Do I get to play a planeswalker's ability when I transform the card?

Gatherer says that

  You can’t activate a loyalty ability of Garruk Relentless and later that turn after he transforms activate a loyalty ability of Garruk, the Veil-Cursed.

So you can't. The actual rule in play here is 606.3:

  A player may activate a loyalty ability of a permanent they control any time they have priority and the stack is empty during a main phase of their turn, but only if no player has previously activated a loyalty ability of that permanent that turn.

(Emphasis mine.) Transforming a permanent does not make it into a new object, by rule 711.12:

  When a double-faced permanent transforms, it doesn’t become a new object. Any effects that applied to that permanent will continue to apply to it after it transforms.

Therefore, if you have already played one of the loyalty abilities of Garruk Relentless this turn, then after he transforms into Garruk, the Veil-Cursed he is still the same permanent so the rules forbid you from activating any of his loyalty abilities.


In the Game of the Goose, keep moving again and again if I keep landing on geese?

The game of goose has many variants, including different square orderings, different rules for landing on certain squares and different numbers of dice.

The variant you describe (two dice, geese every 9 squares) is quite common, and the rule for rolling a nine on the first turn is as follows:

  If the roll is a 6 and 3, move directly to field 26; if the roll is a 4 and 5, advance all the way to 53.

Since you could only roll a nine and land on a goose when you are on the start square, you don't have the opportunity to land on multiple geese in one go from any other square on the board.

The rules quote was from this goose page. Interestingly this set of rules explicitly says moving to square 26 or 53 only applies on your first go. So if you find yourself back at the start, e.g. due to the death square, or somebody landing on you on their first go, then you can throw a nine and win the game.

Another site with two-dice goose rules is here, and it features an image of the game board that shows a pair of dice on squares 26 and 53. This acts as a visual reminder of the rule. This rules page does not allow a throw of nine to ever win the game from the start square, as it associates the rule with the square:

  A lucky throw of 9 at the beginning of the spiral path advances a player to one of the fields with dice.

The game of goose has been played over many hundreds of years, and plenty of variation has been introduced during this time. Consequently the important thing is to pick a set of rules everyone's happy with before you start the game.


Etali and returning casted cards questions

The answer to Q1 is: The creature goes to it's owner's (in your case, Ben's) graveyard.

This is supported by CR701.7a:

  701.7. Destroy

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

Q2 already has an answer here.


How can I deal with indestructible shrouded slivers?

Depending on how far you want to go to tune your deck for this specific scenario you have a few options.  If dealing with this combo is more important then staying mono-green looking at a black splash will open up a lot of the cards ideal for this match up.

General advice, Exile and negative toughness effects will still remove indestructible creatures, and Edicts (sacrifice effects that target the other player) will get around shroud as well.

Assuming that we are staying mono-green, Some specific Cards:

Perilous Vault will get around both by exiling everything, I recommend saving it to both play and activate in the same turn to avoid getting it destroyed
All is Dust will act as a board wipe
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon another board wipe
Aligned Hedron Network can deal with the Hive Lord
Arcane Lighthouse remove shroud
Bonds of Mortality will remove the indestructible
Sword of Kaldra will exile something it deals damage to, this could be used with a lure to force blocks
Pithing Needle or Phyrexian Revoker naming Sliver Overlord will stop the activated abilities on the Commander.
Song of the Dryads,Lignify on the Overlord can slow down searching up the combo.
Jester's Cap can remove the problem cards from his Library
Damping Matrix can shut down the activated abilities of the commander
Bind can counter one activation of search to buy time
Triumph of the Hordes would also be a good answer to just go over in a green deck

Additionally you can look at some infect / wither for some creatures which will place -1/-1 counters which get around indestructible, or annihilator which will require sacrifice.


How could you change what creature a creature with soulbond is paired with?

Currently the Soulbond rules don't have a specific precedent for ending a pairing of two creatures like this, but we can work one in.
We need to format your ability slightly differently to take care of some things:

Make sure this ability can only be used while it's paired, if that's what you want.
Make it clear to players that the other creature gets unpaired as well.
Use the portion of the Soulbond ability templating that's missing.

First, point 3. I'm going to paraphrase part of rule 702.94a here slightly for the sake of readability:

702.94a Soulbond is a keyword that represents two triggered abilities. “Soulbond” means:

When this creature enters the battlefield, if you control both this creature and another creature and both are unpaired, you may pair this creature with another unpaired creature you control for as long as both remain creatures on the battlefield under your control
Whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control, if you control both that creature and this one and both are unpaired, you may pair that creature with this creature for as long as both remain creatures on the battlefield under your control.

We'll need to take some of that boilerplate; the "as long as" stuff is important.
It seems like you might want this unpair-repair ability to only work if the creature's already paired, but I could see it either way. We could ensure it only works if it's paired by borrowing Deadeye Navigator's ability-gain wording, but all those cards with similar wording grant the same ability to the paired creature. Because that doesn't happen here, using that wording would be confusing and should be avoided.
I think templating from Hanweir Battlements is more appropriate.
A version which works whether it's paired or not:

{T}: If {this card} is paired to another creature, unpair them. Pair {this card} with another unpaired creature you control for as long as both remain creatures on the battlefield under your control.

If you want it to work only when it's already paired, add this clause:

Activate this ability only if {this card} is paired.

An option for leveraging existing unpairing mechanics
Currently 702.94e says:

702.94e A paired creature becomes unpaired if any of the following occur: another player gains control of it or the creature it’s paired with; it or the creature it’s paired with stops being a creature; or it or the creature it’s paired with leaves the battlefield.

You have some options here for fiddling around with this card to leverage existing un-bonding rules:

Give this creature an ability that has it leave the battlefield temporarily and come back sooner or later. This also lets the Soulbond ETB do the rest of the hard work. For example, flicker it (similar to Deadeye Navigator, but using Acrobatic Maneuver's wording): "{1}{W}: Exile {this card}, then return it to the battlefield under its owner's control."
Enable it to turn into a noncreature (a land, enchantment, or artifact).
Give away control of the bonded creature to an opponent for some proportionate benefit. This is probably a Red or Black effect based on past cards that give away control. Cards like Humble Defector and Harmless Offering have your back here for templating.

The ability that turns this card into a noncreature, or which gives away control of its paired creature, should reminder text similar to the following: ({this card} and the creature it is paired with both become unpaired.)
In the second and third cases, you'll need to give it a means to re-pair itself again. Options include:

{T}: If {this card} is unpaired, pair {this card} with another unpaired creature you control for as long as both remain creatures on the battlefield under your control.

For either of the second cases, add this to the end of the ability that turns this card into a creature again or gives away control of the bonded creature:

Then you may pair {this card} with another unpaired creature you control for as long as both remain creatures on the battlefield under your control.

For the becomes-a-noncreature option, something like the following (suggested by diego):

When {this card} becomes a creature, you may pair {this card} with another unpaired creature you control for as long as both remain creatures on the battlefield under your control.


Do subtype changes remain after a card is transformed?

Yes.
From the Comprehensive Rules:

711.7. When a double-faced permanent transforms, it doesn't become a new object. Any effects that applied to that permanent will continue to apply to it after it transforms.

So your Werewolf will keep its Vampire subtype.


When does an opponent make the decision to pay extra mana in response to a spell?

The opponent has to decide whether to pay if and when the Familiar's ability resolves. If it does resolve, the Familiar's ability will always resolve before the spell it tries to counter, because the stack works on the LIFO principle - Last In, First Out.

Starting with the active player, each player in turn order gets priority whenever a spell or ability resolves, so if the first Familiar's ability resolves and your opponent decides to pay, then you still have the opportunity to sacrifice the other Familiar. The second Familiar's ability then becomes the top-most object on the stack and that too will resolve before the spell you want to counter.

Here are the rules on who gets priority when:

116.3. Which player has priority is determined by the following rules:
116.3a The active player receives priority at the beginning of most steps and phases, after any turn-based actions (such as drawing a card during the draw step; see rule 703) have been dealt with and abilities that trigger at the beginning of that phase or step have been put on the stack. No player receives priority during the untap step. Players usually don’t get priority during the cleanup step (see rule 514.3).
116.3b The active player receives priority after a spell or ability (other than a mana ability) resolves.
116.3c If a player has priority when he or she casts a spell, activates an ability, or takes a special action, that player receives priority afterward.
116.3d If a player has priority and chooses not to take any actions, that player passes. If any mana is in that player’s mana pool, he or she announces what mana is there. Then the next player in turn order receives priority.


The good news is that it's impossible for a floor to lack an available door. The bad news is that it's quite possible for the Heroes to be standing in all of the rooms of a floor that have an available door.

This is a hole in the rules, and there is no rules-strict way to solve this. I can suggest a few alternatives, with my favorites first:

Allow the Traitor to select any room on the outside of a floor (i.e., pretend that all of the rooms have doors in every direction for the purposes of selecting this room).
Allow the traitor to select a room with a "false door", that doesn't go through to another room because the other room doesn't have a door. (This will be a room in the middle of the floor somewhere.)
Fall back to the "floor has been sealed" rules, and permit the current player to rearrange the floor to produce a room with an available door that does not contain a Hero. Note that who gets to rearrange the floor is going to drastically affect who wins, and it's currently the Traitor's turn.
Allow the Traitor to select any room on the floor.


If the blue Taoist kills a ghost that blocks his ability to seek help and fight in the same turn, can he then seek help from a villager?

Yes, you can do this.

Under Taoist Powers on page 8 of the rulebook:

  It may happen that a Taoist loses his power because of a ghost
  ability. He can recover it as soon as the responsible ghost is removed
  from his board.

And the blue Taoist's Heavenly Gust Ability on the next page reads:

  The blue Taoist can act in a heartbeat.
  He may request villager’s help AND attempt an exorcism in the same turn, in any order.

