Alright, the gaming tile project is now complete. I have completed:
1. One full set of the TopoSolitario game board tiles (16 separate tiles) which cover a 28" x 40" area--perfect for shootouts and more cramped scenarios.
2. 24 full size, triple thick Platform Command tiles (each 7" x 7")
3. 10 transition, triple thick Platform Command tiles. These are 7" x 5.5" and were created by wrapping the last 1.5" of a standard tile around the edge.
4. 30 full size single thick Platform command tiles (each 7" x 7")
In total, I have 3031 square inches of Platform Command tiles and 1120 square inches of TopoSolitario tiles. Plenty for at least two boards worth of mayhem and plenty of variability.
The tiles-on-cardboard instead of foam board experiment worked well, but there were some good tips I learned for those of you who might want to try it out.
1. Cut out all the tiles completely before doing any gluing. Don't try to save any time by simultaneously cutting paper glued to cardboard. IT DOESN'T WORK WELL. Any time you save not cutting the paper separately will be spent edging the finish cut tiles to get rid of white slivers on the edges.
2. The spray on glue is AWESOME. Use it liberally, let it dry completely before cutting, and everything will go well.
3. Glue stick, although not great for the main adhesive, is excellent for touching up an edge you snag with a dulling blade. Just take a healthy helping, smear it on the edge, and work the snagged paper the opposite direction you were cutting. Works well.
4. Brown corrugated cardboard shares a color palette with both the sets I used for play tiles, so that means as long as you get all the white off the tiles before you glue, you don't need a perfect cut on the cardboard. The brown just blends in to the tiles. The only exception is the slime channels. Those you need to either get just right or touch up green.
5. A rotary cutter is an excellent way to cut a large number of paper tiles out in a hurry. I always scoffed at this awkward tool my wife bought back when she was going through one of her scrapbooking phases. Now, I think I will steal it for myself.
6. You know that recommendation to make sure you always use a very sharp blade when doing paper terrain? That goes double when cardboard is involved because the blades will dull faster and cuts snag more easily because the cardboard won't be perfectly level--especially near the edges.
7. Don't worry about imperfections in the cardboard. Several of the sheets I used had noticeable impressions from product or packaging. Make sure to put extra glue in these places and be careful to work the paper into the impression really well to get a good bond, but don't worry. The ones I have look great. In fact, they add character to the tiles since they make some of them imperfect--just like the Underhive.
So enough with game board tiles. Next up, some platforms & bulkheads.
