text:
How does the pool work in Glory to Rome?
I am reading my Glory to Rome instruction booklet and I do not understand how the pool works.
Are players free to choose any card they wish from the pool, or are they just supposed to draw the top card?

The Spanish version of the game has really badly translated instructions. The English version (latest version downloadable here) is clearer (emphasis added):

Place all the face up Order cards [which are revealed during setup] in the middle of the playing surface
  beside the pile of Jacks — they are the starting Pool.

Page 4 shows an image of the cards in the Pool face-up.

To answer the question directly, yes, you may choose any card you like from the pool, especially since they're face-up.


text:
What is the duration of copyright on a board game map?
If copyright on a board game map exists, how long will it last? When does the map become public domain?
For example, there are plenty of Sokoban maps on-line.
Some of them were created by Thinking Rabbit, some by Yoshio Murase.
When will their copyright expire?

This question appears to be off-topic because it is about legal advice.

If the "board game map" is subject to copyright restrictions, then it is protected for 70 years in the USA.

As a general rule, for works created after January 1, 1978, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years. For an anonymous work, a pseudonymous work, or a work made for hire, the copyright endures for a term of 95 years from the year of its first publication or a term of 120 years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first.

IANAL, this does not constitute legal advice. Puzzles cannot be protected by copyright, and neither can map layouts. A computer could probably create trillions of puzzles, many of them might be duplicates of those created by others. These puzzles follow algorithms for legal box pushing rules, so it is quite possible that these puzzles fall under mathematics which isn't subject to copyright protection. If you copy a complete collection of puzzles though, you might be in trouble. Copying individual puzzles from many different sources might constitute research. The Trivial Pursuit lawsuit might be of interest to you.

When you copy from one source, it’s called plagiarism; when you copy from many sources, it’s called research.
Worth's case was thrown out of court by Judge Wm Matthew Byrne, Jr. It never even came to trial. In 1987, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal, declaring that Trivial Pursuit was “substantially different” from “Super Trivia”. The courts decided that the presentation of facts in an encyclopedia, where entries are listed alphabetically, was very different from the rewriting of those same facts as questions, and their division into categories randomly picked on a Trivial Pursuit card

Currently in the US its 90 to 120 years or life of the author plus 70.  US lawmakers keep extending the copyright so that Mickey Mouse doesn't go into the public domain.  So anything printed in your life time won't be available in the public domain for a long time if you live in the US.  The copyright owners can release it earlier, but you'd have to contact the owner to find out if that's the case.
IANAL(I am not a lawyer, this is a layman's understanding of the law)
Someone else will have to elaborate on copyright laws in other countries.

In France, something drawn usually falls under the `droits d'auteur' (author rights) laws which protect one's creation 70 years after his death.

source: Stack Exchange

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

sort: votes


text:
Is team approval voting kept secret?
In The Resistance the rules state that everyone votes on the team selected by the team leader, and then reveals their votes.
However I was taught by a friend that the votes are randomized by the leader and then revealed to hide who voted what. This second way makes much more sense.
Is this a typo?
Has anyone played it both ways?

Why do you think the second way makes more sense? There's so little actual information to go on, at least the votes offer something that you can link to a person.

I agree with @shujaa. Often, pressing people on why they voted the way they did can out the saboteurs. In fact, that's one of the few ways of doing it!

The rules say to do it without randomizing. This is from official rules (you can find the PDF file here, emphasis is mine):

Mission Team Vote: After appropriate discussion, the Leader calls for
  a vote on the Team assignments. Each player, including the Leader,
  secretly selects one Vote Token. When all players have their selected
  Vote Token ready, the Leader asks for the Votes to be revealed. All
  players flip over their Vote Tokens so everyone can see how they
  Voted. The Mission Team is approved if the majority of Votes approved
  and fails if a majority rejected the assignments; a tied vote is also
  a rejection. If the Mission Team is approved, play continues in the
  Mission phase. If the Mission Team is rejected, the Leader passes in a
  clockwise manner and the Team building phase is repeated.

I actually don't agree with you that the second method makes much sense. You get way more information about the other players if you know how they voted in the past. Is player X always voting No, is he voting yes only if the player Y or himself get selected to the mission team? You wouldn't be able to tell any of that even after few rounds of play, and say, 10+ votes.
Another thing is convincig other players to vote for the team you want - if you know who voted No, then you present good argument why you think they should change their mind, and they got nothing to reply you with, or say that they agree with you... Then everyone will see if they actually changed their minds or only said so, but voted No anyway. If voting is secret, they could just listen to you, vote No anyway, and they say "Hey, I voted Yes, someone else must have changed his mind". And discussion can become dull.
I also think that randomizing votes would make things easier for the spies - they always should vote no (they might just win the round with 5 teams voted down), unless the team selected is perfect for they needs. They would never have to think harder than that, and that seems less fun for me. That's why I would generally be against secret voting, but might give it a try a couple of times. Hope this helps.
If you're interested in the history of the game, I'm sure you can easily see that The Resistance originates from Mafia/Werewolves games. In those games, players openly suggest who to "linch" each day, and voting is (at least in most cases) open for similar reasons. In the prototype version of The Resistance, actually using your thumb down/up was used to vote Yes/No, and this is the way I do it with in my group to this day.

+1 Good answer. Just wanted to say that the spies win the game if there are 5 failed votes in a round.

@tttppp Yes, you are right, this is the way to win the whole game for the spies, not the round.

page not found can you send a link again?

@User6675636b20796f7521 Thanks for letting me know. I've fixed broken URL.

I've been playing Resistance Avalon most of the time and I haven't read through the rules, but when I play the votes are anonymous and it had worked fine for us.
There are roles like Merlin who can use the anonymous vote to signal that there is someone evil on the team, but even when we play with no characters it has worked great. It definitely does give evil an advantage, but I like adding another layer of uncertainty.

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text:
Using Spells Effectively in Elder Sign
I'm a little confused about how to use spells effectively in Elder Sign. I understand that you play the spell before a task roll and then you can set aside as many dice as the spell has icons, whether you succeed or fail at the task. When is the best time to use a spell?
Is it mandatory to place dice on a spell once you've used it? Do I have to place a die even if it doesn't help me on the task in any way? If you don't get any icons that help with the task, then it seems like you are 'locking' a die, which is a big disadvantage.

The way spells function was actually amended in the Errata and subsequent mobile game, such that spells are instead cast after a player's roll - so you cast them only when you need them.
Full text from the errata:

Spells that hold dice are cast after a player’s roll, not before. The player looks at the roll, then, if he wishes to save a particular die, casts the spell and places the die on the spell. The ‘held’ die remains on the spell card until used to complete a task or until removed (as described below).
• Dice may have their results modified by items/abilities before being placed on a spell, but not afterwards.
• Before any roll, a player may remove some or all of the dice held on spells in order to roll them. Any spell that has no dice remaining on it is discarded. New dice cannot be added to a spell to replace those that were removed from it.
• If a die becomes locked while it is on a spell, the die is removed from the spell and locked. If the spell has no dice remaining on it, the spell is discarded.

Thanks. That makes a lot more sense than the rules as written.

Yup. For our first few games, before we actually read the original rules properly, we ended up accidentally playing spells 'wrongly' because it made much more sense to cast them after rolling.


text:
Do minor improvement actions have any meaning in the family version of Agricola?
Using the Agricola family ruleset, when a card specifically refers to "minor improvements" (for example "After family growth, play a minor improvement"), do I  ignore it or interpret it as "play a Major improvement"?

The rules are pretty clear, the Minor Improvement cards are not used, so you ignore it.

Agricola as a Family Game (for 1-5 people from 10 years)
In the simplified version of Agricola, the Occupation and Minor Improvement cards are not used - players do not have a hand of cards.
The first game board is turned face down, showing the "Agricola Family Game" side, and in a 3-5 player game only the "Family Game" Action cards are used.
The Major or Minor Improvement action is restricted to Major Improvements.
Otherwise, the rules are the same as for the full game.

I didn't think the rules were clear on this point though.  A line could have been added to the rules to deal specifically with that card.


text:
In Dungeon Petz, what is the optimal round to pick the "Inviting new imps" action space?
What is the optimal round to pick the "Inviting new imps" action space in a 2-, 3- and 4-player game, respectively?

First of all you want to do this action exactly twice a game.

First time early, it depends on your turn order and on your opponents move. Ideally it would be around second or third round, so that you get more then one new imp, but it is not too late in the game.
Second time is a trade-off between penalty from not getting all your imps and have them used more times, I would go for them in round 4. Make sure to get at least 2 new imps.

Consider going for imps additional time in last round if your opponents have lots of imps away to prevent opponents from getting them and so that they get penalty.


text:
Need help with the Peddler card in Dominion Prosperity
I love Dominion Prosperity, and understand all of the cards perfectly except for Peddler.  Can anyone explain it to me?  For some reason I just can't get it. Thanks!

Peddler is a market without the +Buy.
It would have been an unremarkable card if not for its unique price. The standard price is $8, which is the priciest action in the game, but you never really want to buy it at that cost. The below-the-line part reads:

During your Buy phase, this costs $2 less per Action card you have in
  play, but not less than $0.

