Gameframe Manual v1.0
Gameframe Manual v1.0
Note that this structure is also followed in the Gameframe System folder and that throughout this manual all units are in
the metric system (cm).
_Bases
The Bases are the main structure of the Gameframe System.
They come in 2 flavors: Straight bases and corner bases.
The straight base parts come in 3 basic widths: 5cm, 10cm and 20cm. This size variance makes it
possible to be printed by almost any 3d printer and also mixing different base sizes can maximize
the length of Gameframe on your table.
Bases are printed upright. (This is denoted by the blue arrow in the base part images. The arrow
denotes the Z-direction for printing)
The other flavor of base parts are corner bases. They are needed to fit the corner spaces of your
tables. The different sizes will help you fit Gameframe all across your table.
In order to calculate what types of bases you need, check out the examples below:
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(Do not worry if you do not understand this completely at this point. This is just to get a taste. We
will cover this in much more detail later on)
All the straight base parts you need depend on the thickness of your table or surface. We suggest
using the base pieces that are equal to or greater than your table thickness but as close as possible
to that thickness. Gameframe base parts cover table thicknesses anywhere from 2 up to 12cm in
increments of 2 cm.
So for example if you have a table 5cm thick we would suggest you use the 6cm base parts. You
could use the 8,10 or 12cm thick bases but we would recommend going as close as possible to
your own table thickness for greater sturdiness and stability.
In the folder for the bases you will find the folder with your table thickness and you can print the
parts from there. You will find all the necessary straight base components for your table there. The
corner pieces though are common for any table thickness as they do not attach to the surface but
rather to the rest of the Gameframe System.
In the picture below you can see the basic features of the straight base parts (specifically the large
20cm straight base for a max table thickness of 4cm).
The table thickness in the filename is followed after the letter ‘t’, eg. ‘t06’, as seen below. The last letter denotes the base
part size: S(5cm), M(10cm), L(20cm)
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_Corner Base Parts
These are the corner base parts of your gameframe. Corner base parts do not depend on your table
thickness. They attach to the rest of the Gameframe System through the links.
For each of your table corners you will be needing two corner bases: one left (L) and one right (R).
The specific part for each one will depend on your table dimensions.
The corner parts are indicated in the filename by the letter ‘K’ , followed by ‘L’ or ‘R’ denoting if its left or right (as
viewed from the top) and a number 5, 6, or 7 denoting how many centimeters are added by the corner to your total
length.
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Note that the High Gameframe base parts are deeper by 3cm than their standard counterparts giv-
ing you more space inside the Base parts.
Furthermore the High Gameframe base system allows you to attach a wooden surface (or wooden
planks) on top of it, giving you a full table surface on top of your regular one. It is high enough
(4.8 cm height) to be able to store your game beneath and not bother putting it back in the box.
The maximum plank or surface thickness for it to be flush with the rest of the Gameframe System
should be 1.2 cm thick (12mm).
_Tops
Tops are the parts that are placed on top of your base structure and are the parts where you will be
able to attach most of your accessories. They are modular and can be changed easily depending on
your accessories or base parts. Tops are common for all version of the gameframe bases (Standard
and High).
Tops come in different sizes which correspond to their base counterparts.
All Top parts filenames contain the size identifier (L, M, S, xS, xxS, K) as well as a lettter describing the type of hole
they contain or the type of top they are. C for circular, S for square, R for rectangular, W for wide, P for Plain. Further
description if needed is provided after these identifiers.
_xS Tops (xtra Small Tops = 2cm) & xxS Tops (xtra xtra Small Tops = 1cm)
These top parts may attach to any excess dimension on the corner pieces (7cm and 6cm corners
respectively).
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_Accessories
Accessories is where the fun begins. Accessories allow you to transform your Gameframe with any
trays or components you need to customize it as you need. Most of the trays and boxes can even
be used as standalone parts to hold tokens, dice, coins or any other items you might need on your
table. They can be swapped and replaced instantly!
All Accessory parts filenames contain the shape identifier (C, S, R) as they are used on the top parts that they fit into, as
well as a description of the accessory itself.
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_Circle accessories (C)
These accessories fit into any top with a square (C) hole.
_Other accessories
These accessories contain various accessories that combine with various other accessories and the
whole Gameframe System..
