Well said. It is truly frustrating when king making happens to you in an intense game. In my last game for example, I somehow was in a winning position against a turn 1 earth cat, early AI then Anti grav monster that also supported by protected hab and media group. Yes, you guessed it, the third put a greenery during the final conversion next to this player's city and I come in 2nd place by a point. It's maddening right?charliec247 wrote: ↑06 January 2025, 02:45 I can also vouch for 2p and 3p being vastly different games. I mainly play 2p and I ventured into 3p once and got so thrown off because I'm so used to the pace of the 2p game. I also agree with 3P being really fun only if all 3 are similarly skilled or at least know what they are doing. I play 5p IRL, in a group where there are 2 strong players, one okay player, and 2 weak players. The card quality that you get each game varies wildly depends on who is passing to you, and whoever sits in between the two weaker players will always get a bonkers draft.
Anyway I prefer 2p on here because I get the least downtime between turns and given that most of the time I play on my phone having less things to keep track of is better for me given the small screen. As for the "most competitive setting"? IMHO in any game it has to be 2P. Not only does it make targeted attacks viable, whereas in 3+P other players get off free and thus you can't be as aggressive as possible with this strategy, but there's no kingmaking in 2P. Plus, if it is clear who's going to win, we can concede early to save time instead of having to play it out. Yes there are merits to getting 2nd but a heads up game is more clear cut and you have full control of the outcome rather than having a non-related third party screw up your standings.
I love 2p, you certainly have more control over the game without worrying about silly stuff like a king maker. BUT, what I was trying to argue is that if all three players are equally skilled and in a fair competitive environment; I believe 3p TM is a better game and has a higher skill ceiling. And if a format has a higher skill ceiling, then it is actually the superior competitive format. Imagine if there is a referee will disqualify a player for obvious kingmaking actions, and only certain elo are allow to participate. I am championing 3p theoratically is the superior competitive format. Of course, in our non Xmaslanding and all inclusive BGA arena world, 2p is certainly a fairer test of skill than 3p. If you don't have th stomach for it, sometimes 3p will drive you crazy.