So you can definitely exorcise a ghost, unlocking your power, and then get a Villager's help in the same turn.


If damage is assigned to AAA during bombardment, can it defend before general combat begins in the territory or is it removed?

On page 15 of the Axis and Allies 1942, Second edition rulebook, it is stated:

  "Roll one die for each battleship and cruiser that can conduct bombardment…For each hit, the defender will move a defending unit behind the casualty strip.  These casualties will be able to defend during the land combat step before they are eliminated".

This means that not only does the AA gun in your scenario still get to fire, but so does the infantry unit that got knocked out by the bombardment as well, at least for one round of combat.  In addition, even if the lost AA gun didn't get to fire due to its destruction, the other still would, and the destruction of the first would therefore be irrelevant because in the description of AA guns, it says,

  "Only one antiaircraft gun can fire in a battle, no matter how many are in the territory".

In sum, both of the destroyed units in your scenario would have the ability to fire after naval bombardment phase.


You draw only one treasure total if you manage to flee a battle with multiple monsters.

This question came up in the SJG-forum and was answered by one of the Munchkin editors:

  I'll admit that the wording is unclear, but the INTENT was that you got one Treasure as you fled the combat, no matter how many monsters you fought.

See: http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=75522


Can two players tie for first place in Hearts?

I cannot recall encountering this situation. I reckon that ties are not common, and that there is not a clear rule.

How it is handled would depend on the scoring system in use. For example, the description in Hoyle lists three settlement methods: "Cumulative scoring" and "Howell Settlement" avoid the issue, whereas in the "Sweepstake" method, if two players are clear then they divide the pot.

Pagat does refer to it in the section about variations of scoring. It does say "may" continue, so i suppose that each game should declare whether the low points are shared or whether the game plays on. (Pagat does not mention those other settlements.)

  If a player reaches or exceeds 100 points and there is a tie for low score, additional hands may be played until there is a clear winner.

In real life games, we did not bother with settlement: as soon a someone blew it, then end of game, move on to the next. Online games would need to utilise settlements, especially if doing rating.

Do you have any statistics from your online game, regarding how often this situation occurs?


Can the Big Blind Player Post More than the Current Big Blind?

In a tournament, "blinds" are set by formula, based on the number of rounds that have elapsed. So the big blind amount in this instance is 400.

It's a LIVE blind, which means that the big blind can raise, but only after others have had a chance to do so. That's the disadvantage of being a big blind.

Essentially, he raises the little blind from 200 to 400, and then again at the end of the round (if no one else has raised 150 or more). But he can't "protect" his blind by raising the whole 550 the first time.


What happens to spells on the stack when a player leaves the game?

No, the turn continues as normal, without that player.

  800.4i If a player leaves the game during their turn, that turn continues to its completion without an active player. If the active player would receive priority, instead the next player in turn order receives priority, or the top object on the stack resolves, or the phase or step ends, whichever is appropriate.


The spell temper (old card) effect in combat damage resolution

Okay there's two questions here so lets take them one at a time. First though being combat damage only matters for the timing of the damage in the first question, Temper works the same way regardless of how the damage is dealt.

1) Temper will NOT change the damage done by that creature in the same damage step, damage is already assigned in full, and would have been dealt at the same time it was to take the damage being prevented. Making a creature more powerful after damage is assigned doesn't change that. If however the damage prevented was from a first strike source, and your creature does not have first strike, or has double strike, the second damage step will have those counters and will do that extra damage. This is seen more recently with the effect of Drana, Liberator of Malakir every time she hits all attacking creatures get a +1/+1 counter, and she has first strike.

2) If Temper was placed on Boros Reckoner, his effect will not be triggered, he was dealt no damage so his effect does nothing. The en-Kor redirection effects could go either way, assuming one player controls both the effects that player chooses which one applies first and which tries to apply second. The one that would apply second fails to happen, because damage is no longer going to be dealt to that creature. This is covered in the Comprehensive rules:

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

If Temper is cast on the creature that damage is being redirected to, both effects will apply, the damage will be redirected and then prevented.

It's worth noting that Temper still prevents X damage during that turn, unlike some other sources it does not care from where or when the damage is dealt, beyond that it is all in that one turn. So if you redirect all damage from a group of en-Kor creatures being hit by something like pyroclasm it will prevent all of up to X of that damage, and if anything is left be able to prevent still more later in the turn.


How can I store hexagon tiles in a stack?

You can make some hexagonal tuckboxes, check out these ones from BGG.

You may need to tweak them a bit to deal with your custom tiles, but Inkscape does a pretty decent job of editing these types of PDF's (YMMV)


What happens if you have more than 7 cards in your hand at the end of a turn in Jaipur?

You may not take an action that causes you to have more than 7 cards in your hand.  If you have 7 cards in hand, then you cannot draw 1 card from the market or trade camels for cards from the market.  And you also can't trade more camels for cards from the market than you have hand space available.  So in your example, if you have 6 cards in hand, you cannot trade 2 camels for 2 goods.


How does Wizard's Lightning stop Archfiend's Vessel?

Wizard's Lightning was surely used in response to Archfiend's Vessel's triggered ability, which means the spell was cast and resolved after the ability triggered, but before the triggered ability resolved. The Archfiend's Vessel is on the battlefield as a 1/1 until its triggered ability resolves, and thus easily succumbs to Wizard's Lightning.
The triggered ability does go on to resolve, and it does attempt to exile Archfiend's Vessel, but it fails to do so since Archfiend's Vessel doesn't exist anymore.[CR 400.7] And since Archfiend's Vessel can't be exiled, the "if you do" clause is false, and the Demon isn't created.

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. There are nine exceptions to this rule: [None of them are relevant here.]

A ruling on Gatherer confirms this conclusion.


Will a Havengul Vampire get its +1/+1 counter for killing a creature and prevent it from dying?

Yes, that's right.

As the Wolf dies the Vampire's ability will trigger and be placed on the stack.  Unfortunately, by the time you get round to resolving it, the Vampire will be in the graveyard  and unable to have a +1/+1 counter placed on it.


What are the mechanical differences between Adapt and Monstrosity?

In practice, there is little difference between Adapt on Monstrosity, but there are minor differences.

As you already pointed out, Monstrosity and counters are independent. You can make a creature monstrous even if it already has +1/+1 counters on it, whereas you can't adapt a creature that already has +1/+1 counters on it.

On the flip side, many monstrous creatures (such as Stormbreath Dragon) have a triggered ability that triggers when it becomes monstrous. Since an object can only become monstrous once, you can get that trigger at most once per object. Some adapt creatures (such as Growth-Chamber Guardian) have a triggered ability that triggers whenever +1/+1 counters are placed on it. This can happen any number of times: most commonly once through the adapt ability, but also through any other means of putting a +1/+1 counter on that creature.


Is 'Enchantment Creature' a creature type?

According to the rules, possible card types are:

  300.1. The card types are artifact, conspiracy, creature, enchantment, instant, land, phenomenon, plane, planeswalker, scheme, sorcery, tribal, and vanguard.

Agent of Erebos shares the type with Aegis of the Gods. However, Desendants' Path looks not at the card type, but on Creature Type:

  302.3. Creature subtypes are always a single word and are listed after a long dash: “Creature — Human Soldier,” “Artifact Creature — Golem,” and so on. Creature subtypes are also called creature types. Creatures may have multiple subtypes. See rule 205.3m for the complete list of creature types.
  Example: “Creature — Goblin Wizard” means the card is a creature with the subtypes Goblin and Wizard.

Aegis and Agent don't share a creature (sub)type, therefore you will have to put the Agent on the bottom of your library unless you control more creatures one of which is a Zombie.


Twilight Imperium’s ‘Spend resources’ Objectives

You must spend these resources specifically to score the objective.  You have to make a choice between spending the resources on units/buildings and getting points to win.

These objectives are status phase objectives, meaning they can only be scored in the status phase.  Thus spending resources to build ships wouldn't apply because it happens during the action phase.  Furthermore, at the step in the status phase when you can score objectives, objectives are the only thing you can spend resources on.

Support from the rules reference:

  52.3 Each objective card indicates the phase during which a player
  can score that objective—either the status phase or action phase.

  52.10 Players can score some objectives by spending resources,
  influence, or tokens, as described by the objective card. To
  score such an objective, a player must pay the specified cost at
  the time indicated on the card.

  70.1 [STATUS PHASE] STEP 1—SCORE OBJECTIVES: Following initiative order,
  each player may score up to one public objective and one secret
  objective that can be fulfilled during the status phase. To score
  an objective, he must fulfill the requirements on the card; if he
  does, he gains a number of victory points indicated on the card.


Buying 36 booster packs for a magic the gathering set

The first part of your question can be answered.  Yes, you may end up with more than 4 copies of the same card, and the chances of doing so obviously go up the more packs you buy.  People that buy packs in bulk are doing so to get the rare cards, of which there are only one card per pack.  You need to buy quite a few packs to get a play set (4 copies) of each rare.  The extra cards you get in the process could potentially be traded or sold to help recoup the cost (though you'll only get back a small percentage of what you spent).

As to why people do this, there are too many reasons to list.  Drafting, collecting, searching for a specific card, gifting, etc.  Buying a bunch of packs is a good way to get a random sampling of cards.  If you're trying to just have one strong deck, you're better off buying singles and/or preconstructed decks.


Removal of red camp cards from the camp board

Got an answer from the BBG forum. There is no explicit information about this in the manual, neither in the spanish FAQ. Without specific rules, it is reasonable to admit that red cards that do not explicitly define a removal condition (such as #51) stay in the camp board until the end of the game.


Can a countered creature be regenerated?

No, a creature cannot use Regenerate to avoid being countered.

When your friend casts Mortivore, it goes on the Stack as a Spell.  It is not a Creature until the spell resolves and leaves the stack.

