| Whatisitgood4atwork | 22 Jan 2017 8:47 p.m. PST |
2nd time lucky. Let's hope this post doesn't get hit by the bug. This may be of interest to spaceship and dungeon gamers looking for a flexible, modular floor and wall tile system. Following a recommendation from a friend I bought a set of Magnatiles for the kids. They are a brilliant toy, and my kids play with them for hours, building and rebuilding castles, houses and whatever. IMO they are second only to Lego in the ‘building stuff' space. But they could also be useful for dungeon and spaceship gaming. Magnatile are magnetic tiles that clip together and apart instantly. The squares are 75mm (about 3 inches) square, the magnets are good and don't seem to have lost any oomph in the 2 years we've had them. IMO they look fine for SF games as is, but it would be easy to print and stick graphics on them for more ‘realistic' interiors, doors, etc. I just laid out a very simple pattern and took a few snaps to show how they work using some Hydra minis Retro Raygun 28mm figures and an SST bug, also 28mm for size comparison. I've bought 3 sets so far and when (if) my kids grow out of them, they are mine. We ordered ours mail-order, but apparently some retail stores in the US do stock them. Here's a link to their site for those who are interested. I saw they did a special edition in black at some stage too, which would be very Death-Starry. magnatiles.com Pics: link link The basic shapes. link Don't open that door:
link link |
| Bashytubits | 22 Jan 2017 9:14 p.m. PST |
Walmart has them in the states.
link tiles |
| CeruLucifus | 22 Jan 2017 10:11 p.m. PST |
A good idea. I think enough tiles for a fantasy dungeon would get pricey (and should be repainted) but for SF you can use as is and probably need fewer. |
| Cyrus the Great | 22 Jan 2017 10:21 p.m. PST |
I was never aware of this. Thanks! |
| Whatisitgood4atwork | 23 Jan 2017 12:14 a.m. PST |
You're welcome. I've been meaning to post about them here for ages, but every time I get them out to try to take some pics, the kids want to play and I can't say no to that. The kids are on an away-day today and I found 20 minutes of free time, so here they are. I thought there would be someone here who was interested. They work out at about $US 1.50 per tile. My kids loved the first set so much we added to it over birthdays and Christmas' and we must have spent a few hundred bucks on them over the last 2 – 3 years – still less than we spend on LEGO mind you. :-) I do intend to make and glue printed panels on at some stage after the kids are finished with them, but that could be a while. They show no signed of tiring of it yet. Better yet, we play with it together and I don't have to pretend to be having fun. link |
TheBeast  | 23 Jan 2017 7:22 a.m. PST |
I was a bit skeptical until your example pics; the ease of 3D setups is huge. Also, in the US, Walmart's cost with free shipping is $1.20 USD a tile. Not sold, but tempted. Hope you're happy. ;->= Doug |
| dmebust | 23 Jan 2017 10:21 a.m. PST |
Ha, I was playing with some of these at Christmas that the grand daughter had received. It never dawned on me regarding this idea. Now I will keep an eye out for a set. |
| cloudcaptain | 23 Jan 2017 11:54 a.m. PST |
Amazon has Walmart beat…plus free shipping for Prime members: link Ebay is a close second. |
| emckinney | 23 Jan 2017 12:38 p.m. PST |
That looks like a higher price to me … Corners are also much more rounded, so there are bigger gaps. Don't appear to be compatible with the Magnatiles. |
| LostPict | 23 Jan 2017 1:48 p.m. PST |
I see in addition to the multi-color and black, they also make clear and glow-in-the-dark green. So cool. |
| Whatisitgood4atwork | 23 Jan 2017 1:53 p.m. PST |
Beast, Yes, I am happy. (Manic laughter). More seriously, they are a quality product and connect together very easily – up as well as horizontally. I don't have the time to do it myself, but it would be easy for someone to make downloadable and printable wall, door, and floor graphics to stick onto them. I suspect wargamers could be a whole new niche for these guys. I've never played with Magformers, but have read they are not compatible with Magnatile. |
| Mako11 | 23 Jan 2017 3:21 p.m. PST |
Looks neat, but the cost for me is an issue. It does permit a lot of flexibility though. |
| cloudcaptain | 23 Jan 2017 4:30 p.m. PST |
Yep..had my wires crossed. |
| TheBeast | 24 Jan 2017 8:29 a.m. PST |
Of course, I also may have 'crossed'. I just noticed it's not Walmart proper, but "Sold & Shipped by Valtech LLC Magna-Tiles". On the other hand, it's even less direct from manufacturer. ;->= Makes adding some of the other kits even more… DAMN YOU AND YOUR MANIACAL LAUGHTER!!! Doug |
| A Geek Named Carl | 25 Jan 2017 7:35 p.m. PST |
If I were going to use them for fantasy I would but one of the square only packs and use them only for floor tiles. link |
| TheBeast | 26 Jan 2017 7:46 a.m. PST |
Where would you get those? They look interesting, but I went to shapemags.com site, followed links they give, and neither Amazon nor Toys2Discover have any. Other sets are available,though. Don't think the magnets match for combining with OP. Any other brands? Doug |
tweaks the Border Dwarves army list for Mighty Armies.
