Paper or Plastic?

[Whiterook]

Originally Posted by MAGNA

That's our pleasure I am sure. Would love to see pics when available.

One hint for those with the facilities. A sand table is a great base foe any gaming. Terrain can be sculpted and then you just add roads, vegetation, buildings. The trick - use large grain builders sand dyed green. This is what is used for some arenas where horses compete, showjumping and the like. Instead of chewing up the grass they can actually rake it flat again after each competitor. If a water jump is needed they dig a hole and put in a plastic liner. Brilliant stuff and cheap. It need to be about three inches deep and foam is usually used to build up higher features.

I have seen this done with an old snooker table. Big enough and strong enough with room to store things under. Another one I have seen was a remodelled kitchen or dining table with fold off tops. It became a table when not in use for gaming and the game could be left set up if not finished. Just a thought for when you have a couple of hours to spare.

Sandtables are indeed an amazing thing! Please correct me if I'm wring, but I believe "sandtables" is what they called the battlefield mockups made during WWII (for instance) to plot and plan, and visualize the terrain.

I would imagine all that sand would be a bit heavy, so a sturdy table would be necessary. In model railroading, track layouts are much akin to sandtables, and are generally built on modules, like 3 foot X 3 foot, and 4-5 foot high; the modules are able to be locked together (generally simple hook & eye latches, but also more elaborate rigging), and wheeled for easy movement.

There's a movie I saw quite a few years ago, and I believe it starred Wesley Snipes?, in which the lead character has a neat Bachelor's pad wherein he has a sandtable with miniatures battle rigged up on a unit that is suspended at the ceiling, and can lower by pulleys to play level! Anyone see this...and what movie it was???

[KG_Panzerschreck]

I like both.

The more simpler games like Memior'44 and older games i cut my teeth on like Carrier Strike, Tank Battle ect. are just fine with the men, tanks and ships and i enjoy the "Army Man" feel to it. Brings back all the fun of being a kid again.

But for my more complicated games like say the Avalon Hill line, i like my cardboard. As matter of fact.....I love the smell of cardboard in the morning.... It smells like victory!

So i voted for both.

[Whiterook]

Hee heeee, I voted both ways on this myself! Couldn't have said it better myself, KGP! My sentiments exactly!

Hey, check out my next post on SMELL.... (heeee, heeeeeeee!)

[silentshadow]

Howdy, Whiterook! How have you been, man?

As you might guess, in the past I've been pleased with games that utilize both, but I have to admit miniatures seem to give a game more visual flavor. Of course the battlefields take up more space on the table with scaled units.

ss

[Whiterook]

SS! Great to have you aboard, Mate! Welcome to the Zone! If you haven't already, stop on by the New Members thread and introduce yourself. There's so many great folks here at the Zone...I have as much fun here as Days of Wonder! There's a great thread on WWII in movies and TV here too...a subject you are without a doubt a master of!

Yes, I so agree with you. I love to see the minis on the mapboard, as it gives you a real feel for the battle. And, they're a lot easir to move around the board, too!

[50th]

I prefer minis because they are way cooler. (Gee, did a 50+ year old say that) But they do take up more space in whatever box you put them in. I separate my counters in small plastic ziplock bags that you can find at Walmart in the crafts section. I have put all my memoir counters in bags, separated out by expansion pack, and whether they are round or shield shaped.

[Whiterook]

It's just a guess, but I think guys (and some gals) that are in their 40's+ remember fondly all those hours playing with those bags of "Army Men" plastic figures, as young Generals, spending hours lining up all those little suckers on the livingroom floor, only to wipe out large swaths in "Artilley Barrages" (i.e., marbles, superballs, little Sister's). I look at mini's....like Memoir '44, Axis & Allies (games and minis), RISK, etc....and I'm wisked back in time to days when my biggest concerns were how can I avoid homework another hour and how can I get my best friend's sisters' lips on mine! So yes, way cooler!

[TRDG]

I'm not saying they ain't good, BUT, sometimes what you actually get when you open up the box or blister, strange things can happen, like items missing, bent, metal flash, extra parts for other vehicles or platoons even. It can Piss a person off sometimes, ya know......

Cheers

Tom

[Whiterook]

I hear 'ya. With mass production, some of the plastic figures can be malformed, which is one of the bigger annoyances for me. Artilley barrels should be straight, darn it! Is it soooo much to ask? Great suggestions were made on remedying that with hot water...I guess after being submerged in near boiling water, the plastic re-forms to proper shapes after a quick ice bath. I have to try that with my Memoir '44 figures...like, soon! Thanks for the tip on that Mates!

On paper, what irks me there is punching the counters out of their trees; and counters that are printed "outside of the lines," meaning the press misaligned, and some of the graphic ends up off the counter and onto the trees (what they're punched out of). And of course, a counter that tears when punched....after punching a few hundred counters, the eyeballs go a little screwy, the back starts hurting form your Hunchback of Notre Dame impression, and your hitherto all-the-patience-in-the-world attitude has long since given up the ghost, resulting in a little too much pressure at the wrong time.

[Double Deuce]

Real boardgamers choose cardboard!

I have a played a few of the games with plastic minis but to me its not the same. Mini's go with actual miniatures rules, not boardgames. Growing up during Avalon Hill's heyday probably influenced my decision though.