Project Objectives

Before I can begin, I need to lay out the scope of work, namely, what I wish to accomplish. This list may change as I go along, as I am sure I will forget a few key things. If you are reading this and interested in submitting ideas and thoughts, you may wish to check back to this post to check for updates.

Objectives

• Create a transportable three dimensional game board that preserves functionality, does not change any game mechanics and will stand up to handling and game play

This actually is a lot tougher than it would seem to be at first. Arkham is a large city and "suggests" many more locations and buildings than what is used and displayed on the current game board. be that as it may, I quickly realized that building a complete "diorama" or scale model would take up way too much space and defeat the very first objective of being transportable.

The solution is to build only the locations (and any extras - to be explained soon) that are used in the game. Although I will be using scenery and model buildings, I will be focusing on the "game board" aspect of the model more than the "realism" of the city as might be seen with model railroading.

• Must be flexible enough to use any or all combinations of expansions and future expansions, as well as custom created content

Any Arkham fan will attest to the beauty of the game in terms of its customizability. I will be starting with the base game, but want to eventually continue to add all the current and future expansions. For those of you who are unaware of what I mean, the game currently has a base game, 2 big box expansions, and 3 small box expansions. The 2 big box expansions have small add-on game boards that basically sit at one end of the base game board and are considered to be other towns players can travel too, I.E.: Dunwich and Kingsport.

• Must be light enough and small enough to carry and store in any position, while still protecting the models inside.

When you have all the expansions, you can currently just about fit everything into two of the large boxes the game came in. These boxes are about 1 foot by 1 foot and 4-6 inches deep. The game board itself for the base game is 6 1 foot square sections that fold onto themselves resulting in a single 1 foot square. Obviously this will not be possible with a 3D model and I will be allowing my project to be bigger than this when transported and stored. I am currently thinking of something that folds over itself to provide protection, much like a guitar case, or a bit bigger, for the base game.

In order to keep weight down, my first instinct was to model as much as I could with paper, but after much research have decided to scratch build most locations from styrene sheet (plastic) in order to give it the rigidness it needs to stand up to handling.

• Must be able to store all game chits (pieces, markers, dice, etc...) within the game itself without the need to set everything up each time you play.

There are A LOT of pieces to this game. A LOT! From a collection of 6-sided dice, cardboard money, hearts and brains, various stacks of small cards, large cards, investigator sheets, AO sheets, and the hundred or so monsters, plus much more, the game can take a good amount of time to set-up and break down. This was actually one of the main reasons I wished to attempt this project as the board I have in mind will have all pieces secured in separate containers in their respective locations ready for immediate use, with the exception of the need for shuffling some stacks of cards. Most small cards are location specific and can actually be placed directly on the game board in those areas either covering the location or next to it. My buildings will basically be boxes that open and will give players access to the location specific items inside.

• Must be comfortable and usable for players.

Size might be an issue here. Players at one end might not be able to reach the farthest end. This isn't really a concern though because this isn't exactly possible in the game as it is now. My main concern is that each player has enough room for his investigator sheet, all accompanying cards and items and possibly a drink holder.I definitely don't want that beer or soda spilled onto all this hard work! Currently drinks are placed on the play table along with the rest of the game and disaster is only a sudden motion away.

• Must be designed to better facilitate game play.

This is another of those main reasons I wished to do this. There are quite a few game pieces that just get placed "where ever you can find room." Examples of this are the AO card and doom tokens, herald, guardians, monster cup, stands, clue tokens, mythos and gate cards, and various extra "special" monsters and chits used only in certain game play conditions. My idea is to have most of these things in one cohesive spot, in an order that makes sense while playing the game.

• Would like to have some lights and wired buildings and streets.

This one is optional and may not be applied to everything, but the idea is that each "location", when it applies, can have interior lights that can be turned on and off via a switch. I have no idea how I will accomplish this but planning ahead is essential when deciding to possibly use lighting.

An example of this would be the "General Store." The building contains a thick stack of cards called "Common Items" that are used and purchased by players. This must be accessible somehow, probably via the roof being a lid that can open. The remaining area of the building can be "boxed in" and lit with LED lights fed in from the bottom. I do not wish to model interior scenes so I will be using opaque or frosted window "glass" to allow the light to shine out but not allow the players to see in. When a location "closes", which does happen in this game, a switch can be flipped and the lights in the store can go out, indicating that the area is closed.

I guess that is it for now. I will update this as I go along.