#luck vs magic who wins in poker

[quoteyourluck]

"I'm a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it." - Thomas Jefferson

>> Click To Try Your Luck Today

[justaboutdead]

Flavor and function in Deadlands: Reloaded

Deadlands: Reloaded is a 2005 ttrpg set in a fantasy version of the United States, particularly the Wild West, post civil war, in which the undead and the supernatural have become fairly common place. Ignoring the questionable depictions of race in the setting, the game has an awesome commitment to flavor, and I love it. So here’s some notable examples of that:

Playing cards: Deadlands: Reloaded uses playing cards for initiative and gun duels among other things. While the initiative system is technically from Savage Worlds (the system Deadlands runs in), Savage Worlds is based on the original version of Deadlands so it still counts. Basically for initiative, every round each participant in the combat is dealt a card, modified by certain abilities, and the action plays out from high to low, with Jokers being able to act whenever they choose. This keeps initiative changing from round to round, and it just works in terms of gameplay and flavor. Dueling is resolved via a game of poker between the participants of the duel. This one’s actually a really clunky system in reloaded, at least to learn. But hidden in that clunk is a lot of depth. Dueling has three contests; the poker game, which adds extra damage, the taunt/intimidation contest, which can buff or debuff the final contest; the shoot roll and the ensuing combat. There is a lot going on (including a few things I haven’t mentioned) and a lot of strategy involved, but once you understand it, it’s really fun, flavorful and good at building tension. There’s also a lot of ways to simplify the system, so its not as much of a mess. In addition to dueling, there’s also Huxters, who are among Deadland’s magic users. When they run out of power pips with which to cast spells, they can choose to play a game of poker with a demon, in exchange for more power if they win, but a penalty if they fail, adding an element of risk vs reward. And that’s cool as shit.

Poker Chips: While Savage worlds normally uses “bennies”, physical coins, as basically an inspiration/hero points system, which already works well for reasons i will get into in a bit, Deadlands: Reloaded takes it a step further and replaces those bennies with three colors of poker chip, each with different effects. This adds a bit more luck to an already engaging system, and encourages players to take note of what their working with. These chips are essential to the flow of the game, and having them be physically there at the table encourages giving them out in a way normal inspiration doesn’t. Additionally, the GM (or marshal) also gets chips to use for sudden villain reversals of fate. Most importantly of all, however, chips don’t carry across sessions, so you’re encouraged to use them rather than hoard them.

Player and Marshal specific rulebooks This last thing isnt something specific to deadlands, but it is something I love in ttrpgs that deadlands also does, and does well, although it comes with an extra price tag. Having a specific handbook for the GM and one for players allows deadlands to hide a lot of information about the setting from the players, creating an air of mystery, while still supplying them with what their characters would know, and the GM with answers to any questions they would have. This makes deadlands a really easy and dynamic setting to run as presented, and boy does it get interesting if you are able to paste the reveals in the Marshal’s book well enough. If any of these concepts sound interesting to you, I highly suggest giving Deadlands: Reloaded a shot!

[pastelbatfandoms]

Pick 14 OC’s

1. Roxy (WWE) 2. Michelle (Riverdale) 3. Renee (The Flash) 4. Rika (NOES) 5. Carrie (Gotham) 6. Helena (AHS) 7. Rihannon (HP)

8. Amara (Marvel) 9. Meghana (Descendants) 10. Esme (Descendants) 11. Marianna (TW) 12. Suzanna (TWD) 13. Mandy (ST) 14. Ashlee (AVTED)

1. Would you rather date 5 or 12?

Suzanna. I feel like Carrie might kill me if I pissed her off....

2. A man wearing a thong and boxers on his head comes up to 8 and demands their money. Their reaction? Amara would taken aback and just look at the guy weird. “Earth has some strange customs.” She mutters as she hands him some Asgardian coins.

3. 6 comes home and finds that 2 has broken into their house and is stealing their possessions. What happens? Ah hell...literally. Michelle,I’d run. 

4. Would 13 ever have sex with 9? lol their is no way they’d meet,but if they did I mean Meghana is a Demi God so probably. 

5. What would 5 and 10’s lovechild look like?  Well She or he would definitely have dark hair,and striking Romanesque features with bright eyes. In a word,stunning. 

6. What would 7 never ever admit to the world?  Other then not telling Muggles she’s a witch...I’m not sure.

7. Do you think that 1 is sexy/cute? um yes lol

8. Is 9 or 14 more likely to commit murder? Ashlee,I mean she kills Deadites all the time. 

9. What is the last thing that 14 would ever wear? Anything too frilly and princess like. 

10. Why would 13 hate 7? I have no idea...maybe jealous of her because one she knows magic and also she can have the men in her life at the same time!

11. Is 4 a virgin? No

12. What would 2 get 3 for their birthday? Michelle would probably get her a gift card to a Restaurant or a jewelry store. 

13. Does 9 go to church? No,doesn’t exist in Auradon. 

14. 12 and 1 go scuba diving. What happened? Skipping,because I have no idea. 

15. Would 6 survive a zombie apocalypse?

Dang wish this question had been for 12...but Helena would be fine,chances are her Husband made The Apocalypse so....

16. Who’s taller, 4 or 14?

I think Rika.

17. 5 and 8 get in a fight. Who surrenders first?

The Carrion Crow vs The Valkyrie...That would be some battle! I can only seeing Carrie surrendering first because Amara has powers. 

