Newland is the island nation where Pixel Rugby's domestic league is played: a first world commonwealth country in the middle of the North Atlantic, settled by Europeans on New World soil, which is why its clubs blend American, European and Caribbean flavours. As a member of the commonwealth it carries a deep rugby tradition, with packed stands and fiercely contested derbies.
Newland sits in the open North Atlantic at roughly 32°N, 44°W, about halfway between the eastern seaboard of North America and the Iberian coast of Europe. It is around the latitude of Bermuda and Madeira, so the climate is subtropical.
Geographically it belongs to the Americas. It lies just west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, on the North American plate, in the Western Hemisphere (the "New World"). Culturally, though, it is a European settled nation: the name follows the same New World naming tradition as New England and Newfoundland. That split is the reason the league feels part American, part European and part Caribbean all at once.
Newland runs a single national time zone of UTC−3. That places it about 2 hours ahead of New York and about 3 hours behind London. The partial overlap with both Wall Street and the City of London is exactly what suits a mid-Atlantic finance hub, and helps explain how a small island grew wealthy.
Newland City and Gonzalia are the Sydney and Melbourne of the country: two co-dominant rivals of roughly five million people each, together around 60% of the nation. Their meeting is the National Derby. Westerdam is the clear third city, a Perth or Brisbane sized metropolis that is large and proud but never quite in the duopoly's league. Everything below that is the coastal and provincial tier.
| City | Role | Metro population | Australian analogue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzalia | Largest, commercial capital | ~5.4M | Sydney |
| Newland City | Political capital | ~5.0M | Melbourne |
| Westerdam | Major regional city | ~2.0M | Perth / Brisbane |
| St. Cloud | South-west coast (resort) | ~0.8M | Adelaide |
| Atlantis | South coast | ~0.5M | — |
| Forestland | Southern rainforest | ~0.45M | — |
| Desertland | East coast (desert) | ~0.3M | — |
Like most island nations, Newland keeps its big cities on the coast, while a high mountain range holds the largely uninhabited interior. Those mountains also shape the climate: the Atlantic westerlies water the western and southern coasts, which stay green and even grow rainforest, while the eastern coast sits in their rain shadow and dries out. (Atlantic islands like the Canaries, where the volcanic peak of Teide rises above arid lowlands, show how a green coast and a desert one can sit side by side.)
Every derby in the league falls naturally out of this geography:
Newland's 20 professional clubs are spread across 14 of these cities, 12 in the Premiership and 8 in the Championship, with promotion and relegation every season. See the full line-up on the clubs page, and the complete league, derbies and rules in the guide.
Pixel Rugby