it is played.

The base checks first if First Mate is the correct power, before Howl is applied.

(Note: I disagree with Mark Wootton's last example, although it is immaterial to the correct answer here. I contend that an Action worded as he suggests would only affect Minions currently "here" at the base. For the Action to affect Minions played later that turn, it would have to be an Ongoing effect (that might be what he meant, as there are Actions that are played on a base with similar effects).


Why did Wizards of the Coast change the minimum deck size for Constructed from 40 to 60 cards?

Mark Rosewater wrote a very interesting article a while back called, "20 things that were going to kill Magic the Gathering."

This is the first thing that was going to kill magic at the time.  Here's all he states in that article, but it's the best I can find to answer your question:

  R&D realized that the rules were a problem, so they introduced two
  changes. First, the minimum for Constructed decks was changed from
  forty to sixty. It remained at forty for Limited formats. Second,
  every card but basic lands was limited to no more than four copies.
  Four was chosen because it allowed some consistency for deck building
  but wasn't too much to ensure that the card would always be drawn
  every game.

The second item that was going to kill magic, was the addition of the banned/restricted list.  The first line of that discussion reads:

  The four-of card limits and the increase in deck size helped, but it
  didn't stop the degeneracy...

So, it's pretty clear, that 60 was introduced to limit the "degeneracy" of decks.  If you've ever tried to take your favorite 60 card deck, and squeeze it down to 40 cards, you realize that it's significantly faster at 40 than at 60.


Is it okay to have a multi-language deck?

Yes.

Under official Magic, they're all the same card regardless of the printed language. From the comprehensive rules:

  201.2. A card’s name is always considered to be the English version of its name, regardless of printed language.

From the tournament rules:

  It is not required that players play with cards that are printed in the native language of the area in which the tournament is being run. If a player needs to know what a card does, either because it is in a language they cannot read, or it is a textless printing, they may call for a judge and ask for the Oracle text.


You get both.
In fact, there are three bonuses that you can get on your first turn, evaluated in this order:

Double letter score (if you play your word such that it hits one of the double letter scores that are 5 away from the starting square)
Double word score (from the starting square)
Bingo: +50 points for using all your letters

Let's say you play the word "LETTERS", with the L on a double letter score.  You would get 66 points:

Base 7 for tiles: all these tiles are 1 point
8 points post double letter score (the L is doubled to 2 points)
16 points post double word score
66 points post bonus


In MTG, what happens when a player loses in multiplayer?

First, the source: section 8 of the Comprehensive Rules covers multiplayer games, and rule 800.4a deals with the consequences of one player being eliminated:

  800.4a. When a player leaves the game, all objects (see rule 109) owned by that player leave the game, any effects which give that player control of any objects or players end, and all spells and abilities controlled by that player on the stack 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.

This is clarified by several other rules, among them

  800.4c If an object that would be owned by a player who has left the game would be created in any zone, it isn’t created. If a triggered ability that would be controlled by a player who has left the game would be put onto the stack, it isn’t put on the stack.

Applying this to your examples:

  I controlled an Oblivion Ring which has exiled Bob's Runeclaw Bear, does he get his bear back?

Rule 800.4a provides for the Ring to leave the game when you lose. Ordinarily that would result in a triggered ability that returns the Bear to the battlefield, but rule 800.4c overrides that. So no, Bob does not get his bear back. Note that if the card is Banishing Light, the Oblivion Ring equivalent with "until" rather than a separate triggered ability for removing, Bob would get the Bear back, as there's no "returning" trigger to interact with 800.4 (see the final gatherer ruling)

  I have a Shock on the stack targeting Chloe, does Chloe take to 2 damage?

No, because the Shock leaves the game when you lose according to 800.4a.

  Earlier in the turn I cast Healing Salve to prevent damage to one of Bob's Runeclaw Bears. If it later takes 3 damage, will that damage be prevented?

This one is a little tricky, but as far as I can tell, there is nothing in rule 800.4 that says your effects are terminated when you leave the game. (Note that an "effect" is something separate from a spell or ability) So I believe that yes, the damage would be prevented. Prevention effects are described in rule 615.

  Something I controlled gave Bob a 1/1 soldier token. What happens to the token?

Rule 110.5a states that "a token is both owned and controlled by the player under whose control it entered the battlefield." So this token is Bob's and has no connection to you; thus nothing happens to it.

  Something Chloe controlled gave me a 1/1 soldier token. What happens to the token?

This token, on the other hand, is owned by you, so rule 800.4a specifies that it leaves the game.

  I had a Mind Control enchanting one of Bob's army of Runeclaw Bears. What happens to the bear?

Bob gets the bear back because your Mind Control leaves the game. (I realize I'm pretty much bolding random words now)

  I had also played Act of Treason on Bob's final Runeclaw Bears. What happens to the last bear?

