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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!ucbvax!ucdavis!deneb!ccs020
From: ccs020@ucdavis.UUCP (Kevin Chu)
Newsgroups: net.games.board
Subject: Re: Truly fair Rail Baron rules
Message-ID: <434@ucdavis.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 5-Dec-85 18:57:10 EST
Article-I.D.: ucdavis.434
Posted: Thu Dec  5 18:57:10 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 7-Dec-85 03:38:43 EST
References: <1284@cornell.UUCP> <7872@ucla-cs.ARPA>
Organization: University of California, Davis
Lines: 26

> I have the same comment about normalizing the prices of the railroads as
> I do about the Seattle rules.  Why?  The thought that perfectly normalizing
> the prices somehow makes the game better is erroneous.  Part of the fun of the
> game is that some railroads are "deals" and some are "turkeys".
> 
> And, incidently, this doesn't even cure the ill of which was spoken,
> in as much as it now becomes a scramble to see if you can get $47K to buy
> the PA.  The point is that the value of the PA is that it gets you a lot
> of cities, not that it happens to be underpriced.  Over the course of the
> game the difference in price is moot.
> 
>                                                         -- Scott

I couldn't agree more!  I never even saw the need to change the rules or
prices in the first place.  I like the game the way it is!  Also, if
you get used to playing with your customized rules, you'll have some
problems trying to play with anyone new, or at a gaming tournament.
Part of the game IS luck, so I don't see the rationalization "If you
get a bad roll at the beginning, you're out of the game" as being valid.
I have had good games with bad starts.  I have even won a game when all 
I had in the northeast was the C&O!.  Even if you can't win, you can
still have fun playing.
-- 
-- Kevin Chu
-- !{ucbvax,lll-crg,dual}!ucdavis!vega!ccs020
-- ucdavis!vega!ccs020@ucb-vax.arpa