Why can a manifested creature be turned face up if it loses all it's abilities but a morphed card can't?

Rule 702.36e describes how to turn a creature face up using a morph ability:

  Any time you have priority, you may turn a face-down permanent you control with a morph ability face up. This is a special action; it doesn’t use the stack (see rule 116). To do this, show all players what the permanent’s morph cost would be if it were face up, pay that cost, then turn the permanent face up. (If the permanent wouldn’t have a morph cost if it were face up, it can’t be turned face up this way.) The morph effect on it ends, and it regains its normal characteristics. Any abilities relating to the permanent entering the battlefield don’t trigger when it’s turned face up and don’t have any effect, because the permanent has already entered the battlefield.

Rule 701.33b describes how to turn a manifested creature face up:

  Any time you have priority, you may turn a manifested permanent you control face up. This is a special action that doesn’t use the stack (see rule 116.2b). To do this, show all players that the card representing that permanent is a creature card and what that card’s mana cost is, pay that cost, then turn the permanent face up. The effect defining its characteristics while it was face down ends, and it regains its normal characteristics. (If the card representing that permanent isn’t a creature card or it doesn’t have a mana cost, it can’t be turned face up this way.)

As you can see in the highlighted sections, a creature with Morph still needs to have the Morph ability to be turned face up that way, but the Manifest rules don't check whether the creature has any abilities. So, if the creature loses its abilities, it can't be turned face up using the Morph ability, but it can be turned face up using the Manifest effect. This is the difference that ruling is pointing to.

The reason for this difference is that Morph is an ability that the card has, and Manifest is something that is done to the card. So, turning a Morph creature face up uses the ability, but turning a Manifested creature face up uses an effect that was previously applied to the creature.

Face down Morph creatures are affected this way by effects that remove abilities because those effects are continuous effects, and if you turn a face down creature face up it is still the same permanent. As a result, a creature affected by an effect that removes abilities wouldn't have the Morph ability if it were turned face up, so it can't be turned face up using the Morph rule.


Can i search a copy of a card in the battlefield in my library?

When you create a copy of something you copy pretty much everything about it including its name [706.2.]. And Pack Hunt only needs a creature to target, it doesn't care if the creature is a token or a real card all it care about is that it is a creature. So Pack Hunt will happily find more of whatever creature you happened to copy.

If the created token isn't a copy, the effect that created the token gave it a name. This name is either specified explicitly by the instruction that created the token, or it defaults to the creature's type(s). This name will usually not be the name of the cards in your library, so you will generally not be able to find any matching cards. There are a few cards like Llanowar Mentor that makes tokens named Llanowar Elves so if you had a token made by the Mentor you could find cards named Llanowar Elves. There is also an odd case with Splintering Wind which makes tokens named Splinter, which would allow you to find the card Splinter even though it isn't a creature card.


Do riders have to move at least the amount of their base movement?

A rider cannot move less than its base movement, and a "blockade" isn't all that effective anyway.
Your intuition about the wording in the rules is correct (Board Game Geek account needed for access). A player has to move, at minimum, their base movement every turn (assuming they have broken away from the peloton). Additionally, the rules note that riders can pass through spaces occupied by other riders if the road is completely blocked:

A rider may pass through spaces occupied by other riders ONLY when the track before him is completely blocked (fig.6b). However, the following rules must be observed:

He must choose the longest path.
He must pay 1 additional energy point for each occupied space he moves through.

So by creating a blockade, you're only causing other riders to expend more energy, when you could be using your riders to move as far as possible (it is a race, after all). You should still place your rider strategically so that other riders need to go around and waste movement.

On Board Game Geek, user Daniel Kazaniecki has uploaded a different set of rules that fix some annoying aspects of the game. He posts: "After lots of brainstorming and then testing, we finally arrived to this set of rules, which seems to play out nicely for all kinds of routes, while not being too complex." After finding this, we tried out these rules and the game seemed to run more smoothly.
One of the changes they made was allowing riders to move a minimum of one space, regardless of rider type and terrain. However, they also add a rule that allows riders to pay energy to pass through any other riders, so it still washes out your idea for creating a blockade.


To what extent do mobile adaptations of board games change the games?

You are probably going to have to perform more research to find an answer to your question.

Yes, mobile application developers take liberties.
I would guess that few mobile app developers implement variations, official or not. no one is going to waste development time on version 1 implementing a variant that might not be played. (but the only way to verify this would be to find all mobile apps for Boardgames and figure out which of those have game variations in physical form, then figure out what percentage of those have mobile app variants)

Are mobile apps that behave differently received well? Don't know. Do you know of a polling company that does this kind of research? Do you have a list of all liberal implementations of board games, such that a poll could determine that 50% or more of those games were received poorly/well?

I don't think your question can be answered without considerable effort.


Sea of Blood seems broken, what did we miss?

"Apparently the ship can't turn and can only go forward, with a bit of steering."

You are correct, this is something my heroes often complain about that I explain by saying the map is too small for the ship to turn meaningfully. It's a design flaw that isn't easily fixed without changing the course so it isn't squares.

  "The rocks sink the ship oneshot, and are hardly avoidable right at the beginning on the battle map we got (Wild Vortex)"

Your crew has some options here. The obvious, and kind of difficult one, is scoot the ship towards the vortex until it clears that troublesome chunk of three rocks. At that point the ship should be able to avoid the vortex and/or flee.

I made a house rule where players are allowed to roll to stabilize the wheel to prevent the ship from being dragged by the current. So long as the number of movement points rolled by the hero holding the wheel exceeds or is equal to the distance tugged horizontally by the current, the ship doesn't move. This helps avoid unintentional death that does seem pretty unfair.

About fleeing, since the rocks are placed rather inconveniently for a quick escape for the Revenge, I think a loophole in the rules is for the heroes to simply swim off the edge of the ship. While I didn't allow this for some time, in rereading the rulebook, I found something weird on page 18: "a lieutenant may flee off of the board through an edge of the map just like a hero." While the game doesn't really say heroes specifically can do this before this part is mentioned, it does say that lieutenants can leave off the edge of the map, just like a hero, so it follows heroes can leave just like lieutenants. A bit of a lame escape, swimming away from your ship. Surely you wouldn't die that way! But apparently it's allowed, and I don't like ignoring rules that help the heroes.

  "The lieutenant (Siren) can move freely 10 spaces in the water and go behind the ship."

While I would prefer hiding behind the rocks to try and draw the Revenge closer to an accidental death, going behind the ship is a pretty clever trick. The quickest solution would be to drop anchor to prevent the Siren from taking too much advantage of a blind spot, or you could always flee. A riskier attack plan would be to try and use the cannon's Knockback ability to maneuver her into the center of the vortex, immediately killing her. Since she can swim though, it's unlikely she'll be dragged in.

  "Because of this the players are forced to swim ti go hit the siren, but they don't have Swim and the current is moving them in the opposite direction."

Sounds like the players aren't placing themselves so they current does their work for them, allowing them to move towards the Siren rather than past her. In general, the best solution for this appears to be to flee.

  "The cannon is also useless here because of distance and accuracy."

Other than giving the Overlord a pat on the back for avoiding some devastating cannon fire, my only concern for your heroes is the singular. Tell them to get some more cannons. If they can't kill the Siren on this encounter draw, they should flee and draw a new zone.

Overall, the best solution for the heroes here is to run away. The Siren has quite an advantage if the Overlord is willing to wait, but the heroes can be patient and wait her out too with carefully placed rest orders (trust me, my heroes did it to me). Another zone will probably present a more favorable outcome for the heroes (see whichever terrible zone lets them control the sharks). Outfitting the ship properly should happen quickly too to prevent the Overlord from having too much of an advantage at sea.


Games that play well with a wide range of different numbers of players

Once again I can't recommend Dominion enough.

The base set supports 2-4 players and really plays the same for all of those, and if you also get Dominion: Intrigue (or a second copy of Dominion, or just some extra copies of a few of the victory cards) you can play with anywhere from 2-6 players.  4 players is probably the "sweet spot" that the game was balanced around, though.

A few basic rules are adjusted based on the number of players - the amount of available victory points and the game end conditions scale with the number of players.

Game times will be affected most, naturally - in a 6-player game you'll be waiting longer between turns.  The other factor that changes is competition for cards - in a 2-player game you will mostly be able to get whatever cards you want, while a 6-player game will require more adjusting of your strategy on the fly to respond to cards going to other players.

All that said, the core gameplay works very well for any number of players from 2 to 6 without excessive special-case 2-player rules or dummy players.


In what ways does the Arkham Horror Toolkit app improve or detract from the experience?

Since I've never used the app before (I have android devices, not Apple) I can only answer from what I've seen with other apps like this and tailor it to what the Toolkit claims to do.

Since it has a full list of every event card and gate card, it does save on the setup of the game significantly.  However, since it doesn't have the Mythos deck set up and tracked, it doesn't help the app very much in that regard.  You still have to pull out cards and, when you're setting up, you might as well pull everything out and set it down instead of leaving just the event cards and gate cards.

It also gives you a dice roller, which I don't see as really a time-saver.  Plus, it feels better to roll dice physically.

The investigator tracking sheet is nice to remember what your current stats are for all of your skills, how many clues you have, how much damage you've taken, ect.  It really clears up the clutter of the board.  Down side?  It doesn't show you everything about your character, so you still need the card out.  And it only tracks your character, not all the others.  You'd need to buy the thing for a lot of people.

Lastly, it gives you maps of each of the boards (so long as you buy them as add-ins).  This helps in reading the board for yourself, but you have to have the board out for you in the first place, so I don't see this as a time saver either.


When on New Caprica, can a crisis effect move a player from Detention to the Medical Center?

