text:
Beetle movement clarification
I took an image from another question and roughly repurposed it in paint. Here's my question:
Can a beetle move through gaps that would otherwise restrict a queen/ant/spider?

That is, can the circled beetle get to the desired field in 1 move (yellow track), or would he need to first climb over one piece (as illustrated in the red).
If that is legal, it brings me to my follow up question. Could the beetle move in the following way, or would it temporarily break the hive in between transition (1 hive rule) ?

It appears that here, the beetle would be in constant contact with the hive, even though that beetle is clearly the anchor.

Here is a quote from book Play Hive Like a Champion: Strategy, Tactics and Commentary by Randy Ingersoll with foreword by John Yianni, Designer of Hive.
According to section 2.2, page 6:

Note that the ability to climb on
  the hive can be thought of as a circumvention of the Freedom
  to Move rule, but while moving on the same level the Beetle
  is subject to the Freedom to Move rule.

It is pretty clear, that contrary to Steve's answer, the yellow route is not a legal move.
There is also a good discussion of beetle move rules here
See similar question answered here

I don't find the rules to be as clear as that quote. I would tend to interpret the rules the other way; see my answer.

@AndyT There are also numerous computer implementation of this game. I know web one on Boardgame Arena and there is also a Steam game. They all seem to agree with this quote. It seems that this is how the game is played by most people. In private games one of course is free to interpret and even change the rules they way they like ;)

Given a clearly written rule that says the beetle is exempt and a commentary that contradicts that rule, I'm sticking to the rule as written. Commentary is fine to resolve ambiguities, but the rule is not the least bit ambiguous.

@SteveB Given how both you and AndyT misinterpreted it, I would say it's ambiguous.

I didn't misinterpret it. Your premise is false. At best your reasoning is circular.

@SteveB speaking hypothetically, if you received a clarification from the game designer, that the rules as intended is NOT how you are reading them, you would still continue to argue, that in this case they are badly written, right?

@SteveB - I'd say the wording is ambiguous. Reading the "Freedom to move" rule on its own implies the Beetle could do the yellow move; reading the Beetle rules on their own implies it couldn't.

From the English rules published by the publisher here:

Beetle
The Beetle, like the Queen Bee, moves only one space per turn. Unlike any other creature though, it can also move on top of the Hive.

There are further words on what the Beetle does when on top of the Hive, but they're not relevant here.

Freedom to move
The creatures can only move in a sliding movement. If a piece is surrounded to the point that it can no longer physically slide out of its position, it may not be moved. The only exceptions are the Grasshopper, which can jump into or out of a space, and the Beetle, which can also climb up or down.

The key discussion point here is the word "also" in "the Beetle, which can also climb up or down". "Also" meaning "as well as", but "as well as" what? The Beetle can do some things as well as being able to do what the Grasshopper can do, i.e. jump into or out of a space as well as climbing up or down? Or the Beetle can climb up or down as well as being able to slide?
My native English speaker interpretation of that wording is that the Beetle can jump into or out of a space as well as being able to slide. The Beetle can climb up or down, but that doesn't imply it can do both in one turn. Therefore the move in yellow would be disallowed.

From the same rules, under the Moving section it states:
**If a piece is the only connection between two part so the Hive, it may not be moved. (See 'One Hive rule' p9)
That rule on p9 stating:

One Hive rule
The pieces in play must be linked at all times. At no time can you leave a piece stranded (not joined to the Hive) or separate the Hive in two.

In an example the One Hive rule has the text:

Moving the black Queen Bee to a position where it re-links the Hive is also an illegal move, as the Hive is left unlinked while the piece is in transit.

I see no difference between your second diagram and the example move: you're taking a piece that is the only link, and moving it to an adjacent position. While moving it appears that the moving piece is not considered to be connected to the Hive. Therefore your red move would be disallowed.

I don't think your yellow path interpretation is correct. The grasshopper has to jump whereas the Beetle can shift normally or step up or down

The Beetle moves in a sliding movement like the Queen but also can jump up and down the hive.  Pretty sure that's what the 'also' means.  The yellow move is not allowed.  This is how gameboardarena.com works

Edited to cover Veskah and MStodd's comments, as I now believe them to be correct.

No.
From the FAQ on boardgamegeek.com: If a beetle wants to move from A to B by passing between C and D, then check the height of those four spaces (with the Beetle removed) and refer to this validation method:

If the shortest stack of tiles of C and D is taller than the tallest
  stack of tiles of A and B, then the beetle can't move to A. In all
  other scenarios the beetle is free to move from B to A.

In your example, the start and end points A and B are both height zero (with the beetle removed), while the adjacent points C and D are both height 1. So MIN(C,D) > MAX(A,B), so the beetle can't move from A to B.
And note that this method also confirms the red two-move path in the first picture is valid.

The beetle can use the yellow route. The rules expressly exempt the beetle from the "freedom to move" rule.
In re the 2nd question, that move would not temporarily break the hive, but it would not be legal. The rule on page 3 is that "[i]f a piece is the only connection between two parts of the Hive, it may not be moved."

I think this answer is wrong. The beetle's exempt only works because it climbs on top. When it does not climb on top it still has to obey that rule. @sahimat

Definitely wrong.


text:
Can Sarkhan, Fireblood pay for Mirror Image if it copies a dragon?
Sarkhan, Fireblood has a +1 loyalty ability that reads:

Add two mana in any combination of colors. Spend this mana only to cast Dragon spells.

Mirror Image is not a dragon but reads:

You may have Mirror Image enter the battlefield as a copy of any creature you control.

If you control a creature with the Dragon type, can you use Sarkhan's ability to pay for the Mirror Image?

No, you cannot pay for Mirror Image with that mana generated by Sarkhan.
The ability on Mirror Image modifies how Mirror Image enters the battlefield. You decide that at the time that the Mirror Image spell resolves. But you pay for the spell earlier, when it's just a Mirror Image, and not a dragon.

No.
Costs are paid when a spell is cast, and Mirror Image doesn't choose what it is copying until it resolves.  At the time you pay the cost the game doesn't "know" that Mirror Image will be a dragon.

source: Stack Exchange

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text:
Does Kasmina, Enigma Sage replace planeswalker abilities?
Kasmina, Enigma Sage has recently been spoiled. Her static ability reads:

Each other planeswalker you control has the loyalty abilities of Kasmina, Enigma Sage.

I assume the intention is to give your other Planeswalkers additional abilities, but the way it's worded it sounds like the abilities are replaced instead.
Usually cards specify when abilities are gained in addition, for example on Lazav, the Multifarious. Or does that wording only apply to clone-effects?
Question: Does Kasmina, Enigma Sage's static ability add or replace Planeswalker abilites?

The text on Lazav's ability just says "and it has this ability". I don't see anything that specifies that the abilities are "gained in addition". So, what exactly were you referring to there?

It only applies to clone-type effects which overwrite.

But it doesn't apply to copy effects. It doesn't apply to any effects. I can't find a single card that "specifies when abilities are gained in addition" to other abilites.

@murgatroid99 I think he's referring to cards that clone with a caveat like Vesuvan Doppelganger which clones a creature and "in addition" to that creature's characteristics, also has the ability to clone a different creature during your upkeep

Vesuvan Doppelganger's text just says that it copies except that it "has [ability text]". It doesn't say "in addition".

It adds to the existing abilities. The wording on the ability is actually phrased the same as much simpler abilities such as that on Lifelink or Archetype of Endurance

Enchanted creature has lifelink.

Creatures you control have hexproof.

These abilities are all simply granting abilities to other objects; they don't interact with any abilities those other objects may already have. The only difference with Kasima is that it is granting multiple abilities at once; rather than a specific, single ability.

113.1a An ability can be a characteristic an object has that lets it affect the game. An object’s abilities are defined by its rules text or by the effect that created it. Abilities can also be granted to objects by rules or effects. (Effects that grant abilities usually use the words “has,” “have,” “gains,” or “gain.”) Abilities generate effects. (See rule 609, “Effects.”)

I would think that all other planeswalkers gain those abilities and do not lose their own abilities.
Consider the case of Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God

Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God has all loyalty abilities of all other planeswalkers on the battlefield.

Nicol Bolas, Dragon God has a static ability similar to Kasmina, Enigma Sage's ability except it gives itself other planeswalker's abilities.  If it removed its own abilities, then the very act of printing abilities on it would be pointless.
Furthermore, Kasmina does not have the text "and loses all other abilities" that is present on other cards like, say for example Imprisoned in the Moon.

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text:
Blood Moon and Arixmethes
Spoilers for Commander 2018 have begun, and one card in particular has caught my attention:

This card is like no other I know. What may be truly interesting is how it interacts with the enchantment Blood Moon:

Here's a blog post about this by a level 3 judge. I don't agree. How I see this interaction is as follows:

Blood Moon is on the battlefield. I cast Arixmethes.
Arixmethes resolves and enters the battlefield. As it must exist on the battlefield with at least one slumber counter in order to be a land, Blood Moon does not see it until after it has entered the battlefield as a land, tapped, and with five slumber counters. So far, I agree with the blog post.
Blood Moon finally recognizes Arixmethes as a nonbasic land. Arixmethes loses all subtypes and abilities and gains Mountain as a subtype (by Gatherer's second ruling on Blood Moon: "Nonbasic lands will lose any other land types and abilities they had.").
The effect that makes Arixmethes a land as long as it has a slumber counter is an ability (the example for rule 112.2a is very similar: "Example: '[This creature] can't block' is an ability."). This effect is therefore lost, and Arixmethes is no longer a land.
Immediately, Blood Moon begins ignoring Arixmethes. The ability that makes Arixmethes a land is regained, and Arixmethes becomes a land once more.
Repeat ad infinitum.

All of these happen too quickly for any player to do anything. The way I see it, Arixmethes and Blood Moon on the battlefield simultaneously will immediately end the game in a draw (unless, of course, Arixmethes has no counters).
Is there an error in my thinking?

