# Making A Custom Gaming Table



## Vinoup

thank god, im not the only one who drinks Monster will playing!!!


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## Olaf the Stout

That's a pretty cool set-up.  Pretty cheap price for it too.

Also, is that a map of Freeport I spy?


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## Jester David

Olaf the Stout said:


> That's a pretty cool set-up.  Pretty cheap price for it too.
> 
> Also, is that a map of Freeport I spy?



Nope. Sandpoint from Rise of the Runelords.


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## sidonunspa

I thought that mounting a plasma horizontally was a bad idea...


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## Hand of Evil

See, you do not need a MS Surface!


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## TheSwartz

sidonunspa said:


> I thought that mounting a plasma horizontally was a bad idea...




I think the issue is one of glass fragility when transporting in the horizontal position

https://www.avforums.com/threads/myth-or-fact-can-you-lay-down-a-plasma-tv-for-transport.1436990/

Another issue with some Plasma is heat; Also, he mentions it's 'used', older models used a lot of electricity too if I recall.

All those issues aside, though, I still love how Plasma's look! But LEDs do continue to get better and cheaper.


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## Morlock

I remember seeing a page or thread somewhere of a guy who had done this, like 10 years ago. I guess the economics of it are more feasible now, though. Pretty awesome battlemat, in theory.


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## Nebulous

Love it.  How hot does it get, are the miniatures bases going to melt onto the board?


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## Bloodsausage

It appears that the TV is a couple of inches below the glass on which the minis are sitting. This probably mitigates the heat problem.


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## hollowheel

I tote a cheap 43" LED flatscreen (base removed) to games.  I slide it onto the table and run maps on Photoshop from my laptop via an HDMI cable. Easy peasy. Since its not a Plasma, heat is not a problem. I've considered getting a piece of thick clear plastic to protect the screen, but honestly, its pretty durable, and we use plastic miniatures.

Highly recommended if you have about $300 to spare.


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## Nebulous

hollowheel said:


> I tote a cheap 43" LED flatscreen (base removed) to games.  I slide it onto the table and run maps on Photoshop from my laptop via an HDMI cable. Easy peasy. Since its not a Plasma, heat is not a problem. I've considered getting a piece of thick clear plastic to protect the screen, but honestly, its pretty durable, and we use plastic miniatures.
> 
> Highly recommended if you have about $300 to spare.




That's a good idea.  I'm tired of printing maps, it's too time intensive.


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## tomBitonti

LED's can get pretty warm, too, although, I don't have a comparison with plasmas.  I use an LED monitor at home for my home computer setup, and it seems to have quite a bit of warm air rolling off it most of the time.

Thx!

TomB


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## tomBitonti

Hi,

Any details on the exact material for the surface, and on how the lets and monitor are mounted?  Also, how are the wood pieces joined?

I can make the wood cuts pretty easy, and drill holes for mounting, say, the legs, but the hardware and mounting details would be very useful.

Edit: I can see the 2 by 4's, which seem to be used to make a frame for the top pieces and as mount points for the legs.  Any chance of an underside photo for all of that?

Thx!

TomB


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## machineelf

I think I'd still go with a home theater projector mounted above the table.


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## hollowheel

tomBitonti said:


> LED's can get pretty warm, too, although, I don't have a comparison with plasmas.  I use an LED monitor at home for my home computer setup, and it seems to have quite a bit of warm air rolling off it most of the time.
> 
> Thx!
> 
> TomB




Just so people aren't put off of this solution-- I use the same size Plasma (actually it's 42") for TV viewing, and the heat it puts off is in an entire different league than my gaming LED. We play in a fairly small place (1 DM/6 players) and no one has noticed any heat issues.  YMMV.


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## Maul

I built mine about 4 years ago seen here: http://img00.deviantart.net/0e75/i/2012/359/d/a/game_table_2_0_finished_by_cyderak-d5p60vd.jpg


It looks like Jan-Oliver Ohloff built his table for affordability.  Mine was built to last.

Setting the TV an Inch or two below the level of the table distorts the actual location of the minis depending on where you are positioned at the table,  thats why I just placed a plexi-glass sheet right onto the TV screen.  No distortion.

I also raised the screen 1 inch up off of the table surface to avoid stray dice from making their way onto the TV.

And lastly,  those drinks being that close to the monitor would make me really nervous.  Thats why I installed cup holders to keep drinks away from the screen.

I know alot of this seems like I am poo poo-ing Jan-Oliver Ohloff's table but I'm not,  I'm just observing what he built and pointing out how I would have done it differently.


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## tomBitonti

Nice table.  Do you ever find that you need a space for a mat, or, is there a different table for that?

Thx!

TomB


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## Olaf the Stout

Jester Canuck said:


> Nope. Sandpoint from Rise of the Runelords.




