Searching for a Board

Hello, first here is a little bit about me, i was probably 14 or 15 when i was heavy into pokemon and this was 12-13 years ago (i'm sorry i'm all old now) before the very first movie, and well before any new generations. From what i remember you pretty much sought after Charizard(Holo) and Mew/Mewtwo, i want to say it was around 1997 or so when i was into it, had a little part time job and ran to the store to drop $6 for a foil pack (nostalgia!)

Well i got out of pokemon around 2000~2001 shortly after the first movie and i left it behind from there, however i have a daughter who is up and coming and now she's showing an interest in it, naturally my research has lead me to see there are a LOT more than the (what was it 151?) that i remember and i don't even remember half of them, it's overwhelming how many there are now (almost 1000?)

At any rate it almost seems like the card aspect has faded and things have moved more into the digital relm (Correct me if i have the wrong impression) it seems like the 3DS and the online card game are more popular than ripping open a pack to be joyed/disappointed. Either way i watched the old first movie with her (Mew vs Mewtwo) and she just kept wanting to see Mew (My favorite, still is) My wife also caught sight of all this activity and now we are discussing getting back into it with our daughter.

Which brings me to my question, i came across the online game on the official site and while i don't understand the rules completely i would like to know if a board like the one used in that is available anywhere.

Here is a screenshot i took during a match, i was wondering if anything like that existed (google has said not really) otherwise i could justmake a project and building one out of plywood, door hinges(to fold up) and felt carpeting like used on pool tables, it's all available at lowes or home depot and could be fun but it's usually cheaper if one is already made.

Within the active player-base, the physical card game is still considerably more popular than the online card game, and the online card game still requires that you buy boosters of the physical cards to get code cards for the online game. All official events are still done with the physical cards.

As for the board, there aren't any boards (herein referred to as playmats by me) exactly like that one that are widely available, but each theme deck does come with a half-playmat printed on glossy paper. There may be some older full-playmats that people are selling on eBay and the like, but I doubt there will be all that many, since almost all of the ones ever mass-produced were printed on glossy paper.

note that each playmat in the theme decks is obviously folded into a near unusable creased mess.

see: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3341/4600663625_3597ab73a3_z.jpg
(random: when did pokemon use buildabear font? XD)

you can buy play mats that don't have the card "zones" on them, on ebay.
You can get generic colored ones for cheap, or get ones that are pokemon themed for 30$+
they're nylon(?) covered rubber mats

TrainerTori said:

note that each playmat in the theme decks is obviously folded into a near unusable creased mess.

see: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3341/4600663625_3597ab73a3_z.jpg
(random: when did pokemon use buildabear font? XD)

you can buy play mats that don't have the card "zones" on them, on ebay.
You can get generic colored ones for cheap, or get ones that are pokemon themed for 30$+
they're nylon(?) covered rubber mats

Click to expand...

Oh, look, a playmat from Base Set 2!

Oh, yeah, the nylon ones are given away to players at official tournaments for placing in the top 3 or 5 or whatever the top cut is considered for that tournament. Those actually have some interesting designs.

Actually making a wooden board with a design and play mat across it would probably be too expensive and take a lot of time to make.
Any play mat made of rubber either blank or with a design is suitable for card games !
You can even machine wash them when they get dirty !
They're cheap and easy to find.
eBay is your best place to get a cheap play mat !

Thank for the replies, i was hoping to find a pre-built one but i do enjoy projects like this, i have spent tens of thousands of dollars on modding computer parts, such as custom water loops, aftermarket parts on cars (My job) in that particular field you have to make things work, it doesn't always come in and fit because, well, it's aftermarket, anyway, it would look something similar to this diagram i made, i made it in 5 minutes or so in paint so if it doesn't make sense, i understand.

Basically, 3/4" plywood for the top, this is a good thickness to keep it from bowing from leaning on it and moisture aging, the legs would be PVC blocks, they are pretty cheap, mainly they are used to hike outdoor heating and air units and you can get 4 or 5 of them in a bundle (~2' long, 4x4) for 10 or 15 bucks at lowes, these blocks also are threaded for anchor rivits which screw into a base, in this case, the bottom of the table and then the block is threaded into the rivit, they are solid blocks not the hollow ones. the rib of the surface is a 2x4 cut in half and lined around the edge for support and one 2x4 across the center, later i can hinge it if i wanted and make a n area for storage, but for now i'm just looking at the basics, nailing down from the top for obvious reasons, the mat sits on top of the plywood, if it's anything like a mousepad type material that would work nice, i just did a quick google and found some places i could submit an image and have a mat printed and mailed, it will be slightly shorter than the plexi glass and table, this allows the plexi glass to be screwed in and removed later incase the mat needed replacing or something like that, the plexiglass will sit on rubber gromets to keep it floating just barely on top of the mat and it keeps it from squeaking when bearing on it (from experience)

I love doing things like this, but i love it even more if i could avoid having to make it lol

EDIT: Sorry the plexiglass would be 1/4" not 1"

Would love to see a picture when your done!