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Path: utzoo!watmath!jagardner
From: jagardner@watmath.UUCP (jagardner)
Newsgroups: net.games.frp
Subject: Re: A good gameboard
Message-ID: <11460@watmath.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 13-Feb-85 17:30:32 EST
Article-I.D.: watmath.11460
Posted: Wed Feb 13 17:30:32 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 14-Feb-85 00:49:36 EST
References: <1125@amdahl.UUCP>
Reply-To: jagardner@watmath.UUCP ()
Distribution: net
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 23

[Line eater...]

Another thing I've found useful for gaming is transparent or semi-transparent
plastic.  In our local K-Mart, they sell this stuff for $1.50 (Canadian) a
metre (and the roll is about two metres wide).  I cut out individual rooms,
draw them with grease pencil (or coloured felt markers if I'm feeling
creative) and put the rooms together as we play (jig-saw fashion).

I use this system for Champions, so I put the plastic over a paper hex grid
whenever we have to get down to the nitty-gritty for combat (in Champions,
it's very important to know exact distances when you're fighting, unlike in
most D&D melees).  D&D DMs may be reluctant to give their players such
exact maps, but with overlays you can do nice stuff.  For example, you
can have one map giving the interior of a building and then put in overlays
as rooms are explored.

It's particularly useful for lulling players into a false sense of security.
In Champions, players always know it's battle time when the hex paper comes
out.  With plastic transparencies, they never know when they're entering
one of those "special" rooms...

				Jim Gardner, University of Waterloo