Hex Grid
Free Printable Hex Grid Paper PDF Generator
Hex grid paper tiles the page with hexagons — every cell has six identical neighbours, which makes it cleaner than a square grid for tabletop games, hex-and-chit wargames, and organic chemistry structures.
When printing, set scaling to Actual Size / 100% / No Scaling. "Fit to Page" will distort the measurements.
210.0 × 297.0 mm preview
About hex grid paper
A hexagonal tiling is the most efficient regular tiling of the plane in which every cell has the same number of equidistant neighbours. Squares give you four orthogonal neighbours and four diagonal ones at a different distance; triangles give you three close neighbours and a more awkward six at a longer distance. Hexagons resolve this by giving you exactly six neighbours, all of them sharing a full edge with the central cell, all of them at the same centre-to-centre distance.
When to use it
The first widespread use of hex grids in wargaming was Charles S. Roberts' Gettysburg (1958), which set the convention for the genre. Today, most serious historical and abstract wargames use hex grids for the same reason: there are no awkward diagonal moves, and units have an unambiguous range. Outside gaming, hex grids show up in organic chemistry (benzene and other aromatic rings), urban planning (street networks designed to minimise dead-ends), and any place a designer wants the visual rhythm of equilateral connectivity rather than a square one.
Choosing the orientation
Pointy-top hexes (a vertex at the top of each cell) suit wargames where movement is mostly east–west and units are conceived as facing one of six directions. Flat-top hexes (a flat edge at the top of each cell) suit dungeon and region maps where the dominant axis is up–down and rooms or territories align more comfortably with vertical neighbours. Either works for chemistry diagrams; flat-top is closer to the canonical benzene-ring rendering.
Hex size and density
The size setting is the edge length of one hexagon — from one vertex to the next. Roughly: 8–10 mm for region-scale strategic maps, 15–20 mm for miniature wargames at 28 mm scale, 25 mm and up for tile-laying board games. Below 6 mm the grid starts losing legibility on home printers.
Printing accurately
Print at Actual Size / 100% / No Scaling. Hex grids have to be uniformly scaled in both axes or the hexagons distort into elongated shapes that no longer tile properly. Auto-fit does not preserve the aspect ratio of every hex, only the page outline.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between pointy-top and flat-top hexagons?
Pointy-top hexagons have a vertex at the top and the bottom — they look like they are standing on a point. Flat-top hexagons have a flat edge at the top and bottom — they look like a stop sign tipped on its side. Both are mathematically equivalent (just rotated 30°), but they suit different uses. Wargames usually use pointy-top because units conventionally face left/right; D&D maps often use flat-top because rooms read more naturally when their grids are aligned to up/down/left/right axes.
What hex size should I use for a tabletop wargame?
15–20 mm edges suit miniatures around the standard 25–28 mm scale (one figure per hex, with room for a base). 10 mm edges are denser and work for skirmish games or RPG region maps. For Settlers of Catan-style board games at table scale, 25–30 mm edges give clearly distinct tiles.
Why hexagons rather than squares?
Two reasons. First, every hexagon has exactly six neighbours, all at the same distance — there is no diagonal-versus-orthogonal asymmetry like there is on a square grid. That makes movement and range calculations cleaner. Second, hexagons tessellate at three different directions, which suits both flat strategic maps and organic shapes like coastlines or chemical structures.
Can I use this paper for organic chemistry?
Yes. The flat-top orientation with 12–15 mm hexes maps cleanly to benzene rings and other six-membered rings used throughout organic chemistry. Use a lighter line colour so your structures stand out, and a 15 mm hex size gives enough room for atom labels at each vertex.
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