Huge thanks for this feedback! Certainly appreciate you taking the time to both play and share this.
1) Agreed, something we need to look at to ensure fairness.
2) Also something we need more data to accurately determine what work's best. The maps and estate locations also greatly impact how the Gems/Paintings come in to play and when.
3) Agree to an extent, but nonetheless something we need to evaluate for fair play. If one person has a clear advantage to the bank, then the other play should have something on their side of the map to balance it out (in theory).
4) Urchins and Evicting -- This is an area I've been tinkering with as well, and it may well be the fact that evicting only currently works well when someone is way head. Like you said, maybe urchins should have this ability from the start or perhaps it's an upgrade in the skill tree. This is an area I'm particularly interested in exploring more as I find evicting a somewhat tedious task currently.