Level up card at 9th level. Ther’s one thing...

[Ujeen]

I am at 9th level and I have 6 cards in my hand at the end of the turn. Can I PLAY a level-up card on me?
I understand that it won’t receive a level for it, but I want do ‘discard’ it in this way rather than giving it to the other player as a charity.

[Andrew Hackard]

No, you can't.

[Ujeen]

Originally Posted by Andrew Hackard

No, you can't.

Can you give a reason?
According to the rulebook, I cannot GAIN 10th level with this card. But it never sais that I cannot PLAY this card on me.

For example, one can PLAY a curse even when it doesn’t AFFECT the victim. (For example, “Minus level” on player who has only level one.) This example indicates the clear differance between PLAYING a card and EXECUTING of its effect. Sometimes a card can be played despite the fact it doesn’t have any affect.

That’s why I’m wondering can “level up”card be PLAYED in this situation. (with no effect for sure)

[Andrew Hackard]

Originally Posted by Ujeen

Can you give a reason?

You can't play the card if you can't gain the effect. That's the official ruling from the designer and the line editor.

[Ujeen]

Originally Posted by Andrew Hackard

You can't play the card if you can't gain the effect. That's the official ruling from the designer and the line editor.

Thank you very much! That sounds clear!
So, for example, I cannot play “lose your Headgear“ curse on a player who doesn’t have a headgear, can I?

[Andrew Hackard]

Originally Posted by Ujeen

Thank you very much! That sounds clear!
So, for example, I cannot play “lose your Headgear“ curse on a player who doesn’t have a headgear, can I?

The rules about going up a level don't necessarily carry over to the rest of the game. Wasting a Curse on someone is different; if you decide to burn a card like that, it's silly (when you could Curse someone who DOES have Headgear) but OK.

[Ujeen]

So, what is the general rule about playing a card with no effect?
Because, in some cases it is impossible (see Level-up example above), but in some cases it is possible (see Curse example above).

Can we have some general rule on that? Because I don’t want to bother you every time I’m willing to play a card with no effect. Sometimes it might be reasonable :for example, if you prefer to play a card with no effect than to give it to your enemies at the Charity phase.

[Andrew Hackard]

There isn't a general rule because it's not something that happens generally. It's really only Curses and GUALs where this comes up even slightly often.

If I were writing the game today, I'd make it a blanket rule that you cannot play a card without a valid target -- if you don't have Headgear, I can't play a "Lose Your Headgear" Curse unless it has a secondary effect. If I'm L9, I can't play a GUAL on myself. And so on. But I'm not writing the game today. We have established through precedent (meaning, I've played with Steve) that GUALs can't be played on someone at L9, but Curses can be played even if they don't affect someone.

If there are other cards you're thinking of that might be playable without a valid target, please give them here and I'll tell you what I think.

[Ujeen]

Thank you very much for detailed answer!
I have only one more such case in my mind: “Lose level” on L1.
What do you think? Is it legal to “discard” this curse like this?

[Andrew Hackard]

Originally Posted by Ujeen

Thank you very much for detailed answer!
I have only one more such case in my mind: “Lose level” on L1.
What do you think? Is it legal to “discard” this curse like this?

Same case as the other Curses we discussed. Yes, you could do that.