18. Does 13 trust 3 enough to drive with them during a heavy rainstorm in heavy traffic? yeah sure,just don’t let Mandy drive. 

19. Could 8 ever win a swimsuit competition? YES

20. What scares 7 more than anything? Losing her loved one’s,especially to He who shall not named...

21. How long could you stand to be around 10? A good while,she’d be fun. 

22. Your old high school enemy comes up to you on the street and punches you in the face. What would 13 do? Mandy would beat the crap out her. 

23. What would 2 say/do when extremely drunk? I’m just going to put this gif here...Remember Michelle starts off with Jughead...

24. Would 1 ever crossdress? like wear a suit? Sure I guess.

25. 1, 8, and 14 are playing tug-of-war against 7, 9, and 12. Which side would win? Roxy,Amara,Ashlee VS Rihannon,Meghana and Suzanna. 

If Amara couldn’t use her powers I’d say Meghana would win for her team because she is the daughter of Hercules. 

26. 11 and 3 are arguing. Who resorts to violence first? Marianna she is a Wolf...Good luck Renee. 

27. Does 9 or 4 have a worse temper? Meghana,She got pretty pissed after Hades broke up with her. 

28. Who would you least want to meet in a dark alley, 14, 11, or 6? Helena,Definitely... 

29. If 10 got drafted for the army, would they go for it or dodge the draft? She’d dodge it like a thief in the night ^_~

30. What is 13’s worst memory?

Billy’s death.

31. Why would the government be after 3? Because of her connection to Reverse Flash. 

32. You run into 2 on a busy street? What is the first thing you notice about them?

Her Gothic attire

33. Would 11 ever get cosmetic surgery?

No

34. Does 5 love or hate themselves?

She does to an extent,but I feel like she regrets some of her past actions and who she associated with/dated. 

35. 13 gets hit on by someone of their own gender? Their reaction?

Ok,I mean she’d be flattered but she doesn’t really swing that way. That I know of....

36. What is 14’s worst habit or addiction?

This might change,since I haven’t written her into a story yet. But I think Ashlee has a tendency to think she can go it alone,she’s very stubborn and doesn’t forgive easily either. 

37. What kind of movie would 11 go see? An Action movie

38. Does 10 still live with their parents? Technically Esme lives at a boarding school,so no. 

39. Does 6 dance?

Yes,usually to entice Michael or to entice someone to their side. Helena is also very good at swing dancing as well. 

40. 3, 5, 12, and 14 are playing poker. Who is the most likely to cheat?

Carrie.

41. What would be the main thing standing between 1 and 10’s love?

the fact that there in 2 Different stories, Michelle is with Juggie and Esme is with Charming. Michelle would remind Esme too much of what she was trying to escape from the isle. 

42. Is 2 or 4 more mature?

Rika,she is older. 

43. Does 1 or 8 have a bigger ego?

Amara,though Roxy does know a thing or two about ego’s,dating wrestlers...

44. Would 12 rather drive a small, environmentally friendly car, or a huge Hummer with bad gas mileage? A hummer,because at that point it wouldn’t matter. A vehicle is a Vehicle in The Apocalypse,though she’d prefer a Motorcycle.

45. Does 6 care about their appearance? Yes,she’s spent years not being able to see it as a Ghost,so now she can be quite fussy at times. But given who she’s dated in the past that’s not surprising....

46. 5, 7, and 14 go into a haunted house. What happens?

Carrie wouldn’t be phased she’s seen worse,so has Ashlee but she hopes there’s no ACTUAL evil dead here,which would be what Rhiannon would try and find out. 

47. 13 is walking along and gets pulled aside by a prostitute. Do they accept the offer? omg what is with these questions...poor Mandy lol honestly living where they do she’d probably be used to it,she’d just brush her off and walk away. She has Billy,she doesn’t need to PAY for it. 

48. Does 10 have or want kids? No she’s too young,though I’m sure Chad will want an Heir at some point. 

49. How will 13 probably die?

omg! Easy answer probably by a Demogorgon!

50. Why was 6 picked on at school?

Helena was actually...because she was different then the other kids,an orphan Witch,no one dared pick on her after she met Dandy though. 

51. For what would 11 worship 4?

Marianna would look up to Rika because she’s “fought” a dream demon and survived,even though she’s only human. 

52. 3 and 14 are running against each other for president. Who do you vote for?

Probably Renee she seems a bit more level headed then Ashlee but then Eobard might become Vice president...I suppose it’s better then Ash! lol

53. 1, 8, 12, and 14 gang up on 5. How long does 5 last?

Quite awhile and this must be when Carrie is bad again,otherwise Amara would have no reason to fight her. 

54. Who would 11 rather take to the prom, 2 or 9?

Mari would take Shelle to the prom,she’s a bit more low key.

55. Would 7 ever wear a leopard-print miniskirt in public?

Maybe

56. Who has a more normal weight, 4 or 10?

I have no idea,I suppose Esme.

57. Why would 13 be arrested?

For Beating up someone or stealing or underage drinking/smoking.

58. 3, 6, and 11 go to the movies. What happens?

Renee would be watching it,Helena would be bored and Mari would try to enjoy it but would get irritated at the group of people talking to loud and kicking her seat,that she’d promptly get up and tell them off. 

59. 13 is trying to escape from a burning building, but sees 1 trapped in the corner. Would they try and save 1?

Yes bad girl or not she’s still not going to leave someone to die.

