Consumption Confusion

[theTickler]

I've attached images of my tableau and of the game log section that shows what happened.

I had 3 goods ready to be consumed in my tableau:

- a brown card (good) on Imperium Armaments World
- a yellow card on Alien Robot Scout Ship
- a blue card on New Vinland

I picked Consume/Trade, thinking I'd get get 5 cards ($) for my yellow Alien good. But at my turn to consume, I clicked the yellow card, but then I didn't know what to do next in order to sell it for 5 cards. The game prompted me to choose a Consume power.

The only card I had that had a IV (consume) power was New Vinland, which has the symbol meaning any color good -> 2 cards. Meaning you can trade any type of good there for 2 cards. So, I clicked that card.

But I did not get 5 cards for selling an Alien tech. Instead, I just got the 2 cards for consuming with New Vinland.

What was I supposed to do to get the 5 cards for trading Alien tech?

The rulebook states: "Players who chose <e>Consume: Trade</e> must sell one good (before applying their consume powers), by discarding it and drawing a number of cards that depends on the kind of good sold: Alien technology: 5 cards, ..."

But the How to Play wiki under the BGA game interface states: "To consume a good in the BGA interface, click on the world with the good, and then click on the world with the consume power."

So, how do I get the BGA interface to allow me to trade an Alien tech (yellow card) for five cards "before applying consume powers"?

Thanks for the help

[gordoz]

You're confusing Sell ($) with Consume (x2)

select Sell instead of Consume x2 if you want the 5 cards from Alien good

[theTickler]

Thank you for replying, gordoz, but it was the "$" Consume power I chose. I went back and replayed the moves (game 282098209 move 46) and checked again - it was the sell option.

So, I don't know what I was supposed to do in order to sell that Alien tech. I'll try to replicate it in another game, and see if I can figure it out.

[RicardoRix]

It's your opponent that choose the $ trade action phase, you didn't.
In this case your opponent gets to trade a good, and you do not.
But after the trade phase happens, both players then move to the standard consume goods phase.
The new vineland card is not technically trading, you are consuming the good to get 2 cards. That's a consume effect. If you look at the card, the effect is in the IV stage, not the $ phase.

[MoiMagnus]

Thank you for replying, gordoz, but it was the "$" Consume power I chose. I went back and replayed the moves (game 282098209 move 46) and checked again - it was the sell option.

So, I don't know what I was supposed to do in order to sell that Alien tech. I'll try to replicate it in another game, and see if I can figure it out.

During the Consume/Trade phase:

• If you didn't select the phase (but an opponent did), you can only consume and you cannot sell. <= That's the situation in your case.
• If you selected the phase with the "x2" option, you can only consume (gaining twice the VP) and you cannot sell.
• If you selected the phase with the "$" option, you can first sell one good and then consume.

[theTickler]

Ah ha! Thank you so much for replying. Yes, I see now. Being able to trade a good for cards is just a BONUS action that you get only if you pick that phase.