I'de say no.  Even thought the rules don't spell it out explicitly I think it's clear enough.

First, detention and the bring are treated to be the same thing, especially for player powers.

Second, according to the FAQ (page 2, bottom of the first column) nothing can move a player out of the brig except a successful skill check for the brig location action.  So by extension this applies to the detention center.

Third, thematically it didn't happen (spoiler follows).

   When Tigh was in the detention center and Cavil ripped his eye out, he left him there.  Even when he kicked the snot out of him as well he left them there.  He totally should have gone to the medical tent but didn't.


Which hands do not consist of sets and a pair?

Based on this source I would say that those are the only ones.


Wagon movement on completion of a feature

You are correct that the English translation of the rule says nothing about direct:

  ...move it to a connected incomplete and unoccupied road, city or
  monastery.

But this is just a (sadly typical) garbling of the original German rules which clearly state (emphasis added) that the feature must be directly connected

  ...oder in ein direkt angrenzendes Gebiet (Straße, Stadt oder Kloster)
  versetzen.

So the conclusion in the Annotated Rules is reached by referring to the original German rules for the game. Your interpretation of the English rules is fair, but the rules in the box are (as is often the case with the English rules for Carcassonne) wrong.


How many moves can I make in a single turn in Maharaja?

I don't have the original rules with me, but based on my memory and rules from BGG:

  7.0 ACTIONS

  7.1 Travelling

  Moving an architect is a free action, that does not feature on the action disc. The player may freely move his architect
  at any time during his turn. He may move his architect to a city,
  build there and then move him to another city to build there again,
  and so on.

  The only restrictions to moving an architect are: He may never be
  moved through a village in which no house (of whichever player) is
  present; He must sometimes pay for his passage.

I would say - Yes, you can move as many times as you want, even between your actions (And theoretically build in four different cities, or even five with builder special role card in one turn) as long as you can move to them and pay the passage fee.


Does "When enter on the battlefield" trigger heroic?

No. Heroic abilities trigger whenever you cast a spell that targets this object. Creature spells (e.g. Satyr Grovedancer) do not target. Satyr Grovedancer has a triggered ability that targets, but abilities aren't spells.

In contrast, Gossamer Phantasm has the ability When Gossamer Phantasm becomes the target of a spell or ability, sacrifice it. Targeting Gossamer Phantasm with Satyr Grovedancer's triggered ability would trigger Gossamer Phantasm's. (Gossamer Phantasm's will resolve first.)


Checkers - with customized starting setups and AI agents

I found a Windows program on https://dammen.startpagina.nl/ (checkers is called 'dammen'in Dutch). On this page I installed the program "dam 2.2". This is amazing. I can customize the setup (positions of the pieces on the board) and save the game. Then I can choose for two players, one player against the computer, or only the computer. This last option is awesome, because now I can learn from the computer what is best and see why it is so.


Is there any data on most common way to get to 10 VP in Settlers of Catan?

I've not seen any collected data released, but the online play sites may have done so.


What is an extra move in Mancala, and can you have more than one?

Note: Mancala is actually a family of games, not a game itself. Since you call the game 'Mancala', I'm going to assume you have a commercial Western version of Mancala, which means you're very likely actually playing Kalah.

A move in Mancala always means "take the group of stones from one of your pits, and sow them all again". So yes, it is just "like in the beginning".

For any move, if the last stone in the move falls on your store, you take another move. You can have many extra moves if you keep finishing your moves in your store.


Can I use Improvise to pay for activated abilities?

No. Improvise only works for casting spells. Activating abilities, while similar is not casting a spell, thus it cannot be paid for with Improvise.

111.1. A spell is a card on the stack. As the first step of being cast (see rule 601, “Casting Spells”), the card becomes a spell and is moved to the top of the stack from the zone it was in, which is usually its owner’s hand. (See rule 405, “Stack.”)
112.1b An ability can be an activated or triggered ability on the stack. This kind of ability is an object.


Can character abilities and upgrades be used through roadblocks?

Roadblocks have no effect in these scenarios. They do exactly what they say they do, and nothing else. Since they never mention affecting abilities, they don't.


Is cycling a card from your hand considered a spell?

No, Cycling is an activated ability that you can only use while the card is in your hand. Casting a spell requires that you pay a cards mana cost printed in the upper right of the card.

702.27a Cycling is an activated ability that functions only while the card with cycling is in a player’s hand. “Cycling [cost]” means “[Cost], Discard this card: Draw a card.”
202.1 A card's mana cost is indicated by the mana symbols at the top of the card. ...
202.1a The mana cost of an object represents what a player must spend from his or her mana pool to cast a card. ...


What is the African board game in this picture?

I'm pretty sure it's ZAMMA:

I'm seeing the 9 x 9 board there, and two different types of pieces equivalent to black and white.  Also, I'm no expert, but that scene does look a bit North African to me.

From this page: "When played in the Sahara, the men are represented by short sticks, whilst the women are pieces of camel dung."  That certainly looks like what's going on in the picture, unpleasant though it sounds!  I don't think camel dung meeples will catch on outside Africa...


Ever since I learned about "the Barasona opening", I've had a hard time not starting all my Blokus games with it.

The basic idea is that your first four pieces leave no possibility for an opponent to move "through" your corner, without the use of his one-piece.

The pieces you use are F, X, W, and then N or Y.  You can see a picture of the Barasona in action here: http://boardgamegeek.com/image/112251/blokus.

Of course, the problem with the Barasona is that, while it provides a disincentive for other players to move towards your unprofitable corner, the moment the other players realize this they will probably all start using the Barasona themselves, and you're back to square one.  Blokus is an arms race!

Hope this helps!


Interaction with Grismold and Adarkar Valkyrie

No.

The Grismold that returns to the battlefield is a completely different one from the one whose ability triggered and was about to get +1/+1 counters.

  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:

    400.7d Abilities that trigger when an object moves from one zone to another (for example, “When Rancor is put into a graveyard from the battlefield”) can find the new object that it became in the zone it moved to when the ability triggered, if that zone is a public zone.

400.7d is the exception that allows Grismold to return to the battlefield. But there is no exception that allows this new Grismold on the battlefield to know anything about the triggered ability that would be giving counters to the Grismold that left the battlefield.

For extra clarification, Adarkar Valkyrie's ability creates a delayed trigger:

  603.7. An effect may create a delayed triggered ability that can do something at a later time. A delayed triggered ability will contain “when,” “whenever,” or “at,” although that word won’t usually begin the ability.

    603.7a Delayed triggered abilities are created during the resolution of spells or abilities, as the result of a replacement effect being applied, or as a result of a static ability that allows a player to take an action. A delayed triggered ability won’t trigger until it has actually been created, even if its trigger event occurred just beforehand. Other events that happen earlier may make the trigger event impossible.

When Akroma's Vengeance resolves, both Grismold's triggered ability and the Adarkar Valkyrie delayed trigger will trigger. It doesn't matter which order you choose to order them on the stack; what matters is that "new Grismold" is not on the battlefield yet at the time that the triggering event (tokens being destroyed) happens, so it will be too late for new Grismold's triggered ability to do anything.


In Uno, can you play a Reverse card on a Draw 4 card and make that player draw 4 cards instead?

You can't

According to the uno rules a draw 2 means:

  Draw Two – When a person places this card, the next player will have to pick up two cards and forfeit his/her turn.

Meaning you don't have a chance to play the reverse card and let the other person draw the cards


It depends on the number of players. The second path is available when you have four or more players.

  Important Note: In 2 or 3 player games, only one of the Double-Routes
  can be used. A player can claim either of the two routes between cities, but
  the other route is then closed to other players.

Note that no single player may take both routes of a Double-Route.

  Some cities are connected by Double-Routes. One player cannot claim
  both routes to the same cities.


Pyxis of Pandemonium and 'enters the battlefield' abilities

First the active player (the player whose turn it is, regardless of who activated the Pyxis) puts all of the triggered abilities they control on the stack, then each other person in priority order does the same. When all players are done putting their triggered abilities on the stack, the active player gets priority. When each player has multiple "enters the battlefield" triggers, they get to choose the order as their set of triggers goes on the stack.

  603.3b If multiple abilities have triggered since the last time a player received priority, each player, in APNAP order, puts triggered
  abilities he or she controls on the stack in any order he or she
  chooses. (See rule 101.4.) Then the game once again checks for and
  resolves state
  - based actions until none are performed, then abilities that triggered during this process go on the stack. This process repeats
  until no new state
  - based actions are performed and no abilities trigger. Then the appropriate player gets priority

Information about APNAP (emphasis mine):

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


Late-game, it's a reliable way to get one honor for one rune. If you're not going to be cycling through your deck again, the goal of buying cards is to maximize the value of what's in your deck.


"Sacrifice a Creature" cost on as an ability: is there a limitation to how many times you can use it each turn?

You can activate an ability as many times as you like as long as you can pay the cost.  The  only restrictions on activating an ability are listed in rule 602.5:

602.5. A player can’t begin to activate an ability that’s prohibited from being activated.
602.5a A creature’s activated ability with the tap symbol ({T}) or the untap symbol ({Q}) in its activation cost can’t be activated unless
the creature has been under its controller’s control since the start
of their most recent turn. Ignore this rule for creatures with haste
(see rule 702.10).
602.5b If an activated ability has a restriction on its use (for example, “Activate this ability only once each turn”), the restriction
continues to apply to that object even if its controller changes.
602.5c If an object acquires an activated ability with a restriction on its use from another object, that restriction applies only to that
ability as acquired from that object. It doesn’t apply to other,
identically worded abilities.
602.5d Activated abilities that read “Activate this ability only any time you could cast a sorcery” mean the player must follow the timing
rules for casting a sorcery spell, though the ability isn’t actually a
sorcery. The player doesn’t actually need to have a sorcery card that
they could cast.
602.5e Activated abilities that read “Activate this ability only any time you could cast an instant” mean the player must follow the timing
rules for casting an instant spell, though the ability isn’t actually
an instant. The player doesn’t actually need to have an instant card
that they could cast.

