What is the best Timberborn map?

Timberborn comes packed with quite a few maps. Beyond that, there’s also a map editor if none of them suits your taste. I’m going to work off the assumption that, if you’re starting out with Timberborn, you’re not going to be in a hurry to dive into the editor. So, which of the included maps is the best?

That all depends on your preference.

The Plains

The Plains is the map that the developer, Mechanistry, suggests you start out with. It’s hard to argue. This is mainly because you start out with a lot of wide open space to build on. The river doesn’t change elevation very often, and it all leads into a single lake. There’s plenty of arable land, and the spot you start off in has plentiful resources for you to start out with. You don’t have to get too creative to create dams that will keep your beavers comfortable through even the longest drought.

The only real tricky part about this map is how all the arable land is in a pair of narrow strips. While The Plains save you from learning to stack your buildings from the outset, you will have to get used to managing your crops and other resources in tight strips.

Terraces

My personal choice, on the other hand, would be Terraces. I like the extra challenge, I enjoy the verticality, and the starting point is pretty neat. It’s pitched high up at the top of a mountain, so expansion is one big descent. Plus, it has plenty of fast-flowing water for generating energy.

My warning here is that you really need to be careful with your starting resources. While there’s a nice crop of berry bushes, there isn’t a lot of wood to go around. You really have to be careful not to overpopulate at the beginning and hurry to get new trees planted. Sustainability is extremely important in the early stages of this map. Once you branch out, there are a lot of pockets in the map that let you stretch your engineering muscle.

At the end of the day, though, it’s what you’re looking for in a map. If it’s a challenge, Thousand Islands might be more your speed. If you want something easy, Waterfalls is pretty straightforward. If you really want to get creative, the extremely restrictive size of Diorama will force you to problem-solve. Don’t be afraid to experiment. You might just find a new way to play.