Just a lore observation, not a real review: This is likely the Art Student mapping the area. Why? Because she is also left-handed. And left-handed people were quite rare in the 1920s, when they were generally forced as children to learn using their right hand instead.

Then again: Mark Harrigan is also left-handed. And this is a Tactic... :)

I think this card really shines in 3-4 players where there are a ton of clues on one location. Also I like this to support a Survivor who is trying to use Old Keyring, Flashlight, and/or Gumption to get 5 shroud locations down to 0 for extra clues via Shed a Light or Old Keyring 3. It's not absolutely necessary but when it hits it feels great!

First impression of this card was not that good. Agree with other reviewer, slow and kind of costly for a fairly minimal benefit. Reduce difficulty by 1 is basically +1 skill (unless you combo with other difficulty reduction) and thats not much. I think in some investigators and decks it can shine just a bit more though.

In rough order of potential imo

Rex Murphy might like this too since he can trigger his passive with a high skill test and make it even easier to trigger his passive in subsequent turns (e.g. in a high clue count location).

Ursula Downs and Monterey Jack might like this. It can make high shroud locations easier to clear so they can continue moving on. Ursula only tests at 7 but can use her passive for action compression Monterey tests at 9.

Norman Withers does pretty well with this. It costs 0 for him on top of the deck and he can test at a staggering 9. The bonus is still pretty useful for him since he can still do basic investigate actions and has less access to high end seeker cards. Gloria Goldberg is similar but no free cost and weaker basic investigates.

Darrell Simmons tests 7 and likes difficulty reductions.

Trish Scarborough tests 8. She might like the bonus to make triggering her passive easier (either by investigating or evading). Noted by another commenter, works with Chuck Fergus.

Luke Robinson tests at 7 and can be used at range as its an event.

Vincent Lee and Carolyn Fern only tests at 7, possibly useful for a more combat or support oriented role.

Harvey Walters, Daisy Walker, Minh Thi Phan, Mandy Thompson tests at 8-9 but probably doesn't have any particular synergy with it?

Other seekers like Amanda Sharpe and off seekers like Roland Banks probably doesnt like this due to low stats.

This seems very weak in solo or to lower shroud for investigating.

However in multiplayer this could shine.

The obvious use case is a boss fight where several players are testing fight and evade repeatedly against high target numbers.

Also, most scenarios have some nasty location or a treachery that attaches to a location. Things like Arcane Barrier, Stone Barrier, Through the Ice, etc that potentially endanger all the investigators can be mitigated with this. Probably worth a copy in a party of 3-4 investigators.

(links contain minor Night Of The Zealot card spoilers, which you've almost certainly played by now but hey just bein sure)

The PI thing pays the bills and all, but Joe really wanted to be a cartographer. Map is a great option for his Hunch deck:

• It costs him -2 economy vs other investigators due to the "free" hunch draw and -1 cost
• The discount takes it down to 0$...
• ... which combined with its versatility makes it almost always useable when it surfaces.

With two in there, pop the first one in any medium/high shroud room- if he's not already in one, Joe can likely find one. He's really quite surprisingly mobile. High-clue 3-shroud rooms are great targets as tactis's review noted; the 3-difficulty Investigate isn't too rough at 6 skill, and the Map puts the room in 0-range for Flashlight & Keyring users.

But save the second one for late game, where it'll shine. A LOT of missions include a "boss" room- and not just literal bosses, but also final-act rooms and/or rooms with a ton of clues & shroud that hold XP. Map helps with both.

(Especially those intricate finales like "Investigate using , then test 7 to put a clue on the God Of Turmoil, then Parlay with against God Of Turmoil's HP to offer him a drink, then put the Lime in the Coconut and drink them both up, then...")

Assuming 12+ turns to complete most missions, and an efficient Hunch deck made of reliably playable cards, he can strategically park the final Map in his Hunch deck until that final encounter with confidence that it'll show up.

Once you've reached that final cell / temple / dimension / era / hill-people basement where they kidnapped your dog(!!!!), this card can effectively read "Your whole party gets +1 to every skill for the rest of the mission." And that ain't shabby.

For me this is an auto include in Luke Robinson simply because you can use it to investigate the Dream-Gate. The Pointless Reality side doesn't care that you acquire a clue, only that you succeed the investigation. Map the Area would attach to the Dream-Gate but at the end of your turn you would discard Map the Area when Dream-Gate was set aside.

I personally enjoy using De Vermis Mysteriis alongside this card for that reason: Get stuck in the Pointless Reality, use Map the Area to avoid 2 horror, then on a following turn use De Vermis Mysteriis to play it again on a fixed location where it could remain an attachment for the remainder of the scenario rather than getting removed from the game.

With this card you have the option of Luke's signature weakness going from take 3 Draw/Resource/Play actions and take 2 horror to spend 1 action and 1 card and pass a skill test.

P.S: St. Hubert's Key says "Hello!"