In GURPS 1 hex = 3′. When printed for tactical combat 1 hex is 1″. Between the different Types of hexes I chose a 7 hex system (7″) because that was the largest hex tile I could fit on both A4 and US letter paper. It also has a full hex in the center, middle edge and corners.So I wanted to come up with a unit of measurement where as you zoom out each hex would represent a series of 7. However I’m not that great at naming. I want more than just made up words for each unit of measurement. Have a look at Musings on DragonQuest: Mapping as he came up with the same conclusion as I did. However he used logic where I used trial and error. Logic is a bit more efficient.

• 1/2 hex = 1.5′ or 1 pic
• 1 hex = 3′ or 1 step (1:1 Ratio)
• 1 hex = 21′ or 1 Rope (1:7 Ratio) also 1 Battle Tile
• 1 hex = 147′ or 1 Slingshot (1:49 Ratio) maximum distance of a sling used more for skirmish maps
• 1 hex = 1,029′ or Bowshot (1:343 Ratio) Overview of an area like village or small town
• 1 hex = 7,203′ or Mile (1.3 mi/2.1 km) (1:2,401 Ratio) Used for surrounding areas around a town.Possible for very large cities.
• 1 hex = 50,421′ or Rast (9.5 mi/15 km) (1:7,203 Ratio) appropriate distance to ride a horse at a trot before rest. Regional maps for shires, baronies, etc.
• 1 hex = 352,947′ or 3 Cycles (67 mi/107 km) (1:50,421 Ratio) 1 Cycle is a days walk. Maps of countries.
• 1 hex = 2,470,629′ or 20 cycles (467 mi/753 km) (1:352,947 Ratio) World Maps

I’m still not sold on the names of the units and they would probably be different for underground exploration. Any suggestions would be welcome.

The whole point of this is to map consecutively. That way like Google Maps you could theoretically zoom in one layer after another until you get down to the individual battle maps. The names could just be Hex 1, Hex 2, etc. and it is more for convenience of the cartographer/GM then anything the players HAVE to use.

Anyways that is my musing for a 12 hour work shift with nothing to do at all!