Quick question - D&D Playing Board - what size square/hexes?

[Uncumber]

Hi everybody, pretty quick question here I think!

So far in my playgroup, we've never used any sort of playing board - however, our DM is considering buying/making one now just for the ease of well, seeing where everything is in combat, keeping track of movement, etc.

My question is, is there a 'standard' size of the squares/hexes on these boards? I'm really only asking so if I base up a miniature, I can be sure the base fits in one of the squares/hexagons. Obviously, if there's no standard size at all, then I could go for any old base. But if there is a standard size, I would kind of like a base that fits, seeing as it's such an easy thing for me to get right.

Weirdly I've just tried googling 'D&D 5e Playing boards' expecting to find a load for sale with their specs, but after a quick look I've only seen one, with no specs. I didn't actually know hexed boards were a thing until yesterday when I saw a photo of one, so apparently they are used, but am I right to think they're not used as much?

As usual any and all information is really appreciated, thanks for reading!

[sakuuya]

1" squares are the standard. If your DM doesn't want to commit to buying a battle mat, a lot of wrapping paper comes with 1" gridlines on the back, which make acceptable large battle mats for cheap.

[iTreeby]

Most folks use the standard one inch squares. I bought a huge graph paper pad for making maps and dungeons and haven't regretted it. I am pretty free about giving out sheets to players who express interest in drawing their own maps, it also let's me use colored pencils which I find to be less troublesome than wet or dry erase markers. I also re-use old maps sometimes and make changes on the fly so this set up works well with my improvisational style.

[Uncumber]

Aaah, alright, thank you for the information!

I guessed it may have been one inch squares, that's a pretty standard size. I just wanted to be sure, so thanks guys for letting me know.

Bit annoying though as the 25mm bases are pretty much the smallest ones. There's not a great amount of room for a lot of customization on something that small. Ah well! At least I know now so I can work around it.

[Jophiel]

By the way, search for "battle mat" instead of playing board and you'll see more results.

[MaxWilson]

Hi everybody, pretty quick question here I think!

So far in my playgroup, we've never used any sort of playing board - however, our DM is considering buying/making one now just for the ease of well, seeing where everything is in combat, keeping track of movement, etc.

My question is, is there a 'standard' size of the squares/hexes on these boards? I'm really only asking so if I base up a miniature, I can be sure the base fits in one of the squares/hexagons. Obviously, if there's no standard size at all, then I could go for any old base. But if there is a standard size, I would kind of like a base that fits, seeing as it's such an easy thing for me to get right.

Gary Gygax, the father of D&D, recommended a 5' x 10' area for running "medieval battles" in D&D, corresponding to 600 yards x 1200 yards:


A ground scale consideration is most important, for playing area is the most limiting factor. A 1" = 10 yards scale gives a sufficiently large scale area for conducting typical medieval battles if a 5’ X 10’ table top or floor area is available.

Source: Dragon Magazine #15, page 13-14.

Obviously if you aren't running large-scale battles you can zoom in a bit, but don't be afraid to think large.