Rule book seems extremely clear and well thought out. We have a million questions about Dune still, despite two designer Q&A's and years to figure this stuff out, but I have only come across one question so far for Rex (and it's probably something I'm just overlooking because it was covered in Dune):

1. When exactly do the Xxcha make their prediction?

The faction sheet says "during set-up," and while set up is very quick (thank you, traitor cards!), it involves several steps, each of which after determination of factions could significantly affect the Xxcha's decision. In Dune, the Bene Gesserit made the prediction before traitors were drawn, which is how I'll play it until official word or someone points it out in the rules to me, but given the many nuances to Rex, I don't feel comfortable assuming it is supposed to be like Dune.

I do have my doubts though since in token set-up the rules mention if player s have decisions to make, they make decisions in turn order. It could be (fingers crossed) just a failsafe in case they decide to expand the game, as the only player with token set-up decisions in Rex (and indeed the only example given) is the Sol player. But it could be they meant the Xxcha to decide their prediction at any time during set-up, which would give them a tiny bit extra info to work with if they happen to be seated after the Sol. But it isn't a token set-up decision, so I don't think it could be argued definitively that that was the intention.

I am partial to the Dune timing because I believe the player should have to work at making the prediction come true rather than just trying to read the signs as best as he can and make an educated guess. Not a big deal either way as the traitor draw isn't a huge help to making a prediction, and Sol set-up I don't see as much an advantage at all. Still would be nice to know for certain though.

Feel free to post other rules questions here. And we can probably answer most questions for each other, but if not, maybe it'll get an FAQ.

I can't find any explicit answer to this question in the rules either, although I am inclined to say, due to the way things are written, that this would qualify as a "decision" to be made in step 10, along with everything else. That would be my interpretation using only what the Rex rules say and not considering anything from Dune. (The Xxcha race sheet says the decision is made "during Setup," which could be read either as "during the set up process as a whole" or "during step 10 where each player is instructed to follow the "Setup" instructions on his race sheet." Of the two readings, the second gives a more specific answer to the question, while the former doesn't really answer anything.)

That said, I also agree that I am inclined to play that it is made before traitor selection myself. I think, in general, I will be using Dune rulings as a default for cases where Rex is not explicitly different, but that's just my personal inclination.

Same here. I'm sure I will also accidentally rule things to be like Dune even when there is an explanation as to how it's supposed to work in Rex, from habit.

Another question I just came across on BGG that I can't figure out:

2. Hylar III Vs. Shield says that it explodes. Does "it" refer to the weapon, the opponent's shield, or both? Since it doesn't say that both sides lose like Dune's rules say in a lasegun-shield explosion, this is significant, as the winner could retain his cards, constantly threatening explosions. All this is assuming "explodes" means it is discarded. I don't think it precisely says what this flavor text means, either.

It's also noteworthy that the card says the opponent's leader is killed and all units and influence are destroyed. Somehow your leader survives, which doesn't make much sense to me, but it's significant in that it means you will win the battle (especially significant if the answer to Q2 is just the shield) unless you played a weak leader and your opponent that mercenary +3 card.

I thought there was some detailed explanation of the explosion somewhere, but I can't find it now.

3. Informant says on the card that it can cancel a racial or ally advantage. The rules on p21 say it cannot be used to cancel an ally advantage. Which is correct? In Dune, I believe karama could cancel ally advantages, except for the Harkonnen's (Barony of Letnev's), so that's how we played it, by the card, not by the rule book clarification.

Adam said:

Maybe they meant that you cannot cancel a racial/ally advantage for any of your allies?

Adam said:

I responded to that one on BGG too, and as I said there, the word "it" is used in a sentence that only mentions the shield. According to everything I know about the English language after having spoken it for the last 30-ish years, "it" should mean the shield. There's really nothing to suggest "it" means the cannon, and I would be inclined to call shenanigans on anyone trying to use this little "uncertainty" to modify how the card's effects are resolved.

Adam said:

This is definitely a contradiction of terms as far as I can tell. The card says one thing, the book say the opposite. Until such time as FFG provides an official FAQ answer, I will have to fall back on the "Golden Rule" mentioned near the start of the rulebook.

The Golden Rule:

"Many abilities and cards in the game allow players to break the rules in a variety of ways. In the event that a card or ability conflicts with this rulebook, the card or ability takes priority. If a Strategy card conflicts with a racial advantage, the card takes priority."

So the card wins, and ally advantages CAN be cancelled. This is not a perfect solution, but it will work as a stop-gap until FFG comes forward and clarifies which ruling is the one they "really meant."

Regarding the explosion, I agree but figured it was worth asking. Another thing is that I'm not sure if "explodes" is supposed to mean discard (which you might assume is logical, since it just blew up). It isn't defined as a game term, so I'm thinking that maybe neither card is automatically destroyed like in Dune, and all that happens is tokens and influence die, the enemy leader dies, and the battle then resolves like normal with cards and the one potentially surviving leader.

And the Golden Rule is exactly what we went with for Informant in our game. Quite a handy rule. It also helps that it coincides with how it worked in Dune.