How large are the WIF-maps?

[jesperpehrson]

An unrelated question for MWIF but we have decided to set up a game and we need to buy a table that fits all the maps (exluding the African one probably). Anyone have the sizes readily available (preferably the metric system)?

- Jesper

[macgregor]

A friend of mine was throing away a couple of clear glass shower doors about 2' x 7' each and it gave me an idea. I built a table to those dimensions and laid out the (removed) glass from the doors over the game(and table). It worked pretty well. Of course if you'd rather, you could always have glass cut for an existing table. Long bent tweezers were also invaluable for moving pieces. Another gang I knew used special magnetic backs for the pieces(that's a lot of magnets) then mounted the board over metal sheeting on the wall and played vertically. That actually worked as well, infact, very well. The magnetized stacks stayed together neatly. However, the stacks were somewhat taller with the magnets.The exact dimensions I believe are on the gamebox.

[stretch]

I used plexiglass purchased from a large chain home improvement store, cut to specific sizes to match my tables.  Safer and lighter than glass (and cheaper, IIRC) but has a slight tendency to not lie completely flat.  A few clamps on tables edge plus a few small weights placed over inactive spots on the maps took care of that.  Overall I loved it.  when we moved we scratched  them up real bad but it didn't matter as the new home didnt have space for a game room
 
 
 
 

[jesperpehrson]

I found the dimensions on the net (i don't have the box at my house) so I will have a 2 m x 1.5 m table constructed tomorrow.

I will look into buying some plexiglass as well.

[Ullern]

What you see in the picture below is the eastern Europe map that is actually glued on to a wooden panel, and you see one of my fellow players optimising the Russian defences before I will shatter them once again.
You also see parts of the western Europe map that is glued on to a different wooden panel.

What we do is that each time were done playing we put a box of matches in each corner of the eastern Europe map and then we lift the western Europe map on top of the eastern Europe map, and so on until all map are stacked. And finally we lift the whole map stack up on top of a book shelf (a little bit broader than usual book shelf) and there it stays out of view and out of reach for kids till next time we play.

You’d think that this arrangement will never work. The pices will move when lifted. But we’ve been doing that for three years now and we still haven’t messed up the pices once! The only small problems have been with Taranto and Vienna, because they are right at the border the units there must be pushed a bit when lifting the maps apart, so sometimes it’s difficult to re-establish whether a certain unit was in or just outside Taranto / Vienna. But this has been the only issue. (There is no similar problem on the Asian and Pacific maps.)

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: capitan

I found the dimensions on the net (i don't have the box at my house) so I will have a 2 m x 1.5 m table constructed tomorrow.

I will look into buying some plexiglass as well.

I do not recommend plexiglass. My experience (based on using it for 4 or 5 years) was that it had a tendency to get scratched and/or foggy making the paper map underneath difficult to read.

Though glass has to be handled carefully, it can be purchased cut to size with 'polished' (not bevelled) edges that prevent cuts to fingers. I still have 2 thick butcher block tables (3' by 5') with wide, stable, stainless steel legs and 4 pieces of 1/4" glass 3' by 2.5' that fit on them perfectly. All of these are stored in a closet[:(], but the two tables work very well for most board war games and can be arranged in different configurations depending on the game. The reason I have the glass cut to half the table size, is that way it's lighter and easier to handle. Glass can also create a suction effect when lifting it off the table, so the smaller pieces are preferred for that reason too. Finally, by having 4 identically sized segments, I was able to stack them (using dice as wedges between them[:)]) preserving the position of units when I had to break down the game due to social pressure[:@]. Plexiglass didn't work as well because it was flimsier. Ooops! [X(] With glass, I was able to carry complete positions up/down 2 flights of stairs on occasion.

Dice bounced much more satisfactorily on glass too!

[Incy]

Of course, the only real way to go is to put it on the wall.
In the living room!

http://www.berg-bell.com/show.do?implId=26&articleid=52

[Greyshaft]

ORIGINAL: Incy

Of course, the only real way to go is to put it on the wall.
In the living room!

http://www.berg-bell.com/show.do?implId=26&articleid=52

Yeah... right... the missus is really going to agree to that

NOT!!!

(has fit of insane jealousy and removes Incy from list of beta testers )

(sanity prevails and Incy is restored to list )

[jesperpehrson]

ORIGINAL: Incy

Of course, the only real way to go is to put it on the wall.
In the living room!

http://www.berg-bell.com/show.do?implId=26&articleid=52

This is your work?!! I have had this bookmarked for years to drool over. We have been discussing doing this for years but never got around to do anything like it.

[CBoehm]

hmm must say it look cool, but without having tryid WIFon-a-wall I think I still would prefer a good old tabletop game ...and as Ullern mentioned if u have a good stacking system its not THAT big a pain to store ...ofcause in my own case I play in a club where we have a shelf system where a whole tabletop game can just slide in for later retrieval. works like a charm.

[SamuraiProgrmmr]

I used to use plexiglass but came up with a slightly better solution.

Back when I played the tabletop version (about 10 years ago), a friend built a custom gaming cabinet with slots for shelves.

I then decopaged (sp) the maps onto plywood.

When the current gaming session was over, we carefully picked up the map sections and slid them into the cabinet where they would lay unmolested by pets and visiting children until the next gaming session. This also reduced marriage stress by not having a game out for months at a time -- even though that right was negotiated in the prenuptuals

[Incy]

Alas, unfortunately it's not mounted right now, after I moved.
The kids have grown to a non-compatible age, I'm redoing some rooms, and we had trouble with the logistics in our local group, so now we're playing at another house.

