Wargaming at Iserlohn

Type of Grid One thing thing I've been very split on is the type of grid to use for the game.  The only reasonable shapes are obviously hexes and squared, and each provides several advantages and disadvantages. Squares Hexes Advantages Clear front, rear and flanks Easy to line up ships in ranks Can fit 4 ships in a square More flexibility in movement choices Each square of movement is the same distance Disadvantages Diagonal movement is longer than orthogonal Less movement options No clear flank, only front and rear Cannot neatly line up Cannot efficiently fit 4 ships in a hex Overall I'm inclined to go with a hex grid and to split each group of 4 ships into separate hexes to not make then to small or too empty. Movement Movement will have to be in units of hexes. This will in theory facilitate movement by avoiding having to measure distances every time or argue over the minutiae of turning 28 or 32 degree...

Some Starting Ideas The turn structure is probably the best place to get started in designing a game since it gives the barebones skeleton of what the game feels like. As mentioned in the previous post I want command and control to be a a significant part of the game. Another principle I'd like to follow is having game sequences where there is a component of early planning and then a reactive part. For example one of my favorite games, Star Wars Armada , had a system where each player would program which special action each ship would do in advance. Depending on the size (and inversely the flexibility) each ship had a certain number of dials which would need to be set in advance. Each dial gave a ship a different bonus during that turn, such as the ability to repair or turn at tighter angles. This means that if you have a bigger ship, like a star destroyer, you would have to prepare 3 turns in advance what their command would be. Dials from Star Wars Armada, you have to stack them ...