Has there been any discussion in the forums about the upcoming Arena Season 3 game configurations?
Can I suggest that there is 2-tier poll for Carcassonne.
The first tier poll would be 'Should expansions be included: yes/no?'
As we appear to be heading towards 4 seasons per year, the number of seasons played with extensions could be proportional to those who want extensions. For example, if 40% of the poll responses are to include extensions, then a total of 2 seasons could be played with extensions (40%) and 3 seasons without extensions (60%). The with/without seasons would be evenly spread, not grouped together; in this example without-with-without-with-without. This poll would be repeated after the required number of seasons to play with and without extensions (in this example after 5 seasons).
The second tier poll would be for which extensions to include for the seasons to be played with extensions. Each extension would have a 'Should expansion XXXX be included in the upcoming season: yes/no?'. The next season with extensions would then include each extension which had a majority of 'yes' responses. Each season with extensions would be polled since players may prefer different combinations each time, for example The River + Inns & Cathedrals in Season 1, but perhaps just Builders & Traders in Season 3.
An alternative for the second tier poll would be to list all the possible combinations of expansions and to vote for one preferred combination. This would avoid players getting combinations they did not want, but might mean a popular extension did not get used because other extension preferences split its vote.
This 2-tier system would be fair in that purists and expansionists would be proportionally represented, and the expansionists would be able to select which expansions to use for each season.
I would also suggest that the polls are heavily publicised to ensure as many players' opinions are sought to make it as inclusive as possible: as news items and a link to the poll where the Arena rankings are displayed.
Can I suggest that there is 2-tier poll for Carcassonne.
The first tier poll would be 'Should expansions be included: yes/no?'
As we appear to be heading towards 4 seasons per year, the number of seasons played with extensions could be proportional to those who want extensions. For example, if 40% of the poll responses are to include extensions, then a total of 2 seasons could be played with extensions (40%) and 3 seasons without extensions (60%). The with/without seasons would be evenly spread, not grouped together; in this example without-with-without-with-without. This poll would be repeated after the required number of seasons to play with and without extensions (in this example after 5 seasons).
The second tier poll would be for which extensions to include for the seasons to be played with extensions. Each extension would have a 'Should expansion XXXX be included in the upcoming season: yes/no?'. The next season with extensions would then include each extension which had a majority of 'yes' responses. Each season with extensions would be polled since players may prefer different combinations each time, for example The River + Inns & Cathedrals in Season 1, but perhaps just Builders & Traders in Season 3.
An alternative for the second tier poll would be to list all the possible combinations of expansions and to vote for one preferred combination. This would avoid players getting combinations they did not want, but might mean a popular extension did not get used because other extension preferences split its vote.
This 2-tier system would be fair in that purists and expansionists would be proportionally represented, and the expansionists would be able to select which expansions to use for each season.
I would also suggest that the polls are heavily publicised to ensure as many players' opinions are sought to make it as inclusive as possible: as news items and a link to the poll where the Arena rankings are displayed.