This means that for every action you play in your turn, the price of Peddler goes down by $2 in the Buy phase, so if you played two Villages, for example, you can buy a Peddler for $4, which is a much more reasonable price for it.
Of course the more Actions you play in your turn the better it gets, and the more Buys you have the more free Peddlers you can get - if you play four or more actions, each additional buy is a free Peddler! Also note the phrasing Action card you have *in play*
, which means that a duration card from the previous turn (Caravan, Fishing Village, etc.) also counts as a cost reducer. The self-synergy of Peddler is also pretty nice, since the more Peddlers you have, the more you can play per turn thus lowering the price of Peddlers to buy more.
The icing on the cake is that fact that unlike Bridge, the price only goes down during the Buy phase, so you can Remodel a Peddler into a Province no matter how many actions you already played during your turn, since its price is always $8 during the Action phase.
As always, you can read more in this great Dominion Strategy guide.

With respect to the last paragraph: since it's from Prosperity, between Expand, Platinum, and Colony, you often can do way better than Provinces.

@Jefromi Sure, you can Expand it or Forge with Silver into a Colony. I added the Remodel bit to hint about the great trash-for-benefits options available.
However the fact it's from Prosperity doesn't mean it will always happen. I played a game recently where Peddler was the only Prosperity card, but with the help of Salvager it became crucial at the end game.

Related to the trash-for-benefit: the 8-cost also has significance when there's a Swindler around. Normally-immune Provinces suddenly become at risk. Of course, if you've bought out all the Peddlers, Swindlers might turn some into Provinces for you!

Note: Peddler costs $8 in the Black Market, unless lower due to Bridge or [that new card that lowers prices by one]

("That new card..." is Highway)

Peddler also works very well in decks with cards with +Actions and +Buys, especially if you have +Card cards in there too.  Worker's Village being a card that has all 3.


text:
Which effects affect both opponents and which only one in Two Headed Giant?
Say, for Cruel Edict I have to choose which one of my opponent's heads sacrifices a creature. But I think that Sudden Disappearance makes all of their permanents go away, not just one person's. Can someone tell me why?

Cruel Edict and Sudden Disappearance both only affect a single opponent. In general, the only cards that would affect both heads of an opponent in two headed giant (2HG) are cards that say each or all within the rules text (example: Heartless Hidetsugu), but this would be have the same effect in non-2HG duels or multiplayer games.
The only differences in 2HG with respect to rules text, is that players attack/defend in teams and take their turn as a team. A card that referred to an attacking or defending player would be referring to both members of the teams, or cards that add/skip turns or phases. The MtG Comprehensive Rules state:

810.7a Each team’s creatures attack the other team as a group. During the combat phase, the active team is the attacking team and each player on the active team is an attacking player. Likewise, the nonactive team is the defending team and each player on the nonactive team is a defending player.
Example: One player in a Two-Headed Giant game controls Teferi’s Moat, which says “As Teferi’s Moat enters the battlefield, choose a color.” and “Creatures of the chosen color without flying can’t attack you.” Creatures of the chosen color without flying can’t attack that player’s team.
Example: If an attacking creature has forestwalk and either player on the defending team controls a Forest, the creature can’t be blocked.
805.8 If an effect gives a player an extra turn or adds a phase or step to that player’s turn, that player’s team takes the extra turn, phase, or step. If an effect causes a player to skip a step, phase, or turn, that player’s team does so. If a single effect causes more than one player on the same team to add or skip the same step, phase, or turn, that team adds or skips only that step, phase, or turn. If an effect causes a player to control another player, the controller of that effect controls the affected player’s team.

You are also "sharing" turns.
A card that reads in part "target player takes an extra turn" will cause both heads to take an additional turn.
The same is true for controling another player's Turn (Mindslaver, Sorin Markov)

I missed that, I corrected my answer by rolling in yours +1

Sudden Disappearance affects only one opponent, even in Two-Headed Giant.
Players do not share control of permanents in Two-Headed Giant.

810.5. With the exception of life total and poison counters, a team’s resources (cards in hand, mana, and so on) are not shared in the Two-Headed Giant variant. Teammates may review each other’s hands and discuss strategies at any time. Teammates can’t manipulate each other’s cards or permanents.

Cards that refer to one opponent only affect one opponent. Cards that refer to multiple opponents affect both. The only change to what you'd expect from normal Magic is for certain cards that say "attacking player" or "defending player":

810.7b Any one-shot effect that refers to the “defending player” refers to one specific defending player, not to both of the defending players. The controller of the effect chooses which one the spell or ability refers to at the time the effect is applied. The same is true for any one-shot effect that refers to the “attacking player.”
Any characteristic-defining ability that refers to the “defending player” refers to one specific defending player, not to both of the defending players. The controller of the object with the
  characteristic-defining ability chooses which one the ability refers to at the time the nonactive players become defending players.
All other cases in which the “defending player” is referred to actually refer to both defending players. If the reference involves a positive comparison (such as asking whether the defending player controls an Island) or a relative comparison (such as asking whether you control more creatures than the defending player), it gets only one answer. This answer is “yes” if either defending player in the comparison would return a “yes” answer if compared individually. If the reference involves a negative comparison (such as asking whether the defending player controls no black permanents), it also gets only one answer. This answer is “yes” if performing the
  analogous positive comparison would return a “no” answer. The same is true for all other cases that refer to the “attacking player.”

(This is a duplicate of this answer. I'm posting it here instead of linking to it because the details are more relevant to this question than the metalcraft question.)


text:
Mimic Vat and Misthollow Griffin
Given that Misthollow Griffin can be cast from exile, if you somehow use Mimic Vat to imprint the Misthollow Griffin and then cast Misthollow Griffin and remove it from exile, can you still make Misthollow Griffin tokens via Mimic Vat?

No. The exiled card has ceased to be in exile, so the activated ability will be unable to find it when it resolves. Misthollow Griffin isn't even required for this question, sinceMimic Vat itself is constantly exiling creatures, and then returning those cards to their owners graveyard. You can no longer make copies of cards that were returned to their owners graveyards, neither can you copy Misthollow Griffin if it changes zones.
Mimic Vat contains linked abilities. The first triggered ability exiles cards when they die (technically, these do not have to be creature cards, they only need to be creatures when they die). The second activated ability returns a token copy of the card to the battlefield until the beginning of the next end step. There are some unusual corner cases where it is important to know which ability was responsible for exiling a particular card, if some card gains multiple exile abilities, since only the abilities that are linked are able to refer to the cards exiled in that way. (Note: The CR give an interesting example with Quicksilver Elemental, Arc-Slogger, and Sisters of Stone Death that I won't review here)

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

406.5. An object may have one ability printed on it that causes one or more cards to be exiled, and another ability that refers either to “the exiled cards” or to cards “exiled with [this object].” These abilities are linked: the second refers only to cards that have been exiled due to the first. See rule 607, “Linked Abilities.”

So, what happens if the card is no longer in exile (or is exiled again by some other effect)? It becomes a new object, with no relation to it's precious existence. What this means is that Mimic Vat cannot find the card that was exiled, and therefore cannot copy it.

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 seven exceptions to this rule: ... (seven exceptions removed for brevity, none apply)

406.6. If an object in the exile zone becomes exiled, it doesn’t change zones, but it becomes a new object that has just been exiled.

If the Misthollow Griffin leaves the exile zone, you cease to be able to make "a copy of the exiled card", as it no longer counts as "the exiled card".
It's not actually the fact of having been exiled at some point that makes a card an "exiled card", it's the fact of being in the exile zone.
I'd make an analogy of this with, let's say, an Aura that "enchants a green creature". If the creature later ceases to be green, the enchantment ceases to be valid. Likewise, with Mimic Vat, if the exiled card ceases to be exiled, it has broken the terms of the agreement (as it were) and is no longer copiable by the Vat.

No you cannot.
As with any imprint cards, the ability related to the imprinted card is only available as long as the imprinted card does not change zone, otherwise the game loses track of the relationship between Mimic Vat and the imprinted card.
For instance, a Chrome Mox would not produce mana if the imprinted card leaves the exile zone.

For info: I accepted your question edit as helpful, but there is a much simpler syntax, which will save you time in future: [mtg: Chrome Mox]. See Please add support for the magic autocard window for more details.

@ire_and_curses thanks for the tip, but from here the simplified form is just not working. It just gives the link to wizards site, with no popup of anysort. Tested on Chrome 21 and IE 9, Windows 7 64 bits. Also tested in the link you provided in the comment.

Indeed, linking to the site, not pop-up, is the expected implemented behaviour (you can see this in the comments, although it is not entirely obvious). I have re-raised this discussion though, because I think it wasn't very clearly explained the first time through. Personally, I think hover should be implemented. Feel free to upvote my request if you agree!

No, as of the November 18th Comprehensive Rules update, you may not make any tokens of any kind in this scenario.

111.11. If an effect instructs a player to create a token that is a copy of a nonexistent object, no token is created (see rule 707, “Copying Objects”). This does not apply to an effect that would use the last known information of an object.

Example: Mimic Vat has a triggered ability whose effect gives you the option to exile a card and an activated ability that says “Create a token that’s a copy of a card exiled with Mimic Vat. It gains haste. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step.” If no card has been exiled with Mimic Vat’s triggered ability, no token is created.

Prior to November 2022, it seemed a pretty settled question. But it could be argued (and there was no rule to stop your assertion) that since Mimic Vat could no longer find your Misthollow Griffin, you would obtain a token that is a copy of nothing.
This interesting omission was discussed in a recent Comprehensive Rules update.
The new rule joins the other rules in place to prohibit gaining, however small, an advantage from this scenario:

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.
I have omitted 12 exceptions here, that do not apply to this scenario.

406.5. Exiled cards that might return to the battlefield or any other zone should be kept in separate piles to keep track of their respective ways of returning. Exiled cards that may have an impact on the game due to their own abilities (such as cards with haunt) or the abilities of the cards that exiled them should likewise be kept in separate piles.

