diff --git a/hosts/common/programs/sway-autoscaler/sway-autoscaler b/hosts/common/programs/sway-autoscaler/sway-autoscaler
index a34375a4a..07cd430a5 100755
--- a/hosts/common/programs/sway-autoscaler/sway-autoscaler
+++ b/hosts/common/programs/sway-autoscaler/sway-autoscaler
@@ -59,7 +59,18 @@ autoscale() {
 
   scale=${SWAY_DEFAULT_SCALE:-1}
   case "$focused" in
-    org.gnome.Maps) scale=1
+    (org.gnome.Maps)
+      # scale=1.6:         3 turns visible at once in landscape
+      # scale=1.25: max scale at which no text/menuitems are cutoff in vertical mode
+      #                    5 turns visible at once in landscape
+      # scale=1.2:  max of 6 turns visible at once in landscape
+      # scale=1.1:  max of 7 turns visible at once in landscape
+      # scale=1:    max of 8 turns visible at once in landscape
+      #
+      # as scale is increased past 1.1, vertical mode becomes substantially less usable
+      # as scale is decreased past 1.3, the whole desktop UI becomes less usable (keyboard, workspaces)
+      scale=1.2
+    ;;
   esac
 
   $verbose && echo "scaling to $scale"