I usually play with the NOs b/c it’s more money and more fun than w/o NOs.
With NOs, the game seems to be close to balanced, as compared to revised, maybe even better.
Playing w/o NOs, allies are favored in both scenarios. Not sure how much bid is needed, could also be less than revised, which means not more than 9 ipc. I have very little experience in AA50 w/o NOs. All I know is that allies are favored w/o NOs, and this issue seems to be a consensus, as opposed to 41 +NOs, there are different opinions on the game balance in this setup, and the 41 +NO is also the setup which is most popular, it seems.
When I play a lot of games with NOs, my mindset is focused on this setup, which is very different from playing w/o NOs. Some details can have a much bigger effect in +NO games than -NO games.
It could be fun to play a lot of games w/o NOs, as I think AA50 is a good game with all the different official rules and scenarios, except tech.
There hasn’t been much activity in the unstable lobby lately, and almost all players use NOs.
I’m curious on how the (un)balance is in both 41 and 42 with no optional rules.