*About the map*

Image here drive.google.com/file/d/1DMCzBVE8InracDyNX3H1SOz38zxKf_81/view?usp=sharing
Text file here docs.google.com/document/d/1hPDYWlM9xniYuO5jjiMkHO3z0Uz0dWRsgaaxH4aEK-0/edit?usp=sharing

The concept behind the map is quite ambitious. It encourages players to place their initial dwellings on the large landmasses in the West and then expand onto the smaller islands in the East later on. This leads to a jostle for position early on, meaning the games can be quite aggressive, but also leads to a large amount of leech being shared around, meaning engines can be built up nicely. Overall it is a unique and exciting challenge for expert players.

*Balance*

As well as countless solo tests (playing all 4 factions myself), we've run over 150 full playtests with players of a range of skills. Based on four league competitions I have produced the following table of average scores (adjusted for auction). This represents a smaller spread (16.2) than the base map on snellman (17.8).

Faction Average score Num plays
Auren 123.3 13
Cultists 125.6 12
Dwarves 126.6 19
Fakirs 130.1 17
Mermaids 133.6 32
Alchemists 133.7 21
Swarmlings 134.9 16
Chaos Magicians 137.5 18
Witches 138.1 17
Halflings 138.1 16
Engineers 138.4 19
Nomads 138.9 24
Darklings 139.2 28
Giants 139.5 20


*Community support*

As well as playtesting the map, many members of the community have provided input into the map iteration. They've also been kind enough to say many nice things about the map. Below is a selection:

Nerdcube: "After a day of looking at this map, I've gotta say it seems pretty cool so far- I like that it has such a unique identity compared to the other maps."

Barnawal: "wanted to say I've been loving these games, and the map is a lot of fun to play! I really like the thought behind it, leads to some really interesting dynamics. Thanks for creating it and organizing this"

r00bz_: "An amplified sense of urgency in the decision space, especially in the midgame. Typical round 3-4 decisions surrounding connection, 2nd town, water1, shipping, 7c power actions etc must be made with great priority. This makes Archipelago a very engaging and interactive map to play on - there are many ways you can choose to play, but you need to make those choices quickly. In that respect, the map it reminds me of most is Fjords."

Matt Johnson: "Better than Revised, better than Lakes, better than Fjords"

deragned: "abundant in mutually beneficial neighbor opportunities and contested key hexes"

SushiSniper: "Archipelago is a dynamic map that tends to generate large amounts of early leach, which frequently fuels explosive expansion in the midgame. Most factions have multiple options for starting locations depending on the color wheel and their intended game plan. Starting east allows for earlier the expansion at the cost of dependable neighbors, while starting west ensures that you are part of the leach party but risks key hexes that links the western continents to the eastern islands. Archipelago rewards economic play that achieves the tempo necessary to secure multiple key bottlenecks created by the map's unique geography. I've had an amazing time play-testing the map and I think it combines some of the best aspects of existing maps into a single map due to having two clearly defined regions on the map with significantly different land/water mixes."

Helge himself after one play said: "For me the map was interesting to play, but I am unsure at this point, how well all different factions do on this map. Anyway, a new map provides new challenges for the players, and this map does it very well!"

My favorite map style <3
When this gets allowed, the river template should also be enabled for randgen maps then

We've made a small tweak to the map since submitting the bug report, the correct hexes are now as follows:

K,B,R,G,B,U,I,R,U,K,I,B,G
G,S,K,R,S,Y,I,I,G,I,K,S
Y,K,Y,U,B,G,I,B,I,I,I,I,B
I,S,R,I,I,I,U,Y,I,R,Y,I
B,I,G,I,R,I,I,R,G,I,U,K,U
R,I,I,S,K,I,I,I,I,S,G,I
S,U,G,B,Y,B,I,S,K,I,I,I,B
K,S,Y,R,S,G,I,U,I,Y,K,R
B,Y,G,U,K,U,I,Y,S,I,R,U,Y

This new version has been playtested via a competitive league format.