This scenario will be wrapping up tomorrow. If you have an idea to build
upon what has already been suggested, now's the time to share!

“Yes, she can. With spell, there are some choices that you make when you are casting the spell, and other that you make when it resolves, after the other players had their chance to interact. The choice of the color is made when the spell resolves, so what Ami really said is ”If nothing happens, I will choose red". As something happened, she is not bound to her decision and she can choose another color.

Time to wrap this one up.

As most people keyed in on, there is a tournament shortcut being invoked here. So now the question becomes how best to convey that information to the players. What many respondents also captured very well in their answers is that there is an intuitive explanation of what this tournament shortcut actually does. The shortcut is only there to formalize and officially regulate what is already a normal way of playing the game.

I would consider several of the answers suggested this month to be excellent responses, but for the sake of completeness, the Personal Tutor team will also provide our own:

“Yes, she can. There's an official shortcut covering this. Basically Anni tried to jump ahead to the resolution of Gods Willing when she named Red. When you responded to her spell, you stopped her from jumping ahead and picking the color immediately. Since you interrupted the shortcut she tried to take, she has to pick a color when the spell resolves, just as if she had never tried to pick early.”

This answer provides the intuitive explanation of what happened, and it also mentions the existence of an official shortcut to reassure the player that this is not your answer but policy's answer. Those are the two notes you ideally want to hit in your reply. Especially when it comes to communication issues, having both players understand that your ruling not only makes sense but also has explicit support from policy, can prevent confusion, unease, and appeals.

Until next month, make the most of your educational opportunities! If you would like to submit a scenario or topic for Personal Tutor or become a member of the project team, please email me via the forum.