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I originally made it normal table height, but found long reaches while sitting were harder and it just felt cramped.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 Threads and Pictures
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Well at this point it appears that whatever you do should be as beautiful as the tile job.
I do a lot of work with wood so I’ll punch in my 2 cents worth…
1) Poplar is a good material simply because it is strong and dent resistant. Downside is that it takes stain very poorly so you’d have to condition all the components first prior to applying stain. Also depending on the variety the grain of the wood can have a lot of green that also ends up looking strange with coloured stains.
2) Maple is an idea material for any cabinet/furniture. It is super strong and resilient and takes stains beautifully. Only down side would be cost.
3) Oak is always a beautiful material for finished furniture and would give your table a very traditional feel. Again only downside would be cost.
4) Cherry this would give you a truly unique finish. Cherry would give durability and be one of the most visually dramatic finishes.
There are a huge variety of exotic hardwood also available if cost is of no concern, some of which would make this truly a one in the world type piece (not that it already isn’t).
Curious, and maybe I’m just missing something, but how are you going to handle the sea zone divisions? Are each of the tiles meant to be a sea zone? I guess I need to go back and take a closer look.
Unbelievable work. You must have the patience of Jobe.
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Curious, and maybe I’m just missing something, but how are you going to handle the sea zone divisions? Are each of the tiles meant to be a sea zone? I guess I need to go back and take a closer look.
Thanks for the wood working tips Hepps01! I am definitely wanting a high quality wood finish. From your suggestions it sounds like I need to find a lumberyard with a bigger selection of wood types.
To answer your question, yes each tile is meant to be it’s own seazone. I have always been a student of history and have felt that the current seazone designs offers little in the way of naval tactics and maneuvers especially since WWII had some of greatest naval battles of all time. With this grid system and tweaks to unit movement abilities I am hoping to make naval combat a little more interesting.
I am still testing my rules but I think I can keep ship movement at two or possibly three zones per turn to keep the balance of the game. Using an atlas to design my board and consistent seazone sizes also has the benefit of providing true distances between destinations. I really wanted the Atlantic and Pacific to be a great divide between the US and other territories.
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MajorTaylor87 where are you in the real world? I ask because I have access to several exotic woods companies. So if you’re in close proximity to me I could hook you up with materials connections.
Regarding your sea zones….
I like the concept of greater movement flexibility. But wouldn’t it have been better to stagger each course of sea zones? That would have eliminated all the 4-way intersections and allowed for even more freedom of movement around the worlds oceans.
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MajorTaylor87 where are you in the real world? I ask because I have access to several exotic woods companies. So if you’re in close proximity to me I could hook you up with materials connections.
Regarding your sea zones….
I like the concept of greater movement flexibility. But wouldn’t it have been better to stagger each course of sea zones? That would have eliminated all the 4-way intersections and allowed for even more freedom of movement around the worlds oceans.
Hepps01, I live in McKinney TX. Where are you from?
Staggering the seazones is something I had not considered. I may have to play test it to see how it works our. For this board I will have to stick with the grid since it is already layed down. I had considered Hexagonal sea zones, but sourcing or cutting tile in that shape proved difficult.
I think I may have found a way to make the grid work through movement rules by allowing ships to move diagonally. Either with unlimited diagonal movement or with allowing only one of the two or three movements to be diagonal.
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Where are you from?
LOL. That would be not close! I’m from Toronto Ontario Canada.
Yah I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it work. Just a suggestion. But now that all your tiles are glued down I can understand that its a bit too little to late. :wink:
But as far as the sourcing of materials goes…
What I did was phoned all the retailers in my province and asked for very exotic woods. After about a dozen phone calls many of the people I talked to pointed me in certain directions. That led me to other dealers… and so on and so fourth.
If you have a “Lee Valley Tools” locally (I think they are North American wide) that would be a great place to start. They specialize in many cabinetry and wood working tools. The staff there are often times woodworkers themselves. So chatting with them regarding specialized species of woods is probably going to get you a contact immediately.
What ever you do… do some research!!! Buying things like dimensional finished woods is dramatically more expensive if you go to your local Home Depot! The smaller dealers tend to have much better prices.
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Where are you from?
LOL. That would be not close! I’m from Toronto Ontario Canada.
Yah I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it work. Just a suggestion. But now that all your tiles are glued down I can understand that its a bit too little to late. :wink:
But as far as the sourcing of materials goes…
Yeah Toronto is pretty far away. Thanks for the advice on sourcing some materials. I will be sure to put it to use!
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Hello everyone, I have made good progress on my board and posted some new pics if anyone is interested. The tile work is just about done, only a few islands left. Next I will be moving onto the table design.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73326585@N03/
I am not sure what wood to go with yet for the table. I know I want to stain it a dark cafe brown. I have seen redwood, and poplar at the local home improvement store that look very nice. Any suggestions?
Wow, incredible. Looks like the board weighs … 75 pounds? :mrgreen:
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Wow, incredible. Looks like the board weighs … 75 pounds? :mrgreen:
Haha, yeah it is pretty big and heavy. I haven’t weighed it yet but I plan to before I build the table. This is definitely not a portable version.
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Awesome there Grasshopper.
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Love that table YG!
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Cool, we gotta make that happen.
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Hi guys, I hope everyone has an awesome christmas time.
Please take a look at my custom table for global 40.
I got it from my father in law and my girlfriend.
I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I did :-)
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http://flic.kr/p/dEb39A
http://flic.kr/p/dEb1G7
http://flic.kr/p/dEaZJ5
http://flic.kr/p/dEaYyb
http://flic.kr/p/dE5yVc
http://flic.kr/p/dEaVUf
http://flic.kr/p/dE5wpD
http://flic.kr/p/dE5vmX
http://flic.kr/p/dEaFHm
http://flic.kr/p/dE5ump
http://flic.kr/p/dEaRf5
http://flic.kr/p/dEaQhm
http://flic.kr/p/dE5r2p
http://flic.kr/p/dEaMiNthats it. First game will be on thursday with some great buddys.
I´m really looking forward to it! -
Nice Table Rob!
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Excellent table Robson,
Great attention to detail, and you really know how to spoil your fellow players. Looks like you have the 2nd edition board, I can’t believe that WOTC didn’t fix the dark convoy symbols…. crazy. Are you playing some kind of house rule using Canada as a separate nation?
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Thanks YG glad you like it
The Canadian units are just for a better look, they are used as normal on UK turn :-)
For the same reason I use the finnish and neutral units, oil markers, canadian roundels, hellcat fighter and the red mongolian units. Now the only thing missing are the combat dice from fmg and some strict neutral units. -
…oh I forgot, yes thats the second edition board. I was also hoping that they worked on the symbol issue. Perhabs they use it as a argument for the 3rd edition. Thats WOTC style :-)
But I will be happy if I get the combat dice I ordered November 2011 :-D -
Sweet, I like what you did.
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Robson,
Awesome looking table. I was wondering where did you find the two tiered storage thingies. Me and a couple of buds are building a table and are looking for something like that. We are stationed overseas so maybe you could point use to an online retailer?? Thanks. Again good looking table