So in the case you've listed above where you can recur and sacrifice a creature endlessly, go wild (note that you can't choose to activate something an infinite amount of times, you do have to pick a number, but that's a whole different discussion).


How does the Amazons "+4 When Attacking" power work?

Excerpt from the rule book itself:

Amazons
Four of your Amazon tokens may only be
used for conquest, not for defense, as
indicated by the +4 on the banner itself. So
you start your initial turn with 10 Amazon
tokens (plus any additional ones that may
be granted to you by the Special Power associated with the
Amazons, depending on your combo). At the end of each of
your Troop Redeployments (see Troop Redeployment, p. 5),
remove four tokens from the map, making sure to leave at least
one Amazon token in each of your Regions if possible, and only
take these four tokens back in hand to redeploy on the map
once you Ready your Troops (see Ready your Troops, p. 6) at
the start of your next turn.


Mana is an abstract resource produced by abilities and spell[1], though most commonly by the intrinsic activated abilities of basic lands (e.g. Forest).

  305.6. The basic land types are Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain, and Forest. [...] A land with a basic land type has the intrinsic ability “{T}: Add [mana symbol],” even if the text box doesn’t actually contain that text or the object has no text box. For Plains, [mana symbol] is {W}; for Islands, {U}; for Swamps, {B}; for Mountains, {R}; and for Forests, {G}. [...]

This means that every Forest has an ability that produces one green mana at the cost of tapping the Forest.

I say "green mana" instead of just "mana" because mana comes in each of the five colors, and it can also be colorless.

Naga Vitalist's mana cost consists of 1 green mana and 1 generic mana. The generic mana cost can be met by paying mana of any color or colorless mana. So, to be able to cast Naga Vitalist, you will need to produce this much mana (e.g. by using the intrinsic abilities of two Forest).

"Mana pool" refers to the mana you have produced but not yet used. It empties at the end of each step and phase, so you can't carry mana you produce on in turn into the next (for example).

You can read more about it here.

  In the rule book I didn't see how much mana you start off with.

You do not start with any mana, or even any means to obtain mana. You will need to play lands first.

  My understanding was that you had to have 2 land cards on the field since she requires two mana.

Basically, yes, though they need to be untapped.

  Do you start off with a certain number and type of mana in your mana pool?

No. In fact, it's constantly being emptied. Mana basically need to be produced immediately when needed.

  How much mana does a land produce and how is that determined?

Each basic land produces one colored mana (white for Plains, blue for Islands, green for Forest, red for Mountains, black for Swamps) by tapping it.

For example, Naga Vitalist's ability produces mana.


What is the Power/Toughness of a */* when it is not on the battlefield?

It depends on the card in question. If it can't be determined use 0.

  208.2a The card may have a characteristic-defining ability that sets its power and/or toughness according to some stated condition. (See
  rule 604.3.) Such an ability is worded "[This creature's] [power or
  toughness] is equal to . . ." or "[This creature's] power and
  toughness are each equal to . . ." This ability functions everywhere,
  even outside the game. If the ability needs to use a number that can't
  be determined, including inside a calculation, use 0 instead of that
  number. Example: Lost Order of Jarkeld has power and toughness each
  equal to 1+*. It has the abilities "As Lost Order of Jarkeld enters
  the battlefield, choose an opponent" and "Lost Order of Jarkeld's
  power and toughness are each equal to 1 plus the number of creatures
  the chosen player controls." While Lost Order of Jarkeld isn't on the
  battlefield, there won't be a chosen player. Its power and toughness
  will each be equal to 1 plus 0, so it's 1/1.

When you scavenge Boneyard Wurm you will get a number of +1/+1 counters equal the number of creatures in your graveyard before Boneyard Wurm is exiled. (A ruling on Varolz, the Scar-Striped reads: The number of counters that a card’s scavenge ability puts on a creature is based on the card’s power as it last existed in the graveyard.)


probably antique French game - asking for identification

This is clearly an Egyptian themed version of the French Ludo variant known as Jeu des petits chevaux. (Link goes to the sensible French Wikipedia entry. Note that the corresponding English Wikipedia entry only describes a casino game that may or may not have been played on the same board.)

We can see that it was probably a version with 6 pieces per person (rather than the usual 4), as is typical for this French Ludo/Pachisi variant. The board layout is geometrically non-standard, with the main path following the edge of the board rather than closely wrapped around the four home columns. This allows the home columns to be arranged diagonally and so frees up the space for the sphinx in the middle, which I guess was purely ornamental. (Although there may have been special rules making use of the central field.)

Of the eight squares outside the main path, four are black. I suspect that they are purely decorative - for symmetry with the coloured squares. The placement of the coloured squares supports a counter-clockwise direction of play as was traditional for the original Indian Pachisi game as well as the former French national card game Tarot. The historical playing board displayed in the Wikipedia articles also has this playing direction.

Regarding the age of this board, I can only speculate with very little foundation. But the words "modèle déposé" ("registered design") suggest to me that it's actually from the 20th century. Earliest years for the game given in the French Wikipedia article are 1911 for a mention of the casino game (which may be unrelated, after all) and 1936 for the family game. On the other hand, I can't rule out that registered designs for games already existed in France in the 19th century and that the Wikipedia information is inaccurate.

PS: Robert Miller has added an alternative answer that I think is only slightly less plausible than mine. What they both have in common is that they interpret this game as a European Pachisi variant. An argument in favour of my answer is that it explains why there are 6 houses rather than the usual 4. An argument in favour of Robert Miller's answer is that it explains the unusual overall layout. It is of course possible that the present game was influenced both by the Jeu des petits chevaux (in terms of mechanism?) and by the Chinesenspiel (in terms of layout). In any case, both answers involve some reasonable speculation, which is inevitable until someone finds a book describing this precise board, or even an original box with instructions.


Can Arkham Horror be played with both The King In Yellow herald, and The King in Yellow ancient one?

As far as I can tell, there is no specific King in Yellow great old one.

If you're talking about Hastur as the great old one, that's a different story.  Thematically, The King in Yellow is actually Hastur's avatar.  So, in that sense, it might make perfect sense to use both of them in conjunction.  Mechanically, they're just two parts of the game board that don't need special treatment to use together.


Was there ever a non-1st Edition version of the Machamp found in the 2-player Starter Set?

According to Bulbapedia:

  A 1st Edition version of this card was included in the 2-Player Starter Set. While an Unlimited Edition version of the Base Set print of this card was never officially released, a Non Holofoil version of this card lacking the 1st Edition stamp was included in the Trainer Deck A, distributed to prototype Pokémon Leagues before the TCG officially launched in North America.

So it look like all Foil Machamps from the Base set are 1st Editions ("Unlimited" refers to cards that are not 1st Edition).


What cards can give an opponent control of an Island so I can use Islandwalk on them?

There is an artifact that slowly turns all lands into Islands: Quicksilver Fountain. There are also a few auras that turn the enchanted land into an Island (or any type, including Island): Convincing Mirage, Lingering Mirage, Nylea's Presence, Phantasmal Terrain, Sea's Claim, and Spreading Seas. There is also a sorcery that turns a land into an Island, Aquitect's Will. Some other cards that can turn lands into any basic land type, including Island, are Mystic Compass, Dream Thrush, Illusionary Terrain, Jinx, Moonbow Illusionist, Reef Shaman, Sea Snidd, Shimmering Mirage, and Tideshaper Mystic.

In addition several creatures turn lands into Islands:

Dreamwinder temporarily turns a land into an Island at the cost of sacrificing an Island. Kukemssa Serpent does the same.
Floodchaser temporarily turns a land into an Island at the cost of a +1/+1 counter.
Sealock Monster permanently turns a land into an Island when it becomes monstrous.
Streambed Aquitects, Tidal Warrior, and Tundra Kavu can both tap to temporarily turn a land into an Island.

There are also cards that you can use to make an opponent control one of your Islands, including Bazaar Trader, Donate, Gauntlets of Chaos, Political Trickery, Shifting Borders, Shifting Loyalties, Sky Swallower, Vedalken Plotter, and Zedruu the Greathearted. You can also use Yavimaya Dryad to search for Breeding Pool or Tropical Island and put it into play under your opponent's control.


A planeswalker can use it's loyalty abilities the turn it enters the battlefield.  The rules on "summoning sickness" only apply to creatures:

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

The only restrictions on loyalty abilities are that they are sorcery speed and you haven't used a loyalty ability on that planeswalker already this turn:

  306.5d Each planeswalker has a number of loyalty abilities, which are activated abilities with loyalty symbols in their costs. Loyalty
  abilities follow special rules: 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 none
  of that permanent's loyalty abilities have been activated that turn.
  See rule 606, "Loyalty Abilities."

Note, however, that if a planeswalker becomes a creature the turn it entered the battlefield (such as from abilities on Gideon Jura, Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Gideon, Champion of Justice, etc. or from some combination like Mycosynth Lattice + March of the Machines), it then becomes subject to summoning sickness, as it is now a creature that you did not control continuously since the start of your most recent turn.  For example, this means you cannot attack with an animated Gideon planeswalker that you cast this turn.


Where can I find a printer friendly version of the settlers of catan rulebook?

This appears to be a version of the original rules. The only rules differences (from 4th Edition) would be:

That now you can move the Robber to the desert.
Trading and Building are not distinct phases.
Harbors are now part of the island border.


