Do I need to describe the beauty, convenience, and value of HexTech to you at this point? Of course not. I think HexTech has long since conquered the hearts of BattleTech players with its fully painted and ready-to-play terrain that fits neatly onto your hex-based game boards or playmats. But the great minds at Gale Force 9 and Thunderhead Studios keep coming up with new products, so we’re once again here to talk about their latest and greatest.
Now in its ninth wave, HexTech brings some long-requested terrain pieces. First, we have the Trinity City Fortress and Energy Walls. The Fortress Walls are stone-textured with what look like metal braces, tiny portholes, and lookout points where you could (theoretically) place the tiniest of infantry to fire down at advancing armies. The walls also have ‘Mech-sized gates that snap into place to form an impregnable wall—at least until you shoot it open anyway.
The Fortress Energy Walls are quite similar, but instead of stone walls, you’ve got blue energy fields. These are represented by plastic rectangles that neatly slot into place to cover several hexes. The gates can likewise swap their metal doors for blue forcefields. You can mix and match these wall pieces as they all use the same hook-and-hole system to stay in place as you put them on the board.
Just about the only complaint we had during testing was there weren’t quite enough corner pieces to make the fortress we had in mind. There are certainly enough in each box to make an enclosed space, but anything more complex than a square or a small hexagon will require multiple purchases.
Next up, Rivers & Lakes! As the name implies, you’ll get 22 fully painted pieces representing small streams and ponds. Some bend, some fork, and some terminate in a small pool that would likely be great to surround with marsh weed and mangroves. As always, each piece is beautifully painted and textured.
You’ll notice here that the streams never grow larger than a single hex, and the lakes are also relatively small—don’t expect a fight over the Mississippi Delta here. On the other hand, the lakes all have little marks outlining hexes so you won’t lose track of where your units are as they head into the water. I’d consider each lake to have a depth level of one, but you’ll have to negotiate that with your players.
And finally, we arrive at Trinity City Highway Exits & Tunnels. These road pieces are designed to represent larger thoroughfares that then branch off into smaller roads or head underground. The two tunnel exits/entrances are basically gates that terminate in a metal wall that angles downward to represent an underground transition. Sadly, HexTech hasn’t yet put out a product that will give you a second underground layer to your play table just yet.
The tunnel pieces pair extremely well with the rivers and lakes as you can represent civilian traversal through an underground traffic tunnel instead of an aboveground bridge (although, bridges would be a really cool thing to include in future HexTech waves). They also allow for greater complexity and realism in your urban landscapes, especially when paired with the various Trinity City buildings (as you can plainly see below).
HexTech Wave Nine should be in stores and available online now. Here’s the list of what’s new:
- Trinity City Fortress Walls
- Trinity City Energy Walls
- Rivers & Lakes
- Trinity City Exits & Tunnels
Gale Force 9 and Thunderhead Studios sent me samples for review. I am now becoming somewhat overburdened by terrain pieces, but that just means I’ll need to find furniture to throw away in favor of sweet sweet BattleTech terrain. Who needs a bed when you’ve got fully painted rivers and walls?
And as always, MechWarriors: Stay Syrupy.