60. 14 and 8 are exploring an abandoned tomb, when 14 suddenly falls through the floor and barely manages to avoid the spike traps. How would 8 save them?

With her powers,she’s levitate Ashlee back up. 

61. Would 2 rather marry 6 or 14?

Probably Ashlee.

62. Does 10 smoke or drink?

:: Nope.

63. The house is about to explode, and 9 can only save 3 or 12. Who do they choose?

Suzanna...Hopefully Renee could get herself out or Thawne could come to her rescue. 

64. Would 11 ever deal drugs?

:: No, never.

65. Did 13 graduate high school?

she’s still in school

66. 7 tries cooking a new icky looking dish and invites 4, 9, and 13 to dinner. Who eats the dish? Mandy,she don’t care. Its better then nothing,she’s not as picky as she used to be. 

67. Would 3 ever pierce their tongue?

:: No

68. What about 9 annoys 14?

That she’s a God yet she can’t fix The Deadite problem...

69. Does 1 or 5 sleep more?

Roxy

70. Who does 14 like most out of 2, 8, and 12? Who do they like the least? Suzanna,they can relate to each other more,though I feel like Suzanna would be the mother figure,Amara would be the cool big sister and Michelle would be like Ashlee’s twin or BFF. 

[ashrizen]

yeah so uhhh i accidentally wrote like a 1.2k+ word meta about phoenix & the differences between him when we’re playing as him vs as someone else & the reasons behind those differences.     woO O P S.

               the reason phoenix comes off as so capable whenever we play as someone else & when we face off against him in aa6     —     capable to the point where it seems to not just contrast everything we’ve seen of him from his pov but do a near perfect 180 of it   ( what with him having figured out the case & having a set plan of action & having prepared witnesses & evidence beforehand )     —     is exactly because we’re viewing him from someone else’s pov.

               to the world at large, phoenix’s uncertainty & anxiety & admissions to bluffing & surprise at some of his own tactics working are all kept to himself, to the blue text of inner monologue.     he could be questioning his own decisions tenfold, yet to anyone else looking at him it would seem that he’s utterly confident in his statement.

               the thing is, he has, pardon the expression, a good poker face.     when we play as him, we get to see his anxiety & freak - outs, but everyone else just assumes he’s deep in thought rather than internally screaming & thinking   “ I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I’M DOING WHAT IS GOING ON WHY DOES THE UNIVERSE LOVE TO TORTURE ME I AM FIVE SECONDS AWAY FROM CRYING ”   ( which sounds like an exaggeration but honestly that is a pretty much perfect summary of the sort of thoughts he has when he’s up a creek without a paddle ) .     his theater kid years have served him well, along with the inadvertent practice of general avoidance of open conversations & of poker   ( a game notorious for being a game of bluffs, something phoenix even mentions being akin to lawyering )   over the past near decade     —     he’s a good actor & knows how to look collected.

               plus, he actually is a pretty capable lawyer  ;     he’s certainly grown to be one over the course of the first trilogy.     i mean, you don’t amass a reputation of being the   “ turnabout terror ”   &   “ comeback king ”   & keep recognition as a brilliant lawyer for like nearly a decade, even through disbarment, on bluffs & luck alone.     that doesn’t fucking happen, especially in a country where the legal system seems to have absolutely everything stacked up against lawyers, with them being allowed limited police department assistance & having prosecutors be allowed to speak with   ( & thus potentially manipulate by making them omit parts of testimony )   the witnesses, & where the court favors quick trials to convict criminals as quick as possible, going so far as to have a trial length limit of three days & having the judge be the lone decider of the verdict.

               & also like, i mean, if people like miles & franziska can admit to phoenix being a worthy rival, someone on their own level, there’s no way the majority of phoenix’s success stems from Luck & Bluffing.     don’t get me wrong, he’s incredibly lucky   ( interruptions that give extra time, new testimony that was Just what was needed, new evidence that you can spot from a mile away contradicts established testimony, etc. )     & has bluffed his way through parts of trials   ( bluffing someone’s guilt to buy time, bluffing about contents of evidence to trick a witness, etc ) , but that’s still a very low occurrence percentage.     saying phoenix’s career has had so many successes due to luck & bluffs is like saying that miles edgeworth & franziska von karma, when they lost cases against phoenix, while both being brilliant prosecutors who’ve had perfect win records up until facing him, lost because of Bad Luck.     that doesn’t happen.     you don’t go years winning on brilliance only to lose due to Bad Luck.

               & you know what’s worse ??     despite boosts in confidence when he’s on a roll, a rather big chunk of phoenix’s internal monologue is spent stressing over shit.     the guy that’s lost three cases in his entire career   ( though the first two verdicts were fair & he had no qualms about them, so technically they’re only losses by name, & the third was lost in a foreign country with an unfamiliar court & legal system & the verdict was soon overturned due to proving his client’s complete innocence )   still second guesses himself & has internal freak outs when his grasp on near victory begins to slip, as though he hasn’t recovered soon after in every single case beforehand.

               also, on the matter of his level of capability post!trilogy, when you look at all the facts of the cases that phoenix   “ seemed to magically solve while apollo was still figuring it out ” , you have to remember a few things about the conditions surrounding the cases.

               in the case of zak’s murder, unlike apollo, phoenix was there at the crime scene & was familiar with all the tricks & quirks of the hydeout, not to mention the conditions of the previously ongoing poker game.     he had time for a quick investigation before the police arrived plus prior knowledge to ways one could disappear from the hydeout.     that, plus the good amount of time at the detention center he had to mull things over, easily explains how he figured the case out before apollo, who had never been to the crime scene, was informed of the case through kristoph, & only had a few hours to figure out the entire case from scratch.