I still hope to get it back up, though.
Strangely, my wife does not object. Same thing with guests, they usually get quite interested and start asking questions.
And mostly they don't even think I'm crazy[:)]
(at least to my face...)

[coregames]

An unrelated question for MWIF but we have decided to set up a game and we need to buy a table that fits all the maps (exluding the African one probably). Anyone have the sizes readily available (preferably the metric system)?

- Jesper

I measured the maps (including the U.S., Scandinavia and Africa maps) and built three tables that fit the game comfortably. Each table is 3' X 5', and we clamp them together underneath to make a 5'X 9' table. This would be about 1.5 m X 2.75 m. This allows all the maps to be in their 'natural' positions, with space betweeen the maps left over for production, fleets and sorted force pools. We use fitted plexiglass panels to preserve the maps, and should get about six monster games out of them before they get too scratched and need to be replaced.

Incidentally, two of these tables make a roomy space upon which to play Empires in Arms, leaving the third for less time-consumptive games like Seven Ages, Civilization, or Pax Britannica.

[trees trees]

I bought a set of 'rolled, not folded' WiF maps from ADG last year and had them professionally laminated with a dry-erase coating. They are the best looking WiF maps I have ever used; once laminated you can do without glass or plexi-glass, though I have played many games on plexi-glass as well.

[jesperpehrson]

ORIGINAL: trees trees

I bought a set of 'rolled, not folded' WiF maps from ADG last year and had them professionally laminated with a dry-erase coating. They are the best looking WiF maps I have ever used; once laminated you can do without glass or plexi-glass, though I have played many games on plexi-glass as well.

Is laminating expensive?

[trees trees]

In my case it wasn't pretty. I went to a pro graphics shop, the type of place developers go to print massive building blueprints, on a recommendation. The four maps cost $130 US. You can get it done far cheaper at say a copy shop, I've had some other games don that way for say $5-10 per map. But I also ended up with bubbles and one shop used some sort of laminate can that best be described as 'cloudy'. These WiF ones are 100% crystal clear with no bubbles anywere, perfectly trimmed edges 1/2" from the edge of the paper, and the best part is the "Dry-Erase" coating so you can use Dry-Erase markers easily. My other maps I can use non-permanent Sharpie type markers but erasing them isn't always as easy.

[Jimm]

ORIGINAL: trees trees

In my case it wasn't pretty. I went to a pro graphics shop, the type of place developers go to print massive building blueprints, on a recommendation. The four maps cost $130 US.

Wow thats a lot of dosh. Recently had my lot done, cost about 30 quid (whats that, $50?) and its a decent clear finish. Also a cheap home laminator is a godsend for tables and odd counter replacements.

Great idea about the dry markers, I'll have to give that a try.

We've just started a 6 player game from 1936 with DOD3, in my converted loft. I've got the DOD chart over a steel sheet mounted on the wall, works pretty well except nation counters dont stack so well- since 1st sesh I've replaced the cardboard ones with thinner ones I've printed which dont soak up the magnetic attraction as much!

[trees trees]

yeah that was a lot of money, but in for a dime, in for a dollar, I thought I'd give the pros a try.

poster putty works good for "WiF on the wall" too...just rotate units 180 degrees to indicate flipped status. I played WiF5 that way, not sure the stacks in Final Edition with all the kits could work out that well.

[jesperpehrson]

A question to you all very knowledgable people out there.

When we were sorting the counters I have removed units that should not be in there and added the ones missing, all according to the list we use in MWIF. We have more or less all landunits (ships and planes still undone) but there are a few units. Strangely enough all art ART. Maybe there is an expansion that messes with us. Now what I want to ask is if you see a connection between the missing counters.

Communist China - 76mm ART and 76mm AT
UK - MOT ART (4,5"), Tank Destroyer "Wolverine" and MOT AA "Bofors"
France - MOT AA (90mm)
US - MOT ART (4,5"), Tank Destroyer "M-36) and MOT AT (76mm)
Japan - 105mm AT and 40mm AA
Italy - 75 mm AT

Russia and Germany still to sort out but it is strange that we are only lacking ART. I mean on the average, if we lost some counters, some of the them should be something else lost too.

On the plus side we have several ART (AA, AT and ART) that are not used according to the list I have so we could probably fill out the holes. But this is driving us crazy not knowing why it is just ART missing.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: capitan
A question to you all very knowledgable people out there.

When we were sorting the counters I have removed units that should not be in there and added the ones missing, all according to the list we use in MWIF. We have more or less all landunits (ships and planes still undone) but there are a few units. Strangely enough all art ART. Maybe there is an expansion that messes with us. Now what I want to ask is if you see a connection between the missing counters.

Communist China - 76mm ART and 76mm AT
UK - MOT ART (4,5"), Tank Destroyer "Wolverine" and MOT AA "Bofors"
France - MOT AA (90mm)
US - MOT ART (4,5"), Tank Destroyer "M-36) and MOT AT (76mm)
Japan - 105mm AT and 40mm AA
Italy - 75 mm AT

Russia and Germany still to sort out but it is strange that we are only lacking ART. I mean on the average, if we lost some counters, some of the them should be something else lost too.

On the plus side we have several ART (AA, AT and ART) that are not used according to the list I have so we could probably fill out the holes. But this is driving us crazy not knowing why it is just ART missing.

The units you are missing are all from Asia in Flame, counter sheet #15, (2003). The units are scattered around on the counter sheet (not from one row).Perhaps you have an older counter sheet? Do you have the frogmen?