Hi Aaron,
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I think it is quite true that unbalanced "event cards" which have a strong influence on a game's outcome can ruin the fun for skilled, competitive players. I believe, however, that designers are deliberately doing so ! in order to give everyone a chance to win, even the unexperienced. Obviously, this may work well in a round of players who don't take finding the best move so seriously. It may be a matter of taste, not more. I think it would be interesting to find out the tastes of us WPGers and of the visitors of this site in this respect. I like games which reward good play best, but there are also a few games where no winning strategy is possible (due to luck-heavy design), and which are fun, anyway (Valley of the Mammouths, for example).