OpenFront United States Map — 49 States, Balanced Terrain
United States is the fifth most common map in public lobbies, with 49 states and 48.2% highland. Massachusetts to Rhode Island at 31 tiles is the port trap here.
The short version
- Fifth most frequent map in public lobbies, after World, Sol, Giant World and Sierpinski
- 49 states means high bot density and a cheap opening
- Massachusetts to Rhode Island is 31 tiles and pays 1,573 gold. The whole Northeast is a trap
- 717k impassable tiles. The gaps between them define where the front forms
United States is 1,868,914 land tiles with 49 states. At frequency 9 it is the fifth most common map in public rotation, so you will meet it often.
Terrain is unremarkable and bots are plentiful, which makes this the map where fundamentals decide the result. No special rules — just execution.
The basics
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Size | 2,800 × 1,548 |
| Land | 1,868,914 tiles |
| Water | 40% |
| Impassable | 716,979 tiles |
| Nations (states) | 49 |
| Public lobby frequency | 9 |
| Grid cell | 155 tiles |
| Avg magnitude | 97.7 |
Terrain
| Terrain | Share | Loss magnitude (unitless, highland = 100) |
|---|---|---|
| Plains | 31.6% | 80 |
| Highland | 48.2% | 100 |
| Mountain | 20.1% | 120 |
At 97.7 the magnitude is close to World’s 98.6. Plains is thin at 31.6%, so advancing is not cheap — but 20.1% mountain gives you plenty to back onto, concentrated in the Rockies and Appalachians.
Coordinates
| State | Cell | State | Cell | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | D2 | Minnesota | J3 | |
| Oregon | C3 | Texas | I8 | |
| California | C5 | Louisiana | K8 | |
| Nevada | D5 | Missouri | K5 | |
| Arizona | E7 | Michigan | M3 | |
| Montana | G2 | Iowa | K4 | |
| Colorado | G5 | Arkansas | K7 |
The West and the Plains play very differently. A western start has mountains to lean on; the middle of the map is open in every direction and your border gets long fast.
Trade routes — the Northeast is a minefield
| Route | Distance | Revenue per ship |
|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts ↔ Rhode Island | 31 tiles | 1,573 gold ← below the threshold |
| Nevada ↔ Arizona | 301 tiles | 53,112 gold |
| Arkansas ↔ North Carolina | 574 tiles | 103,680 gold |
| Wyoming ↔ Indiana | 846 tiles | 117,300 gold |
| Oklahoma ↔ Rhode Island | 1,211 tiles | 135,550 gold |
| Washington ↔ Maine | 1,983 tiles | 174,150 gold |
Northeastern states sit on top of each other, so nearly every local pairing falls under the threshold. Massachusetts to Rhode Island at 31 tiles is the worst, and most combinations in that region are not much better.
Coast to coast (Washington ↔ Maine) pays most — thirteen grid cells. At 155 tiles per cell, two cells (310 tiles) is the minimum worth building.
Troop caps
| Share | Tiles | Cap (no cities) | Cap (city levels 10) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1% | 18,689 | 831,108 | 3,331,108 |
| 2% | 37,378 | 1,208,153 | 3,708,153 |
Summary
- This is a fundamentals map. With no special rules, the one-minute opening build and the 42.2% rule translate straight into results
- Take the 49 states early and use the 30% bot discount as much as you can
- If you build a port in the Northeast, pair it far. Most nearby options are below the threshold
- Back onto mountains in the West; manage border length in the Plains — see defense post placement
- Find the necks between the 717k impassable tiles. Attacks cannot cross them, so the front narrows to those gaps
Check caps by share and city count in the troop cap calculator. Compare every map at the map comparison table.
Terrain shares, coordinates, and distances are counted from the game’s own map files.