Tribute Scoring System

Philosophy
Tribute is a Draw Size System + Center Count + Topping Reward + Balance of Power

Tribute Scoring Formula: Supply Center Count + Survival Bonus +/- Tribute

Tribute scoring rewards players for surviving to a draw, for having a lot of supply centers, and especially for having the most supply centers, known as “topping the board”. The goal is to promote dynamic games where as many players as possible attempt to top the board and the outcome hangs in the balance as long as possible.

Topping the board can be very valuable in Tribute. Players should aim to top the board, up to the point that there really is little hope of achieving it. In that case, players should aim to survive and keep the board-topper as small as possible.

A surviving player’s score goes up as other players get eliminated, but all survivors have to pay tribute to the board-topper, where the payment increases with the board-topper’s center count. Thus focusing too much on eliminating other players may lead to a lower score, since doing so may give the board-topper free rein to grow.

The biggest scores in Tribute are achieved by topping the board with a large draw size, since every surviving player is a tribute payer. For this reason, the optimal strategy is to keep the board-topper within reach until the opportunity arises to secure the board-top for oneself.

Draw Size Score
66 points are divided equally between each surviving player
 * 7-way Draw 9.4 pts
 * 6-way Draw 11 pts
 * 5-way Draw 13.2 pts
 * 4-way Draw 16.5 pts
 * 3-way Draw 22 pts
 * 2-way Draw 33 pts

Power
1 point by supply center

Domination (Tribute)
Each player pays the board-topper 1 pt in tribute for each center the board-topper has over 6.
 * Tribute paid cannot exceed the draw size score


 * Tied board-toppers split the tribute equally.

Rules of Thumb
If you are not currently topping the board: If you are currently topping the board:
 * Taking a center is worth 2 pts if you take it from the board-topper, 1 pt otherwise.
 * Taking the lead is worth the number of players times your new center count over 6.
 * Eliminating another player when there are 5 or more left is worth roughly 2-3 pts, less if the board-topper grows.
 * Each center is worth a point for each player left in the draw (including you).
 * If a player is eliminated by someone else when there are 5 or more left, your score decreases by roughly a point for each center you have over 8.
 * If you eliminate a player, your score may go up or down only a point or two, but you will lose future earning potential from that player.