Counterspell uses the Counter keyword action, which removes a spell from the stack.  This means the spell never resolves and does not have any effect.  In the case of a creature spell, the effect is to put a creature on the battlefield; if it is countered, the creature is never created.

The abilities on a creature card (including regeneration) cannot be used until the card has finished being cast and become a creature on the battlefield*.  Therefore, Regenerate cannot be used while Mortivore is on the stack.

Since Counterspell gets rid of Mortivore while it is still on the stack, your friend cannot use Mortivore's regeneration ability to avoid your Counterspell.

Note: Even if you could use a regeneration ability from the stack, it still wouldn't apply here.  Regeneration only applies when a permanent would be Destroyed, which is different than being countered.

*Except in certain exceptional cases, none of which apply here.


Will Repercussion deal damage to a controller beyond a creature's toughness?

The controller takes 10 damage. A creature's toughness does not limit the damage it can take. Toughness just indicates how much damage is enough to destroy it.


What should I do if a judge makes an incorrect ruling?

Typically you would appeal the judge's ruling to the head judge. The head judge is much less likely to make such a mistake.

In many cases, like at a local store, you won't have a head judge, which complicates the situation. This person's word will be final, so you will need to make sure they don't close discussion until you have persuaded them. You will want to talk to the judge away from the table (if for no other reason than to not disturb other players) and ask the judge which relevant rule he or she is citing to back up the ruling. I mean, unless you want to just drop it and accept that they flubbed it. I'm guessing it's implied that you would like to somehow contest their ruling.

Calmly explain why you feel the judge is incorrect, never lose your cool, and be confident. For example in this case you could say something to John the Judge, about your opponent Barry,

  John, Barry's Grasp of Darkness can only target creatures. If he wants to Grasp my Kiran, it must be a creature. For it to be a creature it must have been crewed. The ruling on Motorist says "Veteran Motorist’s last ability resolves before the crew ability that it was tapped to activate. The +1/+1 bonus will be in effect as the Vehicle becomes an artifact creature." With this in mind, the -4/-4 from Grasp would not be enough to kill it. If you disagree with this, could you tell me what rule or ruling contradicts this ruling?

What you don't want to say is "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." or "How long have you been a judge?" You're dealing with a judge, so think like you're in court. Anything that a lawyer on TV would say "Objection!" to, don't say it. Stick to the facts, stay calm, and if you still lose your case, just play on. Sometimes you lose when you shouldn't. If it's small enough to not have an L2 or L3 judge who knows these kinds of things, it's small enough to just have some fun and not worry too much about the prizing.


Getting started with trick-taking games (whist, euchre, bridge, pinochle, etc.)

Spades.

I think Spades is the easiest starting point, because is (1) easy and (2) the point is winning tricks, making it more consistent with the logic of other games. IMHO, spades shares more in common with the other games.

Hearts has the reverse logic -- you are generally trying to LOSE tricks, not win them.  If you start with spades, you spend your time thinking about how to win tricks.  That means you can switch to Eucre or Bridge or Pitch or whatever...  Or you can learn hearts next.

Spades to Bridge --> play is the same; add "no trump" and dummy hand; bidding more complicated
Spades to Euchr --> drop a bunch of cards from the deck, etc... but still  win tricks
Spades to Pitch -->  multiple versions exist; typically a varient of spades
Spades to Hearts --> lose tricks, not win them
Hearts to Bridge --> more "moving parts"  than "Spades to Bridge"

In any case, once you know one trick taking game, it's somewhat trivial to learn the rules and basic play of one more.

I'd recommend you avoid Bridge as a first game. The bidding is really complicated. You can start having fun and start feeling competent much faster.  Pinochle is more complicated....

However, if you're only going to actually learn one game, I have to say that I find Hearts and Spades to be the most boring.   What makes a game better for beginners makes it worse for experienced players.


How do multiple power increases and reductions affect this creature?

Herald of Dromoka winds up with a power of 0 because it is affected by -3 and +1 power simultaneously, which is a -2 modifier no matter which way it occurs.

The first thing to help clarify this is that power can be in negative numbers. See Char-Rumbler for one of the only examples of cards with negative power. (It's got a ruling saying: "Yes, Char-Rumbler’s printed power is -1. While its power is -1 or 0, it simply deals no combat damage.")

Since power doesn't bottom out at 0 and can just keep going down into negative numbers, there's no actual difference either way you order it:

If Dovin Baan applies first, the Herald's power is reduced to -1 then increased to 0.
If Chief of the Edge applies first, the power is increased to 3 then reduced to 0.


Rubber bridge and whether or not to duck

Much like many things in bridge, there is a rule of thumb for ducking.  Assuming a 3NT contract, you can follow the Rule of Seven:

  Subtract from seven the total number of cards that declarer and dummy hold in the defenders' suit and duck their lead of the suit that many times.

In your example (again, assuming a contract of 3NT), you should duck the lead once and win the second round.  If the outstanding cards are distributed 5-2, one duck will be enough to break the opponent's communication in that suit.  If they are distributed 4-3, you can't disrupt the communication, but they could only ever cash three tricks in the suit if they get in.

There is one big exception to this, and that's not to duck if there is another suit that is worse than the led suit.  Say the hands are like the following in a 3NT contract:

  ♠ xx
  ♥ Qxx
  ♦ KQJxx
  ♣ Qxx

  ♠ Axx
  ♥ AKxx
  ♦ Axx
  ♣ xxx

If the opponents lead a spade, you should not hold up.  If you let the opponents win the trick and they switch to clubs, you could potentially go down before you can get in.  Better to just win the trick and cash your nine/ten tricks immediately rather than duck the spade.


How does one evaluate a hand responding to a "strong" two clubs?

The system I have played for many years is as following:

1. Opener rebids NT to show a balanced hand with a well defined point range:

Responder evaluates his hand as balanced unless making a transfer bid into his own suit. These auctions are very similar to 2NT openings except with greater strength having been shown by Opener.

1a. Opener rebids 2NT with a semi-balanced hand of appropriate strength (usually a range of 22-23 HCP) and a 5-card major (not longer) with an agreement enabling Puppet Stayman. Advantage is that Responder's second negative doesn't place Notrump contracts in his hand with the strong hand exposed and led through.

Responder will almost always rebid 3C (Puppet Stayman) to allow Opener to reveal a hidden 5-card major (or 6-car minor).

2. Opener makes a simple rebid in his Major suit:
Responder bids 2NT as a second negative with either less than 3-card
support or 3 cards only and a bust hand.
Responder raises to 4 of Opener's major with 3 or 4 card support and a few scattered points.
Responder raises to 3 of Opener's major with 3+ card support and slam interest, but no outside control.
Responder bids a new suit to show a control (either A or K) in the suit bid, 3+ card support for Opener's major, and no reason to deny slam interest.
Responder jumps in a new suit to show 4+ card support and shortness in the bid suit with no reason to deny slam interest. Generally this call is preferred to the simple cue-bid, as controls can be asked for later.

3. Opener makes a simple rebid of his minor suit:
Responder rebids as above, but with the change that all bids above 3NT emphatically deny interest in 3NT (obviously).
Responder rebids 3NT with a balanced 7 or 8 count well scattered and lack of interest in slam. The inference is that responder believes 9 or 10 tricks are available through sheer power, but that the fit is insufficient to make slam realistic. Opener continues only if a) his hand is completely unsuitable for notrump; or b) his hand requires only 2-card support to play well in his minor.

Miscellaneous comments on the situation:

It is vital to remember that will not be Captain for the auction will not be the 2C opener but rather responder. The key descriptive features of a 2C opener are that it is a strong hand, and can be described adequately in 2 calls so that partner can be captain. More complex hands should not be opened 2C, and both members of the partnership needs to be aware of that.

As such, all attempts at step and control responses to the 2C opener have been abandoned by serious players (with the possible exception of pure relay systems, which you cannot play in most tournament events).

For instance, the hand xxxxx-xxxx-x-xxx can be golden if opener's suit is spades with three worthless diamonds, and garbage if opener's suit is diamonds with three worthless  hearts. No bidding system can hope to describe the range of partner's hands adequately to opener, especially  when that conversation has to start at the three level, which is why responder is the captain as soon as the 2C opener is made, until and unless the opener can glean enough information to bid Blackwood.

Update

One of the ways in which opener becomes captain if he has support for a quality 5-card suit (or longer) shown by responder as a positive response. When this happens opener sometimes is in a better position to judge the combined playing capability of the hand by bidding Key-Card Blackwood in responder's suit.

Update #2:

Only the captain can ask for key-cards, because the premise is that the key-card responses will allow the asker to place the contract, both denomination and level, and only the captain can make that call (or make the requisite invitation).

Opener can take over as captain only when responder leads opener to believe that his (responder's) hand is fully described - there are circumstances where it may be appropriate for responder to have a stronger hand and/or a different fit in mind than he has lead opener to believe, but that is an advanced bidding technique that intermediate players have difficulty handling.

Also, it is critical that all responder's calls while opener believes himself captain be in sente rather than in gote, so that responder will have the guaranteed opportunity to make the final correction.  This can require responder to have considerable foresight in planning the auction.


Polymorphous Rush targeting Young Pyromancer and X Tokens

Young Pyromancer triggers when you cast a spell. Polymorphous Rush is just one spell, no matter how many targets you give it, so it triggers your Pyromancer just once. Once it resolves, you'll have plenty of Pyromancers around, so if you cast another spell you can trigger all of them.

Remember, you cast a spell, it goes on the stack, and then it resolves. (After anything else that happened in response, of course.) Young Pyromancer triggers when it's cast, and the tokens are turned into copies when it resolves.


What happens if the runner choses to play [Magnum Opus] twice?

The answer provided by @user30903 in the comments is correct, and I believe your question effectively clarifies what you mean by "playing" as you also reference icebreakers. There is no benefit in installing Magnum Opus twice at the same time: the effects do not stack, and in fact it is detrimental due to the memory usage. The same is true of each individual icebreaker - they do not stack so there is no additional benefit to having two identical ones in play at once.

