any strong feelings about grids v hexes?

James · September 25, 2018, 02:48:27 AM

Normally, I play on a grid for larger battles. Its just easier. A few years back I got into hexes though and wanted everything to be on a hex grid, cause in my mind it was gonna make things like movement and AoE effects so much easier to deal with.

But it didn't. I don't even know exactly why it didn't, it just didn't feel right. In the end, I came to the conclusion that it was just personal preference, but for the life of me I don't know why. What are your thoughts about this?

Spinachcat · September 25, 2018, 03:05:32 AM

Squares for fantasy! Hexes for scifi! To deviate is heresy!
But don't ask me what to do about scifi games with magic!

Most of the time, I prefer to use abstract movement and abstract placement of figs. I generally feel that grids lead to boardgame like behaviors instead of immersion.

But overall, I'm sure its personal preference.

Also, start a thread about your RPG. AKA, discuss its design and WHY we should take a look.

Omega · September 25, 2018, 05:11:56 AM

Why not have both?

I think either is fine. Some systems though seem to work better with one or the other. But overall hexes are a little easier to parse and make judging distances easy. YMMV of course.

Chris24601 · September 25, 2018, 07:44:24 AM

Though I'm using a grid in the default rules because its familiar, my personal preference for measurement is tape measures and minis with circular bases that actually account for their fighting space. Its prone to a bit of fudging, but it provides a MUCH more realistic sense of the chaos of a melee scramble and lets you use ANY map so long as you scale it properly.

I default to 1" = 1 Roman Pace for fantasy or 1 cm = 1m for personal scale sci-fi (as noted above, metric for sci-fi feels more tonally correct). I like to have my scales such that they are 1 unit = 1 unit since its easier for immersion (you don't measure 5" in your head and then have to convert to 25 feet or 10 meters... its 5" = 5 paces and 10 cm = 10m).

Rhedyn · September 25, 2018, 08:08:49 AM

My only problem with hexes is that larger minis take some effort to center and I tend to play with many variously sized creatures.

But my default now-a-days is a square grid for convenience but everyone can move and measure things in inches (yup we use war-game rulers).

S'mon · September 25, 2018, 08:36:29 AM

I really like rulers best, a la Warhammer Battle.

Steven Mitchell · September 25, 2018, 08:57:24 AM

Hexes work really well, except in structures. Yes, there are ways around the problems, but they are still annoying. I'd hate to do an all-day dungeon crawl on a hex grid.

My real preference is the offset squares, like what Omega posted. I'd like it even more if you could easily buy erasable mats for it. That is, it is my preference, when I use a grid at all, which lately is not much.

ffilz · September 25, 2018, 11:14:48 AM

It's been a long time since I've run a combat on a grid (square or hex). Ultimately for me, the choice as much depends on the mechanics. When I was running D20, I used a square grid because that was what the mechanics used. Outside of that, my preference is hexes, but I also had not been running very much stuff that was inside rectilinear structures (most of the "inside" stuff was inside caves, where hexes work just as well or better than squares). These days, the combat I run has been theater of the mind so no grid need apply. My dungeons are on a square grid.

Frank

Ratman_tf · September 25, 2018, 11:24:59 AM

I don't have any super strong feelings. I prefer squares, because they line up with rooms (square and rectangle shapes) easier.
Though I sometimes wonder why TTRPGs don't use gridless maps like miniature wargames.

Pat · September 25, 2018, 12:03:20 PM

I prefer hexes. They do a better job of representing someone staggering around as if they were drunk and unable to follow a straight line, which is a better representation of most PCs than the direct linearity of a grid.

Toadmaster · September 25, 2018, 01:11:59 PM

I have a slight preference for hexes, but it doesn't really make that much difference to me.

I am a fan of measuring devices for judging range / distance. A string marked off in inches or cm works just fine, also cheap and easy to make yourself.

jeff37923 · September 25, 2018, 01:48:02 PM

Hexes for long distances (surface miles or space parsecs) and grids for person level encounters. No real reason why, they just work out like that for me the best.

Thornhammer · September 25, 2018, 02:22:28 PM

Kinda depends on the game.

If I'm doing tabletop D&D, I want squares.

If I'm playing Ogre or a similar wargame, "square" is a dirty word and I want hexes.

If I play a skirmish game - fantasy, sci-fi, historical - I don't want either and instead want to use a tape measure.

Philotomy Jurament · September 25, 2018, 03:41:34 PM

I'm not sure that I have *strong* feelings about it, but I guess I have preferences that depend on the game.

For tabletop miniatures kind of games (including D&D, if I'm using minis with it), I prefer not having a grid at all, and just use a tape measure (or equivalent). FWIW, the tape measure works fine even with a grid. So you could have a square grid battlemat to help you draw out floorplans, but if a PC/unit cuts out at a diagonal, use the tape measure for that instead of trying to count squares.

VincentTakeda · September 25, 2018, 04:27:31 PM

Theater of the mind for both! But if you must.... Grids for buildings, hexes for everything else!