Looking for a horror boardgame I used to play back in 1999 or so

Found it! It's name is "Ghost Hunters!" by Brian Lee and it's not a board game but a book, published for the first time in UK by Tango Books in 1998.

ISBN (for Italian edition) is 88-450-7851-5, and you can see it online at http://www.lafeltrinelli.it/products/9788845107351/Gioca_con_gli_acchiappafantasmi/Lee_Brian.html


Helping without being asked, is this legal?

No, a player may not foist help upon you.
The rules state "you may ask any other player to help you" at which point the player may accept or deny the request. There is no "involuntary" help.

In addition, in your specific case, since help was not needed, even requesting help is not allowed, according to the official Munchkin FAQ:

Q. Am I allowed to ask for help if I am currently winning the fight? The rules say I can ask for help if I'm losing, but nothing about if I'm winning.
A. That's because if you're winning, you don't need help, and a true munchkin would never ask for help he doesn't need. Unless a card says otherwise (and a couple do, for their own weird reasons), you may not ask for help if you are winning a combat.

Source: Official FAQ


This question was answered by Matt Leacock, the designer of Pandemic, on BoardGameGeek:

  You can play the cards at any time, however, you can't play them
  between an event and the representation of the event on the board.
  Some scenarios may help explain this:

  Scenario 1: Player #1 has a Special Event card for "Resilient
  Population." During the draw, an Epidemic card is drawn. Since an
  Epidemic card was drawn, player #1 decides to play their Special Event
  card to remove a city from the infection discard pile before they are
  reshuffled. This is legal because the card was played before the cards
  were reshuffled.

  Scenario 2: A player may use the Forecast card to rearrange the cards
  on the top of the infection deck before they're drawn -- but once a
  card is drawn, the player can't rearrange the cards.

  Scenario 3: The Red disease has been [cured but not eradicated]. A player draws the
  Taipei card which results in the 8th outbreak. Since no time elapses
  between the drawing of the Taipei card (resulting in the infection)
  and the placing of the cubes (representing the infection), the players
  lose the game. It's not OK to Airlift the medic over to Taipei to cure
  because the cubes have already been added and the game has already
  been lost.

So in your specific example, yes you can play the Airlift card, if you do so between Epidemic steps.


What is the standard rule for running 12-1?

Here is my opinion.

1) I have never seen it played where 11, 12, 1, 2 was allowed.

The official printed rules say...

  RUNS: A run is made of four or more cards numbered in order. EXAMPLE: Part of Phase 2 requires a run of four, which could be “3,” “4,” “5,” “6.” The cards may be in any combination of colors.

2) The official iPad version of the game does NOT allow 11, 12, 1, 2. (I tried to make sure)

3) I found an updated version of the rules on line...

  Run: A run (similar to a straight) is made of four or more cards numbered in order. The cards do not have to be the same color. A run may not go in order of 11, 12, 1, 2; this is an illegal play. Runs must stop at 12 and only start at 1.

So, I would say that 11,12,1,2 is NOT allowed.


Multiplayer Rules Considering Enchantments

That rule is using "manipulate" in the sense of "physically interact with". It's saying that you can't grab cards out of your teammate's hand or tap your teammate's permanents, for example. This does not prevent you from targeting or enchanting your teammate or their cards/permanents.


What can I do if I still do not understand an interaction from a DCI online test?

You probably have some sort of judge-mentor, which is either a higher Level judge that might eventually take your judge-test or your regional coordinator.

If there was a question or interaction that you did not understand after the explanation, you can talk with this mentor in private about it.


What type of hands are suitable for minor suit contracts after an NT opener?

This does depend on the scoring method somewhat as well as the cards, but "almost never".
Hamman's rule: "If you have a choice of reasonable bids and one of them is 3NT, then bid it."  You never want to play 5m instead of 3NT.  Sometimes you have to, however. It should be obvious from your hand (though less so after a strong NT opener, definitely not obvious from a 2NT opener).
The same things apply as deciding to play 3m instead of 1NT:

suit you aren't sure is reasonably solid (though remember for 5m it can't really be much more than one loser), or
that you can't guarantee you can get to in NT once declarer sets it up.

The fact that you have zero losers in some other suit because you're void doesn't really matter as much if partner has it stopped and your suit runs - you have two more tricks you can afford to lose in 3NT than at the 5 level.  Of course if it's not going to run, theirs is...
But really, the big time to play 5m instead of 3NT is "tried for 6 and had to stop."  Note that again, it's "don't want to be there, but have to."
Now, none of that depends on the scoring method.  So why did I mention it first?  Because matchpoints.
If you can take 11 or 12 tricks in a minor suit, the chance of taking 10 or 11 in 3NT is quite high. If you're playing IMP scoring, or rubber, then the difference between 5m making and 3NT making is tiny (zero, or -1 or 2 IMPs (30 or 60 points above the line) if 3NT made overtricks).  If you're in a matchpoint game, though, while 5m= ties 3NT=, even 5m+1 loses to 3NT+any.  The only time you win at matchpoints by playing in the minor is when 3NT fails.
There's a line that is often said as a joke, but it's not wrong: "At matchpoints, 5m is an invitation to 6" - because if you're booked for a poor score anyway for playing in the minor, the upside of bidding 6 (below average -> top) when it makes is much larger than the downside of bidding 6 when it doesn't (below average -> bottom).
There's another comment that fits this discussion: "At matchpoints, play the highest scoring contract.  At IMPs, play the safest contract."  If you can't tell which one's safer, almost certainly 3NT is.
Long answer shortish: over 1NT, only plan on 5m instead of 3NT if it's obviously right.  Over 2NT, you never want to play in 5m.  If you look for slam and are off two keycards, sure, stop in 5m, but you're not getting a good (matchpoint) score.


Do on-death triggered abilities of creatures happen in multiplayer when a creature's owner loses at the same time?

A good resource in this situation is http://chat.magicjudges.org/mtgrules/ - their answer follows:

  Both them losing and Wurmcoil dying happens as part of the same "set" of State Based Actions.  Wurmcoil will hit the graveyard and they will lose at the same time.  Wurmcoil will still trigger in that case since it did, in fact, die.

Edit: Relevant rules

  118.6. If a player has 0 or less life, that player loses the game as a state-based action. See rule 704.

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

  704.5. The state-based actions are as follows:
      704.5a If a player has 0 or less life, he or she loses the game.
      704.5g If a creature has toughness greater than 0, and the total damage marked on it is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed. Regeneration can replace this event.
      704.5h If a creature has toughness greater than 0, and it’s been dealt damage by a source with deathtouch since the last time state-based actions were checked, that creature is destroyed. Regeneration can replace this event.


Early to mid 70's 2-player maze race game - What was the name?

It sounds like you're talking about Mind Maze.


Necromancer mounting corpse cart pricing?

No. The points listed in the Necromancer entry shows how much buying him a Corpse Cart mount costs (which is why it is 90 points, the cost of a Corpse Cart). If you pay for a character to have a mount the character gets the mount, there is no additional mounting fee.


What is the difference between state-based effects and effects on the stack?

Generally, if you want to learn about the rules in-depth, you can check the current, official rules, either the basic rulebook, or the comprehensive rules that include everything but are intended to be read to look up specific details rather than from beginning to end.

State-based actions are a set of rules that are automatically checked throughout the game, specifically whenever a player would gain priority (the right to take actions like casting spells, playing lands, etc.). Among others, they make players lose to lack of life points, cause creatures to die to lethal damage or zero toughness, make you put identical legendaries into the graveyard, and kill auras that are not attached to anything. They cannot be reacted to in any way. You can find the full list of state-based actions in section 704 of the Comprehensive Rules.

Spells and abilities on the stack (not effects) are just that. As you noted, they resolve in reverse order and have effects such as dealing damage or drawing cards. Whenever a spell or ability has finished resolving, the active player (the player whose turn it is) gets priority, which, as mentioned above, causes state-based actions to be checked first.

Abilities are represented by the text on cards. The four types of abilities are

Spell ability: an effect that happens as an instant or sorcery spell resolves
Activated ability: pay a cost do put an ability on the stack
Triggered ability: creates an ability on the stack whenever a specific event happens
Static ability: creates a continuous effect that is always active

Spell abilities only appear on instants and sorceries, and while instants and sorceries can have all four types of abilities, the overwhelming majority of instants and sorceries have only spell abilities. Other objects such as permanents on the battlefield can have activated, triggered, or static abilities.


Is kingmaking in multiplayer games a problem that can be fixed?

Kingmaking can be a desired feature in its own right

Particularly in games with a political or simulational bent, kingmaking can be a desired feature.  The kingmaker gets to feel like he accomplished something even if he didn't win, and the tension and turnabout can contribute to a more exciting play experience.

Thesunneversets' answer addresses this much better than I can.

Threats of kingmaking are a strategic tool

"If you take me out, I'm going to make it so that you can't win afterward."

In most games, this isn't really a problem. It's just allowing players to use a "rattlesnake" defense when their more conventional defenses have faltered. Mutually assured destruction is basically a higher-stakes version of the normal tit-for-tat trading that goes on in strategy games.

When every game session turns into a complex web of MAD checks-and-balances leading to a spectacular flameout, though -- well, at that point you've gotta either call it a feature or redesign the game.

To reduce rattlesnake behavior, players need a way to trump the rattlesnake's threat, e.g. by more slowly setting up a victory that can't be disrupted. Is one player keeping the whole table at bay with an overgrown Shrine of Burning Rage, for instance? It's important for the game to have cards like Krosan Grip, Trickbind, and Shining Shoal to stop him.

Undesirable kingmaking is a motivation issue

In the previous case, the kingmaker is still looking to win; he's just holding the threat of you losing over your head to keep you from taking an action against him. Full-on kingmaking behavior is a motivation problem, resulting from players abandoning the goal of actually winning the game. Two possibilities exist here:

Winning is no longer a reasonable goal.

