What’s a good Warhammer 40K night without a battle or two? Before you ever roll a die, you need a play space. It’s got to look visually impressive, safely house your miniatures, and fit in a fairly normal sized U.S. home (be it a small apartment, spare room, or even a workbench in the garage). This guide will show you how to build a warhammer 40k gaming table setup that is suitably epic without taking over your life.
This is a common warning in the Warhammer 40K world – “Warhammer 40K isn’t any table.” The games can feature a lot of terrain, be very methodical in terms of measuring, and be incredibly long, so you want a playing surface that doesn’t shift under your feet. Even a surface that doesn’t buckle or warp can make playing the game crowed and uncomfortable, and you’ll hate the thought of having a model slide off the edge at a critical moment. Plus, there’s the more sinister problem of having all of your miniatures and terrain sliding around the table while you play, doomed to break or have their beautiful bases peel loose as you slide across the finish line.
So we’ve placed the BoxKing Gaming Table under the microscope of a hard core wargamer. With awarhammer 40k gaming table in his cave, does the BoxKing Gaming Table meet the demands of a serious gaming space or is it just another table to host your game night?
Why wargamers need more than a folding table for a Warhammer 40K gaming table
I’ve been starting with folding tables for my Warhammer 40K gaming table. They’re relatively cheap, easy to stash away in a closet or under a bed, and quickly set up for a game.
But no table top gaming board is immune to major flaws. And even if your board appears to be sound, a few subtle movements here and there could end up creating uneven terrain, knocking dice out of place, and skewing critical measurements for competitive matches.
In addition to the miniatures themselves, there are the surfaces on which they reside. If the table or board is plastic finished, it may hinder model movement or cause them to tip over. Similarly, fabricating a large game on a manufactured sheet with stitching, creases, or textured laminate can cause models to get pinched, knocked over or scratched when closely parked.
So, with Warhammer being played mostly in tabletop formation, it’s good to have a well-crafted battlefield to wage war on; also, having a solid, consistent playing surface is important so your games are fun, and go smoothly. A clean surface is always best, and having a repetitive configuration means that set up time will always be minimal.
Instead of throwing together a bunch of odds and ends to create a makeshift gaming area, why not go for a dedicated table? The BoxKing Gaming Table is perfect for helping you stay organized. Its vault is ideal for pausing games or storing away pieces of terrain that you don’t currently need.
My dedicated Warhammer 40K gaming table is set up to enable me to play more games (it makes gaming way more fun) to protect my minis and to turn my battle mat gaming table into a table ready for play at anytime.
Must-have features for the perfect Warhammer 40k gaming table and tabletop rpg table setup
Before you go out looking for a miniature wargaming table to buy, stop for a moment and consider the gaming table with a deep vault. This is what allows you to bring the game in closer and still play, storing your objective markers, using it for dice trays and means you can have a half built game in storage ready to be finished the next night, all out of the reach of pets and children and away from inquisitive hands and eyes.
Most people forget that in Warhammer 40K, it’s not just about height – there’s actual depth in a lot of models. In terms of general tabletop terrain, you can expect a lot of tall structures (ruins, ziggurats, etc.), thick Lewo- S of sight blockers (small pillars, etc.), and lots of multi-level play (multiple bases of different heights, play areas built on top of each other, etc.). A gaming table with a deep vault with adequate height is important, but you should also make sure there’s enough depth between layers so you don’t break any antennae or delicate ladders trying to put the final piece on top.
Go with a play surface, such as felt or mini-safe (I use both) to help prevent paint rub, to reduce the amount of things that slide around involuntarily, and to provide a safe cushion for the rare occasion that a mini or token gets knocked over. Such a play surface can also make a great tabletop rpg table setup surface, as it helps keep cards and boards pinned in place, and keeps tokens and miniatures from rolling around all over the place, and even helps make dice rolls sound less ominous.
