Inside My Game Kit

[BobP]

(A thread for sharing personal or novel solutions for TFT physical components. Here's mine.)

I don't have a lot of space for gaming, and none to leave standing gaming supplies up. So I push my kit for versatility as well as size. I use the Classic/PocketBox counters. And I do like an eraseable map instead of tiles. Shopping online, I found most of the existing map sheets too big for my space and also harder to store. So it came to making my own.

I ordered a blank folding game board with box. 18" square unfolded. After prowling the game prototyping forums, I opted for a custom vinyl decal from FedEx Office. To make the megahex pattern, I imported the Wizard map into The GIMP, took off the arena features, and then expanded it by a row and two columns. My first attempt I actually added more, and had hex lines bleeding off the edge ... and I didn't like the look. The second attempt gave me a clean border that I like much more.

Sticking the decal to the board is a different kind of adventure, that I might actually get right with three or four more tries. I hit a "good enough" wall at two. It's not perfect, but it is MINE.

The box for the board is also roomy enough to hold markers, an eraser cloth, a couple dozen wooden tokens with dry-erase labels, and the counters.

Speaking of counters ... it's unlikely Our Forum Hosts will be making any more TFT counters at the Classic scale. Could adapt Cardboard Heroes, of course. But making your own is easy. Here's the plan: print a counter sheet at 67% reduction on full-sheet white decal paper. Stick white decal sheet onto cardstock. Stick self-adhesive clear sticker sheet onto top of that. Counters are ready to cut! So that's how I'm handling Death Test or the Adventures book.

Unless I give up and only play in a Virtual Tabletop Program, solo. Which is a whole different exercise to get "authentic" virtual components into the program. But that's a story for another day.

[ParadoxGames]

It's awesome to hear from others who like classic scale, and how they handle expansions and accessories.

Printing PDFs at 67% is good, close to the Metagaming era counter's size (62.5%, or 5/8 of an inch.) Printing your counters at 75% would give them the same dimensions as the pocket box counters, but megahexes should be at 67%, like those provided in Adventures like Clockwork Tower.

I'm anticipating the delivery of the Pocket Box games package. I ordered several empty boxes as add-ons. Those boxes are perfect for storing additional components, since you can just carry them along with the Melee/Wizard box.

I also made a few nice hex maps in classic scale for use with TFT. One of them is 2-sided and folds to 8x4", thus it can easily be carried with the Pocket Box side-by-side in one hand:

https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games...cal-dungeon-d2

The other is not so portable, but is a large arena (27x18 inches) and folds to a fairly compact 9x9 inches. On the page you'll see some of my homemade classic scale counters.

https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games...tical-arena-a1

I'd like to know more from you or other classic scale fans, about how you adapt your components from Legacy scale.

[BobP]

Originally Posted by ParadoxGames

I'm anticipating the delivery of the Pocket Box games package. I ordered several empty boxes as add-ons. Those boxes are perfect for storing additional components, since you can just carry them along with the Melee/Wizard box.

I tried to put my Melee/Wizard box to use as a dice tray by lining the inside with self-adhesive felt (gold, to contrast with the red and blue dice). But I failed to cut relief for the hinge, and by the time I noticed the problem, the hinge was well ruined. Lesson learned? Maybe.

Oh, and deck boxes are vital.

[Steve Plambeck]

Personally I love and prefer the classic scale, not least because I have a library of homemade counters and maps at the original scale, and it would be such a waste to retire them all.

For anyone interested, here's a labyrinth mapping kit (print your own dungeon tiles) in the classic scale of 7/8s inch hexes:

https://www.tradebit.com/filedetail....ors-kit-steven

It's based on the personal kit I made for playing TFT in the 80s.

[Shostak]

Originally Posted by Steve Plambeck

For anyone interested, here's a labyrinth mapping kit (print your own dungeon tiles) in the classic scale of 7/8s inch hexes:

https://www.tradebit.com/filedetail....ors-kit-steven

It's based on the personal kit I made for playing TFT in the 80s.

I like that, Steve! The Megahexes would actually have been easier to use (and store!) had they been rectalinear like yours, since they would more accurately depict the kinds of spaces one would expect people to build.

[Steve Plambeck]

Thanks Shostak, glad you like it! If you or anyone here would like a free copy of the whole pdf, just pop me a message with an e-mail address. The file is 20 mb.

[the1weasel]

What storage solutions does anybody have for the wizard-size cards? I can find things for 3"x5" every day of the week, but not so much for the 3.5"x5". I did find these protectors which make my tear off sheets into dry/wet erase...

I use the Jot crayon box to hold my fighter-size cards. They are commonly found at the dollar tree

[BobP]

Originally Posted by the1weasel

What storage solutions does anybody have for the wizard-size cards? I can find things for 3"x5" every day of the week, but not so much for the 3.5"x5".

I'm lazy ... I'd settle for a 4x6 index card box. Possibly a small-size photo album might work.

[ParadoxGames]

Originally Posted by the1weasel

What storage solutions does anybody have for the wizard-size cards? I can find things for 3"x5" every day of the week, but not so much for the 3.5"x5". I did find these protectors which make my tear off sheets into dry/wet erase...

I use the Jot crayon box to hold my fighter-size cards. They are commonly found at the dollar tree

I'm looking around myself. Magic The Gathering uses "commander" cards that are 3.5x5, and I thought my f"L"GS may have some solutions. They were closed yesterday when I went there for New Years, and they're not so L, so maybe next time... but check for something to hold commander decks. Oh! I also think The Game Crafter has boxes for them.

---

Yes, I just found it. This looks like it would hold them, since it holds cards side-by-side, which makes it 3.5 x 5. I need something for my Four, I mean Five Perilous Journeys cards.

https://www.thegamecrafter.com/parts...%20Accessories

[the1weasel]

I found this, and I ordered 10 of them. I plan to store a number of character sheets in each one, organized by ability point total.