406.7. If an object in the exile zone becomes exiled, it doesn’t change zones, but it becomes a new object that has just been exiled.

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

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text:
Where can I get my Magic the Gathering play critiqued?
I started playing Magic again last year right after the release of Dark Ascension after a long hiatus. I decided to get more serious in trying to win, but I've hit a roadblock in my play. I go x-1 in my FNM booster drafts regularly, but also regularly lose to the top players at my store.
I also play the Swiss draft queues  on MTGO, but while I do win the tournaments there sometimes, many times I feel that I am not drafting the right archetype, missing signals, or not really playing well. This also applies to my deck building and play for Constructed as well (mostly Standard).
Is there a place where I can get my deck building choices and technical game play critiqued so that I can get better?

I usually check channelfireball articles on drafting. I read a shit load of draft picks that lsv makes, and sometimes he makes mistakes on draft picks but that's for you to figure out.

Interesting question. I would generally say that there's not much point having your play critiqued in general - you want to be critiqued by people who are better than you.  But the real pros are generally too busy winning drafts to offer commentaries on other people's (they'd be in serious demand if they weren't).
I therefore have an alternative suggestion: forget about other people discussing your play, just go to a good pro draft videos site like channelfireball.com and try to understand the choices they make (and discuss them with others in the comment section if you don't understand them).
That alone is a bit of a non-answer to your question, I guess.  If you really want to create transcripts of your drafts and offer them up for others to analyse, I'd recommend the MTGSalvation Limited forum.  Not that you can guarantee that people will be interested in going through your picks with a fine-toothed comb and debating them, but you stand a better chance there than in most places, I'd have thought...

This is the internet. I'm sure there are people willing to go through his picks, if he's willing to... record every pack (which I doubt his fellow drafters would appreciate). The only reasonable way to do it would be have your phone and take pics of each pack you have, then when you get home write up a report (a rough draft is okay... oh haha! I'm not funny...) and post it there. If you hand wrote every pack out, your fellow drafters wouldn't be very pleased.

There are loads of text-based drafts on Salvation, and even a few people willing to critique them.  Here's the first one I dug up: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=493463

I actually disagree with ignoring discussion about your play. In fact, you should listen to it closely, and evaluate their logic.

To piggyback on the answer of thesunneversets, look at how the pros play by watching their MTGO videos. You can find them on Channel Fireball and Starcitygames.
But there's a way you should watch them to get maximum benefit. At each decision point, pause the video and ask yourself what the right play is. This includes mulligan and sideboarding decisions.
Then, compare your play with what the pro does. If your play is different, try to figure out why the pro's play was better. Now, sometimes your play will be better but you better have a really good reason why.
To get more input on particular game states, take a screenshot of the game state and post it on MTG Salvation and ask them what play they would do.
If you do this type of practice a lot, you'll start thinking like a pro and then you can apply the concepts you learn into your game.
One thing though. This type of practice is draining and not particularly fun. It's much more fun to just keep playing games over and over again and hope that you're getting better.
By analyzing the pros' games, you'll be doing something out of your comfort zone. You will fail a lot and failure is not fun.
Consider the world class ice skater. She looks flawless in the Olympics. She makes difficult jumps look easy. However, if you were at her countless practices, you would see the hundreds of falls she experienced before she was able to nail those jumps perfectly. Falling down over and over is not fun.
You're going to have to have that same experience of falling down multiple times and learning from your falls before you actually become much better.
You can learn more about the process of improving skills by reading Talent is Overrated.
That book was super helpful to me for improving my game.
Oh yeah, one more thing. Regarding deck building, I would focus on technical play and just pick a tier one stock deck. Improving your technical play will lead to more wins than building a new deck.
Deck tuning is another matter. The only thing I would say about that is to know the card pool of the format and be mindful of the cards that are not pulling their weight as you play.
Once you've identified the worst cards in your deck, go through the card pool and try to find better alternatives. If you can't find any, then maybe the deck is just flawed or not good enough for the metagame. It might be time to choose another deck.

Welcome to the site! I particularly like your point about tuning vs. building from scratch. Creating a top-tier competitive deck requires lost of attention to detail. It's much easier to learn that -- because you can more clearly see the results of your actions -- if you start with a strong foundation rather than an unpolished first draft.

I think the best way, as I have found out, to get a deck critiqued is when you've just lost your competitive match, shake your opponent's hand and ask him/her how you lost your game, or how you could have won your game.
Almost all my opponents were eager to explain their paths to victory, and point out the mistakes in my gameplay choices. No one else quite knows your deck's weaknesses than the person sitting in front of you actively trying to dig for those said weaknesses.

One tip that the brilliant Magic podcast Limited Resources advocates is noting down your mistakes as you play. Bring a pad, and every time you realise that there was a better play, note it. See if you can spot patterns, areas where you consistently play "loose" (for example, playing out cards before combat so your opponent knows you don't have a trick), even if you still win.
Obviously this means you play slower, but if you're looking to improve, the first step is spotting where you make mistakes.
The same thing applies to the draft. You don't have to note down the whole pack, but you should be noting which cards you were torn between (just the initials should do), and what cards you really should have considered in light of what you saw later when you played.
One thing I heard recommended is to look at the visual spoiler for the set, and make a judgement on every card, especially the Commons/Uncommons, which are what really matter in Draft. Then listen to someone else's set review (I'm going to recommend the LRCast again), and see how they disagree. Then play. See who was right. Do their criticisms have value? Do yours?

If you are playing in live tournaments (such as FNM) you can use your friends/acquaintances that are better than you to help you improve.
If you finish your game first: Go over to their game and stand behind and pretend you're playing in their position. What would you do, why would you do it? Then see what they did do and try to figure out why. After the game you discuss why they played as they did.
If your friend finishes his game first. He'll come and watch your game from your point of view and you have the same discussion afterwards.
One important thing that's easy to overlook is that you also should discuss plays even if you came up with the same decision. You might have done it for different reasons.

Either you have a close friend which will discuss things with you, or practice drafts at cockatrice (it's "illegally" free, but it's useful to increase your draft and constructed, since it cost you no money at all).
After you learn stuffs, then move back to MTGO / real life drafts.
This apply to constructed as well.
Source : personal experience.

Cockatrice isn't illegal in any way.

It is. It's why they need to move to woogerworks

It's not. If you'd like I can explain in chat since it's not relevant to this question.

Well, i thought it's. Thanks for your goodwill, but actually, i don't care about it's legality. It's still my favorite way to play magic. At least it "was", since i'm on a hiatus.


text:
In solo play, can you play one Special Action every round in addition to placing family?
The rules state: "In each round, the Solo player can use exactly one of the Special actions shown on the face-up card."
My question is, can this be done in addition to placing each of my family members?  Or is it just like the 2+ player rules where you can either place a family member, or take a special action?  I just got the game and am not clear on this point.

During your round, you must play all your people, one at a time, and you may also use one Special Action from the current face-up Special Action card. So you perform the following loop:
Each round:
As long as you have people still in your house:

Play a family member or
Play your Special Action if you haven't played it yet

So you choose to play the Special Action instead of a playing a family member. In multi-player, this distinction is important, because if you take the Special Action, someone else could respond by taking a key resource or board Action that you also wanted. In solo play, this doesn't matter, because no one is going to deny you any space on the board.
Just to be clear, in neither the solo or multi-player rules do Special Actions stop you from subsequently using a family member. You can still play a Special Action, and use all your people. It's just that you can only do one at a time, and then each other player gets a go, where they may play a family member or Special Action, and so on. The rules on p.3 are quite clear:

There is a distinction between a Person Action and a Special Action. To take a Person Action, place one Person marker on the game board. Instead of taking a Person Action, a player can take a Special Action card and carry out at most one of the Special Actions that are described on it.
This player's Person markers remain in her home, to be used for additional Actions later in the Round.

(emphasis mine)


text:
Can I buy an "underneath" Major Improvement without paying for the top one first?
Can I purchase a Major Improvement card that is underneath another Major Improvement without first having to buy the top improvement?

Ha, at first I assumed this was a "silly question" but re-reading the rules, they are criminally unclear about the fact that an Major Improvement can only be bought if it is "on top". +1

No, you have to buy the Major improvement that is above first. This isn't explicitly defined, but it is implied on p.2 of the rules:

An advantage of placing 12 of the 14 new Major Improvements underneath others at the start of the game is that the use of the cards does not need to be explained in detail at the start of the game. The only two new Major Improvements that need to be explained are the Peat-charcoal Kiln and the Forester's Lodge.

There are also Minor Improvements which change the order of the stacking, again implying that the order is significant. For example, the Pastoral Letter (p.30):

If the Well has not yet been built, you can immediately place it under the Village Church. (The Well and the Village Church swap places.)...

Finally, this is confirmed in a response on BGG by Hanno Girke, a game designer who founded Lookout Games along with Uwe Rosenburg (designer of Agricola):

Major Improvements are now stacked. There are 12 stacks of 2 cards
  each. Only after the top card is bought, the other card is revealed
  and available for purchase.


text:
When should you take a scholar early in "In The Year of the Dragon"?
In what cases does it pay off to take a scholar character early in the game?

