Well if someone joins a game lately, it's at his own risk. Moreover, having countries that are worth alot makes the game very strategic, since everyone will fight for these countries, so it is up to you to deal with this; either you spen all you money trying to fight for this land, or you just by-pass it and go straight for the capital (but if you fail, you won't have much money left). One more thing, what makes this game attractive is that it is extremly easy to use, but if we start adding too much tactics, units, and options, the game might loose its "fun" part.