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Why play on hexes? Perhaps it would be better to ask, why not play on hexes!
To play in micro scale generally means playing bigger battles over a much larger area. Hexes offer the following undeniable advantages:
.....Movement is precise as there is no measuring
.....Arcs and angles of firing are likewise precise
.....Line of sight, observation and obscured troops are all accurate
.....Calculating artillery fire and effected areas is exact.
.....Terrain areas are instantly definable and are simply recognised
.....Hidden troops and ambushes can be located exactly, likewise their facing
.....Mine fields, Smoke, fog, snow, rivers, bridges and many other obstacles can be accurately positioned
.....Aircraft can actually move accurately across the table
.....Stopping a battle to be continued on another day is relatively simple and accurate.
To cover the above points within a rule book would take many pages that require reading and learning when by using hexes most are one line guidance rules. Additionally, many of the arduous tasks that can cause disagreement are in one, swept away. Add to this, mechanics of firing, combat, morale that are specifically designed for the scale and hexes and you end up with a really playable rule system. TacticalHex...
About
Units in the game are given fire or assault-combat points for different types of target. A combat point is actually a single multisided die type. So if a unit has 3 fire-combat points against a particular enemy, when it shoots it rolls three dice. The number required to hit with the dice it rolls varies in accordance with the troops training, experience, weapons and the targets type and position and is listed so it is very easy to see exactly what scores are required, there are no amendments to the die rolls, what you roll is what you use. A hit or hits are then turned into a mission resolve die roll. The score of another multi sided die type is cross referenced on the resolve chart, failures are recorded with a small marker, once a base loses a specified number of resolves (depending on its class and type) its removed. Alternatively troops may choose to use suppression fire which prevents the enemy bases from moving or firing. Very easy, very quick and the results are very plausible.
Interwoven into the fire-combat mission resolve system are the command and control rules and deck of special cards. Command and control is referred to as comms in the modern rules aid-de-camp in the Napoleonic and other suitable names in all the other periods. Each period has a specifically designed and individual deck of cards. Comms is not luck based like in many wargames rules where a die is made to see if units can move, or how much movement they get. The system of comms in these rules is designed to give players the ability to control their units to a reasonably efficient level but quite often having to make decisions on where to concentrate effort perhaps to the demise of another section of the battlefield, this can be called ‘limiting tactical control’.
At the start of the game a player is dealt a hand of comms cards, the number of cards is dependent on the bases he has and possibly the army type. These cards are used and replenished each turn, each card allows a base of troops to do a specified action. Cards can be saved from one turn to another, so for instance, calling in off table artillery support, an air strike or reserves into action help isn’t based on lucky die rolls, it’s based on forward planning and the saving of cards, the comms system superbly achieves limited tactical control, a flank attack by cavalry get a card that actually gets them in the thick of the fighting. When you buy the rule book you get a complete deck of 90 ‘Comms’ cards to use. The beauty of this system is that players can create comms cards themselves to give specific detail to a particular battle or army type, it has been designed specifically to give players limitless choice to get the game they want.
The mechanics of TacticalHex allow players to easily learn the system and get playing quickly and have been designed so that players don't need huge amounts of figures and models if they do not want that, so it’s a fast start up time for trying new periods. Moving into new periods can be a bit of a chore, but now, one rule system makes this an easy choice. One rule book per period at a realistic cost, with all the rules for that period in the one book makes TacticalHex well worth a try, you wont be disapointed.
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