Bob gets the bear back again, but this time because rule 800.4a explicitly causes control-changing effects to end.

  Chloe had Cloned my Raging Goblin. What happens to the Clone?

I can't find an explicit reference for this one (yet) but I believe the Clone continues to exist as a copy of Raging Goblin, independent of the original. Clone says it "enters the battlefield as" a copy of the Goblin, but once it has entered the battlefield, the copying is complete and Clone doesn't maintain any connection to the Goblin.

  Are there any other situations specifically addressed by the rules?

Of course ;-) Rule 800.4 alone has 9 subsections; I'd recommend that you take a look at them.


What is this game with cards you describe, draw, or act out, decided by an electronic unit?

I remember playing this game as a kid! I believe it was called "Express Yourself". Hope I helped in some way!


How does Double Strike work with Trample?

It's power and toughness never change. It's never 1/1 or 1/7 or 7/1. It's 7/7 throughout. It merely gains marked damage.

In the first Combat Damage Step, the Ogre assigns 7 damage. It will assign and deal 2 damage two each of the 2/2[1] (and kills them) and 1 to the player.

In the second Combat Damage Step, the Ogre assigns 7 damage. It will assign and deal 7 damage the player.

If the damage it did the second step was reduced by the damage it did in the first step, it would never deal any in the second as a creature always deals its power in damage.

  and if wrecking ogre is blocked by 2 5/5 creature?

Only creatures with First Strike or Double Strike participate in the First Strike combat damage step.

Assuming these 5/5 have neither,

First strike combat damage step: Ogre deals 5 to one 5/5 (and kills it) and 2 to the other (which survives with 2 damage).
Normal strike combat damage step: Ogre deals 3 to the remaining 5/5 (and kills it) and 4 to the defender. The 5/5 deals 5 to the Ogre (which survives with 5 damage).

It's possible to assign more, but there's rarely a reason to assign more than the minimum.


Flickerform - are returning auras being attached once they enter the battlefield?

Yes, an aura that has been Flickerform'ed triggers Siona and all other abilities that trigger on an aura attaching.
As the rule for auras state, all auras that enter the battlefield in any way become attached to a legal target (or go to their owner's graveyard) and thus trigger e.g. Siona, Captain of the Pyleas.

303.4. Some enchantments have the subtype “Aura.” An Aura enters the battlefield attached to an object or player. What an Aura can be attached to is defined by its enchant keyword ability (see rule 702.5, “Enchant”). Other effects can limit what a permanent can be enchanted by.

As you can see, the rule has a wording equivalent to Flickerform's ("enters the battlefield attached to" vs. "to the battlefield [..] attached to"), so there is no difference between an aura entering the battlefield the usual way, i.e. casting, and any other way, such as Flickerform.


Are there any rules in Star Realms for when you have no deck?

This can happen in an actual game if a person trashes all of their economy in order to get more damage efficiency.  A person with no money in their deck cannot purchase anything since the cheapest card in the market costs 1 (scouts are not in the market).  This is different from Dominion, where you can buy copper for 0.

Additionally, if you have fewer than five cards in your deck at the end of a turn (either because of trashing or because your deck is mostly bases and you have all of them out), you draw as many cards as you can (namely all the cards in your deck).


The Unofficial Agricola Compendium doesn't mention this combination explicitly, but I think the answer is option 3 from your list.

Option 1 contradicts clarification B from the Reed Hut section, and both options 1 and 2 are contradicted by clarification E:

  Reed Hut (K138)
  ...
  B. The occupant of the Reed Hut is placed after your family members [ref]...
  ...
  E. You can move this person into your home with a family growth action later. That family growth action must be taken by another family member. [ref]

Both reference links are from the compendium, but seem to be broken.

For completeness, here's the ruling about newborns and the Church Warden in round 14.

  Church Warden (I227)
  ...
  B. A player who only gets a 5th family member in round 14 does not receive the bonus points, unless the new family member takes an action that round because of the Adoptive Parents.

The one thing I couldn't find was whether you'd get Church Warden points by taking an action with the Reed Hut person.  I would say that you can, based on the card's wording, as I think that although the Reed Hut person is not a 'family member', they are a 'person':

  At the end of the game, any player who performed actions with at least 5 people in round 14 receives 3 bonus points.


What is the highest possible score in Ticket To Ride: Europe?

