Hex War Games - Strategy Part VI - Map Edge

Rarely in the world is the coastline hundreds of miles long and in a straight line.  There are even fewer places where forest, mountains or swamps transition right up to the sea.  In Hex Based war games, however, this seems to be the norm since every games has an edge, beyond which pieces cannot be attacked.  So, how can the map edge be used as an advantage, or disadvantage, to the pieces in the game.  We will discuss map edge effects in this article.

Map Edge Combat Effects
The edge of the board acts like a completely reinforced wall no unit may pass.  At most a unit may be attacked from four sides.  If forming a line along the grain, the board makes an excellent anchoring point.  Two configurations for anchoring on the edge exist:  On the Bulge or Off the Bulge.

Configurations for Anchoring on a Map Edge

When anchored Off The Bulge, some unit along the line may be attacked from two adjacent locations.  If anchoring the line On The Bulge, each unit may only be attacked a single time.  Thus, anchoring On The Bulge provides a better defense than Off The Bulge.

A final possible configuration is to have the line formed Off The bulge, but one unit jutting forward towards the enemy.  This creates a Bend in the line, but the addition of the unit allows the line to form On The Bulge and still reduce the attack to a 1-to-1 ratio.

Off The Bulge with an Advanced Unit