Thematically I think the hex resolution works on something where a characters decisions are always going to be constrained. Political intrigue comes to mind. Or a theme where the characters have a destiny or other determinant fate and the hex explores working with and against that tension.
I think it would be interesting if every time you moved your pawn to a new tile the other tiles that are no longer adjacent get shuffled, and perhaps flipped. If a flipped tile does not get used next, it becomes a “complete failure” tile. This would avoid going back and forth between two good choices as they would cause other tiles to become failures. Characters could use a resource to clear flipped tiles.
Another way to tweak this would be giving and receiving tiles from the other players at the table. Or mechanics that remove tiles from play or set amount of turns.
If the arrangement of the hexes is random, and the roll is also random to see which direction you move when moving from one hex to another, I think the meaning may all but disappear—at least, when treating this as a generic resolution mechanic. However, it could be interesting as a battle resolution mechanic. Every fight has its own tactical landscape, so you could come up with valid narrative reasons why the hexes are randomly arranged: why a triumph, say, isn’t easily available when one has just used a certain move or tactic. That might work best when the tiles are flavored with broad descriptions of battle moves or tactics. Having said that, I still think resolution mechanics should be humble and get off stage as quickly as they can, so players can get back to the fiction. But there’s a concise limning of a tactical game-space in these hexes, and I’ll be thinking more about it. Thanks for bringing it up!
Thematically I think the hex resolution works on something where a characters decisions are always going to be constrained. Political intrigue comes to mind. Or a theme where the characters have a destiny or other determinant fate and the hex explores working with and against that tension.
I think it would be interesting if every time you moved your pawn to a new tile the other tiles that are no longer adjacent get shuffled, and perhaps flipped. If a flipped tile does not get used next, it becomes a “complete failure” tile. This would avoid going back and forth between two good choices as they would cause other tiles to become failures. Characters could use a resource to clear flipped tiles.
Another way to tweak this would be giving and receiving tiles from the other players at the table. Or mechanics that remove tiles from play or set amount of turns.
If the arrangement of the hexes is random, and the roll is also random to see which direction you move when moving from one hex to another, I think the meaning may all but disappear—at least, when treating this as a generic resolution mechanic. However, it could be interesting as a battle resolution mechanic. Every fight has its own tactical landscape, so you could come up with valid narrative reasons why the hexes are randomly arranged: why a triumph, say, isn’t easily available when one has just used a certain move or tactic. That might work best when the tiles are flavored with broad descriptions of battle moves or tactics. Having said that, I still think resolution mechanics should be humble and get off stage as quickly as they can, so players can get back to the fiction. But there’s a concise limning of a tactical game-space in these hexes, and I’ll be thinking more about it. Thanks for bringing it up!