Something to try...

[Marquis de Said]

I always thought that playing GA and using the faction switch caused a game error. I could be wrong but it always causes difficulties when I try this.

I tried it to test out the -ian switch in one of my GA games (I only play GA) and it didn't cause any problems. I even tried playing the rebels for a while.

That's exactly how I think we should do it too. Drawing random factions should also make it more interesting. One problem that could occur with this game type is if the player faction gets eliminated - a very real possiblity considering the nature of the game. In this case, you'd have to load the save (save every turn if in danger) and then change faction on the turn before you get wiped, then play another faction for the remainder of your years.
I think.

The only problem with this format that I just thought of is how to measure each player's success. Obviously, the challenge is part of the game, but it's not going to be a very interesting turn for someone to play a dying faction whose economy is hopelessly in the red. How did you deal with the lack of funds for some factions? When I tried -ian I noticed that the Danes for example had 100 000 in debt.

Marquis