The Wall wrote:Having to assume that someone who missed a turn plans a surprise attack is outrageous and even less sympathetic (if they couldn't help it) than a slight disincentive that makes deliberate missing of turns less likely and reassures the other players. Something like docking 20% (rounded up) of the troops from the missed turn. Letting people hold up the game and then double up reinforcements based on a sly calculation isn't really fair. I don't recall being really screwed by this but the response that no-one likes a whiner wears a bit thin.
You don't have to assume that they plan a surprise attack. You
should assume, however, that they're still getting armies despite the fact that they missed a turn, and therefore are worth attacking. There is no doubling-up of armies; you're getting no more than the armies you would have gotten, with the added disadvantage of having to wait for them until after your opponents have destroyed you. If your opponents
haven't taken advantage of the missed turn, then its just bad strategy on their part.
The thing is, people have a tendency to ignore people who just missed a turn. They see that they haven't gotten any stronger, so they figure they're not a threat. What might help people who have this problem: pretend that the armies they just missed actually
were added to their territories--but can't do any fighting. Destroy this opponent before those armies become active.