What do you guys think about these four templates?

Auto/Ladder +1: http://warlight.net/MultiPlayer.aspx?TemplateID=126459

- 1 additional starting army.
- 23 bonuses, 131 territories.

Europe: http://warlight.net/MultiPlayer.aspx?TemplateID=126799

- 4 starting armies, same card settings, same number of wastelands (7).
- 32 bonuses, 206 territories.

Imperium Romanum: http://warlight.net/MultiPlayer.aspx?TemplateID=126805

- 4 starting spots, same card settings, 4 wastelands instead of 7.
- 31 bonuses, 106 territories.

East Asia & Oceania: http://warlight.net/MultiPlayer.aspx?TemplateID=126809

- Same settings as auto-settings.
- 25 bonuses, 123 territories.

hmm.. the first one threw me off...

you posted 1 additional starting army when it was instead 1 additional starting territory.. -_-

sorry. i was thinking in real-life terms. an army is a group of soldiers/troops. i didn't say territory bc territories don't attack, armies do. troop levels (units) are the same though...

in any case, i've played the "auto/ladder +1" (once), europe (once), and east asia & oceania (5+ times) templates and i'd say the east asia & oceania template is the best alternative to the ladder/auto-settings game. in fact, it is now my preferred 1v1 map/settings.

reasons:

- exact same settings as the auto/ladder game; the only thing that has changed is the map: good for people who have never played this map before (less things to acclimate to)
- the map has good geo-strategic balance: continent-island balance is good; open-narrow balance is good (in contrast: europe is more open, roman empire is more narrow)
- logical bonuses: each bonus is worth one less than the total number of territories (more options for picking: some auto/ladder games are based too much on who gets what pick first; with a more balanced bonuses, people are less likely to pick the same spots and each player's skills/strategies are more likely to carry the day)
- east asia & oceania (25 bonuses, 123 territories) has a better bonus-territory balance than the auto/ladder settings (23 bonuses, 131 territories): there are lots of bonuses good players simply don't pick in the auto/ladder game except when counter (for those who make counter picks), which leaves the picking options limited and makes the picks and pick order too important. east asia & oceania doesn't have this problem (all bonuses are equally efficient: each bonus = # of territories minus 1)

I think the Strategic 1v1 Europe template's having 7 wastelands (auto/ladder standard) was too few. So I made it with 11 wastelands. Same template as above.

To see how these templates compare, I made three tournaments:

- [Imperium Romanum](http://warlight.net/MultiPlayer.aspx?TournamentID=1598)
- [Europe](http://warlight.net/MultiPlayer.aspx?TournamentID=1597)
- [East Asia & Oceania](http://warlight.net/MultiPlayer.aspx?TournamentID=1595)