GAMINGBOARD, 40K, MORDHEIM, CRAFTING, TERRAIN

Making a Gaming Board: Part 1

I’ve always been fascinated with building terrain and scenery for wargaming, many moons ago I even owned a copy of “How to make Wargames Terrain” as published by Games Workshop. I think back then I made a house and a hill, but never really ventured any further as I didn’t really play the game and was suffering from a chronic lack of disposable income.

How to Make Wargames Terrain

Well, times change, and I want to get into playing more, and I have a bit more disposable income these days. So I said “screw it” and decided that I needed a gaming board in my life.

Design Choices

Before I started work I set out some basic requirements for the board, as while disposable income and time are things I have, storage for a giant gaming board is something I don’t really have. So I set out a list of requirements.

  • Must be modular/collapsible
  • Should be big enough to host a full size 40k game
  • Needs to be compact enough to fit in the corner of my hobby room when it’s not in use
  • Doesn’t need to break the bank, so should be as cheap as you can get away with

I watched hours of YouTube videos, and took a dive into the depths of the internet to find inspiration. And eventually I came across this blog. The size of the board was a bit too big for me to store, but the idea of having an “inside” to the board which instantly gives it a degree of verticallity appealed to me, and would be great for games like Mordheim or Necromunda. So the final idea was born, and would take the following form:

  • 4, 60x60cm wooden “boxes” would form the base of the board (giving a total playing area of 120cm x 120cm, or 14,400 square centimeters)
  • The tops of the “boxes” would be left open
  • Inside of each “box” would be have a different theme
  • XPS foam would act as the “topper” so that was light and could be easily stored

Initial Construction

Disclaimer: I suck at woodwork, and I was rushing because I was excited to build my first gaming board. Please don’t give me too much stick for the state of the joins you’re about to see :D

As someone who doesn’t really do woodwork, I don’t have the proper tools to do large straight cuts, but that’s not a major issue when stores like B&Q exist (general hardware store in the UK that provide a timber cutting service). I popped along and picked up some MDF and pine boards, and had them cut it all to size for me on their giant wall saw. I then had to get it all back home on a train but that’s a story for another time.

Picked up a few extra bits and pieces like a new saw, nails and some wood glue while I was in B&Q, and set to work on building 4 “boxes”.

Halfway through construction of the first box Halfway through construction of the first box

Box 1 completed! Box 1 completed!

They STACK! THEY STACK!

Excuse the mess, all four laid out Please excuse the mess! But here’s all four laid out side by side

With the XPS Toppers And on the dining room table with the XPS toppers

One more from the dining room table featuring my washing machine, Frank and Geoff, the Plaugebearers, and a cutting mat One more from the dining room table featuring my washing machine, Frank and Geoff, the Plaugebearers, and a cutting mat

Frank and Geoff are big fans Frank and Geoff are big fans

Building was simple, I glued the sides then smashed a few nails in. I do own a drill, but it’s currently about 50 miles away, but when I get it I’ll whack a few screws into the sides just to properly secure everything (and get some wood filler to fill the gaps in my shoddy woodworking)

Next Steps

This really was one of those projects where you complete the initial step, which was a fair bit of work, step back, and realise oh my god I have so far to go until the end. But we move.

Took a good while to nail down the ideas for the internals of the boxes. But I think I’ve crowd sourced come up with some good ideas.

  • Abandonded mine
  • Crypt/Tomb
  • Industrial basement
  • Combat Arena
  • Dungeon

Those who are familiar with basic maths may have noticed that there are five items in that list, but I only made four. I commend you on your numeracy skills.

I have a cunning plan for how I’m going to reuse some of the inside sections to be various things depending on what game I’m playing, or what mood I’m in.

OK, that’s pretty much all I wanted to cover in this first post, I’ve got PLENTY more to document and loads more still to do. The goal is to get this project completed by Xmas, or at least get it to a point where games can be played.

Keep your eyes peeled for Part 2.

  • Thanks to the person who spotted my spotty maths, it is now fixed :)