Recently purchased the Core set. Here are a couple of questions that came up after the first round (Stark vs. Lannister):

1. (This one is just a rule book question) In the rule book, one of the agenda cards say "if its in Winter....." "If its in Summer.....". I currently only have the core set and do not see this card. How do you know whether it is winter/summer? Is this something that one of the expansions will elaborate on later?
2. Are the plot cards shuffled at the beginning of each game and picked in sequential order or does each player get to review the plot cards each time during the plot phase at the beginning of each round. We are thinking the later...
3. The Valor Morghulis plot card from the Stark deck is a very destructive card -- When is the recommended time to play this? Does this apply to all players with characters in play or is this just limited to the Stark player. Played late in the game, most of the important Stark characters are in play.
4. Is there a list of retailers that sell this game? I have seen the core set at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, however, have never seen any of the expansions sets anywhere other than online.
5. Bran Stark (Core Set) has a plot ability to choose and reveal a new plot card. What is the purpose of this ability, especially if I already chose a plot? Is this for my opponent?

There is a rules discussion forum for this type of thing. You should post your questions there.

Mandalorian2011 said:

You can find it at most Local Game Stores. Where are you located?

We are in Port St. Lucie, FL and will soon move to Orlando, FL in Jan 2012. The local game stores here in PSL have heard of it, but do not carry it. Maybe I will have better luck in Orlando finding the expansions/chapter packs there. Thanks for the response.

Mandalorian2011 said:

1. There are a few cards that create the summer or winter state. Here is an example:
http://agot.dbler.com/index.php?view=card&arsenalid=20353.
-If a card isn't creating "summer" or "winter", don't worry about it.

2. You're right. Each player chooses the plot they want to play, and they are all flipped over at the same time. Plots you've already revealed are considered to be in your used plot pile. When you flip over your seventh plot, it becomes the first plot in your used plot pile, and you take the other six back to run through them again.

3. Yeah, everyone in play dies. Also keep in mind, that in constructed decks any house can use this card. (And most do). Not just the Stark deck.
Typically, you want to play Valar in these situations:
-Your opponent is overwhelming you with characters, and you need to even the playing field.
-You have ways to save characters from death, (be it effects or duplicates) and Valar will give you significant character advantage.
-It is your 6th plot. (Unless you are sure you will win 6th turn. NEVER play Valar as your 7th plot. Since you wont have access to it for 6 more turns.)

Even if you don't want to play Valar, some kind of character reset (Wildfire Assault/Threat from the north/Westeros bleeds/ etc.) will really make your life easy, and there aren't too many situations where you don't want to have one.

4. Look up a local hobby store. Places that sell specialty boardgames or miniatures are a good bet. They may have to special order them the first time, but if you get a group going, they might end up stocking it for you

5. Yeah, Bran is weird. The main use I've seen for Bran is a little complicated for a new player, but bear with me.

You are allowed to do what is known as a pre-plot action, which is pretty much triggering any effect that is legal in the plot phase before you actually reveal plots. You can kneel Bran to reveal Valar as a pre-plot action, and then reveal a plot like you normally would. This lets you reset the board, and actually start the challenges phase with better gold and claim.

Thanks for the help everyone. This will help me plan a little better for the next adventure.

Edit: Hm, maybe my timing is off. Interesting. I see what you mean.

If you are moving to Orlando, the place to buy AGoT is CoolStuffGames. I am in Orlando as well. Maybe we could get together at CoolStuff and play a game of AGoT. you can contact me at [email protected]