I had the same question, but having scored 189 in a game a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't believe 195 is the max score.
Edinburgh - Athína gets 21 points with 20 carriages, so I decided to explore possibilities from that route.
I set up the board and checked for the best routes to add.
I came up with this setup:
Points for the routes

Edinburgh - Athína ----------> 21 points
Edinburgh - Paris ---------------> 7 points
Paris - Zágráb ------------------> 7 points
Paris - Wien ---------------------> 8 points
London - Wien ----------------> 10 points
London - Berlin -----------------> 7 points
Berlin - Bucuresti --------------> 8 points
Berlin - Moskva ---------------> 12 points
Berlin - Roma -------------------> 9 points
Roma - Smyrna ----------------> 8 points
Zágráb - Brindisi ---------------> 6 points
Zürich - Brindisi ----------------> 6 points
Zürich - Budapest -------------> 6 points
Amsterdam - Wilno ----------> 12 points
Athína - Wilno ----------------> 11 points
Essen - Kyïv ------------------> 10 points
Venezia - Constantinople ---> 10 points
Frankfurt - Smolensk --------> 13 points

This makes a total of 150 for the shorter routes and 21 for the long one (=171)
European Express
Track length 43+2 (10 points for longest route/European Express)
Points for the carriages:

Edinburgh - London_____________________4 carriages_____7 points
London - Amsterdam____________________2 carriages_____2 points
Amsterdam - Essen_____________________3 carriages_____4 points
Essen - Berlin_________________________2 carriages_____2 points
Berlin - Wien__________________________3 carriages_____4 points
Wien - Budapest_______________________1 carriage______1 point
Budapest - Zágráb______________________2 carriages_____2 points
Zágráb - Venezia_______________________2 carriages_____2 points
Venezia - Zürich________________________2 carriages_____2 points
Venezia - Roma________________________2 carriages_____2 points
Roma - Brindisi________________________2 carriages_____2 points
Brindisi - Athína________________________4 carriages_____7 points
Athína - Smyrna_______________________2 carriages_____2 points
Smyrna - Constantinople________________2 carriages_____2 points
Constantinople - Bucuresti_______________3 carriages_____4 points
Bucuresti - Kyïv________________________4 carriages_____7 points
Kyïv - Smolensk________________________3 carriages_____4 points
Smolensk - Moskva_____________________2 carriages_____2 points

Points for the carriages is 58 in total (this score is not that high, so there might still be room for a few dozen points of improvement.)
Stations:

Wilno (from Kyïv or Smolensk)
Frankfurt (from Amsterdam, Essen or Berlin)
Paris (from Zürich or Frankfurt)

171+10+58=239 points.


Multi-card trashing, when available, is usually the best way to open the game. Indeed, as The Chaz says, you want to get rid of your coppers as well your estates.

Theory's writeup on the chapel gives a thorough coverage of the quality of dense decks.  You can also see how many of the best openings from the 6 million games played online involve the chapel.

Trashing with single card trashers like Remodel and Develop are less pressing and often not the best opening.


Trouble: can you move any peg on your second pop after landing on double trouble?

According to a review of Trouble, not Double Trouble, which is a different game, on boardgamegeek.com, the player takes another turn. Which pegs, if any, a player can move on a turn is dependent on the die roll. Players have turns; pegs do not. The extra turn belongs to the player, not the peg.

https://boardgamegeek.com/video/120000/trouble/trouble-review-warp-and-double-trouble-additions


Do weak decks win a disproportionate amount of multiplayer FFA games?

There's no direct advantage to playing a weaker deck. There is, however, an advantage to managing perceptions.

In some sense, free-for-all is about always being outgunned: taken together, your opponents have more resources — more cards, more mana, more life, more time (turns) — than you do. Luckily, those resources aren't always directed against you at all times. However, as The Ferrett says, "Eventually, you have to be Alpha Threat to win" — and, when you are in that position and most of the table is gunning for you, it pays to have access to strong cards that can power you through that opposition.

The flip side is that those strong cards are more likely to get you labeled as the "Alpha Threat" prematurely. The best way to mitigate this isn't playing weaker cards, it's good strategic timing: as he continues, "The lesson is that you have to time your shot at dominance perfectly. You have to wait until your opponents don't have the resources to stop you, or you have the ability to stop them."

Multiplayer strategy writers emphasize the importance of gaming your opponents' perception to get to that point. Your card selection certainly plays a role here:

Even if you're just defending yourself, too powerful of an early board presence might make your opponents see you as the major threat. This could be an argument for playing bad cards, but...
Inversely, too little of an early presence marks you out as an easy target — some players love to take pot shots at anyone who doesn't have some blockers — or, worse yet, gets you flagged as That Guy Biding His Time Until He Can Use His Combo, at which point many players are likely to move to take you out even if you have no obvious strength, based on the fear that you could steal the game at any time.
Some players just love to "spread the love around," e.g. by attacking a different player each round, largely independent of their relative standings. Moreover, lots of multiplayer cards affect all players at the table: you don't have to be "The Threat" to have your carefully-laid plans trampled by another player's Cabal Conditioning. A weaker deck may dodge opponents' direct attention but find its game grinding to a halt anyway because it can't recover from collateral damage.

