My one concern about the new players in this game is that the Indies 9 setting will really put a halt to their expansion, while at the same time I can't see it putting too big a dent in a vet's expansion rate. Then if after 10 turns a vet, who has about 12-15 provinces, comes across a neighbour who has 3-4 provinces (remember graphs are on), it's going to be good bye neighbour, and secret identities won't mean a thing. This will just lead to some major unbalancing, and probably already game deciding, if a vet starts in the middle of a newbie picnic.
I personally think this game will be a bad choice for new players, since the Indy setting (which I do not want to see changed) and difficult research (which I also do not want to see changed) will both have a far bigger impact on new players than vets. Plus I second WindedDog's concern about new players dropping games more frequently than experienced players do, and my hatred of players who think it's ok to "Stale and Bail" is well known.
So without wishing to offend anyone, I must say my initial excitement for playing in this game is starting to diminish somewhat since I think it looks likely that luck will play a bigger factor than skill in deciding it's outcome.
|