Like most gamers, I have pondered for years the question of towns and buildings on a game table. We all know that the major problem is one of ground scale. if, say, one figure represents 40 men and 1" equals 40 yards then to represent a single building in scale would not even allow one to place figure bases inside. (A 3"x2" building on the table scales out to 80 x 120 yards - bigger than a football field!) The usual answer of considering this 3"x2" building a town disturbs my sense of visual authenticity on the table. To me, a 'town' is a group of buildings. Even if one is to ignore scale representation and use, say, a nice 1"x4" model structure that will hold two bases, to me there is still a major problem. How do you get the troops inside? Simple, right? Either lift off a roof or raise the whole bottomless building up, place the stands and put the building back in place. Yes, each time during the game that the troops enter or leave a structure, each time you have to mark or count casualties, each time there is a melee, you lift-up and replace, lift-up and replace. Sorry, that's too ponderous for me and usually the buildings get moved around and finally nobody replaces the roofs. So, what is the answer? Well, I have one that suits me. I first decide on how many bases I want to allow in a 'town'. I know my base sizes and I have so many buildings (in my case HO scale) available. I get them in front of me and make a 'town' arrangement that visually pleases me as shown in the examples below: Whatever arrangement I like, the rest is relatively simple. I measure and cut-out a base conforming to my town plan using 1/8" masonite. I glue the buildings in place and outline the town base with stone walls, fences or hedges and fill in void areas with trees, fountains, etc., just to give a "diorama-look' to the whole unit. In placing everything on the base, I constantly make sure there is room for only the number of troop bases I will allow in the town. You will have noted that I do not concern myself with the exact placement or facing of the troop bases. This reflects my game rules that always allow half of the troops inside a town to fire out in any direction. This simplifies who's facing where and how many figures can fire and so forth. All I really want is a defined area that shows immediately how many bases are in a town for firing and melee purposes. The final result is an eye-appealing model town with structures, walls, hedges, individual trees, and whatever other decorative details you desire. Functionally, you can simply move troops into a town,fire, melee, count or mark casualties with ease, and never have to lift roofs, move buildings, or re- arrange troop bases. Try it - you'll like it! Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. VII #6 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1987 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com