• So I just recently got introduced to Axis and Allies by my father in law by playing the 1984 version.  I liked it so much that I bought Spring 1942 and the new Pacific and Europe 1940.  I didn’t realizing how huge the Global map is.  I don’t currently have a table big enough. What are some creative ways to have enough room to play short of playing on the floor?


  • HA!  I think we have all run into this problem.  I play on 2 tables put together.  One of them has to have books put under to legs to make it even with the other!  This game is too big!  I have heard it fits well on a ping pong table, or you could go out and buy a 4-8 foot sheet of plywood, that should do fine with a couple of saw horses.


  • Game’s not too big, how can you say that :D
    Fits perfectly well on my dining room table and the table I’m going to put in my “game” room so I can have it up most of the time :o


  • Your best option (short of going out and buying a new table) is, as mentioned above, a sheet of 4x8 plywood.

    Measure the game board, have the plywood cut to about 6-8 inches larger (I am not sure of the actual measurements of the gameboard, so I am not sure how much needs to be cut) and place it on top of your existing table.  Alternately you can buy folding table legs to attach to the plywood for about $20 from most building centers/hardware stores, add a couple of 2x4’s for support and you have a complete table just for A&A.


  • Sounds great.  I was thinking  about getting a vynal copy of the map and stick it to a piece of wood add some removable legs.  Then get a glass cover.  But then again that sounds like a lot of work.


  • @ahensley85:

    Sounds great.  I was thinking  about getting a vynal copy of the map and stick it to a piece of wood add some removable legs.  Then get a glass cover.  But then again that sounds like a lot of work.

    Good to have something to do when winter time comes :D

  • Customizer

    If you think the Global 1940 map is too big, wait till you see the huge 1939 map they have at Historical Board Gaming.  Also, there is another A&A type game called “The War Game” which is pretty cool, but it has a huge map too, about the same size as HBG’s 1939 map.  My gaming table is barely big enough for Global 1940 (it actually hangs over the top a couple of inches).  I recently got “The War Game” and put it’s map on my table and the darn thing hung over almost a foot in both width and length.  One day I hope to find a bigger table or perhaps make one with a sheet of plywood like was mentioned.


  • The method I used for my Global map was to put several card tables (the kind that has folding legs) in a row.  Three would have sufficed, but I used four because I wanted extra room on each side of the map (for instance to hold supplies of sculpts and so forth).  You can see pictures of my setup in the first post here, plus some text describing the details:

    http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=20658.0

    The cloth-covered base which I mention in the text, and which you can see in the picture, is something I made using an alternative to plywood: it’s composed of three painting canvases which I got at an art supply store.  Each canvas was purchased already attached to a hollow wooden frame (possibly balsa – I can’t recall), so they had the advantage of being both very light and very flat and rigid.  And because the base is in three sections, I can easily dismantle it and store it if I need to do so, which would be more awkward if it was a solid sheet of plywood.  The acrylic covering the map is a single sheet, but it rolls up if necessary (which is how it was shipped to me in the first place).

  • Sponsor

    I started hosting a 6 player game in my 15’X11’ basement room of my house back in December. It was an ideal situation because the room wasn’t being used for anything and it had its own bathroom and kitchen downstairs away from my wife and 5 pets.

    When we first got started I had a piece of 6’X3’1/2" ply board on milk creates. but I found that the table size was not the only issue, it was the entire playing area. Things like where players placed their unit trays, paper money, beverages, charts and not to mention where to roll their dice, all became compounding problems (and what a mess after a 9 hour game). Another space issue that people don’t think about until they they do a trial game, is how often players reposition themselves around the table, for better viewing angles, collecting pieces and using the bathroom. the days of classic where everyone sat in one chair in front of their power are definitely over, and its all about maneuverability now. A common request was…. “excuse me, but can I get by you there?”.

    So… I took the time to not only design and build a table that would hold everything (and I mean everything), but I also had to plan my setup so that everyone was comfortable and had space to move. I built (2) 4’X4" pieces that could easily sit on my 6’X3’ pool table (raising the playing surface significantly). I purchase 6 simple, short, and wooden bar stools on sale for $12 each (a real steal). I placed a comfortable love seat against the far wall if people wanted to relax  and sit on something other than their bar stool between turns. other than the table, stools, and love seat, the rest of the room is empty which allows more space for repositioning around fellow players.

