
Yes, you're all right; going last (especially in an escalating game) usually gives a tremendous advantage, both by being able to see everyone else's moves first, assaulting already weakened and depleted armies, and getting to trade in cards last....unless everyone else happens to "gang up on pink"; most players only take a single enemy territory during their first turn, and if each of them happenes to take a territory from the same player....
What inspired my original post on this thread was a polar game I'm in, # 243037.
Round one....
Red places armies, takes a territory from Pink, gets a card. Hey, that's me!
(red)
Green places armies, takes a territory from PINK, gets a card.
Blue places armies, takes ANOTHER territory from Pink, gets a card.
Yellow places armies, continues the tradition of taking a territory from Pink, gets a card.
Cyan places armies, takes yet another territory from Pink, gets a card.
....by the time Pink gets to take his first turn, he's down FIVE TERRITORIES from everyone else, and barely manages to take one territory (from Green), and continues to loose territories to the others over the next two rounds faster than he can get them back. Round 3 finds Pink barely holding on to three territories (two of which have only one army each) while the other players are about to solidify their continent-grabs.
wicked wrote:I also prefer going last for reasons already stated, plus the added benefit of seeing everyone's moves before having to plan your own.
Just curious Creepy, have you won many escalating games?
Actually, I am just about the worst player on the forums. Let's see, out of the two-dozen games I've played, I've won ONE, and it was a doubles classic map escalating game. You see, I'm not so much good at the game (which I'm not), so much as I APPRECIATE the game, enjoying the theoretical more than the practical aspects of it. That's why I play, get hosed, and post suggestions. Failure gives you a good perspective on any game, and a good perspective is necessary to make meaningful contributions to the evolving design.