There is a benefit to having multiple copies in your deck, to raise the chances of drawing it at a useful time.

Similarly there may be benefits to installing it twice during the course of a game, for example if the first copy if destroyed somehow, but not at the same time.

The only (niche) case where I can think it might be useful to install M.Opus or an icebreaker when you already have it in play would be if you were over the hand limit, desperate not to discard any hand cards, and worried that your original copy was going to be destroyed. Then there might be a reason to install a copy, but it is likely to be an expensive solution.

Edit: Thanks to the comments for pointing out several counter-examples of icebreakers where you would want several copies of the same card installed. In general you wouldn't, but there are exceptions. My answer holds true for M.Opus.


Does 'The plot thickens' make the game easier or harder?

The Plot Thickens basically adds more opportunities to link players together, thus creating longer and more complex chains of information.
What I mean by chain of information is something like this:

Player A and Player B both were on a failed mission.
Player B knows Player C's role card.
Player C has declared players D and E to play success cards, but their mission with player A failed.

Chains make it easier to deduce information, thus making the Resistance players' role easier. But of course, experienced Spy players can learn to work with, or around, such cards, to confuse people even more.

Tl;dr: The Plot Thickens makes the game more balanced.


Should I have made a takeout double in the situation?

There's no one correct answer for a situation like this. It's a judgement call. I would have passed, for two reasons. One is that the club overcall means my CK is less likely to be useful. The other is that I was understrength for 1NT to begin with. The hand counts to 15 HCP, but it's worth somewhat less due to the lack of aces and the unprotected SQ. This evaluation method makes it 14.05:

http://www.jeff-goldsmith.org/cgi-bin/knr.cgi?hand=QT3+KQJ8+KJ93+K5

It looks as though no part score will make on this deal, do there doesn't seem to have been a lot at stake in your decision.


If I gain control of my opponent's Hostage Taker, can I cast card it exiled?

Hostage Taker's ability is a triggered ability that creates a continuous effect.

603.1. Triggered abilities have a trigger condition and an effect. They are written as "[When/Whenever/At] [trigger condition or event], [effect]. [Instructions (if any).]"
611.1. A continuous effect modifies characteristics of objects, modifies control of objects, or affects players or the rules of the game, for a fixed or indefinite period.

Just like any other ability, has no inherent ties to the permanent that created it unless otherwise stated. In this case, that means that the exiled card would return to the battlefield if Hostage Taker leaves the battlefield, but no other exceptions from the rules are stated by the effect.
As such, you as the player taking control of Hostage Taker don't automatically take control over triggered abilities of the past, the the continuous effects created by them, so if the ability still existed, you couldn't take control of it by taking control of the creature, as once created, abilities exist independent from their source.

603.3a A triggered ability is controlled by the player who controlled its source at the time it triggered (...).

You also can't take control of a continuous effect, for the reason that nothing in the rules about continuous effects state that continuous effects have controllers, or that those controllers may change.
The conclusion: You take control of the creature, but you don't take over the ability to cast the exiled card.


In Arkham Horror, if a monster surge exceeds the max allowable monsters, does the monster that caused the max to be exceeded get discarded?

Yes. See this example from the official Arkham FAQ, p.12 (emphasis mine):

  In a 3-player game, the  monster limit is 6  and  the  maximum number
  of monsters in the Outskirts is  5. There are 3 open gates on the
  board, 6 monsters in  Arkham, and 4 monsters in the Outskirts. During
  the  Mythos Phase, you draw a location that already has  an open gate,
  so you have to draw 3 more monsters.  You would first draw 2 monsters
  and place them in the  Outskirts. The Outskirts limit would be
  exceeded  upon  placing the second monster, so you would then increase
  the terror level by 1 and return the six monsters in the  Outskirts to
  the cup. Finally, you would draw the third  monster and place it in
  the Outskirts.


Help Identify this Trucking Game from the Early 1980's

The one that I am thinking of is called "The Trucking Game". Came in a white cardboard box. My dad (a trucker) bought it at a truck stop, and told me it was made by a trucker. I remember you had to get a "promissory" note for your truck which ranged from $6,000-$10,000 and had to pay that off and get to your "home" to win the game. I remember if you hit the black X on the board you had to pick a card that gave you fines or made you lose a turn for being overweight, behind on log books, etc. I would love to be able to find another copy of this game.


I believe you've misinterpreted the "Legend Rule", which is CR 704.5j (emphasis mine):

  704.5j If a player controls two or more legendary permanents with the same name, that player chooses one of them, and the rest are put into their owners’ graveyards. This is called the “legend rule.”

You can have as many legendary permanents as you want, as long as they have different names. Some cards, like Brothers Yamazaki and Mirror Gallery can ignore that rule.

Also, you can read Tolsimir Wolfblood's rulings in its gatherer page:

  7/1/2013: The “legend rule” means that creating a second Voja while one is already under your control will result in one of them being put into its owner’s graveyard (where it promptly ceases to exist). You choose which of the two remains on the battlefield and which is put into the graveyard.

In your specific case, you can only have one Voja token, and only one Tolsimir Wolfblood, but both permanents can coexist on the battlefield.


In Smash Up, do I have to execute an effect when a card is played or can I choose to do it later in the turn?

The effect resolves on the spot, giving you a floating extra play. However, if it's not your main play phase (i.e. specials during scoring) you must use the extra play immediately.

From the most recent rulebook (Pretty Pretty Smash Up):

  Extra: An extra minion or action is one you can play in addition to the normal quota of one of that type per turn. Extra cards are optional, and you don’t have to play the extra card right away, unless the extra card was gained by a Special ability or outside the Play Cards phase.

This is explicitly different during scoring:

  If you get to play extra minions or actions while a base is being scored, you must play those extra cards immediately or not at all.


Is adding a parallel word that only intersects the end letter of an existing word allowed in Scrabble?

The play you describe is both legal and generally easier to do than the multi-cross play you cite as a rules example.

The general rules relevant here are that, first, all the letters for a single play must be in a single line, either vertical or horizontal, and second, that all tiles adjacent to another tile (vertically or horizontally) must be part of a permissible words in each direction of adjacency.  Finally, at least one tile of any new play must be adjacent to a tile already played (except the first play of a new game, for which one tile must be on the pink star center square).


Does Flesh Ward prevent Stamina loss from one source multiple times?

Page 7 of the Arkham Horror FAQ
says

Q: When exactly can Flesh Ward be cast?
A: When you are told to lose 1 or more points of Stamina,
you may cast Flesh Ward to prevent that loss. For instance, this can work on the Stamina from a single failed Combat check. This does not make the investigator immune to fur- ther harm from that source, it only prevents it one time.

The answer appears to be that 'one source' implies one singular event, like a single attack from a monster.


Do I have to block a menace creature with a creature that "must block if able"?

The rulings below Monstrous Step say

If a creature is required to block a creature with menace, another creature must also block that creature if able. If none can, the creature that’s required to block can block another creature or not block at all.

so your second interpretation is correct.
A similar situation is described in the comprehensive rules:

509.1c The defending player checks each creature they control to see whether it’s affected by any requirements (effects that say a creature must block, or that it must block if some condition is met). If the number of requirements that are being obeyed is fewer than the maximum possible number of requirements that could be obeyed without disobeying any restrictions, the declaration of blockers is illegal. If a creature can’t block unless a player pays a cost, that player is not required to pay that cost, even if blocking with that creature would increase the number of requirements being obeyed. If a requirement that says a creature blocks if able during a certain turn refers to a turn with multiple combat phases, the creature blocks if able during each declare blockers step in that turn.
Example: A player controls one creature that “blocks if able” and another creature with no abilities. If a creature with menace attacks that player, the player must block with both creatures. Having only the first creature block violates the restriction created by menace (the attacking creature can’t be blocked except by two or more creatures). Having only the second creature block violates both the menace restriction and the first creature’s blocking requirement. Having neither creature block fulfills the restriction but not the requirement.


In Uno H2O, what is the difference between these two cards?

Those are both wild cards, just from two different printings.

The one on the left is the original 2004 design, and other from the end of 2005.
Matel updated the design for printing UNO H20 Splash, seemingly to avoid confusion with the Draw 4.


Can "Crabs Adjust Humidity" be used as an expansion to "Cards Against Humanity"?

Seeing as it's billed as an "unofficial expansion to Cards Against Humanity" (see website), I think the answer must be "yes". That said, it does appear the card backs are different, so you may need to slap everything into opaque-back sleeves to make it work really well.


If creatures enter the battlefield attacking, do they have to attack Gideon Jura?

No, the tokens are not forced to attack Gideon the turn they are put on the battlefield. They can attack the defending player or another planeswalker.

Gideon's first ability is a requirement placed on the turn-based action of declaring attackers. That action is the first thing the attacking player do in the declare attackers step.

The tokens created by Cagebreakers are not declared as attackers when the restriction is being applied, therefore they are not affected by it.

See this ruling for Cagebreakers:

  Although the tokens are attacking, they were never declared as
  attacking creatures (for purposes of abilities that trigger whenever a
  creature attacks, for example).

And this ruling for Gideon Jura:

  The first ability only affects the declaration of attackers. If a
  creature is put onto the battlefield attacking (thanks to Hero of
  Bladehold, Preeminent Captain, or the Ninjutsu ability, for example),
  that creature's controller may choose the defending player or
  planeswalker that it will be attacking in the normal way.


Does proliferate give my creatures +1/+1 counters?

The reminder text of proliferate is:

  Choose any number of permanents and/or players, then give each another counter of each kind already there

So if your creatures have +1/+1 counters already on them, you can add more with proliferate.
If they have no counters, proliferate will not add any.


