I have been playing around with different configurations for a custom table and wanted to note some things I’ve landed on that I really like. A main one thing is having the map mounted so that it can slide around as needed on top of a bigger playing area. My table is 65” x 95” in total with a 5.5” arm rest around the outside and the middle is a recessed neoprene surface. I have the OOB Global map mounted on 1/2” rigid foam with a 1/2” aluminum frame around it. This allows the map to slide up close to whoever’s turn it is, but then be in the middle so both players can roll dice In front of them without disturbing the map and in easy view of the other player. (Plus we like lots of room to roll the bones). This ability to adjust the surface along with a standing height, makes it comfortable for long uses because you can move around more and don’t feel as tied down.
Things I’ve learned and changed from original design - I originally used too big of a frame for the map and mounted it on too high of a foam block (you can see these pictures at the bottom) - it made it hard to see the other player’s dice and the big frame took up too much real estate. My global map is mounted on much thinner foam (the framing is bad, you can see if you look closely) but I also used much thinner aluminum angle for the frame. This gives just enough grip when needing to move the map around (I use furniture slides on the bottom, which glide very nicely on the neoprene) but doesn’t make the whole thing too bulky. Having it an inch or so off the surface keeps the dice off, but isn’t so heigh that you can’t see the other player’s dice rolls. When playing other versions (such as Zombies) the board is much smaller, but it can easily swap in and out on the same table since it can move around where ever it is needed or be pushed aside.
I originally made it normal table height, but found long reaches while sitting were harder and it just felt cramped. Standing height with a bar stool is a great way to have the best of both worlds.
The 5.5” rim around the table itself gives you a nice arm rest that doesn’t interfere with the gaming surface. I’m playing with how to best add some cushion to this part - open to suggestions. Sometimes I just lay a piece of leftover neoprene on it.
Dice bounce nice on the neoprene and stay off the floor. It also feels nice and has enough give to allow things to slide but be picked up easily. Wouldn’t definitely go with neoprene again as a surface covering.
I made the drawers open to the inside of the table so you can stay hunched over the action while accessing and stowing stuff away. 50/50 on whether I would keep this if I were to do it again. If I were doing it again, I might try to build customer drawers form scratch using actual drawer glides, but that was beyond my ability when I first did this, so I just used clear plexiglass boxes with aluminum pulls mounted on them. It’s nice having them clear, and I was happy with how the pulls came out, but without glides they can be a little fussy sliding in and out of their slots.
I originally designed the table so that I could put a cover surface back on top when not in use, but find I don’t really ever do that, so if I were to do it again, I might not mess with that part (I never even finished staining those as you can see in the pictures).
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Global Gaming Table
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im turning my basement in to an axis and allies bunker.
it’s going to be painted to look like concret, have ammo boxes, 2 tables 1 for the axis and allies board and one for the minis board. its goning to have pics of all the major leaders on the walls, allong with a washed out ncm. and not to mention the in wall beer bar, pop bar, and 11.2 sourond sound system (yess i ment 11.2)if you want dedacation listen to this… my cousins and me drees up useing the real unaforms and assories, and play 1 game in 4-5 days. we pay normaly untill the combat phase where we use minis, and some times alot of them at once, to decied a battle. we even made a spical unit for each country Ie.the german “ratte” japaniese “yamato class” BB, ECT… wich we also have coustom minis for and yes they are the same scale as tanks… any thing i should add?
post pics I want to see your custom units
ill see what i can do. but my DSLR cammera is in for some …minor repair and i cant seem to up load my pics on to the site. ive allreddy tryed 3 times to post them
Use Mediafire. It’s the easiest way to go.