               as for the case of the mishams, his investigation of things in relation to them spanned over 7 years & he’s stated that he’d taken trips to europe due to a friend needing help once in a while, which we can obviously assume to be edgeworth, so it’s highly likely he had help with small details.     not to mention, while phoenix may have figured out who done did it, he didn’t yet know how to prove it without a shadow of a doubt & how to use what he’d acquired to show the guilt.     he may have figured out who did the deed & collected evidence & information, but he did so over the span of 7 years, &, ultimately, it was apollo & klavier who put together all the puzzle pieces & were able to prove kristoph’s guilt.      the mystery of the black psychelocks still remains, & as we learned in aa5, they lock secrets that not even the keeper is aware of, but they’re not impossible to unlock, so there is potential for that mystery to be solved before kristoph’s death sentence is carried out.

               but i digress.

               aa4 is where the   “ magical knowledge of cases ”   starts & ends.     the cases besides zak & misham’s were solved entirely by apollo & trucy, & phoenix only helped out a little in the meraktis case, & that was just helping the kids get into the crime scene.     he did nothing else.

               meanwhile, in aa6 when we’re up against him & he has everything ready for the trial, while true that often phoenix doesn’t have all the details & evidence ready, not to mention the witnesses are often not as helpful as he’d like, you have to remember that edgeworth was helping phoenix with the case, being the only other person to know of the blackmailing situation.     so phoenix being more prepared than one would expect is nothing unusual when he has someone to help out, not to mention the sense of urgency to perfect the case due to the circumstances that no doubt played a large part in the preparations.

               phoenix doesn’t magically become more capable when we’re not playing as him     —     he’s always been as capable as he is, if more oblivious & clumsy with his work in his first couple of cases.     seeing him from an outsider’s pov just lets us see what he’s like without all the internal screaming & uncertainty, not to mention the fact that he’s grown quite a lot as a lawyer since his early years at the practice due to over a decade of experience.

[svtfoefan1976-blog]

Star vs the Forces of Evil - Poker Arc. It’s gonna get a little wild.

The episodes from The Battle for Mewni were a game changer.

For my point of view, literally.

The card game was already set since start, Star goes to Earth, when we see that Queen Moon and Star have card suits on their cheeks. Diamonds and hearts, respectively.

As stated in the first post of this series, we see on St. Olga's reform school for wayward princesses episode that Heinous has the clubs suits. But she keeps them always hidden from everyone. She doesn’t want anyone to see that cheek marks, except for Rasticore, as we see on Heinous episode when she sees pretty confortable to take her make up off with its arm. Well, he doesn’t have eyes at that moment but she loves so much that little arm...

And, as it happens just after Sleepover, and the shock and awe for the shippers, people may not pay attention on what happens in the beggining of Gift of the Card episode and get back only when Star and Marco wanted to hug like so everyone sees they died as - humm... cough! cough! Sorry, something in my throat - friends.

But we have this interesting dialogue in the very beginning:

Heinous: Thank you for meeting us today, Rasticore. We have a problem about some rogue princesses, which I hope you can help us with.

(Rasticore grunts and approaches)

Heinous: Destroy the blond one, but bring the dark hair one to me.

We trully understand the hatred on “Princess Marco” as the leader of St. Olga’s rebellion and Star as his/her sidekick. But why to “destroy” Princess Butterfly, while she knew her origin as Mewni Princess and keep alive “Princess Marco” unless both movements would give some advantage to her? In this case, I don’t believe in a simple revenge, like the one tried on Heinous episode.

And in episode Into the Wand, we see Queen Eclipsa’s tapestry and that she’s known as Queen of the Darkness. Pointless to show, she has the spades suit on her cheeks. Star’s reaction after reading her history?

Star: Huhuhuh. Bad girl.

And a face like “I loved that attitude. Inspiring.”.

Yes, the Poker arc intertwines with the Chess arc, but was not the main arc or the main game throughout the show. Until Queen Eclipsa arises from now on, because of the deal shown on episode Moon the Undaunted.

And even on this episode Moon couldn’t see Eclipsa as evil.

Moon: She didn’t seem so evil.

What about poker? Well, poker is not a game where luck takes the most importance, when well played. Intelligence, mathematics, odds and psychology to end the hand before the cards are shown down are way more important than luck. But it is also there. The most common poker game is Texas Hold’em, the modality in which the Main Event of the WSOP (World Series Of Poker) is played.

Remeber when Einstein said that “God doesn’t play dices with the universe”. Well, I feel he was partly right. If there is a God playing something with the universe, He would not be playing dices, but surely poker. And we would be His chips.

Eclipsa and Heinous might be doing a tactic plan that sometimes is common at a poker table: to look like something they aren’t. A tight player (who usually plays only with the most important combinations in a table) would act as a loose player (who may play with hands that some people believe that doesn’t have initial big value or bluffing, with cards which are not good to play as starting hands). An aggressive player (which is always raising hands in which he comes in) may become a passive player (which only calls, keeping the pot low and waiting what is going to happen in the other steps). Of course, the opposite may happen.

The chips (yes, ships sound alike, don’t ya?, nice choice of gaming from the show...) are the measure to see which player is more powerful at the table. But every player will play according to their interests. Everyone against everyone, until the player is kicked out from the table or changes table.

