"Movement: Inches or Centimeters?" Topic

I just wonder if folks have any preference to using inches, centimeters, or either in their games?

The Metric System was invented by Godless, atheistic regicidal French revolutionary terrorists.
So, I prefer inches.

It kind of depends on rules and ground scale but since I'm OK with Godless French regicides, I'd probaly say 60/40 centimeters to inches.

Usually inches

If you're gonna fight over somethig, better it be an inch then a centimetre!

Like 96% of the world's population, I use centimeters.

Speaking as a Taoist who just finished a snack of brie, I prefer centimeters myself. However, most of the people I game with are nervous about things invented by godless atheistic regicidal revolutionary terrorists or anything that sounds vaguely French, so I usually end up gaming in inches.

C'est le jeu.

Much like The Monstrous Jake but with a touch of hatred of the Imperial units.

x42

I like measuring sticks, then you can use units of 23.9mm if you want … !!

I prefer inches, centimetres are too fiddly. Measuring sticks can help with the latter though.

Depends on the scale. I prefer inches for 28mm and centimetres for 6mm (my two main gaming scales). I think it's GW's fault, because they used inches for 40k/Warhammer and cms for Epic. I'm not really that bothered about it though.

As an American I used to prefer inches; but after nine years in Europe I've found that it's a lot easier working in mm. Although, at 52, I sometimes need to mentally figure out what what the MMs are in inches before it will compute in this old head of mine.

However, I suspect, that wargamers easily go back and forth as required by the rules. In the US I've played games where MMs are used, and in the UK I've played games where inches are used….never heard anyone complain either way.

If your bases are in centimeters, then obviously your movement needs to be in inches (and vice-versa).

Inches and centimeters be damned!

What we need is a return to the tried and trusted cubit.

How far is a farthing? I say we go back to all those cool sounding things such as "Your chassuers may advance up to 6 tuppence after winning a melee."

As a Yank I prefer inches though I'll work with anything if the rules are good, including hand-spans.

Yes why do we base in metric and then use inches for movement? One of those great mysteries of the world that will never be solved. Now go work on your car and you realize all your old sockets dont work because everything is in metric. Very sneaky those foreigners.

Same reason we buy a gallon of milk, but a 2 litre bottle of soda, and then of course a 16 oz bottle of soda.

One more thought here: if you're a game designer and you're trying to do accurate scale calculations, the metric system makes it much easier because you use decimal places instead of fractions.

Measuring 14.3 centimeters is easy. Measuring 14.3 inches takes a bit of head-scratching. Convert it to fractions? Sure, no problem!! Let's see, 5/16 of an inch equals 0.3125…

Being an US-based American and a player of GW- and D&D- related games, most game systems I see use inches.

I have however played some games that use metric (Battlefleet Gothic as I recall) and I remember players noting how refreshing it was that they couldn't intuitively estimate a distance.

I wouldn't say that's a pro or con for either measurement system though. Rather, it's a slam against game systems that require players to estimate actions for units that have fixed movement systems. In better game designs, the uncertainty comes from dice, not players mis-estimating.

Measuring 14.3 centimeters is easy. Measuring 14.3 inches takes a bit of head-scratching. Convert it to fractions? Sure, no problem!! Let's see, 5/16 of an inch equals 0.3125…

To be honest, I've never seen a game where I had to worry about this?

Measuring in centimetres inevitably leads to millimetres…

"Arguing about milimetres" is the ultimate insult for chowderheaded argumentative types. The marks on your ruler are so close together that it inevitably brings out the worst. Milimetres are for those who have tables of the angle of armor slope, armor thickness and alloy hardening.

Inches are friendlier, although I do tend to favor a hand-span as a suitable substitute for a 6 inch infantry move. Sure, you can stretch your fingers out to stretch your move, but that will lead to arthritis, and serves you right.

Pat writes:

To be honest, I've never seen a game where I had to worry about this?

Naval miniatures with time scales of two or three minutes per turn.

If you round off, it makes movement measuring easier, but you lose the distinctions between ships that did 11 knots and ships that did 13 knots, which sometimes made a difference in the real thing.

