by Will W
Joelist wrote:
You know William, it would be easier to take your complaints seriously if you stopped trying to represent every quibble you come up with as being "a majority of players", "many players" et al.
I play England regularly (probably more games than you have) and do not in any way feel it is boring and/or unimportant. She does not lack for diplomatic options and is the best Espionage power in the game. The race decked Galleons give her great defense and her Sea Captains give her excellent odds of picking up both a lot of piracy goodies and exploration VPs.
When playing England, go into it with a wide open mind and look for those VPs across the whole game. It's a great experience.
I play England regularly (probably more games than you have) and do not in any way feel it is boring and/or unimportant. She does not lack for diplomatic options and is the best Espionage power in the game. The race decked Galleons give her great defense and her Sea Captains give her excellent odds of picking up both a lot of piracy goodies and exploration VPs.
When playing England, go into it with a wide open mind and look for those VPs across the whole game. It's a great experience.
I said that England being marginal was "a common complaint", not that "a majority of players" thought it was the case. I have seen one runaway English victory and one near-English victory, and I agree that England can cobble together VPs from various sources and be competitive.
In my experience, though, once turn 3 rolls around, England has to use Walsingham defensively every turn. That really cuts down on diplomatic possibilities. Using Walsingham offensively to assassinate leaders is out. Using Virgin Queen to jilt people is out. Using Virgin Queen to pick up a specific card from the discard pile as part of a deal is out.
Perhaps you know things most players do not, but the only diplomacy I've seen England engage in after turn 2 is when they draw events that other powers are willing to pay for. There isn't much else to negotiate over.