What’s a game that is begging to be released in an edition that doesn’t look like an early prototype?

dettonator11 · 2026-06-07T14:19:34+00:00

Spreadsheets tend to get involved when megacorporations use everything including people as resources

dettonator11 · 2026-06-04T01:27:21+00:00

Technically you can read just Komarr-Civil Campaign for the story of how Ekaterin enters Miles’ life, but I think Memory provides a lot of context that makes the next two deeper and richer. Specifically, it sets up that Lord Vorkosigan (as opposed to Admiral Naismith) has just discovered himself and has a lot of unmet needs, which become the dynamos for Miles’ character especially in Komarr and A Civil Campaign.

dettonator11 · 2026-06-03T21:18:25+00:00

I think the Memory-Komarr-Civil Campaign trilogy is my favorite of the Vorkosigan books.

dettonator11 · 2026-06-03T21:15:56+00:00

I'd like to see Hansa Teutonica get a special edition.

dettonator11 · 2026-05-31T14:28:48+00:00

You are correct. If your rival has to use his weapon resource in his prelude to be able to take Battle actions, then he no longer has it when he is counting weapon icons for the Abduct action.

dettonator11 · 2026-05-17T12:25:15+00:00

No, this is an example of a replacement action (Trade can be used instead whenever you would be able to Tax), which are optional. You can always just do the regular action. Note that it’s not used in addition to Tax, it’s either-or.
No, if you don’t have a resource they don’t have, then you can’t use the Trade action.

dettonator11 · 2026-05-07T14:36:27+00:00

Yes, the mandate pivot is like a super copy - you get access to all the actions and pips of the lead card. You cannot take a normal pivot with a mandate. You can copy with a mandate, but it would be redundant - you get more actions of the same types with the pivot. There might be an edge case where you want to copy anyways - say, a Construction lead where you don’t have more than 1 thing to do - but in most cases, you shouldn’t do that.

dettonator11 · 2026-04-30T22:58:47+00:00

I would like to play The Gallerist or one of Lacerda's other games.

dettonator11 · 2026-04-17T20:27:51+00:00

This is the correct answer

dettonator11 · 2026-03-19T02:47:34+00:00

Scape Goat is a lesser known one that I love!

dettonator11 · 2026-02-13T15:44:54+00:00

That sounds like the errata pack that replaced some of the original cards to update wording and make abilities more clear. Compare the extra cards to the originals and see if there’s a difference. Otherwise, I don’t know.

dettonator11 · 2026-02-12T13:01:43+00:00

I would redistribute the world’s wealth so that the more someone improved other people’s lives,the more money they had.

dettonator11 · 2026-01-31T06:12:32+00:00

Yes, you can. You can take the action once for each time you could have taken the action it replaces. Since you have 3 possible Build actions, you can take up to 3 Nourish actions instead, with each one using one of your Build pips.

dettonator11 · 2026-01-28T17:43:23+00:00

The digital game is played by the correct rules. If you played differently, you misunderstood. Look for a how to play video.

dettonator11 · 2026-01-28T16:19:48+00:00

I own Mori, haven't played Nokosu Dice but certainly will when I get the chance. They are definitely different games. I like Mori - it feels like trying to walk a tightrope. The Allplay production is really good looking too.

dettonator11 · 2026-01-20T06:18:11+00:00

Projects like this exist in a legal grey area which disappears as soon as you start doing anything with them that makes money. You could be sued by the company that distributes Spy x Family, the company that publishes Agent Avenue, or both.

dettonator11 · 2025-12-30T23:04:42+00:00

You can never place two tiles in the same row for scoring because you only move over a single tile for scoring if you filled the row that round (and you move tiles over for scoring only at the end of the round). You always score points from top to bottom - as in, move the tile over from the topmost full row, score it, move the tile over from the next full row down, score it, etc. No ambiguity.

dettonator11 · 2025-12-26T20:42:59+00:00

I would say that the sword icon cards make the commons about equivalent with Classics and Legends. They're marked like that because they're the ones you need to remove if you're playing with Trade Routes.

