FTA and 2(3) actions on first turn

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(07-10-2012 08:49 AM)Harti Wrote:  Offering only 2 wit to the beginning player will completely tie them to get the bonus spaces. I don't see how this balances things. One will only have to watch the replay and will know all their units' positions from just looking if they took both bonus spaces on big maps. And on small maps you can be assured they won't have anything larger than a Runner around.

I am not sure this is necessarily a problem. In fact, because of the first player advantage which is there already, there is no reason he necessarily has to take the bonus spaces with 2(3) wits on the first move. Maybe it is still the best move, but it is not at all obvious.

For example, if he just made a Runner and moved it, or made a Soldier, it would leave him much better off than the current second player. In that case, his position would be like the current second player, but with an extra unit.

Anyway, I think either 2 or 3 wits for the first player would work just fine. If you think about it again, 2 wits on the first turn will naturally be quite limiting (any turn with 2 wits would be), but that doesn't say it is not balanced.

I think some of the confusions comes from the fact that there are some players who think that the first player should have an advantage from the initiative. The purpose of a change like this would be exactly to make the game more balanced.

Giving the first player limited wits on the first turn still provides more flexibility for the player than it would to give an extra unit (Runner or Soldier) to the second player, another solution which would be acceptable to balance the game but is not as elegant.