One persistent comment I get from reviewers is to concretely set the game either to use a distance based approach or a hex based approach. This comes down to a design decision on my part, and I do enjoy playing the game both ways. With hexes, the game plays faster and more like a tabletop game. The distance based approach makes it much easier to use miniature buildings, terrain, and other props that are common among miniature skirmish players. Miniature buildings can be stuck on top of hex maps for the best of both worlds.
Part of this stems from a habit I have of modifying distance based games to hex based. And part of that stems from a large collection of old Heroscape hexes. Those are awesome if you have them, with the only real drawback being that they are 1.75″ per hex, which takes a 24 x 24 hex board with 1″ hexes from two feet to three and a half feet. That’s a big jump. It will still fit across the average dining room table at this size, but it does cut down on space for paper sheets and other necessities.
For this particular game, a flat hex map can go a long way while being easy to setup. For this game I purchased a Chessex Megamat to try out and have been really enjoying it. Specifically the 34.5 x 48 in model. Like some other reviews mention, it did come rolled in an oval, which meant that in unrolled as a slightly wavy board. It took a few days to even it back out. I used two scrap 1 x 4 boards, laid them on top, and then added about 10 lbs of weight to each.
Now, to be honest, I don’t have a lot to compare to here, and there seems to be a lot of good options that I haven’t checked out. Two others that stand out are the
Battle Grid Game mat at 24 x 36 in (I felt that this size wouldn’t cover every possible gameplay scenario)
and the
Role 4 Initiative Dry Erase Hexagon Dungeon Tile system
The Battle Grid Game linked above comes with markers and cleaning solution, so that’s a nice bonus. The modular system of the Role 4 Initiative offering has a lot of appeal, both in terms of storage and play flexibility. I might go ahead and purchase some of those in the future just to see how well they work.
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