Anyone created a gridded terrain board?

[FierceKitty]

Couldn't you have the dark light on at the same time as a normal one?

[mmcv]

Couldn't you have the dark light on at the same time as a normal one?

I don't think you'd be able to see it then as the normal light would "wash out" the UV light. As far as I'm aware the black lights only really work in the dark or low light conditions.

[DaveH]

I'm not particularly familiar with WW2 rules, especially grid-based ones, and will likely be a while before I get to a point of doing any WW2 stuff. However, it would be interesting to know how other games make use of grids. For the sort of games you're talking about, how many grid squares would typically make up a game board? This one will be 12 squares by 8 squares. And over what sort of ranges are we talking for number of squares?

Bob Cordery's portable wargame rules for WW2 use grids with something like 8-12 squares on each axis and give a decent simple game.

[jimduncanuk]

I did this a while back.

Relatively easy to do it with squares.

http://jim-duncan.blogspot.com/2012/12/big-board-portable-wargame-modern-aar.html

[mmcv]

I did this a while back.

Relatively easy to do it with squares.

http://jim-duncan.blogspot.com/2012/12/big-board-portable-wargame-modern-aar.html

Interesting, looks well as a game board but too defined for what I'm going for. You've got another blog subscriber though, had a flick through some of your other posts and will have to come back and read through more. I get the sense hexes work better than squares for WW2 era games given the warfare was much less linear.

[Orcs]

I would base some clumps of lichen on small circular bases to mark the corners of the squares. If you use lichen of suitable colour for your terrain. A colour that fits in but thet is easily distinguished would be best - eg a dark green or autumn brown colour. Thay way it will look like bushes on normal inspection of the table

[mmcv]

 I think I've now 4 sample methods to try out:

1. Apply filler and paint then mark grid corners when flocking with rocks and grass tufts and lichen (good thinking orcs, I've had a bag of that for ages that I've not used) pressed into the board and overall ground cover for a subtle effect.
2. Apply filler then lightly carve full gridlines into it before it dries, then paint, flock, etc on top of that.
3. Apply filler then use stacked tile spacers to mark corners (or possibly stick them down first then fill around them), then paint and flock leaving slight flat markings for the corners.
4. Apply filler then make slight indents at the corners (with a fingertip)

....I need to get some more filler!

Any other ones?

[O Dinas Powys]

I think I've now 4 sample methods to try out:

1. Apply filler and paint then mark grid corners when flocking with rocks and grass tufts and lichen (good thinking orcs, I've had a bag of that for ages that I've not used) pressed into the board and overall ground cover for a subtle effect.
2. Apply filler then lightly carve full gridlines into it before it dries, then paint, flock, etc on top of that.
3. Apply filler then use stacked tile spacers to mark corners (or possibly stick them down first then fill around them), then paint and flock leaving slight flat markings for the corners.
4. Apply filler then make slight indents at the corners (with a fingertip)

....I need to get some more filler!

Any other ones?

1a: instead of having the lichen, tufts, etc actually attached to the board, make them on magnetic bases.  Embed more magnets (or steel tacks) in the board then you can stick the markers to the board when required.  This means you can store the boards without damaging the corner markers.

Additionally, magnetically based walls, hedges, etc could be attached along the edge of a sector and anchored in place using the magnets.  Ditto hills.  

If you flock over the magnets then they will be invisible if you want the board for a non-gridded game.

Cheers!

Meirion

[mmcv]

1a: instead of having the lichen, tufts, etc actually attached to the board, make them on magnetic bases.  Embed more magnets (or steel tacks) in the board then you can stick the markers to the board when required.  This means you can store the boards without damaging the corner markers.

Additionally, magnetically based walls, hedges, etc could be attached along the edge of a sector and anchored in place using the magnets.  Ditto hills.  

If you flock over the magnets then they will be invisible if you want the board for a non-gridded game.

Cheers!

Meirion

Interesting, I do like clever tricks with magnets...

However that does mean manually setting out the grid each time which is one thing I want to avoid. Though having the magnets as guides might help with speeding that up as wouldn't need to measure.

I have some magnets at the moment that I'm planning to use in making activation or wound trackers if I can source some small enough metal strips (or failing that MDF bases with magnetic stripe attached) so could experiment a bit and see how easy it is to "find" the magnets under flock.

[jimduncanuk]

Interesting, I do like clever tricks with magnets...

Clever trick with magnets coming up.

http://jim-duncan.blogspot.com/2016/09/just-for-you-mr-kinch.html

[mmcv]

Clever trick with magnets coming up

Great piece of kit. Will have to bear that in mind. Will need a castle for my crusades at some point in future...but that's probably a 2021 project. 

[O Dinas Powys]

Interesting, I do like clever tricks with magnets...

However that does mean manually setting out the grid each time which is one thing I want to avoid. Though having the magnets as guides might help with speeding that up as wouldn't need to measure.

I have some magnets at the moment that I'm planning to use in making activation or wound trackers if I can source some small enough metal strips (or failing that MDF bases with magnetic stripe attached) so could experiment a bit and see how easy it is to "find" the magnets under flock.

If you have the right magnets they'll practically find themselves! You can use a rare earth magnet to find the screws holding plasterboard onto a stud wall, so given that you'll know roughly where they should be, once you've found the first the rest should be no bother 

[Norm]

I'm not particularly familiar with WW2 rules, especially grid-based ones, and will likely be a while before I get to a point of doing any WW2 stuff. However, it would be interesting to know how other games make use of grids. For the sort of games you're talking about, how many grid squares would typically make up a game board? This one will be 12 squares by 8 squares. And over what sort of ranges are we talking for number of squares?

Poor Bloody Infantry (PBI) from Peter Pig, uses an 8 x 8 grid in squares. I typically use 12 wide by 9 or 12 deep in hexes for WWII.

[mmcv]

If you have the right magnets they'll practically find themselves! You can use a rare earth magnet to find the screws holding plasterboard onto a stud wall, so given that you'll know roughly where they should be, once you've found the first the rest should be no bother 

Might be worth exploring, would need to use reasonably thin ones as I'll likely magnetise the bottom of my bases for storage and some.of those mini magnets are crazy strong, would see bases zipping to the corners by themselves!

Poor Bloody Infantry (PBI) from Peter Pig, uses an 8 x 8 grid in squares. I typically use 12 wide by 9 or 12 deep in hexes for WWII.

Thanks Norm, that would be a sensible size.


No just need to work out what to do by experiments on..tried sticking a few bits of thin card together but the PVA warped them so doubt they'd take filler. Think I've some plaster card about that might work or a thick corregated cardboard.

[hammurabi70]

Poor Bloody Infantry (PBI) from Peter Pig, uses an 8 x 8 grid in squares. I typically use 12 wide by 9 or 12 deep in hexes for WWII.

One of the reasons I want to build a gridded table is for PBI, so I am interested in learning more, although what 'more' might be I have no idea.  I gather there was a new 2015 version.  Is that very different to the previous versions?  What pleases you about those rules?