Settlers of Catan Support Board (For Under $10)

Intro: Settlers of Catan Support Board (For Under $10)

I will show you a cheap and easy way to create a playing surface to hold your tiles together and allow you to easily move your game. 

STEP 1: Gather Your Supplies

**MAKE SURE YOU GET THE RIGHT SIZE FOAM BOARD!**

I first looked at Wal-mart and the foam board they had was too small.  I found the appropriate size at Meijer.

What you will need:

1. Pencil
2. Foam Board x 2  (22in. x 28in)
3.Settlers of Catan Tiles
4. X-acto Knife (Cutting Matt)
5. Ruler
6. Glue or other type of adhesive
7. Soda cans or something to use as weights

STEP 2: Arrange the Tiles on the Foam Board.

Arrange 7 tiles in the center of the first piece of foam board.  I arranged these length wise.  I used a ruler to get the tiles equal distant from the edges of the foam board.  In my example here, it was ~77mm and ~235 mm from the edges.  I then applied the soda cans to keep the tiles in place.  I then assembled the remaining tiles.

STEP 3: Trace an Outline Around the Tiles

Once I centered the tiles on the board, I then used a pencil to trace an outline.  The cans add weight and help the tiles to stay in place while you trace the outline.

STEP 4: Finish Marking and Trimming Excess

I added additional lines to achieve an even border.  I also drew sort of an oval to allow easy removal of the lid later.  With all the marks made, I carefully used an X-acto knife to cut all the marks.

STEP 5: After Making Your Cuts

Once all the cuts are complete, you should have two pieces.  The center piece you can save for later if you would like a lid for your board.  The lid maybe useful for storage and transport.

STEP 6: Marking & Trimming the Bottom Board

I then centered the border piece on top of the second piece of foam board.  Once in place, I marked the edges.  I then trimmed off the excess from the second (bottom) piece.  

STEP 7: Glue the Pieces Together

I then glued the border piece onto the bottom piece together.  I used multiple cans to add weight while the glue dried.

STEP 8: Enjoy the Finished Product

Once finished you will have an inexpensive board to help keep your tiles in place while you play.  Game on!

Comments

[tatotosi]

Thank you!

[Bobby T]

Damn, that's a cool way to store your game ! I'd love to see this decorate in the Catan graphics theme :)

[xylophonic]

Thanks so much! I made one and it works great.

[infestacool]

Thanks, I followed your example and made a very similar board for my catan set. I made it for the 5-6 player expantsion.

My set was the newer one mentioned above but I don't like the solid border as the pieces still move. This is great and solid. The expansion came with port tiles so it works well.

I'm considering cutting it and adding small hinges so it can fold like similar boards but I haven't made the jump yet.

[jpople]

This is fantastic, but seems a bit unweildy for storage. Would there be a way to make one that could be rolled up or something?

[Candor]

simple, cheap and brilliant. Three things that make me say 5/5

[lemonie]

It's nice but I see a lot of wastage, you could have done this with one sheet I think?

L

[thirdspaced]

You could get by with just one sheet if you only wanted a border.  Using two sheets is nice, because it allows you to lift and move the game if necessary.   

[lemonie]

I meant that the spare card from the big hexagon would provide enough material to make the border. You'd have to assemble the border from 6 separate pieces, but you'd only use one sheet of card.

L

[jhines0042]

The new version of Settlers of Catan comes with a solid border that you could use for this same purpose, but for those who have the older version of the game this is a great hack!

Good work!

[me]

 that is a really neat solution, I really hate it when all the tiles start shifting when there is something placed at the board