Board Game Arena

Curious if the banned Faction / Mat combinations (Rusviet/Industrial, Crimea/Patriotic) are to be considered and implemented or whether there will be an option to exclude them?

This comes from Jamey Stegmaier (designer) himself and is included in the game's FAQ on the Stonemaier Games website: https://stonemaiergames.com/games/scythe/faq-scythe/

Considering the competitive imbalances these combos cause and their implications for Arena, seems like something that needs to implemented prior to release.

tippmana wrote: ↑19 July 2024, 21:21 Curious if the banned Faction / Mat combinations (Rusviet/Industrial, Crimea/Patriotic) are to be considered and implemented or whether there will be an option to exclude them?

This comes from Jamey Stegmaier (designer) himself and is included in the game's FAQ on the Stonemaier Games website: https://stonemaiergames.com/games/scythe/faq-scythe/

Considering the competitive imbalances these combos cause and their implications for Arena, seems like something that needs to implemented prior to release.

Already implemented iirc. Also, the bid option is best suited for Arena so it will help reduce faction/player mat imbalance

To be fair, there are stronger combos than those two now. Game metas develop over time and auction seems to be the best way to flexibly deal with the shifts.

Badger Prof wrote: ↑24 July 2024, 21:39 To be fair, there are stronger combos than those two now. Game metas develop over time and auction seems to be the best way to flexibly deal with the shifts.

Yes, I would agree that auctions are the best way to deal with any imbalances. But the banned factions are still among the strongest combinations in the base game. The more powerful combinations are due to the player mats from the Invaders from Afar expansion.

I would like to advocate strongly for allowing all combinations in Auction mode. Not only is auctioning meant to account for differences in combination strength, the bans themselves are quite outdated specifically with the addition of IFA player mats.

JoyDivision wrote: ↑14 August 2024, 01:18 I would like to advocate strongly for allowing all combinations in Auction mode. Not only is auctioning meant to account for differences in combination strength, the bans themselves are quite outdated specifically with the addition of IFA player mats.

It would indeed be great to have the banned combinations available in auction games if IFA mats are included. This will probably need to be run by Jamey himself, though, since the dev can't decide this on his own.

JoyDivision wrote: ↑14 August 2024, 01:18 I would like to advocate strongly for allowing all combinations in Auction mode. Not only is auctioning meant to account for differences in combination strength, the bans themselves are quite outdated specifically with the addition of IFA player mats.

This would be very nice, I support this idea.

Also, and I know we are in beta only and IFA is not here yet, but I would kindly ask for BGA to talk to Stonemaier about Dan Michalowski's balance idea. I assume BGA implementation doesn't suffer from the same limitations of Steam's implementation, so it could be an amazing opportunity to have an updated/balanced version of Scythe as an option in the future.

I've being using this balance suggestion IRL, works like a charm.

Link for Dan's suggestion https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/313659 ... ges-update

_sylvio_ wrote: ↑15 August 2024, 19:26

JoyDivision wrote: ↑14 August 2024, 01:18 I would like to advocate strongly for allowing all combinations in Auction mode. Not only is auctioning meant to account for differences in combination strength, the bans themselves are quite outdated specifically with the addition of IFA player mats.

This would be very nice, I support this idea.

Also, and I know we are in beta only and IFA is not here yet, but I would kindly ask for BGA to talk to Stonemaier about Dan Michalowski's balance idea. I assume BGA implementation doesn't suffer from the same limitations of Steam's implementation, so it could be an amazing opportunity to have an updated/balanced version of Scythe as an option in the future.

I've being using this balance suggestion IRL, works like a charm.

Link for Dan's suggestion https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/313659 ... ges-update

+1
The balance suggestions by Dan are similar to but better than what my friends have been playing. Thanks for posting this!

Why are some factions banned in auction?

TryWhite wrote: ↑16 August 2024, 15:03 Why are some factions banned in auction?

In the first few years after Scythe’s release, Rusviet Industrial and Crimea Patriotic were discovered to have reliable sequences for ending the game faster than the designer had anticipated. Jamey had intended for games to go 18-20 turns, but Rus Ind could possibly finish in 13. Crim Pat could finish in 15 with a fair amount of coins. For this reason they were banned from all forms of play, not just auction games.

While the best players can finish in 13-17 turns with most combinations these days, these two combinations remain the strongest of the base game.