All Questions
20
votes
2answers
966 views
Comparisons Betwen Deck-Building Games
I never played Magic. I briefly tried the original Vampire: The Masquerade (V:TM) themed CCG (Jyhad?). I had some Illuminati: New World Order (INWO) cards. I bought and listlessly toyed with a deck of ...
17
votes
6answers
783 views
Game piece storage
I have a number of games that come in large boxes that do not have sectioned compartments for individual pieces. Whenever I take them over to people's houses everything rattles around and gets mixed ...
11
votes
16answers
3k views
What are some good 8 player games? [closed]
What's a good strategy game for 8 players? Many games can be played by 8 players, but suffer from a loss of pace, and long waits between turns. What games have parallel planning phases, or lots of ...
10
votes
5answers
388 views
What is the difference between thickness and heavy stones?
Thickness in Go describes a strong formation of stones. A heavy group is one that's over-concentrated. How do I know when my stones are thick, without going too far and becoming heavy? It seems ...
10
votes
2answers
764 views
Cupboard size for storing board games
We're currently in the process of furnishing the 'games' room* in our house and we're planning to get some storage units to go along one wall. I'm interested to know if anyone has recommendations as ...
9
votes
4answers
2k views
What's the difference between Puerto Rico and San Juan?
I've heard people describe San Juan as Puerto Rico's little brother. What's actually the difference?
How is the game-play changed?
Is it any easier to teach new people?
Is it worth buying if I ...
5
votes
4answers
1k views
Axis and Allies 2nd Edition: to Pearl Harbor or not to Pearl Harbor
When playing as Japan in Axis and Allies, 2nd edition, should Japan attack Pearl Harbor on its first turn?
If so, why and what force structure do you use? Do your actions depend on what Russia and ...
21
votes
2answers
625 views
How can we play a shorter but satisfying game of Arkham Horror?
I've only played about half a dozen games of Arkham Horror, and they ranged in length from about 3 hours to aborting after 8. These were all games with 5-6 players, with just the base game (no ...
19
votes
2answers
1k views
How can I tell when to take a mulligan in Magic?
Determining when to mulligan is a very important skill in magic. But how can I hone my abilities in that skill? Obviously if I had no/all land I'd probably want to mulligan as the opportunity to ...
17
votes
8answers
949 views
How can I effectively use the Coppersmith?
I've been playing Dominion with the base + Intrigue sets for a while now, and one of the cards that I have trouble wrapping my mind around is the Coppersmith.
In theory, it seems like a great card - ...
17
votes
7answers
743 views
How do I avoid the endless trade negotiations in Settlers of Catan?
When I play Settlers of Catan, I often find myself rapidly bored by the trading component of the game. This is normally because of one or two players who insist on endlessly protracted negotiations ...
15
votes
6answers
2k views
In Monopoly, Is it OK for a third party to make a trade with a player who is about to lose?
I play with some serious board gamers, but we have neglected Monopoly for a number of years, so our knowledge is mostly based on high school & house rules.
We played last week and enjoyed it, but ...
14
votes
3answers
793 views
Settlers of Catan Data
I'd like to do some statistical analysis on Catan games, but to do that I need data. Does anyone know of a place I can find empirical data on Catan play? The stronger the players, the better.
Awesome ...
12
votes
4answers
2k views
Does “Going Infinite” necessarily end the game?
I've seen a variety of combinations that will allow a player to "go infinite"* in life, power, toughness or simply create an endless loop**.
In the case of the endless loop, I understand why it ...
9
votes
4answers
7k views
Learning to build multi-color decks in Magic
I'm a MTG noob, and currently I've only built single-color decks. However, I want to explore the art of building decks that use cards of multiple colors.
What are the advantages of a multicolor ...
7
votes
2answers
269 views
How likely are you to lose because Fool's Landing sinks into the abyss?
Since I like probability questions, and tttpp brought it up, I figured it might be interesting to calculate how likely you are to lose on the first turn in Forbidden Island, because Fool's Landing ...
5
votes
2answers
251 views
Is there a way to approximate Hold'em blind increases to time a game?
At a poker night I organise with friends, we're currently ratifying a set of rules.
