Maps and m/p: which ones, how many players?

[ceremony]

Hey all,

Does anyone have any opinion on the relative appropriateness of the various maps provided with the game for multiplayer play? I'm running a few games and it's my observation (perhaps wrong) that the stated sizes (Urgaia 2-6, Aran 6-10, Desert Eye 8-13, Orania 14-17) err on the high side when considering maps for m/p - for example, there is no way you can put 10 players on Aran unless you basically want someone eliminated by turn 5, which sucks. Urgaia max for m/p is basically 4, Aran is 8, and Desert Eye is perhaps 10. This is with all human players and no AI nations. Has anyone found different? Do I just not have the proper expectations of m/p games?

[Gandalf Parker]

Of course, as with anything in this game, you will get a variety of answers. Some would prefer taking maybe 5 independent provinces then going to war, others prefer 10, some 20. So a slightly different Version of the question might be, how many provinces (each) do you think makes for a good MP game.

[Saber Cherry]

If you divide the total number of provinces by the number of turns you want to play before going to war, you should get approximately the number of max players on the map... at an indy strength of 5. But that's only if nobody uses extreme supercombattant pretenders (like a 9-Earth Wyrm) and capitol-rushes from turn 1.