Product · 2026-07-16
Building a custom map editor for tabletop battles
How Wargame Simulator’s Custom Games map editor lets you author objectives, terrain, deployment, events, and scoring on the same board you play on.
Why we built a map editor
Tabletop games live on a physical board. Digitization only works if that board has a clear digital twin: objectives where they belong, terrain that blocks line of sight, deployment zones that match the mission, and scoring that fits the game you want to play.
Early on, every match needed that geometry set up by hand. We wanted something better: a dedicated editor where players and community authors build reusable battlefield maps, share them, and import them into a new game in a few clicks.
That work landed under Custom Games → Maps — a full layout editor on the same 60″×44″ board the live game uses.
One editor, full battlefield
The map editor is not a sketch pad bolted onto the side of the app. It is the same map visualization stack used in active games, with authoring tools layered on top.
In one place you can author:
- Objectives — place and tune the markers that drive scoring and mission play
- Terrain — draw polygons, place pieces, drag and rotate, and inspect layer properties
- Deployment zones — define where armies enter the fight
- Events — triggers, effects, and spawn entries for scenario hooks
- Army slots — more than two players when the mission needs it; player count follows the slots
- Scoring and win conditions — victory templates, secondary pools, and mission framing
- Map settings — board-level options that travel with the layout
Layers are selectable, drawable, and editable with the same place / draw / select tools you would expect from a serious map tool — not a static image with pins.
Sharing maps with the community
Maps are meant to travel:
- Publish a layout so other commanders can find it
- Subscribe to maps or Map Packs (one subscribe unlocks a pack’s layouts)
- Browse All / My layouts / Subscriptions, with filters for player count, faction, and which layers a map includes
- Rate maps you play so useful battlefields rise to the top
Authors can also lock layers so that when someone imports the map into a game, those layers always apply and setup cannot rewrite the author’s intent.
From editor to table
The workflow we wanted was simple:
1. Build or subscribe to a map under Custom Games 2. In game setup, open Import → Import Battlefield Map 3. Choose which layers to apply (or respect locked layers) 4. Start the game with that geometry already in place
Digitization with Camera is a separate step for physical tables. The community map gives you the digital battlefield; Camera setup can then align the real table onto that same board stack when you play in person.
You can also import layers from other maps you own or subscribe to, so a good terrain set or objective layout can be reused without rebuilding from scratch.
What this unlocks
- Mission designers can ship complete scenarios, not just text instructions
- Clubs and friends can share a house map pack once and keep everyone on the same board
- Multiplayer beyond 1v1 is a first-class map concern (army slots), not a special case
- Digitized games start from a known layout instead of a blank slate every time
What’s next
We are still in alpha, so the editor will keep evolving with real playtest feedback — especially around map packs, variants, and how Camera digitization and community maps work together on a physical table.
Create a free account, open Custom Games → Maps, and try building a board. If you publish something useful, subscribe and rate others’ maps too — that loop is how the library grows.
Join our Discord for alpha access and to share maps you are proud of.