I haven't made a productive post here in a bit so I thought I would share with you my stupid easy solution for modular game tables. The only materials you need for this project is cold hard cash, or credit, or debit, or checks I guess. That's because the perfect modular game table has already been made for you in the form of 2'x4' folding tables you can get from hardware or department stores.
These are "Lifetime" brand folding tables we picked up at Lowe's. Several years ago we picked up two similar folding tables from Walmart but they are slightly different heights so they need to be shimmed up to work with these. We wanted to have four tables so we could make up to a 4'x8' table without this hassle. However we can put up three 4'x4' tables at this point which is pretty handy for RPGs or Wargame night. The best solution is to try and get the same brand so that the heights will match up. Each table cost us roughly $35.00 so it's not the cheapest solution but it's not too bad either.
Here are two of the tables put together to create a 4'x4'x table. We have a number of different table tops for 4'x4' tables made from Masonite. Another nice thing about these tables is that they can be used for project tables when you aren't using them for games. They are plastic and clean up easily but you don't even need to bother cleaning them really since you will be putting some kind of top on them or some kind of cloth surface down to game on.
Here are three tables put together to create a 4'x6' table. It's nice that these tables fold up so you can store them easily in a corner so you can put up or take down a good size table quickly and store them quickly if you have limited space to game in.
Here are all four tables we have put together to make a 4'x8' table. I'll note here that these tables make for a less sturdy surface than a dedicated game table but of course if you build up a large table it's hard to move. You pretty much need a dedicated playing room to make a permanent 4'x8' game table and even a 4'x4' table will get in the way unless you have a special area for it. These are more sturdy than slapping a 4'x8' piece of plywood on some saw horses but they are not jostle proof.
We also have four 2.5'x5' tables so we can make a massive 5'x10' game table which we use for for our space port but it takes up most of the space in a two car garage and because the tables aren't the same brands we have to shim some of them up a bit to make them match.
As I said this isn't a very cheap solution but it's super easy to deal with and store away when we don't need them. We've tried other types of game table solutions but this is the one we favor because it's so easy to deal with.
3 comments:
Well I got a solution when you get different height tables that I use at home. I got some bridges, and rivers from pegasus hobiies I put them in the divison of both tables offcourse this works much better when you put cloth to cover the tables. I use cloth to differentiate different climates and add different terrain fetures to give more carater to the cloth/table.
I've thought about making some city tiles with little bridges and walk ways and walls which I think would look good to. We can make some pretty large tables though without that problem. We've also got a few cloth covers and we have more in the works and they do work really well for this kind of set up.
This is honestly the best solution for a portable/modular wargaming table that I have seen. I have seen the DIY tables, which are nice. The cost in materials and time can be daunting. There are lightweight wargame tables that are 4'x6', but they often cost $200 or more. I had considered buying two of the 2'x6' Lifetime tables to make a 4'x6' miniatures wargaming table. I now think that maybe the 2'x4' option is better, since the tables are individually lighter and allows for more modularity.
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