DBA Game Board

Hello All,

Has anyone in the Forum come up with a game board that looks good? I have been toying around with an idea of a folding board 24" X 24" which folds in half and thought about covering with felt but looking for something with a bit more graphics/scenery. Felt is nice but boring! I saw one on a web site with a wood frame and covered with canvas (too bulky!) Also it would be nice to be able to store this in a suit case for travel to tournaments. Does anyone have any suggestions or thoughts? Please advise R.W.

I picked up one on Ebay a few years ago that is made out of the pink or white foamboard you can buy at Lowe's/Home Depot. The edges are painted black and the top is green with green flock applied. Fairly sturdy and lightweight.

[Chris Brantley]

Originally Posted by Reluctant Warrior

Hello All,

Has anyone in the Forum come up with a game board that looks good? I have been toying around with an idea of a folding board 24" X 24" which folds in half and thought about covering with felt but looking for something with a bit more graphics/scenery. Felt is nice but boring! I saw one on a web site with a wood frame and covered with canvas (too bulky!) Also it would be nice to be able to store this in a suit case for travel to tournaments. Does anyone have any suggestions or thoughts? Please advise R.W.

Most portable and light weight game board have I been able to come up with is a canvas square. Use canvas heavy enough to lie flat, which you can buy off the roll fairly cheaply at an artist supply store. Element stands won't snag (as with felt). Roll it up in a cylinder for storage and roll it out for game play. Using diluted acrylic paints to "stain" the canvas (i.e. not so thick that you build up layers of paint), you can create very interesting terrain effects. Methodology for creating is described at:

http://www.fanaticus.org/DBA/guides/canvasboards.html

I have a pack of 8 canvas boards stained in various shades of green and earth tones that I keep rolled up in a cardboard mailing tube..easily portable for carrying to tournaments/conventions.

The Nafzinger Collection not only makes nice textured felt terrain (it doesn't look very felty at all, it's nicely textured), but they also make a 2'x2' DBA specific game mat (sand dunes too).

Chris....thanks for the excellent suggestion!
R.W.

The new Games Workshop battlemat is really excellent. Unlike the old, paper backed version, it is backed with heavy fabric, with the grass effect seemingly woven in rather than flocked on. I picked one up for £16 inc shipping. It's 6ft x 4ft so you could get 6 DBA mats out of it. I'm not sure how easily it could be cut and whether it would fray - I'd guess you'd need to speak nicely to someone with needlework skills. My own DBA board is made from a sheet of fairly thick MDF with model railway grass mat glued to it. It looks great but is obviously not all that portable.

I've been using felt board and terrain, but heavily sprayed with a variety of colours of stone-texture paint. Stiffens up the felt nicely, especially for the terrain pieces, and the board can still roll up to go into a tube. I have thin foam hills, that after spraying with an acrylic base, I then use the texture paint on them too. By using spray colours in different proportions, and various underlying coloured felt for terrain, different types of terrain come out with distinct colours, but everything still goes well together and goes well with the board. Once everything is nicely textured, then other colours can be added just with light spritzes of regular spray paint.

I do store the tube flat to keep the board from smooshing down and crinkling at the bottom end if it were stored upright.

[Chris Brantley]

Another option would be the custom game boards/mats being sold by TheTerrainGuy. http://www.theterrainguy.com/gamemats.html

They use canvas with a rubberized backing and flocking material that appears to be very well adhered. Heavier than just canvas and with a realistic looking texture. The rubberized backing also allows you to fold the board without creasing, unlike the plain canvas which has to be rolled in a cyclinder for transport.

For those of you at Historicon who perused the Flames of War tournament set-up upstairs, these are the mats that were used there.

I am pleased with the boards I have recently made. 2' squares cut out of felt purchased at walmart. painted with watery black acrylic and allowed to dry. Dry brushed brown (or light brown for desert). after drying the same ground color is added where I want to place the flock. after this drys I use a smaller brush to add paint where I want to attach static grass. The paint provides stiffness to the felt. the acrylic paint works as a glue to hold the flock and static grass in place. I transport and store them roled up. All of the armies I have submitted to the eye candy section are photographed on these boards. -paul

My first DBA board was made from 2 12x24 inch pieces of foamcore that I glued a piece of green bath towel over so it hinged in the middle. Then I painted the towel with a sort of drybrushing of various shades of green and brown to break up the monocolor effect.

Since then I discovered "auto replacement carpet", sold at Walmart and most auto parts stores. It seems to come in grey, black or tan, and the tan is the stuff. It comes in a 3x6 foot roll, so you can get a couple 24" boards or 2 30" boards. The leftovers I used to make hills.
Same treatment, I paint it with a heavy drybrush of various greens and it looks pretty good. Resembles static grass somewhat.