Hex War Games - Game Types

Prior to this article, many of the articles dealt with Defensive Positions.  However, before proceeding further, it is necessary to understand the different type of Hex War Games available.  I hope to regularly update this page as new games are 'discovered' by me, but I will also list them on the Definitions page.

Many times games join various elements together from multiple "types".  Russian Front, for example, is a Timed and Objective style game.  The player must achieve certain objectives within a given time frame to declare a victory, but as the game 'time' advances, the objectives change as well.  Other games involve different objectives for one, or more, players.

Move and Shoot Games

Most games follow the "Move and Shoot" variety.  In these games players take turns.  During a player's turn, the player moves all of her units and then, after the movement, all resulting combats are resolved.  These type of games benefit the defender in the game, as if a breach in the defensive line occurs, the player has the ability to react to the attack.  If units are lost, the defender has the ability to move other units into position.

Advance After Combat

Many games have an "advance after combat" rule.  Usually found in Move and Shoot Games, these games permit a unit to move into an enemy space immediately after the combat if the opposing unit was destroyed/forced to retreat.  In some games the units may only move into the same location the opposing unit occupied.  In other games, the distance units may move after combat differs based on the type of unit.

Follow Up Attacks

Similar to an Advance After Combat, except in this case the attacking unit may engage in another combat.  Another well used concept is found in Napoleonic games.  In these games, if the attacker has a cavalry unit adjacent to the enemy unit which retreats, the cavalry unit may 'follow' the retreating unit, inflicting additional damage on the unit.

Unit By Unit

Unit by Unit games are where a player selects a unit, moves the unit, combats the unit.  After finishing with a unit, the player selects another unit and repeats the process.  Many computer games provide Unit By Unit style mechanics.

Production

Production games, such as Weewar, involve the introduction of new units at cities or bases.  This differs from most games, where the number of units available to a side is fixed.  Fixed side games may have reinforcements, which arrive at a specific turn, or when a specific condition occurs and from a certain location, but these are not Production games.  In Production games, there effectively is no limit to how many units may exist on a side.

Objective Based

Objective based games end when a certain condition is met.  This may be one side occupying certain hexes, the destruction of a number of enemy units, or some units exit the map.  These games end immediately when one side achieves an objective.

Time Based

Time based games end when after a certain number of turns.  At the end of this time, the players add up their "score" based on reaching objectives (towns taken, units exited, etc.), and the player with the highest score wins.