Manual Initial Troop Deployment - Could be better, alot better
I loved the idea of manual troop deployement when I first heard of it, "gone are the continent bonuses on first move, gone are the daft drops" I said. I was a bit dismayed when I saw what it actually consisted of.
The "manual" option is just a round of pretty much unlimited fortification, followed by one or two rounds of huge stacks hammering each other, well in the few games Ive played anyway. It is now just a slugfest, which detracts even more from the not to be mentioned board game.
Could we not implement real initial troop deployment specifics are:
Each player takes a turn choosing a territory to place units in, up to 3. The first rounds consist of each player chosing and placing their troops wherever they want across the board. Once that is complete the game continues as normal.
This is a massive improvement over all (forget freestyle, not interested in it) current game scenarios. The chance of pulling the eternal "Australia" bonus is gone, unless the players decide to set up on separate continents, bit it is still player choice to do so. There would be no "Awww look at your drop, mine stinks" comments, because again, the player has made that choice. Think of the added skill element you can add to the game, clever troop deployment is key, players can be as obvious or devious as they like.
I believe this add a whole new dynamic to the game, and takes a huge element of luck out.
What do you think??
