From the home screen, choose Single Player and start a new match. The setup screen lets you configure faction, opponents, map, terrain, and difficulty independently.

• Faction: Pick Canada. It is the most forgiving faction for a first game — +2 accuracy on every unit (your shots actually land), foot units pay only 1 movement in forests (instead of 2), Canadian engineers repair structures at 40% per action (the highest in the game), and your owned cities auto-repair 10% per turn. The only weakness is +20% on jet/helicopter cost — and a beginner shouldn't lean on air units anyway.
• Opponents: Set the match to 1v1 with a single AI opponent.
• AI Difficulty: Easy. Easy AI doesn't use ultimates strategically and won't punish small mistakes. You will not learn anything by getting steamrolled on Hard.
• Map size: Small (around 10×10) or Medium. Larger maps stretch first matches into long sessions.
• Map type: Standard or Continents. Stay off Archipelago for now — you have not learned naval rules yet.
• Terrain density: Medium. Low maps feel empty; High maps clutter your line of sight before you understand vision rules.
• Victory condition: Leave it on the default, HQ Takeover.
• Map Lock: Click it. This commits the map seed so you're playing the battlefield you just configured.

Every tile is a hexagon with three numbers that matter: defense bonus (added to a unit's DEF when it sits there), dodge bonus (added to dodge%, which reduces incoming hit chance), and movement cost (which varies by unit type). Click any tile to see its full info in the side panel.

The other rule that bites beginners: movement cost is not a single number per tile — it depends on which unit is moving. A forest costs an Infantry 2 movement points but is completely impassable to a Tank. A mountain costs Infantry 3 MP but blocks Tanks and Anti-Air entirely.

*UK infantry/recon may wade through water at cost 3. Canada subtracts 1 from forest movement. Australia caps mountain cost at 2.

Before deployment, you spend a faction-specific gold budget on a starting army. Most factions can draft up to 8 units. UK is capped at 7 and New Zealand at 6 (and NZ has a permanent 6-unit alive cap, even mid-match). Specialist units (Bomber, Sniper, Mortar, Paratrooper, naval, PsyOps, Nuclear) usually get held back for city production where mid-match income offsets their high cost.

Core unit costs to plan against: Infantry 400g, Recon 450g, Anti-Air 525g, Artillery 650g, Tank 800g, Helicopter 900g, Engineer 900g, Jet 1,050g. Unspent budget converts to starting gold (plus a 200g base) to spend on production once the match begins.

For a first match, draft a balanced core:

• 1 Recon (450g) — non-negotiable. Recon has 4 vision (vs. 2 for most units), is invisible to enemies unless they're adjacent (Ghost passive), and ignores forest movement penalties. The Field Manual is explicit: "Always draft at least one Recon."
• 2 Infantry (400g each) — your line. Cheap, terrain-loving, and they get the Entrench passive (+3 DEF and +10 dodge while stationary). Park them on forests and mountains.
• 1 Tank (800g) — your hammer. Tanks have Armor Plating (the first hit each turn takes -2 damage, minimum 1) which makes them excellent at absorbing chip damage. Plan their routes along plains and desert.
• 1 Anti-Air (525g) — sky cover. AA auto-fires at any air unit moving within range 2 on the enemy's turn (Russia and India: 3). Place it centrally so its coverage reaches your front and rear.
• 1 Engineer (900g) if your budget allows — or save the slot and produce one from a city later. Engineers heal adjacent friendlies +1 HP per turn (Canada: +2), repair damaged structures, and build forward camps.

You can place your drafted units on any free hex within 2 hexes of any owned HQ or city. Where you place each unit type matters as much as which units you drafted.

• Infantry on forest or mountain. Forest gives +2 DEF and +10 dodge. Mountain gives +3 DEF. Stationary infantry also Entrench for another +3 DEF and +10 dodge. Never start an infantry on plains.
• Tank on plains or desert. Tank can't move into forest or mountain anyway, so place it where it has running room.
• Artillery behind your line, on a hill if available. Range 2–5 means it shoots over your front. Note: artillery has a minimum range of 2 — it cannot fire at adjacent hexes.
• Anti-Air central. One AA covers a 4-hex circle (range 2 reaction fire on either side). Centralize so its coverage reaches both your push and your rear.
• Recon on a forward edge, pointed at the enemy. Recon's Ghost passive means the enemy can't see them unless adjacent — let them slip ahead, expose enemy positions, and don't worry about losing them.
• Engineer near your HQ. They radiate Field Medic (+1 HP per turn to adjacent friendlies) and they're your insurance policy for repairing your HQ and cities later.

HexArmy is turn-based. Each turn, your units have a fixed movement budget (most have 3 MP). Here is the rule that catches every new player:

Two exceptions to the rule:

• Tank Blitz ultimate — resets movement and grants two attacks the same turn. The only ability that fully overrides the rule.
• Assault Veteran Infantry — infantry that take the Assault promotion at Veteran rank can attack with 0 MP remaining (one attack per turn). The only promotion that breaks the rule.

The rule applies to AI too — an enemy that walks all the way across the map cannot then punch you at the end. Use this when positioning your line.

Standard turn order:

Useful keys: Tab cycles through your units that can still act. Right-click a unit to put it to sleep so Tab skips it (it auto-wakes when an enemy enters its vision). ESC deselects.

When you initiate an attack, the game previews the expected outcome before you confirm. Read it. If the math is bad, reposition and try again next turn.