The quick answer is: only if nobody else is doing it.
Scholars + research can be worth a lot of points. You'll start with a scholar and take another one early, then choose research as much as you can afford to. The other big advantage is that if it's not being fought over, you'll save money by choosing the research tile, and you can let your person points slide. If you have to pay to choose the research tile, this advantage goes away.
The disadvantage, of course, is that it doesn't help you gain any resources, so you need to look at the events. If plague is going to kill your scholars, or you're going to run out of building space, you need to handle those crises rather than wasting time on doomed scholars.


text:
Shipping goods on an empty vessel in Puerto Rico
In a recent game of Puerto Rico, I had the following situation. It was shipping time, and I had some corn and some indigo. There already was a ship half full of corn and an empty ship, too. My question is:
Did I have to ship the corn? Or could I choose to send indigo on the empty ship instead?

Under page 6 of the rules explains all the rules for the Captain phase. Starting with the captain, each player in turn chooses a good that they can ship, and ships all goods of that kind or the the most that they can if there are not enough ship spaces available. Therefore:

If the corn boat wasn't full, you can choose to ship all the corn you own that would fit in the remaining spaces.
If neither of the remaining boats have any indigo on them, you can choose an empty boat to ship all the indigo that you own (you must choose the largest ship possible if you have more goods than will fit in the remaining empty boats).

Loading/shipping rules: When shipping, players must follow these rules:

Each cargo ship will carry goods on only one kind.

Players may not load goods on a cargo ship if goods of that same kind are on one of the other two cargo ships.

Players may not load goods on a full ship.

On a player's turn, he must load goods if he can. However, he may only load one kind of goods.

When a players loads good of a kind, he must load as many of that kind as he can. A player cannot hold back goods where there is space on a cargo ship carrying the kind of goods he has. If a player has a kind of goods that can be loaded on several empty ships, he must choose the ship where he can load the most goods, leaving none behind, if possible.

If a player has several kinds of goods that he can load, he may choose freely, which goods to load. He need not choose the goods that would allow him to load the most barrels.

quote: "you must choose the largest ship possible if you have more goods than will fit in the remaining empty boats" why? maybe you want the smallest ship for some reason??

@gbianchi, I confess, my group have been playing this rule wrong. It is the second to last rule listed above (just above the bold)

wow, we played bad it also.. And I have to check the rules on Board Game arena and BrettspielWelt, since I don't think there are good there (or Maybe it never happen??). add the clarification on the side note of the rules: "She chooses the sugar and loads her 6 sugar barrels on the 7 space ship (she may not choose the 5 space ship as she could not load all 6 sugar)"

@gbianchi, I confess that this rule has made a difference in some of my early games. I used to ship 4 corn on a small ship leaving 1 left over to ship on a Wharf (scoring 2 Harbor bonus VP instead of 1)

Keep in mind that shipping takes place in several turns, going around the table starting with the player that chose Captain. On your turn, you must load a good if you are able. This means that you could choose to load all your indigo on the empty ship (provided that the third ship is not already carrying indigo--there can be only one ship carrying each kind of good), or you could load as much of your corn as you can onto the half-full corn ship. On your next turn, once each other player has had an opportunity to load, you must load the other good, if possible. Only once all allowable loading has finished and all players have passed does the Captain phase end.
If, for some reason, you wanted to not ship the corn, you would have to ship the indigo and hope that another player filled up the corn ship on their next opportunity. This happens more frequently when you have an expensive good like coffee or tobacco that you are hoping to trade rather than ship.
A couple points, summarized from the rulebook (p. 6)

Each ship can only hold one kind of good.
There can be only one ship of each kind.
On your turn, if you have any loadable goods (with a legal space on any ship) you must choose one of those goods and load as much of it as possible. However, you are under no obligation to make the choice that will load the most barrels.
If you have a choice of multiple empty ships, and enough of the good you are shipping to more than fill up the smallest, you must choose a ship that is large enough to load all the goods, if you can, or the largest empty ship otherwise.
You are not obligated to use a wharf to ship if you happen to own one. (p. 9)


text:
Is there a bonus card when playing the Ticket to Ride USA 1910 Expansion in Big Cities mode?
Is there a bonus card (either longest route or globetrotter) when playing the Ticket to Ride USA 1910 Expansion in Big Cities mode?  There is no mention of it in the rules.  Is this an oversight?

I believe that you don't use either bonus card in the Big Cities version of the game (as it's not suggested that you should in the rulebook).
This interpretation is backed up by the computer version and the ruleset found in the computer version, which don't use a bonus card.


text:
In Village (2011) are the winning strategies really balanced?
I've been playing Village often with my girl (2 player game only) - it is more a matter of making more points than actually competing (as in blocking the other player). I have not, so far, played the game with more than 2 players.
However, what I noticed is that the "easy" way to get points is selling on the market. Can it actually be beaten? I've tried, at the beginning of several games to do something different, like "in this game, I will settle for politics" - or religion, or whatever. At mid-game, no matter what, I have to resort to create and sell some goods to keep up with the points.

It turned out we had misinterpreted the rules and were playing with more cards available on the market - as if it was a 4 player game, but in a 2 player game.

Firstly, I would say that you can block the other players, particularly with the single cube on the market.
Is the other player building up a stock of things to sell on the market? Trigger the market day early. They will, at the very least, have to spend green cubes and time to sell their goods (and won't have stocked up on so much to sell); if they don't have green cubes (or can't afford the time) then all the better.
Secondly, I would suggest that a winning strategy does not necessarily need to be monomaniacally focused on a single area; politics can be used to grease the wheels of travel by providing you with the cubes etc.

:-) Having to resort to pick the Market action in order to stop anyone from winning through the market sort of makes my point: one has to pick the market action, or perish.

I disagree. Your point was that you had to sell things on the market (and therefore spend actions building up the necessaries to sell on the market). The counter only involves a single action; you trigger the market day.


text:
Does "each creature" include all creatures on the battlefield?
I'm referring to Pyroclasm. I want to make sure it deals damage to all creatures on the battlefield.

Barring multiplayer range of influence rules (see comprehensive rule section 801), each creature means that each (therefore, every) creature on the battlefield will be dealt damage.
If you're interested in the nitty-gritty comprehensive rules which spell this out, this is a consequence of comprehensive rule:

609.2. Effects apply only to permanents unless the instruction's text states otherwise or they clearly can apply only to objects in one or more other zones.
Example: An effect that changes all lands into creatures won't alter land cards in players' graveyards. But an effect that says spells cost more to cast will apply only to spells on the stack, since a spell is always on the stack while a player is casting it.

Knowing:

110.1. A permanent is a card or token on the battlefield. A permanent remains on the battlefield indefinitely. A card or token becomes a permanent as it enters the battlefield and it stops being a permanent as it's moved to another zone by an effect or rule.

Also remember:

119.1a Damage can't be dealt to an object that's neither a creature nor a planeswalker.

A particularly tricky opponent could Ghostly Flicker their Blinkmoth Nexus in response to your Pyroclasm and save it. When the 'Flicker resolves, the Nexus would return to the battlefield having no memory of being a creature a moment before.

Yes.
"creature" means "creature permanent" which means "creature card or token on the battlefield".

109.2. If a spell or ability uses a description of an object that includes a card type or subtype, but doesn’t include the word “card,” “spell,” “source,” or “scheme,” it means a permanent of that card type or subtype on the battlefield.


text:
Why couldn't this hand win with ron?
I have just started learning Japanese Mahjong and I am a bit lost as to why this hand failed.
I did several pons and chis over the course of a hand, having a total of three open melds (one set and two sequences).
Apart from these I had an incomplete bamboo sequence of II and III as well as a pair of dragons, therefore I was on a single wait for I or IV bamboo stick tile. When the IV tile appeared in one of the discards of other players, I was given a choice to do another chi and declare another open meld, but I couldn't win with a ron. Why was that?
Am I wrong that winning by ron guarantees a single needed yaku to win a hand, just like Closed Tsumo does?
After declaring the chi I was offered with, my hand was left with a single pair of tiles, one of which I had to discard.
Eventually the round finished with a draw.
Why couldn't I win this hand with a ron on the IV bamboo tile, and why was I given only the choice of chi instead?

Calling ron does not give you a yaku.  What it will do is increase the fu count of your hand, but only if the hand is closed.  However, winning from a ron on an open hand does not increase the point value at all; contrarily, you could instead claim a 2-fu bonus by winning on a tsumo.
Once your hand is opened, the only way to win is to have a yaku that does not rely on a closed hand.  Opening your hand before you have a guaranteed yaku, or a good chance of building one, is often a mistake; not only does keeping your hand closed increase the number of yaku you can potentially make (especially "easy" yaku such as pinfu and tanyao), but you also have the option of adding the needed yaku just by calling riichi on an otherwise worthless hand.
If you do decide to open your hand, some common open-hand yaku which can be built follow:

Yakuhai: A complete set (not pair) of dragons, seat wind, or table wind.
Chanta: Every set contains either honor tiles, or at least one terminal (1 or 9) tile.
Itsu: Three melds "123", "456", "789" of a single suit.
Honitsu: All tiles, except for honor tiles, comprise a single suit.
Toitoi: Every set is either three or four of a kind (i.e. no chi melds)

Some rulesets also allow a yaku for an open tanyao (no honors or terminal tiles).  There are of course others, but I find these listed above are typically the easiest to make on an open hand, especially if you open early.
Even if you can't memorize all of the yaku-bearing hands yet, it's worth it to at least memorize these ones for when you choose to go the open-hand route.

That said, given the (incomplete) description of your hand, your best bet would've been to wait for a third dragon so as to claim a yakuhai yaku, and hoping to complete a pair involving one of your two bamboo tiles (while tossing the other).  Calling chi on the bamboo actually harmed your hand, since you no longer had any reliable way to form any yaku.
Not knowing the makeup of your open melds, I don't know if calling chi on a I Bamboo (instead of a IV Bamboo) would've completed a chanta (or possibly an itsu) hand; even if it was possible, it would still be a risky wait as passing on the IV Bamboo (while waiting on the I Bamboo) would put you into furiten.

