Sag, that is a fantastic insight about stability and risk management. I noticed a comparable dynamic many years ago in role-playing: the most obnoxious power-gamers tended to be people who weren't happy with life but also weren't doing anything to improve their life. They found it easier to embrace a fictional setting where the path to personal power was more direct.
You are just destroying these boards with insightful posts right now, Sag. Incredible post re: metapsychology of what are or are not your "gaming values."
I dont know if they publish outside of industry circles (and maybe not even then) but i gotta think in the high dollar world of video game addiction loops this kind of psychologically matching gameplay mechanics and reward cycles with specific personality traits within the target audience is well documented thing. Other than maybe CCGs i dont know that anything in the boardgame space has the resources to hit that level of intentional player manipulation/exploitation.
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