I made a request for Espionage variants without volcanoes on the feature request board, and in explaining why I was sent to this board.

Espionage isn't like any of the other games. Someone compared it to chinese chess; which doesn't resemble espionage at all. At espionage the pieces are hidden at the start and you can discover them with your recons. That's unlike any other game, that's what makes it special, what makes it espionage. Some people do like the volcanoes, they like a longer, defensive game. The best strategy at espionage is to hide behind the volcanoes and wait for the other to attack.

Without the volcanoes the game has more opportunities. It's more dynamic and you can develop an offensive playing style or a defensive one, but you're not forced into defense like with the volcanoes. I know this because I play the game at IYT, where the versions without the volcanoes are much more popular than the ones with. It's good to offer both options, I think.