Tabletop Map Scale Calculator
Turn real-world distances into hexes, grid squares, and travel times for your campaign maps. Pick a system, enter a number, and get instant results.
Scale Converter
Enter the real-world distance or area you want to convert.
Choose a preset or define your own scale below.
Results
Travel Time Estimates
Based on your input of 10 miles at 6 miles/hex.
Times assume clear terrain and good weather. Difficult terrain, storms, or heavy gear can double these estimates.
Common Scale Systems
Different RPG systems and mapping styles use different scales. Here is a quick reference for popular setups.
| System | Scale | Use Case | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| D&D 5e Wilderness | 6 miles/hex | Regional/overworld maps | 1 hex = 1 day's travel on foot |
| D&D 5e Battle Map | 5 ft/square | Dungeon/encounter maps | Standard grid for tactical combat |
| Pathfinder Kingdom | 12 miles/hex | Kingdom-scale maps | Larger hexes for big campaigns |
| OSR Wilderness | 6 miles/hex | Hex crawls | Often 24-mile hexes for large regions |
| Traveller | 1,000 km/hex | Subsector maps | Science fiction interstellar mapping |
| Wargame | 100 m/hex | Tactical battle maps | Historical and fantasy wargaming |
| City Scale | 100 ft/square | Urban encounter maps | Detailed city and building layouts |
Mapping Tips & Common Mistakes
Choosing the Right Scale
Match your hex size to the scope of your campaign. A continent-spanning epic needs large hexes (12+ miles). A local adventure works better with smaller ones (1-3 miles). If your players will explore most of the map, smaller hexes give you more detail to work with.
Diagonal Movement
Moving diagonally across a hex grid covers more ground than moving in a straight line. The calculator accounts for this with a diagonal adjustment. If your rules treat diagonal movement as the same cost as straight movement, use the straight-line result instead.
Area Conversions
When converting areas, remember that a 10-mile square region is not the same as 10 square miles. The calculator handles this correctly, but double-check whether you are measuring a side length or a total area before entering your value.
Travel Time Reality
Raw travel times are a starting point. Add time for rest stops, foraging, getting lost, and encounters. A 5-hour walk might take a full 8-hour adventuring day when you account for breaks. Bad weather or mountain paths can double travel time.
Paper vs Digital Maps
If you are drawing on physical hex paper, count your hexes before committing to a scale. A standard sheet of 6-mile hex paper holds about 15 hexes across, which gives you a 90-mile-wide map. Plan your campaign region to fit your available paper.
Scale Consistency
Pick one scale for your overworld map and stick with it. Mixing scales (like using 6-mile hexes for one region and 12-mile hexes for another) creates confusion when players try to estimate distances. If you need different detail levels, make separate maps.
Why This Exists
Every game master who builds a campaign map faces the same problem: how big should things be? You know the distance between two cities is about 150 miles in the real world, but how many hexes is that? And how long would it take your party to walk it?
This calculator removes the guesswork. It handles the math so you can focus on what matters: placing interesting locations, planning encounters, and building a world your players want to explore. The travel time estimates help you set realistic expectations for journey pacing without flipping through rulebooks.
Whether you are sketching a quick dungeon on graph paper or building a full campaign atlas, accurate scale makes your map feel real. Your players will notice when distances and travel times make sense.