How to Check AI Battle Maps for Playable Paths
A simple route test catches map defects that visual polish hides.
A playable AI battle map must answer basic questions without the game master inventing missing geometry. Before publishing a generated map, conduct a short route test.
Trace movement
Mark every entrance and exit. Starting from each entrance, trace at least two routes to the main encounter area. If a route unexpectedly stops at rubble, a decorative wall, or an impossible gap, repair the map. Check that doors open onto floors and stairs land where they appear to land. On a bridge map, verify that both banks have a usable approach.
Audit scale and tactical choices
Choose a representative token size. At that scale, can one figure pass through narrow places? Is there enough room around cover for the intended fight? Identify at least two meaningful choices, such as a safe long route and a risky shortcut. If all paths have identical exposure, the map is decorative rather than tactically interesting.
Review the image at two sizes
At normal play size, distinguish traversable floor, cover, hazards, and height changes. At full size, inspect repeated props, grid drift, false shadows, and terrain that merges into walls. Keep any labels in a separate editable layer so spelling and placement can be corrected. Save an original without labels or grid as well as the play version. That makes the same map useful for different tabletop systems.