[remulasce]

EricH,
I can see where you're coming from. The idea of the game is to get the bridge balanced in the conventional sense, and the rules do not incorporate this. However, judging by this very discussion, I think trying to get everybody to agree what "balanced" means is too much too ask of the refs on the field. The rules laid out in the the manual, in my view, are a suitable balance of reasonable vs easy to apply. I'd much rather have this sort of rule and allow some leeway for balls getting stuck (itself a game design problem), than have to fight over the definition of "balance" every time something goes slightly differently from expected. The rules aren't exactly as a common definition would suggest, but they're close enough that I'll take it as part of the game. Judging by what the GDC apparently thought was a perfectly understandable "grapple" rule, I want as much of the game codified as possible.