"Ideal Width for Large Terrain Tables?" Topic

The limitation is physical, you have to be able to reach the middle of the table comfortably. Some people can manage 6', some can only manage 4'.

I put my back out moving a Panther company (well, they were Peter Pig heavy metal ones) in the middle of a 6x4. A year of osteopathy to fix. In theory I can manage a 5' easily, in practice it makes me nervous now.

I would say that 4' wide is the widest (also the ideal) that I would wish a games table. I do not like the idea of moving to the opposition's side of the table and about 3' foot is the normal safe reach over a table.

x42

My usual "home and away" gaming oppo has been able to put a 10' x 6' table in a spare room. There are times when one has to go round to the other side but I don't mind that.

Six feet has been the average for some time now. I have gone to using a very low table or the floor for game scenarios that require larger width.
VR
James Mattes

I can only comfortably reach across to the middle of a five feet table knowing I won't catch or knock stuff on the edge I'm leaning over.

I had a 6 foot wide table and eventually took it down because I didn't like the width. It was just too awkward at times. I wouldn't go larger than 5 now.

CC

I have a table that I can switch between 9x5 and 10x6. I like the 6 foot wide table better but most of the people I game with are over 6 feet tall and can reach it. If my friends couldn't reach the middle I would be tempted to go with 5 feet.

Threw me off a little as the Topic title question is slightly different from the actual poll text.

For me 4' is ideal … very comfortable reach. (Topic title)
But I can handle 5' OK so that's maximum. (Poll text)

5 is fine is the largest width I'd want to play on. most people would have trouble reaching to the middle of a 6 foot width without knocking miniatures over.

Five feet is the largest reasonable width we use for gaming. At six feet, the reach is a bit much and while four is very comfortable, it does tend to leave a narrower battlefield.

I think the best shape and size is, 2 6ft or 5ft Sq tables with a 4ft long angle cut off one corner of each and placed with the angles together. cut a 6inR cut off the other corners.(this last lessens banging the corners and knocking over the minis)

I think if you need a huge battlefield, then breaking it up into a number of tables is the way to go. We've run some vast games like that. Or use the floor.

My personal limit to reach mid-table is 5'

I use 6' wide tables, but my mats are cut so there is a 2" space between the edge and mat/terrain, thus reducing some contact with terrain and providing space for markers, tape measures etc.

What is 'large terrain'? 28mm???

6 x 8 is the 'standard' for this scale.

If you cannot reach, just ask someone to move your stuff for you -- no big deal.

mjc

quidveritas said:
>>If you cannot reach, just ask someone to move your
>>stuff for you -- no big deal.

I wish everyone I have ever played were as casual and easy going as you seem to be quidveritas. But they are not. I know quite a few folks who really do not want others to touch their figures. One even has been a friend for more then 10 years. He just doesn't like people to handle his minis.

Daniel

6' is the largest width I'd want to attempt to play on; I just don't have the reach for anything bigger. Naturally, I'm thinking of convention play.

In practice, I prefer a 4' or 5' width. I can generally reach anything on the table at these measurements, and these sizes are favorable for home use.

4x8 is the most common sized table used for wargaming because that is the size a uncut sheet of ply-wood comes in.

the next most common is the 5x9 because that is the size of most ping pong tables.

the next would be folding tables of all sizes. (most common 2.5x7)

Comfort, definitely 4 feet.

By necessity I can manage 5 feet, but it is not as comfortable to stretch that much.

Anyone can reach out to 3ft, so a six foot wide table shouldn't be too hard to handle. If you can't reach your figures in the middle of the table, then you walk around to the other side of the table and grab them. 6ft wide tables seem to be the standard in the US.

"Anyone can reach out to 3ft, so a six foot wide table shouldn't be too hard to handle."

I can't!! Well not without some danger to stuff at the edge at any rate.

"4x8 is the most common sized table used for wargaming because that is the size a uncut sheet of ply-wood comes in."

And how did you determine that it is the most common size? I personally don't know anyone with a table that size. Indeed, most are a lot smaller.

I used to have a 4'x8' table, because its top was an uncut sheet of plywood. Now I have a 5'x8', because that's what a pair of conference tables (2.5'x8' each) makes.

My FLGS uses a bunch of 6' length conference tables that can make for a 5' or 6' wide table, depending on how they configure the tables. Of course, the owner is a tall bloke, so reach isn't an issue for him.

I used to have a 8' x 8' and a 8' x 12'. Way too much effort to reach the center. My experience puts 6' width as ideal.

Isn't also somewhat dependent on the scale you are using? I play mostly using 6mm & some 10mm so a 4 foot deep table gives me more than enough depth.

6' x 12' works for me…..

and me too…

I can (just) reach the middle of a 6 foot table, so that is the max for me

With my club I won't go beyond 5 feet wide. We have some guys that when they lean over to reach figures in the middle of the table they've been know to squash figures sitting on the edge. In one case, it was a British frigate that was dismasted without the French firing a shot.

When Abraham Lincoln was asked how long a man`s legs should be, he absurdly replied, `Long enough to reach the ground.

long enough to reach across the table.

Anyone can reach out to 3ft, so a six foot wide table shouldn't be too hard to handle.

I'm six foot one inch with long arms (which I needed as the shortest forward in the OUAA basketball eastern conference from 82-84). When I was getting ready to run my first convention game at Cangames 1991, I spent a lot of lunch breaks at work playing aorund with lunch room tables to figure out the optimum width. I could not properly handle models without a probability of breaking them beyond the centre of a 5 foot table. I could manage 6 feet, but not with the preciseness so many rules require in measuring movement.
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Tim

Not wanting to lean across the table in a snooker player's manner I fell 5'6" is about the most I can do – giving 2' 9" from either side. This is partly due to the precision movement criterion, but also because us normal sized people can't manage much more.

Six foot, blimey ! When did all the giant's move in ?

I'm lucky enouh to have a modular table that goes up to 12 x 8 and is great fun for those huge weekend long battles.

moving anything in the middle 4x4 is somewhat tricky but a couple of broom handles with t shaped ends makes it straightforwards enough.

But then any rules-lawyer who brings his own laser measuring equipment to check the move distances are accurate isn't welcome to play.

Now if only i could get some of those delightful ladies from WW2 in tight uniforms and seamed stockings to push my little soldiers around and make the tea then gaming would be complete

I use 7' x 15' table at my house.

There are times when it is tough in the middle, particularly for the shorter guys. I am about average, 5' 10" and it usually works okay for me.

When necessary, we kneel on a bar stool or let someone else move the figures who is taller. I like the extra depth on the table. We have played games with over 4500 15mm Naps on my table. But the size is also nice for only a couple hundred 28mm Sioux Wars figures where you need lots of room to move.

Tom

My table is 7 feet wide and 16 feet long. We have short step stools on each side so gamers can reach a bit farther. We can walk around either side to reach the other side if needed. If I do a new table, I would probably limit it to six feet six inches, about two meters.

Mike "Bunkermeister" Creek
bunkermeister.blogspot.com