Tablet-top

I got myself a tablet early last year and there are a couple of different reasons why you maybe want one for yourself. But with wargaming / tabletop, there are so many interesting opportunities to use a tablet for.

First of all, there is the basic question, do you choose Android or Apple? I went with an android device - why? Well, a tablet is for me more a less an usb stick with a display. I want my own file system, copy files on it, carry them with me and open what ever I want. And all that without iTunes and such. So the option to go with an iPad wasn't there no more.
In my case, I went with an Samsung Galaxy Tab S with the 8,4 inch display. The samsung part is less relevant, but i tend to be "brand loyal", when i am satisfied and had good experiences. For that reason I now have the EOS700D after the EOS1100D and several Canon Powershots, and with Samsung I had no troubles with my displays/tvs, smart phones and bluray player. For tabtetop you could of course use others device like the Google Nexus, Huawei Mediapad or Sony Xperia. From my point of view, the size is relevant. For a long time, there were only two classic sizes available, 7 and 10 inch. The 7 inch displays are for my taste to close to the phones, and don't offer enough extra to be used in addition to a regular smart phone. And the 10 inch tablets are to bulky, to heavy and to large to handle. For that reason, the format of 8 inch, like the iPad Mini or the Galaxy Tab S, is quite practical. The tablet can be held in one hand, is nearly the size of a paperback and large enough to view / read the content.

That's it for the technical framework so far. Why is this relevant for Wargamers / Tabletop? Well, many content is offered digitally as well or even primarily. So beside blogs and news pages, you can get your tabletop magazines as an digital subscription. I am well placed with my digital subs of the Wargames Soldiers & Strategy and the Wargames Illustrated, on top of that, there are several free e-zines.

The Wargames Illustrated is a prime example of what is possible. They embedded multimedial content, like 360° views, embedded videos, panoramic views of gaming tables and such. But a single issue is 300-400 Megabyte, so already few issues take a hit to your internal storage (I have the Tab S with 16 GB and a 64 sd chip, but the WI issues still are saved in the internal storage :/ ). And one thing, you should keep in mind, you save a lot of space in your hobby den / man cave. Everybody who moved, knows how heavy books and magazines can be, and the space that was taken by the print issues of White Dwarf, Wargames Illustrated and such, can now be used for terrain and miniatures. 😉

Other magazines are for example Irregular Magazine, Ironwatch or the Wamp Magazin.

On top of that, a tablet can show you images. When you are painting, references are a big advantage, especially with historical miniatures. I made collages or took pictures from tutorials, which is much more comfortable and reasonable than printing them out or only be painting in front of your computer display.

As Osprey has a lot of digital publications nowadays, you can use the colour tables directly from them and use them easily.

And this does not stop for painting. Many rule sets are available digitaly as well. Warlord Games and Mantic Games for example have them directly in their shops. Games Workshop and the Black Library have followed and offer their books as digital editions as well. The texts are searchable, so you can jump directly to the part you are looking for without hassle. And you save weight while gaming. I prefer carrying the tablet, with army list, rules and books, instead of an additional messenger bag with 2-3 books.

As "smart" devices the tablets have apps in the playstore and at iTunes. For example Warmachine / Hordes with the Warroom app, Games Workshop has several apps to offer, from the digital white dwarf up to digital versions of their games. The freebooter app Companero was unfortunately cancelled.

The whole thing is round up with all the other possibilities of a tablet, as a media player for example. If you use mp3s or spotify to hear music while gaming or painting, or set up the proper background with YouTube, Netflix and others. I don't want to miss the option to watch a movie or series while building, as you can see in some of the images in the background.

With this in mind, let the tablet into tabletop and enjoy the advantages!