There has been some debate about the importance of seating position in Puerto Rico. Results from the World Boardgaming Championship just held in Lancaster, PA seem to back this up:
#1 indigo: 42.18 ppg (11 wins)
#2 indigo: 41.77 ppg (13 wins)
#3 corn: 44.79 ppg (27 wins)
#4 corn: 43.71 ppg (23 wins)
These results were based on 74 games (1 game having double winners due to no tie-break being declared), and clearly indicates a big advantage for corn players in 4-player games.
Now, what to do about it... A monetary balance reward? Or perhaps a bonus victory point for players in the first and second position? (Source: John Weber, WBC GM @ BGG)
11/20 Update: I emailed John about the subject, and he took the time to craft a response. He gives an excellent proposal involving bidding. Take a look by clicking on "x COMMENTS" below.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
1 comment:
I emailed John Weber, the GM for last years World Boardgaming Championship, on the subject of seat positon in PR. Here's my letter, and then his very interesting response!
"I just read your excellent recap from the WBC on your amazing Puerto Rico tournament. Thank you for the fantastic read
A question, if I am trouble you:
Are there any thoughts about how to better equalize the winning chances for the 1st and 2nd seat? It seems that the wins are far from evenly balanced. I wonder if in tournament play anyone has discussed a possible play-balance?
Sincerely, David Oberheu"
His response:
"Hi David
I have spent many hours agonizing over the question you ask. The best way -- which of course would take more time -- would be to have an equal number of plays for each player in feach of the four seat positions. I am contemplating doing something like this for next year's tournament, which would entail a major format change (and much more GM intervention and planning) by going for a four-round Swiss elimination system which each player playing four games versus different opponents in each of the four seats. Then the top ranked players would play-off to a four-player final. In the final I may mandate (as opposed to an option) where players can bid in increments of 0.5 VP for preferred seat positions which are subtracted from the final score. If you are familiar with the games Evo and Amun Re, they use a similar bidding mechansim -- you can place a marker on a space for any seat that no one has bid on, or choose to raise someone else's bid -- and then once all four players' markers are on different seats, the auction ends.
I offered this option to the four players at the 2005 WBC final but no one took me up on it, leaving their fates to a random draw. For the semis, I think it is possible to do a pick-em based on positions after the earlier four-round Swiss to reward the higher ranked players."
Wow! Very interesting - I think his method of bidding in .5vp increments is the system to use. Thanks John!
Post a Comment