Fog of War defaults to the entire map obscured. GMs must decide which areas they specifically want to reveal. If Fog of War was turned on, unless you use the reveal tool to show specific areas, the entire map will be in darkness for everybody, regardless of any other settings. Here are some ways of thinking of the three systems metaphorically, as if you were using a physical map with human players all around a real table. Your map has little walls that physically stick up: Think of Fog of War as a big sheet of black paper over your map, that you cut holes through to reveal parts. For Dynamic Lighting , think of all the players being in a dark room. You can set little lights on the map in areas you want them to see, but only if you explicitly give them permission to open their eyes. Since the little lights are sitting on the table, they can't shine through any walls you have set up. For Advanced Fog of War , imagine that the players have a camera they can use to photograph areas they have seen, but for some reason, the camera cannot photograph any of the minis on the board.