In general, if you find yourself thinking that a ruling from a high-level judge is wrong, it's really worth digging into the rules to find out why they made that ruling. In this case, your question demonstrates that you were unaware of a large and important but obscure section of the rules that justifies the rulings.

Why do "Nonbasic lands will lose any other land types and abilities they had."? I understand why they lose other land types; but why would they lose abilities? Why would becoming a Mountain cause them to lose abilities?

Because rule 305.7 says so.

@murgatroid99 Thanks. Not sure if I ever knew that rule; it's a surprising one for me.

Losing other subtypes is actually a much more general thing, covered in rule 205.1a.

@murgatroid99 But 205.1a doesn't mention removing abilities; so that seems to be something special to lands.

Right, rule 305.7 is in the section of rules about lands.

The blog post is correct. What you're missing is the system that governs the order in which those effects are applied, commonly known as the "layer system", and officially known as Interaction of continuous effects
Put simply, the layer system creates a fixed order in which continuous effects apply to an objects, so there are no loops like you think you're seeing, and there is a single fixed answer to how any set of continuous effects apply to an object.
In this particular case, both of the effects modify the type of the object, so they both apply in the same layer. Then we have to consider timestamps and dependencies to determine the order in which to apply them. The relevant dependency rules say this:

613.7. Within a layer or sublayer, determining which order effects are applied in is sometimes done using a dependency system. If a dependency exists, it will override the timestamp system.

613.7a An effect is said to “depend on” another if (a) it’s applied in the same layer (and, if applicable, sublayer) as the other effect (see rules 613.1 and 613.3); (b) applying the other would change the text or the existence of the first effect, what it applies to, or what it does to any of the things it applies to; and (c) neither effect is from a characteristic-defining ability or both effects are from characteristic-defining abilities. Otherwise, the effect is considered to be independent of the other effect.
613.7b An effect dependent on one or more other effects waits to apply until just after all of those effects have been applied. If multiple dependent effects would apply simultaneously in this way, they’re applied in timestamp order relative to each other. If several dependent effects form a dependency loop, then this rule is ignored and the effects in the dependency loop are applied in timestamp order.

Before either effect is applied Blood Moon's effect has a dependency on Arixmethes' effect, because Arixmethes' effect changes what Blood Moon's effect applies to, specifically making it apply to Arixmethes. Arixmethes' effect does not depend on Blood Moon's effect, because applying Blood Moon's first will do nothing, because at that point in the evaluation, Arixmethes is not a land.
So, we apply Arixmethes' effect first, then Blood Moon's effect, and we end up with the result described in the linked blog post: Arixmethes is a Legendary Land - Mountain that can tap to add {R} with no other abilities.

This would be a dependency loop (613.7a-b), right? The dependency rule would then be ignored and stuff would happen in timestamp order, Blood Moon first and then Arixmethes, as I understand things. I still see no stable state.

OK, upon further examination, I think there is not actually a dependency relationship here. Rather, Blood Moon's effect simply doesn't apply until after Arixmethes' effect applies.

I guess the issue here is what happens when Arixmethes loses the ability that makes it a land. What's the key difference between Blood Moon taking this ability away and Naturalize destroying Awaken the Ancient? When the ability making the Mountain a creature disappears, the land reverts to its initial state. Why not Arixmethes?

In this situation, you're applying a single set of effects within a game state. One of those effects results in the ability disappearing, but it has already been applied, so that doesn't matter. If you Naturalize Awaken the Ancient, the game state changes, so you re-evaluate the continuous effects.

I don't have time to post then myself, but this is all very similar to Humility and Opalescence.  Which is well understood, as it's basically the reason layers exist in the first place

So, what you're saying is that all continuous effects of a particular layer see only the game state as it existed before any continuous effects of that layer are applied?

That might be a little misleading. The game state is constant at any specific time in the game. The layer rules simply define the order in which you evaluate effects to determine what the game state is. But each effect operates on a different partial computation of the game state based on applying the previous effects in the sequence.

I think I don't get dependencies. Why is there no dependency here? Would applying the continuous effect from the Arixmethes ability not change what the continuous effect from the Blood Moon ability applies to?

I think you're right. I've revised my answer again.


text:
What's the difference between "target creature" and "target creature you control"?
Ok I'm confused. I have a Built to Last card, it says "Target creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn. If it's and artifact creature it gains indestructible until end of turn."
My opponents tell me that I'm not allowed to use this on my own cards, and I have to use it on my opponent cards, because it doesn't say "in my control." Is this true? My thought was that it could go on any target creature including mine, since there are other cards that say "target creature your opponent controls." Catch my drift?? Help!

A question for your friend to consider: If you could only cast that spell on an opponent's creature, why would anyone ever cast it at all? And if there's no reason to cast it, why would they even print it in the first place?

@murgatroid99 Well, they have printed One With Nothing and similar cards.  But generally speaking your point is good.

ANswers below are good. To clarify, a card that only targets a creature you control or don't control has a limitation, generally to limit the power of the card. Many blue cards have a 'cost' of returning a creature you control to its owner's hand, for example.

@ArcanistLupus One with Nothing is bad on purpose.

@ArcanistLupus Check out this video on One With Nothing

If it could only target an opponent's creature, it would be worded like Blustersquall: "Tap target creature you don’t control." (emphasis is mine)

You can pick anything matching the targeting condition.
If the targeting condition is "target creature", you can pick any creature. Period.
If the targeting condition is "target creature you control", you can pick any creature you control. Period.
If a characteristic (e.g. Green), status (e.g. Untapped), controller or owner isn't specified, it's not a factor. You could even pick a tapped creature for "Tap target creature" (even though it's impossible to tap a tapped creature) because the only part that's important when picking a target is "target creature". There is only one implicit limit to targeting: It's illegal for a spell or ability to target itself.[CR 114.5]
Keep in mind that there are many cards that add other limits. In particular, those with Shroud, Hexproof or Protection.

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

For completeness' sake, I'm just mentioning this: "you can pick any creature" unless there are other targeting restrictions, like shroud, hexproof, or protection.

Your opponent is wrong. If a card says "target creature", it can be any creature that is not protected from that spell. If the card says "target creature your opponent controls", then you must use it on one of their creatures. Likewise, if the card says "target creature you control", then you must use it on one of your  creatures.

Target creature does not have any built-in restriction. You can choose any creature that is a legal target during casting.
Target creature You control forbids You to select creatures other than those under Your control AND they still must be a legal target!
Look for cards with Overload ability. It changes the word target into each, which makes the spell global:
Target creature becomes each creature (Your and Your opponents' creature!)
Target creature You control becomes each creature You control (Only creatures You control during cast)
They all need to be a legal target - that means they do not have abilities or conditions that prevent them to be targeted by this spell, like Protection or Shroud.
Your opponent is wrong because he probably assumes that the correct text for any target would be something like:
Target creature You or Your opponent control - which is unnecessary most of the time... Why most? In two-headed giant, it won't allow You to target Your friend creature if presented that way :)


text:
(MTG) Can Trespasser’s Curse revive a player?
After I died, one of my opponents that I previously enchanted played a creature which supposedly heals me by one. Does that cause me to come back to life with one hp? If not, why not?

Related (not calling it a duplicate because this question is very specific): https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/4749/in-mtg-what-happens-when-a-player-loses-in-multiplayer

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

You will not be revived.
First of all, any enchantments that you own will leave the game at the same time you do:

800.4a. When a player leaves the game, all objects (see rule 109) owned by that player leave the game[...]

So if you had enchanted your opponent with Trespasser's Curse, that enchantment would go away as soon as you lose, and your opponent would no longer be enchanted by it.
And in addition to not getting any benefit from your enchantments, there is no effect in the game that could cause you to gain life once you have left the game. If another player has an effect such as Triskaidekaphobia, when it says "each player gains 1 life", "each player" does not include you.
From the comprehensive rules:

102.1. A player is one of the people in the game. The active player is the player whose turn it is. The other players are nonactive players.

(Emphasis mine)
You are not in the game, because you have left the game:

104.5. If a player loses the game, that player leaves the game.

It might also be worth mentioning that the Trespasser's Curse itself isn't in the game anymore.

@murgatroid99 Thanks, I completely missed that the question specified how the life gain would have been done.

Furthermore, even there were an enchantment that says "When this enters the battlefield, choose a player. That player gains 1 life each turn.", and the person who played it had chosen the OP, the OP would not gain a life because they would be in the game, and therefore not a valid target for life gain.

@Acccumulation I think I made that clear by pointing out that you are not a player.


text:
When a player gets Rummikub & the round is over, how is play continued?
Do they take a number of tiles, one tile, or is the player who got Rummikub now out of the game? (...What if there are only 2 players?)  Thanks!

The player who got Rummikub is the winner of that round, and that round is over. In the beginning of the game, you decide how many points are needed to be the winner of the whole game.
From this PDF of Rules:

Object:
  Be the first player to eliminate all the tiles from your rack by forming them into sets of runs and groups. Try to keep as few points in your rack as possible. At the start of the game, you decide how many points to reach to end the game.
Scoring:
  After a player has cleared the rack and called "Rummikub", the losing players add up the value of
  the tiles they are holding on their racks. This score is totaled as a minus (negative) amount. The
  winner of the round receives a positive (plus) score equal to the total of all the losers' points. ...
Winning:
  The player with the highest score at the end of the game wins.

So it doesn't matter how many players there are. When someone runs out of tiles and calls out "Rummikub", it is the end of the round and you tally scores. Then everyone starts a new round (all tiles reshuffled and redrawn), and you play as many rounds as it takes for someone to reach the target amount of points.

Yes, thank you, :) but does the player who got Rummikub take a number of tiles, one tile, or what?

Since the round is over, all tiles are re-shuffled and each player draws a new 14 tiles just like the start of the game. With each round, the game resets.

