Gaming in apartments

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**unclehomefries**

Hey guys,

I am moving to a fairly small studio apartment this coming August. Does anyone here have any experience with gaming in a similar space? I want to make and use a modular gaming table on a coffee table. I plan on keeping the baseboard in the closet or possibly under my bed.

Any ideas?

I'll see if I can find a floor plan to post. If not, I'll draw a rough sketch on paint or something

Thanks

**Cryonicleech**

I play in relatively small spaces, backyards, Garages, etc.

How big is the coffee table? The modular table? the room?

**tastytaste**

I have have two folding tables that I keep in a shed attached to my apartment. I do not know your situation but if you can fit some folding tables under your bed you should be set. Also if you have wood floors i would just get a battle mat and play on the floor. You will get a whole new perspective on the game seeing it from above way more tactical i think

**FoxPhoenix135**

I used to use sawhorses to put a board on. If you buy the aluminum ones, they store out of the way in the bottom of a closet. Of course storing the board is usually the problem, but I usually stuck that under the bed.

**unclehomefries**

The room is pretty big, about 13 feet by 14 feet. The coffee table I'm getting is about 3 feet by 3 feet.

The modular table I want to build is gonna (hopefully) be 6'x4'

I could probably add in extra support legs if necessary.

**InquisitorFabius**

Be careful, one late night we had the cops called on use for noise.

**warpcrafter**

My one piece of advice isn't about the table at all, actually, but I feel the need to pass it on. Get something thick and dark to put on the floor that covers all area where the gamers will be standing, so that when (When, not If) they spill food or drinks it will not ruin the rug. It will go a long way toward helping get your deposit back when you move. Also, get used to the occasional noise complaint.

**Alex Kolodotschko**

The board and trestles/tables are the easier bit.

1)A 4x4 board is large enough to hold small well/fully painted, highly narrated games.
2)Consider campaigns and apocalypse style dual table setups to use your whole collection.
3)Flat topped stools (short of tall) can make good board supports and are easily dotted around the house
as plant stands, freestyle clothes horses, something to put your tea on when in the bath, a place for your
kitchen buddy etc etc

Terrain is the real space takerupper (and messmaker during construction).

1)Before making hills select an appropriately sized storage box.
Cut your foam square to fit it THEN draw and cut out your hills.
They should always stack neatly inside that box.

2)Consider magnetising/individually basing trees/rock spires and make flat template bases for them.

3)Buildings can be made modular, hollow(for storage of smallr items) and stackable in a similar way to hills.

4)Roads/rivers take up little space and help to make a table look the part.

Just a quick brainstorm, hope it helps.

**JohnHwangDD**

I'd second the sawhorses. That coffee table wouldn't be tall enough for gaming, though it'll be a nice place to rest your drinks and snacks *under* the gaming table...

**Osbad**

I based my first modular table on 12" x 48" loft flooring boards as tiles. They are tough (being designed to take the weight of a human being), interlock simply (which means they don't shift if someone leans on them) and are cheap (made out of chipboard and costing around £2 each). For me these were easier to find a suitable place to store than the usual 24" square tiles.

Of course I finished them off with the old bright green GW grass mat. Back then bright green grass was da shizzle. Now not so much, and I'd probably go for something else to finish them off...

**Darkreaver55**

I am going to be doing something similar soon myself, but my limited space solution apart from modular board pieces is one or more of those nifty folding-leg card tables. One of them could support a 4x4' board, and they are the perfect height for both standing and sitting at. Legs folded up, you can easily store them against the back wall of any closet bigger than 3.5' across.

**MagickalMemories**

You can get some decent folding tables, if you don't mind paying more than $10 for them. My parents have one that's fairly sturdy and about 5' x 3'.

Once you have a good, solid gaming space to play on, get a piece of 2" thick pink foam and cut it into 3 pieces that are 2' wide and 4' long. Lay them side-by-side. Duct tape the center one to ONE of the ones next to it. Flip over the now attached pieces and do it again.
This should give you a foldable table surface that folds kinda like this:
/ \ /

Easy storage.

Now, HEAVILY cover one side in some Woodland Scenics turf and you're set.

