Many mapmakers miss 1 or more connections between territories on their map which is very anoying for players when they use your map for a game.

So.... How to avoid missing links in your map even before the testing fase?

1. Before connecting your territories, assign your territories to the bonus where they belong to and change the color in a way that every small bonus has a different colour. This gives you a clear overview

2. Zoom in (so you can just see the bonusterritories) and make centre points and connections for each bonus. Finish bonus 1 before making connections and centre points in bonus 2. Preferably use points in stead of numbers for your centre points, this is clearer. This also allows you to stop after 1 bonus and go further a next time with bonus 2 etc.

3. Zoom in and check the edges of your territory and connect the territory to all its neabouring territories, please make a dubble check on the edges of the territory (=no missing links). Use this method for all the territories in your bonus and use a systematic method (left to right in a bonus) also make connections to nearbouring territories in an adjactant bonus. (=to avoid skipping territories)

4. 3 adjactant territories on a continental map make a triangle of connections (on the map design map page). check if this indeed happens. If not see if you missed a link between territories (this is not the case for Islands, mountains, rivers,...)

Any questions or remarks?

I can verify this is a good method.

Test games are also important, though.

Yep, I use something very similar. I first set the center points for all territories and then from somewhere I start connecting territories one-by-one to all other adjacent territories that I've already connected and not to the territories I've yet to connect. This is quite fast and usually there won't be any mistakes.

When you go on a map preview I find it is much easier to find connections. Connected territories to one you have clicked appear yellow which is easier to see than a grey line.

Me and zx often find ourselves grazing through individual territories on a map preview. It helps when more than one person is doing it (e.g. one person finding mistakes, the other actually editting the map, communicating on skype or something)

Edited 3/9/2015 16:00:15

Checking on the map preview is also a good method, althought you have to select every single territory.
Playing a huge FFA game (more players = scanning the map quicker) with other players on normal fog can also help to see if there are missing connections. This is usually in the testing fase

then again, europe 1812 and issander's have several missing (issander) and incorrect (euro 1812), it is almost impossible to get it right for large maps