# Area movement

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{{Short description|Game mechanic used in board games}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox game
| name = Area movement
| date = {{Start date and age|1981}}
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'''Area movement''' is a [game mechanic](/source/game_mechanic) used in a [board game](/source/board_game). While most [parlor games](/source/parlor_games) and the like have 'areas' of the board to move in, the term is used (particularly in [wargaming](/source/wargaming)) for those boards that represent a geographical area, but do not use a regular [grid](/source/hex_map) (usually of hexes or squares).

Area movement is a common feature in lighter wargames and some mass-market games, such as ''[Axis and Allies](/source/Axis_and_Allies)'', ''[War at Sea](/source/War_at_Sea)'' and ''[Risk](/source/Risk_(game))''.

Area movement breaks the terrain up and presents them as regions or areas, which are usually assumed to be completely controlled by one side. As such, they may only be an abstract administrative region, but often have borders conforming to natural obstacles such as mountain ranges or rivers. Movement is generally regulated by the number of areas a unit may move at one time, and the fact that movement can only occur through connected (adjacent) areas.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Games |first=Bombard |date=2023-03-05 |title=Board Game Mechanics - Area Movement |url=https://bombardgames.com/board-game-mechanics-area-movement/ |access-date=2024-02-16 |website=Bombard Games |language=en-US}}</ref>

A variation of this mechanic is ''point-to-point'' movement. In some cases this is just area movement with a central point and the legal paths defined, instead of defining the region, as in ''[Napoleon](/source/Napoleon_(board_game))''. In others it is actually used where the ''means'' of movement is important as in ''[A House Divided](/source/A_House_Divided_(board_game))''.

The only difference between these two forms of movement is the nature of their movements; where regular ''area movement'' is grid aligned and ''point-to-point'' is isomorphic.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Area Movement {{!}} Board Game Mechanic {{!}} BoardGameGeek |url=https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamemechanic/2046/area-movement |access-date=2024-02-16 |website=boardgamegeek.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

The first more serious [simulation game](/source/Simulation_video_game) to feature this type of movement was ''[Storm Over Arnhem](/source/Storm_Over_Arnhem)'' released in [1981](/source/1981_in_games) by [Avalon Hill](/source/Avalon_Hill). Games directly copying this system included ''[Thunder at Cassino](/source/Thunder_at_Cassino)'' and ''[Turning Point: Stalingrad](/source/Turning_Point%3A_Stalingrad)'', both also published by Avalon Hill. A more recent example is ''[Monty's Gamble: Market Garden](/source/Monty's_Gamble%3A_Market_Garden)'' released in 2003 by [Multi-Man Publishing](/source/Multi-Man_Publishing).

==References==
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Category:Board game terminology

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Area movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_movement) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_movement?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.