Board Game Arena

Hello,

I very strongly suspect that 7 Wonders Duel offers a massive 1st player advantage. The higher the level, the higher the impact.(I won't go here in details why). To the point that I have a home rule that first player starts only with 4 coins. (Going down to 6 or even 5 did not do the trick)

Question 1 : Is it a shared opinion?
Question 2 : With statistics available on boardgame arena, testing this 1st player hypothesis should be very easy... but I cannot find this info among statistics available here. Has anyone an idea here?

Many thanks,
Cheers,

I did not really pay attention, I'll start doing so and tell you my thoughts ! So far it didn't bother me that much I believe.

I've logged dozens of games of 7WD, and never noticed a first player advantage worth that much. A slight one, perhaps, like almost any game, but not 3 coins worth. I'd be interested to hear what you think causes it.

I have this as suspicion with no confirmation. Too lazy to track my games tho

Playing the first one is certainly an advantage, but since it is difficult to estimate, I think that a compensation option could be proposed, the creator of the table choosing the number of coins of the first player between 4 and 7.

In this game first move advantage is not static enough to agree on certain compensation. It is rather dynamic and depends on particular setup more than 1st move. It is true that sometimes strong player can have almost forced win from the beginning. But in this case no coin compensation would help, indeed. So, forget the compensation.

Some stats for ~500games
https://sevenee.mattle.online/lobby/for ... game-plays

wait, 47.5% of the games in your stats end in instant victory (military/science)? That does not seem correct. Why would any player prioritize points over instant loss?

I only have anecdotal experience, but I've played at least 50 games of 7WD and only 3 have been won through instant victories (we definitely remember these, as it is such a rare thing in our games).

I can understand instant victories being more common than in our games, but 47%? There's no way that's normal.

In my games on BGA most have not made it to the end.

You are underestimating the power of the wonders 'have another turn'. You should read the whole article.
The law token, the mausoleum, strategic token and the hanging gardens all can spring surprises.

I think it is certainly an advantage, First player can get a "parity" advantage forcing player2 to flip everything for them, at least in the first round.