Well, Stone Mill and I are pounding away at each other. So far, we've each abandoned a planet, when one of our enemies' ships got too close.
He managed to blitz one of my systems, and hit a couple of planets, but caused no major damage.
I don't know if I want to complain, but I got lucky and found a ruin with another colonization technique, around turn 20. Normally I would say that it would have won me the game by now, but SM's technique gives him a large advantage in the early rounds. I suppose I should learn from this, and employ his tactic on occasion.
He noticed I was using two types of planets right off the bat, and if I know him, he's dilligantly researching other techniques at the moment, so he can catch up!
I suppose ruins are something that should be considered before beginning a game, because it does add a huge random element to the already random effects of placement.
--Ed