The majority of participants have been broadly happy with the maps. However, had we ONLY used the Mechanus map at GenCon, I think we'd have had a revolt (well from Ian anyway!).

Here's a few reasons why maps need certain aspects for consideration.

Lots of difficult terrain: Most pieces walk. In a limited time game this could severely limit your ability to even get close to each other. There's nothing more frustrating than it takes 30 minutes of the 50 just getting to each other with both players playing pretty fast and moving at max speed. 30 minutes in both players are at zero victory points cause we physically couldn't more to see each other or reach a victory area.

Having a side advantage: Try not to have a map where one side is clearly way better than another.

Complex additional rules: Lots of added rules that require a roll for effect eats into 'effective' time. In my second game I was lucky enough to have a caster in an advanced squre between cogs... sadly opponant could get to me as they failed their roll each time they tried to end up next to me. Not only did it give me a positional advantage that I wasn't through skill making the most of I was just lucky to have the ability to get their first but I got to watch valuable time get eaten away as he rolled the dice and we decided where his pieces ended up.

Clarity of what's what on a square: We fall into this problem as well but trying to determine what was or was not a cog square with so many cogs was a little interesting and again had a lot of time eating questions between us. We didn't even bother with the Judge but with time so important on this map anything that eats into it is a possible killer.

So interesting map just has some real challenges in a limited time match where people have a random set of minis that mostly walk.