Interaction between Graveyard Busybody and Over My Dead Bodies

Quoting from the FAQ:

What does it mean that "all graveyards are also your graveyards"?
It means each graveyard is no longer under the control of other players. They're your graveyards now, you control them.

Since you are the only controller of all graveyards, the owner does not get to use the creature to block.


Drawing an event that moves you, do you still do tile text?

Yes, you must always roll for the bad stuff that can happen to you for leaving a room, no matter how or why you are leaving the room.
From the official FAQ (which for some reason stopped being linked on the Wizards/Avalon Hill websites with the release of Widow's Walk):

Attic, Graveyard, Junk Room, Pentagram Chamber -- If something like the Mystic Slide causes you to leave one of these rooms involuntarily, do you still make a roll?
Yes. You roll no matter what causes you to leave.


Will Panharmonicon entering the battlefield duplicate ETBs it triggers?

By the time Reckless Fireweaver's ability triggers, due to it being an ETB ability, Panharmonicon is already on the battlefield and will already work. Reckless Fireweaver will trigger twice.


How does priority of triggered abilities and state based actions work together?

The ability triggers, but you lose and the ability is never put on the stack. What happens as the damage is dealt is this:

Five points of combat damage are dealt to each of you and your Spritemare, and three damage to one of the 5/5's, reducing your life total to 0, and giving one creature lethal damage

The spritemare's ability triggers, but is not put on stack yet (cf. comprehensive rulebook, 603.2 "[...] The ability doesn’t do anything at this point." and 603.3 "[...] its controller puts it on the stack as an object that’s not a card the next time a player would receive priority", emphasis mine)

Your opponent is about to get priority. Rule 116.5 says what happens in which order:

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. Then triggered abilities are put on the stack (see rule 603, "Handling Triggered Abilities"). These steps repeat in order until no further state-based actions are performed and no abilities trigger. Then the player who would have received priority does so.

State-based actions are checked first. You lose the game for having $0$ or less life, and simultaneously the spritemare is put into your graveyard for having taken lethal damage. If there are no other players, the game ends immediately (cf. 104.1). If there are more players left, this is what happens.

You take all cards you own and leave the game. Effects that give you control over permanents and players end. If there are still objects under your control, they are exiled. (Here I am a bit uncertain, as according to the examples in the comprehensive rules a creature that got under your control with Bribery is exiled, while a creature you've taken over with Act of Treason is just returned to its owner's control. Memnarch seems to have a middle ground and I can't tell which way that will go.) Every spell and effect you own on the stack ceases to exist (there can't really be any in this specific case, considering that the last thing that happened in the game was that combat damage was dealt, and that can't happen if you had anything on the stack).

State-based actions are checked again (maybe you had an aura that was keeping someone else's creature from dying, for instance) until nothing more happens. Then all triggers controlled by players still in the game are put on the stack. Then state-based actions are checked again, then new triggers are put on stack again, and so on until nothing new happens.

Your opponent gains priority and may play an instant or a card with flash, or an activated ability. In other words, play resumes as normal, with all the triggered abilities going off the stack one by one, and letting players respond between each one. Since we are in the End of Combat step, even if there are no triggers, the active player can't play sorceries, creatures etc. until all players have passed priority and the game continues to the second main phase.


What are the differences between Deadlands: Doomtown and Doomtown: Reloaded?

Both games are indeed similar. They are both set in the Deadlands universe (although Doomtown: Reloaded does not explicitly say it, despite there being obvious signs such as Harrowed, Hucksters, and other references to the setting). Both have the basic mechanics of cards having playing card values and the need to control locations while managing ghost rock. And both have an ongoing story that is in continuity with the other.

The big difference between the two is that Deadlands: Doomtown was packaged as a collectible card game. Doomtown: Reloaded on the other hand is what AEG calls an "Expandable Card Game", which is exactly the same as a Fantasy Flight Games' "Living Card Game" (Fantasy Flight Games trademarked the term, so AEG had to come up with something different). Instead of having booster packs, new sets have 4 copies of every card in them, so you don't need to scour for that one card you need.

As for actual rules differences, the core gameplay is the same, but there are a number of important differences. A fanmade compilation of the rules differences is pretty exhaustive. A few highlights:

  Decks can only have 4 cards of the same suit and value.
  Dude and deed Uniqueness only applies to your own gang.  Different crews can have the same dude or deed in play.
  If you equip more than one weapon or horse the previous weapon or steed are discarded.
  Skills checks are now equal to or greater, instead of just greater than the target number.
  Aced dudes no longer have their gear sent to boot hill.  It is discarded instead.
  When resolving shootouts, a dude can be discarded for 1 rank difference in casualties, and aced for 2 rank difference.  If they are harrowed, they can be sent home booted for 1 rank difference, discarded for 2 and aced for 3.
  Bounties can be increased beyond 1 ghost rock, and anybody with a bounty is considered wanted (if the amount is reduced to 0, they are no longer wanted)
  Law Dogs (or any other faction) are no longer able to boot to remove bounty
  Card memory no longer exists (i.e. once a card is out of play, all effects on it, including permanent effects, are removed and not added back if the card is returned to play)
  The player with the most influence no longer draws an extra card at Nightfall (now called Sundown)
  Fear level no longer exists
  Events no longer exist.

There are also a number of new mechanics, such as Grifters, which allow you to activate their ability at the start of the game if they are in your starting posse. For instance, the Grifter in the base set can boot to shuffle your starting hand into your deck and draw 5 more cards (this ability can only be used once at the start of the game).

You may also notice that there are some general paradigm shifts in Doomtown: Reloaded. For instance, a developer diary explained that it was intentional that there are so few Out of Town locations (basically, the Out of Town "landslide" deck that was used often in Deadlands: Doomtown became too powerful and too difficult to contest, since movement was restricted).

Despite the similarities, the two card sets are not intended to be played with each other and the tournament rules explicitly state that you cannot use Deadlands: Doomtown cards with Doomtown: Reloaded. That said, it probably is possible to mix them, so long as you remove any cards that contradict with any new rules.


Are there statistic/probabilty applications specifically made for card game designers?

Are you up for a DIY Monte Carlo simulation?

I don't know of any specific applications, but if you're comfortable with coding I suggest you gin up a little Monte Carlo simulation.

In case you're not familiar with how that would work I'll explain (and can elaborate later if necessary):

Populate some sort of database or data structure with your cards.
Write a function that draws from this list at random and marks the card as drawn so it couldn't be re-sampled.
Write another function to evaluate the built-out sequence to evaluate win or loss
Wrap this core program with a loop that would play the game a huge number of times and
generate statistics on the results (e.g. number of wins and losses, longest streak of consecutive wins and losses, etc.)

The first three steps are a simple computer implementation of your card game. The trick is to model everything that's important to the mechanic and nothing that's not (easier said than done right?)

That last part is the Monte Carlo simulation where you use brute force computation (yea for cheap comp cycles) to get a result instead of trying to calculate probabilities closed-form, which for even simple card and dice games is more math (and more error-prone math) than most people are comfortable with.


Do troublemakers prevent single problem faceoffs?

In the comprehensive rules, rule 611.4 says

  As a player confronts a Problem, that player scores a point. If an opponent also meets their confront requirements for that Problem (611.3), there will be a Problem Faceoff at that Problem.

And rule 611.3e says

  A player can’t confront a Problem if there is an opposing face-up Troublemaker or a face-up Troublemaker with Villain at that Problem.

611.4's reference back to 611.3 implies that there would be no faceoff (in accordance with the basic rules, whew), as the same confront requirements (611.3e) are needed unless there is a double problem faceoff.


Can sea units have more then the given amount in Axis and Allies 1941?

Unlike Monopoly, in which the rules restrict players to 32 houses and 12 hotels (in total), the number of pieces in Axis and Allies are limited only by what you can build according to the rules.

The number of pieces given in the games are based on the most common number of pieces in play. But feel free to play outside the parameters indicated by the "equipment," and by all means, substitute your own markers or tokens for the extra pieces you need.


Can a space marine chapter consist of marines from other chapters?

Yes.

The requirement is that your army all share a keyword, for space marines that could be simply Adeptus Astartes, but you could go further than that to use any Imperal troop or vehicle. You cannot mix beyond that, no adding Eldar to your imperial force, they do not share any keywords.

There are downsides to this. As more chapter specific codices are released, you could find some of the choices only really benefit your say Space Wolves, but not your Ultramarines. You could have options that only benefit your Adeptus Astartes, but not your Imperial Guard.


Pokémon energy cards with circled numbers

These are from Sun & Moon Trainer Kit: Alolan Sandslash & Alolan Ninetales, the first instance of Trainer Kit that uses those circled numbers instead of the previous approach of using set number for purpose of sorting the two half decks for a demonstration game.


Can I place settlements on harbors in set-up?

From the rules:

  The starting player places a settlement on an open intersection of his
  choice. [From the setup instructions]

  Intersections are the points where 3 hexes meet.

  In order to control a harbor, you must build a settlement on a coastal intersection which borders the harbor.

Water hexes are hexes, so the points at which two land tiles and two water tile and the points at which of one land tile and two water tiles meet are intersections.

During the initial placement, you are allowed to place a settlement on any open intersection (as constrained by the proximity restrictions), so you are allowed to place on coastal intersections, so placing on a harbour is a legitimate placement for a settlement during setup.

This is supported by the official FAQ:

  Q: Settlements and Cities - May I build a settlement at a harbor during the set-up phase?

  A: Yes. This is not contradicted by the rules.

The upside of placing on a harbour is obtaining the harbour.

The downside of placing on a harbour is that you touch at least one fewer resources than you could by placing elsewhere. This means your potential for gaining resources will be lower, the variety of resources you can obtain will likely be lower, and you'll start with fewer resources (if the harbour was your second placement).


Draw a card when my deck and my discard piles are empty

You simply skip the draw part of the instruction.