OH! Thank you so much. We could not figure out how to continue! :) My godmother introduced me to the game. She's still sharp, thank goodness...93 & looking forward to this answer! Thanks from us both!


text:
In Rummikub, can you split a run on the end or it must be within the ends? ex- 34567 turned into 234...&...567
To me, it sounds as if the added tile must split the existing run (ex- 34567 to 345 567), not that a tile can be added to the start or end of a run & then split it apart.

If 34567 is on the table and you have a matching 5, you can split into 345, 67 and add the 5 to the 67 to get 567.
If 34567 is on the table and you have a matching 2, you can add the 2 to get 234567. You can then split into 234 and 567, but you can also keep it a full set.


text:
Bang! - Eliminating an outlaw with backfire
The outlaw has only one life and bangs the sheriff. The Sheriff plays a 'backfire' card, eliminating the outlaw from the game.
Does the sheriff receive the 3 cards since the player was not eliminated with a bang card?

It seems that the Backfire card is part of the Valley of Shadows expansion...?
If that is correct, then this product description geeklist from boardgamegeek, states that the outlaw is now the target of a Bang! and thus eliminated by a Bang!
https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/205880/item/4492671#item4492671
(And this question seems to have a duplicate : Bang! Elimination Award For Henry Block and Backfire
They seems to have been created almost simultaneously )


text:
Canasta Melding with insufficent points
Opponent melded and at same time picked the discards. Subsequently she finds out she has too few points to meld and therefore picks up her meld and returns the discards. I believe at that point the ten point penalty is applied.
On the same turn she then picks a joker and can meld if the ten point penalty is not applicable. It is her belief that since she picked the joker on the same turn, no penalty is applicable. I believe that the penalty is incurred because she had to pick up her meld and at that time she had no other cards in her hand to add to the meld to reach the required point total.
Is there a set of rules addressing this issue?

Related: https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/38801/canasta-and-the-rules-on-invalid-melding

If playing with the 10 point penalty, then the penalty would be incurred in this case.
First of all, the 10 point penalty is not a universal rule. Out of many different sources of Canasta rules, I only found two that mention a 10 point penalty for an illegal meld.

If you put down an initial meld that doesn’t meet the minimum point requirement, you can put down additional melds on that same turn to make up the required total without penalty. You can also take back your attempt, but the minimum total you have to meet the next time you try goes up by 10 points — quite a severe penalty.

(https://www.dummies.com/games/card-games/canasta/playing-canasta-making-the-first-meld-for-your-partnership/)
And

If a player melds fewer cards than the minimum count for his first meld, he may either add additional cards to the meld(s) until they reach the minimum count, or he may withdraw them, in which the minimum count increases by 10 points. If the opponents do not catch the error until after they've drawn, then the initial meld stands.

(http://www.rummy-games.com/rules/canasta.html)
Although the wording on the first one is not completely clear; the second one is clearer and sounds like it is meaning to say the same thing: That the only way to avoid the penalty is if you can just add to your illegal meld to make it legal. If you have to actually undo your meld, then you take the penalty.
For reference, here are 3 other websites with Canasta rules that do not mention any 10 point penalty:

https://www.bicyclecards.com/how-to-play/canasta/
https://www.pagat.com/rummy/canasta.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canasta#Picking_up_the_discard_pile


text:
Can You Play Two Search Cards at Once in Competitive Play
Say I have two Profrssor’s Letters which allow me to search for two basic energy cards then shuffle my deck afterwards. In competitive play, are you able to play two of those cards or similar cards at once to look for four basic energy at once.

Is your question just whether you can look for 4 energy all at once without shuffling in between?

Yes. I don’t see what not. I was just asking if conpetitve play allowed it.

Not knowing the competitive rules, I would assume that technically you have to play one, find the energy, shuffle, then play the second one, find the energy, shuffle again, just in case there's some effect that could trigger somewhere in the middle; but possibly if your opponent allows it you could?


text:
Aggro Token and the First Activation Token
So, I recently came across the realisation that we were not using the Aggro token correctly.
To begin with, we were actually using the First Activation Token in it's place, assuming the other one was for a separate game mode (Like hardcore, or something). But upon reading the rules again, it mentioned the use of both. We were unclear about how they operated, but I think I have come to a conclusion - though I would like to clarify.
So, the way I believe these tokens work:

The aggro token is passed around each turn. Enemies activate, player activates, pass on the token - enemies activate, player activates, repeat.
The First Activation token never moves, until players open enter a new room. Players decide who should take the First Activation token, to begin the initiative order, and potentially, to see who should draw "aggro".

By that, I mean certain enemies have particular icons determining who they attack:

In these two cases, the icon determines the target of the attack. The Cathedral Knight moves toward the player with the FA Token, and attacks them. The Deacon on the other hand, attacks the player with the Aggro Token, then moves away from the player with the FA Token.
Am I correct in this interpretation?

For the core set, enemies will either prioritise the player with the aggro token or the closest player.
The skull icon represents aggro. The circle represents closest player. See the Enemy Activations section in the rule book (pg 24) for more details.
The first activation token is just used to identify who will go first at the next encounter based on the fact that they were next in line when the previous encounter ended.
From the official rules:
First Activation

No matter whether the encounter ends in victory or defeat, give the
First Activation token to the player who is next in turn order after
the last player who activated their character. The player with the
First Activation token will activate their character first in the next
encounter.

Aggro Token (emphasis added)

When a character starts their activation:
They gain 2 Stamina.
They gain the Aggro token.
They may swap items between their backup slot and hand slots (see ‘Equipment Cards’, p. 12).

The Basics p.19 (emphasis added)

Once you’ve set up the enemies, terrain, and traps, place the
character models on the entry nodes beside the door aligned
with the tile the party moved from. Remember that a node
cannot contain more than three models.
Next, choose which character led the way into the encounter
and place the Aggro token on that character’s model.
Then the battle begins!

However, when you first enter any encounter you may determine which player 'lead the way' independent of the first activation and give the Aggro Token to that player.
Note that for the first encounter, the players decide as a group which player goes first. After that play goes around the table in a clockwise fashion.

During the very first character activation, the players can activate
the character of their choice. From then on, the order in which
characters activate goes clockwise around the table.


text:
Rummikub - Picking up a played tile before your turn is over
I was playing 3-way Rummikub for the first time in a few years with friends. During player 1's turn late in the game, he mixed tiles back and forth trying to play as many as he could. During this same turn he used a joker and put it in a combination on the board (it was a red 12 in a 11, 12, 13 run). Before this same turn was over he realized he didn't need to use the joker, finding a way to use a different red 12 in order to use the joker on another turn. He then picked the joker up from the table and tried to put it back in his tray, but player 2 said this not allowed because "if it was laid, it was played". Player 1 thinks picking up a joker (or any tile) should be legal as long as it is removed from an error-free board before time expires. Player 2 thinks if a joker was placed on the board in a legal combination during a turn, I should not be allowed to put it back in my hand regardless of circumstances.  Appreciate your feedback.

Better:  Clarifying question: If a player manipulates the board w/ tiles from his rack INTO LEGIT SETS, but initially tried to use more tiles from his RACK than he ended up playing, is that a 3 tile/reset penalty? Ex: A player takes 5 tiles off his rack to manipulate the board He plays 3 successfully & takes the other 2 back to his rack. Can he take his 2 tiles back or does that trigger the 3-tile/reset penalty? Another form of the same question:  EVEN WHEN FORMING NEW LEGIT SETS WITH NEW TILES, do you have to use 100% of the rack tiles you initially tried to include or can you put some back?

It seems to depend on your version of the rules, but if you take this version's Rules: (emphasis added)

The Joker:
  ... A joker can be retrieved from a set on the table by a player who can replace it during his turn with a tile of the same numerical value and color it represents. The tile used to replace the Joker must come from a player's rack and not from the table. In the case of a group of 3, the joker can be replaced by the tile of either of the missing colors. A joker that has been replaced must be used in the player's same turn with 2 or more tiles from his rack to make a new set. Players cannot retrieve a joker before they have laid their initial set(s). A set containing a joker can have tiles added to it and can be split apart or have tiles removed from it. The joker has a penalty value of 30 points if it remains on a player's rack at the end of a game.

So a replaced Joker must be used in the same turn, but that only applies to Jokers that were already on the table.
In your case, the Joker was not already on the table and was added during the player's turn.
In this version the only rule for building sets during a turn is: (emphasis added)

Building on Sets:
  A player may build onto a set in any of the following ways (or in any combination of these ways) as long as there are only legitimate sets on the table and there are no loose tiles left at the end of his turn.

So by placing the Joker down, but rearranging the sets so that the Joker (or any tile) is left without a set, then it triggers the Incomplete Runs rule:

Incomplete Runs:
  A player who unsuccessfully builds on or manipulates other sets on the table must replace the tiles in their original positions, take back the tiles he played and draw three tiles from the pouch.

So, the player who tried to reclaim their Joker must either:
1) make sure the Joker is used to make proper sets without loose tiles or
2) reset the table, take back any tiles they played that turn to their rack and draw three more tiles from the pouch as penalty. Ouch!

I can't believe I overlooked the Incomplete Runs rule. I've corrected the answer @AndyT but I've never seen the rule for picking up the loose tiles plus 2 penalty tiles, so I didn't include it in the final option. Maybe you can supply an answer with the version you know best. Anyway, thanks for correcting me.

I reckon 2 penalty tiles is me misremembering, as your other rules tally with what I remember, so it was probably always 3 penalty tiles. +1 Following the edit.


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What are vintage magic cards worth?
I have some very old magic cards with no symbols how can I find out what they are worth or if they are rare?

I have some very old magic cards with no symbols how can I find out what they are worth or if they are rare?

You can start by Googling their name and doing some research on their price and specs.
You can also check on pages that focus on TCG/CCG, like for example Troll & Toad (disclaimer: just an example, nothing related to them). There you can search for cards, see their prices and even sell or buy.
You can also go to your local store of where people gather to play Board and Card games, and ask around to see if there is anyone interested in acquiring your cards and willing to negotiate.


