I had already done some work on my boards for Era: Medieval Age by creating custom peg boards for the buildings. I had even done work to liven up the drab yellow boards but only with one. I wanted to try something different and easier so I took out the last three boards and got to work.

The idea was simple and taken from a user on BGG (who did a much better job than I). Just take some green acrylic hobby paint (the dollar kind I usually use from Michael’s) and get a sponge. Dab some paint on a piece of wax paper or an open palette and load up part of the sponge a little bigger than your thumb. Get excess paint off by dabbing it around on the palette.

Once the major amount of paint is off, lightly dab it straight onto the board. when going over the areas with recessed numbers or symbols, use the flatness of the sponge to lay gently on top so it does push the paint into the recesses.

The paint should just lie on the surface. Keeping loading the sponge with paint, dabbing off the excess and working around the board. The effect should come organically and not in a recognizable pattern. Also make sure you are using the middle of the sponge or anywhere away from the hard line edges as those will show up if they have paint on them and the lines will ruin the aesthetic. It isn’t the end of the world as you can reapply the technique in heavier waves to cover it up.

You can also grab differing shades of green to give the colors more depth. I don’t know if it is really necessary but that is the beauty of this. It is very quick and simple and you can go into as little or much depth as you want.

Another option is to paint/prime the board first in a light color like white to give the board another unique option.

My board set is now done (after the paint dried and I sealed them in a matte acrylic spray). The boards are a bit eclectic but I think they turned out well.

I didn’t care too much about how the center came out since I would still use my custom peg boards as well. Overall, the concept is now complete. I may still paint or add a wash to the existing buildings but that task may be a ways off still as it will be time consuming and that isn’t made of the kind of stuff I have a lot of at the moment.