This is a template for multiplayer maps for strategy games (real-time or turn-based). It only works for games on tori, that is the map wraps around left-to-right and top-to-bottom.

I hereby license the template under CC0.

The purpose is to provide symmetric gameplay for as many players as possible. Which is seven. In particular, each pair of players is connected by a path and all those paths have the same length.

Red squares denote the players' bases.
Blue structures denote impassable terrain.
Green lines denote shortest paths between pairs of bases.

EDIT:

I added a mock example map using LPC artwork. The example also shows that you can leave multiplayer seats empty and still have symmetric gameplay (as all players have equal access to the empty space).

The example is dual licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0 and GPL 3.0.
The template is multi licensed under CC0, GPL 2.0, GPL 3.0, and WTFPL.

Here is a short tutorial on how to use the template to make a map:
1. Use a map size that is divisible by seven.
2. The distance from one base to the next is one seventh the map size horizontally and two seventh the map size vertically.
3. Add paths between pairs of bases as in the template (or the example). Path segments also use seventhes of the map size.
4. Add two blobs of impassible terrain (lava in the example) to force the bends in the paths. Copy those around.