Board Game Arena

Hello, the strategy tips of this game are not the easiest to read and understand and remember, but I believe the question I have is not covered there. So... Let's say you are just starting, and you place your two tokens at the bottom of 7 and 8 columns. And next turn you get the same numbers, 7 and 8. What is the optimum choice here, to progress on 7 or 8? Let's assume it is early in the game and you are not forced to risk or something. But in general, when things are equal and you have two columns to advance, one short, one long (like 7), which one should you go for, as a priority?

Since you’re already locked in on these numbers, the question is easy to answer: One step on a short path has more value than one step on a long path