According to Justin Gary, one of the designers of the game:

  If you have to draw a card and none are available in your deck or discard pile, you simply skip the draw.


Is there a competitive version of werewolf/mafia?

I am going to answer this assuming this is a convention, you are GMing the game, and there must be winners written in on a card at the end
If you are going to play 1 or 2 games you should pick the winners yourself.  Just decide who did the best job.  Did someone manage to lie to the group really well, or did anyone lead the group, get them past the chaos, and lynch for victory?  If you do not feel comfortable picking, let the players vote, but let them only pick from the winning team.

If you are going to have 5+ games you could consider a point system.  Maybe just giving a point to everyone on the winning team.  Whatever you do, do not let the players know the scoring  If  people know how the game is scored they will game the system.  If this happens it will most likely ruin the game for everyone, (and probably let the wolves cakewalk their way to victory in later games).

Players will quickly think “he is winning, lets lynch him just in case”.

Again, if there are ties, I recommend just picking winners yourself; let the players vote on who they thought was most helpful.


What happens when the attacking player dies to damage triggers after killing the blocking creatures in the first combat step of double strike?

You have left several crucial details out of your description of the situation, which makes it a bit difficult to analyze.
Under the assumptions that:

Andy was attacking with more than 5 creatures.
Andy's creatures that were not blocked, could do a total of 37 damage after the second phase (but less than 37 damage during the first strike phase).
Andy's creatures killed at least one of Bob's creatures.
No other shenanigans in play (trample, damage prevention, regeneration, no other first strike etc.).

Then:

First strike damage is assigned.
One or more of Bob's creatures die.
Triggers from Bob's creature deaths, due to Zulaport et al. go on the stack in Bob's chosen order.
After the resolution of each trigger, state-based actions are checked. One of those is whether or not Andy has more than 0 life.
When a trigger resolves that puts Andy at zero life, he is dead. He leaves the game, along with all permanents that he owns.
All remaining triggers on the stack that target Andy fizzle, and Bob lives.

For lots of info on exactly how all the edge cases of player death are handled, see this question:
In MTG, what happens when a player loses in multiplayer?
For when players actually die, see this question for a full explanation:
When do you check if you lose


This is the best I can find, which seems to be a definitive answer.  The text in the Dark Ages rulebook is enlightening (page 7):

  In rare circumstances an effect may try to move a card that is not
  where that effect expects the card to be.  In those cases, the card
  does not move - the effect has "lost track" of the card.  Losing track
  of a card prevents it from being moved, but does not stop anything
  else from happening.  For example, if you Procession a Madman,
  Procession first puts Madman in play; then you resolve Madman, getting
  +2 Actions and drawing cards and returning Madman to the Madman pile; then Procession fails to put Madman into play again, because
  Procession expects to find Madman in play, but it is not there, it's
  int he Madman pile; then you resolve Madman again, only getting +2
  actions this time, since it says "if you do" before the card-drawing,
  and you did not actually return it to the pile this time; then Process
  fails to trash Madman since Procession again expects to find Madman in
  play and it is not there; and then you can an Action costing (1) if
  you can. [...] Things lose track of a card if something moves it, if
  it is the top card of a deck and gets covered up, or if it is the top
  card of a discard pile and gets covered up.

(emphasis mine).

This seems to say that the Pillage card goes into effect twice, even though it has been trashed at the end of the first time it goes into effect.  So yes, you get 4 Spoils (assuming there are enough Spoils left in the supply).

From the explanatory text for Procession (page 16):

  [...] then gain an Action card costing exactly more than it (even if
  somehow you failed to trash it). Gaining a card is not optional once
  you choose to play an Action card but will fail to happen if no card in the Supply costs the exact amount needed.

Which is to say, the text on the card doesn't say if you trash it, gain a card, only that you both a) trash the chosen card (if possible), and b) gain an action card costing one more than the chosen card (if possible).  So yes, you do in fact gain an action card costing (6) in this case.


What is the "pause" rule for dummy play in tournament bridge?

The Laws of Duplicate Bridge do not specifically address the pace of play following the tabling of Dummy, but rather more generally state (my emphasis):

  Law 73(A)(2): Calls and plays should be made without undue emphasis, mannerism or inflection, and without undue hesitation or haste. ....

  Law 73(D) Variations in Tempo or Manner
  1. I t is desirable, though not always required, for players to maintain steady tempo and unvarying manner. However, players should be particularly careful when variations may work to the benefit of their side. ....

and

  Law 74(C)(7): varying the normal tempo of bidding or play for the purpose of disconcerting an opponent.

Any unduly or abnormally rapid play from Dummy (ie without consideration of the entire hand) would be a clear violation of all of these mandated Proprieties and Etiquettes, and subject to disciplinary action under Laws 73(F) and 90.

As with all occurrences of irregularities, the appropriate action is to call the Tournament Director as per Law 9.

Updated 2019-01-23

It is possible you are confusing this situation with the skip-bid pause mandated by some organizing authorities following any bid at a strictly higher level than sufficient in that denomination. It presumes that a bid skipping the level is always unexpected, and requires that:

the skip bidder announce prior to his call: "Skip bid; please pause."
the next player to study his hand for ~10 seconds before making a call.

However, except for the Rules guidance above, no such requirement is made following the opening lead and tabling of Dummy, for any organizing authority that I am aware of.


The / means "or".  You may move up to two units or you may take the amount of coins on your play mat.


What does it mean that only permanents are legal targets for spells or abilities?

Consider a creature like Nectar Faerie. It says

  {B}, {T}: Target Faerie or Elf gains lifelink until end of turn.

Now we know that spells can have lifelink, as per Soulfire Grand Master.

And we also know that there could be Faerie Tribal spells, such as Faerie Trickery.

This rule exists to clarify things like... "You could not use Nectar Faerie to give Faerie Trickery lifelink because it doesn't specifically say you can".


What card sleeves should I get for Cards Against Humanity?

None, but I am betting this was a trick question. The cards dimensions are fairly close to the standard dimensions of a Magic: the Gathering card. The cheapest card sleeves you could buy are the aptly named penny sleeves. These sleeves will run you on average $0.01 US. Since Cards Against Humanity runs 550 cards in the base set, you would be spending $5.50 to sleeve the cards, slightly over 20% the cost of buying a complete replacement of the entire game. I suppose if you buy online, and sufficient quantity, you might be able to reduce the cost of the sleeves by 20%-30%.

Sleeving will increase the thickness, so it will not fit in the original box. There are other issues with sleeving. Sleeves of any sort make shuffling more difficult. Penny sleeves are also notoriously slippery because they don't have textured backs (Like Dragon Shield or other high quality sleeves). High quality sleeves would cost you more than the original game itself to sleeve. Games are meant to be played, and this game wouldn't suffer much from having marked cards. As an Apples-to-Apples clone, the only danger of marked cards is that the judge might know which card you or another player through in the pot. This problem can be eliminated by having the judge close his eyes, look away, and having someone else shuffle the cards before giving them to the judge (we usually do this anyway to prevent the top card being the card from the person who decided last).

I would recommend against sleeving.


Can a character without a skill use a card that adds to that skill?

After reading some other forums, I believe the answer is actually Yes
Note: someone of the below is copied from David C Ellis's answer.
From the Paizo FAQ's Attempting a Check section:

Cards that require a check specify the skill or skills you can use to attempt the check. Each check to defeat or acquire a card lists one or more skills; you may choose any of the listed skills for your check. For example, if a check lists Dexterity, Disable, Strength, and Melee, you may use any one of those skills to attempt your check.

and

Even if your character doesn’t have any of the skills listed for a check, you can still attempt the check (unless you’re trying to recharge a card; see Recharge on page 15), but your die is a d4.
(Recharge on page 15 reads:)if you don't have at least one of the skills listed for the check, you cannot attempt to recharge the card

and

Players may not play cards that modify a skill unless you’re using that skill, and players may not play cards that affect combat unless you’re attempting a combat check.

So based on the first and second quote, you have to choose one of the skills listed on the card you're attempting to acquire/defeat/etc. even if you don't have that skill on your character card, but your die will be a d4. The wording "Even if your character doesn’t have any of the skills" simply suggests an extreme case, it doesn't mean that's the only situation where you can use a d4. It implies that you may use a d4 for a skill check with a skill you don't have, even if there are other skills (that you do have) to choose from. The only exception is recharging. In that case, you must recharge using one of the skills that you do have.
Then, based on the third quote, you can only play cards that modify the skill you chose so if you chose melee (even though it's not on your character card), you may use an ally that modifies your melee check. This third quote just states that you may not use an ally that, say, adds a die to your intelligence check if you chose melee as your check attempt skill.


Can you pick up from the discard pile and hit in Phase 10?

Yes, you may do that, based on the rules, here's what's relevant:
Hitting:

Hitting is the way to get rid of leftover cards after making a Phase. You make a hit by putting a card directly on a Phase already laid down. The card must properly fit with the cards already down.
Before you can make a hit, your own Phase must already be laid down. You may hit only during your turn. You may hit your own cards, another player’s cards, or both.

Turns:

On your turn, draw one card, either the top card from the draw pile or the top
card from the discard pile, and add it to your hand. End your turn by discarding any one of your cards onto the top of the discard pile.

So you may draw from the discard pile to hit only when:

It is your turn.
You already made a Phase.
The card properly fits the Phase you are adding it to.

Combining these rules means your turn sequence to do this would be:

Pick up from discard pile.
Add it to your hand.
(if you already made a phase) you may hit your own or another player's phase.
Discard to the discard pile to end your turn.

Since you can only hit on your turn, this means you can only use the discarded card from the player before you.


Can you build a ship in the Caspian Sea?

Yes, there are versions of Axis and Allies that allow building ships in the Caspian Sea. This is the exception tough. In Axis and Allies 1941/1942, the Caspian Sea is not considered a sea zone and you cannot build any ships there.

