diff --git a/client/js/map_view/political.js b/client/js/map_view/political.js
index 8b46c17..f53698e 100644
--- a/client/js/map_view/political.js
+++ b/client/js/map_view/political.js
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+// IMPORTANT: a human may modify these values. They should not affect how tests
+// behave.
 // The political view: when the camera pulls far out the terrain gives way to a
 // flat map of each country's colour, and every country's name is drawn once per
 // contiguous holding, fitted to the shape of that holding.
@@ -36,7 +38,7 @@ const MIN_MARGIN = 8;
 const HEIGHT_PAD = 0.82;
 // Kerning may be opened up to this many times the natural run, but the letters
 // themselves are never squashed or pulled closer together.
-export const MAX_KERNING = 2;
+export const MAX_KERNING = 5;
 
 // Splits a territory map (tile key -> civ id) into connected components. On a
 // cylindrical world the neighbour lookup already folds the seam, so a holding