Visual aids. Printed color photos and taped them to index cards. Postits for my use (environmental cues and moves, etc.) that I remove when revealing a card / location, and lines on the back for player notes.
I really like having something spatial without an explicit map and it lends well to theater of the mind. Kinda a bit of work, but worth it this time anyway.
That’s a cool idea – I’ve been experimenting with using zone maps more for both my Dungeon World and Fate games but it hadn’t occurred to me use pictures in the way you’ve portrayed. Thanks for sharing 🙂