I'm really glad you got this off the ground. Sorry I couldn't help with the map making, but I'll happily sign up for play testing.
Good Job :)
Thanks Ska2D2 so am I, and your imput is useful even if you couldnt give tips on how to build.
Would be thankful for anyone that would like to test (umm someone instruct me on how to open the map for you all to test ...?) I also played through a few games with the AI and it seems a bit lopsided for the South as both myself and the AI could have almost the entire South in the first turn while the North was struggling with getting one or 2 bonuses. I expect I will divide some of the Southern states like Texas and FL up so that it wont be so easy to capture the South.