Boston – New York City

I'm looking into adding contested area(s) rather than a small +1 region. So I'll show 3 options.

Option #0: seven regions, no contested areas


Option #1: six regions, one contested area


Option #2: six regions, two contested areas

If go contested then go for two

Well, it's evolving into this (pencil style):

Update:
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i like the pencil/crayon style, colors and contrast. 
i would make the regional bonuses a bit paler/grayer and change the scripture you used for boston and new york, it doesnt look good and doesnt fit the map style. i would take a script that reminds one of the beginning of autumn or late sommer, it must transport a "dreamy & melancholic" feeling and create an according atmosphere. it would fit to the overall design of the map.

also if u want, you could take a picture of boston daytime downtown skyline and blend it the way i do it with the ocean between minimap and land. but make it pale, black/white and with small opacity. mayne it would look good.

here are some images for ideas:

https://www.gettyimages.de/detail/foto/financial-district-of-boston-massachusetts-lizenzfreies-bild/1976227271?adppopup=true

https://www.gettyimages.de/search/2/image?phrase=downtown+boston+ma

Got it, thanks for your comment and suggestions

I forgot the special bonus brief!
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Probably all text need some rework. I'll do it tomorrow...

i think i remember this project. was this originally suggested by @Clarke ?

btw, it looks neat. and has an interesting look.
wondering if there is any particular reason for style, or the contested area gameplay..like does it have meaning about it like civil war or something?

No, actually Clarke (10 years ago) wanted to make a map of Massachusetts, but s/he failed to find good arrangement and gameplay. This concept shown here is 100% mine, partially coming from my suggestions given to Clarke to improve their map. What s/he suggested in practice was nothing more than "Let's make a map of Massachusetts", however this one is not a map of Massachusetts, and Clarke haven't helped the development of this in any way.

There's no civil war represented here, it's just a present day county map. Those contested areas serve to represent in a better way two actual States, notably New York and Massachusetts, that have been split in 2 regions for gameplay sake. It's a land full of history I know, but it is not my intention to make a historical map of it.

The date is wrong, this map was created on March 26th, 2025.

I'm not sure colours are fine. I'm trying everything darker..

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A bit more fall season feeling as suggested above

lighter is better in my opinion & change the script of boston and ny, looks like something out of 90s game boy game about vampires or mega man x or smthing like this, rly doesnt fit the rest of the map design.

Me too I liked the lighter version as a principle, but unfortunately cyan pink and yellow circles are a bit hard to see.

Another option could be to reduce the saturation instead of reducing the lightness but I haven't tried yet, be patient please.
From game experience I can say that the darker version looks surely better than the lighter one.

As for the title looking off, perhaps Dima is right, but I like the title so much that I would rather change the rest of the map, not the title.

I am not a fan of the color scheme overall. I'm not sure if it's the territory colors themselves, the ocean color clashing with them, or just both..

Get rid of the "United States County Map" top left imo. "State of New Jersey" could just be "New Jersey"

Agree with Dima, the script and colors of NY and Boston are tacky and don't fit the rest of the map text scheme.

The wording of the contested area needs re-worked. I believe it should say: "Contested area bonuses ONLY apply if the entire contested region is held along with at least one of the adjacent regions of the same stripe color." Even with that it's a little wordy/unclear.

Gameplay.. I could be in the minority, but the green 7 bonus territory feels a bit much. Is there a way to split it into two 4/3 territories? Is the second connection from yellow to green at The Hamptons truly necessary? Might flow better and provide more purpose to the orange region for it to be the only sea connection to yellow. My general overall feel is that orange, green, and blue seem over-exposed. Are there natural formations that could be included to provide some barriers?