So, last weekend I was approached about solving the issue that exists with modular terrain in all its forms - gaps.

Some gaps are the result of a bad design or execution of the design. You know, the straight edge that isn't quite straight or a locking edge that doesn't quite lock. Solving that problem is simple - granted not always that simple to execute. Take more time when planning and cutting to make sure everything fits back together like it should. No problems.

Well mostly no problems. The other issue ends up being related to the modular nature of the terrain, i.e. - they are made to come apart. When someone bumps the table it looks like an earthquake occurred. Fault lines open open and swallow minis whole. It is a tragedy.

One option that has been used in order to correct that from happening is a set of joints that lock in place either like a dovetail joint or a piece of a puzzle. When executed properly, these are great. You can just pop things in place and it stays until you take it apart. The downside of course is that you now have an even more complicated seam to deal with in order to avoid the first issue mentioned above. It also becomes more time consuming since as opposed to just cutting a simple straight edge, you have something that is a lot more fancy to cut. It also limits the number of ways you can put two pieces of terrain together - the edges must mate up properly. Something else should work...

Probably the simplest and one of the best is a game table which has a lip that keeps everything in place. That is what I have been using for years. The terrain tiles are sized so that I can fit them on top of the table and the edge of the table keeps things from shifting. This doesn't work nearly so well when you are playing at stores or conventions where the game tables are often used for other things as well, and can not be modified to include that lip. I guess you could use a big strap to hold things together like a rubber band holding together several asparagus spears in the produce department. That gets to be a bit fiddly though. Still not the best solution...

So I sat, drinking a beer and starring at the stack of terrain I had just unloaded from the car after the games... Dowel pins...like a table leaf? No, that would limit the way the pieces could get put together. Magnets? Nah, if you bring two North ends together...the terrain wouldn't stay put no matter what. But wait...what about using a magnet and a piece of metal? By placing a magnet in one corner and a piece of metal in the other corner you can get a board that can be rotated any which way and the edges would be held together by a magent/metal bond on each corner.