Peer Deeply Into the Map…

A map is higher bandwidth than text.

With text we take in one word and one page at a time. But a map shows words, locations, terrain, continents, and villages, all at once.

The secret ingredient to getting the most data out of detailed maps and remembering them easily, almost without trying, is to peer into them often.

Compare the effort required for memorizing a page of text versus a visual representation of such. Remembering, word for word, costs the brain a lot more energy.

Try this:

1. Find a cool map with great detail. If one doesn’t come to mind, check out Anna Meyer’s amazing and beautiful Greyhawk work – The Flanaess Tilvanot Peninsula (scroll down to post date 2025-01-01).

2. Bookmark the map or save it in a browser tab. Then look at it for 30 seconds. Just let your eyes wander.

3. Here’s the first key: don’t judge. We make assumptions when we slot visuals into pre-made mental boxes. Those become our blind spots.

4. To avoid judging try this:

  • Try to see the negative space
  • Look at the blobs like they’re clouds
  • Check out the colours
  • Keep scanning slowly without letting your eyes rest on one spot

For example, Anna’s map of the Tilvanot Peninsula has a ton of moody blue in it. And there’s kind of an Italy thing going on in the centre, kinda, maybe.

Actually, it looks to my weird brain that a fish is erupting from the bottom right corner trying to bite the hook being offered above. Is Gary Gygax a genius?

5. Look at the map again later. In an hour, or day, or week. Look for what you noticed last time. See it again. Then look a “layer” deeper into the image.

In Anna’s map, I now see brighter blue labels. Oljatt Sea. Pearl Sea. Azure Sea. Oh, the land masses have bigger-sized labels too. And there’s a chain of islands in the Oljatt Sea.

6. Repeat. You need only spend 30 seconds per study session with a map. Repeat viewings, with initial recall of previous viewings as a way to set long-term memory. In each viewing, find at least three new details you hadn’t seen before.

7. When someone asks where the City of Medegla is, don’t think. Just react. Let instinct guide your eyes to a spot on the map almost instantly. Don’t resist it. From that focal point, search for the specific detail.

8. Create a Map Notebook. I use Campaign Logger and simply paste the map image into a new Page with notes after each viewing. Each time you revisit a map, jot down your new discoveries, insights, and questions. This will help you track your progress and reinforce your memory even more.

Cheers,
Johnn
roleplayingtips.com
https://discord.gg/6MxTRAqQ76
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