Even the poker language was used sometimes within the show, for example, in Starcrushed, Princess PonyHead (or Miss Lilacia, to the most intimate ones) first makes her bet during the emergency friends meeting while Star tried to bluff (decieve) them all:

Star: Uuuugh! So now, Marco and I can barely make eye contact because of Ruberiot’s dawn song! I mean... Marco actually thinks I have a crush on him. (Laughs nervously)

PonyHead: Yeah, but like, don’t you though?

Originally from here

In this scene, Star gives a huge tell, a reaction showing what she wanted to hide (in poker, would be the cards or the kind of the game she has, in this case, her crush on Marco) the nervous laugh, that she was lying about what she spoke before, to which PonyHead - as she knew more Star than any of the others there - answers with a question and a “poker face” trying to put her into telling the truth, “calling the bet”. Star denies - doubtfully - at first, but after her confession in the end of the episode, PonyHead couldn’t resist to show she “had won the hand”.

PonyHead: Who called it?! I called it! BOOM! (StarFan13 faints) I called it.

Bet, call, raise, bluff (deceiving) are traditionally used at a poker table. And it is like this the action plot will be structured from now on. We will have lots of characters (or groups of characters) moving according to their own interests.

We know that probably Heinous is not only seeking for revenge against Star and Marco. Some interesting questions on her:

1. Why she didn’t try anything to Star on the Diazes home, but wanted to kill Star at Quest Buy? Not to draw any attention from the Butterflies?

2. It looks like that Rasticore was in Toffee’s army when Queen Moon fought him. Did they still keep close relationship after Moon’s incident? Is Heinous a third insterested behind another war between Monsters and Mewmen?

3. The princesses’ brainwashing was intended only for princesses posture training or to control their minds in some way? For Heinous worked as a way to herself to get calm down also not to panic but also to remind what was her objective?

Of course, all what was spoken would be too clever for what she has shown us until now, I must admit, but anyway, she still has her own interests on the Butterfly family. Let’s put her in the game, but with a short stack. This way, she plays, but as an underdog.

Queen Moon, by now, has the most chips. She is the one that has everything to lose. The kingdom - to her enemies -, her credibility - when Queen Eclipsa is seen alive, because of her deal - and even the Magical High Comission support - assuming that even when Rhombulus unfroze Eclipsa, the Magic High Commission never knew what were the terms of the deal. If Queen Eclipsa is seen as not evil, even Star may get attracted to learn from her... And if everyone comes to see the effects of what the use of dark magic does on Moon’s arms? That is a lot to lose. She will play passive and try to bluff whenever needed, after all “the truth is dangerous”. But she has a card to use: Lekhmet.

Remember that besides being turn into ashes in Starcrushed, he was being carried in the magical carriage to the sanctuary in Return to Mewni. But he was not put to be healed immediately. Why? She lost him? Only three at a time? Or because she wanted to keep the healer under her hands to control the possibility of a Magical High Comission rebellion as she would be the only one to be able to heal them and keep things in an agreement? That is a question.

Queen Eclipsa is the most unknown and mysterious character in the show and how she will play at the table is a complete mystery. What we know for sure is she is a fan of dark magic, has the guts to unmarry a Mewman, being Queen, to marry a Monster, even it was forbidden and, if evil, she has the greatest poker face of all, being able to cry, faking empathy only to reach her objectives. She is trully a remarkable opponent as everyone compares magic powers to her, as she used as comparison to Star’s habilities in Baby episode. 

We know also that Mewni’s tapestry is good propaganda, but doesn’t represent fully the true reality. What will be the other characters reaction to Eclipsa’s arrival to the game? What is her true self, good, evil or neutral? And with how many chips she’ll arrive and will she play for fun or for real? Wouldn’t bet a single chip on what path she’ll take. Only that she’ll do whatever she pleases.

This said, how the Magic High Comission will react with Glossarick’s and Lekhmet’s loss? Will they turn against Star and Moon? Or, maybe put daughter against mother because of other reasons, for example, Eclipsa? Well, assuming that Glossaryck and the Magical High Comission were always there with every queen of Mewni, how the loss of members may affect them? And relations were quite electrical with Moon during Face the Music. And we have seen that their own members do not agree among themselves in Page Turner and Moon the Undaunted. They may not behave as a group themselves throughout the game.

Star, poor Star, must know what she wants. She wants Marco? She wants to be queen somewhere in the future? Who she will need to face for that? What are her actual threats? What does she needs to achieve her plans, if she has any plan?

Looks like she’s playing randomly in the game. In poker that’s dangerous. Because such random player can go winning or losing hands by pure chance. And be decisive for the game. By now, she is winning. But from now on, what will happen? She may put all her stakes to lose in a few hands.

And who else more could join this game? Toffee seems to be out, playing at the Lizard’s farm, but we don’t know who are the ones in other tables or outside the game but might come into it. An example: what was wacky Mina Loveberry doing inside the Monster Table (oops!) - sorry - Temple? As we have seen B4 -couldn’t resist - Eclipsa wasn’t put as an Easter Egg in Rhombulus dimension in Cristal Clear. Because of this, I simply can’t believe Mina will be only an Easter Egg from episode Book be gone. She might be playing for something.

Originally from here

This is an example on how other players may be moving up to the main table. Multi-way play leading into multi-way pots. Poker is such a simple game after explained, but its final results and actions are rather underteministic. Can’t count that all information you have in the game is true, just in terms of odds and of what hands you might be winning or losing.

