#board game customization

[kithpendragon]

My friend @eaglehorn has asked me to help her make some already-awesome game pieces even more exciting! We'll be painting this tray of minis together and I figured I'd take the opportunity to post a step-by-step of the process for anybody who wants to personalize their own board game minis for the first time. We'll keep everything beginner-friendly and bring all these models to a tabletop standard with lots of photos along the way. I'll tag all the posts in this series #KP2023SCY to make them easy to find, and I'll create an Index post that links to all of the others when the series concludes. If there's a part of the process you'd like to see specifically, hit me up in the comments and I'll do my best to cover that topic!

Preparing to Paint

These are from Scythe, and look at all those rivets! These are beautifully sculpted and molded figures with no obvious mold lines, so we can skip the step where we use an old hobby knife or sandpaper to grind away the extra plastic that we don't want.

The packaging also protected them well during shipping, so the deformations are few and slight. We could straighten out any badly bent parts if we needed by applying some heat. I use some hot water - about 50C (100F) is hot enough to soften the plastic but not so hot as to burn the skin. Hold the bent part in the water for 20-30 seconds, then bend it just slightly past where you want it. I find most minis spring back slightly over the first few days after this treatment. You'll need to hold the part in place as it cools, and this bit can be made faster with some cold water if you like.

Next, I give all the figures a bath in cool soapy water followed by a rinse in clean water and a light scrub with some isopropyl alcohol. I use dishwashing soap because it gives a very clean rinse. We're making sure we get any hand oils, dirt, plastic dust, and left over manufacturing residues off of the surface. This helps the paint to stick better and keeps the finished minis looking amazing for much longer.

Next step: Priming (goes live 2023NOV21)

[virto-the-weirdo]

Hey, guess what I got for Christmas this year!

I doodled these on my phone whenever I got a bit of time during holidays. I know some of tgem might be OP but eh, what are self inserts for?

I based the cards off my sona variants, each of them has a bit of a different effect (bcuz sona variants do be having different traits) and they would all be individual cards in the deck. So in the end, you can have a Stable filled with bird unicorns lol.

Anyways, I've played this game so much with my siblings, I love it. Playtrough is fun and I'm addicted to games with beautiful illustrations.

Btw, it's Unstable Unicorns.

[aeternuhhm]

TCG Concept

hi lads :D had an idea for a card game concept!

so i started a passion project a few days ago and i thought of the idea:

i'll make it a CARD GAME!!

so, how it works is that everyone starts off as Ordinary. no powers, no weapons, nothing. in phase 1, the training phase, you choose a power, train up and go into dungeons, then phase 2 you either fight others or fight a BBEG :D

more to come!

[the-eternal-digital-magic-shop]

… well I mean…. Free stuff!!!

*he grabs it out of his hand…*

— @r-ai-dio

(The potion... doesn't let go. If anything, he stares at the pawn intensely.)

(A few moments after R.AI.dio grabs the pawn, it starts to... glow a bright green? As it feels warmer to the touch.. this moment is when the potion looks up at the AI and lets go, still hunched over the table.)

Hee hee hoo!! Thank you for playing!!

(R.AI.dio's vision also starts to blur into a bright green, starting to hear a loud ringing in his ears as he sees the potion in front of him smiling and waving. Before he could do anything, he-)

(The outlines encased on the glass emblems on the game board dissapear. Selcouth goes to pick up the dropped pawn, placing it in a small box, said pawn now dawning a carved out pair of glasses and hair.)

[worm-dark]

Bonus dice for @publishinggoblin , pulled from as-yet-undiscovered games: a resource die, a traditional board game movement die, and one that's a little more fantasy-flavored. Working small like this is always such a fun challenge! 🎲

Desk mat by @kevinjaystanton ✨

[nothingenoughao3]

Re-Animator/Arkham Horror Custom Game Content: The Investigators

I don't have a title for this project yet, but it's basically its own expansion pack at this point. If anybody has any ideas for a rad name, lemme know!

These cards have only been playtested in a non-representative game; I will probably try to playtest them again tonight!

Card info reads as follows:

Francesca Danelli the Journalist 4 Sanity 6 Stamina

Home: Newspaper Fixed Possessions: $7, 1 Clue Token, 1 Special (Retainer) Random Possessions: 2 Common Items, 1 Spell, 1 Skill SPECIAL: She is a Wartime Journalist. Any phase: Francesca gains +1 to combat rolls when wielding guns. She gains 1 extra Clue token from all in-game events or items, excluding Clues collected from unstable Locations.

Focus: 2 SPEED: 0 1 2 3 SNEAK: 5 4 3 2 FIGHT: 1 2 3 4 WILL: 3 2 1 0 LORE: 2 3 4 5 LUCK: 4 3 2 1

Creator Comments: The hardest part was, let's be real, trying to make Francesca into a character who isn't defined entirely as "one leg in the really toxic love triangle between her, Dan and Herbert". It's a shame that "Bride" never gave her space to be somebody. Being an international journalist who is habitually embedded in war zones in the late 1980s is truly rich soil for a character to grow in.

Francesca is slow because she's unfamiliar with Arkham's layout; this gives her a higher Sneak so she can escape monsters if need be. Her low Will and low-ish Sanity mean she may well break from the horror of seeing monsters before she gets a chance to fight them, but everybody's gotta have weaknesses. She has mid-grade Luck to help her cope with random encounters.