If a game puts a player in a situation where she can no longer win, then that player is functionally aimless. Such players may turn to kingmaking because it's the only way they can still interact with the main goal of the game, indirectly.

If you want some overly reductive advice, either eliminate losing players quickly or provide some "come from behind" / "alternate victory" mechanisms so they can still engage with the game's goals.

Alternatively, a less winner-take-all model can keep players "playing to win" even when they're not in a position to actually seize first place. This is probably easiest in games with results that roll forward, such as tournaments where even finishing 3rd vs. 4th has an impact on overall scoring, or wargaming campaigns where the disposition of your surviving units has as much of an effect on future battles as the win/loss outcome of the skirmish itself.
Winning is a reasonable goal, but a player has decided to dismiss it.

I think this is really a social issue. The player has broken with the goals of the game and created his own. Part of good game design is avoiding this by keeping players engaged with what they're supposed to do, but as a layman I honestly can't speak to how good games do this.

One thing you can definitely do as a game designer is to clearly signpost your "come from behind" features so that players don't feel a game is hopeless when it's not.

Beyond that, though, the players themselves need to address disruptive kingmaking as a sportsmanship problem: fundamentally what's happening is that a player is following the rules but not the spirit of the game. Sometimes it's because the kingmaker has lost interest, sometimes it's because social goals have trumped gameplay.


South African and Mozambican board games?

If you are looking for localised versions of games through Africa another option to the Mancala family are games of the Nine Men's Morris family, which potentially migrated down through Africa at the height of the Roman empire.

For South Africa there is Muravava or Umlabalaba, which is closer to Twelve Men's Morris in that there are more moves available.
In Mozambique you'll find Gulugufe, which is played on two intersecting triangles. There is also Ntchuva, which is the local variant of Mancala.


Can you cast Polymerization on your first turn?

Yep, you can actually do that given you had the cards. Do note that some cards may have other restrictions that may prevent you from doing that, so make sure to be aware of such possible restrictions.

Compared to MTG, Yugioh is quite faster. It is not rare to see First Turn Kills (FTK) on top tier decks, or well One Turn Kills (OTK, basically same as FTK but not on first turn, just 8000+ damage in one turn) on any tier deck.

This is part of the Yugioh game format and strategy, as it is designed for "faster" duels. This is one of the reasons why in championships players compete by Match, which is a Best of Three sequence of games. This is also, perhaps, why one mistake in Yugioh can be more harmful than one mistake on other TCGs, so be sure to watch out for these sort of moves that can wipe you out in an instant.


Does Progenitor Mimic create copies of itself even when it isn't a creature?

Yes, it does. When a card says "this creature", is still refers to itself even if it is no longer a creature, so the ability still triggers and resolves.

According to rule 201.5,

  If an ability of an object uses a phrase such as "this [something]" to identify an object, where [something] is a characteristic, it is referring to that particular object, even if it isn't the appropriate characteristic at the time.


Wort, Boggart Auntie and Goblins with Echo

If a triggered ability has a target, you have to choose the target when it goes on the stack.  The target has to be valid both when the ability triggers, and when it resolves.  From the rulebook:

  114.1d A triggered ability is targeted if it identifies something it will affect by using the phrase “target [something],” where the
  “something” is a phrase that describes an object, player, or zone. The
  target(s) are chosen as the ability is put on the stack; see rule
  603.3d.

You get to choose the order in which the triggers go on the stack.  But in this case, that won't help you.  Wort's trigger always happens before Marshall's trigger resolves.  So when Wort's trigger goes on the stack, the Marshall is not yet in the graveyard.  So it is not a valid target for Wort's ability.


Can you use jokers to change which noble visits at the end of turn?

No, you cannot.

From the rules:

  At the end of their turn, a player automatically receives the visit from a noble if that player has the amount of bonuses (and only bonuses) required.

(emphasis mine)

A visit from a noble is determined only by the bonuses printed on the development cards.  Tokens, including the Joker token, cannot be used to get a visit from a noble.


What does "cannot be countered" mean in MTG?

Cannot be countered means that your opponent(s) will not be able to counter this spell. In other words: this spell will hit the battlefield no matter what(except for a very few very rare cases described in the edit).

If a card doesn't have Cannot be countered text, then a simple Counterspell can counter this spell, so that it will end up in graveyard instead of the battlefield

EDIT

As diego mentioned in the comment, there are some very rare cases when Cannot be countered can still get "countered"(even though it will not be countered as per definition(rule 701.5a), it can be returned back to the hand/exiled before it resolves). A couple examples would be Mindbreak Trap and Venser, Shaper Savant.

Mindbreak Trap can exile a spell before it resolves and Venser, Shaper Savant can return a spell back to its owner's hand before it resolves. Ruling of these 2 cards say:

Mindbreak Trap:

  If a spell is exiled, it's removed from the stack and thus will not resolve. The spell isn't countered; it just no longer exists. This works on spells that can't be countered, such as Terra Stomper.

Venser, Shaper Savant:

  If a spell is returned to its owner's hand, it's removed from the stack and thus will not resolve. The spell isn't countered; it just no longer exists.

So with these 2 cards your opponent may actually "counter"(read: prevent spell from resolving) your cannot be countered spells.

Rule 701.5a says:

  To counter a spell or ability means to cancel it, removing it from the stack. It doesn’t resolve and none of its effects occur. A countered spell is put into its owner’s graveyard.


Diana Stanley's Dark Insight ability does not override the effects of the Mythos environment in play. If it would override the Mythos card, it would state so.

For example, Akachi's ability states:

  Secret Rites - Any Phase: Akachi gains +1 bonus to all skill checks to close or seal a gate. In addition, Akachi may always seal gates, regardless of other game effects.


Whats the perfect set for Agricola solo series using E, I, and K decks?

The way I like to play Agricola campaign mode is to pick 7 occupations and then play through sequentially. Each game I leave one more in play as permanent and leave the others in my hand in future games.

Probably my favorite seven to start with are:

Field Watchmen
Wet Nurse
Church Warden
Lord of the Manor
Manservant
Grocer
Pieceworker

I generally like them in this order (and leave them in descending order, too, so the first permanent one is Field Watchmen). First game get the Stone Oven for food production, doing double baking bread, by sowing 3 grain fields before the first harvest.

My first turns normally are something like:

Occupation (Field Watchman) / Take 1 Grain
Take 1 Grain / Day Laborer
Take 1 Grain / Sow
Clay (4) / Fishing (for 4 food)

At this point you've got 3 sown fields of grain, clay, and your next turns can look like:

Fireplace / Wet Nurse (with grain-->food)
Wood (12) / Reed (6)
Sheep to food (7x = 14 food) / build rooms (+2 people)

At this point you have some leftover food from the sheep still (only needed 8 that round) and are pretty setup. The rest is pretty straightforward.

Also, I normally setup the board slightly, forcing:

Sheep = round 1
Stone = round 5

The rest don't matter as much.

This combined with the above normally lets you get 65-70 points your first game, which then gives you 10+ food for your next starting game.  Wet Nurse is critical  in the campaign because once you get food supplies you can always add two rooms to your house on Turn 5.

Once you start getting significant quantities of food at beginning - which you will after your first game because it's pretty easy to have 15+ points over the game point values initially  and you get 1 food for every 2 points over -  the Pieceworker/Grocer become very useful and powerful, because you can buy extra resources earlier in the game (such as vegetables and stone).

After a few games of occupations, Manservant becomes very useful - it's easy to get a Stone House with 5+ turns remaining in the game after a few solo rounds so you get basically 15 food for this.

Generally, I like to also leave all the animals on the board until the last round (except I normally take sheep for food around turn 6/7, early enough when the food is helpful but also can let them replenish to 7 by the game end). Your first game this is often harder because you normally need to raid one of the animals for food and often can't swing the 4x Stable/3x pasture combination to give you space for all of them.

There are a lot of minor improvements that can make this strategy go on steroids too (like Axe, which means you can reliably add family members prior to the first harvest if you start with Church Warden and get the 4 immediate wood). Or Straw Thatched Roof which gives you three extra rooms with people pretty early with Church Warden, Wet Nurse, and Pieceworker.


Do "enter the battlefield" abilities trigger heroic? Do creatures that leave and reenter the battlefield trigger again?

Question 1: No.

Creature spells (such as Living Totem) don't target. When you cast Living Totem, you do not pick any targets. Once it eventually resolves, it's ability triggers and you choose targets when you place it on the stack. But placing an ability on the stack is not casting a spell, so it doesn't trigger Staunch-Hearted Warrior's ability.

Aura spells, on the other hand, always target. Casting Messenger's Speed targeting Staunch-Hearted Warrior would trigger the latter's ability.

Question 2: Yes.

Living Totem was in your hand (not on the battlefield) one moment and on the battlefield the next, so it entered the battlefield. As such, it's ETB ability triggered.


Stalled Active Auction Plants in a 2- person Power Grid game?

I haven't played a great number of 2 player games of Power Grid, but I haven't seen the problem you are noting.  Perhaps you are missing out a few of the key rules?

Rule changes with 2 players

Check the table on page 7 of the rule book on how to change things up for different numbers of players.  When playing with 2 players:

Each player may keep 4 power plants
Remove 8 power plants from the deck after preparing the market.

If nothing is sold

From page 3:

  If, in later rounds, no power plant is sold in a round, the players remove the lowest numbered power plant from the market, placing it back in the box, and replace it by
           drawing a power plant from the draw stack. They then rearrange the market according to the rules

Remove small plants

From page 5:

  If, at any time during the game, there is a power plant in the actual market with a number equal to or lower than the number of cities any player has, players
          immediately remove it from the game and replace it with a new card from the draw stack. This rule does not affect power plants owned by players.

