Most games are played either in real-time (Soccer, Basketball, Starcraft, Quake, etc) or in a series of sequences in which turns are taken simultaneously (Football, Counter-Strike, etc). Games that aren't real-time or sequentially real-time are contrasted with games that have sequential but alternating turns, like Chess, Go, Checkers, Civilization, what have you.
In these turn-based alternating games, it's commonly noted that order of play has a huge effect on the outcome. In Chess and Go, most of the time it ends in either white winning or a tie. In Checkers, Tic Tac Toe, etc, the player who goes first can actually always either win or force a tie. So the question is How is it that turn based games become playable, despite their frameworks generally favoring one player over another based on the order of move?
To answer this question, I look to games like Risk, Ticket to Ride, Settlers of Catan, Poker, etc. And I think the answer lies in Random Token Generators. These are elements of the game, usually involving rolling dice or drawing from a deck of cards, that introduce randomness and volatility into a game. Management of this randomness and management of the risks involved generally equalize the players, to a certain extent. With careful risk management and an understanding of the risk-reward functions involved, players who otherwise would be at a disadvantage in the game based on their order of play can compete at the same level as player 1.
Anyway this is mostly just a passing thought, I wonder how this hypothesis holds up here?