Two rolls happen on every attack: a to-hit roll and a damage calculation.

Hit% = Attacker ACC + Faction ACC + Matchup ACC
  − Defender DGE − Faction DGE − Terrain Dodge − Passive Dodge
Floor 10% · Cap 98%

Damage = ATK × (currentHP / maxHP) × Effectiveness × Flank
  − (DEF + Terrain DEF + Faction DEF + Fortify DEF) × 0.35

Flanking is the second-most-important habit to build. Where you attack from matters:

The defender's flank is determined by the line from their position to their own HQ. Attack from the side or rear of that line — the multiplier applies regardless of how many other units are pinning the target. The defender's facing is fixed by HQ position, not by which units are adjacent.

Counter-attacks only happen on melee (range 1). If a defender survives a melee attack, they fire back at 50% ATK. Ranged attacks (range 2 or more) never trigger a counter. Suppressed defenders (hit by artillery the previous turn) cannot counter and have −1 MOV.

Advance after kill: Melee units (foot, tracked, vehicle) automatically advance into a hex they just emptied with a kill. This can chain into a capture if the killed unit was holding a neutral structure or a damaged enemy structure (HP at 0).

Every unit has one job. Asking a unit to do another unit's job loses the matchup multiplier and usually loses the unit. Memorize this once and combat decisions become automatic.

Specialist units (typically produced from cities mid-match): Sniper (foot only, 92% ACC, 2x from forests), Mortar (needs a Recon spotter), Bomber (+50% vs cities/naval/vehicles, can't hit air), Submarine (Dive: invisible 2 turns), Paratrooper (immune to AA, airdrop within 8 hexes), PsyOps (decoy units + Phantom Signal fake chatter), Nuclear (3,500g, 30 dmg AoE, self-destructs).

Structures are how you generate income, produce reinforcements, and ultimately win. Five types matter:

• HQ — your main base. +4 DEF, +5 dodge. Generates 150g/turn (UK: 175g). Loss = match over (default victory condition).
• City — capturable. +3 DEF, +5 dodge. Generates 100g/turn (Canada and China: 150g). Produces units. Coastal cities can produce naval.
• FOB (Forward Operating Base) — built by an Engineer on plains or forest. +2 DEF, +5 dodge, 2-tile vision. Produces ground units. No income.
• FAB (Forward Air Base) — built on plains. Same defense as FOB. Produces air units (jets, helicopters, paratroopers).
• Port — built on plains adjacent to water. Produces naval units, which spawn directly in the port hex.

Capture rules:

• Neutral cities: walk a ground unit onto them — instant capture. No multi-turn timer.
• Enemy cities: first reduce the city's HP to 0 (with attacks or bombardment), then move a ground unit onto the empty hex.
• Air units cannot capture. Only ground units (foot, tracked, vehicle) can.
• On capture, the city's HP is fully restored and any old defense is removed. New Zealand: capture also heals adjacent friendly units.

Damaged structures earn proportionally less and cost more to produce from. A city at 60% HP earns 60g/turn instead of 100g, AND adds 60% to all unit costs built there. Always repair damaged structures before producing high-value units.

Engineer camp construction: An engineer can build a FOB, FAB, or Port. The engineer is consumed by the construction — do not build until you've already gotten value out of that engineer's medic and repair work, and you can afford to lose them.

Garrisons are buyable defenders attached to a structure. They auto-counter-attack adjacent enemies. City garrison: 525g (4 ATK, 70% ACC). HQ garrison: 800g (6 ATK, 75% ACC). FOB/FAB/Port garrison: 400g. USA gets a 20% discount on city defense purchases. Iran: every captured city automatically gets a free garrison.

You only see what your units see. The enemy is moving in fog the same way you are.

Your HQ and cities act as 2-tile watchtowers. Standing on a desert tile gives any unit +1 vision range. Recon and PsyOps units are invisible to enemies unless an enemy is adjacent — they can slip behind lines undetected.

Recon Deep Scan (CD 3 turns; NZ ready turn 1; China CD 2): reveals an 8-hex directional corridor for one turn. Choose the scan direction by clicking an adjacent tile.

Units that survive combat earn promotions through three ranks. Each rank is gated by an OR condition — whichever path triggers first promotes the unit.

At Veteran and Specialist, you pick between two specialization options. Commander is fixed — it grants a passive aura.

• Veteran: minor stat tweaks. E.g. infantry chooses Hardened (+2 DEF, +1 HP) or Assault (+2 ATK, +1 HP, attack with 0 MP).
• Specialist: major specialization that can redefine the unit. E.g. infantry chooses Fortifier (+5 DEF, +10 HP) or Storm Trooper (+4 ATK, +1 range).
• Commander: projects an aura that buffs all friendly units of the same class (ground / air / naval) within 2 hexes.

HexArmy supports five victory conditions, set per match in the setup screen. HQ Takeover is the default.

The enemy wins under the same rules. Your HQ is the most important hex on the map. Garrison it (800g, +4 DEF + garrison counter-attacks). If the enemy ever gets adjacent to it, drop everything and dislodge them.

Once you have beaten the Easy AI on a small map, push your skills upward:

Suggested progression: beat Medium AI on a Medium map → try a different faction (Russia for cheap mass, UK for elite play, Iran for flank-and-burn, India for mountain warfare) → try multi-AI (1v2 or 1v3 free-for-all) → climb the ranked PvP ladder when you can consistently beat Hard.