Thoughts on setting/board design: regions v. hexes

These are the images that J.P. used as reference for Toothless. They are just about perfect for what I have in mind. A europe that is both familiar yet very different works well. My original plan involved hexes but in order to get both the artistic look and strategic feel the hexes just kept getting bigger and bigger till the whole thing was an unwieldy mess. My goal is to make the game feel large not because of the table area taken up but the tough decisions the players will have to make. Regions offer much more of the illusion of freedom, region touches region that defines point of contact but when the border is a wandering line instead of a straight one I think the idea of freedom of movement is heightened. While hexes do offer the flexibility of two sides I find terrain creation to be one of the more tedious aspects of games with hexes. Hexes also offer replayability by changing the setting, it is more interesting to me to change other variables for game play and evoking a strong sense of time and place through map art and design is just more satisfying. Hexes also evoke a certain war game feel, and while this is a game about a war, it is not a war game, if you catch my meaning. Now it may seem like I'm just hating on the hex but ultimately it's just not for me, especially if I have to set it up, or watch some one set it up. That's what computers are good for and when civ five comes out I will welcome those regular intervals with open arms.