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Lord of the Ring LCG: Gandalf and Expert Treasure-hunter
When using "Gandalf" as a hero, one plays with the top card of the deck faceup. If I attach "Expert Treasure-hunter" to one of my heroes, does it mean that I automatically get a card in my hand after this hero quests successfully (since I am able to see the type of the card)?
If I attach one copy of "Expert Treasure-hunter" to each of my heroes, do I first turn the top card of my deck faceup before each guessing or do I have to guess 3 cards at the same times, seeing only the first one?
Gandalf (Hero)

Play with the top card of your deck faceup. Once per phase, you may play the top card of your deck as if it was in your hand. [...]

Expert Treasure-hunter (Attachment)

Attach to a hero. Limit 1 per hero.
Response: After attached hero quests successfully, name a card type and discard the top card of your deck. If the discarded card is the named type, take it into your hand.

TLDR; Your assumptions are correct - you can 'automatically' draw three cards on a successful quest with three Expert Treasure-hunter attached to your heroes and a Gandalf (hero).

To answer your first question, yes. If have Gandalf (Hero) and Expert Treasure-hunter attached to a hero when you quest successfully on Expert Treasure-hunter's triggered ability activation you can name the type of the card on the top of you deck, then discard and draw it.
For the second question I think the key is Gandalf's Play with the top card of your deck faceup. This means that the top card of your deck (provided your deck has cards in it) is ALWAYS revealed as long as you have Gandalf's ability. Thus during each activation of the three Expert Treasure-hunters the top card of your library will be revealed and you can name its type, then discard and draw it. Id est you can automatically draw three cards on each successful quest with Gandalf and three Expert Treasure-Hunter's attached to your three heroes.
The source for my interpretation is the "The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game Online Rules Reference" found on the Fantasy Flight Games website. In particular the second Golden Rule (page 2):

If the ability text of a card directly contradicts the text of either the Rules Reference Guide or the Learn to Play book, the text of the card takes precedence.

implying that the top card of your deck is ALWAYS revealed if you have the Gandalf hero's ability. And the definitions of Response (page 14):

Response:
  Response abilities are labeled by the word “Response” followed by ability text. Unlike action abilities, which are resolved during action windows, response abilities may be executed after the specified triggering condition occurs, as described in the response’s ability text.
   - It is possible for multiple responses to be executed from the same triggering condition.

Thanks for your answer and your research. I agree with your interpretation of the rules you quoted.


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Lord of the Ring LCG: Silvan Refugee forced effect
When I use "The Tree People" to return a Silvan ally in my hand, does the forced effect on "Silvan Refugee" trigger?
More generally, does returning an ally to one's hand count as this character leaving play/being dead?
The Tree People (Event)

Action: Return a Silvan ally you control to your hand to search the top 5 cards of your deck for a Silvan ally. Put that ally into play and shuffle the other cards back into your deck. You can only play 1 copy of The Tree People each phase.

Silvan Refugee (Ally)

Forced: After a character leaves play, discard Silvan Refugee from play.

Yes, no matter where it goes from play, to discard, to deck or to hand as your case asks for, the card is no longer in play, so the forced of Refugee will trigger.
If however you use The Tree People to return Silvan Refugee to your hand, it will no longer be in play to trigger, letting you replay the relatively cheap Refugee again later.

While correct, this answer could be improved by a reference to the rules.

Thanks for your answer, I might have to rethink my strategy a bit then. I wasn't resolving the forced effect until now.


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Does Lothíriel effect resolves before Escort from Edoras forced effect?
Lothíriel allows the player to put in play an ally during the questing phase, after she commits to the quest. That ally is then sent back to the player's hand at the end of the quest phase :

Response: After Lothíriel commits to a quest, choose an ally in your hand. If that ally shares a Trait with her, put that ally into play exhausted and committed to the quest. At the end of the phase, if that ally is still in play, shuffle it into your deck.

A possible ally to use this effect on is "Escort from Edoras", whose forced effect discards him when the quest is resolved :

Forced: After resolving a quest to which Escort from Edoras was committed, discard Escort from Edoras from play.

My question is can Lothíriel effect happen before Escord from Edoras forced effect?


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Stacking game around 1993-1996
I remember playing a game when I was younger you had 4 plastic pegs and 9 blocks. only 3 blocks could fit onto a peg at a time. The blocks had different colours and numbers. You pulled a card out of a pile and had to arrange the blocks into the same order as was on the card. You could only move a 1 block 1 peg forward or back at a time. You could play by yourself or against another player.


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New Player and Returning Player New Card Recommendations
I'm a new player learning the game with my spouse's old decks from 1994-2001. We plan on just enjoying MTG at home.  We have no plans to play competitively.
I'd like invest in some of the new cards just for fun as a surprise for my husband. I would appreciate any recommendations for what to purchase, the best "bang for the buck" as it were, to thank him for introducing me to the game.
Thank you for any help. I'm really enjoying learning MTG!

Are you looking for single (and thus relatively powerful and / or fun) cards, or whole products like a deck or something?

Whole products are what I am looking for, sorry for not clarifying.

I have personally had fun with playing the commander format, but I have little experience with the actual ready-made decks so can't really help with recommendations. And it's more of a multiplayer format anyways (as in more than two people at a time in a game).

If you want a ready to play deck, than Wizards sells these so called "Planeswalker Decks". These are not competitive, you won't win a tournament with them, but they are quite cheap, include cards from newest expansion and will play well against each other.
You might still find older products called "Duel Decks". These contain two decks, which are designed to be played against each other. Again, these are not competitive decks but are well suited for "kitchen table" Magic. Goblins vs Merfolk is one of the latest product in these category.
If you want something more powerful and expensive, then you might still be able to find "Challenger decks". These are build around archetypes found in current Magic tournaments, but since they are designed for the "Standard" format, many cards in them will not be tournament legal since October. Here you can find more information about them.
If you want to try a format designed for casual Magic, then preconstructed Commander decks might suit you. These contain 100 cards and may contain only a single copy of each card except for basic lands. The decks are designed for multiplayer magic, so you might want to try them with friends. Wizards releases them yearly with Commander 2018 being the latest.


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Attack/defense diplomacy
So England has attacked Denmark with a fleet in the Skagaric support from Helgoland Bigbt and the North Sea. Russia has attacked the Skagaric from the Baltic Sea and with support from Sweden and the German fleet in Denmark. Would the offensive prevail?

Denmark has an army in Kiel reinforcing it too

This appears to he the same question that was asked here. https://boardgames.stackexchange.com/questions/43211/if-unit-a-attacks-unit-b-which-was-attacking-unit-c-does-the-attack-on-b-by-a

The Baltic Sea is not adjacent to Skaggerak, so the Russian move is invalid. Around Denmark, England attacks with two uncut supports, so a total strength of 3. Denmark would need at least two defensive supports to stay, so the English attack prevails.
Even if the Russian unit moving to Skaggerak was moved to Norway to make it a valid move, this would not affect the situation in Denmark.
In general you can check the outcome of any situation you desire at Stabbeurfou (this is not the only sandbox out there online that you can use, I believe at least Backstabbr has one too)
The Diplomacy rulebook (pdf) is also available online to help you.


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Games played numbers notation [MTG - Online]
Can someone explain or point me to an explanation of the notation under the 'Games' column?
What is the meaning between the order of the numbers or what do numbers 0, 1 and 2 mean? It's probably very simple and intuitive to old players but I just can't figure it out precisely.

Can you be a little more specific about the context in which you are seeing this "Games" column? What screen are you looking at, is there a specific tab or filter, etc.?

I figured the context is always the same. You can see the column in Tournament lobby when you're waiting for the next game or under Account > Game history - a list which contains opponent name, format and games or results column which features 'n-n' or 'n-n-n' where n is [0,2]

The "Results" column in the Game history page shows the match win-loss record for each tournament, and you can expand each tournament to see a game win-loss-draw record for each tournament.

Perfect. I was confused by the fact that sometimes there are 2 and sometimes 3 digits. Also, in my world 1 is 'Home' win and 2 is 'Away' win :D


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Canasta - initial pickup
Is it permissable to table initial meld and then pick up discard pile with a wild card and one natural card which matches the one on the top of the discard pile all in the same turn?  Thank you for your assistance.

No, this is not allowed.
Drawing cards, whether from the deck or the discard pile, is always the first step in a turn. You cannot play any melds until after you have drawn.

After drawing, but before discarding, you may sometimes be able to play some cards from your hand face up on the table.

From https://www.pagat.com/rummy/canasta.html


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Canasta - picking up stock pile
My partner and I had a canasta of 9s and I had a pickup which contained three 9s which I held in my hand to use as fairly safe discards because the pack was frozen.  I used one of them and then my opponent threw a 9.  Could I pick up the pile with the pair of 9s I had in my hand?

Yes, you can do that. From the rules:

UNFREEZING THE DISCARD PILE

A frozen discard pile is unfrozen only by being taken. When the discard pile is topped by a wild card or a black three, at least one natural card must be discarded on top of the pile before the pile may be taken. Then, a player may take that card (and the pile) only with a natural pair of the same rank from his hand. Before touching the discard pile, the player should show the pair (together with any additional cards if needed to meet the minimum count of an initial meld).

As long as you have a natural pair in your hand, it doesn't matter what else you have on the table. In fact, it is a common strategy to not add to an existing meld (even if it would form a Canasta!) to make your opponent think that a particular rank is a safe discard on a frozen pile.


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In Jokers and Pegs Game can I use a joker to help my partner after all my pegs are home safe?
Can I use a joker to help my partner after all my pegs are home safe?

