Is there ever a reason to not pick Silver Lake if its an option?

[undividedskies]

Any game i pick up where we are given the option to pick and choose a map or if it comes up randomly as a choice for either me or my opponent it always gets picked. Most of the games ive played where its pickable both players pick it and it ends up being a mirror match.

Is there an alternative map that would be a better pick?

[danielvictor]

The only other contenders would be the starter maps,but they wouldn't be an option ?

[scottvw]

Pick it if you think its a fun map to play. When playing with friends I will never pick the map as its too strong for what it is. I find unfair maps spoil fun for me so I tend to avoid, even playing in person I will actively avoid Silver lake, starter maps A and 0, and Geographical zoo which is extremely boring to play.

[KeithHendricks]

Ice Cream Parlors.

[Ringbearer79]

Variance. I usually play with friends, so we often pick suboptimal or high variance maps like Hollywood or Observation Tower, simply because we play the game a lot and its no fun to play the same map several times in a row.

[Propaganda Panda]

Silver Lake is the best map, but the gap to other maps is not as big as some think. There are many cases where Silver Lake is not the best choice.

- Outdoor Areas: Just as good as Silver Lake, in my opinion. If you want to start with a partner zoo, this is usually the best choice, as you can pick up a second partner zoo on the ground and get an early upgrade. Alternatively, you can sometimes just pick up the partner zoo from the ground and support a project. If you want to play a lot of large animals, this map is also even more excellent than usual.
- Rescue Station: Also an S-tier map, just as Silver Lake and Outdoor Areas. If you know that you can dig something valuable with your first build action, I'd recommend this. It can enable a round 1 project, which gives you a lot of tempo, or at least let you dig an animal which gives you two or even three valuable tags. Also great for flocking.
- Research Institute: A bit weaker than the others, but the map ability which lets you ignore one requirement can enable a lot of nutty starts, especially when want to release something like a Muscox or a Bison which is usually locked behind a requirement. On this map, you can also play the New Zealand Fur Seal without upgrading animals (it's possible in Round 1), which gives you an early worker.
- Ice Cream Parlor: Definitely the weakest amongst all the listed maps, but if you can unlock all the income very early, this is very viable. This usually includes at least one sponsor building (the play-sponsor bonus on the ground is very helpful here), something like Engineer or an animal with Posturing is also very good.

All other maps are basically never as good as Silver Lake.

Now the problem is of course that you don't get to see your hand before picking a map, at least per the original rules. Therefore, on BGA, picking Silver Lake is usually the best and safest choice. But if you play at home with a physical copy, many people have house-ruled the map selection, allowing you to see the display and your hand before choosing. In that case, Silver Lake should not automatically be the default option.