Building a new and improved modular Heroquest board
Posted: September 18th, 2023, 12:40 pmSo a few years ago I built a modular Heroquest board according to the pattern designed by the fine gentlemen at HQ-Cooperation. The HQ-modular system was designed as a common framework to adapt Heroquest campaigns into modular format using a single set of rooms; they provide a few converted campaigns on their website (with the base questbook in English), but it is very easy to convert them yourself once you get the hang of it. I made the board using EVA foam, which I painted and textured, and even built the doors out of the same material, and we were able to play the original campaign very easily.
However, fun as it was, my original board design had a number of flaws: the tiles would warp, the doors were unstable, and figures were liable to be knocked down whenever the table was bumped. For a while I considered different methods of creating a magnetic board, including using a magnetic whiteboard as a base and adding magnetized walls to delimit rooms, until I came across this tutorial by Black Magic Craft:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NMvtys5vZA
It was at that moment that I had the idea of combining Jeremy's idea with magnetized rubber sheets mounted on thick XPS foam to create the room and hallway tiles, that would be both stiff and stable and magnetic. Here is the equipment I used:
- Four or five sheets of rubber metal sheets (if you lay the rooms out efficiently). You can use any brand you like, I chose some that provided more grip than the usual ones.
- Gray caulk, as in the Black Magic Craft tutorial (you could probably use any other color without too many issues)
- XPS foam
- Texture rollers. I only had two on hand, and that was enough for my needs: I used a flagstone roller for the rooms and a cobblestone roller for the hallways. If you have more rollers you could get fancy and make more different textures.
- A rotary cutter and a steel square and ruler. You could also use a regular cutter.
- A linocut carving tool. I happened to have one on hand but you could probably engrave the grid lines with any other tool.
- A hot wire cutter. You could also cut the XPS foam with a cutter, but this does make life easier.
Here are the steps I followed to build the board:
- First, I cut out pieces of magnetic rubber to the size of the rooms in the HQ-Cooperation template using the steel rulers and rotary cutter. Be careful, as there is a typo on the first page (the second room is 4x5, not 3x5!).
- Next, I laid the pieces on parchment paper to prevent them from sticking to the table and applied an even coat of caulk to them. I then textured them with the rollers, first dipping the roller in soapy water to prevent the caulk from sticking. I then let it cure for a day or so.
- The next day, I shaved off the excess caulk that had run off the edges and used it to patch up any uneven spots. Once I felt the caulk was cured enough, I measured and cut the grid lines using the linocut tool.
- Once the grid lines were cut out, I painted the rooms, giving each set a distinct color so they can be easily delimitated without the need for walls. Once they were painted I added weathering powder, blood or grime effects and moss to give them a more weathered look.
- Next, I cut out squares of XPS foam to size and stuck the textured magnetic rubber squares on top, then painted the sides and bottom black for a more professional look.
- Finally, I gave the whole thing a coat of varnish.
Here are some pictures of the room and hallway sets as they turned out:
Set A
Set B
Set C
Center room
Single rooms
Inspired by a tutorial from Blueline Gaming, I also made some staircases out of XPS foam and added furniture, traps, and bits and bobs from Reaper and Mantic; for doors I have got some doors from Wizkids and some 3D printed ones from an Ebay seller. I have magnetized all these accessories and the figures we use to play by inserting small neodymium magnets and they do not fall over when the table gets jolted!
Sample dungeon furnishings
DIY staircases
The sky's the limit!
I hope you enjoyed this writeup and will be inspired to build your own board, if you have any questions feel free to ask!
However, fun as it was, my original board design had a number of flaws: the tiles would warp, the doors were unstable, and figures were liable to be knocked down whenever the table was bumped. For a while I considered different methods of creating a magnetic board, including using a magnetic whiteboard as a base and adding magnetized walls to delimit rooms, until I came across this tutorial by Black Magic Craft:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NMvtys5vZA
It was at that moment that I had the idea of combining Jeremy's idea with magnetized rubber sheets mounted on thick XPS foam to create the room and hallway tiles, that would be both stiff and stable and magnetic. Here is the equipment I used:
- Four or five sheets of rubber metal sheets (if you lay the rooms out efficiently). You can use any brand you like, I chose some that provided more grip than the usual ones.
- Gray caulk, as in the Black Magic Craft tutorial (you could probably use any other color without too many issues)
- XPS foam
- Texture rollers. I only had two on hand, and that was enough for my needs: I used a flagstone roller for the rooms and a cobblestone roller for the hallways. If you have more rollers you could get fancy and make more different textures.
- A rotary cutter and a steel square and ruler. You could also use a regular cutter.
- A linocut carving tool. I happened to have one on hand but you could probably engrave the grid lines with any other tool.
- A hot wire cutter. You could also cut the XPS foam with a cutter, but this does make life easier.
Here are the steps I followed to build the board:
- First, I cut out pieces of magnetic rubber to the size of the rooms in the HQ-Cooperation template using the steel rulers and rotary cutter. Be careful, as there is a typo on the first page (the second room is 4x5, not 3x5!).
- Next, I laid the pieces on parchment paper to prevent them from sticking to the table and applied an even coat of caulk to them. I then textured them with the rollers, first dipping the roller in soapy water to prevent the caulk from sticking. I then let it cure for a day or so.
- The next day, I shaved off the excess caulk that had run off the edges and used it to patch up any uneven spots. Once I felt the caulk was cured enough, I measured and cut the grid lines using the linocut tool.
- Once the grid lines were cut out, I painted the rooms, giving each set a distinct color so they can be easily delimitated without the need for walls. Once they were painted I added weathering powder, blood or grime effects and moss to give them a more weathered look.
- Next, I cut out squares of XPS foam to size and stuck the textured magnetic rubber squares on top, then painted the sides and bottom black for a more professional look.
- Finally, I gave the whole thing a coat of varnish.
Here are some pictures of the room and hallway sets as they turned out:
Set A
Set B
Set C
Center room
Single rooms
Inspired by a tutorial from Blueline Gaming, I also made some staircases out of XPS foam and added furniture, traps, and bits and bobs from Reaper and Mantic; for doors I have got some doors from Wizkids and some 3D printed ones from an Ebay seller. I have magnetized all these accessories and the figures we use to play by inserting small neodymium magnets and they do not fall over when the table gets jolted!
Sample dungeon furnishings
DIY staircases
The sky's the limit!
I hope you enjoyed this writeup and will be inspired to build your own board, if you have any questions feel free to ask!
