Hmm... yeah scoring would help. We need to create incentive for people to stay in games even when they are losing, because otherwise, whoever starts off well, wins.
I have 2 possible systems that I think could work towards that.
Scoring #1
Won Game : +10
Survived Game (Still has at least 1 SC) : + 2
Took over nation in civil unrest : + 2
Falls into civil unrest : - 2
Lose game (No more SC's): -5
With this system, if you fall into civil unrest, and fail to return, it counts as a loss on your part, and you lose 7 points. It would create more conservative and diplomatic play, as people try harder to survive. As well, harsh penalties for leaving the game, but if you are just inactive because life takes over, you have the chance of returning to the game fast enough and reclaiming those 2 points. The problem is how to score for someone else who takes over, because I don't know if it would be fair to have them lose just as many points, although it could be a good safeguard to let the original player return. Other possible points (10, 5, 5, -5, -5) which would penalize and reward civil disorder more.
Scoring #2
-For every SC you own, past the 3 (or 4) you start with, at the end of the game you get 1 point.
-For every original SC you lose, at the end of the game, you lose 1 point.
-If you fall into civil disorder you lose points equivalent to the amount of original SC's, as if you lost, as in 3 or 4.
-If you take over a country in civil disorder, you reclaim those points, so you break even if you were the original player, if you weren't, you've got nothing to lose : )
This system is more proportional and less, if you're not first, you're last style. The problems include, how to score with Russia, since they start with 4, and also, if players taking over a country with civil disorder have nothing to lose, since if they lose, they still break even, they might have no problem with leaving. As well since leaving and losing have the same penalty, a big loser, might just leave anyways, since there is no difference.
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Ok, that's all I have to say, I think that Scoring #1 would work better, simply because its a good system to punish and reward. The only problem is that it's not as proportional to the successes of the players, although this could be a good thing, because then, when one player starts to win, the other players would be more convinced to oppose, instead of just work out a deal with the winning player to leave them with their current SC's.
Supporting a hold
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