Request for assistance: crochet/boardgaming crossover (Die Siedler von Afghanistan)

(crossposted to rec.crafts.textiles.yarn and rec.games.board; play nice, folks)

I'm here both to announce a project and ask for some assistance with it. A couple years back, I had an inspiration to create a crochet interpretation of the boardgame _Die Siedler von Catan_ (the Settlers of Catan), with an afghan-sized game-mat, buttons for affixing tiles, ports, and game elements (which would themselves be crocheted), fully functional as both a Settlers board and as a cozy blanket. I made some poor design decisions then and the project ended up stalled out, and it's been laying fallow for over a year now. But the dream's still alive, and this time, I'm going to make it happen. I'm starting basically afresh, fixing up the problems I made last time.

This is where I need y'all's help. I'm reasonably sure I know what I'm doing, but I'd like to solicit suggestions from other folks.

The big issue on which I'm asking for assistance is color. I've chosen this time to do it in KnitPicks Palette, a much lighter yarn than last time, and available in a wider variety of colors. Since I have all these colors, it'd be a shame not to get the hexes just right. My basic plan is to have 2 colors per hex; whichever 2 best represent the hex's terrain. I'd therefore like suggestions, drawn from the Palette colors available, of which color pair y'all think best represents the following hexes:

• Pastures

• Fields

• Hills

• Mountains

• Woods

• Desert

• Ocean

The available colors can be viewed at <

>. Thecolor display there is reasonably accurate.Also, for reference, here are some interpretations of the hex design:Kosmos: < >(tiles across the top are oceans with ports; the next row, left toright, is pastures, fields, and woods; next row is mountains andhills; bottom tile is desert) Mayfair: < >(top row is woods, hills, pastures; bottom is fields, mountains, anddesert; oceans not pictured) An abstract Japanese version: < >(ocean and ports are on the border; two pastures near the top, next toa mountain; two fields on the lower left edge; hills on near thebottom; woods scattered throughout; desert near the upper left corner) These are of course suggestions only: since I have the power to interpret the terrains any way I want, anything which evokes, say "grazing pastures" better than the preexisting pasture colors is great too, although for the benefit of those already familiar with Settlers, I'd rather not diverge too much from the standard color-scheme.

The most burning issues for me are getting the hills looking right (that reddish-browninsh seems easy to get wrong) and making sure the desert and fields are distinct (the aforelinked Kosmos set, in particular, did a poor job of this).

While I'm soliciting suggestions, the arrangement of the colors is at issue too. My plan was to work rounds in alternating colors, so there are radial hexagons or alternating colors, but in hexes where the colors contrast, I'm wondering if that wouldn't look too busy. Comments and/or suggestions, from either gamers or craftspeople, on the aesthetics of hex design, would be much appreciated.