Communication Policy Part 3: What is “Private Information” ?

The third type of information laid out by the Magic Tournament Rules is Private Information. (See here and here for the first two posts on communication policy. Private Information is officially anything which is neither free nor derived; more practically, though, it is information to which either only a single player or no player has immediate access.

A player is not obligated to directly answer a question from their opponent for private information. Further, you can bluff about private information! A few examples of private information include but are not limited to:

* What specific cards are in your hand
* How many copies of a given card are on your deck list
* What you sideboarded in
* How you would respond if a player took a particular action (but has not done so)

It is important to note the difference between private and either derived or public information; private information is things that either only YOU can know or that NOBODY actually knows.

As always, be sure to answer questions from a judge completely and honestly regardless of what type of information is requested. It is perfectly acceptable to ask to do so away from the match.

Today’s Rules Tip was submitted by David Hibbs, a level 2 judge from League City, Texas, United States.