diff --git a/src/game/engine/src/generation/map_placer.gd b/src/game/engine/src/generation/map_placer.gd
index 98b5d089..953c7d60 100644
--- a/src/game/engine/src/generation/map_placer.gd
+++ b/src/game/engine/src/generation/map_placer.gd
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ const GameMapScript = preload("res://engine/src/map/game_map.gd")
 const TileScript = preload("res://engine/src/map/tile.gd")
 const HexUtilsScript = preload("res://engine/src/map/hex_utils.gd")
 const StartPositionScript = preload("res://engine/src/generation/start_position.gd")
+const StartBalancerScript = preload("res://engine/src/generation/start_balancer.gd")
 const VillageLairPlacerScript = preload("res://engine/src/generation/village_lair_placer.gd")
 
 ## Resource placement density per land tile (base, before multiplier)
@@ -37,7 +38,7 @@ func place_all(
 	place_resources(game_map, resource_mult)
 
 	var start_strategy: String = settings.get("start_strategy", "")
-	var start_positions: Array[Vector2i] = _start_position.select_start_positions(
+	var start_positions: Array[Vector2i] = _select_starts(
 		game_map, num_players, type_data, start_strategy
 	)
 	game_map.start_positions = start_positions
@@ -53,6 +54,30 @@ func place_all(
 	_village_lair_placer.place_lairs(game_map, wild_mult, start_positions)
 
 
+func _select_starts(
+	game_map: RefCounted, num_players: int,
+	type_data: Dictionary, start_strategy: String,
+) -> Array[Vector2i]:
+	## Fairness-balanced selection (StartBalancer) for small 2-player games when
+	## the map_generator.use_balanced_starts flag is set; greedy otherwise.
+	## StartBalancer considers resource-adjusted yields and enforces a 0.85
+	## fairness ratio between start zones, avoiding the systemic p0-gets-resource
+	## bias of the greedy scorer that ignores tile.resource_id.
+	if start_strategy == "":
+		var cfg: Dictionary = DataLoader.get_setup_entry("map_generator")
+		var enabled: bool = bool(cfg.get("use_balanced_starts", false))
+		var max_players: int = int(cfg.get("balanced_starts_max_players", 2))
+		if enabled and num_players <= max_players:
+			var balanced: Array[Vector2i] = StartBalancerScript.ensure_fair_starts(
+				game_map, num_players, type_data, _rng
+			)
+			if balanced.size() == num_players:
+				return balanced
+	return _start_position.select_start_positions(
+		game_map, num_players, type_data, start_strategy
+	)
+
+
 # -- Natural wonders --
 
 
diff --git a/src/game/engine/src/generation/start_balancer.gd b/src/game/engine/src/generation/start_balancer.gd
index 9d8899dd..6e535556 100644
--- a/src/game/engine/src/generation/start_balancer.gd
+++ b/src/game/engine/src/generation/start_balancer.gd
@@ -127,18 +127,20 @@ static func ensure_fair_starts(
 	if fallback.is_empty():
 		return []
 
+	var final_ratio: float = 0.0
 	for _pass: int in 3:
 		var score_a: float = score_start_zone(game_map, fallback[0]).total_value
 		var score_b: float = score_start_zone(game_map, fallback[1]).total_value
 		var max_score: float = maxf(score_a, score_b)
-		var ratio: float = minf(score_a, score_b) / max_score if max_score > 0.0 else 0.0
-		if ratio >= MIN_FAIRNESS_RATIO:
+		final_ratio = minf(score_a, score_b) / max_score if max_score > 0.0 else 0.0
+		if final_ratio >= MIN_FAIRNESS_RATIO:
 			break
 		var weak: Vector2i = fallback[0] if score_a < score_b else fallback[1]
 		if not _compensate_resources(game_map, weak, rng):
 			_compensate_terrain(game_map, weak, rng)
 
-	push_warning("StartBalancer: returning best available pair — fairness threshold not fully met")
+	if final_ratio < MIN_FAIRNESS_RATIO:
+		push_warning("StartBalancer: returning best available pair — fairness threshold not fully met")
 	return fallback