This should increase the turnover of the smallest, most worthless plants.

At the start of Step 2

  To start step 2, remove ONCE the lowest numbered power plant from the game and replace it with a new one from the draw stack, rearranging the market as always.

If you are using all these rules, please let me know by comment and I'll see if I can adjust my answer.


Will clone effects copy extra abilities applied to a creature? If not, why does Twinflame work?

No, they will not. You only get to copy what is actually printed on the card; not any information that has changed the properties of that object.

See this ruling on Clone:

  Clone copies exactly what was printed on the original creature and nothing more (unless that creature is copying something else or is a token; see below). It doesn't copy whether that creature is tapped or untapped, whether it has any counters on it or Auras attached to it, or any non-copy effects that have changed its power, toughness, types, color, or so on.

The actual rule that explains this:

  706.2. When copying an object, the copy acquires the copiable values of the original object’s characteristics and, for an object on the stack, choices made when casting or activating it (mode, targets, the value of X, whether it was kicked, how it will affect multiple targets, and so on). The "copiable values" are the values derived from the text printed on the object (that text being name, mana cost, color indicator, card type, subtype, supertype, rules text, power, toughness, and/or loyalty), as modified by other copy effects, by “as . . . enters the battlefield” and "as . . . is turned face up" abilities that set characteristics, and by abilities that caused the object to be face down. Other effects (including type-changing and text-changing effects), status, and counters are not copied.

Copying tokens works a little differently, just because there is no literal "card text" to copy. Instead, a token's copiable values are determined by the effect that created the token.

  110.5b The spell or ability that creates a token may define the values of any number of characteristics for the token. This becomes the token's "text." The characteristic values defined this way are functionally equivalent to the characteristic values that are printed on a card; for example, they define the token's copiable values. A token doesn't have any characteristics not defined by the spell or ability that created it.


Is it possible to have a tie in Munchkin?

Yes that is one way to achieve a tie. A SJG representative confirmed it (with a slight clarification with regard to being enthralled):

Q: I was playing the original Munchkin game as an elf who gains a level for each monster that they help kill. I was enthralled to fight by a bard. We were both level 9 and killed the three monsters. Since we both gained the three levels we were both level 10 at the same time. Who wins?
A: It's a Level gained by killing, so the Elf can, in fact, get the winning Level by helping.
Missed the Bard wrinkle, so here's the proper official answer: The Elf couldn't have been enthralled in the first place. Had he been enthralled, before the win was on the line for the Bard, he still could have won the game, but if suddenly the Bard had the chance to win the game as well, the enthralled Elf leaves the combat outright. The Bard can still get help, but has to do it based on his real personality, not some Svengali like ability. . .


Is there a technical (or slang) term for triggering a game loss due to attempting to draw from an empty library?

Yes, the slang term is "to deck" or "to deck out"
Decking, decking out
You can use the term transitively or intransitively, i.e. you can say "I decked (out)" meaning you lost due to drawing from an empty library, or "I decked (out) my opponent", meaning you won by milling your opponent to death.
Personally, I've only ever heard "to deck", but apparently both are used.


At what level should one try to teach go?

You can start to teach beginners as soon as you develop a basic grasp of Go, which I'd say is typically around 15-20kyu. Do not be surprised if your students surpass you quickly if you start teaching at that level, though.

Generally, people feel comfortable teaching players whom they can beat comfortably and consistently. But this is not necessarily the case. Some of the older players serve as teachers to younger players who are actually stronger than they are--this is fine as long as the difference is due to readings skills, which cannot really be taught.

Remember, players of any rank can give students the wrong advice. After all, nobody knows the solution to Go, and even the strongest professional players frequently disagree with each other on the appropriateness of moves.


Recommended strategies for the MTGO Cube

To provide a different perspective on thesunneversets' answer: the most important concept in cube drafting isn't power level, it's synergy.  It's easy to look at your deck after you've drafted - or while you're drafting - and say 'this is chock-full of great cards, it should be awesome.'  The problem is that everyone's deck is chock-full of great cards; to put yourself above the pack, you need to have more than just great cards.  And that's where synergy comes into play.

It's impossible to provide a full list (or even a reasonable partial list) of the synergies in the MTGO cube just because there are so many there; instead, just look for potential little synergies and combos when you're drafting.  Already snagged Channel?  Keep an eye out for high-cost artifacts and colorless cards that you can run out in the first few turns - surprisingly few decks can beat a turn-2 Ulamog or Karn.  Picked up Recurring Nightmare?  Maybe you want that Myr Battlesphere a little more; maybe Entomb or Buried Alive or even just Careful Consideration bump a bit higher up your pick order.  These sorts of synergies are what you want to be looking for.

This strategy extends to your first few picks, too - there you want to keep an eye out for cards that can synergize with a number of different cards.  I'd cheerfully pick Survival of the Fittest over many other cards in the format, for instance, simply because I know I'm likely to pick something up to go with it: maybe it'll be Vengevine for a green aggro deck (and boo on Wizards for skipping Basking Rootwalla!); maybe it'll be Recurring Nightmare or just Animate Dead for a reanimator deck; maybe it'll even be Myr Battlesphere and Goblin Welder for different sorts of reanimator shenanigans.  Maybe it'll just be a collections of walls, Acidic Slime and its kin, and Birthing Pod up to Elesh Norn for a toolbox-style deck.  But any way it shakes out, I've got good chances of finding something that'll work with Survival.

As far as specific card advice, there are a few things that come to mind:

Artifact acceleration is sparse, and key for the high-end control and board control decks - maybe even moreso than plain fixing is.  Early on cards like Prismatic Lens were being overlooked and you even had a reasonable chance of tabling them, but at this point they've moved much higher up peoples' pick orders and need (and deserve) to be picked highly: I've gladly first-picked Grim Monolith - and then used it to cast a turn-3 Grave Titan in multiple games.  The non-accelerating mana fixing (duals, fetchlands, etc.) is important especially for many-color decks, but I've tried to avoid splashing beyond 2 as much as feasible, so it's been less crucial for me.
Similarly, being able to delay color commitment for a bit is a useful thing - cards like Wurmcoil Engine and Myr Battlesphere are high picks in part on raw power, but even more because they're universally applicable, and I'd gladly snag either with my first few picks.
Artifact removal has some value, but most people leave enchantment removal (unless it's something universally versatile like Acidic Slime) in their boards, and many decks don't even have access to that sort of effect.  Because of this (and of course the general power level of the creatures), the control enchantments - Control Magic and Treachery - are even more powerful than they might appear at first glance.
The red deck is strong and it is the clock of the format, but it doesn't seem like quite the beast that people are making it out to be.  If one person is drafting it then they get all the goods, but there isn't enough redundancy in the MTGO cube for it to comfortably support multiple drafters; if you don't have Goblin Guide or Keldon Marauders, for instance, then you probably won't be nearly fast enough to keep up with the accelerated high-end decks.  Mind you, I have a mild allergy to red aggro so I can't speak from the other side of the table, but in the few drafts I've played against it I've had quite a bit of success - it's something you have to keep in mind and it does force a reasonable curve, but it's not something to actively fear.


Can a single card have multiple activations on a stack?

Yes, you can do this.
There is no limit to the number of times you can activate an ability other than being able to pay the cost. It doesn't matter if the other activations are still on the stack or if they have resolved already.
Some activated abilities have a built-in limit, where they say something like "activate this ability only once each turn". An example is Aggressive Mining.

117.1b A player may activate an activated ability any time they have priority.

602.2. To activate an ability is to put it onto the stack and pay its costs, so that it will eventually resolve and have its effect.

If things do happen as you suggest, then the stack will look like this:

Ghost Town's ability
Field of Ruin's ability
Ghost Town's ability

First Ghost Town will resolve and return to your hand. Then Field of Ruin's ability will fizzle and leave the stack without resolving because it has no legal target anymore. The searching for land part will not happen. Finally the original Ghost Town's ability will resolve, but it will not do anything upon resolving because it cannot find the Ghost Town on the battlefield anymore.


Four territories in a row are worth 2 bonus coins.  Adjacency doesn't matter.
Per the FAQ:

Q. If a Fisher Race occupies 4 regions in a row that borders the river, does that count as 3 pairs (AB, BC, CD) ?
A. No. That would count as 2 pairs, AB and CD. Note that these regions do not need to be adjacent to each other.


If I put a copper and add 4 more random cards into my hand from my starting deck, does it change the odds of getting the 5:2 split?

Short Answer:

No.

Long Answer:

The odds of getting a 5:2 split over the more common 4:3 split is unchanged, even if the first card is intentionally chosen to be a copper.

Mathematically, this can be proven using hypergeometric distribution.  This can be calculated using the following function, where N is the size of the deck, n is the number of cards drawn, and m is the number of coppers available:

P(X=k) = (m choose k) * ((N-m) choose (n-k)) / (N choose n)

With a normal starting deck, you would use values of N=10, n=5 and m=7.  Without boring you with the math proper, these would give you a result breakdown as follows:

2 copper: 1/12
3 copper: 5/12
4 copper: 5/12
5 copper: 1/12

So you would normally have a 1/12 + 1/12 = 1/6 chance of getting the 5:2 split.

Now, if the first card is preemptively selected to be a copper, this changes our starting numbers.  Since the first card is known, your starting draw would effectively be a four card draw from a nine card deck containing only six coppers.  Punching in the values N=9, n=4 and m=6 into our function, we end up with the following table:

1 copper: 1/21
2 copper: 5/14
3 copper: 10/21
4 copper: 5/42

Even though the spread of numbers is significantly different, your odds of a 5:2 split work out to 1/21 + 5/42 = 7/42 = 1/6, which is exactly the same as before.

