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I originally made it normal table height, but found long reaches while sitting were harder and it just felt cramped.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).
CF362D52-269F-4480-8CBB-08139099138F.jpeg A9E12EA1-66EB-4671-86AC-68C62FD30AD5.jpeg 858DE1F2-030A-4D5A-93E4-70A7D1180ADB.jpeg 8F513EE0-DA37-4BA9-880E-4D5EF7BF431F.jpeg F0188165-757B-4CC1-BF67-5045832283C9.jpeg 2E3CD627-0D31-4121-ACF8-682F9F58A40B.jpeg
Global Gaming Table Threads and Pictures
-
After reading a comment by Variable elsewhere on the board (“Who else is building tables out there? I’m sure we’d all like some pics to drool over. Any more “command centers”?”), I thought it might be a good idea to have a dedicated thread which links to existing threads where members have posted pictures of their specialized A&A Global 1940 gaming tables.
I’ve collected the threads of this type which I could find, but I may have missed a few, so feel free to add other links:
Johnnymarr’s Global Gaming Table:
http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=18186.0
and
http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=20154.094Canuck’s Global Gaming Table
http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=20291.0Pelanderfunk’s Global Gaming Setup
http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=20365.0I’ve also provided thread links to a couple of A&A gaming tables which aren’t Global but which are too great-looking to be excluded:
TwistedAries’s AAA Command Center Bunker
http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=18426.0Rorschach’s AA50 3-D Terrain Gaming Table
http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=18619.0This thread could also be a convenient place to post pictures of other Global gaming tables which don’t already have their own threads. To get things started, I’ve posted below three pictures I took last weekend of my own Global setup. The first picture shows the overall layout, which consists of four card tables (the kind with folding legs) arranged in a row, with shelving units and plastic tackle boxes underneath them to hold my collection of plastic sculpts. The game board rests on a raised, cloth-covered rectangular base, and is covered with a sheet of acrylic. The second picture is a close-up of the right side of the table, showing the customized roundels I’ve sandwiched in between the board and the acrylic to replace the default ones printed on the map. The third picture is a close-up of the left side of the table, which is used to map some customized connections between the two board sections that don’t line up when they’re side-by-side. The connections are marked with white sewing thread, which shows up clearly against the black cloth even though it’s very thin.
-
Wow. It is like you where reading my mind. I was just thinking about other tables earlier today. I can’t wait until I get my table to a state where I can post pictured and it actually looks like a table. Right now it is a pile of wood cut to various sizes.
-
how can i get that lovely commonwealth roundel?
-
how can i get that lovely commonwealth roundel?
The file with my customized roundels is on another computer, so I’ll bring it in tomorrow and post a copy of the picture of the generic (and unofficial) Commonwealth roundel I made.
As with my other customized roundels, I pasted multiple copies of the picture into a Word document, had it laser-printed in colour at a commercial photocopy centre on full-sheet sticky-label paper, cut out the roundels one by one and stuck them on white bingo chips. Because the white sticky paper was the same colour as the white bingo chips, I didn’t have to worry too much about the slightly jagged edges of the cut-out designs, since they’re not very visible at arm’s length. If you have your own colour laser printer, however, a neater (and less labour-intensive) method would be to use Imperious Leader’s template for printing roundels on round Avery sticky labels.
-
Hey CWO Marc and everyone else,
Here some updated pictures of my table (that was originally created to hold the Global game). The game that is going on is still in progress.
Hope you like?
-
Looks very nice!, Is is solid enough?
-
Terrific table! I especially like the padding all around it, complete with nice curves at the corners – it looks very professional. Are those casino-style chips I see in one part of the picture?
-
how can i get that lovely commonwealth roundel?
Here’s the Commonwealth roundel, accompanied by the other four customized roundels I made. The ones in this post are for Fascist Italy and for the Chinese Communist forces, and I’ll post the other two in a moment.
-
Here are the customized roundels I made for Vichy France and for the Free French forces.
The pictures of the five roundels didn’t all end up the same size when I made them into separate files prior to posting them, so if you copy them into a Word document for printing make sure to adjust their size on the page until they’re all the same diameter and so that they print out correctly sized as A&A roundels.
-
@special:
Looks very nice!, Is is solid enough?
Oh yes…it is solid! 2 sheets of 3/4 inch plywood with not just 1 set but 2 sets of folding legs.
-
@CWO:
Terrific table! I especially like the padding all around it, complete with nice curves at the corners – it looks very professional. Are those casino-style chips I see in one part of the picture?
Thanks! Why yes those are poker chips you see in the picture.
-
Thanks for doing this! This is a great resource. I’m still working on my command center, but I’ve discovered the rooms in old houses are a bit small for a G40 table… Still working on it.
Great work to everyone out there who’s command centers make the rest of us very jealous!
-
this is my custom table…the only thing left is the custom peice of glass…didnt realize the best price i was going to get down here in florida was going to still be over 100$…lol. decided to use hinges for a bit of a storage area for the decorative wood side with the decals i made.
-
just adding the rest of the pic’s…
-
Some pics of our table
http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=8670.msg688948#msg688948
-
this is my custom table…the only thing left is the custom peice of glass…didnt realize the best price i was going to get down here in florida was going to still be over 100$…lol. decided to use hinges for a bit of a storage area for the decorative wood side with the decals i made.
Very nice! It was a good idea to build dice-rolling areas into the table frame.
As far as the glass goes, it might be cheaper to use plastic (like acrylic) depending on what thickness you buy, and it would almost certainly be lighter. Thin plastic also has the advantage that it can be rolled up for shipping, storage and moving.
-
New links added:
Katfishkris’s Global 1940 Table
(Pictures located on page 2 of the thread for 94Canuck’s Global Gaming Table)
http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=20291.15Streifenkarl’s AARHE 118" x 60" Map Table
(Pictures located on page 14 of the AARHE Map Files thread)
http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=8670.msg688948#msg688948 -
Here is my table.
-
Test
-
These are all really cool, I think over the break I have here that I’m going to try and fashion a table (especially since I don’t have one that can fit the entire global game). I’m thinking of something simple, raised edges with cubby holes for the piece boxes and removable legs so if I have to it can sit on the floor or up against the wall when not in use.