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I originally made it normal table height, but found long reaches while sitting were harder and it just felt cramped.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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What kind of material did you use for the map? Also is it a solid board or can it be rolled or folded?
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What kind of material did you use for the map? Also is it a solid board or can it be rolled or folded?
Foamcore, so no rolling. It’s mounted to the plywood with trim molding around it. I could take it out in theory, but it’s designed to be permanent.
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Lots of great ideas here, I plan to start mine this week. Thanks everyone for sharing your hard work and ideas.
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I just wrapped up mounting my map, I really like it. (4x8 1936 HBG). I’m less of a specialized wargamer, and more of an all around game guy, so I needed my game table to be cleared when I wasn’t playing Global. So I build a frame, similar to a canvas stretcher and then topped it with rigid cardboard and then mounted the map on top of that, rolled the trim edges around to give it that “pop off the wall” art look. Now I have a nice map for my A&A sessions and when we are done, it returns to being board game room decor.
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General 6 Stars '22 '21 '20 '19 '18 '17 '16 '15 '14 '13 Customizerlast edited by Apr 18, 2017, 11:57 PM
What the !!! Is that Stalins grandson playing war games at The General’s Fortress Saturday night ?
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I built this for my Navy buds retirement gift. Works pretty sweet!
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General 6 Stars '22 '21 '20 '19 '18 '17 '16 '15 '14 '13 Customizerlast edited by Jun 30, 2017, 11:13 AM
Nice !
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I built this for my Navy buds retirement gift. Works pretty sweet!
@SS:
What the !!! Is that Stalins grandson playing war games at The General’s Fortress Saturday night ?
CUSTOM MAPS AND TABLES!!! MY ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE!!!
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Here is my storage spot for the new map I picked up at the Young Grasshopper G40 Invitational.
Now that I have this awesome map, I might have to fall down the rabbit hole of getting a table…
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Here is a video on the tabletop I made recently. Please check it out:
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Here are a couple of pics of the table my son (16) and I built last spring. For years we have had a table top on an air hockey table, however I had a custom map printed which is larger than that table. So after looking at some tables we came up with this one and built it a little larger to accommodate the Global War map from HBG. Table is 4’ X 10’ overall.
We wanted the shelves under the table top for storage (unit trays and such) to free up table space and space around the table. Dice trays on each end and some extra space for all the “extras” you need to play Global 40, 41 & 42!
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Very impressive! And the posters on the wall are a nice touch too. Thanks for sharing these pictures.
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Thanks, Just starting on the walls!
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Appreciate all the insight into building a custom game table.
Kudos to YG and all the videos re: this.
I’m in the process of building a table. I’ll submit some pictures when I get the requisite 10 posts.My question is on height of the table. I have an 8’x4’ plywood with border. Standard map size.
My son is 12, I’m 6’2… Was just trying to see what the consensus was for height of the legs and the overall table. Unsure if we’d use barstools (likely) but do most people stand for this, sit for this?Thanks so much!
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My question is on height of the table. I have an 8’x4’ plywood with border. Standard map size.
My son is 12, I’m 6’2… Was just trying to see what the consensus was for height of the legs and the overall table. Unsure if we’d use barstools (likely) but do most people stand for this, sit for this?Looking forward to seeing the forthcoming pictures. About the height question you have, my suggestion would be for you and your son to do some “reachability” tests by putting the Global 1940 map on your sheet of plywood, putting the plywood on a low table, then raising the map to various heights by putting books (or whatever) between the plywood and the table. Start low, and check to see if your son’s arms can reach comfortably all the way to the middle of the board from all four sides of the map. If so, raise it some more and repeat the test. Once the middle of the board is out of his comfortable reach, you’ll know you will have gone over the maximum allowable height, and you should therefore aim for something a little lower – but not too much lower, because a table that’s too low won’t be comfortable for you, nor for your son as he grows taller in the future.
This is based on the assumption that your table setup allows players to walk round the board on all four sides. If your table is going to be up against a wall – which isn’t recommended, because the table will only be approachable from three sides – then the table will have to be lower because players will have to be able to reach all the way across the map from top to bottom rather than just to the middle.
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Good Call! Thanks for response. We are building it in the garage, but eventually will go in a downstairs room. To get it downstairs, we will have to assemble the legs/glue/screw once in the basement (wouldn’t make the corners!).
I’m just trying to plan out our eventual gaming sessions. I do like the barstool idea.
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Quick update on the height. We are making the legs 35". Plywood and side mounting is 2 3/4". It is about what a table height island that you can sit at is… Put a barstool underneath.
Still unable to post pictures of the process!
We are staining the legs and base. Will have to transport the table itself downstairs, then mount it to the base once in the basement since it would be too big to navigate corners!
Thanks for the input!
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So much inspiration!!
About 1,5 years ago Tjoek introduced me to the game and I have been a huge fan ever since.
Currently thinking about my own table so I’m loving this thread. Will post some picture of my own version once it is done (eventually).Biggest challenge: making it possible to bring it along while still fitting the 219 x 100 cm version of the map…
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I shared this in the thread for Siredblood’s map, but not here. Here are a couple of pics of our table, mostly finished with SB’s custom map.
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