Sam, for this game I investigated many initial positions, even non-mirrored.
This was the only one I found that was good, I think. Why I didn't choose
the 'natural' positions of bishops and knights had to do with the fact
(if I recollect correctly) that the enemy mastodon would lose its natural
development square on b3, b6, i3, i6. Also, the flank pawn would also be
initially threathened by the bishop, which would be a hindrance to
castling. It's possible that my 10x10 version of MastodonChess is better, at
least more strategical. Thank you for the information on TamerSpiel.
--Mats