Her high Lore is partly to justify giving her a Spell, but mostly because "Lore" as a stat relates to how well an investigator correctly understands and copes with the Mythos as they encounter it in-game. And, well. Francesca had Herbert's number from frame one, didn't she? She could've gotten an award for Most Correct Character In "Bride" On Literally Every Call She Made, if she hadn't decided that Dan was Dudley Do-Right.

[kreativekershaw]

I figured I better let the first thing I actually post be a creation, here is my Custom Cludeo board for Resident Evil!!!

I had so much fun including things like the Boulder Chris punches in 5 and seeing the Spencer Mansion on the board just takes my breath away, can't wait to have enough free time to actually draw it all out properly and get it on a board, though this prototype is working great so far!

[zombiesama]

ALSO I talked to my boss about a Pokemon Club for the library and she thinks it's a good idea :) I work at the library that her office ISN'T in tomorrow but she's gonna drive over and discuss more plans with me anyway :D

[thebardscipher]

*drapes dramatically on the couch* I need more Simmers MCC content.

[gon-and-killuas-mother]

fuck it imma make clay batarangs today. it'll be practice at first but maybe once they start looking good i can sell them?

anyone here interested in owning a clay batarang or two? obv they'd be more for decor than for play. if i wanted to make toys i think i'd need a 3D printer... not a bad idea though.....

[bortchilladelphia]

Things I have been asked if we sell at the tabletop gaming store that I work at:

Video Games

Sports Cards

Action Figures

Sports Cards

Air Brushes

Fancy Mahjong sets (I get it, but do you SEE any fancy mahjong sets around???)

Video Games

Incense????

Xbox Controllers

Collectable Star Trek memorabilla

Video Games

Sports Cards

iPhone Chargers

Sports Cards

Video Games

Video Games

Zelda?

Video Games

[kithpendragon]

This is part of a series explaining the step-by-step process I use to enhance a set of minis that come with a board game. The whole series is tagged #KP2023SCY to make it easier to find.

Priming

Most minis are molded or printed from plastic, metal, and resin. All these are non-porous materials that, when very clean, should take a coat of paint without too much trouble. Especially with plastics, priming isn't strictly necessary. So why do we prime?

For me, priming does three things. First, it locks in that clean-enough-to-paint surface under a coat of paint that's designed to take more coats easily. Second, it opaquely covers up the original color of the mini, affording me a bit more control over the final product. Finally, it provides an opportunity to examine the details of the sculpt more easily due to Zenithal Highlighting. More on that in a minute.

I prime with a rattle can from the hardware store, which gives me perfectly serviceable results without too much work or cost. If you like, you can buy primer sold specifically for minis for about five to ten times the price of the hardware store stuff. The purpose-made primers are said to be designed with smaller pigments and spray more smoothly. If you happen to own an air brush, you can prime with that for much more control.

When priming with a rattle can, I start with a row of minis stuck to my trusty Priming Stick with some blue tack.

I take this and my paint outside (because fumes), and carefully spray the group black from as many angles as it takes to get full coverage.

You can stop here if you like, and often I do. Having the whole figure painted black allows for very fine control over the lighting when it comes time for that. But priming is also an opportunity for Zenithal Highlighting. By lightly spraying the mini with white primer from above you can approximate lighting as though the figure is outside, and bring out the details so you can more easily plan your painting.

I've elected to paint one faction at a time because that's what fits nicely on my stick. I let each one dry to the touch (it should say on the can how long that takes) before moving on.

With all the figures painted, I'll leave them to dry fully. Ideally that means "until I can't smell the paint anymore" and that depends on airflow, humidity, temperature, and the secrets of the universe. Practically, you can usually get away with painting on top of the primer after a couple of hours. A good middle ground here tends to be "the next day".

Next: Materials and Equipment (probably)

[chipmunkweirdo]

The Game Of Life….with the Chipmunks!

[link-sans-specs]

Little look at the game board.

[the-eternal-digital-magic-shop]

*…. He sighs, and rolls.*

*… a 2.*

— @r-ai-dio

(The potion watches the AI move his pawn up two spaces, landing on an event square. As before, words form in the center. However, it isn't the usual 'move up one', or 'move the other back one'.. the words that appear..)

(("Totality Match"))

(The potion immediately perks up, a manic expression forming with his eyes)

Hee hee...!! Have funn~!!

(The potion pulls out a different purple pawn, the head forming a flower, putting it atop the dark center. As he does, R.AI.dio's world view starts to quickly become obscured by vines.)

(After a moment, the vines cleared away, showing him in a new place, seemingly in a large room. Vegetation surrounded.. well.. most everything, as standing in the middle of the other end of the room.. was a purple, humanoid flower with one eye.)

((What will R.AI.dio do?))

[worm-dark]

Just added to my portfolio, The @publishinggoblin's Oracle Dice: 24 entirely custom dice (150 individual symbols) including my guest design, six phases of the monarch butterfly life cycle symbolizing aspects of the creative process.

Do you need symbology or game piece design for your project? Hit me up. More photos and symbols here:

https://wormdark.com/oracle-dice

Learn more about the crowdfunded dice project here, and see gorgeous character illustrations that go with each die by czarfunkle:

https://publishinggoblin.com/products/divination/oracle-dice-2nd-ed/

Mariner's Die by @charminglyantiquated. Alchemist's Die by @normal-horoscopes/@cryptotheism.