....I can't seem to find an answer to a couple questions I have.

We've played quite a few games and literally learn something new everytime. I'd say we've just about got the full game down pat, with one or two exceptions.

Question #1 (Apologies if these have been asked before.)

If the President turns out to be or becomes a Cylon, do the Quorum cards he/she has already drawn go to the discard pile or are they removed from the game?

Question #2

The last game we just played went right up to the very end. The humans were at distance 8, and could attempt a -3 pop early jump on their next chance. They had 2 population. Had the Cylons not won, could they have even attempted the jump? If so, do they automatically lose even if they "Fleet" has jumped to Kobol but lost the die roll? This didn't actually happen but we were just wondering.

Again, I apologize if these have already been discussed, but I just couldn't find the answers. Thanks for any help.

1. Neither, they go to the New President.

2. The Humans could have jumped. If the die roll fails though, the humans lose.

How would the cards go to the new President? In real life, the new President doesn't get access to all the things the old President had. Is this the way that your group plays or has this been discussed before? I'd really like to read that discussion if it has.

One of our Cylon strategies has been to get the Presidency to take cards away from the Humans. So far we've just removed them from the game but recently a new player has questioned whether they should be put in the discard pile. At the very least, the cards should be discarded instead of simply handed over to the new President.

erik_wolff said:

The quorum cards indeed are simply handed over the player who controls the president title. The verbage used on page 12 of the rulebook states that "Whichever player has the president title has control over this hand of Quorum cards." How presidencies in real life work doesn't come into it, the rules state that whoever has the president title has control over the hand.

Correct - the Quorum cards are handed over to the next president.

Agreed. The Quorum cards are passed on. Both rules-wise and theme-wise.

The Quorum represents the president's council who will help him or her get the job done. But the council is elected (like the Senate) not appointed (like the Cabinet if you want to compare "real life" US politics). So just like if a new president were to take over in the US, they would have full access to the Senate who is "to advise and consent" on the actions of the president.

So in the game, the new president - whether through election, resignation, or some other event - still consults with the Quorum and still performs actions through them. The vehichle of the government is the same though the driver has changed.

Thanks for the answers. I'm just not sure if it should work that way.

Forgetting Cylon Presidents, lets say that Human A President loses his title to Human B. As a former President, even on the show, he/she should still have some influence. Hell, Roslin was still called Madam President even when she wasn't. Thinking of the Quarom cards as the actual characters on the show, would they immediately give all their support to the next president, especially if they weren't happy with the election. Yes, I do realize that cards have no emotions. I'm just thinking from a RP'ing standpoint.

This has brought some good debate amongst my group. No arguing, just debating.

I think the point is it is still a Democracy and even when Roslin lost the election, power was still transferred peacefully.

What you are suggesting is more like a coup d'etat with the assassination of those Quorum members still in opposition.

Even though it is an abstract mechanic of the game, it still is a fairly accurate representation.

Forcing the hand to be discarded is completely not accurate either. And forcing a discard of a partial hand is not within the realm of the rules. The point is the President doesn't have too much else going on except the Quorum and manipulating it is a key strategy of their role. Whether the hand passes from Human to Human, or Human to Cylon or whatever, it is then up to the next person to react to what has been collected, either by spreading misinformation or accusing the former player in that role. Forcing a discard severly hampers that aspect of the game.

Another way to look at the cards is a capabilities, not people. Given her choice- and indeed, the choice of all the Presidents, Roslin would like a hand that included a Brig card, a "get out of jail free" card, a Cylon Mugshots card, and a Brutal Force card, all right off the bat. But sometimes all you can do is Ration Food and Give an Inspirational Speech and leave it at that. But ANY president can do that- and the speeches often fall flat.

The President is granted powers by their office. The office of President is not granted powers by the person occupying it.

If someone leaves office, the new person that enters office has the same powers that the former president once had, because the powers are associate with a title.

You can say that if Roslin is replaced, not everyone will support the new President. Well, that's true, but the quorum cards are not Roslin's PERSONAL connections and skills... they are the powers of the office and they go alongside it. Roslin's personal skills and connections are represented by her skill cards, which she does take with her when she leaves office.

To answer the second question: The humans only lose if one of the resources is zero at the end of the turn.

If they have traveled distance 8 and then manage to jump one last time - they win.

There is no end of turn for them to lose at (and there's no crisis card either).

Not if they have to lose the last of their population via FTL.

But that rules is more specifically for when you lose a resource during your turn, you have until the end of your turn to gain it back.