Drafting vs buying cards. Which do you prefer and why?

[FrankJones]

I prefer buying for the following reasons:

1. Drafting makes little sense thematically. If a corporation was offered several good ideas, it would sometimes investigate them all. A hard restriction forcing it to pass a good idea to a competitor doesn't seem to fit the theme.

2. Drafting is not the primary game design; it's an optional extra; a bolt-on kludge.

3. As I understand it, the game designer prefers buying rather than drafting -- liking the challenge of making do with a more limited variety of options.

4. Drafting is gamey -- a game mechanic borrowed from other card games. This spoils the immersion.

5. The game has few catch-up mechanisms as it's mainly that "the rich get richer". The possibility of getting a good research draw provides some hope for a player who has fallen behind. Drafting tends to act as a leveller by sharing out the good cards. Levelling is most important at the start so it's puzzling that the initial 10 cards and preludes are not drafted. That would make more sense.

This all seems reasonable.

I believe each player and gaming group should play whichever they prefer.

I prefer drafting, but it can add some serious analysis paralysis for some players.

I know Drafting is generally (but not universally) considered the "higher-skill" way to play, but it is important as a community that we do not make anyone feel bad about their gaming choices or settings preferences.

[Andrew Davidson]

I prefer drafting, but it can add some serious analysis paralysis for some players.

I know Drafting is generally (but not universally) considered the "higher-skill" way to play, but it is important as a community that we do not make anyone feel bad about their gaming choices or settings preferences.

Yes, the psychological aspect is significant too. For example, in a game, I have just drawn Research Outpost, Giant Ice Asteroid, Water-splitting Plant and Tardigrades. If we were buying then I'd keep three of these cards. The card I really want is the Research Outpost as it's one of my favourites and I have some steel. But I'll probably hate-draft the Giant Ice Asteroid instead as the next player has a big stockpile of money and might destroy my plants. And I'd quite like the Water-splitting plant too as I have plenty of energy on tap.

So, I'm holding three cards that I like but I'm being forced to throw two of them away. This is psychologically painful because of the mere ownership effect which makes people prefer things that they own or even just imagine that they own. It's also a high-stakes decision and this naturally causes analysis-paralysis too. This is not fun.