wow, do we need to discuss it ? Maybe ... well, this single issue was  the most debated thru the history of board games ... I am not an expert, I create games with a support of my intuition and sense of what may be  exciting to play ... regardless if the game is balanced or "solved" many games enjoy tremendous popularity ... Gomoku, for example ... it's sure win for the first player (if he/she plays correctly) ... Chess, with white advantage ... even Reversi, properly played is a win for the starting player ... look at Backgammon ... 7 years old child can win with yesterday's World Champ ... and so on ... now look at Cheversi, my own creation ... statistics doesn't look good for white players ... I discuss this with pedro_martinez who played this game extensively and came to one conclusion ... white has slight advantage !!! So why most of the time white loses the game ?... here is the catch ... white has to play carefuly to balance black's "free ride ticket" in the form of the last, unchalenged move ... so this the characteristic of Cheversi ...
But first of all, I want my games to be fun and I repeat this here: FUN, even if it is not balanced well but instead gives the player HOPE during the game ... tic tac toe is a little nonsens and always tie for careful players ... but everybody played this game and many plays and will play ...
Just try something at home with your domino set ... I invented this game while ago and called it "Dirty dozen against magnificent seven" (titles of well known movies) ... ok, give one player all the doubles (7 of them) and let next player draw 12 tiles from the pile ... player with 7 doubles plays any tile to the middle of the table ... the other player matches this tile on the table, and who cannot continue in this way is the loser ... easy ? stupid ? I don't know ... I do not judge my games, you do this ... Is it balanced game ?
Play it with picture dominoes with your kids and they will tell you ... there will be two winners: you as a parent and youe child ... and this is the purpose of the game ... FUN ...
Have a nice weekend,
Andy.