Thus, depending on the group, appearing weakest may be an advantage, a disadvantage, or largely irrelevant. Strategy writers often advise hiding your strength without actually showing weakness — trying to keep yourself in the "middle of the pack" to avoid the undue attention that may come from being either on top or at the bottom.

In my experience, the best way to dodge attention in multiplayer, particularly with relative strangers (e.g. at a game store rather than an enduring kitchen-table group) is not so much to play a deck that appears weak as a deck that seems linear and predictable. Players tend to spend most of their energy worrying about decks that threaten to do big "broken" game-changing things, or decks whose gameplan they have yet to figure out. Thus, it pays to play a deck that can build up in a slow, measured way with a very "obvious" gameplan, like creature-based midrange beats. Even when opponents notice your buildup, there's a bit of a tendency to dismiss it as a problem they can deal with in a couple more turns, after whatever more pressing concern is addressed.

My wife often steals games this way. She develops her board with some decent creatures, goes after one or two of the weaker players while the big splashy decks fight each other, and then sticks a card like True Conviction or Bellowing Tanglewurm for a game-winning alpha strike once the coast is clear. To win this way, you actually need some of the attributes of a strong deck, just in less "sexy" categories like consistent development and resilience. A deck that's straight-up weak across the board can play the same unassuming startup, but won't be able to capitalize on the late-game state in the same way.

Does her approach win a disproportionate amount of games? It's hard to say with certainty. She seems to win more than her fair share of games, but I do, too, with much splashier punch-everyone-in-the-face control decks. I think trying to be unassuming and predictable works best when there are several big decks fighting for supremacy, e.g. with lock pieces, serving as a suitable distraction for themselves and all of your other opponents; if the table just has one, that deck likely has the resources to run you over while you're still in your "slow and steady" mode.


What happens when multiple Canker Abominations enter the battlefield simultaneously?

After Exhume resolves, there are two Canker Abominations on the battlefield, each with 5 -1/-1 counters. Rule 101.4 says

  If multiple players would make choices and/or take actions at the same time, the active player (the player whose turn it is) makes any choices required, then the next player in turn order (usually the player seated to the active player's left) makes any choices required, followed by the remaining nonactive players in turn order. Then the actions happen simultaneously. This rule is often referred to as the "Active Player, Nonactive Player (APNAP) order" rule.

Canker Abomination's ability says

  As Canker Abomination enters the battlefield, choose an opponent. Canker Abomination enters the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter on it for each creature that player controls.

This is a replacement effect, as described in 614.1c. Clone, another creature with an enters-the-battlefield replacement effect, has a ruling on Gatherer that says

  If Clone somehow enters the battlefield at the same time as another creature, Clone can't become a copy of that creature. You may only choose a creature that's already on the battlefield.

This means that when multiple permanents enter the battlefield simultaneously, they do not see each other when applying replacement effects.

Therefore, the spell resolves like this:

Exhume starts to resolve. Each player must choose a permanent in their graveyard to put on the battlefield.
Alice chooses her Canker Abomination.
Nicholas chooses his Canker Abomination.
Alice chooses Nicholas for her Canker Abomination's ability. It will enter with 5 -1/-1 counters.
Nicholas chooses Alice for his Canker Abomination's ability. It will enter with 5 -1/-1 counters.
Both Canker Abominations enter simultaneously, each with 5 -1/-1 counters.


Magic the gathering, ixalan standard, bristling hydra

Your opponent can do this.

After he exerted Ahn-Crop Crasher, the triggered ability went on the stack. Then, you activated Bristling Hydra's activated ability in response, which went on the stack above the triggered ability. Then, your opponent cast Lightning Strike, which went on the stack above your activated ability.

At that point, the stack looks like this (from top to bottom):

Lightning Strike
Bristling Hydra's activated ability
Ahn-Crop Crasher's triggered ability

If no one else does anything, the stack will begin to resolve, starting from the top. So Lightning Strike will resolve. At this point, your Hydra's activated ability has not yet resolve, so the Hydra wouldn't have hexproof yet.


Does the old Howling Mine have an erratum?

Different printings of cards all work exactly the same way. The functionality of a card is determined by its Oracle text, which can be found on Gatherer (rule 108.1). For example, the Gatherer entry for Howling Mine says that the card text is

  At the beginning of each player's draw step, if Howling Mine is untapped, that player draws an additional card.

You can see in your image that the old printing of Howling Mine has the type "Continuous Artifact". At the time, that meant that the card would only work while it was untapped. Since then, they have gotten rid of that type, and made the functional aspect explicit in the card text. This is why two printings have different card text.

In general, you can find many cards with text that has been updated over time to keep up with revisions in the rules. No matter what printing you have, the functionality is determined by the current Oracle text on Gatherer.


Are cards of the same "rarity level" really equally rare in MTG?

