Nashville | 30 Oct 2017 7:49 p.m. PST |
Say you ave a game where you want a 12 foot by 12 foot table. you have TWO 12 by 6 tables "adjacent" down the 12 foot sides. you have say 3 foot space in the 'empty" space so you can stand in the middle and reach across either board. We all agree that 6 foot is the maximum practical width of a usable table. Given this configuration how does one handle 'shooting" and "moving." Make it simple. An open water navy game with no terrain. I have experimented and "adding" the distance etc doesn't seem to work. And then you have stands one foot on one board and one foot on the other. How do others handle this??? |
79thPA | 30 Oct 2017 7:58 p.m. PST |
The gap is just so a person can fit to move figures, so distance is not added to anything. If a unit can fire 12" and it is 3" from the edge of table A, it will fire 9" into table B. |
Nashville | 30 Oct 2017 8:03 p.m. PST |
And I get that – thanks -the question is really one of "playablity" ---having to make that calculation for fire and movement may be more than some folks can stand. I suppose I am really asking if anyone has done this with success? Where players find the "gap" is not a distraction. What experience have folks had with this configuration??Thanks |
Rich Bliss | 30 Oct 2017 8:22 p.m. PST |
It's doable. When I've participated in such games ther is a natural tendency to not shoot across the gap. I'd suggest taking advantage of that and place the gap where the terrain allows for a gap. |
UshCha | 31 Oct 2017 1:23 a.m. PST |
I have done this very sucessfully. In our case the game was a SCI-FI game (a version of Stargrunt(. We had 4 players 2 each side. We made sure that effectively the gap Split the foces. In effect it was, as would be in the real world, two actions ajacent to each other. To get a fast and plausible effect each "side" of the table played at their own speed. That meant that shots across the table were in the shooters timeframe. This added some chaos (excelent effect as shots could come in and wre resloved out of the reciveing players bound sequence. Also as in the real world flanks could be exposed if one side moved faster than the other forceing an integrated command structure or serious losses through lack of co-ordination. |
Saber6 | 31 Oct 2017 5:42 a.m. PST |
When I done this the gap is usually a terrain feature that would logically separate the battlefield. |
21eRegt | 31 Oct 2017 6:41 a.m. PST |
I regularly participate in games with an 18x6' center table with back tables in play. A yardstick or something similar to "draw a line" between the tables helps a lot. We sometimes have people forget the distance isn't real and get whacked by close-range fire. The hardest part is when units are angled. It is possible to put a clip-board under the terrain board to allow us to temporarily put troops in the chasm. Just make sure you don't have to melee in the gap. ;-) |
Ottoathome | 31 Oct 2017 6:51 a.m. PST |
Done this. Quite easy really. It always fails however on the visuals. There is just no way to banish that gap from your mind and it ruins it all the time. |
Mike Mayes | 31 Oct 2017 7:48 a.m. PST |
Stealing a trick from model railroaders, I have used the gap as a river and joined the two sections with removable bridges. Just make sure that firing ranges allow exchanges across the river. Mike |
Nashville | 31 Oct 2017 7:58 a.m. PST |
One thought I had was to use a 24 X 6 foot table and assume the shorter ends were "connected" so it formed a virtual donut. You could sail off one shorter end and appear on the other shorter end. |
ordinarybass | 31 Oct 2017 1:42 p.m. PST |
I played in a massive "Fistful of Seamen" game that was this way and built on a dozen or so tables. link Ranges were not long so it didn't complicate fire much, but you did have to be a bit careful in planning your movement. |
Great War Ace | 01 Nov 2017 7:27 a.m. PST |
I don't like it. But I have a lot of experience with it in a slightly altered venue than tables. In our air war game, which is played on the floor, a "room" is a square on the area map, and when you fly from a "room" and enter an adjacent "room", you pick up your movement stand (and airplane) and move across the literal room to the opposite corner and continue moving, and shooting. Of course, the "room" that you just left still has the other players in it, and you may easily find yourself "flying" through their dogfight, even though you are not there, and neither are they, since you departed that "room" and they are still there. It gets hairy sometimes and comprises the most annoying aspect of the game for me. But it does allow for unlimited flying in any direction. There is no "edge" to the rooms on the area map. So playing across a narrow gap between war game tables would be a piece of cake to this boy! :) |
