Hexes

[Zocelot]

I recently picked up a battle mat with squares on one side and hexes on the other, and I am unsure which to use.

The main differences are that squares are familiar and simple, while hexes eliminate the complications of diagonal movement and make combat less linear.

If you have played on both types of grids, which one did you prefer and why?

[bosssmiley]

Squares for preference.

Hexes on battlemats are the work of filthy GURPS-, SFB- and Battletech-loving heretics. Abjure the swine-ish ways of the vile Hexagonalists! Do not be swayed by their seductive six-sided blandishments. Follow the four square path of truth!

V-- Gaaah! There's one of them hex-lovers now!

Kidding aside, I always just found squares simpler. Maybe that's my old graph paper map days talking...

[monty]

Hex grids make me happy, but squares are easier for the less mathematically inclined.

[Farmer42]

I actually have to disagree with you monty. I'm not math inclined and I prefer the simplicity of hexes. It gets a little confusing with square buildings, but we've alwys just treated an incomplete hex as bing a whole one for game purposes.

[Starsinger]

We've been using hexes (specifically heroscape tiles) lately, and I have to say I like it better than squares.

[King_of_GRiffins]

I've played using hexes before. We had the other side of our map, which on that side was squares, filled up, and needed more room for the brigade we were drawing out from that area. We used it as a featureless area, and didn't have any problems except maybe in trying to find a few distances.

[The Necroswanso]

Squares for preference.

Hexes on battlemats are the work of filthy GURPS-, SFB- and Battletech-loving heretics. Abjure the swine-ish ways of the vile Hexagonalists! Do not be swayed by their seductive six-sided blandishments. Follow the four square path of truth!

V-- Gaaah! There's one of them hex-lovers now!

Kidding aside, I always just found squares simpler. Maybe that's my old graph paper map days talking...

Pish posh I say!



Anyway. To my knowledge, Hexes were the original mat played on in D&D, my friends First Addition books says anyhow. This was mostly due to random direction generation, also helped figure diagonal movement better.

Ex: A check to discern north would be rolled, the DM would not say wether you failed or succeeded, he would instead roll a d6 (if you failed), and the corresponding number, related to the side of the hexagon, and that would be what you 'perceived' as north. Otherwise, as in a success, the DM would tell you north. Hexes also help better with cones.
This is really fun, or frustrating, as one time a group I was in travelled for 13 days in the wrong direction.

My friend just bought a spiffy ass 75 dollar wet erase mat with hexes on one side and squares on the other.

[sonofzeal]

Hexes are nicer for just about everything outdoors, but do horribly for rectangular buildings and confined spaces. I'd use Hex by preference outdoors, and Square indoors. If I used a battlegrid. Ever.

[valadil]

Hexes are nicer for just about everything outdoors, but do horribly for rectangular buildings and confined spaces. I'd use Hex by preference outdoors, and Square indoors.

Seconded. I prefer hexes where possible, but they just don't make sense in a dungeon.

[monty]

If I used a battlegrid. Ever.

I second that. Distances don't become significant that often, especially in dungeons where you're stuck in a small room and that 100 + 10/level spell will hit no matter where you are. When distance becomes important, I usually just measure it the real way and round to the nearest 5 ft.

[JoshuaZ]

I recently picked up a battle mat with squares on one side and hexes on the other, and I am unsure which to use.

The main differences are that squares are familiar and simple, while hexes eliminate the complications of diagonal movement and make combat less linear.

If you have played on both types of grids, which one did you prefer and why?

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0175.html makes a serious point- heavy melee fighting gives an advantage to smaller parties on a hex grid. Similarly if one is fighting many enemies (say a kobold army) a hex grid puts fewer enemies in range of you. I've played games with both and don't have a strong preference, but the lack of diagonol movement problems is nice.