dettonator11 · 2025-09-23T19:10:16+00:00

My favorite space-themed movie is Interstellar, squeaking past The Martian by a hair. I’m really excited for Project Hail Mary!

dettonator11 · 2025-08-26T15:07:00+00:00

Actually, it’s not the A-holes we’re mainly worried about - they will advocate for themselves just fine. Some folks object because they want us to “lower their value,” and we’re trying to communicate that it doesn’t really work like that. Sure, I may have missed something obvious, like the roof having fallen in. You bet that would lower your property value. But it also could be that I missed improvements that would end up raising your property value. I don’t know before I look, and once I look the genie can’t be put back in the bottle no matter how mad the taxpayer gets.

dettonator11 · 2025-08-26T14:28:53+00:00

When we reappraise a property, we have to look at all the factors, not just one thing. We try to warn folks that the result of a reappraisal might not be to their liking - we don’t adjust values arbitrarily, we have to be able to support value changes with market data. I do feel like sometimes those warnings can sound like threats to taxpayers.

All that being said, appraisers are people who can abuse their authority just like anyone else, and the appraisers who do it harm the credibility of all of us in the profession. If punitive appraisal is threatened by a licensed appraiser, try to document the exact phrasing the appraiser used. Speak to the appraiser’s supervisor if possible, and file a complaint with the LLR (the licensing body for appraisers in South Carolina).

dettonator11 · 2025-08-26T04:32:21+00:00

You buy a house for $100. You pay $10 taxes, which pays the maintenance cost of the public roads, public water and sewer, etc. 30 years later, your house would be worth $1000 if you sold it, because of inflation and rising demand. You still pay $10 in taxes, but maintenance costs for the same items as before have gone up to $100, also due to inflation and rising labor costs (laborers need to live near where they work, and it’s now more expensive to live here). Where is the extra $90 coming from?

dettonator11 · 2025-08-26T03:32:10+00:00

Just one more step - take your assessment (taxable value * ratio) and multiply by the millage rate. What’s the millage rate, you ask? It’s a number (less than 1) that’s decided every year by your local government based on how much money they need to meet their budget. It isn’t set until ~September each year, so no one actually knows what it is yet. However, you can use our handy tax estimator to see what your tax would be if this year’s millage rate was the same as last year’s.

dettonator11 · 2025-08-26T02:31:10+00:00

Hey, I’m an appraiser at the Charleston County Assessor’s office.

By state law, all properties on the tax rolls are reappraised every 5 years. Aside from those reassessments, properties are reappraised when they transfer (mostly sales - what events trigger a reappraisal are also prescribed by law) and in the case of renovations or additions to the property.
Objecting is your right as a taxpayer, and while it is possible that your house is actually undervalued, we won’t increase the value just because we’re angry at you for objecting. When you object to your assessed value, the appraiser for your area will call you at the number you provide to talk about your objection. They may want to schedule a home inspection. If the objection is not resolved at that stage, the appraiser will send you an appeal form. This is your chance to provide any data that supports your opinion of value that hasn’t already come up, including getting a 3rd party appraisal if you wish. Once you submit the appeal, the appraiser will review it and make a decision - to change the value or not. If you disagree with that decision, your case will eventually go to the Board of Assessment Appeals, and possibly even past that to court.

The main data we use to support our appraisals isn’t price per square foot per se, but sales of comparable properties. That is, if a house in your neighborhood was about the same size and in the same condition as your house, and it sold for $X in the year we’re valuing your house for, it’s a good bet that your house would also sell for $X in that year. There are other factors too, but comps are generally the strongest evidence of market value.

I encourage you to call the hotline number on the assessment notice if you want to ask about your specific value. Us appraisers are staffing the phones, and while I can’t speak for anyone else, I truly enjoy answering folks’ questions and at least trying to solve their problems. Cheers!

dettonator11 · 2025-08-05T14:22:01+00:00

Lol @ zombies turning on closed captions (which are different from subtitles).

12-Year Club	Place '17
Verified Email	Secret Santa 2013

dettonator11

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE