When playtesting Clash of Empires, I noticed that many games end up with one player having an overwhelming advantage in terms of territory or position when the game isn’t close to over.

To fix this, I plan to introduce a morale system to allow players with an early advantage to quickly end the game. There will be a single morale tracker, that will move when a player removes enemy influence. Also a player will gain morale each turn for occupying strategic locations. They win the game if the morale tracker moves enough spaces in their direction. If the game end is triggered before one player wins a morale victory, a player gains points equal to the number of territories controlled plus their position on the morale track.

In addition, the morale system has many other strategic implications. First of all, it is a lot more dangerous for a player to neglect the board early game in favor of improving their deck because the other player will get a morale victory. Second, players will now be more willing to take risks, especially if they are losing in order to quickly win a morale victory. This will make the board more dynamic, and the game will be less likely to devolve into a stalemate near the end.