How are Event cards played?

[nukesnipe]

Are Event cards paid for and played directly from one's hand, or are they purchased during the procurement phase? The rules appear silent.

Thanks!

Scott Chisholm

[Horizon Jeff]

Hey nukesnipe, welcome to the forums! Thanks for your question.

It says in a few places in the rulebook, and most explicitly on page 32 that are always played as unless otherwise indicated.

The timing section, pages 23-25, governs when abilities and effects may be played. On page 25, it says:

If an effect is not subject to either a phase restriction or the timing indicator, then it may be generated at any time, provided no other effect is pending. Only effects with timing may be played while another effect is on the queue.

So the basic answer is "any time." There's some nuance to that, of course, but generally speaking are very flexible in terms of when they can be played.

[nukesnipe]

Jeff,

Thanks for the reply; that cleared things up somewhat.

What still has me puzzled is how I actually put them into play. For instance, during the ready phase I draw an that has a cost of . At some point, I need to spend 2 in order to utilize the card. Do I purchase the card during the procurement phase as I would or , or do in hold the card secretly in my hand and pay the 2 at the time I choose to play it? Also, I understand that the 2 can come from either cards out of my hand or off the top of my deck.

I guess what my question really boils down to is when do I pay for the ?

Other than Yu-Gi-Oh when my son was in middle school (10+ years ago), I've never played a CCG. I admit that I am a bit lost on some of the nuances.

[Admrobbo]

Hi Scott, welcome to Traveller. You pay the cost at the moment you wish to play the card.

[Horizon Jeff]

are held in hand until you wish to play them, at which point they enter play, generate their effect, and leave play. Because they do not persist in the field of play, they are "transient" cards.

are the other kind of transient card in the game. However, not the contrast in that have a phase restriction limiting which part of the round they may be used in (the Action Phase) and they also have as a timing indicator, meaning they may only be played as an .

Cards fall within one of four timing categories in Traveller (this information is available in the Timing section of the rulebook):

1) If an effect requires a cost (of any kind, not just credits. So, for instance, ) to be paid or a card to be played (for instance, a . Though this is a bit messy, because is technically a cost, which contrasts with simply no cost), then it is what is called an Activated Effect. Absent any other restriction, an Activated Effect may be generated at any time, however only effects with may be generated during/in response to another effect.

2) If an effect is on a Permanent (:connection, , , , , ) and has no cost at all, then it is what's called a Persistent Effect. Persistent effects can be Conditional (so they require a certain value or game state to exist) or Unconditional. Persistent effects are always active, unless subject to an unmet condition.

3) If an effect has a Phase Restriction, then it may only be generated during that phase.

4) If an effect has a timing indicator, that defines both when and how the effect may be generated. For instance, only effects may be generated in response to/during a pending effect.

These categories are not necessarily mutually exclusive. You may have an activated ability that operates under a phase restriction. See page 24 for an example.

I realize it can seem confusing at first. Timing is usually the most sophisticated and complicated part of any card game's rules, in part because while the vast majority of situations resolve fairly intuitively, there can be special occasions that require recourse to finer distinctions of when things technically happen.

[nukesnipe]

Jeff,

Thanks for the detailed reply.

Believe it or not, I actually understood the timing aspect; I just couldn't figure out when to pay for the cards....

[Horizon Jeff]

Jeff,

Thanks for the detailed reply.

Believe it or not, I actually understood the timing aspect; I just couldn't figure out when to pay for the cards....

I can always be relied upon to type a lot!