Paradiso Jungle Table

For the Paradiso Jungle table, I made a 4'x4' surface that can be placed atop any flat surface (such as the dining room table, a card table, the breakfast nook table (which is what *I* use it for...)).

Home Depot (or maybe it was Lowe's... any DIY store) had 1/2" thick chipboard in 2'x4' sheets.  That would be perfect - easy to carry and store, two next to each other make a perfect 4'x4' board.  I didn't want them shifting during game play, so I inserted some leftover Ikea furniture dowels into one side, and corresponding holes into the other half of the board to keep things together during the game.

Measure twice, drill once...

Step one was to prime both sides of the chipboard (to help against warping) with black primer. I used household interior/exterior latex primer.

Since this was going on top of the breakfast table, which is a bar-height piece of furniture my wife is WAY more fond of than she is of game tables, I helped out by outfitting the bottom of the sections with padded feet so that they would not damage any surface they are put on.  These self-adhesive, padded feet are sold for people who want to easily move their heavy furniture around hardwood floors, and are found at any hardware store or Target/WalMart-type store.

To finish the playing surface, I chose a time-efficient and aesthetically pleasing Easy Button - Rust-oleum Textured Spray Paint, Deep Forest.

I thought, once sprayed, it would look a whole lot like grass or undergrowth, so that once I plopped all the plants and buildings down on it, it would look like a proper jungle.

As I applied multiple coats, I noticed that as my spray lingered in an area, it would gradually become lighter in color, allowing a subtle variation in tone across the entire board.  I sealed the textured spray paint with several coats of matte spray varnish.

(Those of you following this blog from its inception may feel that all of this has been very familiar...)

Combined with the Jungle Buildings and Jungle Plants, the table is a great start to infinite Infinity adventures on Paradiso.