Building a Table: Gaming Surface?

[theredrobedwizard]

Plexiglass actually stops the dice from rolling too far AND you can use wet or dry erase markers on it.

Plexiglass sheet over a Steel Sqwire flip mat works well.

-TRRW

 

[Festivus]

I have a 4' x 8' table with plexi over the top. For the grid, I have tried the following:

1. Paint the table with white enamel and then draw a grid on it using a framing square and a drywall-tee. If you opt for this route be prepared for two things, first, a sore hand from drawing many, many lines, and second, be sure you sand the enamel until it is as smooth as you can get it. I didn't sand mine before drawing the lines and now dislike how it looks, so I flipped the tabletop over and tried...

2. 1" gridded presentation paper. This also doesn't look very nice, mainly because the lines are difficult to see (could be the brand I bought), and the paper flaps up every time you lift the plexi to put a map beneath.

My next experiment with gridlines is going to be to use some black thread and thumbtacks to build a grid. This will have the advantage of having totally straight lines, won't be as time consuming, and will still allow me to place maps under the plexi without the grid coming up.

If you already have a mondo mat, as someone else suggested, just put it underneath it and be done with it. If I had one I would do that.

 

[bento]

Is the dry erase board called something particular? I spent about an hour in my local Lowes a few weeks ago looking for Dry Erase board, and didn't come up with anything...it would have helped if the staff wasn't so standoffish, but I eventually concluded, after wandering every aisle, that they just didn't have any.

But maybe I just wasn't looking close enough....

A former boss of mine said he bought the same single-sheet material that are used for shower walls and it works with dry erasers.

 

[Yami no Hon]

They sell poster board with 1" squares marked on it. I usually find it at Wal-Mart, Traget, and any office supply store for less than a dollar a sheet. Grab a sharpie and go over the lines to make sure they're visible, then set it under a piece of plexiglass and you're good to go.

If you want to be even cheeper, just laminate the poster board and set the whole thing on the table. If you do that, and someone makes a mistake (sharpie instead of expo, or something) you've spent less than $10.

 

[maddman75]

Here's my own personal battlemat system that you may be able to adopt.

When I'm in need of one, I go to Wal Mart and buy a 24"x36" poster frame. They can be had for about $10. I take the paper insert out and flip it over and draw 1" squares on it. This isn't too bad, takes about 15-20 minutes if you take your time. Put the frame back together and viola, a huge battlemat you can use dry or wet erase markers on. Its larger than most of the roll up style mats, and if it gets stained or damaged it can be cheaply replaced. And if you get ambitious you could put in colorful backgrounds under it, though I don't believe we've ever done that for D&D. We have done it for Classic Battletech, and it was awesome. Hmm, maybe I should try with those D&D minis I bought...

For your project, if you had an insert the size of the poster frame you could just drop the plastic in there, making it even easier to change things around.

 

[TheYeti1775]

They sell poster board with 1" squares marked on it. I usually find it at Wal-Mart, Traget, and any office supply store for less than a dollar a sheet. Grab a sharpie and go over the lines to make sure they're visible, then set it under a piece of plexiglass and you're good to go.

If you want to be even cheeper, just laminate the poster board and set the whole thing on the table. If you do that, and someone makes a mistake (sharpie instead of expo, or something) you've spent less than $10.

Do you have a link to one of the 1" square poster boards?

 

[TheYeti1775]

Found it at Office Depot.

http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do...ster board grid&uniqueSearchFlag=true&An=text

3M Post-it® Self-Stick Easel Pads, Faint Blue 1" Grid, 25" x 30 1/2", Box Of 2 Pads, 30 Sheets Per Pad

$41.99 for a 2 pads of 30.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

You have the time, you have the space-- and you have a gamer wife.

Why half-ass it?

Buy a projector and a frosted glass tabletop and make the switch to digital gaming!

 

[Koewn]

I've not had the chance yet to put this idea to the test, but many wood hobby shops (online and off) sell giant bags of thin 1" squares.

Get em, split them into two piles, spraypaint them colors that work for you (light beige/dark beige, perhaps) and glue em down. Slap plexiglass on top.

The glue part would probably break my patience level, but I'm still thinking it may look neat enough to try.

 

[TheYeti1775]

I've not had the chance yet to put this idea to the test, but many wood hobby shops (online and off) sell giant bags of thin 1" squares.

Get em, split them into two piles, spraypaint them colors that work for you (light beige/dark beige, perhaps) and glue em down. Slap plexiglass on top.

The glue part would probably break my patience level, but I'm still thinking it may look neat enough to try.

Actually why glue them have them individually painted.
Walls - Stone or Wood
Doors
Statues
Have them all stored in their own containers under the table, pull things out as need and place them in their 'tray of 1" squares.