For the blind structure, at the moment, we start with blinds of 5/10 and increase the blinds every 15 minutes.
If ...
15
votes
8answers
464 views
Pre-drawing cards or tiles
This goes for many games where players take turns to draw cards, but I specifically wondered about Carcassonne:
Do you allow players to pre-draw tiles? So they don't have to wait until it's their ...
15
votes
1answer
680 views
What happens when you need to tear-down a hotel but no houses are in the bank in Monopoly?
Strictly following the rules of Monopoly will show that just because you have the cash to out-right buy hotels for your properties, you cannot if there are not enough houses in the bank to support an ...
14
votes
4answers
378 views
What is optimal end play in Settlers?
Part of what makes Settlers of Catan both balanced and exciting are two sets of slow-the-leader rules: The robber and trade embargoes. While this means you have a chance to win even after a slow start ...
14
votes
11answers
567 views
How to reduce slow starts at the beginning of the game?
We recently played a game of Settlers of Catan where for the first 3 rounds none of us got any brick at all, so there was no road construction at all and it dragged a little. I'm not looking to reduce ...
14
votes
2answers
2k views
Catan : Multiple extension combination
I just bought the extension Cities and Knights (I don't know the rules very well at the moment).
I already have the base game and the Seafarers of Catan.
Is it possible to combine, on the same ...
13
votes
2answers
324 views
Are professional ranks representative for how many stones of handicap players can give each other?
It was mentioned elsewhere that a 9p could not give 7 stones to a 2p. I have no databases available and wondered if this is correct.
Bonus: If they aren't representative, why not? And is there a ...
13
votes
2answers
7k views
What is the term for a stalemate in Checkers?
What is the term for a stalemate in Checkers? What are the official conditions for a "no winner game"?
12
votes
3answers
622 views
Why are beginning to intermediate bridge players told to delay learning how to bid certain types of unusual hands?
When learning modern bidding (Standard American 5 card majors in my case), I noticed that the system's bidding techniques and common conventions described good ways of getting to a reasonable contract ...
11
votes
1answer
311 views
Housing shortage in Monopoly
So the rules of Monopoly state that you can't buy a house if there are no houses left for sale. You can't even pay all at once and buy a Hotel if there aren't enough houses to place 4 on the property ...
10
votes
2answers
308 views
Are copied spells cast from the graveyard?
If you copy Increasing Confusion or any other "cast from the graveyard" spell with Increasing Vengeance, does the copy act like it was cast from the graveyard? Or, since the copy technically was not ...
10
votes
7answers
2k views
Is there any way to rehabilitate the “junk rare” Lost In The Woods?
I've really been enjoying the incredible Innistrad set, and advance previews of Dark Ascension (on the Wizards official site and elsewhere) have been living up to it so far. However, I had to do a ...
9
votes
1answer
1k views
What is the resolution of tapping a blocking creature?
Let's say I have declared a blocker during the correct phase and during the activate abilities step I choose to tap the blocker to use its ability.
All the abilities resolve and now we move to the ...
9
votes
3answers
4k views
Does Wrath of God really destroy creatures with shroud?
I heard - (from an official MtG judge) - that Wrath of God ("Destroy all creatures") destroys creatures with the Shroud ability, because it doesn't target a single creature, it targets all creatures.
...
9
votes
1answer
1k views
What is the “En passant” rule in chess?
How useful is that rule and how many times we can use that in one game?
Under what conditions can the en passant rule be used?
How often does it come up and is it a good idea to use it?
8
votes
5answers
404 views
Promised future trades as part of legal trades? (Solution described, alternatives/comments requested)
When making a trade in Settlers of Catan, there is no official rule encouraging or prohibiting making a promise (to make a certain type of trade or perform some kind of action in the future) during a ...
8
votes
3answers
287 views
What are the restrictions on picking up locomotives?
If, after drawing one of the five cards from the face up train cards, and after replacing that card, the second card is drawn from the top of the deck and is a locomotive card, is the player allowed ...
7
votes
3answers
242 views
How do you handle fast players in a casual setting that skip priority?
