So I gave myself a little challenge a couple of months ago. How much dungeon could I get for $20. Well, this was the result.
Here’s what I snatched up. A couple of unfinished wooded block sets at the dollar store ($5 each), six feet of 3/4 x 3/4 square wooden doweling ($6) and some 1 inch diameter wooden plugs ($1). After that it was painting and that’s it.
And there you go.
I posted these pictures a while ago on the G+ Gaming on the Cheap Community, but forgot to do so over here.
Yeah, I’m really a cheap bastard and painting skills have really deteriorated with years of non-use. Heck, why paint mini’s when I buy them that way? But here you go more el cheap dungeons with wooden blocks. I should the final batch painted soon and do a really neat photo spread of that.
Things have been really, really busy around the house and I’ve got some really cool projects on the way which why nothing has been on YARC. It’s OK, kids. Your patience will be rewarded. Trust me on this one.
Last week when I posted another Dollar Store Treasure, it came to me that it’s just a pretty cool idea to share all sorts of the cost saving little things one can do as gamer. Anything from freebies to dirt cheap stuff. Anyway to make that gaming dollar go farther. So with that in mind I went ahead a made a separate little page her for that very subject. So read, enjoy, share or offer up any little tips you may have. There will be more pictures coming soon and probably more ideas.
Gaming on the Cheap
Just like about everybody else I’m gaming on a budget. That means when I have the time I stop by dollar and craft stores and consignment shops just to see there’s some cheap little tidbit I can use for gaming. This week I happened on a couple of cool things.
First, I saw this “stacking” game. Really, not sure how much of a game it really is but I just looked at that for a moment and said flying bases! Ten of them for a dollar not bad and better than those plastic things they use in pizza boxes.
Second, I found some dragons that are just about the right size. Heck at a dollar a piece still a pretty cool deal even though they do look a bit silly but close enough. Once again, throwing them in with some mini’s from various manufacturers for scale.
So there you have it. More gaming on the cheap.
So I’ve had this idea for quite a while and finally the folks over at Gnome Stew threw up this little post and I finally got off my butt and made some simple and inexpensive Dungeon Terrain.
Here’s the materials list:
3/4 inch x 3/4 inch (That’s about 2 CM x 2 CM) square doweling (I got three 3 foot pieces, so that’s 9 feet of wall and it cost only about $7.50).
Spray Primer (Already had in the garage but should only cost a couple of bucks.)
Gray and Black paint (Once again, I already this laying around but only a couple of bucks more.)
Clear Acrylic Spray Coat (Yes, I have a lot stuff around the garage but only a couple of bucks more.)
Depending on good your selection of local home improvement stores is, you’ll probably spend between $15 and $20.
1. Cut the dowels into conveint lengths. (I did 1 inch for doors, then 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 inch lengths.)
2. Sand down any rough spots.
3. Prime it.
4. Paint it.
5. Seal it. And you are done.
I decided to go with 3/4 inch for a couple of reasons. One there was a huge price difference between 3/4 and 1 inch. Also, I wanted the walls to be shorter than the miniatures. There’s always one person who won’t lean forward or stand up to see that “hidden” orc behind the wall in front of them.
You can paint as much detail as you want. I just went with a simple gray and then painted black lines every inch or so. I’m not that exact when it comes to laying out dungeons. It’s just one of those things that I think “close enough” is good enough.
Another cool thing you can do is make stairs with the various lengths.
So there you go. Some inexpensive, durable, easy to make and light weight dungeon terrain.
They Might Be Gazebos! 