Author Topic: Homemade Map: Texas (Read 2947 times)

kothmann · « **on:** September 06, 2021, 06:46:06 AM »

The Taiwan map generated a lot of interest--it certainly looks really cool! I wanted to put in a plug for making your own maps! It seems that many users like the special rules that come with these maps, but I just want the clear landscape boundaries and cool aesthetic. Plus it is a fun weekend project...

A lot of my dad's family lives in Texas, six generations from the great German migration of the 1840's, and that state has such a distinctive shape that I thought it would make a great map. I knew about how big I wanted the map to be, so I sketched out the rough idea using PowerPoint:

To make the map, I bought sheets of tyvek on Amazon and then use Sharpie markers and a meter stick to make a grid. I used a fine-tip Sharpie to add the detailed borders of Texas:

We often use it with the River, which often ends just by running to the border of Texas. Here is a completed game (the coins are our 50-point tokens):

You might have noticed that the first photo has row and column labels. Those were added during the pandemic to assist our approach to playing over Zoom. Basically, I set up a tripod on the table, with an iPhone logged on to Zoom and pointing down to show the landscape. Here is what it looks like without the map:

The other players make the map full-screen and have young eyes, so they can see the key information. But as you might imagine, it can be cumbersome to call out the desired tile placements, so the map is a big improvement.

By the way, we often play using the whole 13-by-13 area, which is perfect for base game + I&C + T&B + K&S.

Linkback: https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=5460.0

Meepledrone · « **Reply #1 on:** September 06, 2021, 07:55:27 AM »

Ha ha ha!

Awesome approach!

The coordinates system is a great aid of course.

+1 merit from me.

Bumsakalaka · « **Reply #2 on:** September 06, 2021, 08:12:33 AM »

That's nice.
Anyway there exists very nice fan maps for
Czech Republic
Gold Rush
Ukraine
as I know.

Bumsakalaka · « **Reply #3 on:** January 27, 2022, 01:44:16 AM »

New map also Slovakia

Snearone · « **Reply #4 on:** January 27, 2022, 04:37:16 AM »

Nice map and even better setup for remote play!
I can see the appeal of this method, dealing with physical tiles and meeples is great, however I personally probably wouldn't be able to play this way with friends, but would be forced to if it wasn't for JCZ

)
+1 from me too.

After seeing your like a chess board coordinates, it made me finally post this:
https://www.carcassonnecentral.com/community/index.php?topic=5644.msg83063#msg83063