Board 8 Question

[Checker5000]

Hello!

I have just learned this game in real life using the newest version (upgraded components and terrain pack), but haven't played the game more than a few times. I found out that Castles of Burgundy was on this site and noticed the option to have random boards but not use board 8. I have tried to look up online why that specific board is unbalanced, but I haven't been able to find a clear answer since I guess that board is different in different versions of this game.

Anyway, can somebody please tell me why that board is so bad? And, is it the one I see online with the top of the board having four pastures in one line? Thank you for any responses!

[sorryimlikethis]

It's the board with a large 6 pasture bottom centre and lots of 2 size city regions around the outside.
Typically you want regions to either be small (easy to complete quickly) or large (more points per tile when complete). This board has the best of both worlds. You can score quickly by finishing lots of 1-2 size regions early then bring home your score with animals. Animals are especially scary at size 6 because of how they score when they're the same type. 4 point per building yellow tiles are also a lot better than usual because you have 6 different city regions. You have flexibility to go pretty much any path you want and score well with it. It's not too difficult to score ~230 with this board when others you will struggle to break 200.

[Checker5000]

Ah, ok. Thank you! That makes a lot of sense. Really appreciate the explanation!

[Molbertino Aquarelli]

In fact, I find this BGA limitation ridiculous.
Board 8 is indeed the most "scory" board among the classic board set.
Though, when playing different boards, it does not make much difference whether you play 8 vs 4, or 4 vs 10.
The stronger board wins in most of cases.
IMO, board 5 is quite close to board 8.
Why not exclude board 1 or 10 for the same reason as the worst ones?
There are advantages that must've been limited (KT6 in 2019 edition, ex.), but they are not.
Instead they decided for board 8.
And, btw, I think it is the most interesting one when playing the same board.

[Shield For Your Eyes]

The reason for this was large-scale statistical analysis done on the sites that had Burgundy before BGA - that showed Board 8 at a level massively above the rest, with Board 5 much closer to the pack. In-person tournaments (which can't do same-board matches for logistical reasons) had been banning Board 8 for years, so it's established at this point.