Robert reserves the sideboard before the grail arrives
Board Game Table-Space and Setup Planner
Enter board dimensions, player count, card zones, sideboards, and drinks clearance. The planner estimates a comfortable footprint and names the components most likely to spill into someone’s lap.
RobertThe Keeper Answer first
What this tool solves before the table opens.
Enter board dimensions, player count, card zones, sideboards, and drinks clearance. The planner estimates a comfortable footprint and names the components most likely to spill into someone’s lap.
Fit the legal game, not just the board Measure the center, add player zones and safe clearance, then decide where inactive components and drinks live.
A live estimate you can copy or download
BoardGameGeek: community table-size and setup-photo records remains the current authority.
Run the numbers
Robert wants the real ownership cost.
Calculated field result
Enter your numbers Estimates are planning aids. Verify current specifications and prices before buying.Need more precision?
Start simple. Add detail only when the table needs it.
The tool above already gives a usable answer. These modes add campaign, serious-table, or expert checks without erasing your work.
Fast, legal, playable
Fit the legal game, not just the board
Measure the center, add player zones and safe clearance, then decide where inactive components and drinks live.
- Measure width and depth
- Add per-player hand or tableau space
- Reserve a rules landing zone
Ready when
The minimum and comfortable footprints include central board, player zones, shared decks, sideboards, rules, drinks clearance, and access routes.What this tool assumes
Published board dimensions are only the center. Player tableaux, elbows, market rows, books, trays, and food often determine the real footprint.Robert's table briefing
The tool has a point of view. The rules still get the final word.
“A board fits long before four people, their elbows, and the rulebook do.”
Robert is the fictional cabinet voice presenting this desk. Robert Pruitt owns the research, source review, and editorial judgment; the linked publisher material remains authoritative.
Physical table kit
The exact products this desk is talking about.
Real product photographs and exact retailer pages from the related Puzzlewick buying guides. Products are optional unless the tool explicitly identifies a required foundation.
Puzzlewick may earn from qualifying purchases, including as an Amazon Associate, at no extra cost to you. Prices and availability change at checkout.
01 · Direct product Frosthaven Play Surface Books
The highest-impact premium speed upgrade for Frosthaven.
View exact product on Amazon
02 · Direct product Folded Space Frosthaven Map Archive
A fitted answer to the repeated map-tile search problem.
View exact product on Amazon
03 · Direct product 24-Pocket Accordion File
Cheap, legible and easy to relabel for Gloomhaven or Frosthaven.
View exact product on AmazonPuzzlewick field cards
The useful part belongs beside the board.
Center
Board footprint is only the core
Add market rows, scenario books, discard piles, enemy decks, dashboards, dice trays and shared tokens around the published board dimensions.
- Leave 10–15 cm between independent zones
- Reserve a clear rules landing zone
- Keep drinks off the card plane
Per player
Hands need private width
A player mat, tableau, hidden hand and elbow room often require more width than the central board. Four narrow seats can be worse than one smaller board.
- Card games need fan width
- Miniatures games need movement access
- Campaign games need books and note space
Reset
Setup time is part of footprint
A labeled tray can reduce table occupation and mistakes. A beautiful insert that must be fully unpacked may do the opposite.
- Stage components in setup order
- Photograph a successful layout
- Use side tables for inactive campaign material
Keep the useful version
Print it, download it, or send it to the table.
The downloaded field note includes your selections and checklist state. Private notes stay in this browser unless you download them.
Fast rulings before the table
Common questions, answered without the forum fog.
Why is the published board size not enough?
Players also need hand or tableau width, shared decks, books, trays, discard zones, elbow room, drinks clearance, and access to the center.
What is the difference between minimum and comfortable size?
Minimum fits legal components and required zones. Comfortable adds reach, circulation, rules space, and the margin that keeps pieces out of laps.
Is the Table-Space Planner an official publisher tool?
No. It is an independent Puzzlewick planning aid checked against BoardGameGeek: community table-size and setup-photo records. When the tool and current publisher material differ, the publisher rulebook, FAQ, errata, or event packet controls.
How current is the Table-Space Planner?
Its evidence date is 2026-08-18. Recheck the linked current authority after a new edition, FAQ, points update, rotation, app update, or event packet.
