Hello everyone,

I received the AGoT LCG for my birthday last January and may be playing it for the first time tonight.

I do have a few questions to which I have not found an explicit answer in either the rule book or FAQ document.

Are players obligated to read their opponents the strength/abilities of the cards they have placed during set-up, or that come into play later in the game, if requested to do so?

For example, Player 1 is playing House Lannister. During set-up, he places Ser Jaime Lannister on the table. When the game begins, the House Stark player is declared first player by the player who won initiative. During the Marshalling phase, the House Stark player, who cannot himself read the text on Ser Jaime Lannister's card (across the table, upside down, small print, etc.), asks the House Lannister player to read him that text, so that he can make a more informed decision regarding what cards he will purchase/play during Marshalling (and what strategy he may pursue during the Challenges phase). Is the House Lannister player obligated to read the text on Jaime Lannister's card aloud to the other players if requested to do so? Or is the House Stark player (and those playing the other Houses) required to find out for themselves what Jaime Lannister's powers (and those of other cards that come into play) are the hard way, via trial and error?

Likewise, when Plot cards are revealed, is each player required to tell the other players about plot effects that may not come into play immediately (for example, they may provide response effects, or the effects may not come into play until a later phase), and about their claim value, or can players choose to keep plot effects secret until they come into effect? Taking a layman's definition of the term "reveal," I would interpret that to mean that players should be required to read all information on their plot cards aloud when Plot cards are revealed at the beginning of each round… I welcome the thoughts of more experienced players on this.

I realize that the more one plays the game, the more likely it is that players will memorize the abilities of their opponents' cards, especially if playing primarily with the Core decks. But until we reach that level of familiarity, the above questions leave me wondering what the best way to proceed is.

If the answers have already been explained somewhere else, I apologize for missing them and would be grateful if you could provide me with the source/reference.

Thanks in advance for your time and assistance.

There is no "rule" that says you have to read your cards out loud when they come into play.

That said, a player's currently revealed plot card and cards that are in play, in a player's dead pile, in a player's discard pile, or in a player's used plot card pile are considered "public information." Common sense and basic sportsmanship says that you cannot actively hide "public information." So, while you are not required to read cards to other players when they become "public information," it would be considered unsporting to refuse to answer if they ask what a card does - as well as making your games entirely no fun to play.

So, while there is no specific rule saying "players can request to look at, read, or otherwise be informed what opponent's cards do once they become public," it is an unwritten rule that players in this community do as common courtesy. Most players either ask what a card they are unfamiliar with does (and receive an answer), or read their cards out loud once as a matter of courtesy, especially to new players.

If that Stark player in your example asked, "What does Jaime do again?" at an official event and the Lannister player answered, "Ha! Wouldn't you like to know!", the Lannister player would likely find himself kicked out of the event for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Thanks for your prompt reply, ktom. I think your response is logical (and it is how I would have proceeded, had I not received a reply). Glad to see that good sportsmanship is encouraged at tournaments.

Cheers,

Also any text without a BOLD font happens automatically when its triggering effect causes it to, for instance Balerions renown and deadly are not in bold, these automatically happen and are not optional. Also its both players responsibility to make sure things like renown and deadly are resolved as they happen even if its your opponents character and he forgets. Bold texts like his response are optional and if the player forgets to activate them its on them. Welcome to the game btw, its a lot of fun and super affordable to keep playing, plus the players are some of the nicest i've ever had the fortune of playing with and against.

Also any text without a BOLD font happens automatically when its triggering effect causes it to, for instance Balerions renown and deadly are not in bold, these automatically happen and are not optional. Also its both players responsibility to make sure things like renown and deadly are resolved as they happen even if its your opponents character and he forgets. Bold texts like his response are optional and if the player forgets to activate them its on them. Welcome to the game btw, its a lot of fun and super affordable to keep playing, plus the players are some of the nicest i've ever had the fortune of playing with and against.

So you're saying that if an opponent forgets about renown, vigilant, stalwart etc etc, we're obligated to remind them? I say that because there have been times where I forgot a character had renown and didn't claim power after the fact because I've always felt that it was on me to remember and not my opponent.

So you're saying that if an opponent forgets about renown, vigilant, stalwart etc etc, we're obligated to remind them? I say that because there have been times where I forgot a character had renown and didn't claim power after the fact because I've always felt that it was on me to remember and not my opponent.

Well, it is on you to remember how to use your own cards. A truly honest opponent should remind you of passive/framework effects that you are technically "not allowed" to forget (because they happen regardless), but it's not like they are paying as much attention to your cards as you should be, or that you can easily prove that they remembered and didn't tell you when you forgot.

What it really comes down to in practice is that all players tend to be more flexible about what they will go back and "fix" when a passive effect was missed as opposed to when a triggered effect was missed. For example, if you win a military challenge, launch right into your intrigue challenge, and remember things for the military challenge while resolving the intrigue challenge, your opponent is far more likely to say "sure, go ahead and take it" for a passive like Renown than to say "sure, go ahead and trigger it now" for a response like CS-Robb Stark. Similarly, if you deal with Dominance and get so excited about the next round that you launch right into revealing plots, your opponent is a lot more likely to say it's OK to stand all the cards you forgot for the Standing phase than to allow you to trigger a Standing action or response like Lannisport Brothel.

Of course, the proper etiquette in any of those situations is to say, "I forgot renown" or "I forgot to stand this card," asking your opponent for permission to "fix" the game state. When you do that, most players will indeed say "go ahead" for a passive - assuming it wouldn't have changed decisions that were made in the meantime.