_Base Ends
These accessories provide endcaps for your Gameframe system in case you just need to print a few
modules and use the Gameframe system as a standalone module for a certain length, i.e. for indi-
vidual player units. Again these come in two flavours: one for the standard Gameframe System and
one for the High Gameframe with LED support.
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_Bottom Accessories
These accessories clip to the bottom of your Gameframe System through a clip (accessory clip) and
allow you to slide in various accessories such as the player mat holder or the headphone holder.
_Counter
This accessory allows you to track points, number of actions, stats or anything you want for your
gamenights! Print as many as you want and just slide them in front of you on the card stand rail that
runs along your Gameframe System.
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_Dice Storage boxes
These dice boxes or holders are extremely useful to store your dice for your gaming session and can
be easily stored inside your Gameframe System underneath the Tops!
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_Initiative tracker
These little adorable castles slide onto your card stand rail that runs throughout your Gameframe
System and indicate each players’ initiative or player turn!
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2_What to print
The first thing to know about the Gameframe System, is that it is fully modular and customizeable.
So you can really just start printing a few modules and it will be fully functional.
Then print some more and slowly work towards your whole table.
(If you are planning to print your whole table with the LED and extra tabletop surface to be able to
store your game underneath you should choose the files from the High Gameframe Base files. So in
the following steps just use the corresponding High Gameframe base files instead!)
_Tutorial
So let’s begin! We suggest you start off by printing:
• one (1) large (L) straight base part, eg. GF10-Base-t06d07_L.STL
• one (1) large (L) top, eg. GF10-Top-L_SC.STL with one circular and one square hole
• one (1) Square token tray with 1 compartment, eg. GF10-Acc-S_tokenTray1.STL
• one (1) Circular Cup holder, eg. GF10-Acc-C_cupHolder.STL
• two (2) Screws, eg. GF10_Screw_3.STL
• two (2) Gameframe Ends, one left and one right, eg. GF10-Acc-BaseEndL.STL and GF10-AccBa-
seEndR.STL (optional)
• two (2) Gameframe Logos, eg. GF10-Acc-MK_Logo.STL (optional)
CONGRATULATIONS!
You have just created your first player unit!
Now you can go ahead and print a few more accessories and swap them, or move on to your sec-
ond base unit along with a link to connect them!
So once you get the hang of it, you can move on to printing your whole table!
Once you’ve printed a few modules you might be wondering: “how do I calculate what types and
how many base pieces do i need?”
Not to worry we have got you covered!
_Bases
The general idea is that the (half) corner pieces can cover from a minimum of 10 up to a maximum
of 14 cm of that table dimension. Using the corner base pieces you can cover all those spare centi-
meters your table has.
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The rest is covered in any combination of the Large and Medium (and maybe one Small) straight
base parts.
The general rule is to convert your table dimensions in cm, and then subtract 10 (which is the mini-
mum coverage from the corner pieces).
You can divide the remaining number in as many Large (L = 20cm) and Medium (M=10cm) straight
base parts and the remainder you compensate with either a Small (S=5cm) straight base part and
the necessary corner pieces, or just the necessary corner pieces that add up to your table dimen-
sion.
To help you figure out exactly what you need to print to set your table you can use our calculator at:
https://gameframecalculator.meeplekeepers.com
All you’ll need to do is input your table dimensions.. This will give you the list of base parts that you
will be needing to print for your whole table. Hassle free!
Bear in mind that you will be needing to print the straight base parts that correspond to your table
or surface thickness as described previously.
So just to illustrate all the above here are also a couple of examples:
A. Say we have a table or surface whose one dimension is 1.1 meters. We convert this to cm and
we get 110cm.
Next we subtract the minimum coverage by the corners (which is 10cm) and we get the result of
100cm.
110 - 10 = 100
The remaining one (1) meter (100cm) of table length will be covered by straight base pieces, while
the 10cm from the corners, will be covered by a left (KL5) and a right (KR5) corner piece, as illustrat-
ed below:
Thus for this dimension we will be needing one left corner that adds 5cm (KL5), one right corner that
adds 5cm (KR5) and 5x Large (L=20cm) straight base parts to cover the rest of that table length.