Make sure the size of your table is appropriate for the size of the missions you play. A good Warhammer 40K table is the same size as official Games Workshop (GW) battlefields for Combat Patrol, Strike Force, and Onslaught games. Playing on a correctly sized table means that movement, firing lines, and the placement and size of objectives all feel natural rather than tacked on.
The final point was organization. It is very easy to go to stores and purchase shelving and storage cabinets. What may take more planning is how to organize your armies in the storage space to make it quick and efficient to prepare for games. Having dedicated space for pre-organized armies by faction and/or Games Workshop balanced force is an efficient method. This allows you to have everything ready to play your next game, while storing completed miniatures from previous games in protected space. When paired with a dedicated gaming table with a deep vault under the surface, this type of storage makes preparing for a game very efficient and will not add chaos to your play space.
A list of all of the ways in which the BoxKing Gaming Table meets wargaming needs.
The BoxKing Gaming Table is designed with what players want most – a solid, even playing surface that enables you to play out games and missions in a format that actually fits the missions or games you’re doing. Official Warhammer 40K formats like Combat Patrol, Strike Force, and Onslaught all fit on the BoxKing Gaming Table providing you with consistent Movement zones and Deployment areas during Training.
One of the features I appreciated was the felt lined surface on the table. It kept the paint from sliding around and provided some extra protection to the models. It also worked as a great base for mats and made setting up and taking down pretty easy.
Our storage for BoxKing’s amazing miniatures and figures matches the storage needs of their campaign/league model. The Ironside 2.0 deep vault stores everything needed for a match or session in between games, making it very convenient for the avid gamer.
The removable top panels were fantastic for shared spaces here in the United States. Went from tabletop rpg table setup to dining when needed. The whole set up is very handy storing armies, dice, etc. and solves a ton of typical, everyday problems.
FAQ
What size should a Warhammer 40K gaming table be for official missions?
Ensure your table is the correct size for the format you are playing within. For most 40K players, this will be either for Combat Patrol or Strike Force games, with the bigger battlfields being used for Onslaught games. Games Workshop have a dedicated page on Warhammer 40K tables and how to set them up at home.
Why isn’t a folding table good enough for Warhammer 40K?
Folding tables tend to be a bit wobbly and flexible, which can influence the terrain options available and affect actual measurements. Some have a smooth surface, which can make bases prone to shifting, while others have a more textured nature that can pose scratch risks to paint. Using folding tables also typically means a lot of time and effort goes into setting up and taking down the table space.
What is a gaming table with deep vault, and why does it matter for 40K?
A deep vault table is just a vault table with removable top panels. It’s useful because the playing area is a bit deeper than usual and the tops are easily removable. My 40K terrain is tall and a pain to disassemble and reassemble between games.
How deep should a vault be for a miniature wargaming table?
Your structures with more height will be better protected in the deeper vault. Also helps to prevent terrain destruction on dense boards with big ruins or with multi-tier setups to keep your battlefield stable between matches.
What makes BoxKing a better choice for a Warhammer 40K gaming table?
This is a BoxKing shelf made for wargaming, not just general storage. The Ironside 2.0 “deep vault” supports official sizes as well as larger terrain objects. It’s rock solid for tabletop gaming and can easily be folded up and stored away when not in use.
How does the BoxKing Ironside 2.0 help with setup time?
Ironside 2.0 game vault keeps unit stats, game terrain, token data and your in progress battle map all stored inside. This means less setup time and more game nights. Now tearing down at the end of the night actually saves you time.
Can a Warhammer 40K gaming table also work as a tabletop RPG table setup?
In all likelihood, yes. I’d imagine the space required would be fairly similar, since in both cases you’d be arranging miniatures and various scatter terrain around the playing area.
We already mentioned a few features that are useful for wargaming, but many of these will also be useful for RPG games played around a tabletop. The easy organisation of maps, minis, cards and dice means the display is not cluttered.
What should I look for in stability for competitive-style 40K practice?
Ideally, the build should be rigid, even on an uneven surface. It should also not shift or flex in any way. This will help maintain the terrain while you build out missions for an organized event.