Using Adhesive-Backed Floor tiles to make Print & Play BoardGames

As a frequenter (obsessor?) of www.boardgamegeek.com, and a notorious cheapskate, I love print and play board games.  One of the best places to start is FNH1's Print and Play Podcast at http://printandplay.blogspot.com/

FNH mentioned this idea, and once I used it my mind began to spin with possibilities.  I wanted to describe the process in detail on boardgamegeek, but thought I should create an instructible, and link to it.

So here is: How to use Adhesive Backed Floor Tiles with your Print & Play Board Games.  Specifically to add some thickness and heft to playing pieces (sometimes called "bits" other times "chits", but I can't tell them apart).  You could use spray adhesive and cardboard, but it's messier, more expensive and you have an empty can to throw away at the end.  My way, you've just got a piece of wax paper, a bunch of little scraps, and some annoying white dust on your table.

Pictured are some of the expansion pieces from Gottard Zancani's beautiful "Space Infantry" which is a "free, solitaire game of squad-level combat in the future."  You can download this game--no, you SHOULD download this game.  You can get it at his website: http://zak965.it/spaceinfantry/index.html

Step 1 The Supplies - Adhesive Backed Floor Tiles

I got these from Lowe's (a home improvement store in the Western USA).  They come in 30cm squares, for less than a dollar each.  I guess for their intended purpose, you would peel the contact paper off the back, and stick them on your bathroom floor.  But that's not why you came here.

Comments

[PACW]

 Intro:  Of course they are not "NEW" scissors, they are scissors for M3N that you photographed upside down!

Intro:  Did not know about print and play games for adults.  Very exciting.  Is this one of those tricky copyright infringement areas or is this something supported by the original game designers?

Step One:  Love the Hollywood analogy!

Step Two; image three:  Congrats!  Hitting 23 years soon and heart still skips a beat!

Thank you for this!  My son enjoys the Catan game you mentioned. . . possible gift plan here!

[revtiedye]

Thanks for your kind words.  I have 3 different answers to your question about copyright. 

1. The Print and Play games are totally legal, in as much as the designers post them, and share them for others to print and play, often for free, if not, for very cheap.

2. The game I mentioned, SPACE INFANTRY was available for only a short time, before the designer got an offer from a publisher to create a professional version (Lock N Load games).  So he had to take down the free version, but everybody who already had it, could continue to enjoy, and all the other suckers, I mean, unfortunate souls, will have to wait for the Pro Version (and pay $40+!)

3. As for the Settlers of Catan, I did finish my set yesterday, and it turned out great.  But I think what a designer can copyright is the text of the rules.  And a publisher can copyright their particular artwork.  So if you already know the rules and can recreate the artwork, I'm told it's all legal--but I don't think you can sell it.  But if you just scan your existing pieces, and print out a new set, that may be crossing over into the illegal realm.

This is not to be taken as legal advice, just my recollection of what I've heard from sources I thought were reliable at the time.