Not sure why I find this board so compelling. The design seems to suit a lot of player interaction in different sections of the board. Unfortunately, random starting positions can put people on a number of troop-generating spots to start off, while others have virtually nothing. It might be cooler if the stations were all neutral to start.
This may be my favorite map on the website. Lots of nooks and crannies and places to build up. Many different possible strategies to win. There is a bit of an East Coast Bias ;-), but that's coming from a West Coast boy. It makes historical sense, though, to have a lot going on where, you know, the Civil War was actually fought. But still -- show us pioneers some love! OK, I'm done. Great board!
At first it was kind of hard to see what attacked what, since borders are essentially non-existant. But when you use the board explorer and use the map to your advantage, it starts to make some sense. Fun map!
An easy to read map, with a straightforward take on game play. The usual strategies don't necessarily work, though, and that increases the intrigue. I'll be playing this one again.
An interesting mix of hordes and continents. Not sure how I felt about it, but maybe that's just my loser's pouting coming out. Also not really my style of map. (Too small.)
A lot of advanced features interwoven into the board without making it too complex -- a great introduction to hordes and border modifiers. Not bad for a smaller board.
A really good board. Well-designed, easy to interpret. I'm sure I'll play it again. (Even though I don't like it right now because I lost my first game...)
I think I'll stick with larger boards, but that's more a matter of taste. The colors can be really difficult to differentiate on this board, and bridges, rivers and mountains can be hard to see (others have said this, I know). I might play this again with a small number of friends.
The player colors are actually kind of hard to see, though artistically the map is pretty. It's basically a bunch of somewhat-defensible areas on the outskirts of the map and a giant indefensible field in the middle. Most of the battling seems to take place on the edge. Not sure how I feel about that, but it takes a little bit of getting used to.