Play Shards On Just About Anything

When i began creating Shards, I wanted to create a game system that people could print off and play with whatever gaming stuff they have on hand. In this post I'll try and cover how to us pretty much any commonly available gaming maps/terrain, and even how to play they game with no surface at all.

From my experiences in miniature tabletop gaming, maps come in a few different styles. The examples included are all from commercially available fantasy themed games that i feel best represent these styles. If you know of any good resources for maps that i have not included feel free to post them in the comments.

Small Grids

Small square or hex based grids are found commonly in dungeon delver games and fantasy tabletop rpg supplements. These are probably the commercially available maps are probably the easiest to get your hands on. Some games that feature grids like this include Descent:Journeys in the Dark, Mantic's Dungeon Saga, Pathfinder tiles, D&D encounter maps, Super Dungeon Explore, etc. For these types of maps treat 1 maneuver as 4 squares/hexes in any direction including diagonal. Treat all targets in an adjacent square or hex as being engaged. 

Large Grids

More recently I've come across a few games that have started using larger grids in which multiple models may occupy a single space. The scale of these maps are usually somewhat larger with one grid space representing the entirety of the immediate area a character in that space would see. Commercially available games that use this style of map include Zombicide: Black Plague, Arcadia Quest, BattleLore, etc. For these style of Maps treat moving to a new adjacent square as being 1 maneuver. Because of the scale of these maps, i would suggest treating diagonal movements as 2 maneuvers. Treat any targets within the same space as your character as being engaged.

There are many games i would have loved to include in this section, such as Mage Knight, however the scale of the imagery is more of an “Overworld” style of map that may be too zoomed out for the action in Shards.

No Grid

This is how i presented Shards in the quickstart rules. These maps are typically the same scale as the small grid maps, but do not have a grid for reference. These maps in my opinion allow for greater flexibility in movement. There are many map creators online, including many excellent hand drawn maps and tabletop battlemats. These range from inexpensive “print it yourself” maps to full colour high dpi maps printed on the same material mouse pads are made of. Another option is to make or buy terrain and scenery pieces that can add some additional depth to your games.  For these maps, treat 1 maneuver as being 4 inches, and all targets within 1 inch as being engaged.

In the future i plan to post some tutorials on creating high detail terrain pieces for shards, as well as having the printable maps available in the downloads section.

Theatre of the Mind

This is a term used by roleplayers to describe a game that takes place entirely in the imagination of the players involved. It is possible to play shards in this way, doing so however will require a game master to orchestrate and describe the immediate areas surrounding each of the players characters. In this case it might be helpful to have a reference map such as a vinyl gaming mat or some poster paper just to keep track of things even if it isn’t used as a 100% accurate tactical representation of the action. Much like the Large scale grid maps, a maneuver in theatre of the mind play traverses the distance of the immediate area surrounding the character.

This method probably offers the most flexibility however is one of the more challenging methods of playing the game.  This method is treated much the same as the large grid method, however the "space" the character occupies is conceptual rather than an actual physical space.

So there you have it, you can play shards on just about anything you may have on hand, and even if you don't have a map, you could describe the action and locations of the character in a theatre of the mind style of play.

Next up... Quickstart Part 2

Till next time

-Tom K.