Thank you! I must have misinterpreted the rules and somehow I was sure, that with an open hand I can't call tsumo without apparent yakus, but I can win with a ron. You have clarified this to me perfectly - now I understand. Thanks!

It may sometimes be useful to open your hand as the wall shrinks, even if you won't meet the yaku limit, simply to ensure your hand is in tenpai. This nets you points on an exhaustive draw.
A partially open hand in temporary furiten (by passing on a completing tile) can call a meld that would be a duplicate to end the temporary furiten (instead of waiting for a turn to pass).
As well as that, some rule sets will provide yaku for "events" rather than hands - for example, winning on the last draw/discard of the round.

I found this page that explicitly states the problem in the OP.

Essentially, certain properties of the hand give multipliers (yaku [役]). At least one multiplier is necessary for the hand to win.

Multiplier, or "fan", is based on properties of the hand or how it was won (yaku). For instance, a fully concealed hand (menzenchin tsumohou [門前清模和]) gives 1 yaku, so the win condition is satisfied. In the example given in the OP, no multipliers apply. For a list of multiplier sources, see here.
Other common sources of yaku include:

fanpai [翻牌] / yakuhai [役牌] - "Pon of honors" - A tri or a quad in any element / the round or position wind.
tanyaochuu [断幺] - "No Terminals" - A hand with no terminals/honors. (Sometimes required to be closed though - this depends on the actual rules in effect)

The OP may have confused Ron with Riichi.  If you declare Riichi (hand is in Tenpai - one tile from completion), then stealing the last tile with Ron satisfies a Yaku.   But it is the declaration of Riichi that is the Yaku in this situation, and not the final Ron call.


text:
Trick-taking card game, where you aim to reach zero points?
My family has been playing this card game for years but no one knows what it is called.
You start by dealing out 5 cards to everyone, then flip the next card, which marks the trump suit. The dealer can pick up that card and discard one from his hand face down. Then you go around the table and say if you are in or out, but the dealer has to be in.
Scoring: you start with 21 points and every trick lowers your points. If you get skunked you get 5 points added to your score. You want to get to exactly zero.
What is the name of this game?

This sounds like a trick taking game in the Rams group.

Rams group: in these games players have the opportunity to drop out after seeing their hands, but anyone who stays in and fails to make their quota of tricks suffers a penalty.

None of these seem to match the rules you state exactly.
Raub starts at 21, with players trying to get to 0 points. But, it is played with 4 cards, when you fail to score a trick you add +4.
Loo: doesn't have the starting total, with players winning shares of the pot for the proportion of tricks they take, with players that take none having to pay into the pot.
Bourre: also isn't a perfect fit. It also has a pot like Loo, has players who fail to take tricks paying into the pot. It does have the first revealed card to indicate trump.

My parents played this game back in the day and they called it donut cause of the circle around the skunk when players go up 5 points

My family always called it "Cut Throat".  Apparently it's also known as "Cut throat Euchre" or "Club Buck Euchre".

It looks like you just copied a portion of the question. You can [edit] your answer to include more helpful information instead of just repeating the question.


text:
What are the requirements for the achievements in Ticket to Ride: Europe?
In the electronic 'pocket' version of Ticket to Ride: Europe, I would like to acquire all the achievements, but I must have misunderstood some of them. Even when I think I've accomplished them, I do not get them. In particular:

"win while connecting all 4 surrounding countries"- which 4 countries are we talking about, surrounding what? Each other? Like Austria, Hungary, Italy and Croatia e.g.?
"win without claiming any tunnel route". I've won many times without using a single tunnel, but still no achievement. A route can be finished with or without tunnels, but does this requirement mean that when I get the map, there is no possible tunnel involved between the two cities?

I assume you're talking about an electronic version of the game.  If someone here can answer, great.  Otherwise, you might want to try asking on our sister site devoted to video games, arqade.com.

thanks for the advise! I did not know that the achievements are only in the electronic version....

This question is valid on both sites.  Arqade is a much larger site but boardgame questions aren't the focus there.  Feel free to ask your questions on whichever site makes the most sense for you.

The basic requirement is to purchase the Switzerland map expansion as an in-app purchase and complete the achievements using that map.
For the achievement Chocolate Exporter you must connect all four countries (France, Germany, Austria, and Italy). To complete this, priority number one is to actually connect the four countries. This will take most of your trains and many of your turns. Try and grab as many country tickets as you can, but don't push it, they're relatively high value. Avoid non-country tickets as you probably won't have enough trains to complete them.
Here is an example board showing a victory with all four countries connected

and here is the achievement

For the achievement Valley Commuter you must not claim any tunnel routes on the Switzerland map. To complete this, grab as many tickets as you can that can be completed without a tunnel. It's relatively easy to connect most of the cities that don't require tunnels, at which point many of the tickets you will grab will be already completed.
Here is an example board showing a victory with no tunnel routes claimed

and here is the achievement


text:
Another aspect of regeneration in Magic the Gathering?
I read most of the articles about regeneration in MTG, but my question albeit being somewhat basic, still finds no answer. Here's the scenario:
I attack with a creature that has the ability to regenerate. My opponent blocks it with a deathtouch creature. I paid the regeneration cost before attacking. I know my creature is to be tapped, remove all damage, survive the destruction effect, then be removed from combat. What I want to know is does my creature deals its combat damage to my opponent's creature before it is pulled out of combat by its ability?
(I would say yes, because the damage is done in a step before the 'death' effect triggers, hence I regenerate post-combat damage. But somehow my friend doubted that, and it made me doubt too.)

Re: "the 'death' effect triggers", deathtouch is not a triggered ability.

Deathtouch is no longer a triggered ability, this change is as of 2010 rules.

Yes, combat damage is dealt simultaneously.

510.1. First, the active player announces how each attacking creature assigns its combat damage, then the defending player announces how each blocking creature assigns its combat damage. This turn-based action doesn't use the stack. A player assigns a creature's combat damage according to the following rules:
510.2. Second, all combat damage that's been assigned is dealt simultaneously. This turn-based action doesn't use the stack. No player has the chance to cast spells or activate abilities between the time combat damage is assigned and the time it's dealt. This is a change from previous rules.

Your regenerating creature will assign its combat damage if it survives to the Combat Damage Step in which it will deal damage (I.e. if the defending creature had First Strike, and your creature did not, it may receive lethal damage before getting to its Combat Damage Step. The Combat phase is divided into 5 steps.

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

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

If a creature is removed from combat before the Combat Damage Step, it will not assign or deal any damage. Setting up a regeneration shield is not one of the listed methods of removing a creature from combat.

it leaves play
it regenerates [CR 419.6b]
its controller changes
it stops being a creature
an effect removes it from combat

Yes. Both creatures deal their damage simultaneously [CR 510.2].
Even if the damage wasn't dealt simultaneously, they would still both deal damage to each other because nothing dies when having damage dealt to it!! The damage is simply marked on the creature [CR 119.3e]. Shortly after, state-based actions are checked and performed. That's when the creatures are killed or regeneration occurs [CR 704.5g and 704.5h]. (All those occur simultaneously too [CR 704.3].)
(Infect and Wither cause -1/-1 counters to be given instead having damage marked. But similarly, it's an SBA that later kills the creature for having non-positive toughness [CR 704.5f].)

Referenced rules:

510.2. Second, all combat damage that’s been assigned is dealt simultaneously. This turn-based action doesn’t use the stack. No player has the chance to cast spells or activate abilities between the time combat damage is assigned and the time it’s dealt. This is a change from previous rules.
119.3e Damage dealt to a creature by a source with neither wither nor infect causes that much damage to be marked on that creature.
704.5f If a creature has toughness 0 or less, it’s put into its owner’s graveyard. Regeneration can’t replace this event.
704.5g If a creature has toughness greater than 0, and the total damage marked on it is greater than or equal to its toughness, that creature has been dealt lethal damage and is destroyed. Regeneration can replace this event.
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.

I made some additions to round out the answer.


text:
Battlestar Galactica: what is the most critical resource?
In the Battlestar Galactica basic game, what is the most critical resource between Fuel, Food, Morale and Population?
Does it change with the 6-player FFG optional rule where humans start with 8 Fuel, 7 Food, 9 Morale and 10 Population?

In our gaming group, we have a saying: " humans never lose on food." It's not quite literally true, but it's very rare.

