Looking for advice on logistical aspects of running/hosting games.

[firesnakearies]

Hi folks. I thought I'd pick your collective brains for some helpful ideas regarding a few challenges I'm running into as I prepare to get heavily into playing a bunch of D&D and running games at my home.



I've got three main things I'd like to ask for advice about:


1.) Miniatures. I've got a fair number of D&D miniatures, and a TON more coming that I ordered online. I'm looking for the best solution for organizing and storing them, keeping them separate, easily accessible, and easy to find the specific ones I might need to pull for an encounter. Also, a good way to transport a smaller number of them, for when I go to the FLGS to run an RPGA adventure or something like that.


2.) Dungeon Tiles. I love these things, and I'm having a fantastic time with pre-building adventure sites by affixing the tiles ahead of time to large pieces of black foam board with that re-usable tacky putty stuff. I bought two of each set of tiles that WoTC has made (except for the very first set), so I have a HUGE amount of dungeon tiles of various sizes and types now. I really feel like I can make any kind of dungeon I want without having to worry about not having enough of a certain kind of piece, which is awesome.

BUT, I need a way to organize and store these things, too. Same deal as the miniatures, but it's even trickier to figure out a good way to manage this massive collection of tiles that will make them easy to use without constantly digging through heaps of different tiles looking for what I want.


3.) A gaming table. My roommate and I live in a modest-sized but not tiny two-bedroom condo, and we're planning to host a lot of games here. We have a fair amount of room to work with, and we figure that we can easily accommodate a pretty nice-sized table to play on, something like 7' x 7' was looking good for our space. The thing is, we don't have a table. And from what I've seen, tables are really expensive. We want to get something going which meets our needs, at a minimal expense. We're willing to do SOME building. but the less complicated construction work needed, the better. I'm totally inept at making things, and my roommate is not really Bob Vila either.

Something which can be folded up or quickly disassembled for easy storage would be required. I don't care what it looks like, how "nice" it is, or even, really, whether it's terribly durable or stable. Just something that will work, for now, without costing a great deal of money or requiring a great deal of craftsmanship or effort. I'd like to get a bare-bones gaming surface set up for around $50 if possible, but I'd be willing to go as high as $100 if necessary. To actually BUY any kind of large table seems like it would be quite a bit more expensive than that, unless one of you knows of a secret cheap table source somewhere. I'd think that spending $50-100 on materials to make something ourselves should be sufficient to get the job done. I just don't know what the best options are, or HOW to go about the task.

Ideally, I'm envisioning something with a tabletop made of whiteboard-like material, as being able to write on the table with wet or dry erase markers would be neat. And then, something with folding legs would be ideal. If we could fold the legs down and just lean the whole table up against a wall somewhere when we're not using it, that would be perfect. So, any specific advice on materials, sources, plans, building tips, et cetera would be highly appreciated.




I know that there are a lot of really experienced, clever, long-time gamers on this forum, so I'm sure that many of you have already come up with great ways to handle these logistical issues in your games. I'd really love to hear your solutions. Any advice, tips, instructions, or links to other resources would be wonderful! I'll be hugely grateful to benefit from your wisdom. Thanks!

 

[amysrevenge]

Regarding a gaming table.

Keep in mind that space in the center of the table that nobody can reach is wasted space (a 7' by 7' table will have a lot of space nobody can reach). I've dreamed of my ideal gaming table, and it would be more-or-less kidney shaped, with the DM sitting in the indented side.

On a budget, you could do something like 2-3 folding card-tables, like I can get at my local WalMart for about 20 bucks each. 3 Tables set in a right-angle shape (like I've cobbled together below) with the DM in the inside corner will probably do you quite well. An additional small side-table for the DM to hold figs and books is also handy.

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[Kid Charlemagne]

Agreed - 7' by 7' is way too wide. A couple of folding tables might be the best approach, though you can get some very nice and inexpensive tables from sources like Ikea, if there's one nearby. WalMart and Target also have some OK stuff.

For minis, plastic bins work well ($5-8 at Target for pretty big ones). Fishing tackle boxes work for keeping them sorted if thats critical. I think something like a file box with folders would work well for dungeon tiles. File them away by style.