I would say you can. It doesn't say you can't in the rules but it does say once you have finished you can help the team member to your left that is still going.
"Each player must play his own pegs until all five pegs are in the SAFE position. Then he can help his teammates. When playing with six players, you will help the teammate player to your left, if he still has playable pegs."
http://web.archive.org/web/20111028173900/http://www.1stingames.com/rules/pegsnjokers/rules.htm

You can also find the rules on Pegs and Jokers


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Help me identify this old tile stacking game
A game from the 60's. Stacking plastic tiles 1-20, six of each. Can't remember how to play but stacking was definitely involved.

huh... looks like dominoe but with numbers and both repeated on the 2 sides... are all pieces that way? Or do some have different numbers on each side?

Thank you for searching. Sadly the two who could tell me now can't; my Dad passed away and Mum has dementia. Found the game at her house and remember loving it as a child but not how to play.

@DarkCygnus all tiles are as shown and one sided with 6 of each type

Was it similar to that? http://www.domino-play.com/Games/StackEmUp.htm

@Lot - Doesn't sound right. More of a strategy game maybe.

@TraceyStubbs Just double checking here, so there are no other number combinations than what we see in the picture?

@JayA.Little - No other combinations than those shown. Just six of each of the ones showing and designed with bumps on corners to aid stacking.

@TraceyStubbs: ask the question on boardgamegeeks again, the people over there are amazing when it comes to identifying game tiles

This is called Topps Tiles, great game and can’t find anything on the internet about it.
I have this game - the rules are as follows.
There are 120 tiles, 6 each numbered 1 to 20.
The aim of the game is to win by discarding all of your tiles first, either by placing them in the centre of the table on the "Centre stacks" or, better still, by placing them on your opponents "face up" stacks.
Share the 120 tiles face down between the players taking part - e.g. 40 tiles each for 3 players. Don't look at your tiles - keep them face down in front of you in one or two stacks.
Play consists, in the main, of forming 6 stacks of tiles in the centre of the table, each starting with 1, 2, 3 etc. and ending with 20. We shall call them "Centre Stacks".
(1) The youngest player takes the top tile of his stack and turns it over. If it is a 1, he places it in the centre of the table "face up" and takes his next tile. If this is a 2, he puts in on the 1 and carries on; or if it is another 1, he can start a new stack. The first tile that he cannot so place, he puts down, visible to all, as the starting tile of his "face up" stack. This ends his turn.
(2) Play continues but the game now includes each player's own "face up" stack and/or the "face up" stacks of his opponents. The next player continues as follows:
(a) First look whether you can place the top tile from your "face up" stack (if any) on one of your opponents. This can be done if it is the next highest or lowest number e.g. a 6 can be placed on a 5 or a 7.
(b) If (a) is not possible, look whether you can place the top tile from your "face up" stack (if any) on a "centre stack". This can be done if it is the next highest number e.g. a 4 can be placed on a 3. If you hold a 1, you may start a new stack.
(c) If (a) or (b) is not possible, turn over the top tile of your "face down" stack and try to act as in (a) and (b) above.
(d) If you are unsuccessful, place this tile on your "face up” stack.
(3) Whenever a player succeeds in placing a tile on an opponent’s "face up" stack or a "centre stack", he has another go. His turn ends when he has to place the tile on his own "face up" stack.
(4) PENALTY If a player does not observe rule 2 or makes a mistake, e.g. by placing an 8 on a 6, the other players shout "wrong" and each player hands him one of his tiles. They go on the wrong-doers "face up" stack.
(5) When a player has exhausted his "face down" stack, he turns over his "face up" stack and carries on.
(6) The player who first runs out of tiles is the winner.

My grandma has this game! I wanted to buy my own!
You turn them all over and put them into piles of 10. Separate the piles according to the amount of players.
Each player takes it in turns to flip over their top tile on the pile on the right hand side. The aim is to build up six piles from 1 to 20 in the middle.
If you turn over a tile and someone has a tile a number higher or lower (e.g. you flip over a 17 and someone else has a 16 or 18) you pass your tile over to put on their tile. The first player to get rid of all their tiles wins.

Does the game have a name?

I’m trying to find out myself as I’d love to buy it myself!

The game you're searching is probably "Up and Down Donkey" (page 8 in the PDF)
It was used in math classes, and got sold commercially one time. Several rules existed to play with these tiles ;)

We had this game as kids and used to play after tea on a Sunday. It was called tops as far as I remember. Maybe tops tiles.

Can you provide a link to a source? Searching for tops game and tops tiles game does not give any information.


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How to interpret the reward after defeating an monster
The manual states that after a monster is defeated, e.g. a gor, the players receive  2 gold and/or willpower. We assumed this means one of the following:

2 gold
1 gold and 1 willpower
2 willpower

to be divided between the players fighting and defeating it. However, based on the wording we aren't completely sure.
Is this assumption correct?
What if we look at other monsters, for example a skrall? The reward is then 4 gold and or willpower.

You are correct.
The hero receives an amount of gold equal to the monster’s gold icon (found on the monster strength track) OR an amount of willpower equal to the monster’s willpower icon OR a combination of the two. Example: After defeating a gor, the hero may take 2 gold, 2 willpower, or 1 gold and 1 willpower.
[Edit] and of course, if you win 4, you can chose any combination of gold and willpower.


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Backgammon board for 3 players
I've been thinking about how backgammon might be extended to 3 or more players. Below is a mockup of my current idea of what the board might look like. The concept could technically be extended to any number of players, but it would be less and less fun with more players probably, because each player only encounters the checkers of the players on either side of him or her.
I'm excited to try this out with some friends but haven't been able to yet because of COVID-19. So for now I'm looking for feedback on problems that may make the game unworkable, or improvements to the board layout (the flow of the pieces is a little awkward but it's the best I've come up with so far).

This board is equivalent to others that already exist, but your layout uses unnecessary complication in the curves and the fact that the same colour is first on spikes pointing towards then away from the player.

You can playlets a game against your self by playing as all players.  That is helpful in early stages of design in finding problems.  Also whilst the pandemic is happening Online playlets groups are springing up all over, you should be able to google some.   I've done more play testing of my own game in the last month with strangers than I ever would get the chance normally.

@Nij Could you point me to some that exist? I had searched online but couldn’t find anything. Also I’m hoping to see an improved version of the board that doesn’t have that complication but I haven’t been able to think of something that avoids it. Do you have any suggestions?

I mean it with all politeness, but a Google search for 3 player bac... didn't autofill and give you exactly what you're asking about?

@Nij You have uncovered my problem... I have had DuckDuckGo as my default search engine and use it without thinking about it. And searching for that on DDG does not show anything related to 3 player backgammon until the 18th result.

It looks like these have already been done, and done well:
Trigammon
Quadgammon
The Quadgammon board is very cleverly designed!

A four-player version (with a different board layout where you meet all other opponents) already exists:
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17769/quatro-gammon


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Which Reference Materials are Allowed During a Chess Match?
Do the rules of chess permit a player to refer to certain reference materials during a match?
For example, it is clear that materials which would assist a player with strategy are not permitted. A player cannot use another chess board to analyze the game or make notes about the game other than recording his or her moves.
However, is a player permitted to refer to a copy of the rules of chess while playing a game? What other reference materials are allowed? Is there a standard or a test for determining whether a reference material is permitted or prohibited? Can a player refer to permitted materials in electronic form or must they be printed out?
If reference materials are not permitted, must all rule inquiries then be addressed to a tournament director?
I am interested in FIDE rules and/or United States Chess Federation rules.

In a word: No.
FIDE:

12.3 a. During play the players are forbidden to make use of any notes, sources of information or advice, or analyse on another
  chessboard.
12.3 b. Without the permission of the arbiter a player is forbidden to have a mobile phone or other electronic means of communication in the
  playing venue, unless they are completely switched off.

The USCF scholastic rules similarly disallow electronics, but do not explicitly address the topic of notes. (Section 21.6)
As noted in the comments, this is because the scholastic rules are just a supplement to the USCF rules. Unfortunately, the USCF rules themselves are not available on the USCF site.
However, section 20C of the USCF rules do prohibit the use of notes. And that prohibition is quite strict (or was in 2014), according to section 15A of this link.

For completeness, would you be willing to add the USCF rules regarding this as well, given that the OP was interested in that too?

Sure. But my cursory reading of the USCF rules produced no explicit prohibition. If you have a section number handy, I'd be interested to see what I overlooked.

Scholastic tournament regulations section 21.5.3.2 talks about how you can't receive assistance from electronic devices. But it doesn't look like there is anything about receiving assistance from non-electronic means (although 21.6 through 21.8 talk about not receiving help from other people). I imagine that it's at the discretion of the tournament director, and I'm guessing they would all say outside help is not permitted.

Yeah, that's what I found. I'll add it to my answer, but I don't think it would really qualify as answering the OP's question in the formal/declarative way he wants.

It's still a correct answer to say "The USCF doesn't explicitly say anything about this". Heck, the consensus on this forum is that the USCF is "behind with everything" about codifying rules regarding cell phones, and that most USCF tournaments don't enforce penalties for them going off during a game.

The link actually goes to the scholastic tournament regulations, which in section 1.1 says "These regulations supplement the US Chess Federation’s Official Rules of Chess". Unfortunately the USCF official rules are not available online due to copyright issues, but I'm pretty sure it prohibits notes.

So in essence is it against the rules to refer to a copy of the rules during the chess match?

@Viktor Right. If you need to refer to a rule, ask a judge to find the reference (or answer your question or whatever).

@DanTilkin - Thanks. I've updated my answer to rectify that, and I also added a third party source that refers to the USCF regulations restricting the use of notes.


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Deviations from basic strategy due to the count in blackjack?
Should you ever deviate from basic strategy due to the count? Lets take for example a situation in which the dealer's up card is a 4 and you have a 12. Basic strategy would tell you to stand and not hit. Now consider the count is extremely low, for the zen count, suggesting lots of '10' cards have been drawn already. Lets make it absurdly low like -14 or something. It makes it less likely then that the next card drawn should be a 10 value to have you bust. Should you hit in this scenario or is basic strategy always the way to go? On the other hand, a really low count makes it likely that the dealer then picks up a lot of lower value cards hopefully busting. I'm confused if card counting is simply for betting strategy or if it should be regarded as a way to alert you to opportune deviations from basic strategy.

