I want to get a gaming table in a couple of weeks or so, so I can play Man of Kent at mine - or anyone else that fancies a trip to Cardiff to play (I have 15 different usable armies we could use so plenty of choice).

Firstly, table size: for games of up to 10k I’m assuming I’ll really want a 8 by 4 table for proper manoeuvring, yes? Or am I wrong and 6 by 4 would be enough?

I have a large bedroom (11 by 13 feet aprox), but I have just the one room in a shared house and it contains all my worldly possessions so still manages to be cluttered. What would be the best way I could have a temporary set-up to game on, but one that could also fold/store away when not in use? (under the double-bed and/or on top of the wardrobe, or possibly propped up against a wall – there’d be space for a 8 by 4 board to go vertically though 2 x 8 by 2 might be easier)

I’m thinking I’ll probably want some kind of foldable or collapsible table with a board on top? Possibly two small tables and/or the 8 by 4 board split in two? Where would I get a good sturdy table? - wouldn’t want the gaming surface being wonky or worse collapsing during the game, my tau army probably wouldn’t survive!

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Desert Pink! Ahem.

The rule of thumb I've followed is 1000 points per 1 1/2 foot (45cm's for the Euro types out there) as a maximum. Certainly 3000 is too crowded in many cases on a 4x4 and 4000 just seems to fit on a 6x4.

Certainly 8x4 goes up to the range the lists are playtested for (5000).

As to easy storage table - you can't go far wrong with two decent tresels. Nice wide ones (2 1/2 foot?) for the board doesn't shift if someone leans on the edge.

I haven't seen a texture that can survive being the flip side yet - though the latex battlemats survive with a mere indentation that is sadly noticable.

I've seen boards that are a big plain bit of wood, one side green one side blue/black (depending on your games) then also a collection of modular 2x4 or 2x2 tiles to stick over the top. In fact dropship seems to have just done a nifty board like that.

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As TRC says, 4' x 4' is really a bit small for anything usefull in EPIC because the lack of width means that neither army has a flank as such. Games between 3000 and 5000 points per side do work reasonably well on a 6' x 4' table, though if you have the space 8' x 5' makes a really good game. (I find reaching to the middle of an 8' x 6' table just a bit too far).

I made up two table tops that are 5' x 4', that are also hinged off-centre to make a 3' x 4' surface (to fit into my car) so I can get virtually any dimension table needed up to 8' x 5' or 10' x 4'. All you then need are collapsable wallpaper tables (or equivalent) to put underneath.

Don't forget that you will also need a lot of terrain to cover the table.

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4x4' can work up to 2500 points or so.  As I recall, Chroma at one point did a big series of playtest games with 2000-2500 points on 4' tables and the results were largely confirmed by people playing larger games on full tables.

There are also some Minigeddon rules the French guys came up with for smaller 1000-1500 point games, which are intended for a 3-4' wide table.  I've played this a few times and it works.

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Neal

My gaming table consists of a trestle table which has two light boards placed on top it to form a six foot by four foot playing surface.

Having a table which can be folded up, and boards which can easily be lent against a wall means the room can easily be used for other things, so it's a set up I can recommend based on my personal experience.

We used to have a couple of eight by four boards, but they can be more difficult to store due to their extra width, but if you want to play a very large battle, I think you may find that you will need the additional board size.

I hope that helps.

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I guess to answer the question more directly, there are a couple of companies that make folding game boards of different sizes, usually out of ~1 1/2" hard foam.  They tend to be expensive.  There's also GW's modular board, which is 6 2x2' pieces which snap together.  Very pricey, but supposedly very strong and durable.

You can obviously make your own much cheaper.

When I was living in an apartment I made a board that was a 4x4' section and a 2x4' section out of relatively thin plywood - 3/8", I think.  It was sturdy enough that as long as you had the majority of it supported it would not sag.  A kitchen table or a bed was sufficient.  To go 6x4', I would use a couple of heavy duty binder clips to hold the sections together.  You could also add some sort of lip to help lock them together if you want to get all fancy.

I covered it with felt initially.  That's definitely not as cool as many finishes you could use, but it helped keep the board from damaging doors, walls or cars if I bumped or scraped when moving it around.

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Neal

When I first started playing Epic in mid-90, I was playing it solitare. I just covered my bed with a green poncho liner, added terrain, and gamed ...

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I use one of these Folding Table with one of these on top Folding Foam Table So everything folds up nice and neat and goes in the corner out of the girlfriends line of sight.

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In the past I've used these loft boards from B&Q, they're 3 to a pack and a couple will create a quick and easy board that can be broken down into 6 parts. Or alternatively you could only use a few of them for smaller games.

Just put a collapsable table underneath and Bob's your uncle

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