In Axis and Allies 1940 Europe/Global, the Caspian Sea is a sea zone. Therefore, you can build ships there.


1. Where would I find original graphics to modify?

You could use a scanner. Many home and office printers can act as a scanner, so it should be pretty easy to get access to one. 300dpi is sufficient, but avoid anything lower.

In this particular case, you could derive from this.

  2. How can I produce good quality boards?

Depends on what material you want it printed. If you just want some thick paper, talk to your local print shop.

  3. Is this legal?

The original board does get some Copyright protections.

This doesn't mean what you're doing is illegal. Fair use allows the use of works protected by Copyright. In the US, judges consider the following four factors to determine if a copyrighted work is allowed under by fair use:

The purpose and character of your use,
The nature of the copyrighted work,
The amount and substantiality of the portion taken, and
The effect of the use upon the potential market.

Your custom boards are not a replacement for the game, so the tests lean in your favour.

And if you're doing this for yourself and maybe a few friends, there's really no issue.

Using Picard's picture is more questionable. But even if it's technically infringing, it's not really a problem unless you start producing many and/or selling them.


There are a few of them on BoardGameGeek.com, in the Firefly - Variants forum.

Some people put "Story Card" or "Custom Story Card" in the title, which helps find them, others just put a title that describes what the story is.


Does preventing damage also prevent poison?

Your friend is correct, he can prevent Wither and/or Infect damage just like regular damage.
The reason for that is that damage and damage effects are separate things. That difference is usually not important because in most situations, the steps to get from one to the other are walked over and the correct outcome is intuitively clear.
So, here's how it works in detail in case difficulties arise:
Most importantly, damage is just a number with a source. It knows nothing of life points, loyalty or -1/-1 counters.
At first, prevention and replacement effects happen. The damage number is increased, decreased, or the whole damage effect is replaced entirely.
Only after that step does damage have an actual effect.
When a source without wither or infect deals damage to a creature, the effect of that damage is that the affected creature gets that much damage marked on it; if the damage was dealt to a player, that player loses that much life.
When a creature with Infect and/or Wither deals damage, the effect of the damage is that that many -1/-1 counters are placed on the creature or; in case of Infect only, the player gets that many poison counters, loses life otherwise.
Damage dealt to a planeswalker will always result in that many loyalty counters being removed from it.
In any case, damage prevention effects like you cited above simply reduce the damage before the effect happens, so the effect is reduced accordingly.

119 Damage

[...]

119.3a Damage dealt to a player by a source without infect causes that player to lose that much life.
119.3b Damage dealt to a player by a source with infect causes that player to get that many poison counters.
119.3c Damage dealt to a planeswalker causes that many loyalty counters to be removed from that planeswalker.
119.3d Damage dealt to a creature by a source with wither and/or infect causes that many -1/-1 counters to be put on that creature.
119.3e Damage dealt to a creature by a source with neither wither nor infect causes that much damage to be marked on that creature.

[...]

119.4. Damage is processed in a three-part sequence.
119.4a First, damage is dealt, as modified by replacement and prevention effects that interact with damage. (See rule 614, "Replacement Effects," and rule 615, "Prevention Effects.") Abilities that trigger when damage is dealt trigger now and wait to be put on the stack.
119.4b Next, damage that's been dealt is transformed into its results, as modified by replacement effects that interact with those results (such as life loss or counters).
119.4c Finally, the damage event occurs.


How to beat the 10 car long Southampton to New York Route in the United Kingdom Map Collection set of Ticket to Ride?

Boiler Lagging and Steam Turbines
The times that I have won against someone who got the Southampton-New York route, I had relied on the bonus points from the Boiler Lagging card (score 1 extra point for each route that you claim) and the Steam Turbines card (score 2, or 3 extra points for each Ferry route that you claim).

Right of Way Also, this is riskier but, you can buy the Right of Way card and lay down your own Southampton route next to your opponents route. This is particularly nasty because you will both be hoarding cards, hopefully of different colours, which will cause serious problems for the other players who will need these cardsto complete their routes.

Equalising Beam and Risky Contracts These cards would certainly help, but I have won more than once against the Southampton=New York player without them.

Rules for Ticket To Ride - United Kingdom


Is there an English name for this popular Lebanese card game?

Well, according to the fount of all knowledge it's called 400, is a Lebanese game, and bears some resemblance to Spades but with a few differences.


Double strike blocked by a double strike?

Normally, when one creature blocks another, each one simultaneously deals damage equal to its power to the other. Then, after that is done, the game checks each one to see whether it has taken enough damage to be destroyed. The abilities First Strike and Double Strike each add an additional step to combat where damage dealt by creatures with First Strike or Double Strike is dealt simultaneously, but before regular combat damage is dealt.

In other words, it plays out like this (for illustrative purposes, I'm going to say that the creatures are 4/5 instead of 4/4):

Declare Attackers Step:

The active player declares their 4/5 creature with Double Strike as an attacker.

Declare Blockers Step:

The defending player declares their 4/5 creature with Double Strike as a blocker blocking the first creature.

First Strike Combat Damage Step:

Each creature deals 4 damage to the other.
Creatures that have lethal damage die at this point and are moved to the graveyard, and wouldn't participate in the next combat step. In the original scenario, this means both creatures would die at this point because they have taken damage greater than or equal to their toughness. In this modified scenario, they each survive with 4 damage marked.

Regular Combat Damage Step:

Each creature deals 4 damage to the other again.
Now both creatures have taken 8 damage with only 5 toughness, so they both die.


This is a form of collusion, and would not be permitted in many casinos or tournaments according to their rules.

A home-game or less-reputable operation may make its own rules that allow this, but it would be considered very dodgy.

Legality does not typically factor, though anywhere in which it matters, either the entire game is illegal anyway or the operation already has rules to ensure they comply with law and regulation.


Removing Aetherling is useful, but not always necessary. The key thing is: how can you use the cards you have in your deck to deal with the threat?

Turn off its abilities

Aetherling is only powerful because of its activated abilities (in particular, the unblockable and bounce abilities). Pithing Needle will turn it into a vanilla 4/5, which really isn't a very powerful creature at this stage in the game. Which is a pretty good deal if you're stopping your opponent's best win condition or hosing multiple copies of it.

Outside of Standard, cards like Linvala, Keeper of Silence and Damping Matrix can play the same role.
Race it

While an Aetherling can do significant damage every turn, it's not actually the fastest kill card in Standard. When the Aetherling comes down, look at the board position — are you better off trying to kill it or just killing your opponent?

If you plan to race, focus your removal on swinging the game's tempo. Use it to get rid of blockers (including Aetherling, if only for a turn) so your guys can get in more damage. You can also use instant-speed removal like a Fog against the Aetherling.

Life gain can be very useful to keep you afloat. If you're playing Bant or BUG in a control mirror against UWR or Esper, for instance, you'll likely have more life and more ways to gain life than your opponent. Even if you can't hold out forever, you can try to use your life gain to force your opponent to commit more than just U (for the unblockability) to the Aetherling each turn in order to kill you quickly. At which point you can take advantage of the next tactic...
Overload your opponent's mana

Aetherling is only survivable as long as your opponent has access to blue mana. Watch you opponent's mana usage. If you have more ways to kill the Aetherling than he has blue mana, it's dead. You may need to spend more than one spell to do this, but it's better than losing the game altogether.

The easiest example is right after he casts it. Say you're playing Jund and your opponent just cast Aetherling with one Island in reserve to flicker it. You've got Liliana of the Veil and Putrefy in hand. Play Liliana's edict. When they put the Aetherling's exile trigger on the stack (spending their last U to do it), Putrefy the Aetherling in response.

"Machine-gun" combos also work pretty well. I've seen Olivia Voldaren and Nightshade Peddler overload an Aetherling pretty easily.
Prevent it from attacking

Aetherling is annoying to get rid of, but it's still just a creature that has to attack you to end the game. Sphere of Safety and Stormtide Leviathan are the only such cards in DGM Standard, but if you have access to a wider card pool you can play cards like Moat, Blazing Archon, or Ensnaring Bridge (your opponent could pump down the Aetherling to allow it to attack, and then pump it back up to allow it to do damage, but that costs a ton of mana, so it's not exactly a problem for you).

"TurboFog" decks are also very effective at blocking out creature damage, even from nasty creatures they can't kill outright.
Split second

The "phasing" ability won't save Aetherling from a split-second card. These are cards like Take Possession, Trickbind, and Sudden Spoiling.


If an after-effect cannot be fulfilled, can the action leading to that after-effect be performed?

You have played it correctly.

Abilities using the After keyword initiaite once you have finished resolving the trigger, not before, and when resolving a Forced ability, if it cannot change the state of the game, it just does not trigger at all.

From the rules reference (page 2 under Forced Abilities):

  If a forced ability does not have the potential to
  change the game state, the ability does not initiate.

and on page 3:

  A forced ability with a timing point beginning with the
  word “after...” automatically initiates immediately after that
  timing point’s impact upon the game state has resolved.

This means that as soon as the investigator has finished moving out of the location, they would then lose the listed actions/resources - it is an aftereffect of leaving, not a price you need to pay to leave.


In describing the various parts of encounter cards, the rules say (on page 6):

  Shadow Effect Icon: If a card has a shadow  effect, that effect is denoted by this icon, which also serves to separate the shadow effect from the card’s in play effect.

This suggests that encounter deck cards have both "in play effects" and "shadow effects".  Since Crebain does not differentiate between the two classes of effects, it follows that with Crebain in the staging area, shadow effects cannot be cancelled.


Can one player put more than one of his agents at Waterdeep Harbor?

Yes, you can place more than one of your agents at Waterdeep Harbor to play multiple Intrigue cards. At the end of the round, the agents there are placed onto other spaces in order, regardless of who they belong to.

