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August 21st, 2007
How to make a Felt Covered Gaming Table
After attending this years Historicon, our group was impressed by the quality of some of the gaming tables. While we have played on decent tables before with trees and hills, its all been modular (something you have to do if you plan on playing lots of different scenarios).
At Historicon we got the feel of looking at a diorama instead of a gaming
table while watching some of the games on these amazing tables. (You
can go here to check out some pictures from
Historicon). I was so inspired by these tables, I decided to come home and try
and build one myself. After talking to several of the gamers running the
these tables, I felt confident that I could try one on my own. Below I
will document my first try at such a table.
Note: See the new FAQ at the bottom of this page for more information on how
the felt mat works.
As this is my first attempt, I would welcome any comments or suggestions from anyone out there who has done this already.
The best thing about this process is the flexibility. For historic scenarios, where the battlefields are already documented, it can be a real pain to cut and then flock/paint hills and ridges for each new scenario you want to play. With this process, you simply need to cut the Styrofoam (which is very cheap) and throw your felt over it for a great looking battlefield. The flock is relatively cheap and can be reused.
The first step is to get the correct materials.
 | For hills, I have found using the pink or blue Styrofoam from Lowes/Home Depot works the best. |
| While I used duct tape, I think masking or painters tape would probably work just as well. |
| I purchased a large sheet of earth colored felt from a local fabric store (very cheap) |
| Cutting tools. I used a knife, hot foam cutter and a Band Saw. |
| Rulers and a Map to go by only if you are trying to recreate a specific battlefield. Otherwise, let your imagination run wild. |
For this table, I was setting up for the Battle of Lutzen (Napoleonic Wars, 1813) so I had a map to go by.
The next step is to cut the Styrofoam out in the whatever shapes you need.
For this game, I had to create a stand alone hill and a ridgeline that ran
across the entire table. First, I cut the general area of the hills out
with my knife, then went downstairs to the Band Saw and got the exact size and
shape. After attaining the shape of the hills, I used the hot foam
cutters to "angle" the edges so that they would have a nice slope at the edges
(instead of a straight up and down edge). Once you have done that, simply
tape them to the table in the appropriate locations.
(Click on the thumbnails below for larger pictures)
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After you have taped the hills in place, it is time to cover the table with your piece of felt. Once you do this, the felt should "form fit" to the shape of your hills.
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The only thing left now is to place flock on the table to give it that earth/grassy look. Below are some of the flock colors I use.
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Here are a few pictures of the finished product. Placing the flock is fairly straightforward. The containers are shakers so you simply sprinkle as much or little as you want. I like the different colors as it gives it a earthy look. Roads are displayed with a lighter color although I am toying around with using a darker brown for roads...time will tell.
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That's it for now. I hope to have some more pictures up soon of other table projects. Good luck!
FAQ:
After posting this article, I received a few emails with questions regarding
some of the processes I used. I thought I would list those below as they
give you a much better idea on some of the basics I skipped in the above
article. Thank you to the gentlemen who wrote in and inquired about the
table.
I noticed the table used flock that was just loosely
placed onto of the felt. I'm assuming no glue or spray adhesive was used to
hold the flock down?
That is correct, I just use the shakers to sprinkle it on as needed.
It looks like the flock had to be applied wherever
the table is played on. Is that true? It seems transporting such a table once
the flock is on would be impossible.
Yes, I just sprinkle it on once the felt mat was laid down. As far as
transportation, I thought the same thing too. Its actually rather easy. You
simply fold it up (trapping all the flock inside) and then place it in a medium
side hard Plastic tub/container (you can get these at Walmart/Target, ect for
about $10-$15). When you are ready to play again, you simply unfold the mat on
the table and spread out the flock and apply any new flock you may need.
Does the loose flock bother people when they play? Do
you have a lot of flock being kicked up or people just sneezing and creating a
green dust storm? (you never know =)?)
Ha ha! Not yet (but I do have allergies!). Seriously, it has not been a
problem. I have a fan in my room but I keep it on the floor and point it up so
it doesn’t actually hit the table surface (I don’t want to tempt the fates!).
The flock actually makes playing on felt easier. Our models tend to snag in the
felt but with the flock, the bases never really touch the felt so no snagging.
Unless you blow really hard and really close to the table, the flock pretty much
stays on the table. Because we currently have carpet in my game room
(mistake!!), I try not to sprinkle flock within a few inches of the edge.
Having said that, any flock that does come off, is easily vacuumed up.
How is the clean up?
Clean up is a breeze. When I move the felt, I just fold it up and place it in
one of those hard plastic containers (that way, any flock that did manage to get
out of all the folds, would still be trapped inside the container.
Is all the flock you use a write off once you use it?
Or is it pretty easy to re-use the flock?
Now I have only moved the felt mat twice, so I will go on what little I know
as well as what I have heard from other players who do this. I definitely reuse
the flock on the mat. Some of the flock sticks to the felt but a lot of it will
"pool" up wherever you fold the felt. I simply spread it around as needed and
then apply new flock in any areas that are lacking. I use a "Yellow Grass"
flock for the roads. When I am done with a particular map, I will simply spread
the roads into the surrounding flock. Combined with the folding of the felt and
reapplying new flock, you don’t even know the old roads were there.
This isn’t very clear in the pictures on my site, but I actually have 3-4 different colors that make up the basic "ground cover". The primary is a Burnt Grass with a light sprinkling of greens, browns and yellows. This, along with the road color I use, get all mixed up and will always add to the color of the next table...something I think works very well.
I sure you will, but please relay the experience of
gaming on such a table when you get a chance to use it.
We have played one game on it so far and it worked great. One of the best
things about the felt is the way the hills work. Now, we have gently sloping
hills that not only look nice (IMHO), but are much easier to place models on
(you can see from earlier battle reports, that we used to use straight up and
down hills and those just don’t work well with 15mm's). The flock looks great
and doesn’t interfere with the models or bases. We are about to play another
big game next weekend and I will have a full battle report on the site within a
few days.
Did you tie down the felt cover somehow? Clips on the board edge?
Actually I just laid the felt down over the hills. The weight of the flock
will force it to form fill to the contour of the hills. I have heard of people
using Velcro glued/taped to the hills to make the felt stick better, but with
gentle slopes, it doesn't seem to be a problem for us.
Also, for the hills, how do you determine the hill 'edge' per the rules
(for getting uphill bonuses and arty dead zones)?
(The following answers apply to the Napoleon's Battles rule set, but I'm sure
would work for most other game systems.)
Uphill bonuses: We play if one unit is higher than the other unit, it gets the bonus. So if unit A is attacking up a hill and some of its bases are on the slope, but still lower than the bases of defending Unit B (which is higher up the slope), Unit B gets the +1 height advantage.
Artillery Dead zones: In NB2 (I cant remember if this was in NB1), they suggest using a string to determine arty Dead zones for naturally sculpted hills (the old rule for measuring from arty base to hill edge to determine dead zone is still in the rules for "stacked", straight edge hills). It hasn't come up yet, but that is what we plan on using if/when it does. Our hills are only about 3/4 inch high with a about a 45-60 degree slope so unless they are way back, it doesn't really come into play (we haven't played on any multi-hill maps with the new felt so I'm sure it will come up then).