The short answer to your question is YES.  This is the whole reason for counting, to understand how to change your bets and strategy to account for the count and to take advantage of the change in the odds.
This is also how casino's know that you're counting.  Once they are deep into the deck, you start betting higher, which is a signal to them that you're counting, in which case, they'll escort you out the door.

Yes, there are a handful of such situations.
One of them is that if the deck is being dealt "off the top" (count equals zero) and you have a hand valued at 12, and the dealer is showing an upcard of 2, (which would bring his hand to 12 if the hole card is a ten-valued card such as a ten, jack, queen or king). In such a situation, you should NOT take another card, because the chances of you and/or the dealer getting a ten-valued card and "busting" with a 22 are high.
But suppose the count is -1 (or lower). That means that there are fewer ten valued-cards in the deck than usual. Now you should draw and hope to get a "small" card that will take you closer to 21.

I don't think that a count of -1 changes the strategy.  A count of -14 like the OP mentioned, does.


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UNO Card Game- What is the +4 card and how to use it in a game?
What does the +4 card in UNO mean? Are there any special rules for it?

This is the Wild Draw Four card. The exact rules for it might vary slightly between versions, but here is what I found online

Wild – This card represents all four colors, and can be placed on any
card. The player has to state which color it will represent for the
next player. It can be played regardless of whether another card is
available.
Wild Draw Four – This acts just like the wild card except that the
next player also has to draw four cards as well as forfeit his/her
turn. With this card, you must have no other alternative cards to play
that matches the color of the card previously played. If you play this
card illegally, you may be challenged by the other player to show your
hand to him/her. If guilty, you need to draw 4 cards. If not, the
challenger needs to draw 6 cards instead.


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Functional figures in board games
In all board games I played that include 3D figures (plastic, metal etc.) the figures itself can be easily changed to flat cardboard tokens.
My questions is do you know any games in which the actual shape, orientation and modules of it play more significant role than just a token?

I suppose Khet (laser chess) qualifies, but the "figures" are actual mirrors...

@Bill Nace, Post your "answer" as a question with the [tag:identify-this-game] tag. (I even think I know the game in question, but it's escaping me right now.)

HeroScape is a miniature game where the battleground had complex 3D terrain. Line of sight was determined by where in the miniature the "eye" was.

The Knights of Catan expansion of Settlers of Catan uses Knights with variable equipment, which is stacked onto the knight figures.
Lemming Mafia keeps track of how many cement shoes a lemming has by putting gray pieces into the figure's bottom.
Coppit works by stacking tokens, easily up to 10 high. This would be much harder with paper or cardboard tokens.
Tactix uses dice and their orientation on the board as figures.
In most cases, you could replace the figures with card board tokens, and e.g., switch out a token for another, or pile on tokens.
Figures have some advantages over cardboard tokens:

they are easier to pick up and move
they have a better look & feel, and with that the whole game looks like it's higher quality
if the game board is tight for space, tokens can easily slide to adjacent fields (especially when piled up), where figures are less likely to move
token towers are likely to fall over when stacked too high


text:
Does MTG have a card with a mana-generating ability that has a target and is thus not a mana ability?
Just out of curiosity: The rules say:

605.1a An activated ability is a mana ability if it meets all of the following criteria: it doesn’t have a target, it could add mana to a player’s mana pool when it resolves, and it’s not a loyalty ability. (See rule 606, “Loyalty Abilities.”)

So, are there currently abilities on cards that do have a target, but could add mana on resolve and are no loyalty abilities, thus using the stack?
I'm asking because until recently I falsely believed that all abilities that generate mana are mana abilities and are thus exceptions to the "abilities go to the stack" rule. But it wouldn't be MTG if rules didn't have exceptions to exceptions, so it'd be good to know which cards to look out for. Even if some of them are joke cards like Unglued it'd be nice to know them just for the sake of knowing.

The answers provide examples of things that are not mana abilities.  One thing to note is that, as long as it doesn't target, it is a mana ability no matter how complicated.  See Selvala, Explorer Returned for an example of something truly absurd that is still a mana ability and does not use the stack.

In case you are wondering about triggered abilities instead of activated abilities: Vernal Bloom is an example of a triggered mana ability while Eladamri’s Vineyard generates mana while not being a mana ability. see rule 605.1b

While I am also interested in triggered abilities, I don't see why Eladamri’s Vineyard is no mana ability, because "each player" means that it's not targeted either.

605.1b specifies that a triggered ability is only a mana ability if it either comes from the resolution of an activated mana ability or from mana being added to a mana pool. That's why Eladamri's Vineyard is not a mana ability. As far why they chose it to be this way, I don't know.

Oh. My god! O_O That is very good to know, because I like to play Mana Echoes, whose ability, as it turns out, is not a mana ability, either, then.

Yes, Deathrite Shaman is one such card.  One of its abilities:

{T}: Exile target land card from a graveyard. Add one mana of any color.

In fact, its oracle page even addresses this ability:

Because the first ability requires a target, it is not a mana ability. It uses the stack and can be responded to. (2016-06-08)

In addition to Ikegami's answer, I found two additional cards with abilities that add mana but are not considered mana abilities.
Soulbright Flamekin has the ability

{2}: Target creature gains trample until end of turn. If this is the third time this ability has resolved this turn, you may add RRRRRRRR.

Witch Engine has the ability

{T}: Add BBBB. Target opponent gains control of Witch Engine. (Activate this ability only any time you could cast an instant.)

Note that in both cases the abilities contain the keyword "Target".  This makes the ability not a mana ability.  Consider the counter case of Cabal Pit.

{T}: Add B. Cabal Pit deals 1 damage to you.

This is a mana ability because it never uses the word target.

Are you sure it has to specifically use the word target to count? For example, if it said "deal 1 damage to a creature that you choose"? That wording would not be used at this point in time, but the point remains, since there may be other cards that similarly don't exactly use the word target, especially if they are older.

@Aaron yes. See rule 605.1a quoted above.

@ArcanistLupus do you mean that the activating player is not a target for cabal pit? It seems odd and I do not see how rule 605.1a is relevant.

@Rad80, the activating player of Cabal Pit is indeed not a target. (How could they be? The activating player is fixed by the action of activating the ability, so there's no possibility of choice in any scenario). See rule 114.

@ArcanistLupus you're right and I'm amazed. It is even specified explicitly: 114.10b In particular, the word “you” in an object’s text doesn’t indicate a target.

@Aaron in regards to your phrasing of "creature that you choose" that may be present on the physical cardboard of an older card, but cards that may have that phrasing have since been errata-ed to use the word target.  You have to remember that the valid rules text on a card comes from the oracle text, not the physical cardboard itself.

@Aaron: Also note the various "Circle of Protection" cards that prevent damage from "a source of your choice". Not targeted, because the word "target" isn't in there, so you can protect yourself from creatures with Shroud or Hexproof or Protection from White.


text:
Doctor Who Fluxx - do Dalek cards affect all doctors
Dalek card says "if the Doctor is anywhere on the table, during your turn you can discard both him and this".
So player 1 has Doctor #2, player 2 has Doctor #3, I have the dalek.  Can I discard the dalek and both Doctors?
Does The Doctor and him mean all the doctors on the table?  After all, they are all "The Doctor".  (I would read it differently if it said "if a Doctor is anywhere on the table, during your turn you can discard both him and this", but it doesn't).

I am not a Fluxx expert (which is why this is a comment and not an answer) however the use of singular nouns leads me to believe you trash a single Doctor and not all of them.

The text on the Dalek creeper is not exactly clear: "if the Doctor is anywhere on the table, during your turn you can discard both him and this". But all doctors are "the doctor" (The third doctor, the nineth doctor etc..) so you can safely assume this counts for a single "the doctor" card.
If you look at the the FAQ:

Q: Can I trash someone else’s Doctor to get rid of my Dalek, instead
  of my own?
A: The Dalek says you can discard the Doctor from anywhere on the
  table. You’re not required to kill your own Doctor first, so, it makes
  the most sense, strategically, for your Dalek to target someone else’s
  Doctor.

There is no indication that you can discard both. It just discards one instance of "the Doctor". It is up to you to decide Who.

Common English Answer
The effect on the Dalek says "Both." In common usage, and as it is defined, both means two items. Since you may discard both The Doctor and the Dalek card having the Effect, considering that the Dalek is one card, you may only cause 1 The Doctor to be discarded.
2 - 1 = 1
Esoteric Answer
You only get to target one of The Doctor's in play with the Dalek effect.
Corroborating Evidence
The Player is required to have "The Doctor" and a "Dalek" to win with the Goal "EXTERMINATE!" The image for the Card shows only a Silhouette for The Doctor and a Dalek. The silhouette matches the same in the bottom left corner of each Doctor card. From this, any of the Doctors and a Delek would satisfy the Win condition.
Comparatively, the other Goals list a specific doctor.
Continuation:
Consider the FAQ, which covers the situation in which you have the option of multiple Doctors with which to discard with the Delek. If it was required to discard all Doctors with the Delek, the FAQ wouldn't provide you with the strategic option of targeting your opponent's Doctor.

I agree that it's reasonable to read the "EXTERMINATE!" goal as being satisfied by any Doctor card and a Dalek (although I haven't seen any official designer statement confirming this). But how, exactly, does that corroborate your claim that the Dalek's (optional) effect can only target one Doctor card?

Wording mostly, and an observance of card interactions elsewhere in the Fluxx Franchise. Separately, I have a theory that despite the randomness of Fluxx, they wouldn't put in a card that completely stilted card advantage towards one play within a deck. If the Dalek is broadly read to destroy all The Doctor's you want to, it would be an insane advantage to the player, and unbalance the power of each of the Daleks. However, that bit is just a theory.

