I'm not going to keep making this post longer and longer. It's already hard enough to read. I'll try to go back to the basics of my arguments:
Since I have never claimed that all games can be easily played with other components, your response here is irrelevant. A strawman of your own devising -- argue with him.
Ok. Here are the two examples:
Let's see. Two hypothetical games.
Game
A, like most pyramid games, can be played without pyramids, but when it
_is_ played with pyramids it needs only a single set.
Game B, like most pyramid games, can be played without pyramids, but when it _is_ played with pyramids it needs two sets.
So, when you say "like most pyramid games, can be played without pyramids" what do you mean exactly? It's hard to argue with someone that denies their own claims... Basically you're making a false generalization that you can use to further your claims, that when they are played only with pyramids they need one or two sets. But why would I only use pyramids? There are many games that use pyramids and generic components together. If I have 1 set and I can play a game with it by adding some coins, why would I want to ONLY use pyramids? Why would I buy a second set?
A game doesn't have to be played WITHOUT pyramids at all if it can be played with LESS pyramids. As I said too many times already, I can play Chicken run with LESS pyramids, turning a 2HOUSE game into a 1HOUSE + Generic components game. Since generic components are accepted into the competition, then what is the problem? I'm not "FORCING" the game into 1 set. It plays well without changes to the rules and it is not uncomfortable to play.
Or, would you say that a game that uses 2 whole sets plus generic components should not be allowed into the competition because it'd really be a 3HOUSE game if it were played only with pyramids?
So, my point is, regardless of how you reduce the numbers of pyramids in a 2HOUSE game, for many games it can be done EASILY (be it with color mixing or substituting some pieces), and with other games it can't be done without heavy modifications or basically re-creating the pyramids. But how EASY it is, is not always clear, and certainly not the same for every game. It's not a case of distinguishing between Black and White. It's more about all the grays in the middle...
-Jorge