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I agree that the color situation is problematic. Possible solutions include either making the bank more attractive or giving blue a slightly larger gold bonus (the question is, how much?). Of course, the ease of implementation is also a factor. And, ultimately, blue has a slight advantage on a small map with random resource placement.
Regarding restarts, I don't think it's a critical issue; one restart won't take much time. It's only needed if you don't want to play with that particular pair of castles.
Regarding the shifted guards, I think the restriction should remain to avoid an encounter on the first turn, although this scenario is unlikely. It's open for discussion.