Yeah, we're thinking about how to discourage bots without hurting active players too much; it's a fine line. Hopefully, there is enough strategy for humans to beat the bots! But time will tell. Players can work together to target bots at least; hopefully the bots never become that clever lol

As for the late starters, we're looking into how to best give later starters some boost, but as you say. if nothing else, their first round should be about learning and preparing for the following rounds!