En cada partida, cambiamos de turno para que el juego sea más equilibrado.

In each game, we change turns so that the game is more balanced.

Breakdown of En cada partida, cambiamos de turno para que el juego sea más equilibrado.

• ser: to be
• en: in
• nosotros: we
• más: more
• cada: each
• .: period
• cambiar: to change
• de: of/from
• ,: comma
• el juego: the game
• para que: so that
• la partida: the game
• el turno: the turn
• equilibrado: balanced

Questions & Answers about En cada partida, cambiamos de turno para que el juego sea más equilibrado.

Why does the sentence say en cada partida and not just cada partida or en cada juego?

• En cada partida is very natural Spanish. Literally: “In each game/match/round”.
• You could drop en and say cada partida, and it would still be correct, but in this kind of sentence, Spanish speakers very often use en.
• En cada partida emphasizes the situation within each game: “In every single game, what happens is…”

About juego vs partida:

• juego is the general word for game.
• partida is one session or round of a game (e.g. one game of chess, one round of a board game).
• Here partida is more precise because it refers to each individual game/round, not the concept of the game in general.

So:

• En cada partida ≈ In each game / each round (that we play).
• En cada juego would be understood, but sounds less specific and less natural in many gaming contexts.

What is the difference between partida, juego, and partido?

These three often confuse learners:

• juego

  • General word: game or play.
  • Examples:
    
    • Me gustan los juegos de mesa. – I like board games.
    • Este juego es muy divertido. – This game is very fun.

• partida

  • One individual game or round of something (especially board games, card games, chess, etc.).
  • Examples:
    
    • Jugamos tres partidas de ajedrez. – We played three games of chess.
    • La partida duró dos horas. – The game/round lasted two hours.

• partido

  • A match in sports (football, tennis, basketball, etc.).
  • Examples:
    
    • El domingo hay un partido de fútbol. – On Sunday there is a football match.
    • Ganamos el partido. – We won the match.

In your sentence, partida is ideal if we’re talking about board games, card games, video-game matches, etc., not a sports match.

Why is it cambiamos de turno and not cambiamos el turno or cambiamos turnos?

In Spanish, the usual idiom is cambiar de + noun for “to switch/change from one X to another X”:

• cambiar de turno – to change/switch turns (whose turn it is)
• cambiar de ropa – to change clothes
• cambiar de trabajo – to change jobs

So:

• cambiamos de turno literally = we change (from one) turn (to another) → we switch turns.

Other possibilities:

• cambiar el turno
  
  • Sounds more like changing the schedule or the system of turns, not just whose turn it is at that moment.
• cambiamos turnos
  
  • Grammatical, and in some contexts could work as we take turns / we swap turns, but it’s much less idiomatic than cambiar de turno in this specific sentence.

So cambiamos de turno is the standard, natural way to say “we switch turns” in Spain.

What tense is cambiamos here, and does it mean “we change” or “we are changing”?

Cambiamos is the present indicative, 1st person plural of cambiar.

In Spanish, the simple present covers:

1. Habitual actions (what we normally/always do)

   • En cada partida, cambiamos de turno.
     → In each game, we switch turns. (our usual rule)

2. Actions happening now (in the right context)

   • Ahora cambiamos de turno. – Now we’re switching turns.

In your sentence, it clearly refers to a habit/rule, so the best English equivalent is “we (always) switch turns” or “we change turns” rather than “we are changing (right now)”.

Why do we use para que instead of just para?

• Para is followed by an infinitive when the subject is the same:

  • Cambiamos de turno para equilibrar el juego.
    – We switch turns to balance the game.

• Para que is followed by a finite verb in the subjunctive when the subject of the second verb is different:

  • Cambiamos de turno para que el juego sea más equilibrado.
    – We switch turns so that the game is more balanced.

Here:

• Subject of cambiamos = nosotros (we).
• Subject of sea = el juego (the game).

Different subjects → use para que + subjunctive, not just para + infinitive.

Why is it sea and not es after para que?

Because of subjunctive.

• After para que, Spanish normally requires the subjunctive, since we’re talking about a desired/intentional result, not a simple fact.

Compare:

• Cambiamos de turno para que el juego sea más equilibrado.
  → We switch turns so that the game will be / may be more balanced. (purpose, intention)

If you said:

• Cambiamos de turno para que el juego es más equilibrado.
  → This is incorrect in Spanish; es (indicative) does not work after para que in this sense.

So the structure is:

• para que
  • subjunctive
• el juego sea = present subjunctive of ser.

Why is it sea (from ser) and not esté (from estar) with equilibrado? Could I say esté más equilibrado?

Both sea más equilibrado and esté más equilibrado are possible, but there is a nuance:

• ser

  • adjective
  • Describes a general or characteristic quality.
  • sea más equilibrado → We want the game, in general, to be a fair/balanced game. It sounds like a more permanent or structural quality.

• estar

  • adjective
  • Describes a state or condition, often more temporary.
  • esté más equilibrado → We want the game in this situation / this time to be more balanced.

In this sentence, sea más equilibrado is very natural because we’re talking about how we design or structure the game (by switching turns) to make it a fairer game overall.
Esté más equilibrado would focus more on the game’s state in a particular instance, but a Spaniard could easily say it too. Both are understandable and acceptable; sea is just the more typical choice here.

What exactly does equilibrado mean here? Is it the same as saying justo or igualado?

Equilibrado literally means balanced.

In a game context, el juego sea más equilibrado suggests:

• No player has an unfair advantage.
• The game is designed or played in a way that is fair and even.

Similar words:

• justo – fair (moral/ethical sense)

  • para que el juego sea más justo → so that the game is fairer.
  • Focus more on fairness or justice.

• igualado – even / evenly matched / close

  • para que el juego esté más igualado → so that the game is more evenly matched (no one is far ahead).

Equilibrado is about balance in the system or the mechanics of the game; justo about fairness; igualado about how close the players are in level or score. In many contexts, they overlap, but the nuances differ slightly.

Can I change the word order to para que sea más equilibrado el juego? Does that sound natural?

Yes, that order is possible and grammatical:

• …para que el juego sea más equilibrado. (most natural, neutral)
• …para que sea más equilibrado el juego. (also correct)

The second version:

• Gives slight emphasis to más equilibrado, since it appears earlier.
• Sounds a bit more marked or stylistic, but still natural.

For everyday speech, Spanish speakers will usually say:

• …para que el juego sea más equilibrado.

Is there a more colloquial or alternative way to say this in Spain?

A few natural alternatives in Spain might be:

• En cada partida, vamos cambiando de turno para que el juego sea más equilibrado.
  – We keep switching turns each game so the game is more balanced. (the vamos + gerundio form sounds more conversational)

• En cada partida, nos vamos turnando para que el juego sea más equilibrado.
  – In each game, we take turns so the game is more balanced.

• En cada partida, nos turnamos para que el juego sea más equilibrado.
  – In each game, we take turns so the game is more balanced.

All of these sound natural in Spain; the original sentence is already perfectly normal and clear.