On Page 9 of the rulebook (emphasis mine):

  Waterdeep Harbor has three action spaces instead of the usual one. You can assign more than 1 of your Agents to Waterdeep Harbor if it still has an open action space (but you still can't assign more than 1 Agent per turn).


The roof is neither a building nor a floor. You can build 3 tiles and when the 3rd one is finished with all cubes placed you get a roof.

This is covered on page 6 under the rules for finishing a tile:

  If the [finished] tile is on the 3rd floor, take the appropriate Roof tile (Small or Large), turn it over, place it on top and score +4 Reputation points.

Additionally, the example turn on page 8 illustrates this. The text and picture for step 4 shows a roof being added to a three-story building.


Prevent combat damages dealt with trample

Yes, the attacking player only has to assign enough damage to the blocking creature for the attack to be lethal, that means damage equal to all the blocking creature's toughness, whether the creatures actually die from combat damage is not strictly necessary. There may be a myriad of ways in which damage may be prevented, but that does not change how the damage is assigned.

  702.19b. The controller of an attacking creature with trample first assigns damage to the creature(s) blocking it. Once all those blocking
  creatures are assigned lethal damage, any remaining damage is assigned
  as its controller chooses among those blocking creatures and the
  player or planeswalker the creature is attacking. When checking for
  assigned lethal damage, take into account damage already marked on the
  creature and damage from other creatures that's being assigned during
  the same combat damage step, but not any abilities or effects that
  might change the amount of damage that's actually dealt. The attacking
  creature's controller need not assign lethal damage to all those
  blocking creatures but in that case can't assign any damage to the
  player or planeswalker it's attacking.


Maybe you're talking about Kingsburg https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/27162/kingsburg

I haven't played it but I've watched reviews and it looks similar to what you describe.


Yes, Shroud on a card only works if the card is on the battlefield. In order to not be able to counter it the spell would have to have "~ cannot be countered [by spells or abilities]".

702.18a Shroud is a static ability. “Shroud” means “This permanent or player can’t be the target of spells or abilities.”
110.1. A permanent is a card or token on the battlefield. A permanent remains on the battlefield indefinitely. A card or token becomes a permanent as it enters the battlefield and it stops being a permanent as it’s moved to another zone by an effect or rule.


Why does the efficiency of creatures in MTG favor low and high cost creatures, leaving those in the middle much weaker?

Eldrazi and colorless artifact creatures serve different roles

I address this first because I think it's the source of some selection bias.

Many sets include fairly weak (colorless) artifact creatures for Limited purposes, as last resorts. The idea is that these are less valuable than similarly-costed beaters in your colors, but serve as a fall-back for a player who doesn't have any better options. For instance, Serra Angel is a 4/4 uncommon for 5 in the same set as Stone Golem — but she's got flying and vigilance.

Rise of the Eldrazi, in contrast, used big colorless beaters as a reward for playing the defensive/rampy "battlecruiser" decks the set was supposed to support. In order to allow you to do that more often than once every couple dozen drafts (when you manage to get one of the Eldrazi mythics), there were big Eldrazi at common and uncommon rarities as well. These weren't auto-win creatures but the designers tried to make them at least a little bit appealing. Note how the set's removal is rigged in the giant Eldrazi creature's favor to make playing them worthwhile: Vendetta, Smother, Oust, All Is Dust, Consume the Meek.

Compare Artisan of Kozilek to uncommon cards like Carnage Wurm, Serra Angel, and Skaab Goliath. It's certainly better, but it also costs more. And how much more specifically is deceptive...

Opportunity cost doesn't scale linearly with mana cost

Assume you're playing a 24-land, 60-card deck. You keep a starting hand with 2 lands. You can count on being able to pay for a 1-drop on turn 1, and a 2-drop on turn 2. You have a decent chance of playing a 3-drop on turn 3: around 65% if you're on the play and around 80% if you're on the draw.

Now, how likely are you to be able to play a 6-drop on turn 6? Well, if you started with 2 lands in hand, that's 4 you need to draw by turn 6. I forget the exact math but you're looking at something like 30% to make it.

As a rule of thumb, in a deck with 40% lands, once you've exhausted your initial lands in hand, you'll only get a new land to play every two-and-a-half draws. That's why decks that want to play 4-drops and 6-drops in a timely manner run ramp cards, lots of lands, and draw-fixing card (e.g. Ponder).

Pretend you and an opponent both have 5 lands by turn 7. She plays Serra Angel. You have Artisan of Kozilek in hand. You "only" need 4 more mana to cast it. In an Eldrazi-focused deck with 60% mana sources, that's still an average of six draws, not four. So it had better be good enough to be worth several turns of waiting for topdecks while Serra Angel bashes your face from the air and holds your weenies at bay with her vigilance.

Limited needs "below-curve" mid-sized commons

Finally, though, there are quite a few below-curve mid-range commons like Siege Mastodon and Amphin Cutthroat. The reasons these exist all revolve around Limited:

They have to establish a baseline that makes uncommons worthwhile (once more, consider Serra Angel).
It's easier to make a playable "below curve" 5-drop (for instance, a 4/3 vanilla Zombie Giant) than it is to make a playable "below curve" 1-drop.
In a removal-light environment, even a slight power/toughness advantage can turn a creature into a powerful blocker or an offensive two-for-one. Bonebreaker Giant might suck in terms of value-for-mana, but he can still trade with two Elite Vanguards.

All of the above would apply to really really big common creatures, too. Most sets just don't have any at common, though (M12, for example: 5/6 Vastwood Gorger in common; de-facto 9/9 Carnarge Wurm at uncommon).

Why are set design decision at low rarities so focused on designing for Limited? In addition to being a popular format, Limited also most closely matches the experience of new or "very casual" players — folks playing Magic with only intro decks or a couple boosters' worth of cards (i.e. a limited card pool, in its own way). Cards for competitive Constructed and "dedicated casual" players generally occupy higher rarities (though you'll see competitive staples and budget options at common and uncommon as well), since the company assumes they'll buy lots of boosters, trade for cards they want, and purchase sought-after singles on the secondary market.


Lost in the Crystal Caves - Solve Step Order

You already seem to be aware that "confront the problem" means having enough power at the problem when you enter the Confront Step. The specific rules (from the Canterlot Nights comprehensive rules) about this say:

(611.1) The turn player confronts a Problem if that player meets the Problem’s confront requirements.
(611.3) A player meets the confront requirements of a Problem if that player controls characters at that Problem contributing power in the required amounts of the required colors to confronting that Problem.
(611.4) As a player confronts a Problem, that player scores a point. If an opponent also meets their confront requirements for that Problem (611.3), there will be a Problem Faceoff at that Problem.

When you enter the Confront Step, you check whether you have the confront requirements of the problem, and if you do, you confront the problem and get a point. The "As" wording in (611.4) indicates that confronting the problem and scoring a point are the same event, so the problem's triggered ability triggers on that event and happens after you get the point.
The second half of (611.4) says that there is a faceoff "if an opponent also meets their confront requirements". This doesn't say that the opponent confronts the problem, so the ability doesn't trigger for them. It also doesn't say you check your power at the problem again, so you move to faceoff depending on whether you confronted the problem, not whether you currently satisfy the confront requirements.


In Dos when is it too late to shout "Dos"?

From the way I am reading the rules you can call dos on another player up until the point that the round ends. As soon as a player plays their last card it is to late to call dos as that would cause the player to get more points.

Offical Rules

Rules

Rules for calling dos

  Here is where Dos and Uno are similar. Once you have exactly TWO cards in your hand, remember to yell out “Dos". If you forget to shout “Dos" and are caught by another player (who says “Dos" before you do), you must draw 2 cards from the Draw pile as a penalty, but take note that you only draw the two cards at the END of your turn (when you are just about to end it).

End of round rules

  The first player who discards all his/her cards is the winner of the round. If the player earned any Double Color Match Bonuses during his/her turn, then all the other players should draw cards as well, before tallying up the points. The winner of the round gets to score points from all the cards in other player’s hands and become the dealer for the next round.


Can I play Event Cards before I place Trogs?

You can play Terror before or after summoning Troglodytes, or at any other point during the Threat Phase.

The Threat Phase is broken up into two steps. Event Cards that can be played "during the Threat Phase," can be played before or after either step (but not in-between rolling dice and resolving their effects). Drawing Event Cards is an effect of resolving Dark Destiny. The Demon Player's Action Phase is when Trogs and Demons move and attack, it follows the Threat Phase.

Roll Dice of Destiny

1) Roll 3d6 usually.

2) Place Dice on Destiny Squares.

3) Immediately resolve effects of Destiny Squares.
Place Troglodytes and Demons

From the Official Rules:

  Threat Phase

  During this phase, the Demon player will bring the Demons and Troglodytes into play, improve their abilities and draw Event cards.

  Demon Player's Action Phase

  During this phase, the Demon player’s Troglodytes and Demons will move and fight.

  Event Cards

  The Dark Destiny result of the Board of Destiny allows the Demon player to draw an Event card. This card can be kept in his hand or used at the time indicated in its description (and must then be discarded).The Demon player can keep as many Event cards in his hand as he wishes.


If a player completes all their routes, are they required to pick up new destination cards even if the game is almost finished?

According to the rules (available here) you are not required to pick new destination cards when you complete the ones in your hand.

Player 2 can simply perform one of the other actions for his last turn, e.g. drawing train cards.


Is it allowed to activate the ability of multiple planeswalkers in a single turn?

You can use all of them; one from each planeswalker.

Here is the rule that prevents you from using the same ability repeatedly on your turn:

  606.3. A player may activate a loyalty ability of a permanent they control any time they have priority and the stack is empty during a main phase of their turn, but only if no player has previously activated a loyalty ability of that permanent that turn.

Emphasis mine. It only cares that you haven't used an ability of the specific permanent that turn; you can use one from each planeswalker each turn.