The chessboard combines the advantages of playing on a small space, portability, and using a grid. Some special rules are needed to avoid confusion. For example, no diagonal movements are allowed. Critics will say this is not realistic, but no tabletop war game is perfectly realistic.
In my opinion, One Hour Wargames rules lend themselves to a chessboard because they involve a small number of units. Games that adhere to the rule book have three to six units per side. Only four types of units are available for each era, which helps to avoid confusion on a small surface.
One possible problem with a chessboard, for me, is fitting 54 mm figures into the squares. An obvious solution is to use figures with round bases. What comes to mind? Chess pieces. Thematic chess sets are available that are sufficiently detailed so as to use them as soldiers without having to stretch your imagination too far. You need figures that have faces so that you know which way they are facing. Medieval sets, for example, can be found that have knights riding horses instead of just a horse’s head. Men-at-arms can be found that look like armored infantrymen should look. Archers are more difficult, but I have obtained a pair of them. In fact, a pewter painted knight chess piece is less expensive than a similar figure sold for the war-gaming market.
The two pictures shown below represent two armies. Both are composed of partial Roxy chess sets purchased from ebay except for the archers. The gray pieces are William Wallace's army. It is composed of six units: one mounted knight, one archer, and four commoners. The commoners have armor because they took it from dead English men-at-arms.
The other picture is the English army. Six black chess pieces represent six units: three mounted knights, one archer and two men-at-arms.
Painted chess pieces would be more attractive and are available from chess set vendors as "replacements" but nothing stops us from buying individual figures for our own purposes.
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