Vistas
Many years ago I had an idea to break a map game into "vistas". My idea was for a game with two player sides and a control / umpire.
My idea was that each player would be given a map with only the main routes and settlements marked on it and everything in between would be blank - "here be dragons". As the player advanced the player could draw tiles to fill the spaces.
My initial idea was unworkable as I wanted those tiles to be hand crafted "vistas". So as you reached the crest of a hill you could see into the valley and would have a suitably cut "vista" tile to fill that space. It could be done, but it would be time consuming to construct.
I presented this idea in 1990 at an early COW - Conference of Wargamers.
Trigger point Vistas - the updated idea
I was reminded of my idea when I saw this square based map used in this game. Instead of giving the player "vistas" the player is just handed enough tiles to fill in the gaps as they reach "trigger" points on the map.
The trigger points would either be marked on the map - at obvious places like church spires, hills etc. - and this would enable two players to discover the map - they could keep the tiles thus revealed secret to themselves until the other side reached an opposite trigger point.
One way of doing this would be for the map to consist of face down tiles that just need to be turned over. This reminds me of one of the first German boardgames I ever bought - Entdecker (trans: Explorer). The players explored the map by visiting face down tiles and turning them over by moving to them.
Another method would be in a back-to-back game. Control would build the map for the players as they advanced across "hidden" trigger points. Each map is hidden from the other player.
Inspiration
Graham Evan's game - with the map made of squares that is then used to create a wargame miniature's terrain.
https://wargaming4grownups.blogspot.com/2016/10/marchais-en-brie-september-1914-op14.html
