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[TheLifemakers]

We face the following problem in our now-in-development game Battle of the Pucks. Its idea came from a Russian board game Chapayev. It's a 2-person (or a person vs. computer) game where the first player has a noticeable advantage. The classic rules call for the first player to continue making moves until he/she makes a mistake, then the turn goes to the second one. In some cases, this results in the first player winning a round (or even a few rounds in a row) without letting the other person to make a move at all. We keep arguing between ourselves on what should be the best approach to equalize the chances:

    - Keep the classic rules intact: the first player continues playing until a mistake is made
    - Limit the total amount of moves a person can make in a row
    - Always change turns after each move
    - Always change turns at the beginning of each new level
    - Make two rounds for each level, to give each player an opportunity to move first

What would be your thoughts on this?

[AaronB]

My thoughts:

- Keep the classic rules intact: the first player continues playing until a mistake is made
Yes - this builds tension for when the fail comes.

- Limit the total amount of moves a person can make in a row
No - seems a bit arbitrary and would disrupt the flow of the game.

- Always change turns after each move
No - as that run of good luck/skill seems to be an important element of the game.

- Always change turns at the beginning of each new level
Yes - seems like a good compromise.  Players of equal skill level will really need to play well to keep the game even.

- Make two rounds for each level, to give each player an opportunity to move first
Might make the game too long?

[TheLifemakers]

- Keep the classic rules intact: the first player continues playing until a mistake is made
Yes - this builds tension for when the fail comes.

Yes, we decided to keep this rule within a level.

- Always change turns at the beginning of each new level
Yes - seems like a good compromise.  Players of equal skill level will really need to play well to keep the game even.

- Make two rounds for each level, to give each player an opportunity to move first
Might make the game too long?

The game has very short rounds, just a few minutes each. So, we finally decided on the following:

1. If you play against the computer, you always have the first move at the beginning of each level (to make the game more favorable for the human player).

2. If there are two players, each level is played twice, so that each person will have an opportunity to move first. In the ideal situation of two perfectly skilled players, each will win "their" rounds and the total score will be even, but in reality, everyone can make a mistake, especially with difficult levels where it's almost impossible to not lose your own pucks (and your turn) in the middle of the round.