Oops. I did all of mine like 8 hours ago.

Some people sell their code packs online, though I guess it could be risky.

I'm basically in TCG Live to practice the game and to figure out how a deck is working before sleeving up in paper.

TCG Pocket is just a fun diversion. 2 free packs a day is like little dopamine hits, for better or worse. I can let my nieces and nephews "rip" a pack open as a reward without thinking "that's $4 gone."

TCG Live is for people who actually care about Pokemon TCG and the complexities and depth it offers. It's not that confusing; there are maybe 3 currencies, and one of its features, like it or not, is that you can't just swipe a credit card and get everything you want. The only money-to-game translation is buying IRL boosters and scanning in the codes. Yes, the app can be fairly buggy, but it's what we've got for now, ever since they closed Pokemon TCG Online. It doesn't have trading, which is to prevent people from just having a dozen accounts and amassing all the value into one.

The currencies aren't too bad: Coins are for cosmetics. Crystals are the "premium" currency for unlocking the battle pass or buying the equivalent of IRL sealed products (boosters, display packs, bundles, etc). Credits are like dust from other TCGs. Duplicate cards beyond 4 are "dusted" and you can convert them into the singles you want for deck building.

TCG Pocket is to slowly attract people into collecting actual cards again. After you get into the cadence of opening your 2 free packs a day, people might start to be interested in collecting physical cards, which pulls them into paying for boosters (rather than just buying singles) and trying the actual card game. It's just a small bonus that TCGPocket might also earn them a bit of money, largely off of old art and minimal playtest work.

Aggression should be part of a game, but shouldn't be the only way to play it. Obviously, when a game is optimized, it may be the best way to play (Monster Hunter and HAME speedruns come to mind), but a lot of great games try to design so that different archetypes can coexist and play off one another.

Street Fighter 6 encourages aggression. The Drive Meter system makes it so that turtling and blocking forever will end with you in blowout, taking chip damage and having worse frame disadvantage, as well as removing your ability to use Drive moves and opening you up for stuns. However, also hidden within the Drive System are some of the tools to deter mindless aggression. Drive Impacts are big moves with armor that lead into a full combo, so if you can read a braindead attack sequence, you can Drive Impact to absorb a hit, smack them, and then combo them for 35% of their life total. There are also parries, which can refill your drive meter.

Magic: The Gathering has tried to balance the various archetypes (Aggro, Midrange, Control, and Combo) so that every format should have at least 1 competitively viable deck in each meta archetype. Typically, Aggro will be too fast for a Control deck to stabilize and kill them before they can get their engine set up. But Midrange will trade just efficiently enough (with good 2-for-1 removal or creatures) to stop the aggression, and then start plopping out creatures that Aggro will have difficulty overcoming. And Combo often has nothing to fear from Aggro, since Aggro oftentimes can't interact with the game-winning combo pieces. And because of this system, Aggro decks have to have sideboard plans ready for whatever meta they expect at an event or tournament. Removal or protection to get over or under Midrange, and faster speed or other types of interaction to take down or disrupt Combo. Magic's systems (Mana/lands, instant speed removal, and even the variance that comes from being a card game) don't punish aggro directly, but they make sure that there are usually answers out there.

While I agree that he should be ridiculed for a statement like that, it's obvious that the attendees at the RNC are supportive of that statement. To them, America doesn't have deep-seated issues with race. Instead, America has the opposite! A system where minorities are favored and granted special treatment, while white people struggle to earn their fair share! (Please understand this is not my personal belief)

It makes sense to me. Biden and Trump have Secret Service detail already. RFK does not. Biden wants to make sure that it at least looks like all 3 candidates are being protected from more violence.

It takes basically no effort to properly censor things. You left the 9-digit ZIP code in there, which identifies the exact building.

Am I crazy for not wanting anyone to get shot? I know how crazy our politics are getting, and I'm afraid of the future, but we shouldn't be wanting anyone to be shot at. Life is life, even if it's attached to the absolute worst person on Earth. Sure, lock up people who are a danger to society, but let's not celebrate gun violence.

It depends on what I'm trying to maximize.

If I just want the happiness spike ASAP, then I would just buy $15 worth of Magic cards, or maybe a booster pack or three, depending on the set.

If I'm trying to maximize my overall happiness over any amount of time, I think spending $15 on something reusable, like a nice pair of socks or a hat would work out for me.

If I want to maximize happiness in general, then spending it on someone else I care about does double duty. It makes someone else happy, and I get happiness from being involved in the process.

You realize that AAA is used to refer to the budget, scale, and expectations of the game, right? And that it's more of a reboot than a remake, meaning it's probably not going to be an arcade style game. They're talking about their aims for the game, and trying to justify charging $60-70 for it beforehand.

First, I'm glad they found the kid. No one deserves to be manipulated and taken like that.

Second, dude, wtf? He's in his 30s and thinks that this is something he should do? The kid is literally half his age, and he seems to think that they're in any position for a genuine romantic relationship? Gross.

I understand Jaffe not being happy that the games are going in a different direction than he imagined, but he's also the guy who thought Drawn to Death needed to be made.