Regarding your edit, note that the English word "both" is also commonly used to refer to members of two groups, or to an individual and a group, as in "both cats and dogs" or "both you and your friends".


text:
betrayal at house on the hill crystal ball and used items
Is a used item (lucky stone, angel feather, etc) returned to the deck after use or is it completely out of the game.  The rules say "discard this item after you use it".
I ask because with the crystal ball it can make a difference.  Can I use the crystal ball to retrieve a "discarded item" to put it on top again?
Our thought was that its possible to go through all the items so we should put discarded (used items) on the bottom of the deck...especially if you got the crystal ball early and use it many times during a game?  maybe its not possible to go through all the items, but it seems like it would have to be possible.  Or maybe discarded items are only returned to the game after all items are used?

No. "Discarding" and "place on the bottom of the deck" are rarely synonymous, and only when the rules make them so explicitly.

Looking at the rules here there are instructions for discarding rooms tiles.

If you go through the whole stack of room tiles, shuffle the tiles you set aside in a discard pile

With that in mind I would handle all discards (of room tiles cards etc) into a discard pile for each and shuffle again if the draw deck for them runs out.  I couldn't see anything in rules about discarding to bottom of deck so that doesn't feel correct.

The item and event decks are large enough that you shouldn't run out. The issue with the room deck is that cards are discarded if you can't play them so it is easy to go through the entire deck.

Your probably right.  I've not played the game in maybe 5 years so didn't recall size of decks.  I just thought it seemed unlikely that a discard would be to bottom of a deck unless explicitly stated in a games rules

I'm not 100% sure on this but I don't think it's possible to actually exhaust either deck in the vanilla game. There's 22 items and 45 events vs 44 room tiles + Entrance Hall.


text:
Settlers of Catan edition?
I have a version of Settlers of Catan that I can't seem to figure out. It is a family edition, but doesn't match anything I can find online. I recently bought an expansion for the 5-6 players, but the pieces were too big for my smaller pieces to be compatible. I'd like to get an expansion that matches mine, but can't find anything other than 5th editions

There is no expansion for the Family Edition.
From the Catan website:

This version of Catan is not expandable and not compatible with the regular expansions of the Catan base game!

You will need to get a regular edition (not family edition) of Catan to play with more than 4 players.

In my experience, Catan is more than a game, it's a game framework. Try exploring with what you have and see if it works out! Even if it doesn't work out it will be a cheap night of entertainment!

@corsiKa The Family Edition removes a lot of that possibility though. The hexes are not each separate pieces to allow for trying other things; there really isn't any way that you can physically combine the pieces from the 5-6 player expansion to accommodate more players.


text:
Mannekin Pis A copying Stonehenge B
We've had a disagreement on how to determine what color card to score when Mannekin Pis A stage 2/3 copies Stonehenge B's stage 2.
Rulebook on Stonehenge:

Stage 2: At the end of the game, the player flips face-up the card used to build this Stage. Then, the player scores 1 victory point for each card of that color pre-sent in both neighboring cities

Rulebook on Mannekin Pis:

Stage 3: The player applies the effect of the last Stage of the Wonder board to their left.

Does the Mannekin Pis player use the color of their own tucked card, or the color of card the Stonehenge player tucked?
Our assumption was that it was Mannekin Pis' tucked card. After all, MP does not require the neighbor's stage to have been built, so the other interpretation could lead to a poorly-defined state where there is no card to reference. However, "applies the effect" was vague enough that we weren't completely sure.

I don't have time to write a full answer now, but it'll be MP's own tucked card. MP basically clones the ability, and the SH ability cares about the card used to play it.

Just wondering, since I haven't got the expansion: is the wonder's name spelled the wrong way in the game as well? Both the question and answer consistently spell it with an i instead of an e.

Mannekin Pis uses its own tucked card.
The ability copies the effect of the wonder to their left.  This essentially means it gains the text of the other wonder stage.  That text is: "At the end of the game, the player flips face-up the card used to build this Stage. Then, the player scores 1 victory point for each card of that color present in both neighboring cities."  Reading this text in the context of Mannekin Pis' 3rd stage, "this Stage" refers to  Mannekin Pis' stage 3.
Support for this comes from the rules for the expansion:

The stages of the targeted Wonder do not need to have been completed by their respecitve ownes for the Menneken Pis to copy them.

For this to be true, the Mannekin Pis must copy the text of the ability rather than copy any of the properties of the other player's wonder board (including what card the other player did or did not use to build that stage of their wonder).

Your core argument is that "applies the effect" is equivalent to "gains the text". I agree that this basically HAS to be the right interpretation, but I'm not positive I could convince an aggressive rules lawyer of it (who might argue that "applies the effect" means "gains the result"). Thankfully we didn't have any of those in our group!
EDIT: I suppose a counterargument to gaining the "result" is -- why wouldn't that include determining who the neighbors are for the power. I'm really just vastly overthinking this and arguing against a nonexistent opponent. ;)

@tdhsmith I've added support from the rules.  It's not as explicit as I'd like, but it's something to fend off the rules lawyers


text:
Does entering a fight prevent use of cards with effects during movement phase afterwards?
According to the rules, entering a fight during movement phase ends movement. But as the fight itself is part of the movement phase, this does not mean, that the whole phase ends.
We interpreted "movement ends" as "all remaining movement points expire", so you cannot read books after fighting. But it is not clear, if using cards, that can be used during movement phase without requiring movement points, is still allowed.
The question came up, because we wondered if the following steps we did in a recent game were legal:

walk to Nightgaunt and sneak past, intentionally failing (by having a too low sneak value)
Nightgaunt deals combat damage immediately, causing investigator to get drawn into nearest gate
Use Key of Tawil At Umr, usable during movement phase, to instantly return to Arkham
End movement phase, close and seal gate during same round the gate was entered

Is using Key of Tawil At Umr after a fight or any other of the above actions against the rules?

No, it is not against the rules, and the sequence of events you followed is acceptable within a single Movement Phase.
Being drawn into combat of any kind only ends your movement - it does not end your Movement Phase, and some actions are still valid after combat.
While there is no specific case regarding the Key of Tawil  At'Umr, it can be inferred from an entry in the Arkham Horror FAQ regarding the Find Gate spell in an identical situation (on page 7 under Spells):

Q: Can an investigator who entered the Other World
  during the Movement Phase because of the Nightgaunt’s
  combat ability immediately cast Find Gate and return to
  Arkham, experiencing no Other World encounters?
A: Yes.

Neither Find Gate nor Key of Tawil At'Umr have any other pertinent trigger details except that they must be used during the Movement Phase, so it is logical that if one is valid after a Nightgaunt effect, the other is also.
Also on page 9 of the FAQ under Gates and Other Worlds it clarifies reasons why you would (or would not) gain an explored marker:

Q: Do I receive an “explored” marker if I enter the first
  area of an Other World, cast “Find Gate,” and return to
  Arkham?
A: Yes. In general, whenever you “return to Arkham,” you
  reappear at a gate that leads to the Other World you were
  in and gain an “explored” marker.

Since the Key of Tawil At'Umr specifically uses the phrase "return to Arkham" you do gain an explored marker when it is used in an Other World.

If the rules are not clear, it's good to feel the climat of the game.

You're walking on the streets Arkham, trying to sneak in the shadows and avoid monsters. Suddenly the wild Nightgaunt appears and the fight begins. Unfortunately you're not good in fighting and the monster grabs you, fly with you over some rooftops and throws you right to the center of the gate to the other world. You end up in the centre of cyclopic city, frightened and confused...

This seems to be quite much. I don't think, that any investigator after such situation could immediately soberly think "Meh, no problem. I have the Key of Tawil At Umr."
Moreover such usage of the Key immediately after being dropped into the gate seems not to be enough to say "I've explored this world".
I would say, that the answer for your question is "Yes", but maybe there is someone who could provide some rules details, that might make it unequivocal.


text:
Looking through the discard pile in canasta
Suppose I have cards enough in my hand to pick up the discard pile in canasta.  For this scenario, it does not matter whether the pile is frozen or not.
Can I look through the cards of the discard pile to see if it would be worth my while to pick up the pile?
or
Is there a rule against browsing through the pile before picking it up?

No, you cannot.
One of the important skills in Canasta is keeping track of what has been discarded so far. Not only to decide if it is worth picking up, but to figure out which cards are safer to discard without letting your opponent pick up the pile.
I did not find a specific rule quote stating this, the rules generally only state what you are allowed to do, and there is no rule allowing you to do this. Some rule books do clarify that the pile is kept squared up; the purpose of this is so that only the top card be visible.


text:
Definitions of verbalisations in card games, specifically UNO and DOS
In the card game DOS, the sequel to UNO, there is a rule stating:

DOS RULE: If you ever have EXACTLY TWO CARDS in your hand, you must shout out "DOS!" (meaning "two"). If you forget to do so and another player calls out "DOS!" before you do, you must immediately draw two cards as a penalty.If this happens during your turn, do not add the penalty cards to your hand until the end of your turn.

At what exact moment is it considered that one have "said 'DOS!'"? Is simply producing the start of the word "DOS" vocally the moment that I've said it, or can I be caught if my opponent starts to say it to catch me but I finish the word before my opponent? How do other games handle this issue?

It doesn't say in the rules and since both words ("UNO" & "DOS") are so short it really shouldn't be an issue...
http://www.mattelgames.com/sites/mattel_games/files/2018-03/FRM36-0970-G2_IS_web.pdf
But, I would say that it's quite clear that as soon as someone starts to say the word, no one else is allowed to also say it - but faster.
You could compare it to the first person to press a button or the first person to shout their name in a game show.
The first person to press the button gets to answer - Not the first person to press and also release the button...
The first person to start saying their name gets to answer - Otherwise the person with a short name would always be favoured over the one with a long name...

Do you have any source for that?

I do think this is the fairer way to play, but I'm not certain the button metaphor is a strong argument. I could make the opposite claim by saying that starting to say the word is analogous to my hand beginning to move toward the button and finishing the word is my hand actually hitting the button.

