I've got 176 on 631.
Like it. Relaxing and not stressing. Quite balaced. But yeah, you can't avoid reading rules. I wonder how long creator was thinking about scoring system.
I had a group of play testers who played many, many games with me over about three months!
The scoring system definitely evolved; for instance the empire didn't have the corner bonuses like it does now. We used to go for really gigantic empires like 10-by-14 or 12-by-12. You can beat other players with a huge empire, but of course you run the risk of getting almost no points if the third journey appears and your empire is only half-built.
So now you can still go for an ultra-risky gigantic empire, but there are also safer strategies for the empire like going super-small with all quality corners like 8's.
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I had a group of play testers who played many, many games with me over about three months! The scoring system definitely evolved; for instance the empire didn't have the corner bonuses like it does now. We used to go for really gigantic empires like 10-by-14 or 12-by-12. You can beat other players with a huge empire, but of course you run the risk of getting almost no points if the third journey appears and your empire is only half-built. So now you can still go for an ultra-risky gigantic empire, but there are also safer strategies for the empire like going super-small with all quality corners like 8's.