Having purchased a Basic Set of Geo-Hex Terrain several months ago, I have to admit that life as a wargamer hasn't been the same .... fortunately! The homemade hills, Integral Terrain squares, and brown paper roads are all long gone, having been replaced with the most amazing flexible system on the market today. This stuff is REALLY good! Recreating accurate tabletop maps has long been a problem, especially for ACW gamers. The typical battlefield in our struggle between the States was rugged, hilly, and filled with ravines. Trying to produce the correct effect was a frustrating and futile effort. How do you produce a hill just the right size, place it in just the right spot, and still have a stream on the left flank, and a ravine going off in a rough winding 45 degree angle? All of these problems are solved with Geo-Hex. I use a ping-pong table that is 9 ft. by 5 ft. for the parameters of my game area. The Basic Set, which contains 112 pieces is advertised as covering a 7 ft. by 5 ft. table, but this seems somewhat of an understatement unless you wish to make several levels of terrain. With this set I was able to exactly reproduce any specific area of any battle map I could find, including having streams or rivers. In most setups, I was able to cover 8 ft. by 5 ft. , but had to deal with unfinished edges on all sides. It was these unfinished edges, and the desire to fully cover the entire table that led me to order Completer Sets I and II. My total order now includes the Basic Set, both Completer Sets, and an extra pack of 6 one foot hexes. This, while admittedly expensive, has just about filled my dream of total tabletop terrain flexibility (I plan on also ordering the Rough Terrain Set to handle those "impassable" mountains) . With what I now have, I can completely cover the table (no unfinished edges) and have unlimited possibilities. The Shenandoah Campaign, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Gettysburg, and every other battlefield are all quite easy to set up. What more could you ask for? It would be imposing to try to list all of the possibilities of this terrain system. Suffice it to say that, while admittedly expensive, Geo-Hex is the dream system for the ACW miniatures gamer. It is the ONLY system that allows one unlimited flexibility, a look of realism, and still lets you choose where your roads will go (forks and intersections included). For the first time my table rivals my miniatures in beauty, and I have yet to have a friend see it without remarking on how nice it all looks! In trying to find some negative remarks about Geo-Hex, the only thing that comes to mind is that setting up a table can take a very long time. This may not be so much a problem with the terrain as it is a statement of my own lack of geometric skills. My 9th grade math teacher kept telling me that it would come in handy one day and I never believed him. Anyway, I have to say that each successive table setup has taken less time. Purchasers of Geo-Hex terrain are advised to buy hex maps (carried by Geo-Hex) to allow for better preparation they really help. Geo-Hex is highly recommended. If the cost is too much for you on an individual basis, try getting your group or club to purchase at least the Basic Set. You really won't regret the investment. The different Geo-Hex sets and prices are listed in an advertisement in this issue and may be purchased directly through the manufacturer or through Stone Mountain Miniatures. It is this reviewer's belief that this product is the best commercially available terrain system and is flexible enough to cover any configuration you could imagine! Back to The Zouave Vol I No. 6 Table of Contents Back to The Zouave List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1987 The American Civil War Society This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com