This really isn't a problem in a tournament setting, because players are expected to know the rules, and will usually ask their opponent if they wish to take any actions before allowing a spell to ...
7
votes
4answers
2k views
Settlers of Catan play takes hours
I was under the impression that the play time in Settlers of Catan was more modest than say, Risk. However it seems almost as long. This is often due to a lot of trading and talk which drags on for a ...
6
votes
2answers
2k views
Does Cremate counter Flashback, Scavenge, and their ilk?
I'm looking at the card Cremate:
Cremate - {B}
Instant - common RTR
Exile target card from a graveyard.
Draw a card.
Now, can I use this to respond to a flashback or scavenge?
...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
In Axis and Allies, Should the U.S. Build a “Factory” in Brazil?
In Axis and Allies (original version), the basically maritime powers, the US and UK have a problem coming to grips with the land-based Axis. One solution is for them to buy industrial complexes in ...
4
votes
4answers
207 views
In bridge, are there some 13 point hands that should not be opened?
Suppose you have: (s) Jx (h)KQxx (d) KJxx (c) Kxx.
That's 13 points, by the usual count. But I can think of at least two things wrong with it.
First, there are no aces, meaning that the hand has ...
2
votes
1answer
395 views
How does metalcraft work in Two-Headed-Giant?
I'm playing Two-Headed-Giant and have a creature with metalcraft. I control 1 artifact and my teammate controls 2. Does my creature's metalcraft ability 'trigger'?
I know metalcraft says "if you ...
2
votes
2answers
368 views
Are there “established” systems where “Five Card Majors” isn't a strict rule?
In "Standard American," I must open a major with 65432 while refraining from opening a major with AKQJ.
IMHO, there are five card majors that are too weak to be opened and there four card majors that ...
2
votes
3answers
608 views
Can We Find a Middle Ground on the Russia First Turn Attack Rule In Allies and Axis?
Some (mainly Axis) players refuse to play Axis and Allies if Russia is allowed to attack on the first turn. Other (mainly Russian) players argue that Russia is unfairly hobbled if it has to play ...
-2
votes
1answer
209 views
Rules for 7 Wonders, Leaders and Cities?
Are the rules for 7 Wonders and the expansions Leaders and Cities available online?
26
votes
12answers
6k views
What are good standard strategies for Carcassonne ?
I've only just discovered Carcassonne (thanks to the iPhone app), but I keep losing (in 3-player games).
Which standard strategies are there? (game without extensions, 3-4 players).
One strategy per ...
13
votes
5answers
4k views
On-Demand Cards Deck printing service?
I'm designing a card-based rpg game and I'm looking for an equivalent to http://lulu.com but for printing online cards on demand.
The card would be either playing cards like Magic or similar, or ...
16
votes
9answers
2k views
Best Light Strategy Party Games? [closed]
I'm wondering, what are some good games for mixed gamer/non-gamer parties? I've had good luck with some light strategy games in the past, but nothing too serious. What's good, quick, and can easily ...
23
votes
8answers
495 views
Diplomacy “lite”? [closed]
I love Diplomacy. The alliances, intrigue, negotiation, backstabbing, and the relatively simple mechanics that help emphasize the diplomatic aspect over the game mechanics.
However, it can be hard to ...
16
votes
4answers
466 views
How would you “study” Risk?
This question is not about a particular situation in the game, but rather how to study the game in the sense of if I wanted to learn Scrabble, I would spend time focusing on how certain uncommon ...
15
votes
7answers
7k views
What is a good opening in Blokus?
I have played Blokus enough times to get a feel for the game and one thing that always bugs me is how to play the first few moves. There seem to be a couple of competing aims:
Get rid of big, ...
15
votes
7answers
3k views
What extra roles have you used with Werewolves?
The standard game Werewolf, has just a few roles: Citizen, Werewolf, Witch, Cupid, Hunter, Seer, Thief. I know there are lots of other roles created.
Which roles do you use and what is the impact.
...
8
votes
2answers
329 views
What set of attributes can be used to describe, compare and contrast various board games?
A recent question about a good mix of board games got me thinking about how one could even objectively define "a good mix".
My idea is to try and define a set of attributes that could describe, ...
