I'm sure we recycled more place names from Britain and Ireland than from anywhere else, but Birmingham, AL is probably the most successful example, so naturally I think of it rather than the English city when I hear the name.

I'm not sure it won't backfire as a marketing tool; I only played it three times (finally getting close to 25k) because once it starts recycling locations the game gets to be more like Concentration than Risk.

EDIT: Confirmed; first time out after this morning my score's already up to 26.5k, and even in the third round I was able to get within 30 miles of a couple cities. Obviously there are some gimmes (Istanbul) but if an American can place a Belgian city within 30 miles despite the absence of even national borders, there aren't enough destinations to make for a viable game. Trust the Germans to know how to find Belgium....