Congrats to Mark and Slinky for a riveting game... I really enjoy your accounts.
I'm also just darn impressed by the sportsmanship in this league.
As far as settings, I usually ask for:
3 starting planets (Good)
High starting bonus
Small Spiral map - usually works well, but I'm open to what anyone wishes
This gets the game moving pretty fast. As your current King, I know players at the top want a crack as fast as possible, so I try and accomodate that. But I'll consider most suggestions. Oh, but I do like mines in the game.