I believe that, these days, a card at one level of commonality is pretty much equally common (or rare) as a card at another level.  However, it's pretty hard to work out exactly what the chances of getting a card of a specific rarity is, due to the complications introduced by premium foils, and other maverick card slots such as Innistrad's double-faced cards, which are going to get a slot all of their own.  I dug up the following information from Wikipedia to demonstrate quite how arcane the system of putting together a modern booster pack is:

  15 cards per booster: 1 rare, 3 uncommons and 11 commons; Core Set
  boosters contain a basic land as one of the commons. Starting with the
  Shards of Alara block, booster packs for both Core Sets and Expansions
  began to contain 1 land, 10 commons, 3 uncommons, either 1 rare (7/8
  chance) or 1 mythic rare (1/8 chance), and either a tip card (which
  explains the new rules in the set, such as exalted in the Alara Block
  or Infect in the Scars of Mirrodin Block) or a token (which is of a
  type produced by a card in the set). Also, roughly one in every four
  booster packs contain a foil card, which can be of any rarity,
  including basic land. Since foil cards replace a common, no matter
  what the rarity of the foil, it means that there is a chance that a
  booster pack could contain 2 rares, a rare and a mythic rare, or even
  2 mythic rares. Also, the presence of a foil card means that there is
  a chance that there are two of the same card in the booster pack (one
  foil and one regular), which would not occur otherwise.

  Note: Innistrad boosters, first released in September of 2011, contain
  a slightly different proportion of cards due to the introduction of
  double-faced cards. In Innistrad boosters one of the 10 commons is
  replaced by a double-sided card. This double-sided card can be of any
  rarity and either regular or foil, with the likelihood of a specific
  card being present depending on its rarity. Also, there is roughly a
  3/4 chance that the basic land will be replaced by a checklist.
  Finally, non-double-sided foil cards may still be present, probably
  still in roughly 1/4 of the boosters.

I believe this means that in Innistrad, you could get a pack containing
3 Mythics - one in the normal rare slot, one in foil replacing a common,
and one in the double-faced card slot.  And of course, you still hear rumours of errors at the factory producing all-rare packs from time to time!

To answer your more specific question, though, I believe Wizards have print runs of commons, uncommons and rares, in which each card at a specific rarity is printed once per sheet; so in theory at least any given rare (or whatever) should occur exactly as often as any other given rate.  This wasn't always the case: in the old days you had things like "C1" and "C3" rarity, which meant that the first card would be printed only once per "common sheet", making it exactly three times as rare as a "C3", that is to say about as rare as an uncommon! There were also accidents of history, such as when only half of the Legends uncommon sheets were shipped to certain locations (such as the UK, where I lived at the time), making some uncommons easy to get hold of in my location, and some like gold dust...

As I say, I'm pretty sure they don't do this kind of thing any more though.  A rare is a rare is a rare... unless it's a mythic of course!


If I cast a spell with X in its mana cost "without paying its mana cost" what is the value of X?

The value of X is chosen when the spell is cast.
But the only legal choice for X is zero in this case.

  107.3b If a player is casting a spell that has an {X} in its mana cost, the value of X isn’t defined by the text of that spell, and an effect lets that player cast that spell while paying neither its mana cost nor an alternative cost that includes X, then the only legal choice for X is 0. This doesn’t apply to effects that only reduce a cost, even if they reduce it to zero. See rule 601, “Casting Spells.”

This is confirmed by a ruling on Omnispell Adept.

  If a spell has {X} in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.


If a +1/+1 counter is removed after a creature takes damage, does it die?

Few points that should add up to an answer.

A Counter is not the same thing as a Static Ability that raises Power/Toughness.  Abilities that add counters will use the actual word Counter in them.

Once a counter is placed, killing the creature that placed it does not do anything.  So if you have an Adaptive Snapjaw that evolved and is now 7/3 due to a +1/+1 counter on it, that counter does not go away just because the other creature that caused it to evolve dies.

On the other hand if you have an Elvish Archdruid making all your elves +1/+1, that is a static ability.  All your elves get smaller immediately when he dies.  Sometimes new players do get in the habit of putting physical markers on other elves to track such an ability.  This is a bad habit, I would recommend against doing it.

Damage does not reduce toughness.  The xBox game does it wrong, pretend you never saw it.  A 3/3 with 2 damage marked is just that, a 3/3 with two damage.  It is no way shape or form a 3/1 for any purpose.  So if your 3/3 with 2 damage marked is an Elf, and your elvish arch druid dies, he will become a 2/2 with 2 damage marked, and promptly go to the graveyard as well.


Is there a specified order for abilities on cards, specifically creatures?