As with most games, it depends. It would most likely shift some using the variant rule as well, but it isn't clear to me exactly which way. You lose the game if any resource hits 0, but depending upon different game states, different resources may be more important than others. For example, if you are already at 8 distance, you can probably safely allow Fuel to be reduced to 1 rather than Morale which comes up more often on the Crisis cards. If your President is a cylon on the other hand, they most likely won't be giving Inspirational Speeches to improve your morale (even worse, if your Admiral is a cylon too). Which characters are being played in the game, and which (if any) are cylons probably has the biggest effect on the importance of individual resources.
Here is an analysis that someone wrote up on BGG.  The major points are:

Fuel: You start with 8, and you need to travel 8. There are 21 destination cards, and most Destination cards allow you to move one, at the cost of one fuel. You need to save/gain fuel at some point. One third of the cards allow you to move 2, but only cost 1 fuel. Of the 70 Crisis cards, 10 can cost you fuel, but in half of those the Admiral is given a choice of losing other resources instead. If the Admiral isn't a cylon, it is unlikely you will run out of fuel.
Food: You start with 8. Food is a volatile resource. Food Shortage shows up 9 times in the crisis deck, and the President has the option of throwing away cards or losing food. On 6 other skill check cards, if you fail to pass you lose food, these vary in color. Food is one of the few resources where it is possible to lose two steps in a single turn. If the President isn't a cylon, it is unlikely you will run out of food.
Morale: You start with 10. Morale is very skill check dependent, and in 19 of the 70 cards it is possible to lose morale. Most checks are Green and Yellow. Most of the skill check are pretty easy to pass. In 9 of the cards, the Admiral has a choice of losing Morale or other resources. The president can give Inspirational Speeches to raise morale (4 of 17 Quorum cards). Horde Yellow and Green cards to avoid losing Morale, and pray your Admiral isn't a cylon.
Population You start with 12. Most civilian ships have 1 population. 12 Skill checks have the potential of losing population, but 4 of those give you a choice, leaving only 8 must pass skill checks. The checks are usually very hard to pass, and usually require tactics. If you defend your civilian ships, you can use the FTL early, and lose 5 skill checks, and still not lose due to 0 population. If you don't lose civilian ships to cylon attacks, you can jump early and avoid more Crisis cards.

You also might want to check out a rather detailed distribution of the cards in Battlestar Galactica.

It really varies based on how things turn out.
Fuel: this you know you will be using it as you travel. If you're low, you can always scout ahead to get the good destinations, but it's hard to regain and you have to burn fuel.
Food: with all of the food and water shortages in the deck, some games can drain this quickly. If you're getting these, it becomes quite vital. Galactica and civilians have some to lose also.
Morale: many cards have morale losses. It's easy to lose and is on cards with options of losing it. Keep in mind the president can make a speech to improve morale. Other than that, it's hard to regain.
Population: cards don't kill as many people. Some do, but be careful. If you draw lots of blue cards, or can't scramble pilots quickly, you could be in trouble. The civilian ships have a lot of population. Lose the double population ships, and you'll go down fast. Late fame, if you haven't had civilian ship loss, this can still be very high. It starts higher than the others, so it makes a great spot to dump losses.

It's different with each game.  That's why you can't just give the humans an advantage and arbitrarily picking one resource to start at one more.  You'd have to make it dynamic where the first one to go to 0 gets bumped back up, then whichever resource is at 0 at the end of any player's turn will result in human loss and game over.
Fuel -- mostly lost through Destination card.  The admiral has solid control over this, although other characters who draw purple can use Launch scout to make this more favorable or less.  Oh, the Destination cards (Tylium Refinery) that let you risk a raptor to get +2 Fuel is a lifesaver if you're low on Fuel, but at only 1 distance, you're subjecting yourself to more crisis cards, and can lose via Morale more easily now.  If you have a cylon admiral, you definitely need to brig him to strip him of that title.  Losses also include 1 civvy ship, 1 Galactica damage token, and few crisis cards, especially Admiral Chooses ones.
Food -- mostly lost through crisis cards, like President Chooses.  1 Gally damage token for food.  However, Food tends to be a dump resource.  A sort of gag is if you lost by Food, than that's a bit shameful.  However, I've played over 80 games, and we have lost to Food b/c we couldn't afford the other resources, and in the end, something had to give.
Morale -- Even though you start off with 10 Morale and only 8 Food, Morale losses are more common since the crisis deck disproportionately targets Morale.  1 civvy ship that results in loss of this.  While there are 4 Inspirational Speeches in the Qcard deck, the Quorum cards still need to be gone through, and a 6+ still needs to get rolled, so don't count on this!
Pop -- mostly through civvy ships, although some games, more of these are lost in using FTL Control at -3 or -1.  Some crisis cards also cause loss of this.
For all of them, Destination deck also contains a few scant losses and getting them back


text:
Diana Stanley dreams of a sunken city
Does Diana Stanley gain sanity from doom tokens when the environment "Dream of a Sunken City" is in play?
Diana Stanley's unique ability:

Dark Insight - Any Phase: Gain 1 Sanity or 1 Stamina each time a doom token is added to the Ancient One's doom track

Dreams of a Sunken City Mythos card:

Mythos Ability: Investigators cannot gain Sanity except by receiving psychiatric care at Arkham Asylum (or from Carolyn Fern).

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.

No. The mythos card says "investigators cannot gain sanity" with a couple exceptions, and her ability says "gain sanity" and is not one of the exceptions. She can of course still gain stamina, though.


text:
How much space do I need to play with all the Arkham Horror expansions?
How much table space do I need to play with all the Arkham Horror expansions?
The main game Arkham Horror and the expansions Dunwich Horror, Kingsport Horror, Innsmouth Horror and Miskatonic Horror, all have game boards with locations.
Are all of the boards the same size as the original board? Also, several expansions contain new decks that should be placed in their own stacks. How does that affect the required space and layout?
Is it possible to play with all the expansions at the same time?

The main board is 2'x3' and each expansion board is 2'x1' (1/3 the size of the main board), which lends itself to two different configurations if you want to use all the boards.
2'x6' and 3'x4'
Also, as the second picture demonstrates, you can make clever use of business card holders to hold the cards using less space. Make sure too keep in mind that you'll also need to have enough space for each of the investigators.
When I've played with all the expansions at home I use two folding tables. I'll use a 6' folding table for the boards (It's about 2.5' wide, so can semi-comfortably fit investigators with items around one side if you push the board to the edge), and then I employ the use of a 4' folding table off to the side for all of the decks. This could easily be an endtable or whatever, I just happen to have a second, smaller folding table. The smaller table allows space for more investigators as well though. Which you'll need if you play with 10 investigators! (Since each expansion board after the first 'reduces' your effective investigator count, you can use 10 investigators without any of the limits breaking).
So yes, completely possible to  use all the expansions at the same time!

It's worth noting that the 3'x4' configuration only works because it's one person playing four characters. Also, although playing with all expansions is certainly possible, I wouldn't recommend it as being particularly fun. It seems to unbalance the game and makes turns very complicated (did I remember...?).


text:
Can a powered-down robot be repaired at a workshop?
When a robot is powered down it loses all damage tokens, but can collect new ones by laser fire.
If a damaged, powered-down robot is standing on a workshop at the end of its turn: Does it lose one damage token?
Is the same answer also true for getting option cards?

Yes, robots can still receive damage tokens while powered down. From Page 5 of the rulebook under Power Down:

Other robots can push a powered-down robot, and the robot can still be damaged (such as by laser fire), Because of that, a robot that’s powered down may receive new Damage tokens during the turn

Yes, you still repair damage and collect option cards. (Page 5)

The robot doesn’t receive or execute Program cards and doesn’t move while powered down, but board elements still affect it.

And page 8:

Repairs & Upgrades - Robots on a single-wrench space discard 1 Damage token. Robots on a crossed wrench/hammer space discard 1 Damage token AND draw one Option card.

Note: My answer is based upon the most recent rules available from Wizards of the Coast. There seems to be some differences between older printings of this game. This thread claims to link to a text version of the 1994 rules that indicate:

A powered-down robot is completely shut down--it can't fire weapons, tag checkpoints, or update its archive location, nor can it acquire or use option cards. Powered-down robots don't move under their own power (they receive no program cards), but they may be moved by pushers, gears, and conveyor belts. They may also be pushed by other robots and shot at by lasers

Am I right that the updated rules (which are the ones that I have as well) do not explicitly state that powered-down robots cannot shoot their laser?

The quoted rule about repaired damage doesn't sound right to me.  'Board Elements,' to me, classifies anything that moves the robot, not the wrench/workshop squares.  This is because its supposed to be challenging to land on that spot again and again to collect option cards...not so easy as to do it once every other turn for free.

The new rules seem fair - you get repaired, but you cannot take any option cards. And if you powered down and you still have damage that needs to be repaired, chances are you need it - so it seems fair.


text:
Do card sleeves contain BPA?
Does anyone know if card sleeves commonly contain Bisphenol A (BPA)? And if so, which brands do, and which are BPA free? I would prefer to use BPA-free sleeves if possible. I have not had any luck finding an answer to this question.

