When you are playing a HOA, do you appreciate/use the Map included? I find them helpful in organizing that world in my spatial mind, and if the game involves repeated slogging back and forth, I value the convenience of "jumping" from one place to the other via the Map, especially after the sixth or seventh forced retracing of steps. I just played a game that I really enjoyed except for the fact that there was no Map and the game play forced me to spend a great deal of time finding my way back and forth and up and down in a complicated jumble of spaces and locations. It got a bit tedious.

Are there players who prefer to play without a Map? Or is it too time consuming for game designers to create them for every game world?

I’m with you, Reenie. There are games for which a map isn’t necessary. But I’ve played a few lately that would have driven me bonkers if not for a map. And I too have difficulty in remembering where every place is when there are a lot of locations - especially when there are portals to the next location, but you need to go back to use an inventory item or complete a hidden object scene. When given the option, I always choose to have a map available.

I almost never look at the map when I play HOPAs. For me, it's a good memory exercise to have to remember where locales are on my own. Once in a great while I will look at the map when I want to know where there is something that needs to be done.

I almost never use the map.

I need a map. I get lost so easily.

It depends to some degree on the quality of the Map.
Sometimes I prefer using the Map to using the Hint, if the Map does a good job of showing locations where something can be done.
When a game has a lot of back-and-forth from one end of the game world to the other, and allows you to teleport using the Map, I'll use the Map. Up to a certain point I don't mind walking around the long way, but some games just get ridiculous -- especially towards the end.
If a game has fussy screen exits, that's also a reason to teleport using the Map.

Usually I appreciate a Map just for orientation sake, even if it doesn't have anything fancy like teleporting or highlighting areas where something can be done.

Absolutely yes to maps. I try very hard not to use the hint button, but the map is my friend.

I'm with the map users. I have no patience to walk back and forth in some of the games. I will use the map to teleport quickly.

Good question re: Map or No Map..............................

To make a Long Story Short... NO Map = NO BUY for me, I absolutely refuse to buy a Casual game with No Map or even a poor Map system.

The use of a map, for me, is mainly to see where the next "thing to do" is located, when I run out of ideas myself.

But if tedious going back and forth traipsing starts to spoil my enjoyment then I will certainly resort to the short cut of the map

Definitely a map for me.

Map for me too.

I really need a map, no sense of direction. If I'm supposed to zig then for sure I'll zag.

Exactly my feelings, Jenny. It is when the back-and-forth becomes annoying that I'm glad it is there. I turn off hints, so I tend to do a lot of exploring, anyway.

That's the big thing I like about maps too.

I like the map so you can teleport quickly to different locations. I am currently playing secret of monkey island and all the walking is making me not want to play it anymore..

I forgot about my pet peeve about maps. When I open the map to look for the place where there's something to do, sometimes one of those places is where I already was. Most of the time I'll just try to go to that place, and I'll get the "You're already there" message. It would be easier if it just took you back "there" instead of having to close the map using the X in the upper right corner of the map.

A definite yes to using maps. Some games get me exhausted walking back and forth.........teleporting is always more fun.

Yep, those two seem to be the primary reasons folks like a Map in their game. Near the end of the game, it can get old, having to walk all the way back through eight or nine screens to use a screwdriver for two seconds.

Definitely yes to the map. Sometimes I just get tired of trudging back and forth in a game to do like Reenie says and just use a screwdriver for 2 seconds and then trudge back to where I was.