And straight flushs and royal straight flushes - the maximum results on cards arrangements - are extremely rare. You can’t wait them to do a move. Anyway, out the show, the fandom loves to bet on their favorite ships. Even the weirdest ones...

The true moves begin November... Shuffle up and deal!

[stevecanmakeanythingnerdy]

RANDOM RECORD WORKOUT SEASON 5 Battle 9 Electric Light Orchestra: Face The Music (Side 2) Vs. Bon Jovi: Slippery When Wet (Side 1) Electric Light Orchestra: Face The Music (side 2) The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970, by songwriters/multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of Beatlesque pop, classical arrangements, and futuristic iconography. After Wood's departure in 1972, Lynne became the band's leader, arranging and producing every album while writing virtually all of their original material. They dabbled in concept albums like Eldorado, but mainly Were just very good at writing catchy, hook laden rock songs, fleshed out with strings and classical orchestral arrangements overdubbed. When I say very good at, I really mean they basically helped create it entirely, almost as a new genre labeled symphonic pop. Complete art in and of it's own right. Elo wanted to write beatles-esqe pop fused with modern and classical flair. Basically a Beethoven/Beatles mash up. It's pretty brilliant if you ask me. 1975's Face The Music is their 5th studio album. Only four tunes (hey, this was the height of 8 track mania after all) and it starts with "Poker" - an almost punky, chunky number. Cool ass keyboard rips and blips. Slows to a mellow jam. It might actually be my favorite on the side. The next cut is "Strange Magic", which is of course the big hit off the album. If there were such a thing as rock theater, then this would undoubtedly fit the bill. And buried on the B side even. That is the strange part! "Down Home Town" is a partial country twanger. Did Dylan write this?! I can see an influence for sure. Even on later bands like the New Mongrels. Dixie land for synthesizers. "One Summer Dream" is a ballad of standard tempo and containing a little weighty (of the phylum Floyd, Pink) build. It doesn't really pan out though, just plateaus. Overall it's two really great tracks with two mediocre ones. Could be worse. One thing is for sure: ELO is badder ass than you think. I am not sure I can accurately and truly draw comparisons. They are true to their namesake, an electric orchestra with synth bliss. ELO certainly has a flair for the appropriate dramatics. Falsetto vocals never sounded better. Bon Jovi: Slippery When Wet (side 1) Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. They formed in 1983 and, really are centered around two anchors. Some fans may disagree, but I say TWO because founding member and namesake John Bongiovi AND lead guitarist (and co-songwriter) Richie Sambora really combine, fairly equally in my eyes to create Bon Jovi's signature sound. Sambora left in 2013' but BJ rocks on, even today. The story really begins in 1986. After two moderately successful albums, the group was about to break big. In early 1986 Bon Jovi moved to Vancouver, Canada to record their third album. The band spent six-months recording the new album. The band decided to name the album "Slippery When Wet" after visiting a strip club in Vancouver. On August 16, 1986, Slippery When Wet was released. The album reached number one in U.S., where it spent 8 weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart. The first two singles from the album, "You Give Love a Bad Name" and "Livin' on a Prayer", both reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Slippery When Wet was named the top selling album of 1987 by Billboard. "Livin' On A Prayer" won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Stage Performance. For that year at least, you couldn't get away from Bon Jovi even if you wanted to...that is until Geffen unleashed Guns 'n Roses on the world (and thank God for that!) And they kicked them off the charts. Anyhow, Bon Jovi waste no time, starting right off with "Let It Rock". They do exactly that. Boisterous and massive attack keyboard and a calculated intro track. It immediately demonstrates JBJ's vocal range. You get style, solos and hair. Next up is a fan fave, "You Give Love A Bad Name". EVERYONE knows this radio jam. It was practically a theme song of 1987. You are singing it right now, aren't you? Ok, well if you said no, you are lying to yourself and you ARE singing it right now. Who doesn't shout along to the chorus!?!? No one, that's who. As it that were not enough, they keep at it with "Livin' On A Prayer". Another chart buster in the hard luck "Jack and Diane" type story. So much pain in song form. "Social Disease" is actually the only real WTF moment on the album. Obvious filler. Is it possible to earn negative stars??! This tune is just plain corny. "Wanted Dead or Alive" is the other big one. It shows diversity of the band and is actually an excellent example of a great power ballad and story telling song. Sambora really shines bright here. I have a funny/embarrassing story about this song. 100% true, forever (like three years after it's release even) I thought they were saying "Meadow of Life" instead, and it always made me scratch my head why, but I though: "well, he's a cowboy on a steel horse, so I guess they ride through meadows...so yeah." No. Joke. Anyhow, it was a big breakthrough album for the NJ boys. It is riff-centric radio rock and every bit of it great. Super prodced, but it helped make Bon Jovi a household name, and acid washed denim clad teen girls melt in the streets at the mere mention of the name. I first heard of them through my sister, and more specifically the large poster on her bedroom wall. I was still enjoying my Fat Boys records at the time. At least until I heard Guns 'N Roses (#lifechanging). Good news for JBJ fans: On October 5, 2017, Bon Jovi was listed as a nominee for the 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductions... Stay tuned!! So ELO faced the music and burned 136 calories in 18 minutes over 4 songs. They earned 8 out of 12 possible stars. That is a pretty impressive 34 calories burned per song and 7.56 calories per minute. Bon Jovi made me both slippery AND wet (with sweat you pervs) while They burned 175 calories over 23 minutes and 5 songs. They earned 10 out of 15 possible stars. That is 35 calories burned per song and 7.61 calories per minute. Looks like the BJ's win..high fives all around! Listen for yourself! Check out the links: Electric Light Orchestra: "Strange Magic" https://youtu.be/-6f35OusJuI Bon Jovi: "You Give Love a Bad Name" (terribly lip synced but who cares) https://youtu.be/_TxR9nrXrC8 #RANDOMRECORDWORKOUTSEASON5 #RANDOMRECORDWORKOUT

[draknek]

My 2016 - boardgames played

In 2016, I kept a record of what media I consumed, with a short record of my thoughts about some of them (one or two sentences only).

