Unified Winner Games with Achievement Point Entry Fee
I think the Emperor game goes in the right direction by putting your Achievement points at risk. I think an interesting game would be: (Even if I were losing I would stick to the end; I paid my points!)
Unified Winner game:
Cost to enter = 200 Achievement points in the race you are joining, immediately deducted.
Winner (Most Planets) - gains 2200 Achievement points (net gain = 2000 pts)
10 losers - get nothing - already lost 200 Achievement points
Winning condition = 200 planets or agreement of all current players.
Players gain experience normally and get destruction points normally (and the Achievement points that come with them).
Players who drop out don't get any points back.
Cost to replacement players to join (In Achievement points):
Turns 1-15 = (200 - (Turn# * 10))
Turns 16+ = # of planets
You can have as many of the various relationships as you want. But, none of them matter for victory. They are simply tools used to gain a victory for you and work with other players.
This will make for a serious game and a game with reasonably experienced players.
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Whisperer commented
> Players who drop out don't get any points back.
> Cost to replacement players to join
This means that more Achievement Points are being spent than are being distributed. This probably needs some additional thought.