CeruLucifus | 01 Nov 2017 8:23 a.m. PST |
Some games use a hidden unit mechanic where a unit is a represented by a generic marker until spotted by an opponent. This might be a helpful mechanic for 2 actions played on adjacent tables with a gap for access. Every time a unit approaches within, oh, 6" of the gap edge, then at the edge of the other table a hidden unit marker appears. Both sides on the other table have to roll to spot, since allied units can be misidentified and separate command structures are not likely to be in communication with each other. If spotted (including spotted and misidentified), the unit can be engaged by opposing forces on the other table, or indeed, enter the other table under control of the referee (best) or allied player (second best). Or of course be moved back onto the first table under control of the original player. Another approach is to have the gap represent a woods, mountain, gully, or river, with rules for what happens when a unit enters the gap and how it can/cannot end up on the next table. Any set of games representing 2 side by side actions would require coordinating turns so both actions are played in the same time frame. |
Andy ONeill | 02 Nov 2017 11:21 a.m. PST |
I've played in games where there were several tables and a significant real world gap between. Figures go off the end of one table and so many turns layer they arrive on the next. We did sub games with this. Eg you played a representative action germans vs maquis and arrived earlier or later depending on how that went. |
Russ Lockwood | 02 Nov 2017 2:57 p.m. PST |
I've used separated tables as well as single tables separated into non-contiguous areas for many a Snappy Nappy game. For the first two turns of a game, all tables are in sync with the turn sequence. This lets people get accustomed to being at separate tables. On Turn 3, I make no effort to sync up the tables -- each goes through the turn sequence on its own. Yes, on some tables, a player can zip through the turn sequence and move at light speed -- I consider it just fine. The enemy has stolen a march. "Napoleon has humbugged me, by God; he has gained twenty-four hours' march on me." -- Wellington. However, usually by Turn 3 or 4, players have met each other and the warp factor disappears. As for separation, the umpire, and only the umpire, can move troops between tables. The troops are placed and immediately conform to the turn sequence of the new table. I used to just drop them there, but Jim came up with an arrival zone idea that gives an arrive player one turn of peace. On the next turn, the troops MUST either get released to the new table or retreat back to the old table. I usually run Snappy Nappy games in my basement with a half dozen tables representing one piece of terrain (however large). However, SnapCon folks have run a couple 'Campaigns in a Day' using Snappy Nappy -- usually 15 or so players across 15 or so tables -- that represented non-contiguous areas. You can see how the tables separate (plus OOBs, write-ups, etc) in Peter's Blunders on the Danube blog… Snappy Nappy Campaign in a Day Master Page Finally, players may talk to each other if they are at the same table. If not, they send a written message via a 3x5-inch card. This is given to the umpire, time stamped (umpire's time is the only official time), and delivered after a certain time -- about 10 minutes or so on nearby tables and longer on far away tables. Nothing more maddening that being given an order by L'Empereur that has nothing to do with your tabletop action or situation! Enjoy. |
Rudysnelson | 02 Nov 2017 3:02 p.m. PST |
When I was the S$ of the MI battalion at Fort Riley, an entire array of mobile terrain tables were on my property book. The boards covered the entire deployment and action area for the Ist Infantry Division in Germany. When we would run Brigade or Divisional tabletop exercises, we had to move all the boards to a gym and set them up for use. They often operated across multiple none connected boards. |
Andy ONeill | 04 Nov 2017 7:30 a.m. PST |
Separate rooms with limited communication adds an interesting human factor. |