I ran into problems with that. Let's start with Battle Islands V MA.

Template link: https://www.warlight.net/MultiPlayer?TemplateID=1006741

When I try to make it pure-skill, what do I see?
-move order will be set to no-luck cyclic (yeah ok)
-6 bonuses will be reset. (Why only 6? What about the other 18? Why any at all? I don't want any to be reset)

Another template: https://www.warlight.net/MultiPlayer?TemplateID=1015937

Aaand making it pure skill is not gonna happen either. Turns out I can only lower values of 6 bonuses. Doesn't matter which 6 bonuses. I can lower them by 1, I can lower them to 0. What about increasing values? I can increase value of EVERY bonus. But only by 2 max.

Is it bugged or is it supposed to be like that? Someone knows what the specific rules are? Do we really need that? I'd guess it's to limit abuse of coin games somehow, but it really gets in the way.

Intended. There is a max number of overridden bonuses that can be in a pure-skill game.

I would agree that this does mean that some good templates is not possible in coin-games.

The problem with overridden bonuses and pure skill is that it's possible to use them to make games that aren't skill. For example, if you make a pickable one-territory bonus worth 1000, the game is no longer skill and all becomes about who can pick that bonus fastest. Similarly one could also set all bonuses to 0 except one bonus and you have the same problem.

However it's also possible to make small tweaks to bonuses and still have a pure skill template. In general, we have to be very careful about what's allowed here since, for legal reasons, we have to ensure it's impossible to make a game that qualifies as "pure skill" that isn't actually.

The way it's implemented today is that no bonus can be more than +2 and no more than 30% of bonuses can be reduced in value.

Best example for me is french brawl. I never understood what was going on with these bonuses on pure skill till now

The way it's implemented today is that no bonus can be more than +2 and no more than 30% of bonuses can be reduced in value.

I understand why such a rule is in place, but it really limits template makers. Lowering every bonus value by 1 is a pretty common scenario. Couldn't it perhaps be changed to +2 or -2 without limits, and no more than 30% can be reduced more than that? Or at least +1 -1 and 30%?

You can still have like South America or another safe bonus be 6 income, which is still essentially a pick lottery, so it should have to be these options:


n-1 option
n+1 option
n-2 option
n+2 option
Original Values

That way it is uniform and what most template makers wish to do anyways.

Having the ability to change bonuses by +/- 2 would be a good option.

I don't know if the highlighted settings will pick up a change like that (since it isn't that big of a modification in bonus values), but at least having some option of making changes to bonuses immediately noticeable in the settings would be beneficial to players. Regardless, if you skim the settings, you can clearly see which bonuses have been altered at the bottom.

I know there was a player who made first-pick-speed lottery games by only changing two bonuses to be b+2 and picking the one that was more efficient in expansion, so there are still ways you can have "rigged" games using NLC and modified bonuses.

Therefore, if b+/-2 is too much of a margin, I would propose having the ability to change bonuses by +/- 1. This would not only lower the amount of "rigged" games (although there could still be scenarios like the one I mentioned above, it would be less effective) but also give more options for players who want to play coin games. Settings like Randomized Bonuses could also become viable for players.

So, there are some good templates which cannot be used in coin games. I don't understand why it is such big deal. So you will play them no-coin if you wish to play them, end of the story.

It's no big deal, just a discussion about pureskill and where it can't be used.

Fizzer could change that and allow for more coin templates to be played, but if he won't it will simply not happen. I didn't see anyone making a big business out of this.