However, note that although the odds of the split themselves are unchanged, by selecting out the first copper you are now over twice as likely to get the 5:2 draw as you are to get the 2:5 draw.


Which country's playing cards have CBR as the JQK?

Honestly I'm just guessing here, but could they be Irish?  Roughly an hour of Googling eventually brought me to these pages, which lists the names of the face cards in Irish Gaelic as follows:

King: [R]í
Queen: [B]hanríon
Jack: Laoch (also [C]uireata)


Breaking ICE - exactly how should strength be treated?

Unless otherwise stated, strength simply determines which icebreakers can interact with (typically meaning break subroutines on) a piece of ice. From page 16 of the rulebook:

  An icebreaker can only interact with ice that
  has equal or lower strength than the icebreaker.

Notice that the individual icebreaker whose breaking ability you want to use needs to have high enough strength, the strength of your other icebreakers isn't a factor. It's also worth noting:

  Many icebreakers allow the Runner to temporarily increase the
  icebreaker’s strength by spending credits...This strength increase
  lasts only while the current piece of ice is being encountered, unless
  otherwise noted by card abilities. After an encounter with a piece of
  ice, the icebreaker’s strength returns to the value shown on its card.

Just to be clear, it's certainly possible that at some point in the future an ice will be designed for which the strength factors into some other effect (e.g. "do X meat damage. X is the strength of this ice"), but I don't believe there's anything like that in the card pool today.


Are Hirelings Looted From Your Dead Body?

Hirelings are just cards, like other cards. The rules for looting are quite clear - you lose all the cards you had in play. So not only do you lose anything he's carrying, you lose your Hireling too (he runs off somewhere)!

  Death

  If you die, you lose all your stuff.
  You keep your Class(es), Race(s), and Level (and any Curses that were affecting you
  when you died) – your new character will look just like your old one.
  If you have Half- Breed or Super Munchkin, keep those as well.

  Looting The Body: Lay out your hand beside the cards you had in play. Starting
  with the one with the highest Level, each other player chooses one
  card . . . in case of ties in level, roll a die. If your corpse runs
  out of cards, tough. After everyone gets one card, the rest are
  discarded.

  Dead characters cannot receive cards for any reason, not
  even Charity, and cannot level up.

  Your new character appears when the
  next player begins his turn, and can help others in combat . . . but
  you have no cards.


Can a player choose not to move in Quoridor?

No, you must act on your turn. From the rules:

  Each player in turn chooses to move his pawn or to put up one of his fences. When he has run out of fences, the player must move his pawn.

The second sentence there, which you reference in your question, is merely a clarification on the first: if you can't place a fence then you must move because you must always either move or place a fence.

The definition of "moving" your pawn is given in the rules:

  Pawn moves

  The pawns are moved one square at a time...

...in particular, not zero squares at a time. This is also what is reflected in the plain English meaning of "move a pawn" (as opposed to "make a move in a game", which is a more abstract meaning of the word "move" that might include passing, i.e. doing nothing).

Note that the requirement to make a (non-empty) move every turn is a common feature to most if not all abstract strategy games. Chess even invented a name for the situation where any move you make will be bad for you: zugzwang.


Can you use a base's ability twice by returning it to your hand with Mega Mech?

Yes, that would be a valid move as far as I can see (as long as you had another Star Empire card in play to trigger the ability of the Fighter Base).

While there are no rules anywhere that I have found to support or reject this exact scenario, the official Crisis expansion announcement indicates that it is possible:

  Here we see Mega Mech, one of the few cards in the game with the awesome ability to return bases to hand. Sometimes you’ll want to bounce your opponent’s Outpost to let your fleet slam in for big damage, but even cooler is returning one of your own powerful bases to hand so you can play it again!


Establishing number of secret Pokemon cards per quarterly release

Pokémon Trading Card Game Online, official simulator of the card game, has all cards available, including all secret rares. You can access all cards e.g. through Collection mode with checkbox Show Not Owned checked.


Just like the delayed triggered ability and the activated ability of Mimic Vat, the first two abilities of Dance of Many are linked [CR 607.2c], and so are the first and third abilities. The ruling from Parallel Lives applies.

  607.2c If an object has an activated or triggered ability printed on it that puts one or more objects onto the battlefield and an ability printed on it that refers to objects "put onto the battlefield with [this object]," those abilities are linked. The second can refer only to objects put onto the battlefield as a result of the first.

"The token" in the second and third ability is short for "the token put on the battlefield by Dance of Many", and refers to that which the first ability created [CR 607.1]. Since

  put a token that's a copy of target nontoken creature onto the battlefield.

was replaced with

  put two tokens that's a copy of target nontoken creature onto the battlefield.

that which was created was two tokens, so both tokens get exiled if Dance of the Many leaves the battlefield, and Dance of the Many gets sacrificed if either token leaves the battlefield.


Can you use an ability and scrap a card in the same turn?

According to the Star Realms rules, I think your interpretation is correct: you may play a card for its trade value, then scrap it in the same turn.

The relevant text (in the third row, top):

  When a Ship is played, its Primary Abjility triggers immediately.  If
  a ship has an Ally and/or Scrap ability, you may choose to use one or
  both of these abilities any time during your Main Phase (provided you
  fulfill the obligations for doing so).

Your interpretation is supported too from the Main Phase description:

  At any time during your Main Phase, you may perform any of the following actions, in any order you wish:

And then finally, under Using Abilities:

  With the exception of a Ship's Primary Ability, players may use the various abilities of their in-play ships and Bases at any time during their Main Phase.  Each ability may be used just once each turn. (emphasis mine)

Since a ship has more than one ability (primary, scrap), each ability is only being used once per turn, too.


You can put lands onto the battlefield with Ugin's ability because you are not playing lands (a special action limited to once a turn) you are just putting them onto the battlefield.

115.2a Playing a land is a special action. To play a land, a player puts that land onto the battlefield from the zone it was in (usually that player’s hand). By default, a player can take this action only once during each of his or her turns. A player can take this action any time he or she has priority and the stack is empty during a main phase of his or her turn.
305.4. Effects may also allow players to “put” lands onto the battlefield. This isn’t the same as “playing a land” and doesn’t count as a land played during the current turn.


Reasoning for Soul Warden and Ajani's Pridemate interaction

It's pretty simple. Angel/Pridemate has to enter the battlefield to trigger Soul Warden. This means when the life-gain trigger resolves, the Angel/Pridemate will be able to see this and trigger themselves. So it's not actually a matter of specifically ordering the stack at all. It's actually just a chain of triggers.

As a list of steps (assumes no responses from anyone):

You have Soul Sister on the field
You cast Angel/Pridemate
All players pass priority
Angel/Pridemate resolves and enters the field
Sister's life-gain triggers because a creature entered your field
All players pass priority
Sister's trigger resolves and you gain 1 life
Angel/Pridemate's ability triggers because you gained life
All players pass priority
Angel/Pridemate gets a counter


Can an ability that returns a creature to hand save it from an ability that would exile it?

When you put the exile ability of your card (call it E) on the stack, your opponent gets priority and will be able to react by playing e.g. an instant or in this case, any card abiltity which can be played as an instant. Lantern Spirit's ability is such an ability; it will be put on the stack as well, and unless you react on it (e.g. with another instant), it will resolve before E. This is a bit counterintuitive (unless you're a programmer and heard about stacks before) - why should an ability/spell which is cast later resolve earlier? – but this is how Magic works. Lantern Spirit will return to its owner's hand and E will (if Lantern Spirit is its only target) 'fizzle', i.e. have no effect, because its target has already changed zones. It won't exile the card from its owner's hand.


Can Beat Cop be discarded during another player’s turn?

Yes. Any player can use free actions, like the Beat Cop's ability, during any player window, including during another player's turn.

From the rules reference.

  Free triggered abilities ([free action symbol (squiggle)] triggered ability  may be triggered as a player ability during any player window.

and

  The red boxes are player windows. Players may use [free action symbol] triggered abilities in these windows.

See pages 23 and 26 of the rules reference for the timing of the player windows.


Breaking an unknown rule had major effect on our Monopoly game, how do we resolve it after we learn the rule?

The rules don't specify how to handle this, but I would fall back on the second following player rolls the dice provision for collecting rent.

When learning a new game, there will always be occasions when a rule is initially missed, and then discovered later. There must be limits on how far back to attempt reconciliation, so adopting a limit already in the Rules is a sensible compromise.

First games should always be recognized as a learning exercise for all players; complete this game quickly, and offer a prompt rematch to assuage any ill feelings. Remember that making the mistake once, in a game situation, is likely the very best way to remember the rule going forward.


Can a clone of a double-sided planeswalker transform?

No, a Clone'd creature cannot transform because Clone is not a double-faced card, even though it copies one face of a double-faced card. If you activate the ability, the Clone will be exiled and stay in exile.
First of all, to flip a card has its own meaning in Magic. It is a mechanic used exclusively in the Kamigawa block. Even though transforming a card is the spiritual successor to flipping, they are very different mechanics. Nicol Bolas, the Ravager transforms into a planeswalker.

110.6. A permanent’s status is its physical state. There are four status categories, each of which has two possible values: tapped/untapped, flipped/unflipped, face up/face down, and phased in/phased out. Each permanent always has one of these values for each of these categories.
701.27. Transform
701.27a To transform a permanent, turn it over so that its other face is up. Only permanents represented by double-faced cards can transform. (See rule 711, “Double-Faced Cards.”)

