I noticed that in a two player game, whoever has the most money will almost always control the auctions.

In order to fix it, you need to reduce the amount of money that is exchanged between players. One way you could do this is if a player wins a bid, instead of paying all of the bid to the opponent, he pays half to the bank and half to the player, rounded up.

For example, if I won a bid at 7 ducats, I would pay 3 to the bank, and give 4 to my opponent.

I have yet to try this out, but I think it might work.

bjmage8

bjmage8 (#49740),

I disagree, you dont need to change it. In fact, 2 player might be the only version of the game that isnt broken (due to expedition track too strong/ money track too weak).

If one player gets low on cash, they MUST raise money. THis increases the importance of the money track. Also, if one advancs that track, they can create the money lead situation.

Bids should be considerably less in 2 player than in 3 or 4. Your goal in 3-4 player when its not your auction is to win the tile from the auctioneer, at the lowest price you can. In 2 player, your goal is to bid low enough that if the other guy takes your money, he is getting screwed, but high enough that if he overbids you, he is screwed.

Alexfrog (#49765),

I fully agree: it seems like the game was almost designed for two players. The auction mechanic is also at its most interesting in the two player game, because paying for tiles on your own is completely viable.

That's probably the way Goa will persevere in my collection: as a two-player game only.

I agree... two player Goa, using the original rules, is great! I posted a two player variant a few weeks ago that changes the game but significantly reduces the problem where the player with the most (early) money always winning. I now feel this is more of a handicapping option, one to play with non-gamers or person not so attuned to the subtle strategies inherent to Goa. The standard rules, when applied to a two-player game, make for an amazing experience. The auction becomes very tense and competitive, more so than in multi-player games, and creates a truly wonderful two-player game. Again, it's a subtle game, maybe even best with two well-matched, resourceful and aggresive players. I *love* Goa, with any number of players...

...one quick comment/question, though: I wonder if there's a way to make the two-player game longer without ruining the balance? I feel that eight rounds is too short... has anybody tried it with more rounds?