Suggestions from those with gaming tables in their homes?

[Ovidius Incertus]

I've moved to a new place relatively recently and have spent a goodly amount of time trying to make a dent in painting the rather extensive DE army that's been lying around for several years, starting a Necron army and trying to build up a decent Mechanicus force.

 

I play so, so rarely, because it's hard for me to get out of the house to a gaming club or my Geedubs, but it just dawned on me as I read B&C from my kitchen table that I have a large kitchen island that is just begging to be used to play on (and promptly returned to kitchen island status, lest I incur the wrath of my fiance).

 

So I've got a nice waist-height space that's 75"x29" (goes out to about 39", but it's curved).  I have a handful of unbuilt terrain pieces: a Pegasus Hobbies cathedral, the terrain bits from the old Knight Renegade box, a Quake Crater box and an Honored Imperium set.

 

Is that enough terrain to have a game on my kitchen island?  I feel like it's a bit sparse and doesn't offer a lot of elevation.  What else might I want to buy/make?  Any sort of mats I might want to put down?

 

Your suggestions and/or photos would be welcome!  Help me actually play instead of staring at unpainted or half-painted models!!

[hushrong]

My buddy had a 6x4 plywood 'tabletop' made that would sit nice on a fold-out table that we could easily move and store. He added slats on the bottom so it would sit flush with the table and not move around. We used a F.A.T. mat from tablewar.com (sorry, I can't link using the comp I am currently on) on top of that with terrain. So plenty of space and a nice topper to add some color over a dull piece of wood.

 

Then we just used all the GW terrain we had. I think you have enough to start out with to block some line of sight and give some cover. Then over time just add it and expand your collection.

[NiceGuyAdi]

If you don’t have enough terrain yet, just introduce stuff from the kitchen. Upside down bowls for bunkers/hillocks, mugs for fuel storage, stuff like that.

 

It won’t look anything like as good as proper terrain, but the games will be better mechanically, and you’ll get a good idea for what you want to buy/make as you go along.

[Panzer]

We usually use two pressboard pieces on trestle legs. Pretty cheap, durable enough, you can hide it behind other furniture if you need the space and it looks good enough with a proper gaming mat. ^^

For cheap beginner terrain I can recommend the Ruin Sector from TTCombat. Just get two sets of it and you're good for a while.

[Halandaar]

You can always expand the space by putting a 6x4 piece of wood on top to give you a "full size" board that won't hang over the edges of your worktop too far.

 

Also worth noting that the cardboard Kill Team boards will fit almost perfectly across the space you have (they are 22"x"30), and you can combine more than one to give you a relatively inexpensive Sector Imperialis Board to play on.

 

For cheap beginner terrain I can recommend the Ruin Sector from TTCombat. Just get two sets of it and you're good for a while.

 

Agreed on this, for the amount of pieces you get it's a good price, and there's a decent variety of ruins, barricades and LOS-blocking crates.

[Tyriks]

I do the same. I have a board slightly bigger than 6'x4' I prop against the wall when I'm not playing. It makes it a lot easier to host. There are also collapsible tables that are designed for this if you have money. FirmerTerra tables look very nice to me, and when my wife and I buy a house we are gonna buy one of those for 40k. The are about $200 though so it can wait.

[Kilofix]

In the US, I bought two 6’ x 2’ Banquet Tables. Think they’re about US $38 from Walmart or Target.