This is every boardgame I played.

This is part six of my 2016 retrospective. The other parts:

games I made

books I read

podcasts I listened to

films/TV I watched

videogames I played

boardgames I played

January (Melbourne)

Hive (2 players) I really enjoy teaching this game to people. So many satisfying "ah but you didn't realise THIS" moments.

Welcome To The Dungeon (3 players) Good choice to fill a small amount of time.

Splendor (2 players) Close game! Narrowly managed to win despite feeling I was lagging behind the whole game.

Pandemic Legacy session 2 (4 players) Almost failed the second half of January before realising we were missing most of the red cards. February was easily dealt with through A) extremely lucky infection locations & B) rules lawyering.

The Resistance (6 players) Playing with Shang Lun is interesting because he plays well but I've started to recognise his spy behaviours.

Codenames (7-10 players) Last time I played, teams seemed to stay ahead once they had a lead. This didn't happen this time, we had two very close matches.

Witness (4 players) Different to what I was expecting: it was a surprise to not have any context for the whispered information. Pretty satisfying to remember everything and then understand its relevance.

Murder of Crows (4-5 players) One or two clever pieces of design here, but ultimately inelegant and not very fun.

Jenga (7 players) Definitely improved by having badly written challenges on the blocks.

Wordslap (beta) (6 players) I was very bad at this game.

Pandemic Legacy session 3 (4 players) March & April weren't too challenging. May was a hard-fought slog but we won in the end.

Hanabi (4 players) Playing with someone forgetful is very amusing. Scored 19.

The Resistance (9, 7, 6 players) I'm reminded that this is generally more interesting for the spies than for everyone else. Merlin is a really tough role, and I think maybe on balance his presence makes it easier for the spies?

Turtle Wushu (4-5,2 players) Possibly the best entertainment/bag space ratio of any game I own.

Pandemic Legacy session 4 (4 players) June didn't add any awful new rules, but we still lost the first game before winning in the second half of the month. I feel like our world is in a better state than you'd expect.

Hanabi (2 players) First time I've tried this with two players, but it holds up pretty well. Scored 20.

Mafia de Cuba (10, 12, 6 players) Every single game (of around six) ended with a cop getting accused, which seems kinda broken. It's surprisingly slow to play, also.

Greater Good (beta) (6 players) Hard to get a feel for it from just one game. We all got killed.

Slap 45 (6 players) This was okay, but I think I've played better reaction games.

Telling a story one syllable at a time (9 players) A nice twist on telling a story one word at a time, which results in something totally incomprehensible. I wonder if restricting it to only 2+ syllable words would work.

Anecdote game (8 players) This was really entertaining.

Nomic (7 players) We made it to Planet V several days late, but at least we could pay back our Vollar loan and still bribe them to overlook our tardiness. Rhyming was good, numbers and questions were bad.

Pandemic Legacy session 5 (4 players) July was close, August was pretty manageable. I kinda wish we were losing more often, it's balanced so it gets easier when you lose but it doesn't get much harder when you win.

February (Melbourne)

Ummageddon (beta) (6, 5 players) Apparently it works much better with 3/4 players, so I can't really judge it from this experience.

Stop (5-7 players) More fun to watch than to play, but still pretty fun to watch. Think it could be improved with rule tweaks.

Listelanser (2 players) It's funny how easy it is to completely lose your opponent. Video footage

Temple of elemental evil (3 players) This felt really empty compared to regular D&D. (I've not played anything like D&D in over 15 years, but I still feel confident in that assertion.)

Pandemic Legacy session 6 (4 players) Okay, September kicked our asses. This month's twist really hurt!

Pandemic Legacy session 7 (4 players) An unsatisfying victory in October. We won with no outbreaks, but despite being on top of the situation we failed to find patient zero.

Hive (2 players) Got overconfident because I was teaching the game, then annoyingly it got dragged out into a draw.

Pandemic Legacy session 8 (4 players) Misread the rules, but I'm kinda happy we did because it meant we got to find patient zero for ourselves. More and more cities are collapsing, but we've got a strong vaccination program going so I'm optimistic about our chances in December.

Pandemic Legacy session 9 (4 players) Not as many curveballs as I was hoping for! Some bad luck meant we got close to losing at the end, but it wasn't really tense since it was clear that if we'd lost we would easily have won in the second half of the month.

Poison and Wine (beta) (5 players) Fun concept, went down well.

T.I.M.E Stories (Asylum scenario) (4 players) I'm really glad I got to play this, it's fascinating and pretty unique. A shame only one scenario is included.

Project Dreamscape (3 players) Fairly light and accessible, but still has some strategy. I won with a pretty devastating final turn (which led to my score of 17 vs 7 & 4), but I think it's pretty plausible other great combos were possible previously and just went unnoticed.