There isn't anything in the rules that specify what constitutes saying "UNO".  You will just have to decide with your playgroup how you want to define it.

That is completely up to your playgroup. Some say start of the word. Some say that whoever says the full word first has it, no matter who started first. Talk to your playgroup and try to agree on a balance.

I usually play where you can say UNO or DOS while you are placing your second or third card respectively. After the card is down, other people can call out UNO (or DOS)

This doesn't answer my question. My question doesn't ask about when you're allowed to say those, I'm asking about what defines having said "UNO!" or "DOS" (start of word, end of word, etc).


text:
"May" implies choice...?

Single Color Match Bonus: at the end of your turn you may lay one card from your hand face-up in the Center Row.
Double Color Match: at the end of your turn you (1) lay one card from your hand face-up in the Center Row and (2) all other players must draw one card from the Draw Pile.

May I choose not to lay down a card for a Single Color Match? It might be better to end my turn with two cards instead of one, and the word "may" implies a decision; further, the word "may" is absent from the Double Color Match passage of the rules.

In both English and common board game jargon, "you may do X" denotes that doing "X" is optional. Do you have any reason to believe otherwise here?

Well, I guess maybe I thought it was an oversight to use "may" on only one of the two rules. If that's intended, then it's only optional to lay the card on a single color match. I don't have any good reason, though. Also, I was not familiar with common board game jargon.

Ah yes,  good point

I would think that the use of may for one and not the other is intentional. This could be a way for them to balance out the strength of the bonuses.

The quote in the question includes both words, "may" and "must". So it seems very clear that "may" refers to an action that is optional.


text:
How many scry ones equal infinite scry 1 shortcut?
Can infinite scry 1 be shortcut by searching through your deck?
It appears that with a scry 1 ability and some infinite repeat mechanism, one can cut to the card one desires, keeping the deck in order as a shortcut. But let's say I can't repeat it infinitely for some reason (maybe it has a cost). If my library has 40 cards in it, do I need to be able to scry 1 40 times to shortcut this? How many minimum do I need to do this every time, and do my odds of getting the card I want on top of the deck increase faster as I am able to trigger more scry one repeats?
I don't know much about MTG, so please pardon my vernacular.

Did you read the explanation in my answer to that question regarding the details of the scry 1 shortcut?

Yes, but does that answer my question? If it does, please explain.

In order to shortcut some finite number of "scry 1"s as "look at your entire deck, then cut the deck at a specific point to put a chosen card on top", it is enough to be able to scry 1 a number of times equal to twice the number of cards in your library. So, if you have 40 cards in your library, you can use the shortcut if you can scry 1 at least 80 times.
The reason for this is that when you perform that shortcut, you see the order of the cards below the desired card as well as above. In order to get the same information by repeatedly scrying, you would have to put the card you are looking for on the bottom, then cycle through the entire library again to put it back on top. Following this algorithm, in the worst case, if the card you are looking for is at the bottom of your library, you would cycle through your entire library twice, for a total of 2 scrys for each card in your library.
Strictly speaking, you can do it with two fewer scrys. If the card you are looking for is the very last card, then you can just leave it on top of your library at the end of the first step and not cycle through your deck again. And if the card you are looking for is second from the bottom, then in the second step you don't have to look at either of the cards at the bottom to end up with the card that was second from the bottom on top.

Very minor nitpick: If the card you desire is on the bottom you only need to go through your library once. Furthermore, if you know exactly what cards still remain in your library you will know what the bottom card is once you've seen the card on top of the bottom card. This means that if the card you want is directly on top of the bottom card you only need to go through your library once as well. This means that the minimal number of scries you need is twice the number of cards in your library minus two. So if you have 40 cards left you need to have 78 instances of scry 1.

I know. That's why I tried to make it clear that the numbers I gave aren't exact. Personally, I think it's easier, both for memory and for explaining the shortcut to have a simple heuristic like "twice the size of the library".

You should not use “plus or minus a couple” when it is truly precisely “minus a couple”—even if we aren’t being so precise, an upper bound of twice your library (i.e. “twice your library is sufficient to justify the shortcut”) is useful, while an approximate number that could go either way (as suggested by “plus or minus”) suggests that we should not assume that twice our library is necessarily enough (which it is). In fact, ultimately, the minus two factor is neither complex to calculate nor to explain—why not just include it and be precise? It would make a better answer.

OK, I made the edits

Your answer seems to be how scrys are necessary to get a chosen card, if one wishes to see the order of one's entire deck before deciding what card to take.  While I can see why there would be a benefit to having this additional information before making one's choice, the OP seems to be merely asking how many scrys it takes to get to a card, having already decided before scrying what card one wants.

The OP is talking about a specific shortcut, described in the linked question, in which you look at the whole deck, then cut to a specific position. This is why I included looking at the whole deck.


text:
Why are the pips on dice organized the way they are?
Is there any particular reason why the pips (the little dots) on a die are arranged in those patterns (3 is a diagonal line, 6 is two horizontal lines, etc.)? And also why any face plus its opposite equals 7?

This is a really interesting question and just spent last hour googling around for various thoughts.
The first thing is why pips and not numbers. This is because the invention of dice predates the invention of numbers. source
According to the wikipedia article on pips its notes that the pip designs are 'easily countable'  Why the particular patterns for the numbers I don't know the fact is if you roll a 5 you recognize the pattern straight away.  Its worth noting the the pip design on a six sided dice is the same pip pattern on standard playing cards for values Ace-6.  Someone may be able to explain the origin but I imagine its a similar answer to why is are Letters shaped they way they are?  I's assumes the pip pattern is just something that's evolved over time that we then recognise.   if a dice (or a playing card for that matter) just displayed pips in a long row then counting them each time would be very tricky so the fact they evolved into a pattern that we regonise without counting the pips is probably where it came from.
Finally, why do numbers on opposite sides add up to the same number?  According to to this article Dice were not always like that, apparently some Roman dice were arrange with opposite sides adding up to prime numbers.  ie 1 opposite 2, 3 opposite 4 and 5 opposite 6.  This article states that if a dice is random it really doesn't matter what sides the numbers are on,   However the article suggests the rise in opposite sides adding up to 7 appears to be that was because it is perceived to be more fair, even though its still random what number comes up.  From the article:-

“We think users of dice also adopted new ideas about fairness, and chance or probability in games,” said Eerkens in a statement. The numbering style changed from the prime number configuration (1-2; 3-4; 5-6), one heavily influenced by popular ancient Egyptian numerical arrangements, back to the style “where opposite sides add up to seven (6-1; 5-2; 3-4).” Eerkens suggests that while the direct cause for this shift is unclear, it could possibly be related to an gradual effort to make fair and balanced dice.

Also I should say that someone else with more historical or archaeological knowledge than I might be able to give a different answer.  I'm really intrigued by the idea that opposite numbers on a dice adding to same number is perceived to to be more fair that any other arrangement despite it not making any difference.

One minor correction: the pip design on a six sided dice is the same pip pattern on standard playing cards for values Ace-6. Not exactly, the "3" on a die form a diagonal line, while the three symbols on a "3"-card are in a vertical line.

I had also noticed that the pips on dominos 1-6 use the same patterns as dice. Thank you for the detailed answer!

Rotation Invariance
The reason the pips are configured in the pattern they are is so they look the same no matter what angle you're looking at them, as much as possible.  This is called rotation invariance.
There are differences in the Occidental style and the Oriental style of dice; with the 2-side, for instance, the Occidental style has them at opposite corners, and the Oriental style has them centered.  These are both ways to achieve the same purpose.
http://www.aleakybos.ch/config.htm
Numerical Balancing
The reason for having opposite sides add up to 7 is for numerical balance.
In a die that was manufactured perfectly, this may not matter, but in fact most dice have small manufacturing defects like bubbles, or being tumbled more on one side than the other, so some sides are heavier than others.
By configuring the die with numerical balance, you can compensate for some of these manufacturing defects.  In a die where all the high numbers are clustered together on one side and all the low numbers are clustered on the other, having one side of the die heavier than the other would make it roll unfairly.
In ancient and classical times, numerical balancing wasn't seen as important, because a die roll was seen more as controlled by gods or the fate than by what we know as random chance.

During the Renaissance, dice underwent yet another significant change.
  Starting around 1450, they became less regular in size and pip style,
  but more standardized in symmetry and configuration, which shifted
  back to the “sevens” system. The increasing attention paid to symmetry
  in particular may have been driven by new knowledge of probability, a
  field of mathematics that blossomed during the Renaissance.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-centuries-old-dice-reveal-changing-attitudes-about-fate-1-180968090/


text:
Is adding a parallel word that only intersects the end letter of an existing word allowed in Scrabble?
I won a game by getting lots of points doing it ;)
but was contested and I could see their point.
Here are two examples:
PLACES
     OTHER

or
    BRILLIANT
SCORE

I can see from the official rules something similar is allowed:
 PASTE
BIT

The difference here is that BIT, PI and AT are created. So there is more than one parallel word created.
But are the examples I give only one parallel word is created, is this ok?

Sounds like you were playing with some noobies. This is pretty basic Scrabble strategy. There's a great documentary about high-level Scrabble play called Word Wars if you're interested in learning more about the game.

I just watched the trailer... I think I'm going to have to see this now ;)

The play you describe is both legal and generally easier to do than the multi-cross play you cite as a rules example.
The general rules relevant here are that, first, all the letters for a single play must be in a single line, either vertical or horizontal, and second, that all tiles adjacent to another tile (vertically or horizontally) must be part of a permissible words in each direction of adjacency.  Finally, at least one tile of any new play must be adjacent to a tile already played (except the first play of a new game, for which one tile must be on the pink star center square).

If BRILLIANT has been played, can a player put the letter E under B, and O under T, and no other letters? That satisfies all the conditions you set out.

@Acccumulation no, the tiles you play must form a single word.