Hex grid paper for maps and tabletop games
Guide · Updated 2026-08-23 · 3 min read
Hexagons run most tabletop wargames and a great many role-playing maps, and it is not a matter of style: a hex grid fixes a specific problem that square grids have with movement and distance. This guide explains why hexes are used, how flat-top and pointy-top layouts differ, how mapmakers number them, and how to print a sheet at the size you need.
The problem hexes solve
On a square grid, a cell touches eight neighbours, but four of them are diagonal — and a diagonal step is longer than a straight one (about 1.41 times, by Pythagoras). Games built on squares have to fudge this, either pretending diagonals cost the same as straight moves or inventing awkward “every second diagonal costs extra” rules. A hexagon has six neighbours, all the same distance away, so movement and range are fair in every direction with no special cases. That single property is why hexes dominate wargames, strategy board games and hex-crawl maps.
Flat-top versus pointy-top
A hex grid comes in two orientations, and which you want depends on how the map scrolls.
- Flat-top hexes have a flat edge on top and sit in clean vertical columns, with alternate columns nudged up or down. This suits maps that are wider than they are tall, and it is the traditional wargame look.
- Pointy-top hexes have a point on top and line up in tidy horizontal rows, with alternate rows offset left or right. This reads well for tall maps and for the classic hex-crawl overland map.
Both tile the page identically; they are the same grid rotated. The hex grid generator switches between the two and lets you set the hex size, so you can match a board or a published map you are copying.
Numbering hexes
Once you want to reference a hex — “the party is in 04.07” — you need a coordinate system. The common one for maps is offset numbering: number the columns across and the rows down, exactly like map grid squares, accepting that the offset rows zig-zag slightly. Wargames and computer strategy games often use axial (cube) coordinates instead, with two or three axes at 60° that make distance and line-of-sight easy to calculate. For pen-and-paper mapping, offset numbering written in the top of each hex is almost always enough.
Scale and the hex-crawl
In role-playing, a hex usually stands for a fixed distance — commonly 6 miles across for overland travel, or smaller for local maps — so a day’s march covers a set number of hexes. This is the heart of the “hex-crawl”: the map doubles as the movement and time system. Pick a distance per hex, and counting hexes tells you how long a journey takes and what the party might encounter on the way.
When a square or triangle grid is better
Hexes are not always the answer. Dungeon interiors, buildings and anything with right-angled walls sit more naturally on a square grid — which is why many role-playing games use squares indoors and hexes for the wilderness. And if you want to draw in three dimensions, a triangle grid or an isometric grid gives you the angles for buildings and terrain in a “2.5D” view. Match the grid to what you are mapping.
Printing your own
Printing hex paper lets you set the exact hex size to match a board game’s counters or a published campaign map, rather than settling for whatever a shop stocks. Choose the orientation and size, keep the lines light if you will draw terrain over them, and print at true scale so the hexes measure what you set — see how to print at the exact size.