Eric

**Demogerg**

or you can get a folding ping-pong table.

when i was a young'en i had a bunk bed that i took the top bunk off of (so it had high and sturdy bedposts) so i flipped the bed upside down, put the mattress on the floor under the bed, and used the top surface of the bed as my gaming table.

yes, i slept under my "bed"
this earned me the nickname vamp

and this gave me a good 4x8 table with slightly raised edges so dice would not go flying, i had a sheet of the paper with fake grass on one side, solid black on the other, i lightly sprayed the black side with some grey, and BAM i had 3 terrain themes to work with, grass, city, and desert (plywood dune deserts ftw)
im my closet i had enough terrain built up over 7 years of playing primarily at home to make many gaming stores ashamed... good times...

**Fifty**

If you have the practical skills, you can knock up a 4x4 central section with 2x4 hinged sections that hang down at the side when not in use and swing up for play to be supported by fold out/swing out/fold up supports.

A mate of mine had that set up when we were kids. He knocked it up in Design Tech lessons and did a damn good job of it.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10793802 <-- Like this but with a large central section.

Or, but a couple of beer pong tables

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NL7UXQ?ie=UTF8&tag=beeponrul-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000NL7UXQ

**djphranq**

Either this has got to be one of the coolest topics ever! or I'm too hopped up on sugar and EVERYTHING seems to be the coolest ever!

**Fifty**

Bit of both?

**tahthing**

To me what defines a easy to store gameing "surface" is a piece of wood that can be proped against a wall and moved though doors.
i have two pieces of wood in my room just proped against the wall or used to extend a table, when i want to use them as a gameing table i simply take out some rolls of paper with fake grass on and put them over the pieces i then put the ends of the grass under the wood to had it ferm, this type can be put anywhere, its very good if you have a dinner table or coffee table or even if you just take the mattress off your bed

, in fact you can keep them under your mattress!

**Lordhat**

Two of these tables will hold a 6x4 board, with room to spare alog the long edges, and fold up very small to store. This particular price is kind of spendy, but I do believe we got ours for a quite a bit cheaper at costco or somesuch.
http://www.amazon.com/Banquet-Folding-Table/dp/B000BK3IBC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=furniture&qid=1240243880&sr=1-1

As far as MM's suggestion above, I've done that with Several tables (Read over 40 for a VERY large tournament a long time ago) and while that method works well, eventually the tape comes off if you use the tables alot. I suggest just using the 2'x4 sections of pink or blue foam, and gluing hard board to the backs. This gives you the added benefit of WAY more structural support, as well as keeping the table modular.

**cuscus**

Here's what I do. My table is actually a series of 2' by 4' MDF board. That way I can make a 4x4, 6x4, 8x4 or whatever I need by picking the right number of boards. They store either flat under the bed or standing up behind a door and are rigid enough to not bend or anything. When it's time to play I have a 6' folding table that the boards go on. I put down one of those no-skid mats (the one with the nubbly surface) and I've never had a problem with the boards shifting. Do not forget the mat or someone might push a board off the table if they lean against it.

**unclehomefries**

Wow! Thanks for all the advice guys!

I've found an old folding table that can easily fit under my bed, probably will pick up another. I really like the idea of the 2'X4' MDF board series.

What do you guys think would be better, flocking/basing the MDF or using a gaming mat? I'm leaning towards the gaming mat because its a lot easier to set up, and won't drip excess flock everywhere.

In terms of terrain, I'll probably make a few hills out of styrene, a road that can be laid down, a couple ruins, and maybe a small building with a usable exterior. I'll also put down a couple area forests or maybe crops. For storage I'll probably just get a small footlocker or something similar to place them in.

Any suggestions on how to host game nights in small areas like apartments? Practical considerations and things you've found through experience?

**MagickalMemories**

Lordhat wrote:As far as MM's suggestion above, I've done that with Several tables (Read over 40 for a VERY large tournament a long time ago) and while that method works well, eventually the tape comes off if you use the tables alot. I suggest just using the 2'x4 sections of pink or blue foam, and gluing hard board to the backs. This gives you the added benefit of WAY more structural support, as well as keeping the table modular.

I'm wondering; Could it just have been that the people at the tourney using & moving them were harsh? The one I have, I got from a friend... It's about 8 years old and pristine, ecxept for some edge damage (minor chipping).

At my buddy's house, where we game, they see regular usage (2 or 3 games a week) and are still kicking. They're between 5 & 8 years old, too.