 

[Pickles JG]

I used to use trestles & a big "door" shaped & sized table top from Ikea. Cost about £15 for each component years ago, so may be too dear, but dont take up much space. I needed a big table for minis/boardwargames & had two of these next to one another. For D&D one would do.
I used to use a Nobo white board I acquired from the work stationary supplier. This would substitute as a tabletop on trestles & had a gridded side. I did not enjoy using it much however as it was a very hard surface & dice rolling was very percussive. YMMV.

For transporting the minis - as they are pretty abuasable ziplock bags do fine. You can sort them by encounter & bag them up.

Storing the minis I cannot help with - plastic storage boxes look good to my friends that have them but I don't know what they use & dont own any.

 

[Janx]

my cheap plastic card table was $50 at Walmart 2 years ago. Card tables are not cheap.

I paid $30 for 2.5'x5' folding table from Office depot. These are nice tables, like you see in church basements (sans gum). I actually have several, as I used them for computer desks, etc.

If you're using dungeon tiles, you shouldn't have as much need for a whiteboard as a table, but if you insist, you could always just buy a white board and lay it on the table. Even better, build a platform to go on the table, and raise the whiteboard surface about 6 inches. This will let players put their books on the main table, and their minis on the table.

I've used 2 of the aforementioned tables
in my garage (nice day) for really big games. The battlemat goes in the middle, and there's plenty of room for books and char sheets around it. Kinda like knights of the square table.

However, a single table is sufficient for 6 people).

For minis, have the GM pick out minis from the collection to use in the game, before the game. Then the GM merely pulls out minis as needed from the much smaller box.

You can buy plastic drawers from walmart for pretty cheap ($10 for a 3 drawer unit).

 

[Dragon Snack]

1. Plenty of places sell different types of boxes. I've used tackle boxes, craft boxes, and plain old big bins for storing minis, each has it's drawbacks (especially when a mini will fit two different definitions of it's type).

2. I use a Plano box, found near the tackle boxes (it's more like a craft box though). I don't have it with me to tell you the number though (and I certainly don't have as many sets as you do, so you would need multiples).

3. You can buy folding legs and 4x8 sheets of "whiteboard" (it isn't called that, but it works exactly the same) at home improvement stores. Find another suitably thick piece of 4x8 wood (since the "whiteboard" pieces are rather flimsy) to attach them too and you should be able to make your foldaway whiteboard table easily and for less than $100 (I was planning on building something similar a few years ago - with multiple tiers - and I picked up that stuff and more for less than $100). Even this table will probably have hard to reach spaces, I was planning on using one half of those curtain rods that are curved at the ends to move minis around (a la WWII war rooms).

 

[malraux]

My game table is a dining room table that I got from goodwill many years ago. The table's legs come off and it is large enough to sit over a coffee table, and I find the coffee table height better for gaming, as you can see down on the board rather across it. Currently I just leave it out, but when I was in a smallish apartment, I'd set it over the coffee table for gaming then pick it back up for the rest of the week. More or less it worked pretty well.

 

[Scribe Ineti]

Can't help with the table other than to say a good sized kitchen table, dining room table, or coffee table should do the job.

For mini storage and dungeon tile storage, I recommend the Container Store.

I bought a few of these in various sizes:

The Container Store > Infinite Divider Boxes

The inside tabs are adjustable to fit most of the tiles except the larger ones (3x3 and larger), and you can use a bigger one to store minis too.

I also bought one of larger versions of these:

The Container Store > Clear Storage Cases

And that is big enough to hold all my minis, all my dungeon tiles, and all the color maps I've picked up from D&D modules over the years. Very handy to have it all in one case.

 

[Tewligan]

We use an old door on sawhorses for our table. Cheap, easy to put aside when not gaming, and I can tell my players to gather around THE DOORWAY TO ADVENTURE! They always roll their eyes at that, the ingrates.

 

[buzz]

Call me crazy, but I'd suggest that you consider upping your budget a little and just look for a good-sized dining table. You should be able to find a used one somewhere. A dining table is one of those basics; you can game at it, but you can also eat at it, use it for entertaining, etc. Get some whiteboard material to slap over it for games.

I mean, yeah, you could get some folding tables... but do you really want to feel like you're living in a church basement 24-7?