This question has come up in the distant past, so there is no telling whether the design philosophy has changed. In the June 2006 Ask Wizards column,

Q: I've noticed on creatures with multiple keywords (flying, trample, etc.) that the keywords are in a certain order. For instance, Flying comes before First Strike and First Strike comes before Trample (Just look at Akroma, Angel of Wrath). My question is: Imagine that there was a creature printed with every keyword in Magic, what is the ordering of the keywords and is there any logical pattern to the ordering? --Matthew Burnaby, BC, Canada
A: From Del Laugel, Senior Editor: The short answer is that there's no fixed order for keywords. I check Oracle for similar cards whenever an unusual combination comes up, but my top priority is getting the individual cards to read well. But what fun is a short answer?
[Following is an example card with just about every keyword ever, Keyword Ultimus, cut from this answer for brevity]

In a now-disappeared thread from the shut down wizards community forum, a user magicalblender supposedly compiled a list of evergreen keywords, and which ones always proceed the other. I cannot verify the correctness of this claim, as I haven't updated my cards.mwsbase database with the most recent cards.


You can just "jump over" other cities. From the rulebook, p. 5 (emphasis mine).

  A player may add any city (if there is room in the city for the
  player) to his network, regardless of its distance from his other
  cities. The player may build through a city without placing a house
  there if he wants or (more likely) if there is no room in the city.

edit: naturally you have to pay any incurring connection costs to the city you are going to. The game does not retain memory of the connection costs that you've paid, so you might have to pay some connection costs twice.

example: consider cities A -- B -- C, with the connection costs being $3 for A -- B and $4 for B -- C. Alice is in city A, Bob in city B, nobody in city C.

Alice may built in city C! She has to pay $10 for being the first to connect there, plus $7 for the incurring connection costs (A to B, B to C), for a total of $17.
When step 2 kicks in, Alice wants to connect to B. She will pay again the connection costs of $3 between A -- B (because it's cheaper than paying $4 for C -- B) plus $15 for being the second to connect there, for a total of $18. Even though she had paid earlier the connection costs for A -- B, the game does not remember it, so she pays again for it.

NB: originally commented by @GendoIkari, added here with an example for completeness.


In chess, may a player resign, offer a draw or claim a draw at any time, or not?

You may resign at any point during the game, there are no restrictions at all.

Draws are regulated in article 9 of the FIDE Laws of Chess:

You offer a draw after making your move, before you press the clock (9.1.2.1). The offer stands until the opponent touches a piece to make his move (or he accepts or declines or the game ends some other way).

If you offer it at another time, the offer still stands, but it may be counted as disturbing your opponent and you could get a warning from the arbiter. Besides that, your opponent will just not react to the offer, wait for you to make a move and then make his decision.

So in particular in your case 1), you do not have the option of offering a draw then -- you need to make a move first.

You claim a draw on your own move only, before you touch a piece to move it. Once you do that, you have to move and can't claim anymore (9.2.1 and 9.4).


It is a three to five player game according to the rules because the negotiation dynamics are integral to the rules. With two players there can be really no good negotiation and the game loses an essential element. Tweaking the game would definitely be needed, especially in regards to some items found in secret passages.

So in the end, since you would play just as long as the game doesn't crash and burn, I would play with one of the 2 player variants that can be found online (basically both Players get 2 factions).


Can I trade a resource for a development card?

No it is not. Development cards cannot be traded at all.

From the rules, page 7:

  You cannot trade or give away Development Cards.


You seem to describe the game Dog: 2 vs 2 parcheesi with cards instead of dice.


French Tarot (card game): Feasibility of playing a King on the first hand

Tarot is not poker. It is not a matter of probability and psychology, wishing that your opponent will bend over you. It is matter of card strength and strategy.

Do not play randomly your King (and its 4.5 points!) if you do not know if your opponent have cards of the same suit or not. It is far too risky for such a card. It is like playing the 1 of trumps randomly, wishing that your opponent will not have the trump card to take it. Play your King only if you are sure that your opponent will not take it. Kings have got too much points to be played randomly, because statistics say that it will likely win.

The only risk you can take is the following: Attackers often perform "coupes franches" (I do not know the English name) on one suit only. If this suit is revealed and if your King does not belong to this suit, the attacker will likely not be able to double it and will not take it.

If you love statistics, Wikipedia has got tables for this : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_tarot#Strategy But just like I said before, tarot is not poker and statistics does not matter in this game.


In the rules:

Discovering with Ships
To discover new land, you must move one of your ships towards the unexplored areas of the board (example 3 A).
If, after moving a ship, one of its ends (bow or stern) points toward the corner (intersection) of an undiscovered hex, you muist discover that hex (example 3 B).
Turn the hex over. If it is a terrain hex, take a number token from the stack whose color/icon matches the color/icon on the back of the terrain hex and place it, number side face up on the hex (example 3 C).

So this implies that this is the only way to diecover new hexes. The shape of the unexplored island is such, that each hex is reachable by sea, there is even a weird "hole" to enable access to the center hex. So I think this is the way the game should be played.


