First two tests have concluded, resulting in Assyrian and Egyptian solos.

https://vdiplomacy.com/board.php?gameID=42647#gamePanel
https://vdiplomacy.com/board.php?gameID=43431#gamePanel

Some things never change...

Compilation of changes people have suggested: https://i.imgur.com/NDMHoQ1.png

Latest test game: https://vdiplomacy.com/board.php?gameID=45728

The latest test game has finished up and I think the variant is nearing it's final version:

https://vdiplomacy.com/board.php?gameID=49056

I would love to hear some feedback or suggestions and get a couple more tests going.

I agree with keeping something like Alashiya's starting centers historical, on Cyprus. Perhaps if Ugarit could be a "given" for Alashya. That is, in Alashya's reach but not in the reach of anyone else in the first year. As it is, Egypt can contest Ugarit. It is ok to have one or two(in a 9 player game like this), that is challenging as long as it's not impossible to win, like Italy in the basic game. We have seen Alashya do well in the other test versions of this. Egypt and Babylon did so well in this game that they may not need tweaking. On the other hand, cutting out the Byblos army from Egypt may balance everything well.

I think Alashiya has a plentiful supply of SC options in the first year. As long as they communicate with their neighbors, there's no reason for them not to take two centers easily. Despite Alashiya's start, they still managed to control 7 SCs at one point, which was comparable to a number of other powers at the time.

I think there might be more an issue with their long-term viability in that it's difficult to establish hegemony over any region. Egypt is one thing: I like that they start with four units and two in the Levant, but they really snowballed in that last game. What I may prefer to do is remove Libu as an SC since Egypt essentially can get it for free. Another issue is that I may have made Arzawa too strong. Their position is pretty safe and they'll pretty much always grab 3 SCs the first turn. I do kind of want to tone down the number of SCs in general so that most powers are grabbing 1-2 on the first turn instead of 3. So.. idk maybe I'll remove some.

Fake AI, that is exactly the case with Alashiya. I was able to get a bunch of centers, but when I started working to bridge onto the mainland there was a huge stab, I was trying to push against onto the mainland, but then Purple and Egypt gradually crept into the ocean and attacked me.

tldr good opportunity early on, but hard to change that into anything meaningful in the mid/late game

My thought is that establishing a strong presence on the mainland is hard in the first turn because Alashiya will usually take two centers that are far apart and it's hard to guard both of them. So, my thought is to give Alashiya options to take pairs of centers that border each other. On the current map, there's Parha and Tarhuntassa. I could also absorb Gulf of Issus into Cilician Sea so that Mukish and Ugarit could be another pair. But, I also like having that sea region there.