    The table has everything on it, I screwed 2’X4’ boards around the plywood edges so players could lean their elbows on them. the remaining dimensions can compensate for the game board in the middle and all the unit trays lining its edges including trays for chips, extra facilities, dice and all the roundels for each player. At each end of the table I built a dice tray for rolling with laminated battle boards stapled to the table close to the dice trays. The biggest thing I noticed was how everything was contained on the table and after a 9 hour game, all that was needed was gathering up the pop cans and beer bottles. It made me feel better about the possibility of losing or damaging pieces and after a long game, I could just turn out the lights and walk away.

    If you are going to host a 5-6 player game of A&A Global on a regular basis, my advice is to make some small improvements to the playing area between each game. I understand that I am fortunate to own a house with a basement room, and that everyone doesn’t have that option, but I would also do what needed to be done even if I was back in my basement bachelor apartment (I would just get rid of the fridge and stove and order pizza forever).


  • @Young:

    A cool description.

    If I drive down to Toronto, one day, I am definitely coming to play a game at your place!!!

  • Sponsor

    @captainhook:

    @Young:

    A cool description.

    If I drive down to Toronto, one day, I am definitely coming to play a game at your place!!!

    You and your peeps should road trip and have me a game. You would be more than welcome.

  • '10

    Some people on this site have made boards that hang on the wall, with magnetic pieces.  That’d be pretty slick.


  • Do what I did. I converted 1/2 of my garage into a wargaming space. I have a 6’ X 14’ table built out of 2X4’s and particle board. Works real well with Global. We have a 6 member group.


  • @ahensley85:

    Sounds great.  I was thinking  about getting a vynal copy of the map and stick it to a piece of wood add some removable legs.  Then get a glass cover.  But then again that sounds like a lot of work.

    If you are going to have a glass/plexi-glas cover, do not stick it to the wood!  In fact, even if you don’t, i’d say keep it free so you can change it eventually.  Going to the expense of having it printed on vinyl and then sticking it onto something would be such a shame.

    @knp7765:

    If you think the Global 1940 map is too big, wait till you see the huge 1939 map they have at Historical Board Gaming.

    I played this map at the FMG Convention this year … and yes, it’s HUGE.  We had to use 4 banquet hall tables for it!


  • @Young:

    You and your peeps should road trip and have me a game. You would be more than welcome.

    Well, if you come up to Montreal, you are more than welcome to join us!

  • Sponsor

    @captainhook:

    @Young:

    You and your peeps should road trip and have me a game. You would be more than welcome.

    Well, if you come up to Montreal, you are more than welcome to join us!

    I tell you what, Save up for a weekend trip to Oshawa (just out side of Toronto) next spring for the second annual “Field Marshal Games weekend convention” and we can have a blast playing global for 2 days straight.

    PS: I’m a huge habs fan, how about you?


  • @knp7765:

    If you think the Global 1940 map is too big, wait till you see the huge 1939 map they have at Historical Board Gaming.  Also, there is another A&A type game called “The War Game” which is pretty cool, but it has a huge map too, about the same size as HBG’s 1939 map.  My gaming table is barely big enough for Global 1940 (it actually hangs over the top a couple of inches).  I recently got “The War Game” and put it’s map on my table and the darn thing hung over almost a foot in both width and length.  One day I hope to find a bigger table or perhaps make one with a sheet of plywood like was mentioned.

    I would like to know more about this war game. Do you have any links or information about it? I’d like a war game with a little more depth than A&A, but not more (or too much more) complex.


  • @warwinner:

    I would like to know more about this war game. Do you have any links or information about it? I’d like a war game with a little more depth than A&A, but not more (or too much more) complex.

    http://www.thewargame.com/

  • Sponsor

    @CWO:

    @warwinner:

    I would like to know more about this war game. Do you have any links or information about it? I’d like a war game with a little more depth than A&A, but not more (or too much more) complex.

    http://www.thewargame.com/

    can some one tell me how to create a link from one thread to another?


  • @Young:

    can some one tell me how to create a link from one thread to another?

    In your browser, click on the box that displays the URL of the page you’re viewing.  This will highlight it.  Go CTRL-C to copy it into your clipboard.  Go to the thread where you want to put the link and go CTRL-V to paste the captured URL.

Suggested Topics

  • 4
  • 4
  • 11
  • 2
  • 7
  • 14
  • 9
  • 8
Axis & Allies Boardgaming Custom Painted Miniatures

26

Online

17.0k

Users

39.3k

Topics

1.7m

Posts