Another awesome variant, David. Good job.

love it, an unrepresented idea and area, will be fun to start w/ no fleets!!

Good job, David! Thank you!

Thank you for the compliments. Any criticism or questions?

Hey David! Here's some initial thoughts upon viewing the map:

1) Is it intended that only Jolof (purple) have a SC that is theirs and theirs alone (Wangara)? Every other SC seems like it could be bounced. Tichitt (Purple/Yellow), Bure (Blue/Yellow), Oagadougou (Blue/Yellow), Gao and Takedda (Yellow/Green), Oyo (Blue/Red), Kongo (Red/Green).

2) I'm not sure I'd like to be Mali (yellow). The only power with a 100% guaranteed capture is my western neighbor who has a safe naval zone (for at least the first 2 years due to all army starts) and the continent edge. Kayor has little reason to do anything but go for Tichitt, necessitating me likely using 2 units to try to take it (which could still be blocked potentially). If I don't try for Bure and go for Oagadougou, I end up with a unit adjacent to my home SC while still not guaranteeing Oagadougou. Bilma and Njimi (green) seem highly likely to head west, meaning Takedda/Gao are at risk as well. And heaven forbid if someone gets into Tavdeni (which is a very real possibility given it's only 2 moves from Green's starting point and is adjacent to the Sahara which can be occupied by multiple people and can't be blockaded by my unit in it). Someone gets into Tavdeni, and my defenses are screwed.

Other powers are more isolated from this risk. Green has Tibesti but that only touches 1 SC. Purple has Waalo, but again, only 1 SC.

3) The map seems setup to draw people into the middle. With only Kongo in the south-east part of the map (not including the island Etula Eri at this point since it's all army start), there seems to be little reason for Green/Red to conflict early on. The gains would be minimal without immediate full-on warfare, whereas the neutrals in other spots (Oyo, Gao, Takedda, Kongo) are much easier to get if you cooperate. I feel this is a very natural "Juggernaut" position, and would be exploited by a wise Green player to get into Ghat/Tavdeni early to press into the dense SC region of Mali. These two players are almost setup for a N-S split in large part, and I'd recommend having more reason for them to conflict in the east possibly.

4) Since it's not called out, I'm assuming no transforms to give Red a reason to go to the island early? I could see a play by Blue/Green to deny Red a build so that they can never get to the island.

Hello Drano. In response to your comments:

1. Just the way the geography worked out. It also tends to draw Jolof away from Mali and toward Bonoman a bit. I tend to dislike guaranteed dots and do try to avoid them when I can.

2. Mali is a central Power, with the issues that entails. I did give it a 4th dot, but that may not be enough. I will view playtests and then assess things.

3. Yes, a Benin/Bornu alliance is possible, but so are hostilities, if Mali or Bonoman can be drawn in early. Of course, it being only a 5 player variant, diplomatic options will necessarily be more limited than in variants with more players.

4. Correct, at present units may not transform.