I will try that for the next update oddball see what everyone thinks.
I do have the bonus spreadsheets and the numbers come out like this:
Kyushu - 3 (3.08)
Shikoku - 3 (2.58)
Chugoku - 5 (5.42)
Hokuriku - 5 (4.83)
Kanto - 4 (3.75)
Tohoku - 5 (5.42
Hokkaido - 3 (2.75)
I tried a comparison to the classic map, and S. America came out at 3, Africa a 4, and Asia an 8, the other continents were the same, but there are 42 territories on the Classic map, here there are 32 + 1(or 2) neutral deploys. I figure that each value should be minus 1 which would give us:
Kyushu - 2 (2.08)
Shikoku - 2 (1.58)
Chugoku - 4 (4.42)
Hokuriku - 4 (3.83)
Kanto - 3 (2.75)
Tohoku - 4 (4.42)
Hokkaido - 2 (1.75)
If we take these numbers and run with them; Kyushu seems to be right on at 2; Shikoku is a soft 2 and could easily waffle between 2 and 1; Chugoku and Tohoku is a strong 4 that can waffle between 4 and 5; Kanto is a high 2, which may be more deserving of a 3; Hokkaido is the same way, a high 1 more deserving of a 2; and Hokuriku should do well at 4 I know the spreadsheet is just a tool, and ultimately it comes down to the decision of the map maker and the Foundry process to hammer out what a fair and reasonable value should be.
My impression goes like this: If Hokkaido is 2 Tohoku should be a 5 since there is only 1 small bonus bordering it. Kyushu would be a 2 and Shikoku can be either 1 or 2 and Chugoku should be a 4 since it will be easier to take with 2 bonuses behind it bringing in a total of 3 or 4 armies. Kanto can be a 3 next to a bonus of 4 for Hokuriku, making a decent starting position even though being in the middle of the map, but the center of the map will be more difficult to hold than either end hence it being worth more if you can hold it.
Best Bonus Values?
Kyushu - 2
Shikoku - 1
Chugoku - 4
Hokuriku - 4
Kanto - 3
Tohoku - 5
Hokkaido - 2
Different game types as it pertains to gameplay:
Games will have 1 (or 2) neutral drop leaving 32 territories to be divided between players, I'll show you some number to what player can look forward to when playing on this map(in it's current form) and give some possible drop scenarios that hopefully will show how likely it would be to drop a bonus on the first turn.
Each player would get this number of territories/neutrals
2 player game drop: 10/12
3 player game drop: 10/2
4 player game drop: 8/0
5 player game drop: 6/2
6 player game drop: 5/2
7 player game drop: 4/4
8 player game drop: 4/0
From these numbers the map will likely lend itself these game types, based on even numbers during the drop(IMO), but of course any type of game could be played successfully.
1v1
4 player standard
4 player doubles
8 player standard
8 player doubles
8 player quads
I'll do some random trials here and see how some games
might play out. I'll do a trial on some of the game types and give to the info on how I see it. I put the territory names into the random.org list randomizer and took the first amount of territories for player 1 and so on down the line. For better visualization I printed out the map and grabbed some
wrisk pieces.
1v1:
Green drops 3 of 4 territories in Hokkiado plus Aomori, Rishirito comes up neutral. Green also gets 2 territories in Kyushu opposed by 1 red territory and a neutral Tsushima. Green has a cluster of 3 territories, Okayama, Osaka, and Tokushima, the rest of Shikoku is neutral. Red has a better strategic postition in Chugoku with Hiroshima and Shimane, Fukui and Oki Island are neutral. Red has good postition in Hokuriku and Tohoku with a total of 6 territories(Ishikawa, Sado, Aichi, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima) with only 1 more green in Niigata. Red also has Tokyo, but the rest of Kanto is neutral.
To me gameplay will be pretty straight forward. Green will look to gain control of Hokkaido and in later turns Kyushu. Red will have to play the center of the map and take Hokuriku. Then take position in Fukushima and/or Shimane to be able to assault green's bonus(es). Seems like an even game, but green certainly will have the advantage with almost a bonus to start.
4 player standard:
1. Izu-Oshima
2. Fukui
3. Tokyo
4. Sado
5. Nagano
6. Yamagata
7. Rishirito
8. Hakodate 9. Niigata
10. Oki Island
11. Nagasaki
12. Ishikawa
13. Okinawa
14. Aichi
15. Tochigi
16. Chiba 17. Fukushima
18. Okayama
19. Kagoshima
20. Miyagi
21. Hiroshima
22. Kochi
23. Shimane
24. Aomori 25. Akita
26. Osaka
27. Oita
28. Sapporo
29. Iwate
30. Tokushima
31. Tsushima
32. KushiroSo red has options with half of Hokkaido and Kanto, green has the other half of Kanto and 3 of 5 territories in Hokuriku. Blue has a good bunch in the southern half of the map, and yellow would have options with either half of Hokkaido or Kyushu.. This game would very much hinge who goes first, but the decision of the first player doesn't destroy the options of the rest. Say green goes first and focuses his attacks on red in Kanto to connect up with the armies he has in Hokuriku. Blue will probably look to take Kyushu. Yellow will go and depending on dice will either try and take Kyushu if blue didn't do well or take Hokkaido. Red is last will have to looks to move where it is best. Dice as always be an issue that steer strategy when things enviably go wrong.
This post is now super long... It really helps to have something in front of you that you can see and play with, but of course, I can not run the numbers for the thousands of games that will hopefully be played; odd things will happen, trends will emerge, and will need to be tweaked along the way. Hope this helps everyone, assuming you read at least half way through...
