@RogerCooper said:
@Cernel I actually would prefer the terms "areas" as "spaces" is ambiguous. The rules for Axis & Allies used the terms "territories".
I think that per se the best term is "Zones". The "Sea Zones" are always called as such and TripleA does not have stuff like the "Mobilisation Zone", so it should be quite obvious that "Zones" means territories plus sea zones. However, I've checked the rule-books from Classic to Global, and the official term is "Spaces" or "Game Spaces".
Areas does not sound quite clear to me. An area could be a group of zones or a cosmetic area with no zones at all (like the one that World At War has between 118 and 124 Sea Zone or the many cosmetic islands of New World Order, having not only no ownership but neither existing at all beside visually). Moreover, I would argue that those pacific islands with multiple islands (or Turkey when the European and Asian parts are the same territory) are each a territory/zone/space with multiple areas, meaning multiple areas part of the same territory/zone/space (and I think it would be hard to argue against this).
(Obviously "territories" is a terrible term if non-convoy sea zones are comprised, and just one of the several cases in which TripleA technical terms are just bad. Let's keep them under the hood as much as possible.)
Definitions from Cambridge (first definition given):
Space: an empty area that is available to be used
Zone: an area, especially one that is different from the areas around it because it has different characteristics or is used for different purposes
Area: a particular part of a place, piece of land, or country
Territory: an area of land or sea that is controlled by a particular country
At the end, I think the easiest pick is just the official one: space (or game space).
