"Wargame Table" Topic

MRS Bunkermeister and I retired last year and moved to a more rural area.

We are having a custom home built and it includes a new wargame table. It is going to be 7 feet wide X 40 feet long.

I have been posting some updates on my blog.

Mike Bunkermeister Creek
Bunker Talk blog

bunkermeister.blogspot.com

I like it!

Too big!!!

But, my, what a fun project.

- Ix

Impressive, but how do you reach the middle of that table?

FORTY FEET LONG??? Oh my!

I wouldn't even know what to do with all that surface area. I might be able to fill half of that with terrain, but I wouldn't have enough figures for that much room. They would look like little ants, hidden in the background.

Dan

Nice! The feet and legs are going to get sore from standing on the bare concrete.

That is huge! No room in my house to put it at all.

Seems grand, congrats!

Impressive, but how do you reach the middle of that table?

Yeah….20 feet is a long way to reach…

Looks great.

I have had a 7' x 15' table for over 40 years. Some of the guys cannot reach the middle. We help each other. Intervening terrain makes it more difficult. It works.

Both depth and flank room are important if you play big games.

Have fun.

Tom

Great ceiling height and magnificent lighting! Oh, and the table will be the greatest! I salute you Sir!

When I built mine originally it was 6' x 18' but we found that smaller games – which we are playing more often than the big battle games – were tricky because one end was effectively cut off by the unused bit of table. I reconfigured it to be two 6' x 8' with a bridge across the gap when I wanted to use the whole length. I would recommend being able to isolate a sensibly proportioned smaller bit so that you can get around all four sides.

Very nice – can't wait to see the finished project!!! MAGNIFICENT!!

Magnificent! I am lucky enough to have a large former garage in my garden which now serves as the Wargamers room. I decided to go for a 12ft by 6ft permanent fixed table with one 6ft edge up against the back wall. In addition I have three 4ft by 6ft tables of the same height which can either be used for other games, or can be added onto the original to make a table upto 24ft long. Haven't used the full length yet!

Wow

The stuff 54mm wargame dreams are made of. Can't wait to see a game on it!

Need long arms and a good spine.

You could do Horatius on the Bridge. At one:one scale.

You are my hero

7 feet wide? Hope you are skinny & tall!

Awesome for a 1/300 or 15mm scale "Hell's Highway" Market Garden scenario.

I agree with 22ndFoot: break it up into manageable chunks. Your best option, IMO, would be to mount lockable caster wheels on them, to allow various configurations, including T-setup's.

I've played on 6-foot wide tables, being 5'11" (used to be 6'0" years ago…), and I found that difficult to reach the center!

I game with 54mm Army Men figures, and terrain… You have me salivating at the thought of such a large table! We're planning a large game (the largest to date, for our Army Men games), using multiple tables, in a 4-stall garage (2-stalls wide x 2-stalls deep), and I am excited by that. A 40-foot long x 7-foot wide table, would be incredible -- we could finally play the road rules, and have a running battle!

I mostly play 28mm fantasy games, on a 5-foot x 9-foot table. Many times, it seems too small. I would love to have the space, and a modular 40-foot table system…

If you have Harbor Freight stores in your area of Kentucky, they sell those interlocking foam floor pads, on sale, for $6.99 USD, for four sections. They will help tremendously, with standing around the table. Here is a link to what I am recommending.

I love that you are using the under-table space for storage. I would suggest rectangles of plywood cut to size, to put your mini's on: use a push-rod to move them across the shelves, if you have more than two, in series, to access those in the middle sections. By modularizing your tables into sections, storage would be much easier to access/use, as well. You have a fantastic system in the making. Hope you don't mind friendly suggestions.

Keep us updated with photo's as progress is made, please! Very happy for you, and your gaming buddies. Color me green, with envy… Cheers!

Lovely stuff. Construction of my man shed starts when I get home, I have a concrete base 30 x 20. Thinking of a 20 x 6 table, but may goo for a 20 x 7,

Tally Ho!

Looks like a lot of future fun to be had by all you host

Great table but I'd finish the space first to have a more inviting area for gaming.

You are going to have too much fun. Congratulations.

Whoa – when are you sending out invites to join a game?

Looks great!

