by RogueM
Hi all - I'm posting a variant that you may or may not want to try, most notably because it requires chopping up the player boards (or copies).Before I outline the variant I need to start with the following disclaimer however: posting a variant does not imply that the I think there is something 'wrong' with the game. If you find the variant interesting, then great, if not then just shrug and move on, no need for putting things 'right'.
Goal: provide a number of player boards, identical for all players*
*though I will offer a further suggestion for asymmetrical 'modular' individual boards, when I have time to expand on the original idea.
Why? no reason, I am not trying to 'fix' the game, but I tend to disfavour variable player powers and asymmetrical play. That is not a judgement of value, just my personal preference.
How: There are 4 identical boards in CoB, board 1, which can be converted to a semi-modular board for variable setup, while retaining the same board for all players.
As you can see from the above image, I chose to divide the board in 6 sections of size-6 i.e sextants, in addition to the central castle.
I did consider making pieces 3 hexes in size instead but I wanted to keep the setup time to a minimum, and while smaller pieces would yield more flexibility it would also be cumbersome to get all players to find the desired piece to place in the desired spot.
At this point you will have four sets of pieces, one for each player that can be placed and rotated in multiple ways to expand your game.
Again, just to repeat myself, if you value your copy of CoB I recommend picking a second copy so you retain full use of the 'advanced' boards that Stefan Feld designed.
EDIT 1: for those who want to use my variant here is a suggestion to name the oversized tiles in a logical manner:
A(nimals) - B(uildings) - C(astles)
W(ater) - X(traction) - Y(ellow)
... The size-1 central tile can be called 'S' for start, although it does not have to be used as starting space.
I also recommend marking the tiles at the edge where they join the S tile in the original board so the orientation can be easily conveyed in writing, for example, using this nomenclature the original board 1 can be described as follows:
Abr-Cbc-Bbl
Xtr-Ytc-Wtl
EDIT 2: For the asymmetrical approach here.
Happy playing!