Second, you can activate the Clone'd Nicol Bolas' ability and exile it, but it will stay in exile. Following the instructions of Nicol Bolas' ability, you exile the Clone, but it will not return to the battlefield. It will stay in exile:

711.8a If a player is instructed to put a card that isn’t a double-faced card onto the battlefield transformed, that card stays in its current zone.

A Clone copy of Nicol Bolas, the Ravager cannot transform into anything, even if you didn't have to exile the Clone:

711.1. A double-faced card has a Magic card face on each side rather than a Magic card face on one side and a Magic card back on the other. Each face may have abilities that allow the card to “transform,” or turn over to its other face. Tokens and cards with a Magic card back can’t transform. (See rule 701.27, “Transform.”)
701.27c If a spell or ability instructs a player to transform a permanent that isn’t represented by a double-faced card, nothing happens.


Do free buildings give accumulated victory points?

I don't see why you wouldn't get the gems. The quest on your cards says:

Put 1 building from Builder's Hall into play and under your control
at no cost.

The rules for Builder's Hall say:

Choose one of the face-up Buildings available for purchase and pay
its Gold cost. You immediately score any VP for that Building and
place its tile in one of the open spots on the board. Place one of
your control markers on that tile to show you are the owner. After you
purchase a Building, immediately draw the top tile of the Building
stack and place it face-up on the vacated space.

So after paying the gold cost of Zero you would surely take the gems and then fill the vacated space with a new building.  Usually if in a game you don't get something the mission card should state you don't get the gems.
The Lords Of WaterDeep FAQ at BGG also answers this question specifically saying you take the gems.  BGG game FAQ:

Q: Does an effect that places a building, or puts a building into play count as buying/purchasing the building?
A: No. You count as having bought a building only if you assign an agent to "Builder's Hall" and pay the gold cost of the building. Putting a building into play by other means (such as by completing the "Lure Artisans of Mirabar" quest) does not count as buying the building. However, if you put a building into play under your control from "Builder's Hall" and that building has any VP tokens on it, you gain those VP's regardless of whether you bought it or simply put it in play.


What happens when Annihilation is played in combat on a monster that is not the last played card?

If you target any monster in a multi monster combat situation that monster will be removed from the game. Since it was removed from the game it will no longer have any impact on the combat that is taking place.


Does Doubling Season affect planeswalkers?

A planeswalker enters the battlefield with double the normal counters, but the counters gained or lost from activating one of its abilities are unchanged.

Doubling Season doubles the loyalty counters placed on a planeswalker entering the battlefield.

You've correctly identified the relevant rules.

From the comp rules:

  306.5b A planeswalker is treated as if its text box included, "This permanent
  enters the battlefield with a number of loyalty counters on it equal
  to its printed loyalty number." This ability creates a replacement
  effect.

And Doubling Season's Oracle rulings:

  10/1/2005: Doubling Season affects cards that "enter the battlefield with" a
  certain number of counters. Triskelion, for example, would enter the
  battlefield with six +1/+1 counters on it rather than three.

Doubling Season does not affect loyalty gain and loss from paying the costs for planeswalker abilities.

The loyalty spent or gained to activate a loyalty ability is a cost:

  606.4. The cost to activate a loyalty ability of a permanent is to put on or remove from that permanent a certain number of loyalty counters,
  as shown by the loyalty symbol in the ability's cost.

The game rules distinguish between costs and effects. A cost is a payment you make to perform an action:

  117.1. A cost is an action or payment necessary to take another action or to stop another action from taking place. To pay a cost, a player
  carries out the instructions specified by the spell, ability, or
  effect that contains that cost.

An effect is the result of that action:

  609.1. An effect is something that happens in the game as a result of a spell or ability. When a spell, activated ability, or triggered
  ability resolves, it may create one or more one-shot or continuous
  effects. Static abilities may create one or more continuous effects.
  Text itself is never an effect.

Taken together, these two rules mean that paying a cost is not an effect. While cards can change costs, Doubling Season's card text specifies "effects," so loyalty abilities are not impacted.

Here's confirmation from a level 2 judge.

Doubling Season does double the loyalty counters place on a planeswalker by an effect.

Just for completeness' sake: effects, however, are effects.

For example, Gideon, Champion of Justice has an ability that reads:

  +1: Put a loyalty counter on Gideon, Champion of Justice for each creature target opponent controls.

This has two parts:

The "+1" is a cost and is unaffected by Doubling Season (see above).
The "Put a loyalty counter..." part is an effect and is modified by Doubling Season.

So if your opponent had three creatures and you activate Bad Gideon's +1 ability with a Doubling Season in play, Gideon would gain seven counters: +1 when activating the ability, +6 (+3 doubled) when it resolves.

Likewise, if a card like Clockspinning or Inexorable Tide puts loyalty counters on a planeswalker, that effect will be doubled.


The ally does not need to have enough to make the bid before the transfer, as long as the ally has enough to

The rulebook indicates:

  The Lazax may give his ally any amount of influence during this
  Bidding Phase. This influence must be given before the player makes a
  legal bid on the current Strategy card.  The ally
  is not required to bid all of the influence given

(Note the implication that the ally is very much allowed to bid influence that has just been given.)

Then, in the rules for bidding:

  Bid: If a player wishes to bid, he announces how much influence he is
  willing to pay for the card. ... A player cannot bid more influence
  than he has in his reserve.

The transfer from the Lazax comes before the player makes the bid, and the requirement is only that the player has enough to cover the bid at the time the player makes the bid.

In your example, Sol would be able to receive influence from Lazax and then subsequently make a bit with it.


Do people commonly play collectible card games without shuffling?

There are variants of Magic that remove deck shuffling and other sources of non-determinism, but they also make other major modifications that make the game very different from normal Magic.

One example is 3-Card Blind, in which any number of players each submit a deck containing 3 cards. Gameplay is as normal, except that attempting to draw from an empty library does not result in a loss, and players have an unlimited number of basic lands outside the game that they can play. The players do not play out games, instead each pairwise matchup is analyzed to determine which player would win on the play and on the draw with perfect play.

If you look at regular Magic, with decks and otherwise normal gameplay, removing shuffling would have cascading effects on the rest of the game.

Combo decks become a lot more powerful when the card order is determined in advance. A land combo deck will do a lot better if they can guarantee that their opening hand contains Dark Depths, Thespian's Stage, and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. A Goblin Charbelcher deck will be a lot more consistent if the opening hand always contains a land, 3 fast mana sources, Goblin Charbelcher, and Lion's Eye Diamond. A Death's Shadow player would (probably) like nothing more than to have 4 Street Wraiths in their top 10 cards.

Starting with a shuffled deck also generally requires that the distribution of cards in the deck matches the distribution of cards in a good opening hand, but this is not so with stacked decks. Some cards are balanced around this fact. Mind Funeral, for example, becomes a lot more powerful in a format where players will generally play fewer lands, and keep them near the top of their libraries. Trench Gorger is a lot better when you can have 40 lands and put them all of the bottom of the library without mana flooding every game.

Search effects are balanced around the fact that you shuffle afterwards. It would change the effect to be able to choose which card to remove from the sequence without modifying anticipated future draws. Scry effects in decks with search effects would becomes stronger, while cards like Brainstorm become weaker.

If you want to avoid all of these kinds of problems, you would have to remove every card that searches the library (e.g. Diabolic Tutor), or requires shuffling (e.g. Green Sun's Zenith or Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre), or cares about libraries being shuffled (e.g. Psychic Surgery) or is balanced around library order being unknown (e.g. anything with Cascade), or is balanced around card distribution being within a certain range (e.g. Mind Funeral), and probably others that I haven't thought of. And you would also want to remove any one- or two-turn combos, to avoid moving from the randomness of shuffled libraries to the randomness of the coin flip that determines who plays first. Removing that much of the card pool would have an unpredictable effect on how the remaining cards are balanced against each other.

And there are further balance issues on the rules side that would need to be considered. Does it still make sense to have 20 life, and a minimum of 60 cards in the library, and 7 cards in the opening hand? Should deck size still have just a minimum, and not a maximum? Is the second player's extra draw still necessary to balance the first turn advantage? Is it sufficient?


Can creatures abilities target that creature itself?

Can Spikeshot Goblin have itself as a target with its ability: "Tap: Spikeshot Goblin deals damage equal to its power to target creature or player"?

Yes. Spikeshot Goblin is a creature, and unless it somehow gains protection from red, shroud, etc. it's a valid target for its own ability.

  114.5. A spell or ability on the stack is an illegal target for itself.

This only means the ability can't target itself, i.e. the ability itself. This is only relevant in rare cases; one example (for spells) would be that you can't change the target of a Counterspell on the stack to itself. (If you want to counter a Counterspell with e.g. Misdirection, you have to retarget Counterspell to Misdirection; when Counterspell tries to resolve, it will then fizzle because the Misdirection is no longer a valid target, and the original target of Counterspell will not be countered.)


Will Counterbalance counter storm copies?

No, Counterbalance only counters the original Storm spell.

  706.10. To copy a spell or activated ability means to put a copy of it onto the stack; a copy of a spell isn’t cast and a copy of an activated ability isn’t activated. [...]

Since the copies are not cast, Counterbalance never triggers for them.


Can Aquamoeba beat Glory Seeker with discards?

It used to be the case that you could do this:

Declare attackers and blockers
Activate the Aquamoeba's ability
Resolve the stack
Put 3 combat damage on the stack
Activate the Aquamoeba's ability again
Resolve stack

This would cause the Aquamoeba to have 3 power when damage was assigned but have 3 toughness when damage was resolved, killing the 2/2 but leaving the Aquamoeba alive.

However, changes to the combat rules for Magic 2010 were made that specifically prevented this. Now damage does not use the stack and is assigned and applied in one step, so the Aquamoeba can be either 1/3 at the time (and both survive) or 3/1 at the time (and both die).