Variations on a theme - 2006/11/05 05:11I've only played six games so far, but something that struck me is that outer regions don't seem to see much play. In three of the games there were two outer regions played, and in the other three, only one was played. So I came up with a few ideas that could make outer regions see more play time. I'm not necessarily suggesting that these be accepted as official rule variations, but I thought I'd see what other players had to say about them.
#1) Pre-buying regions: When a game is being set up, after the players have chosen their region cards, throw 3d4 dice (or 2d6, if you have boring dice). Each player puts as many regions into play as they wish, so long as the total ISK cost is less than or equal to the dice roll. This one might not really achieve it's purpose. You can't force anyone to play any regions without forcing them to reveal their regions, and it's entirely possible that nobody would want to take the risk of not being the first to control their region(s). Still, maybe there would be some gutsy people.
#2) Open exploration: When the game begins, each player places their three outer regions in front of their home region as if they had been played, but face-down. Any region can be warped to at any time, and warping into a region reveals that region. However, if you wish to warp into a region that has not been revealed, you must warp only one group of ships there (ie you can't decide to warp more in after it has been revealed), and all of those ships cannot warp again this turn. Variation A: when the regions have been placed, but before the game begins, flip a coin for each pair of regions. Heads: ships may warp between these regions; Tails: ships may not warp between these regions. All outer regions owned by a player have a warp path to and from that player's home region. Additionally, in a two-player game, the center outer regions for both players must be connected (assuming the three outer regions are spread out horizontally from the owner's perspective). In a multiplayer game, each player's left-most outer region must be connected to the right-most outer region of the neighboring player on that side. Variation B: All players submit their three regions to a dealer, who randomizes them. The regions are then laid out in a pre-determined pattern of warp paths which insure that each player has a path to every other player (This variation could be played with all regions starting either face up or face down). These kinds of games could get a little complex, but if you bring some colored yarn or such with you, it shouldn't be too difficult. This type of game ignores the cost of the outer regions, but at least there would be lots of regions to be fought over.
So there are my initial ideas.
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AgentZero
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Re:Variations on a theme - 2006/11/05 15:00Those sound pretty similar to the ideas Brokkur and I have been kicking around for game variants.
Another one would be to include the outer regions in each player's market. They're then put into play whenever they come up on the top of the market (they don't count as drawing a card, though, just put into play for free). Due to the size of markets, you'd have to increase the number of regions each player uses from 3 to 5 or 6, but I think that's enough to make them pop up with enough regularity to make the game pretty interesting.Zack Walters EVE: The Second Genesis Organized Play Coordinator White Wolf | CCP North America
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