Ah, I probably should have guessed that from the Pathfinder books on the table.


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## delericho

secondhander said:


> I think I'd still go with a home theater projector mounted above the table.




Yeah. There's a guy in my group who has metal dice. Even just thinking about using those on this table is... uncomfortable.


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## Azgara

So I have done my own table much like this, it costed me a total of around 400$ to make, it was easy. I got A LCD TV on black friday. Here are some pics, if any questions go ahead and ask away.
http://imgur.com/a/cEJZr


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## Veander

I love these ideas.  The overhead projector has a negative effect of forcing you to make the room kinda dark imo. But clearly it works for some. My question would be more about how to make the squares 1" on the display all the time (with the TV option).


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## Yaarel

Out of curiosity. Those of you playing on a digital map, which way do you use to conceal the parts of the map that the party hasnt seen yet?


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## Azgara

Yaarel said:


> Out of curiosity. Those of you playing on a digital map, which way do you use to conceal the parts of the map that the party hasnt seen yet?



I use the program Maptools for this, it’s very easy. I run 2 instances of the program one is the GM side which is the GM/Laptop and the player/TV side, then the GM side start a server and player side connect to that server. You set the maps to have fog of war, as my players say go into a room I reveal that the players see. I as well use a hidden layer to set up where I like to have my enemy’s ahead of time, only the GM can see this hidden enemy’s or even traps.

As for making sure the squres are 1', you can ajust the size or the gride or zoom in or out to make them smaller or bigger.


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## hollowheel

Veander said:


> I love these ideas.  The overhead projector has a negative effect of forcing you to make the room kinda dark imo. But clearly it works for some. My question would be more about how to make the squares 1" on the display all the time (with the TV option).




You can calculate how many pixel's per inch your TV is, then make your maps fit that. Or if you're lazy like me (and use a program like Photoshop to run your maps), you can simply zoom in on the map until the scale is correct.


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## hollowheel

Yaarel said:


> Out of curiosity. Those of you playing on a digital map, which way do you use to conceal the parts of the map that the party hasnt seen yet?




Usually, I have a separate black layer on top of the map (Photoshop). I then use a soft-edge eraser brush to "erase" the shadows. You have to know your map, but I find this is pretty quick and easy for me (with only occasional screw ups).


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## Maul

Yaarel said:


> Out of curiosity. Those of you playing on a digital map, which way do you use to conceal the parts of the map that the party hasnt seen yet?




Use a Virtual Tabletop to present the maps.  They usually have a fog-of-war feature.

D20 Pro
Fantasy Grounds
Skirmish VTT
Map Tools
Battlegrounds

Their all good in their own ways.


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## Veander

I'm assuming people just use a PC for this? I have an extra tower that I could just use. Hmm. ...!...


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## Azgara

Veander said:


> I'm assuming people just use a PC for this? I have an extra tower that I could just use. Hmm. ...!...



As of right now I use a laptop, but I'm building a new system. So im going to take my current system and install it at the buttom of the table.


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## bone_naga

That's pretty cool. I made a custom game table as well. The TV stands up for normal use, then when it's gaming time it folds down to serve as a battlemap, and drawers slide out for storage of drinks and gaming material.

I typically use Maptool to project the map and use its Fog of War feature. Some players prefer using digital tokens. I still have a soft spot for minis so sometimes there is a mix of them on the map.

View attachment 68851

View attachment 68852

View attachment 68853


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## machineelf

Yaarel said:


> Out of curiosity. Those of you playing on a digital map, which way do you use to conceal the parts of the map that the party hasnt seen yet?




I've seen someone put a second layer on top of the map that is just white haze that obscures the map. Whenever the adventurers go into a new area, you can just erase the haze from the top layer, reveling that part of the map underneath. It seemed like a simple and smart solution.


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## Durgrumm

Maul said:


> I built mine about 4 years ago seen here: http://img00.deviantart.net/0e75/i/2012/359/d/a/game_table_2_0_finished_by_cyderak-d5p60vd.jpg






I know I'm reviving a thread but I just started looking into making a DnD table, would you be willing to part ways with your specs (dimensions), materials used and basic blueprint of how you put it together?  It's once of the nicer ones I've seen.  Was going to send you a PM, but I need 5 posts first :-D


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## Maul

Durgrumm said:


> I know I'm reviving a thread but I just started looking into making a DnD table, would you be willing to part ways with your specs (dimensions), materials used and basic blueprint of how you put it together?  It's once of the nicer ones I've seen.  Was going to send you a PM, but I need 5 posts first :-D






I am willing to sell you my game table......otherwise, i dont ever really document the dimensions.


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## rosejzehner

The setup is pretty cool.


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