Why did it have to be hexes?

[Elbows]

^It's also the worst Gladiator game I've played. 

[smokezombie]

Haha. Really? I've got the rules but have never played them. There is so much differing opinion as to which glad rules are the best its hard to choose one.

[Elbows]

I like several gladiator rules sets, but Red Sand Blue Sky was...really terribly boring.  Now I've only played them once, and maybe digging into them and changing them up might work, but it was really quite bad. 

Wasn't a huge fan of Victus either (I think that's the name) but it was a bit confusing.  Might be salvageable.  Currently I prefer BOTS and then Arena Games is good fun when you want to run a bunch of gladiators around the ring at the same time.

[NickNascati]

I've yet to find a Gladiator game yet that wasn't just die rolling.

[Elbows]

Try Jugula?  It's just cards. 

[smokezombie]

Lol. Ahhh guys, your killing it for me. 

[maxxon]

I've yet to find a Gladiator game yet that wasn't just die rolling.

Yes, it is a difficult subject.

Man-to-Man (predecessor to GURPS) is probably the best game for duels I know of, though even that is not without its problems. But it does have sensible tactical movement, and not the "exploit flaws in initiative system to do a runaround attack" stuff most rules suffer from. Sadly hex-based, but could be converted.

Then there was that Flintloque dueling game, aptly named The Duel. Again, not without problems and not a whole lot of movement involved.

[Elbows]

The problem is the subject matter.  There is no easy way to put the complex nature of a bad-breath-distance fight between two human-sized opponents onto a map with dice.  We're asking an awful lot without the use of a computer or random algorithms/AI etc.

Hexes are simply the most useful movement system outside of measuring inches (which unfortunately becomes very vague and can be abused...particularly angles and turning).  I suppose you could develop a system like the very popular Wings of War/X-Wing game mechanic using simple cards/rulers.

Personally I think there are a lot of ways to do it - but none of them will be easy.  Before falling in love with BOTS, I was myself, planning to work on a gladiator game.  I was going to use hexes, but use card decks for maneuvers...players secretly selecting maneuvers and revealing them simultaneously.

If you don't like hexes there are plenty of ways to subdue the look without being ridiculous.  Personally a game like gladiators in 28mm I'm fine with a more board-game style approach.  I'd never use hex bases on anything else, but for a small game I'm okay with it.

[maxxon]

The problem is the subject matter.  There is no easy way to put the complex nature of a bad-breath-distance fight between two human-sized opponents onto a map with dice. 

There are two very difficult subjects for miniatures gaming: duels and dogfights. Both due to movement but for opposing reasons.

Dogfights are difficult because they are all about positioning and this suits the discrete movement systems of most games very badly. And no, I don't find the X-Wing system ideal either. It gives too little to react to but that's getting off-topic.

The problem with duels is that there really is relatively little meaningful movement. This makes the game look boring and seem like just rolling dice.

Look at sport fencing -- with environmental factors (i.e. terrain) removed, movement in a duel is essentially a one-dimensional affair: all that matters is distance to the opponent. Long range ship to ship combat can get this way too, but again getting off topic.

Rolling high on init to run around your opponent and stabbing him in the back just does not happen in a real duel. Unfortunately in many games the only attack bonus you can get is "rear attack", so the rules make the players constantly try this inane tactic, and due to flaws in init/move system it might actually work reinforcing the idiocy.

MtM/GURPS is fairly good. E.g. you get a defense bonus if you retreat a hex while defending. On flat ground it doesn't mean a whole lot, but with terrain a better fighter can actually pressure his opponent "to the ropes".

It's built on hexes, but could be fairly easily converted into something that uses displacement by one base. It has other problems, but the movement system actually works.