Starting with a bonus

by **Kaiser Szami** on Thu Oct 05, 2023 7:39 pm

Whenever one player starts with a bonus, even worse when having 1st turn, why not shuffle anew until noone gets a starting bonus? Would surely make the gameplay fairer.

by **MichelSableheart** on Sat Oct 07, 2023 2:08 am

Any implementation would require custom logic per map. Because we have maps which are build around starting with a bonus (think maps like Feudal), we would have to identify per map and player count whether it is even possible to generate a starting position where no players starts with a bonus. This makes a clean code implementation difficult
The variability of starting positions, and their strength and weaknesses, is what makes playing multiple games on the same map interesting. It's interesting to sometimes have to figure out how you're going to deal with an opponent having an advantage.
Luck middles out. Generally, players on CC play enough games to have a game where they have the advantageous drop for every game the opponent has an advantageous drop
Most maps have taken the possibility into account, using starting positions or starting neutrals to make the most likely to drop bonuses impossible.
Multiplayer games (as opposed to team games) are selfbalancing enough that someone dropping a bonus isn't really a problem.

Overall, I feel the situation where a dropped bonus is a significant problem that could be automatically identified and solved by a reshuffle is rare. Implementing a "fix" isn't easy, and would almost certainly remove possible starting positions that are interesting to play. So I don't think this suggestion is worth it, and definitely not a high priority.

by **Shannon Apple** on Tue Oct 10, 2023 10:27 am

This is one of the reasons I play polymorphic in casual games, and ESPECIALLY for trench. It doesn't stop it entirely, but there is less chance of an unbreakable starting bonus when there are more colours on the board.

It's definitely sole destroying in trench when it happens. lol.

by **Kaiser Szami** on Wed Oct 11, 2023 4:11 am

Thanks Michel, ok, understood. Sure it balances out when you play a lot, but it doesn't help getting pissed when you are in that situation, especially when you have 2nd turn ;-)

Greetings

by **bigtoughralf** on Wed Nov 15, 2023 6:43 pm

Maybe we could also make people re-roll their dice if they get too many 6s.

by **2dimes** on Thu Nov 16, 2023 5:49 am

Shannon Apple wrote:
It's definitely sole destroying in trench when it happens. lol.

It ruins the bottom of your foot, or a fish?

by **lightendumbo** on Sun Feb 25, 2024 9:24 pm

The majority of maps have considered the potential and have made the most likely to drop bonuses impossible by employing starting neutrals or starting placements.