the combat is neat i guess, but the stability issues aren't worth dealing with. the bland story isn't helping the game's case either.

and that's just the area control mechanism, there is a whole other game of resource allocation, bluffing/betting that governs the area control stuff, im still trying to untangle all of that.

there is a pass that leads right into yellow's territory, which has 2 farms! brown can use the 2 farms it starts with to raise up a few armies, then move into yellow's territory to take the yellow farms. with these farms they can make more troops, but will it be enough to defend against others?

for instance, the brown empire has the most cities out of anyone. in general, if a player has control of more cities they win the game.

but even though brown starts with the most cities, they start with NO armies to help them protect them! but look at the SW of their territory...

im sitting on my floor now just thinking about the game, and looking at a picture of the board. im noticing more and more interesting wrinkles in the design, especially with the layout of the board.

i really missed out on a lot of the game. when im learning a new game i find it difficult to play well. taking in information, applying that information, and socializing are all three different headspaces for me.

a lot of my appreciation for new games comes from reflection after the fact