Related skeptics question: http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/2202/does-regularly-drinking-from-a-plastic-container-cause-cancer/2207#2207

To answer the question, there are a lot of plastics that are suitable for use as card sleeves. None of them use Bisphenol-A as a plasticizer or monomer; that particular chemical is used primarily to make polycarbonates, which while optically clear are generally too stiff for use as flexible sheets or films (though they're great for applications requiring high impact resistance, like eye protection). So, you don't have to worry about Bisphenol A in your card protectors.
The two plastics you're most likely to see as clear films in your card protectors are poly-ethyl terephthalate (PET), and poly-vinyl chloride (PVC).
PET in fibrous form is known commercially as polyester, though in the chemical industry there are a lot of "poly-esters". This one is formed by bonding ethylene glycol into chains using a phthalate diester to glue them together. As a plastic, it's commonly used in disposable food storage containers, especially soda bottles. It's also commonly used for blister and clamshell product packaging. PET replaced cellulose acetate as a film stock for photos and movies, and also for transparent overlays, so it's definitely got the optical clarity to be used for card protectors.
The dangers of PET come when it's heated. It's perfectly stable at cold to tepid temperatures, making it just fine for packaging refrigerated foods, but when heated it can release the phthalate compounds into the food. Most of us get plenty of exposure to phthalates, and the vast majority do no real harm, but some combinations of alkyl-phthalates are endocrine disruptors which cause hormonal changes, and can cause birth defects and certain cancers.
Poly-vinyl chloride is one of the "wonder-plastics" that was used to do everything, until it fell off its pedestal. It still does a lot; it's seen in drainage and irrigation piping, upholstery, clothing, suction cups, self-adhesive window clings, clear flex tubing, clamshell and bubble packaging, and a host of other uses. It's generally prized for its toughness, even when it's plasticized beyond all recognition; a lot of other polymers lose too much of their tensile strength when too much plasticizer enters the picture.
Now the bad news. First off, the vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) turns out to be carcinogenic; it's fine as a polymer, but people making the stuff and people who come into prolonged contact with severely degraded PVC products can be at risk. Second, most usages of PVC require it to be more flexible than it is in its raw form, requiring the addition of a plasticizer. This is usually a phthalate, like in PET, but here it's a "mix-in"; the phthalate compound works itself into the polymer structure to "loosen" and "space out" the polymer chains, making them flexible. This means they're more readily released under the right conditions (brand-new vinyl products will even "off-gas" excess plasticizer for a few months after they're made and there's not much you can do about it). Some of the phthalates used in PVC cause even more problems than Bisphenol-A; there is evidence to show that a common plasticizer used in PVC piping, di-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), causes feminizing characteristics in males, male obesity, and cardiac problems.
So I guess the moral of the story is, don't put your card protectors in the microwave along with your lunch.
There are a few safe alternatives if you can find them:

Polypropylene is a food-grade plastic used for a variety of applications from food storage containers to durable consumer goods. One form of it, biaxially-oriented polypropylene or BOPP, is made by extruding and then stretching a sheet of the plastic in perpendicular directions, aligning the polymer chains. When this is done, the material becomes crystal clear, and is used in this form for bags holding snack foods, shredded cheeses, candies, salad greens, etc. The material has no plasticisers and so is food-safe, as well as being dishwasher and microwave safe, making it good for food storage containers. BOPP would definitely be clear enough to hold your cards; in fact it's used for sleeves to hold comic books and trading cards. However, heat-bonded seals between layers of the stuff are more delicate than with other plastics (when re-heated it gets harder), and there's a tradeoff between overall durability and clarity; too thick and the plastic starts turning milky.
Polyethylene is the other major food-safe plastic. It comes in two basic types; low-density and high-density, both of which are generally microwave and dishwasher safe. HDPE is used for milk jugs, butter tubs, and a host of thin-walled flexible containers like for chocolate syrup; low-density is used in reusable squeeze bottles, and also in sheet-based products such as Ziploc bags, drop cloths, vapor barrier, etc. Much like polypropylene, polyethylene doesn't need a plasticizer, so it's safe for food prep and storage, and is another common plastic for food storage containers, especially the more disposable kind like Gladware. The downside it that it's never really crystal-clear; it always has that slightly milky, hazy look like looking through a freezer bag.

Most card sleeves are made with Polypropylene (Type 5) which is unlikely to contain BPA.

Plastic Containers Made with BPA Used in Food Preparation. Plastic containers have recycle codes on the bottom. Ingeneral,plastics that are marked with recycle codes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are very unlikely to contain BPA. Some, but not all, plastics that are marked with recycle code 7 may be made with BPA.

Two of the most popular card sleeves are Mayday Games and Ultra Pro, both are made of polypropylene.
BPA is a chemical that has been around for years, and it would be quite difficult to avoid any contact with it anyway.

BPA stands for bisphenol A. BPA is an industrial chemical that has been used to make certain plastics and resins since the 1960s. In particular, BPA is found in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins.
Polycarbonate plastics are often used in containers that store food and beverages, such as water bottles, and baby bottles and cups. [...] toys and other consumer goods. [...] food cans, baby formula cans, bottle tops and water supply lines. [...] dental sealants and composites [...] and thermal paper products, such as cash register receipts [...]

The studies that claim BPA might pose a danger have methodological issues

The European Food Safety Authority (ERAS) - said that the amount considered safe to ingest on a daily basis for life should be raised by a factor of five.
Many of the studies that show adverse effects in rodents given small doses of bisphenol A subcutaneous injections. Most of the studies in rodents that did not show adverse effects even in high doses used the oral route.
there is "a 500,000 fold difference between the lowest oral exposures in animals associated with any adverse effects and the oral human exposure," [...] By any measure, this does not constitute a health risk. We get vastly more estrogenic chemicals from eating nuts, cereals and bread.

Thanks for the feedback. I know I can't avoid all contact with it, but I'd prefer to reduce contact when feasible. There has been much talk of BPA being absorbed through the skin (particularly receipts), which was my primary concern.

@Tanner, as long as you don't intend on injecting the card sleeves under your skin, you should be ok.

Agree that BPA hasn't been shown to be a concern for just casual contact (BPA degrades rapidly in air.) It has been banned in baby bottles in many jurisdictions because it has been shown to leech faster out of plastic into hot water compared to cold water (and persists in liquids, it doesn't degrade;) infants are getting warm milk and are more sensitive to low doses of such things.

@ghoppe, except for the reason for banning BPA, what you say is true, but also misleading. Given that the FDA estimates that children intake double what adults do, but this only amounts to 0.2-0.4 micrograms/kw-bw/day, there is little if any risk to BPA exposure to infants.


text:
Are normal infection cards still drawn after a player draws an epidemic card?
I didn't see a clear explanation for this in the rule book so I wanted to double-check.
If a player draws an epidemic card during their turn do they still need to draw from the infection pile as normal? Or is that skipped since the epidemic card already added diseases somewhere?

Also see the Common Pandemic Mistakes thread on BGG, which covers this question, among others.

You still perform the normal draws from the infection deck, after increasing the infection rate, infecting a new city with 3 cubes, and increasing the intensity of the infection.

If a card is an Epidemic card, instead of taking the card in hand, refer to the rules for Epidemics, below. After drawing the required cards, take on the role of the Infector. See Playing the Infector on page 7.
Playing the Infector - Draw cards from the Infection Draw Pile equal to the current Infection Rate and add one cube to the pictured cities, using a cube of the same color as each card. (Page 7)


text:
Why didn't my station complete the route?
I needed to get from Riga to Bucaresti. I had trains connecting Riga to Kyiv, but the route from Kyiv to Bucaresti was taken by another player. I played a station on Kyiv, but the route did not complete (I'm playing the iPhone version).
What am I misunderstanding about the use of stations?

I have no idea if the iPhone version is any different from the board-game version.  This site can answer according to the board-game rules, but if your problem is specific to the iPhone implementation it may be better posed over on Gaming.SE.

I have found out that the electronic version of the game does NOT immediately show tickets using stations as complete, because as @goldPseudo said below, you can only use ONE of your opponent's routes out of a given city, and the game doesn't know which route you want to use until the end of the game. It will give you credit for routes completed with properly-used stations when it tallies up your score at the end.

A Train Station allows its owner to use one, and only one, of the
  routes belonging to another player, into (or out of) that city to help
  him connect the cities on his Destination Tickets.

As per the instructions (emphasis mine), a station can only be used on a single route into or out of the city on which it's placed.  Even if the route from Riga to Kyiv was complete (and I'll assume you double-checked that), the Kyiv station could not be used to complete the ticket if it was already being used to connect a different route (i.e. via Kyiv-Warszawa, Kyiv-Smolensk, Kyiv-Wilno, Kyiv-Kharkov or Kyiv-Budapest).
If the Kyiv station was already prescribed to a different route, you could still complete the ticket by activating the Kyiv-Bucaresti line through a station placed on Bucaresti instead.

As for the electronic version of the game, it does not immediately show tickets as complete if they rely on stations; since only one of the routes out of any given city can be used, and which route that may be is not decided until after the game is over (but before the score is calculated), the game doesn't know which route you want to use until the end of the game. It will give you credit for routes completed with properly-used stations when it tallies up your score at the end.

The station, when played, only works for one chunk of track. In the boardgame version, players usually move the station physically over the track being used, thus helping to visualize the "one, and only one"...
Note that, page 6 of the rules for TTR:Europe, the following:

If a player uses the same Station to help connect cities on several different Tickets, he must use the same route into the city with the Station for all
  of those Tickets. The Train Station owner does not need to decide which route he will use until the end of the game.

(Emphasis mine.)
So, in the case of the OP's issue, obviously, another route was used (probably for other tickets).
Having played both the computer version and the tabletop version, however, occasionally the computer version glitches on stations, using it for the lower value route.

I think the electronic version just uses the station for the first ticket that requires it.  This is usually but not always the right answer.


text:
Hesitating as bluff
The contracting player leads a trump. As the next player I make an obvious hesitation before playing my singleton 10 of trumps. At the end of the hand my opponent, who did not call the director, complained that I made an "unethical" hesitation, which he took to mean I had the jack of trumps.
Does he have a case?

In an ACBL tournament, yes, your play is improper.. In fact, hesitating in this situation is specifically called out as unacceptable. From the Laws of Duplicate Bridge, in the section under Proprieties: (emphasis mine)
"A player may not attempt to mislead an opponent by means of remark or gesture, through the haste or hesitancy of a call or play (as in hesitating before playing a singleton), or by the manner in which the call or play is made."

Should you always wait exactly the same time before playing then? This rule seems rather ridiculous. You might as well have a rule of "A player may not infer anything about another's hand based on their remarks, gestures or through haste or hesitancy."

Ah looking at the rest of the rules both giving and acting on any information are against the rules. It seems it is best to always play a card after a short pause, to avoid breaking the rules.

