I have thought of using a nice hex mat I have for the game. I'm sure we can all think of some ways it might not work perfectly, my own initial issue is the ability Agile, which counts all diagonal moves as a single move, not just the first. Is there a Hex mat trade off or is it mute enough a point to just drop the benefits of Agile altogether?

Fast Co. said:

i have thought about hex maps for this game , but for me the big downfall is that i would have to buy them , if i can find them with the right size hexes , as opposed to making them , because drawing a hex map would be a herculean effort . so they would lack variety , and cost me more money i could use to get other game realted materials .

the only drawbacks i see to a hex map , other than the above issue , is the determination of cover . other than that , i dont see any down side .

agile is a really nice ability , but i dont see losing it as a huge problem , but if some one just HAD to have something to make them feel better about losing agile , i would give them 2 use assault . it would give them a little more move twice in the game , to make up for the 1 to 2 times they might have used agile .

other than that , i think a HEX grid is a good addition , it still accomplishes the same things a square grid does , but just in a more traditionaly accepted manner .

Re-defining cover would have to be done, and yes, buying the mats. They can be pricey. If anyone at all cares to investigate a top rate mat maker, look up 'Hotz Mats'. I have a very large 3 inch hex 'european fields' mat, and a 5 inch hex sea mat for playing axis and allies Naval Battles. I highly recommend this site's services. I'll even post a link. www.hotzmats.com/

I'd considered hex maps too. Not that it's a huge deal but you would have to deal with the changes rules-wise:

Corners and cover
Agile
The "first diagonal" rule
Line Of Sight and blocking terrain

The first three don't seem to be a big deal as you can just ignore them entirely. LOS will be the killer though... how would you interpret it? Like squares i.e. draw from a dot in the hex to the target hex and if it crosses any hex with terrain then no LOS? What I believe you will find is a lot of situations where the LOS will just barely clip a hex (and the corresponding disagreements about whether it blocks or not).

With the square grid you have very clear cut LOS situations and frankly that's one of the things I like about the game.

My .02 anyway.

Correct me if i'm worng but doesn't Hotzmats offer square grids?

Miah999 said:

yes they do. 1, 2, or 4” squares. thinking of getting a 4 x 6 equivalent in 4” square, just deciding on the terrain theme.