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@Brain:
im turning my basement in to an axis and allies bunker.
it’s going to be painted to look like concret, have ammo boxes, 2 tables 1 for the axis and allies board and one for the minis board. its goning to have pics of all the major leaders on the walls, allong with a washed out ncm. and not to mention the in wall beer bar, pop bar, and 11.2 sourond sound system (yess i ment 11.2)if you want dedacation listen to this… my cousins and me drees up useing the real unaforms and assories, and play 1 game in 4-5 days. we pay normaly untill the combat phase where we use minis, and some times alot of them at once, to decied a battle. we even made a spical unit for each country Ie.the german “ratte” japaniese “yamato class” BB, ECT… wich we also have coustom minis for and yes they are the same scale as tanks… any thing i should add?
Yeah, some boots cause it’s gettin’ deep in here.
Post some pictures please.
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Haven’t done anything recently. Played on it a few times. My goal is to have complete when Europe comes out. I got a couple months.
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Any updates yet?
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Any updates yet?
no updates. i just bought a house so other things have been on my mind. the only thing i plan on doing is staining, so once i get some free time, that is on my list
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Wow, this table is so awesome. Very inspiring.
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This is the single nicest AA toy I have ever seen. Very well done!
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This is the single nicest AA toy I have ever seen. Very well done!
Wow, this table is so awesome. Very inspiring.
Thank you
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I know you’ve heard this johnnymarr, but I wanted to say it too… great job!
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This is awesome and I am now envisioning my own table when I can afford to buy the material.
One suggestion is similar to what IL said and that is to paint the bottom. Make it smooth and easy to clean and maybe even waterproof so that spills won’t soak into the wood. Also, when you set up a game you can put some stand-offs under the game board. These will raise it up, and with the plexiglass on top, the boards should be completely protected from the occasional disaster.
I speak from personal experience. A comment was made during a game that caused a fountain of Root Beer to spray from a friends mouth evenly across the dining room. Fortunatley he managed to turn away from the game and I didn’t have to unfriend him. Since then I have wrapped my older boards in clear contact paper.
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I know you’ve heard this johnnymarr, but I wanted to say it too… great job!
This is awesome and I am now envisioning my own table when I can afford to buy the material.
thank you
One suggestion is similar to what IL said and that is to paint the bottom. Make it smooth and easy to clean and maybe even waterproof so that spills won’t soak into the wood. Also, when you set up a game you can put some stand-offs under the game board. These will raise it up, and with the plexiglass on top, the boards should be completely protected from the occasional disaster.
I speak from personal experience. A comment was made during a game that caused a fountain of Root Beer to spray from a friends mouth evenly across the dining room. Fortunatley he managed to turn away from the game and I didn’t have to unfriend him. Since then I have wrapped my older boards in clear contact paper.
i’m currently putting a rubber grip on the bottom of the table to keep the gameboards in place. I also have a piece of plexiglass to protect the gameboards and to get rid of the creases. I do not allow beverages or food on or near the table
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Yeah I’m the same way, we have a TV tray beside the table where the drinks and food sit.
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thats sooo cool,im gonna have to buy a new shed 10x12 just to fit a table big enough to play global and have a little space for people to move,cos i have no room in the house
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I just finished the structural portion of my Global table last night. It’s basically just four 2X4s nailed in a rectangle over a sheet of plywood. I bought some dark green felt to cover the wood with (kind of a pool table feel), and I got a sheet of plexiglass that we’ll use to cover the whole set-up when not in use. This way it functions as a coffee table too – albeit one with a raging world war just below the surface :)
Oh, and I bought a couple of long wooden dowels and glued little rectangular pieces of balsa wood to them to make those little rakes that generals use in the war room in war movies.
I’ll post pictures when we’re all finished.
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First, Fantastic table. Second, I now have a project for winter :-) . I just finished making my 42 board and I am going to make a Global map. SO it makes sense to make a gaming table. Again, Great Job!!!
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Thanks. I have pictures of the completed table in a different thread in the Global section (seeing as though it’s a Global table)
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This is really, really impressive. How long did it take you to make?
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2-3 days for the table itself. Another 2-3 days for the woodburning.
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yo can you pm me some specs. i want to coppy your work
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