Balance Bidding System

I'm thinking that one way to get more balance into scenarios is to use a banner bidding system.

So the concept is simple enough, both players bid for the side they want.

If players bid for different side (i.e. 1 Allies, the other French), then each gets their selected side, and play is as the scenario is written.

If players bid for the same side, the highest bid wins that side, and the loser starts with Permanent Victory Banners equivalent to the winning bid. So for example, John bids French 1, Robert bids French 2, Robert gets the French, and John starts with 2 banners.

If the bids are for the same side and equal, the winner is decided by each rolling 7 die. Most INF wins. So for example, John bids French 1, Robert also bids French 1. John rolls 7 dice with 4 INF results, Robert rolls 7 dice and gets 2 INF results. John gets the French, and Robert starts with 1 banner.

What this means in tournaments is that rather than assigning players to particular nationalities (usually Alpha group is always French, Beta group is Allies), players can bid for the side/situation they prefer. So a good defender might bid more for the defending side in every match.

It also means some unbalanced scenarios can be rehabilitated for competitive play. As extreme examples, I would never put Alba de Tormes or Champaubert in a tournament as it stands.

So I'm looking for responses on whether people like this idea for;
A ) Mini-Tournament matches
B ) Casual play

I stress this is just a proposal, it doesn't apply to any current tournaments.

I would prefer an official or fan- revised scenario setup and rules, so the player's have the same requirements (important in tournaments).

Bayernkini wrote: I would prefer an official or fan- revised scenario setup and rules, so the player's have the same requirements (important in tournaments).

Whilst this would be preferable, it is pretty labour intensive, not just in the modification, but in re-testing the play balance after the modifications.

There are also limits in terms of keeping the historical character of the battle, whilst at the same time making it competitive. There needs to be ways for the side that was historically defeated to still be defeated, yet 'win' by doing better than the historical outcome. Often this is done by Exit Victory conditions, easy geographical Victory Banners and other devices like Supply trains.

Balance bidding is relatively easy to implement, and completely up to the players in each instance. It simply recognises the disadvantage to one side, and sets shorter goal posts to achieve a 'win'.

I like the format of the MT's as currently published. It seems to work very well.

I like the format of the MT's as currently published. It seems to work very well.

Me too
because so have all players exact same scenarios and victory conditions.

In private games, the players can arrange the victory conditions, if they want, or they can simple not play some extrem outbalanced games (like me)

Tarheel wrote: I like the format of the MT's as currently published. It seems to work very well.

the format works pretty well, but there are a few weaknesses in my view;

1. the scenarios should be about the same number of banners in each round. Otherwise 1 round can have disproportionate effect.

2. Unbalanced scenarios can result in a dead heat round for the victors.

3. There is a diminishing number of balanced scenarios as more plays are recorded. Of the 18 Spanish expansion scenarios, there are only 4 within the 40/60 balance range. Base game has 11 of 15 in that range. Russian expansion has 4 out of 20.

4. Balance can change with experience.

5. The Semi-Finalists are the best 2 from each group, not necessarily the best 4 players. Not sure that is a weakness, but does group composition determine the semi-finalist?

These are the issues I can see. None critical, but always looking for improvements.

Reason I dont like bidding is because this would exclude newer players from joining in the fun. You really have to have LOADS of play experience with a scenario to know how to bid for it properly. I for one do not have extensive play experience with any given scenario, and doubt I'd want to play a given one enough to know the nuances of bidding for it. I doubt I'd want to play in that format.