John writes:

Milimetres are for those who have tables of the angle of armor slope, armor thickness and alloy hardening.

That would be me!

Yes, I know.

I have provided both options for all my rules dating back to the 1980s.

Go here.

link

a fantastic site, a work one day we gave all the carpenters (who are generally fluent in imperial and metric) some measurements in fathoms and angstroms….they weren't amused

Milimetres work the best for our group. As a 'quickie' we also use base/stand depths.

"I just wonder if folks have any preference to using inches, centimeters, or either in their games?"

Hexes.

I prefer all measurements to be in hides, hectares, furlongs, rods, or leagues. Both inches and centimeters are o.k. as second choice.

I prefer attoparsecs myself. Otherwise I really don't care I swap between metric and imperial constantly in both real life and gaming. Generally, if I want a "close enough" measurement I use imperial, but if I want either a more precise measurement or I want to do calculations on it I use metric. At work I tend to use pixels or twips.

Inches for 28mm, and 20mm. Millimeters for smaller scales (like 12mm-10mm).

I find it quite curious that inches are still used. Is it
because most rule writers are getting on a bit or
their advantages that I'v missed? A poll would giv
some idea of what players, as opposed to rule writers
prefer.

Tho I'd prefer centermeters it would never affect my
assessment of a rule set by a milimeter.

Inches. Sometimes feet, or yards even depending on the game.
The metric system as a whole is stupid.

I can't see anything under an inch.

The advantage of an inch is that it keeps the numbers a lot smaller (by 60%) What I've never understood is those (Arty Conliffe) who give base sizes of 1 1/8 inches. An EIGHTH? I intend to do 30mm bases from now on for Peter Pig games, and use them for Conliffe's rules- only 1.5mm to big.

Of course Full Thrust gives Movement Units- use what you like. An idea I have adopted to get Inch based games into smaller spaces.

I prefer hexes ! a universal measurement.

I prefer hexes ! a universal measurement

Four inch hexes that is ;-)

Metric all the way!

- Greg

I like metric for everyday use.

But if I'm playing on a table top I like to use inches, inches just the right size to make a difference.

And the advantage of the imperial system is its nice simple numbers. You don't have to measure .25 or .75 usually if a game uses imperial.

12 is a better number than 10 for gaming.

1/2 of 12 is 6 thats ok
1/2 of 10 is 5 thats ok

1/3 of 12 is 4 thats ok
1/3 of 10 is 3.33 which is horrible

1/4 of 12 is 3 which is ok
1/4 of 10 is 2.5 which is ok but not as nice as an integer.

Sorry, all the discussion of inches and 'measuring sticks' just really put a bad, bad, *bad* mental image in my head..

It really doesn't matter. I'd have said inches until I found a metric tape measure for a buck at a Chinese department store in New York. Now either system is convenient. When I did research I happily worked in metric by day and in "normal" for home projects. It's like being bilingual.

I prefer the imperial measurement system in historicals, like the Old West, Dark Ages, Pulp (1930s). Inches, feet, and miles seem to fit those genres better. There's just something jarring about hearing a player say, "I grab my sawed-off shotgun, put on my Stetson and then ride my horse five klicks to the nearest town to get the Sheriff."

I also prefer to use metric for modern military or Sci-Fi. Again, it just seems to blend better with the genre to hear a player say, "I move my sub-light crusers 150 centimeters toward the Varger armada before opening fire."

Just something to think about…

Personally, I liked to quote distances in metres/yards/paces rather than inches or mm. Then produce a measuring stick in balsa or laminated paper/card to use over the table. I never allowed my bunch of 'all thumbed' players to dangle those heavy metal tape measures over a table covered in my fragile figures and terrain.

Also – I think it keeps players better focused on the tactical situation if you tell them they are firing at a range of 120m rather than 12cm.

As for the metric/imperial argument it's certainly true that imperial measurements are more humanistic and easier to work with by instinct. Divisibility by 12 is handy sometimes too, though if you are using a measuring stick for movement, say, then it can be divided into halves/thirds before play or by folding it.