Metamorphic Alteration: Copying a creature that dies

Yes. Metamorphic Alteration's copy effect only looks at the the creature once, as MA enters the battlefield. Nothing that happens to the creature being copied has any effect on the enchanted creature.

This is confirmed by a ruling on Metamorphic Alteration:

  The characteristics that will be copied are determined as Metamorphic Alteration’s effect first begins to apply. If the copiable values of the chosen creature change later, or if that creature leaves the battlefield, the enchanted creature’s characteristics are unaffected.


Mark Rosewater offered this explanation on his blog:

  I believe the first cube was kept in a box that was a cube.

I wouldn't call that explanation definitive, but a quick Google search demonstrates that there are Magic players who would back up Rosewater's memory.


What game uses dice with shields, fleur-de-lis and rapier hilts?

The dice are from the game "Mousquetaires du Roy" ("The King's Musketeers")

Board Game Geek Entry


Betrayal at House on the Hill scenario where a hero dies after using a haunt-related item

In general, the heroes work toward a communal goal with a communal pool of successes.

I can't comment on the specific haunt you were playing, because I am not familiar with it, but as a general rule the successes that a hero achieves are shared, and the death of a hero does not invalidate the progress they made.


What happens if someone Doomblades a creature in response to you trying to give it Indestructible?

Your creature will be destroyed

As you correctly noted, the stack resolves in reverse order of casting, and if your opponent casts Doom Blade while Adamant Will is still on the stack, Doom Blade will indeed resolve first and destroy the creature. When Adamant Will would resolve, it will go to the graveyard without resolving  because it has no more legal targets.


Can Strionic Resonator target Ink-Treader Nephilim's ability?

Yes, you can do this if you control the Ink-Treader Nephilim.

Strionic Resonator's ability says this

  {2}, {T}: Copy target triggered ability you control. You may choose new targets for the copy.

The target condition is "target triggered ability you control", so you can copy any triggered ability you control. If you control the Ink-Treader Nephilim you also control any of its triggered abilities, so you can target and then copy them with Strionic Resonator's abilities.

When you copy something on the stack, you copy all of the parameters and references, including the reference in this case to the spell that would get copied. So, when the copy of the Ink-Treader's ability resolves, it copies the same spell that the original ability would copy.


How does Dredge work with drawing more than one card?

Yes and yes.  Yes you can dredge both cards, and yes you can select which of the five draws you are choosing to replace with a dredge.  More than that, though, when you draw cards, you do so one by one.  So you could in theory be like "I'm looking for a specific card.  Draw 1?  Not it.  Draw 2?  Not it.  Draw 3?  Ok that's what I want, I'll Dredge using my other 2 draws instead of drawing".
To do this "properly" in the most formal way, you would say "I'm drawing a card and replacing my draw with CARDNAME".  Then you return CARDNAME to your hand and mill that many cards.  If you would like to dredge multiple cards in 1 action, you can shortcut this by saying "I'm going to draw 2 cards, I'm going to replace those draws with dredging CARDNAME1 and CARDNAME2".  Then you return both of those cards to your hand and mill a number of cards equal to the sum of their Dredge numbers.
Relevant sections of Comprules:

121.2. Cards may only be drawn one at a time. If a player is instructed to draw multiple cards, that player performs that many individual card draws.
702.51a Dredge is a static ability that functions only while the card with dredge is in a player’s graveyard. “Dredge N” means “As long as you have at least N cards in your library, if you would draw a card, you may instead put N cards from the top of your library into your graveyard and return this card from your graveyard to your hand.”


If you find a rest spot and there are minions on the board what happens?

The rules state: If that card is an item, weapon, armor, accessory, scroll or trick, the player may either:

put it into the searching mouse's pack for later use, or
immediately discard it for 1 cheese.

Since Rest Spot is not any of the types listed, I don't think you can discard it for cheese.  And "Play immediately" is pretty clear about not holding on to it for later.  So I think you just discard it and nothing happens.


Can you place a draw 2 (+2) on top of a draw 4 (+4) in regular Uno?

You can as long as it's your turn and the color of your Draw 2 matches the color specified by the player who played the Draw 4. In standard Uno rules, the player after the one who played the Draw 4 will draw the 4 cards, and the player after that one gets the next turn. So, you would need to be the player next to the player next to the one who played the Draw 4 to play your Draw 2 (again, assuming it's the correct color). The player after you would draw 2 cards, and it would be the next player's turn.

An example from @JoeW: player 1 plays a Draw 4 and calls red, player 2 draws 4 cards, player 3 plays a red Draw 2, player 4 draws 2 card and play continues as normal.


Does trample damage hurt players even if the creature dies?

Short Answer
Yes, that's what trample does - any damage beyond lethal can be assigned to the player or planeswalker the trampling creature is attacking.