Escape: The Curse of the Temple (5 players) I'd been hearing good things about this game for ages, and it lives up to the promised amount of hecticness. I got left in the temple, I'd just made it to the exit tile when time ran out.

Panic on Wall Street (11 players) Played as an investor this time: my main success was keeping a tiny bid on losing stocks hoping they'd go up, which no one wanted to outbid me on. I thought I was winning by a large margin but actually I barely scraped the victory by only $5000 (the smallest unit of money).

Codenames (5 players) It feels really satisfying to pull off a comeback (and this is kinda encouraged because the more clues you fail, the more you have queued up to try again later.

Funemployed (8 players)

Cogz (6 players) Some really ugly graphic design, the gameplay was okay but not great. We decided afterwards that this is probably better with fewer players: with 6, the board has changed massively by the time it gets back to you.

School of Fish (10 players) Everyone has to mimic the person in front, but "person in front" is defined by which way you're currently facing. Maybe not best played on the way to get food, but entertaining for a short while.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf (7-8 players) I like this game a lot, it's quick and reliably tense.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf (making up five new roles to accompany Wolf & Seer) (4 players) About as broken as you'd expect, but did lead to...

One Night Ultimate Werewolf (with Satanist: turns the player on your right into a wolf) (4-5 players) Really fun variant! Possibly not totally balanced, but not obviously one-sided either.

Epic Card Game (4 players) Horrible name aside, this feels like a simplified version of Magic: The Gathering. 4 players probably isn't the best introduction to it though.

Once Upon A Time (5 players) It isn't great how some players can spend a really long time without getting a turn. Possibly the best way to fix that is by adding more triggers for ending someone's go.

The Witches (3 players) Accessible and easy to pick up, but very light on strategy. If you're really into Discworld you'll probably appreciate all the references a lot.

March (San Francisco)

Liars dice (5 players) Solid bluffing game.

Patchwork (2 players) Played this several times and still didn't have a handle on strategy

Tribune (3 players) Lots of different rules and things that [thought left unfinished]

Liars poker (2 players)

Cuttle (2 players)

Hive (2 players) Played an experienced player and still won 3 out of 3 games! And taught a newbie who picked it up quickly.

Castles of burghundy (4 players)

Pandemic (3 players) Not as good as Pandemic: Legacy, but still pretty good.

April (New York)

RPG stand-in (Dungeon Crawl Classics) (4 players) Fell through a roof, seduced a dude, got skewered with arrows and almost died. A successful couple of days in this thief's life.

Bananagrams (4 players) I rememeber not particularly having fun last time I played this a long time ago, but this time it worked well. I won, which maybe has something to do with that.

Mr Game (4 players) Best played with people who like to break systems and explore edge cases.

Ticket to Ride: Europe (5 players) This is inoffensive and suitable for almost any group, but still manages to be a solid game and interestingly competitive.

Lost Cities (2 players) This plays really fast

Tzolk'in (2 players) I got utterly schooled.

RPG stand-in (Dungeon Crawl Classics) (5 players) Made a character become a wizard and spent a lot of time trying to solve problems by growing spider legs. Eventually magicked my hair into a massive prehensile limb which I sent into the dungeon to collapse a vital support column while safely standing outside the entrance.

May (Toronto)

Patchwork (2 players)

Lanterns (4 players)

Lost legacy (4 players) Similar to Love Letter (and by same designer) but slightly more interesting.

Isle of trains (4 players) pretty awkward how you get more options midturn

The grizzled (4 players) It's interesting how this is not really trying to be fun.

7 wonders (4 players)

Splendor (3 players)

June (Toronto, Montreal)

Myre (2 players)

Spit (2 players)

Scrabble (2 players)

Puzzled Pint (theme: breweries)

One night werewolf (10 players)

The hat game (12 players)

Montgolfiere (6 players)

Incan gold (7, 5 players)

Libertalia (5 players)

July (Montreal)

Puzzled Pint (theme: secret societies)

Haru Ichiban (2 players)

Hive (2 players)

August (London)

Chairs (2-3 players)

Pandemic (3 players)

The Other Hat Trick (3 players)

Shape Up (3 players) Seemed broken in a few ways, one of which being that the last player seems to always have an advantage

Dancing Eggs (3 players) Utterly ridiculous.

Qwordie

Galaxy trucker (3 players)

September (Coventry, London)

Time stories under the mask (5 players)

Cyclades (2 players)

Skull (4 players)

Codenames (5 players)

Tash kalar (2 players)

Zombie fluxx

Splendor

Roll for the galaxy (3 players)

October (London, Oxford, Nottingham)

Geschenk (6,7 players)

For sale (6 players)

Codenames (7 players)

Hanabi (5 players)

Junk Art (6 players, towns played: hometown, Philadelphia, Paris, Montreal)

Catacombs (6 players)

Improv D&D (5 players)

November (London)

Sticheln (6 players)

Dead last (8,12 players)

Mascarade (6 players)

Broom service (3 players)

Double (7 players)

December (Coventry, London, Bristol, Dublin)

Ora & Labora (3 players)

Conan (5 players)

Taboo (5 players)

Libertalia (5 players)

Codenames (3,4 players)

Rights (4 players)

Escape room in a box (5 players)

Turtle wushu flip contest (2 players)

Arboretum (4 players)

Codenames (6 players)

Concept (4 players)

Roll for the Galaxy + Ambition expansion (5 players)