Yes, you are supposed to attempt to play with an even tempo. In fact, if you're about to make an unexpectedly high bid, you are supposed to call "Stop" beforehand--then your next opponent is required to pause before bidding anyway, so not undue information is gained. http://www.pagat.com/boston/bridge.html

The "ethics" of bridge are higher than for other games, such as poker.
In poker, it is perfectly ethical to bluff. Not so, in bridge.
Basically, you should not hesitate when the choice is obvious. You ARE allowed to falsecard when you have, say, J-T. Then if you hesitate, it makes more sense (but you should then falsecard the J if you hesitate).
The only excuse for hesitating with the single T is if you ALWAYS hesitate. Then you aren't giving information, false or otherwise.

You are allowed to bluff (called "psych" normally) in bridge in certain situations, for example you bid a suit you don't actually have. The important thing is that your partner must not know anything more than the opponents..

@StefanE: "Psyching" is "bluffing" in BIDDING. That much is allowed. What is not allowed is bluffing in playing, because your opponents are more likely to be confused than partner. In "psyching," your partner is also likely to be confused.


text:
Does Steel Hellkite destroy cards in my opponent's library and hand?
The rules for Steel Hellkite say any nonland permanent with  converted mana cost X gets destroyed if I deal combat damage this turn. The second ruling states     "It doesn't matter who controlled those permanents at the time Steel Hellkite dealt combat damage, or if those permanents were even on the battlefield at that time."
Does this mean if I make the X cost 2/2, all my opponent's 2/2 cards, even in his library are destroyed?

The key word here is "permanent", which in the game of Magic essentially means "a card or token that's on the battlefield".  Cards in someone's library are never counted as being "permanents".
MTG Comprehensive Rules, 110.1:

A permanent is a card or token on the battlefield. A permanent remains
  on the battlefield indefinitely. A card or token becomes a permanent
  as it enters the battlefield and it stops being a permanent as it's
  moved to another zone by an effect or rule.

Also note that "converted mana cost" has nothing to do with being a 2/2 creature.  There are quite a number of things that cost 2 mana that are also 2/2 creatures, but not all 2/2 creatures "have a converted mana cost of 2", by any means!

Ah yeah that's true. But what about tokens? How do you tell their converted mana cost?

A token that's a copy of a creature also copies that creature's converted mana cost.  But in any other case a token's CMC is 0.

Wow that's awesome. So if I fight a token heavy deck like the one my friend has, I can pay 0 mana and if my steel hell kite deals dmg to him, he will lose all his tokens? (they're not copies)

@James, yup, what will kill all tokens that weren't given a mama cost.

Part of the reason for the OP's confusion was the ruling that said that the permanents don't have to be on the battlefield at that time (when the combat damage was dealt). That's referring to the fact that you can use the ability at any time during the turn, so things could've come into play since combat damage was dealt, not suggesting that permanents might not be on the battlefield.


text:
How many of the same artifact can be on the battlefield at once?
How many of the same artifact can be on the battlefield at once? For example, could I play more than one Dragon's Claw or Angel's Feather?

There is no limit. If you have more than one out, each one will trigger independently and give you a life.
The only three limits are:

Legendary permanents with the same name,
Planeswalker permanents sharing a subtype and
Enchantments with the World supertype.

704.5j If two or more planeswalkers that share a planeswalker type are on the battlefield, all are put into their owners’ graveyards. This is called the “planeswalker uniqueness rule.”
704.5k If two or more legendary permanents with the same name are on the battlefield, all are put into their owners’ graveyards. This is called the “legend rule.” If only one of those permanents is legendary, this rule doesn’t apply.
704.5m If two or more permanents have the supertype world, all except the one that has been a permanent with the world supertype on the battlefield for the shortest amount of time are put into their owners’ graveyards. In the event of a tie for the shortest amount of time, all are put into their owners’ graveyards. This is called the “world rule.”

You forgot World Enchantments.

@user1873, Indeed. Fixed.

What is meant by "planeswalker permanents sharing a subtype"? Specifically, what is meant by subtype?

@Damainman, Planeswalker subtypes (or just "Planeswalker types" for short) are found after the dash on the type line. They are: Ajani, Bolas, Chandra, Domri, Elspeth, Garruk, Gideon, Jace, Karn, Koth, Liliana, Nissa, Sarkhan, Sorin, Tamiyo, Tezzeret, Tibalt, Venser and Vraska.

Note that these rules are changing with the release of M14 in July.

Thank you. I confused the word after the dash as just restating the name of the planeswalker. Thank you for the link as well :).

The correct answer, as any deckbuilding Johnny will tell you, is always "as many as possible".  In Magic it's quite easy to come up with a deck that will put infinite artifacts into play:

4 Seat of the Synod 4 Tree of Tales 4 Ancient Den 4 Great Furnace 4
  Vault of Whispers 4 Island 4 Kuldotha Forgemaster 4 Vedalken Engineer
  1 Darksteel Colossus 4 Kaleidostone 4 Everflowing Chalice 4 Brittle
  Effigy 4 Mycosynth Lattice 4 Summoning Station 4 Thornbite Staff 2
  Akroma's Memorial 1 Legacy Weapon

See this article for a full explanation of how to get infinite Pincher tokens (Mycosynth Lattice-d so they are also artifacts) into play, but I include an excerpt that should give you the idea:

With a Staff'ed Forgemaster, sacrifice three other artifacts to
  activate the Forgemaster. (They can be anything besides the
  combo-related cards.) Summoning Station will untap thrice, making
  three artifact Pincher tokens. Meanwhile, your newly untapped
  Forgemaster (because of the Staff) will have fetched a Darksteel
  Colossus. Now repeat this process, except you'll sacrifice two of
  those Pinchers and the Colossus itself. Since the Colossus shuffles
  itself back into your library, you can find it again (or Legacy
  Weapon.) In this way we won't run out of artifacts to keep the engine
  running.
Eventually we'll have infinite Pincher tokens. When you're ready to
  swing, fetch up an Akroma's Memorial and go to town with Pinchers of
  Wrath!

Not really an answer to the question, is it?

"Infinite of the same artifact can be on the battlefield at once." Pardon me for trying to give some added interest/value to that answer!

Can't have infinite. Just arbitrarily large. The game's a draw if you go infinite.

@ikegami Yes, totally - for reasons of sanity you can't actually put infinity artifacts into play, but there is no upper limit on the number you can put into play... which is a kind of infinite. (Probably. I'm not a mathematician by trade...)

It's an infinite limit, you just have to get there one at a time :)


text:
Can the sorcerer's ability be used at any time during the turn?
I've always played Smallworld with the belief that the Sorcerer's swap/replace ability was only used at the end of the player's turn.  But I recently played it with a different group who said the power could be used at any point during a player's turn.
How do other people play this ability?  Does it really matter?

If you could only use the ability at the end of your turn, how does the "per opponent" clause work?

From the rules

Once per turn per opponent, your Sorcerers can conquer
a region by substituting 1 of your opponent’s active
tokens with one of your own from the tray.

From the FAQ

Q: Can Sorcerers use their Ability after placing all their units?
A: It depends what you mean. The Sorcerers cannot use their Ability after doing a final conquest for the turn using the Reinforcement die roll. But they can use their ability otherwise.

So it should be playing during the attack phase, before the reinforcement die roll.
Personally, I don't think it makes a big difference, but in Smallworld one point can make the difference.

The main differnce I can see is in expanding throughout a territory.  If there is a region in your way that has single occupancy and you're allowed to convert at anytime, then the cost of expansion reduces.  However if you do it at the end but before reinforcement, then you'll have to stump up 3 tokens to conquer that region which may reduce you're ability to proliferate during that turn.
As you say, one point can make the difference.

Just to add to this answer (which I think is correct BTW).  Playing Small World on the iPad the AI allows the conversion to take place at anytime during the attack phase but before the re-enforcement die roll.  Often have used the iPad as a way of confirming the rules.

The sorcerers' conversion is in fact a special type of conquest
See the Rules on page 9:

Once per turn per opponent, your Sorcerers can conquer a Region by substituting one of your opponent's Active tokens with one of your own taken from the storage tray

So you can use it whenever you want during the conquest phase. This can matter as converting a lone unit can give you access to interesting regions behind it with the rest of your army.


text:
I found this deck of cards and have no clue what it is called or how it is played
Example of card names: The Magil, Sirens of Aphron, Tristes Unum, Cerga Mobster etc.
I have 64 cards. All 64 cards are different. Top left of the Cerga Mobster card is written 14 FrP - 12 Gui - 9 Lck as do other cards but with different amounts. See attached pictures.

Are you able to post a link to any pictures of the cards?

If you can't post pictures - how many cards in the pack?  Are there obvious "suits"? Can you give more description?

Wow, no google hits for any of those card names, interesting!

I thought they might be movie related, so I searched for the quotes in the text boxes. Nothing there, either.

I don't intend judgement, but the design quality looks kinda low.  Totally guessing, but to me, looks like somebody's prototype game.

To add to Radhil's note, the card on the right uses a random image from the Internet that's apparently from a Renaissance fair. These cards were almost certainly never published publicly.

Thank you all for your efforts. I will not give up on this. Tomorrow I will go downtown and inquire at a Novelty store.

what is on the backside?

I have no idea at all what these are, but based on the complete lack of google entries, I am guessing they are homemade.
Regarding the three stats 'FrP', 'Gui', and 'Lck'.  I'm not sure what FrP is, but maybe the others are Guile and Luck?  Perhaps these are for some role playing game with those three character statistics?
My guess is that these were printed by someone for a campaign in some role playing game, maybe even a homebrew RPG.