Long Answer
Combat damage is all dealt simultaneously (in two steps, the first of which is exclusive to creatures which have First Strike or Double Strike) - assuming the attacker and blocker both do not have First strike or Double strike, the four damage from the blocking 4/1 is dealt to the 6/4 trampler at the same time that the 6/4 with Trample deals one to the blocker and five to that creature's controller (assuming there are no other blocking creatures).
Thus, if you are at five or less life, and have a 4/1 without First Strike or Double Strike blocking a 6/4 with Trample, lethal damage will be assigned to you (and dealt, unless it is prevented somehow).
If your 4/1 blocker does have First Strike or Double Strike (and the 6/4 Trample does not), your blocker's combat damage will be dealt in a combat damage step earlier than the 6/4, and if the 6/4 is dealt lethal damage (which it would be, assuming no combat tricks), the 6/4 would be destroyed and would not be present for the second combat damage step, so you would avoid damage altogether.
See the following from the 5/1 comprehensive rules:

703.4k Immediately after combat damage has been assigned during the combat damage step, all combat damage is dealt simultaneously. See rule 510.2.
510.2. Second, all combat damage that's been assigned is dealt simultaneously. This turn-based action doesn't use the stack. No player has the chance to cast spells or activate abilities between the time combat damage is assigned and the time it's dealt. This is a change from previous rules.
510.5. If at least one attacking or blocking creature has first strike (see rule 702.7) or double strike (see rule 702.4) as the combat damage step begins, the only creatures that assign combat damage in that step are those with first strike or double strike. After that step, instead of proceeding to the end of combat step, the phase gets a second combat damage step. The only creatures that assign combat damage in that step are the remaining attackers and blockers that had neither first strike nor double strike as the first combat damage step began, as well as the remaining attackers and blockers that currently have double strike. After that step, the phase proceeds to the end of combat step.


What do the abbreviations BB, SB and D mean in Texas Hold 'Em?

BB = Big Blind

SB = Small Blind

D = Dealer


No you may not use a 7 card to move a pawn from start as only a 1 or two card can do that.

Rules

  7: Either move one pawn forward 7 spaces -- Or split the forward move between any two pawns. Notes 1. You may not use a 7 to start a pawn. 2. if you use a 7 to get a pawn home you muse be able to use the balance of the move for another pawn.


Can you play an instant (airlift) to move quarantine specialist prevent infection after the infection card has been drawn?

That is against the rules.

You must resolve each card fully before you can do anything else, so if you draw a card that causes an outbreak, you must first perform all of its steps. After you resolve that, you can play an Event, if you like. And, of course, you could play an instant before drawing and revealing the first Event card.

From the rules, page 7:

  Event cards can be played at any time, except in between
  drawing and resolving a card.

You might also be interested in this similar question: In Pandemic, when does the discard-over-7-cards rule take effect?.


What's the impact of allowing other players to continue while you choose tickets?

Allowing play to continue can give the player who is choosing which tickets to pick up an advantage:

Other players may place a route blocking one of the tickets the first player was considering keeping.
Seeing what colours others pick up can indicate where they're going. Another round of this can only help decide which routes are worth keeping.
If play has gone full circle while you're deciding, you also are guaranteed to know which colours will be available for you to pick up once you've selected your tickets. This is huge.

I thought I remembered seeing advice somewhere on the site that said "always let play continue if you're choosing the tickets, never let it continue if it's someone else", but I couldn't find it. While this is certainly the most "effective" way to play, I personally think it's a bit underhand.

I prefer to play as written in the rulebook, but if it's a causal game and people want to keep playing, I'll generally let it happen (no matter who is choosing the tickets). It definitely gives an advantage to the player choosing their tickets, but it's not game breaking.


Custom Scenarios were used in 2 Arkham Horror Leagues, organized by Fantasy Flight.

You can find the whole scenarios from the Arkham Horror Wiki Scenarios Category page, along with pdf printouts of each story. There doesn't appear to be a summary of season 1, however.

Compilations of the league scenarios nicely assembled were contributed to the file section on boardgamegeek in pdf format:

League 1

League 2


I think the easiest way to do this would be to use a stencil:

Most craft shops should stock something like this.

Paint the cork one colour, then use the stencil with a different colour / shade of paint (spray paint would probably be best).


Can I steal from a city with a city wall?

Yes, you can steal from a player even if he has a city wall.

The rules make no mention of a city wall having any effect on stealing from a player when the robber is moved. As you said, the only thing that the walls do is increase your hand limit by 2 for how many cards you can safely hold when a 7 is rolled.

I can't say why the green city did not light up; you would probably have to check with the app's support about that. But do you have any particular reason for thinking that it has to do with the city wall? If it is a bug in the app, that bug could be any number of things, including possibly the app treating a city wall as protection from getting stolen from.