by Ranior
jonpfl wrote:
So I guess that randomness doesn't bother you at all?
Correct. This isn't and was never a game of perfect information that you can exactly calculate everything out. If you want that type of experience go play Terra Mystica/Gaia Project. AFFO has some risk with dice rolling. It has some uncertainty and variance added by card and weapon draws.
I find those to be good things. Many times the occupation draws force me to go down and explore new avenues I wouldn't have otherwise done. Different weapon draws forces me to adapt a bit more than simply whatever the other players are blocking from me.
And sure, some players might have a bit easier time of it due to their weapon cards and occupation cards fitting a strategy a bit better. At the same time though, I'm ill convinced that's usually the main reason someone wins or loses. There are a lot of die rolls that change things up. There's a heck of a lot of planning and puzzling about the pieces on your board. Unless you're quite close in skill level anyhow, I don't think the random weapon draws or occupations are deciding the game.
I also don't really like most of the variants as they just make it easier for players to stick to their path they've chosen and don't find that as fun. It's more interesting to me if players do need to deviate and adapt a bit in order to make the most of things.