I just had one of the boards from Talsiman Island Expansions made up, but the cost was MUCH greater than I expected. Hs anyone esle run ino this problm and what did they do to get around the cost factor of geting the boards made?

I have found three cheap ways to make boards.

1. I printed a copy and glued it on an old board game, maybe found at a used to store.

2. I bought clear shelf adhesive paper, very much like lamination, a roll at walmart for around $5. I printed a copy of the board, I glued 2 copies of construction paper to the back to make it thicker, and then used the clear shelf paper to laminate both sides.

3. I printed it at OfficeMax or Office Depot and had them laminiate it with thick lamination.

I have found three cheap ways to make boards.

1. I printed a copy and glued it on an old board game, maybe found at a used to store.

2. I bought clear shelf adhesive paper, very much like lamination, a roll at walmart for around $5. I printed a copy of the board, I glued 2 copies of construction paper to the back to make it thicker, and then used the clear shelf paper to laminate both sides.

3. I printed it at OfficeMax or Office Depot and had them laminiate it with thick lamination.

I went to Kinkos and I almost freaked out at how much it cost me. Are those two cheaper? I only ask because I have NO art skills at all!

I think laminating was around $5 for 1 big sheet. and printing was $1.

Hello

For boards I settled for just printing them on thick card. I have also in the past then glued them onto more thick card, but there really wasn't much difference. I've found that once the board is on the table it lays flat and definitely looks good enough to play with

I have however, have NOT yet created any corner boards...which I imagine would need to be on a game board to sit at the corrrect height. When I come to this situation I will probably do what DomaGB has suggested and use a board from an old boardgame.

There is an alternative to laminating actually: all glossy and most semi-glossy photo paper has amazing water deterring capabilities. I did a test on glossy paper that I fixed to a ceramic tile (coaster making project) and then proceeded to rinse it. In the end, (after varnishing the edges) I submerged the paper for days without seeing any damage.

I haven't tried it but you should be okay to use a spray varnish on any paper 100 gsm or thicker which should also give a decent protection.

At a guess, I would say the cheapest alternative is to print on glossy paper (although semi-gloss looks much nicer) and glue it to some thicker board. Whether you have a photo printer of your own or go to a professional printer. The surface will withstand plenty harm without lamination and the edges will survive spillage as long as you wipe them quickly. The backside will take a lot of damage if it gets to lie in liquid for even a short time though. So you might want to varnish the board.

what should I use for backing and how would you mount somehting lke that?

Backing is very much a question of personal preference. You could go with a nice felt cloth or a more sturdy canvas or just more paper.

Factory made game boards are made by wrapping cardboard with printed paper, one sheet for the top and another for the bottom. Typically, the top sheet will be wrapped around the edges of the board whereas the bottom sheet will be mounted after, not wrapping the edges of the board but covering the edges of the top sheet. These sheets are quite thin to allow wrapping and layering.

Whatever you decide to use as backing, you glue it to the board. If you don't feel comfortable with a spray glue, I would recommend using a glue stick, although preferably one non-soluble in water. You need to cover the entire area with glue.

Gluing cloth can be a little tricky and you should try gluing some test pieces before attempting the real deal to figure out how much glue you should use.