My previous table was 7 X 16 and we used it for 30 years with no problems. I use plastic underbed storage boxes which fit end to end under the table on the shelves, so access to the vehicles, troops, etc is very easy. One of them with a white lid is visible in the photo. The contractor got a couple from me to insure he got the sizes just right.

My previous table was on the concrete floor of the garage and we did use what SGT Slag suggested, interlocking foam floor pads, and that is the plan for this room as well. It makes a huge difference when standing around for a long time. They will go in after construction is finished.

I am 6'-2" so reaching the center is not a problem for me. But I have several small folding step stools that others can use to reach the center if it's a problem. It worked well on the previous table.

There will be two side tables that go along the wall, 7 X 2 feet with the 7 feet long side against the wall. These are perfect for off board artillery, airfields, and for spanning the gap between tables and conducting bridging operations.

I have been planning this for 40 years and there is so much more coming….

Check out my blog for more information on how I got it this far.

link

Mike Bunkermeister Creek
Bunker Talk blog

Awesome set up. I can only dream about a table like that.

Here's something may help reaching the middle of the table, some small foot stools, perhaps just short enough to fit under the bottom shelf.

Another problem will be when leaning over to reach the middle, anything at the edge may get crushed, moved, whatever. I've had some success with side rails, like a low edged sand table.

Mike – looking good! Keep posting the progress.

I threw my 6x12' table up >25 years ago with the plan to redo it in a year or two when I had more time.

Still planning…

"I have been planning this for 40 years and there is so much more coming…."

Now you really have my attention! Can't access your blog at work, unfortunately (don't know why). Will try tonight, if I can. I will be following your updates. Thanks for sharing! Cheers!

When I bought my first house I made sure the back yard was huge and rectangular. My plan was to raise kids and dogs and when they all grew up and moved away, I was going to have the massive wargame room built on the space. But my wife got sick and passed away after a long illness and Southern California got too expensive and so I had to sell the house and move to another state to retire.

But the new wife (eleven years married now) and I are living large and building the new house. It will be available for occupancy any day now.

I anticipate the room will be completed about the middle of next year. There is much more to come.

My collection includes GI Joe, 60mm figures, and 1/72- 1/87 scale figures and vehicles.

Mike Bunkermeister Creek
bunkermeister.blogspot.com

A massive undertaking but a wonderful project. Enjoy it's creatiion and development, then enjoy many years of gaming on it.

That looks awesome.

Congratulations Mike! I follow your blog and really have enjoyed your new adventures in retirement.

Perfect for those very deep, strategic bombing raids.

Thank you War Panda and Texas Jack, and COL Scott ret.

Mike Bunkermeister Creek
Bunker Talk blog

I agree with the guys who say break down the table into manageable chunks. My plan, if it ever comes to fruition, is to have two 6' x 4' tables and the facility to insert a third 6' x 4' leaf in the middle. That would give me a maximum of 12' x 6' which I think should be big enough.

My primary gaming table is custom made, 5-1/2 feet by 9-/2 feet. However, I also game with 54mm Army Men, and for them, I need something akin to 12 feet by 30 feet, with access in the middle, of course. Too old for floor games.

My nephew has a 20x36 shop. He set up 4x8 pieces of plywood, with indoor/outdoor green carpet glued to one side, set atop saw horses and other tables, to create a 12 x 30 table for two Army Men games. I need to do the same, for my garage.

Modular is the way to go if you want a table larger than a Ping Pong Table (5 feet x 9 feet). I replaced the undercarriage on my Ping Pong Table, with folding table leg assemblies, years ago, prior to commissioning a custom table. I plan on repurposing those leg assemblies for four modular, 4x8 plywood tables, for my garage. Really looking forward to building that out, then… Gaming on it!

I love gaming with Army Men, and for them, you really need a huge table to play on -- it is more fun than a human being ought to be allowed. Go big, or don't bother, is my personal motto. >;-) Cheers!

For those of us without the space for a permanent gaming table, here is a link with some ideas for a portable/stow-able version. I've been using mine for 22 years now and it got a real workout the past three years while playtesting AOTF.

PDF link

Those are really nice table plans! The 2x6's should keep it from warping/flexing. Cheers!