Sick of squeezing seven people around my dining table every week...

[Erk]

So, I grabbed some graph paper, some scrap 2x and 1x4, and a top from an old ping pong table, and started building the Mark One.

So far it's got legs and a tabletop, which is a start. Next up I'm going to trim off the bare particle board edges and smooth the paint down, which should have it presentable by game night.



Upcoming: card drawers for power cards, little shelves for pens and things, and retractable drink holders and dice trays. Possibly built in power outlets at each player station too.

[Erk]

Reserved in case I actually keep updating this wip thread.

[goto124]

I nearly said 'get a bigger dining table', but then I saw you're already building one!

How big is your actual dining table, by the way? Is it round or rectangle?

[barnmaddo]

Nice! Seven players is quite a few for DnD.

Maybe you can make it a standing table, it's good for your health and then you don't have leg room problems. (admittedly I personally would start fidgeting a lot of I had to stand for more than 30 minutes or so)

[Joe the Rat]

Nice!

Is the map board in the center magnetic?

Standing / High table looks like it will wait for Mark II. If you do go that route, you can use tall chairs / stools for seating (also, fewer cat intrustions!). But you need to have your top secured. Standing tables become leaning tables, and it doesn't take very much gamer to accidentally flip a loose table top.

Thinking a bit more, you could make a leg extension frame if you wanted to set up a Wargame height option, without investing in the mechanics for up/down.

[Broken Twin]

Man, I would love the living space to put a big table in for people to game with.

I do have to second the suggestion to make the next version geared towards standing/stools. I find that setup vastly preferable, for multiple reasons.

[Erk]

It's like you all have a direct line into my brain!

I nearly said 'get a bigger dining table', but then I saw you're already building one!

How big is your actual dining table, by the way? Is it round or rectangle?

Actual table is oblong, it's a circle with a rectangular leaf. 60" long and 42" wide. It seats six, but even that's crowded with character sheets and minis and terrain.

Nice! Seven players is quite a few for DnD.

Maybe you can make it a standing table, it's good for your health and then you don't have leg room problems. (admittedly I personally would start fidgeting a lot of I had to stand for more than 30 minutes or so)

technically, six players and me DMing. I get one whole side, and two players on each other side.

Standing is an option I'm considering. It's already two inches taller than a dining table, which feels normal with kitchen chairs but is nice when standing for mini movements. I am thinking of leg extensions to take it up another six inches for when I play warmachine. This would fit nicely with the way I've geared the top to unbolt and be replaced by a drop in piece of 4x4 terrain.

Nice!

Is the map board in the center magnetic?

Standing / High table looks like it will wait for Mark II. If you do go that route, you can use tall chairs / stools for seating (also, fewer cat intrustions!). But you need to have your top secured. Standing tables become leaning tables, and it doesn't take very much gamer to accidentally flip a loose table top.

Thinking a bit more, you could make a leg extension frame if you wanted to set up a Wargame height option, without investing in the mechanics for up/down.

The top is secured with heavy brackets, as standing height was a consideration from the early stages. The leg extension I plan is probably just going to be drop-in with bolts to hold the table on. It may not even be necessary, a 32" it's a pretty comfortable surface for standing so far.

The current top is just particle board and paint. I want to lay down sheet metal covered by vinyl, so that it's both magnetic and dry/wet erase. Also water/spill proof. That's going to have to wait for now, my immediate priority is to make it comfortable for Saturday's game. If I can also make my little pen shelf that'll be enough to keep me happy.

[Flickerdart]

Looks nice! I see you have a whiteboard situation in the middle. Did you know that you can just paint your entire table in whiteboard surface?

[Erk]

Looks nice! I see you have a whiteboard situation in the middle. Did you know that you can just paint your entire table in whiteboard surface?

I sure did. I'm probably just going to cover it in shower liner board though. It's cheaper and smoother, getting the painted surface to look really professional isn't easy.