[atul]

Heh, noble thoughts.

But, in this particular case, I think you're misinterpreting personal preference and hard-earned experience. One of the things that people learn "through the heel" as us Finns say is that too big maps aren't fun on the long term. People get easily overwhelmed by the size of their empires. I know, having had more than 100 provinces in one game. It isn't a preference or weakness of mind, it's something that happens when you cross some threshold.

Rules of thumb are good to have: 15 provs per player -> big game; less than 10 -> crowded. 20 per player is huger than Cartman's behind. Just be warned.