Hello, I’m a Battlemap

What does This Means War look like on your table? A little something like this: That intimidating beast is the Battlemap. But don’t be afraid, it is here to help. The Battlemap makes your game flow more smoothly by showing the state of each nation, the territory, the current action, and a brief history of the war, all in one 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. You adjust the Battlemap at the start and end of each season, sliding tokens along the tracks as power waxes or wanes — tracks which also serve as a reference telling you what dice to roll. And then, in the middle of the season when you’re playing characters, the Battlemap sits there as a visible reminder of the current state of the world, the backdrop for your scenes. And here’s what it looks like blank, before you have any world to work with: It went through a lot of iterations. Originally it was optional, but using it made all the mechanical aspects of the game easier, so now it’s baked into the rules. I think it’s also more fun to see…