Eric

**Lordhat**

MagickalMemories wrote:
Lordhat wrote:As far as MM's suggestion above, I've done that with Several tables (Read over 40 for a VERY large tournament a long time ago) and while that method works well, eventually the tape comes off if you use the tables alot. I suggest just using the 2'x4 sections of pink or blue foam, and gluing hard board to the backs. This gives you the added benefit of WAY more structural support, as well as keeping the table modular.

I'm wondering; Could it just have been that the people at the tourney using & moving them were harsh? The one I have, I got from a friend... It's about 8 years old and pristine, ecxept for some edge damage (minor chipping).

At my buddy's house, where we game, they see regular usage (2 or 3 games a week) and are still kicking. They're between 5 & 8 years old, too.

Eric

More than likely it was due to handling. My friends and I built the boards, and got to keep a good selection. However I see this as just another reason to forego the tape method, as on ours the tape came up on most of them, pulling up a good amount of the surface texturing. (The heat might have something to do with it as well, as I DO live in the desert). After using those AND the ones I built later with the Hardboard backing, I REALLY prefer the latter method for durability, and the ability to make them modular, for different setups. Also, the hardboard backing makes modelling different terrain easier, as you have a hard base for rivers and whatnot:

On both of these boards the hardboard made a great base for the 'bed' of the river and the lava. Just draw the 'pattern' on the foam, cut it and shape it to taste, then glue to the hardboard.

**MagickalMemories**

Some truth in your post there, lordhat.
I'm thinking the heat might play a large part of it. Maybe the way they're sealed, too?
Also, how many "layers" of tape did you use?

I definitely can't FAULT your technique. That's some nice looking stuff... But WTF? THAT isn't 40K being played in that second picture. Now, you've gone and contaminated the terrain.

Nice tables, too!

Eric

**Lordhat**

MagickalMemories wrote:Some truth in your post there, lordhat.
I'm thinking the heat might play a large part of it. Maybe the way they're sealed, too?
Also, how many "layers" of tape did you use?

I definitely can't FAULT your technique. That's some nice looking stuff... But WTF? THAT isn't 40K being played in that second picture. Now, you've gone and contaminated the terrain.

Nice tables, too!

Eric

Thanks. That is DEFINITELY 40K in the second picture. It's Tau vs. Imp Guard. The tables are structurally the same as the ones in theat were in the Battle Bunker in Memphis, TN. The grey sections at the ends were removable so you could add another 2'x4' section for 8'x4' tables. I still have two of those tables in my garage, slightly modified to attach to another 6'x4' table, ala Apoc. The table is 12'x8' with a 1'x4 section cut out of the middle of each 12' side, for easier access to the middle of the table.

When the store shut down, all the rest of the tables we had (there were 8 in the store), were sold for $300 with the customer's choice of available terrain sets. I got to pick my favorite board to keep, I kept the lavaboard and it's terrain, and sold all the rest.

**JohnHwangDD**

MagickalMemories wrote:WTF? THAT isn't 40K being played in that second picture.

Just because there isn't any Power Armor on the board, that doesn't mean it can't be 40k!

**Lordhat**

BTW I believe that that UMarines army on the lavaboard belongs to MemphisMark.

**MagickalMemories**

Lordhat wrote:
Thanks. That is DEFINITELY 40K in the second picture. It's Tau vs. Imp Guard.

::looks closer::
Whoops.

Missed the tanks.

I saw the Tau and -without looking closely- thought they were something "Mecha."

My bad.

E

**Hollismason**

I really like the lava board that is cool+

**grizgrin**

Well, if you saw the Tau, and thought "Mecha", then you really couldn't be too far off in that particular assesment now could you? The Leman Russ chassis all over the place were kinda a give away, however.

OT: GREAT table shots, BTW! I'm going to be building some tables soon, I hope. Not sure about the design yet, though. THanks for the inspiration and ideas!

**Necros**

I'm gonna be moving to a 1 BR condo in about a week. I never had a gaming space before as most of my gaming is done at a friend's place on club days. But, I plan to invest in the GW Realm of battle board and that should fit just-right on my kitchen table, or I could get a plywood bottom for it and stash it in a closet or under a bed. The ROB is pricey but I know it will look good and last long and fold up nicely enough to store out of the way when it's not in use.