How do?

Spinning off from the thread about balance, I want to focus on a particular area which is quite possibly the greyest of all grey areas (yes, even including my noggin with it's glorious thatch of salt and pepper wonderment).

See, a common point brought up in gaming conversation is how the terrain deployed on the board (not including army purchased fortifications) affects the performance and chances of any given army.

I shall start by explaining the nightmare, but all too common scenario - Planet Bowling Green.

Planet Bowling Green is flat. Planet Bowling Green is largely featureless. Planet Bowling Green is a shooty army's dream come true. Plenty of places to run, but absolutely nowhere to hide. And to any army which largely depends on closing the range and getting into assault, a nightmare made manifest. Got no cover - got no chance.

Also in the same system of Gameboardia is planet Massiveclutter.

Planet Massiveclutter is nothing but dips and rises and hills and valleys and odd, incongruous architecture all lumped together. Shooty armies aren't fond of Planet Massiveclutter. You never see the enemy coming, and your range is drastically reduced by dint of not being able to see the planet coming. Assaulty Armies are marginally fond of it, because not having your face shot off as soon as the battle begins is a pleasant change, but then thanks to the general topography of Massiveclutter, you spend more time picking your way through the stuff than actually kicking the enemies head in - especially if they're a shooty army quite happy to remain static until it's time for a potshot and timely withdrawal.

So clearly, the extremes of gaming board set ups can have a massive influence on each game.

But what is the sweet spot? How do you know when to step back and say 'that's plenty, thank you'?

Sadly, this isn't something you can really cover in the standard rules, and from memory not something particularly dwelled upon in the expansions available - so we're on our own here....

Well, worry not because having set the scene, I'm going to dredge up an example from a previous edition of the game. The 25% rule.

The 25% Percent Rule

Well, it's not a rule. Tricked you. But, it's a reasonable benchmark. In short, divide your gaming area into quarters. Pick one, it doesn't really matter which.

That done, proceed to fill the chosen quarter with terrain - pack in as much as you can without having to stack it all atop one another. Keep going until as much of the board is covered as the shape of your terrain collection will allow.

Here's a tip - it's going to take more than you think.

That done? Congratulations, you should now have enough terrain to offer up a more even tactical experience for both players. Depending of course upon what terrain you have in your collection (I'm so not gonna go there, dictating what you should have!)

All you need to do is work with your opponent to distribute the terrain. You may be happy with an aesthetically pleasing look. Maybe you agree on a roughly equal distribution on each side of the board. Could be you're setting up with a particular mission narrative in mind. That bit doesn't matter as long as it's mutually agreeable (remember, nobody likes a terrain and hill hog).

And that, Dear Reader, is The 25% Rule in a nutshell. Enough terrain for assault or otherwise shorter ranged armies to have cover, but not so much that shooty armies find themselves with ridiculously restricted lines of fire.

Best bit is, not actually being a rule, this isn't compulsory or even necessarily widely recommended. It's just an example.

My own gaming room

Some of you may have read my thread about setting up a gaming room. Well, I'm now all moved in, and best of all the flat came with a Farmhouse style dining table..... Yeah, no prizes for guessing what that's about to be used for (but if you want a prize, [url=http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?60845-Who-is-worthy]try your luck here[/url])

Next step is to procure some boards (probably GW realm of battles, because of convenience of purchase and storage) and of course a decent and varied collection of terrain. (again, sticking with GW for convenience. Shop is just up the road).

And I'll be applying the 25% rule to games I host. I expect my collection of terrain will expand well beyond that necessary for the 25% rule. I do like having options.

I'm also keen to expand the gaming environment. Anyone who has played Necromunda will likely have fond memories of walkways and gantries linking buildings, adding further dimension to games being played. Height is essential for Necromunda, and the same goes for pretty much any wargame. Once your infantry are no longer restricted to the ground floor your games become that much more challenging, particularly if you're a decent enough structural engineer to make walkways that Dreadnoughts etc can access.

And for you?

Tell us of your gaming board experiences. Good ones, bad ones, other ones in between. What's your ideal? After all, the waffle above is just like, my opinion man. It's by no means a lecture. And of course, if you've got piccies, do share!