briddy
Lance Corporal
Posts: 34
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Post by briddy on Jun 15, 2019 5:14:09 GMT
As silly as it sounds, I use a 3 x 3 gridded board. You can see this on Bob Cordery’s Wargaming Miscellany blog. With a 3” grid I find I am able to run an entertaining game (it keeps me happy anyways). The stylistic format might not be for everybody but it allows me to play games at a scale I can actually see to paint!
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Post by tradgardmastre on Jun 15, 2019 6:38:22 GMT
I play gridded games with my 54mm figures on three inch grids also. A small kitchen table can provide a tactical challenge, more importantly fun. I use 54 mm figures with smaller scale tanks on the same grid which looks fine to my eyes. I have also played non gridded games on the kitchen table again most enjoyably.
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Post by gonefishing on Jun 15, 2019 14:14:35 GMT
I agree with the posts above - huge tables aren't needed for rewarding games. I play on a dining room table that measures about 6 x just under 4', and have buckets of fun in even that "limited" space. Generally I use the movement and fire measurements required for 28mm (lots of 6" moves, firepower about double that, etc.) and it's amazing how quickly one forgets the abstraction and simply gets immersed in the game.
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Post by macscrooge on Jun 16, 2019 12:39:51 GMT
Depends on the game. I’ve played great (54mm) games on everything from a 3x3 foot table to a 100x100 foot lawn. 1-12 players and 12 - 2,000 figures!
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Post by davel on Jun 16, 2019 19:37:08 GMT
I'm lucky. I have a 10' x 5' table. It's covered with Kallistra hex terrain, but I also have various gridded mats from Deep Cut Studio.
As my table is permanently set up, I don't have to worry about setting up/clearing away.
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Post by spiritofethandune on Jun 19, 2019 8:18:45 GMT
As gonefishing says it is easy to get immersed in the game and forget the abstractions and compromises of scale. I find this with both Bob's rules and the Command and Colours hex-based system. Mike is currently making some some reduced size 'toy town' buildings for use with both rules and I can see already that they are going to look great with 54mm figures on a grid.
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Post by jimmn on Jun 27, 2019 13:18:10 GMT
Here is my conclusion, based on very limited experience: a larger game surface and larger battle is more exciting. However, a small surface can be quite useful for testing out different approaches to particular tactical issues. For example, how do you defeat a blockhouse? This would be just one component of a larger battle but is a problem in itself.
This perspective is based on solo wargaming. People who are playing multiplayer games and people who are transporting their games will have different experiences.
The downside of the large battle area is moving each 54mm figure can take a lot of time. Featherstone pointed out that solo wargaming allows the player to take all the time he wants with all aspects of the game, to make sure he is satisfied with how it is done. He also wrote that solo wargaming can become a way of life. You plan an entire campaign in detail, with narrative and documents about terrain, history, culture, politics, written orders, order of battle, rules of engagement, etc. You keep a war diary with round by round descriptions of events. You include photos. A campaign might last several months or a year.
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Post by aducknamedjoe on Jun 29, 2019 6:05:07 GMT
I prefer living room floors and yards!
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Post by pinotnoir01 on Sept 23, 2019 4:11:31 GMT
Depends on how many people are playing, 3X4 works for two guys playing Saga 28mm. Six or eight players in 54mm is a great excuse to go 6X24.
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Post by manoftinblog on Oct 19, 2019 6:34:13 GMT
Much as I love the freedom of occasional garden gaming, despite the UK weather manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2016/09/25/in-a-garden-far-far-away/most of my limited gaming time and space happens on portable gridded hex games boards of old Heroscape hexes. These live semi-permanently on an old dining table cramped into a corner of our small house's living room (with storage crammed below and around as it sits next to my painting desk). manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2017/08/01/192-hexes-of-joy-a-larger-hex-game-board/and manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2019/06/11/restored-corner-of-the-house-that-is-my-hex-boards-of-joy/Overall the larger hex game board is 69cm (just over 2 foot) width by 54mm depth (just under 2 foot) . The smaller two portable hex boards are each 49cm by 30 cm including rims. Overall this gives me a 192 hex playing area of 118cms (around 4 foot) by 54 to 60mm depth (two foot). sidetracked2017blog.wordpress.com/2017/08/05/blowing-up-trains-part-2/L Alternatively I can set up each small board on either side of a river etc as in my ACW rail bridge crossing manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2017/07/25/acw-battle-of-pine-ridge-vintage-airfix-full-game-write-up/You have to imagine whilst playing and hex measuring that the board rims are not there. Alternatively I can put each small board at either end of the big board in the middle, or shift each of them to another space as an island. Flexible. The flexibility is being able to pick up and move any board to another place of the house, such as a kitchen table, to play with others or work on a playtest or Games scenario. It gives me great flexibility of adding boards together or playtesting on just one. Obviously the larger the figure (e.g. 54mm) the smaller the available gaming space but it works well for short fast Skirmish games. For my smaller troops (15mm Peter Laing and Airfix 20mm) it feels a big playing area. Cluttered 3D hex terrain to suit Featherstone's Close Wars rules appendix to War Games tends to shape the outcome of the usually solo game. manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2016/06/09/close-little-wars-featherstones-simplest-rules/I can keep in place a separate temporary railway scenic board backing for the wall edging, useful for photography. Downside: There is no dedicated light yet in this area, relying on room lighting and a crafting lamp. The alternative, I can strip the boards backs to their permanent hex base plates and store them away, freeing up my table to use with felt mats etc. Hope this answers your question about playing spaces. Mark Man of TIN
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