[Slick]

See, that's the thing. When a kooky theory conflicts with reality, it doesn't need to be argued. Hex map games (board games) have been around since well before your were born and most of them are still around. They sell just fine. They aren't wierd-looking. They are actually more natural looking and they map an area most efficiently for polygonal mapping. This is why you find hex grids in nature, but not square grids (honeycombs, crystal structure; there are many examples). The only thing more efficient is free movement. Yes, of course, these games are desinged for the masses, who else would they be designed for? But are you really trying to say that people wouldn't buy a hex map game because it is "wierd-looking"? Or are you trying to say that programmers fear a creating "weird-looking" product and fear that the "masses" wouldn't like it? That makes no sense at all. If the programmer was so worried about how it looked, he could easily use whichever grid system he chooses and not make the grid viewable, but we don't see that either; most grid games allow turning on the grid.