Monday 12 June 2017

A new gaming table solution and yet more Dragon Rampant action

My wargaming table sits in the middle of my study and is normally just a regular 2 x 3 table that I use to ... well, keep covered in piles of books, traditionally, but also to do write-y tasks like making notes or marking papers. It can unfold into a 4 x 3 table. But for the larger, 32-point game of Dragon Rampant I was going to be playing on Saturday, I was worried that 4 x 3 might be too crowded. So in a fit of efficiency on Friday night, I experimented with something.

Years ago I decided I was going to build a modular tabletop for this table. I went and bought an 8 foot by 4 foot piece of plywood and had it cut into four sections, and then ... then I just put the bits in the shed and felt shame every time I looked at them. One of the pieces became an impromptu workbench in the study when placed on top of a bunch of rolling drawer units and that was it.

So on Friday I just went at it with some duct tape.


The edges that stick out below the table base are a leetle bendy, but not terribly so. The downside is that all my grass mats and stuff are supposed to cover a 3 x 3 area, so I'll need to get some new coverings. Anyway, I improvised what I could and the result is that I played some Dragon Rampant!

Opponent Luca's army had a fantasy condottieri theme: classic Warhammer crossbows, pikemen and Kislevite light horse.


This shot from our second game shows his general and scouts taking up a position on the right of the line together with the pike unit.


My Chaos cultists advance under cover of a mystical fog. Those guys soaked up a lot of crossbow bolts and arrows and achieved nothing other than that. Which is fine, but they cost five points. They could be swapped out for something a little less expensive and still act as bullet sponges.


My MVPs were the Battle Snail and the demon packs, who carried all before them. The role of the demons in my army is to inflict a lot of damage and then die like the six-strength-point dogs they are.

I had a good time, and am pretty happy with where the army is at the moment, although the light foot are going to get slightly amended for my next outing. I definitely need to find some large, stowable covering for the new tabletop, which will also get packed away when not in use. If I can't do it cheaper than a printed gaming mat, I will just get one of those.

2 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. It was! This game seems to have the right balance of decision-making and loosey-goosey attitude for me.

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