A number of ideas have been raised through the poll as well as through my own mulling over, and one of the most thought after concepts is that of RISK meets Civilization/Real Time Strategy Game/First Person Shooter.

One of the major problems with an RTS in this instance is how to allow two (or more) players to control their units on one screen. Some options:

1. Split Screen — Vertical Split Screen would work well on a large, wide screen television in my mind. This would allow for screen peeking, however, which would prove a pain, I'm sure.
   

2. Turn Based Fighting — Obviously, this is no longer "Real Time," and maybe no longer warrants a digitized version. And screen peeking is still possible.
   

3. iPod Touch — Or a laptop, or a DS, or a... Regardless, were the warring parties to control their armies from a hand held device, two things would happen: 1) No more screen peeking. 2) The main screen is freed up. This means a) there is no main screen, just little screens, b) the main screen can be used to show off the battle to uninvolved players, or c) the main screen can be used by the heretofore uninvolved players. Perhaps a Battlefield system could be investigated. That is, the two (or more. The thought of launching attacks with allies sounds very intriguing.) opposed players handle troop movement, while allied players on either side move down to ground level and control individual troops.
   

4. Microsoft Surface — Far beyond my budget, but an interesting thought. That thought being, what if the board were in fact a Microsoft Surface computer? Rather than physical pieces, graphical representations would be dragged around by hand. When a battle is initiated, the screen would zoom down to maximize visibility, and the opposing sides would control troop movement via touching the screen. The trick here is making sure the other person doesn't move your troops about. It also eliminates the need of an Xbox/PS3/etc.
   

Some other random thoughts, not with any particular purpose attached:

1. It has also been suggested that more in depth city/state management be implemented, à la Civilization.
   

2. How to win battles? Control points? Domination?
   

3. Can attackers retreat?
   

4. Are all involved units brought in en masse at the beginning of the battle, or trickled in as others die, à la Star Wars Battlefront?
   

5. Does this take place on Earth?
   

6. Does this take place exclusively on land? Water? Air? Space?
   

7. Are units granted like RISK or built like Civilization?
   

8. Do city defenses come into play? Terrain differences?
   

9. How in depth should selection of units be? Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery? Specialization within each? Boats? Airplanes? Upgradable?
   

10. Cities or Nations? Do they grow? With time, or based on money?
    

11. Resources?
    

12. Turn process. One person does everything, then the next person? Or everyone does one thing, then the next thing?
    

If anyone has any thoughts on any of these questions, leave a comment or shoot me an email. I'm open to any input people have.