Question about table size

[Kane]

Hey guys,

I'm playing my very first Chain of Command skirmish soon and I wanted to know if a 2 x 4 table is enough to start with as a table, or 4 x 4 is preferred?

We want to get a hang of the rules, before we build bigger tables. Thanks for the feedback!

[Poiter50]

What scale are you using? If 28mm, you need at least 6x4 or the result will occur too quickly.

[gweirda]

IMO, 2x4 would be too small - the Patrol Phase would be severely hampered (if not wrecked outright) and any maneuvering also restricted.

You could try substituting cm for inches in all measurements, or choosing a limited-LOS terrain such as heavy jungle or urban setting?

In either case, figure size will affect things more on a smaller board if the terrain is laid out to figure rather than ground scale.  The game's ground scale is 1:120, so the further terrain/figure scales from that are the more distorted/harmed will be the results of play.

[geoffb]

If you half all ranges (or substitute cm for inches as suggested above) and play with 15mm or smaller you would be fine.
Using 28mm or even 20mm would look cramped.

[Kane]

We're in 28mm. Guess it'll be a 6x4 table. Sadly enough I don't have enough terrain for that... :/

[gweirda]

If terrain is a problem, explore doing the "restricted L-O-S" option on a smaller space?

The advantage (space-wise) to this is that how far one can spot is severely restricted, so that both the Patrol Phase (iirc, the 'lock-down' range for this is modified to 6"?) and maneuver ability is preserved.

The disadvantage (game-wise) is that any combat is guaranteed to be 'up close and personal', though that is its own challenge not to be dismissed.  Stalingrad, anyone?

Urban rubble is common to any theater, and can be indicated by the simplest stuff...scraps of cardboard torn up and put in a heap, a knocked out tank, a crashed aircraft, ...?


I realize it may not be the prettiest table, and as a 50+year model builder there's no one in front of me in the queue to bend down and exclaim "ooo!...take a look at this!", but I also know that the game (CoC) is so good that when things get going you could have blocks of wood on a piece of plywood and no one would notice.

[Morgan]

We're in 28mm. Guess it'll be a 6x4 table. Sadly enough I don't have enough terrain for that... :/

Not necessarily a problem. If you have a look at these two blog posts on the TooFatLardies site, you can see that a game can be had with the absolute minimum of terrain ...

  http://toofatlardies.co.uk/blog/?p=1584
  http://toofatlardies.co.uk/blog/?p=1591

Hope that helps.

[Kane]

Thanks Morgan, interesting read.

I do have enough terrain for a 4x4 table, just not (yet) for a 6x4.
Discussed it with my opponent last night and we're going for a 4x4, reducing some measurements. It's really just a try-out to get a hang of the rules. After that, the gloves come off. 

[Red Sveta]

I am struggling with table size for 28mm, in fact I am not sure if its the right scale for ww2 games at all it never seems to look right to me on a 6x4 table which is all I can use. I am re thinking the whole idea and will probably use 20mm instead. That does seem to look a lot better for skirmish size games of ww2 to me. I have a few of the Blitz miniatures to paint up nice minis.