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I originally made it normal table height, but found long reaches while sitting were harder and it just felt cramped.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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[AA50/Anniversary] "G40 Lite" Setup with France, ANZAC, Canada, Aligned Neutrals, and Map Modernizations
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@FranceNeedsMorePower said :
@vodot Is this the board state setup or no?
This was close to the endstate for our first playtest. This is the end of I6, Allies conceded after J7.
@TitusJames said :
@vodot Thats awesome! I plan to print out a number of your changes for my copy of the game. Do How do you scale all of your printouts?
Almost all of them should be able to be printed exactly as posted to the forums here - at 400 DPI (dots per inch). This would match the original game board as shown above. If your map is larger than the OOB board, you would have to scale the printouts yourself to match. The OOB board is 24 x 46in, so your printouts should be scaled by whatever the ratio is of the dimensions of your map to those of the original board.
For example, I printed Tjoek’s AA50 map files out at 300DPI, producing final printed dimensions of 32in x 61.33in. That’s a ratio of 4:3 compared to the OOB board, so if you were trying to match my overlays to that printout you would need to scale your prints up by that same ratio (4/3 or 1.33x ). In this case, that would mean printing the overlays at 300 DPI (fewer dots per inch = more “inches per dot”), rather than their native 400 DPI.
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@FranceNeedsMorePower
Here’s what we started with. I tried to meld in the G40.2 setup, combining and splunching unit groups where needed:
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@vodot Nice!
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@FranceNeedsMorePower I haven’t put this on triplea, but @Argothair has created a similar 1941/2 map based off of my overlays, find that here: https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/post/1771557.
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previous pics were missing the German naval setup, this one should be better (yes, that’s a sub in SZ 8):
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@vodot Looks nice!
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Communist China!
Have fun coming up with rules for this one, it’s a brain burner. Best I can do off the top of my head: One simple version, one muuuuch crazier version:
Simple Version:
8.0 Communist China:
8.1 Communist China (CC) is a controlled Pro-Allied Minor power, moving with and controlled by the Soviet Union.
8.2 At the end of the Soviet Union’s turn, place 1 additional CC infantry in one CC Territory, up to a maximum of 3. If no CC Territory exists with less than three Infantry, place one Artillery unit in any CC Territory instead, again up to a maximum of three.Crazy Version:
8.0 Communist China & the Comintern Alliance:
8.1 If Communist China (CC) is included in the game, then the Soviet Union and CC become a third, separate Alliance called “The Comintern”:- 8.1.1 The Comintern no longer wins and loses with the Allies.
- 8.1.2 Comintern units may no longer share territories or Sea Zones with Allied powers, and vice-versa.
- 8.1.3 Combat between the Comintern and the Allies (and the Axis) is possible.
- 8.1.4 Whenever the Comintern attacks a Neutral Territory, there is no ‘re-alignment’ roll for other Neutrals.
- 8.1.5 The Comintern wins the game if a round ends with the Soviet Union and/or CC in control of 6 or more victory cities, including every USSR home Victory city.
8.2 Communist China (CC) is a Minor Comintern Power controlled by and moving with the Soviet Union.
8.3 All Comintern-controlled Territories in China become CC-controlled.
8.3 At the end of each Soviet turn, CC places one infantry plus one additional infantry for every two original Chinese territories they control, rounding down. Place the infantry units in any CC Territory.
8.4 If any CC territory borders a Soviet-controlled TT, the CC may place one of the above infantry units as an artillery unit instead, placing it in any CC territory connected in an unbroken chain of Comintern territories to that Soviet territory.
8.5 If there are no communist forces remaining on the board at the end of the Soviet turn, place no CC reinforcements. Instead select an original Chinese territory adjacent to a Soviet territory, and roll a d6. On a 3 or less, Place one CC infantry and one CC artillery in that territory; combat will ensue here as applicable in later turns.Roundels (print @ 4x6in):
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@vodot Love the roundels!
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v10: G40 Lite including France, aligned Neutrals, Canada, ANZAC, Communist China, and all the recent additions up to 11/18/2025
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mBgt6KSM7oIE3uNmuESPSU2F1AhicYMG/view?usp=sharing
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