B. Now say our other dimension is 66 cm. Again we subtract 10 cm and we get a remainder of
56cm. With the Large and Medium straight base parts we can cover a maximum of 50cm (with eg.
2 x Large straight base parts and 1 x Medium straight base part) with another 6cm remaining.
These remaining 6 cm we tackle by printing one small base part (S=5cm) and we have a remaining
1 cm.
This will be covered by one of our corner pieces, as illustrated below:
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Bear in mind that for your whole table you will need twice the parts of each dimension. Eg. for a
table with dimensions 110x66 cm you will be needing:
Note that all Large straight base parts can be swapped by two (2) Medium straight base parts and
vice versa.
The same does NOT apply with small straight base parts. They should be used at a minimum if necessary.
_Tops
So now that you have your base setup you can go about printing their corresponding tops. These
should correspond to their base counterparts again bearing in mind that you can always swap two
Medium tops with one Large and vice versa.
For the corner tops you can chose whichever top you like. These tops connect the two corner halves
together! The extra length that might be required by an extended top (such as a K6 or K7) is fitted
by the appropriate top xxS or xS respectively.
_Accessories
Now that you have all your bases for your Gameframe ready, go ahead and print all the accesso-
ries you like in any color combination you love!
_Screws
Note that for each straight base that you print, you have 2 screws for the Large parts and one screw
for the Medium parts. Although one screw will suffice for the large parts we recommend using both
if possible for greater strudiness and stability. Screws come in 3 lengths (3, 5 and 7 cm). We recom-
mend using the smallest possible (i.e. GF10_Screw_3.STL).
The reason we have more options is in case you use your Gameframe on another surface that may be thinner
than the one you printed it originally for.
_Links
Base parts are connected between them with the link (GF10_Link.STL). This is essential for the stabili-
ty and sturdiness of the whole Gameframe System. Links are placed before the tops.
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3_How to print
Now that you know what you need to print, it is time to talk about 3d printing and print settings!
The whole Gameframe System and our design philosophy is based in simple 3d prints that can be
tackled by any printer and makers of all levels.
That is why we have designed all our files to be printed upright, without any support needed and
with simple geometries to aleviate your slicers and your printers.
So all the material that is input to your 3d printer is obtained as your final product. No waste of
material and no post-processing required!
From the Components section you have already seen the direction of printing for each part. The blue
arrow on each image denotes the Z direction of printing.
We recommend using PLA as it is very easy to print and it provides sufficient structural and mechani-
cal characteristics. You can always experiment with other materials, but PLA is highly recommended.
So our recommended print settings for the various components are as follows:
_Accessories _Link
Layer Height 0.3mm Layer Height 0.2mm
Perimeters 3 Perimeters 3
Top solid layers 3 Top solid layers 3
Bottom solid layers 3 Bottom solid layers 3
Infill 20% Infill 100%
Supports NO Supports NO
_Screw
Layer Height 0.2mm
Perimeters 3
Top solid layers 3
Bottom solid layers 3
Infill 50%
Supports NO
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3_Setup
Setting up your Gameframe System is extremely easy.
All you have to do is secure a base part to your table or surface with the screw, place the top on top
of it (by placing and sliding forward until it clicks) and you are done!
Have a second base unit? place it next to the first base unit, secure it with the screw, place a link
between the two bases and place the tops!
And repeat as much as you want.
In case you want to setup your whole table, we recommend you start from the corners:
Connect one corner part (eg. KR) with one straight base part (eg. M) with the link.
Connect the other corner part (eg. KL) with another straight base part (eg. L) with the link.
Bring the two corner pieces together to meet the corner of your table and place the corner top on
top of your base corner parts to align and secure the corner.
Secure the straight base parts with their corresponding screws, and continue with the rest of your
table.
4_Thanks
Gameframe wouldn’t have been a reality without the 2,536 amazing backers that
supported our first Kickstarter campaign.
Thanks to you Gameframe is a reality and we hope you will enjoy it accompanying
your game nights throughout the years.
Have fun printing your very own personal Gameframe and make sure you stay tuned
as we have a lot of ideas for future components for Gameframe!
If you have any questions or any ideas
please email us at info@meeplekeepers.com
Thank you and happy gaming!
Gameframe
18 game your table
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