I think that each game should start with everyone on a level playing field.
1. 2 month games not 3.
2. Remove QL for all players at the start of each game
3. QL can be gained at the rate of 10 QL per product per building per 12WU's.
4. Cost of QL to be dropped (amount to be discussed as regards buildings etc.).
5. Any product can be researched for QL whenever a player wants
6. Limit purchasing advertisements to 20 in play at any one time.
7. Increase the points for Events (amount to be discussed).
8. Put the Best Vendor calculation back to what it was.
9. Review the pricing (to be discussed).
10. Do not let ACTUAL selling price for goods drop as much as it has done in this game.
Currently players who have high QL in many products will [should] always win if they know what they are doing. Oakville (a new player) played the best game of anyone for the first 4 weeks of this game. He then took his foot off the pedal. I presume that the reason was that he realised that he was never going to be able to beat the players around him in the table because they had QL in the top products and could increase their scoring.
This would illustrate that a new player can compete. But ultimately only a handfull of players can win the game. I think that each player should have a chance.
The Market is the heart of the game, particularly if we shorten the length of the game. Too many advertisements on a single product can stiffle the market. So limit the number of buying adverts for each player to 20.
Removing QL for each player will be a contentious issue. But it will open winning the game up to everyone rather than a small elite. This will be increased by shortening the game. It will give more chance to players concentrating on early products and upgrading their buildings.
The game needs a wild-card element. It already has it in the Event Manager table. Increase the point scoring from 1 per 1% to 10 per 1%. That would make it worth going for.
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I realise that there is a hell of a lot of QL points for current players to lose on this, but the game is getting stale and we need to make the game attractive to new players. A shorter game encourages new players to stick with the game and gives them the opportunity to try their new found skills.
For the older players (like us) it gives us all a chance to really test our game strategies against each other.