Dungeon Tile Clips – Cut and Assemble

Whew, where to start?! There’s so many options out there, and a lot work with each other. Let’s start with normal clips, then get to adaptors at the end. I’m going to be talking about:

OpenLock by OpenForge (aka Masterwork Tools, aka Devon Jones)
DragonLock by Fat Dragon Games (aka Tom Tullis)
InfinityLock by DungeonWorks (aka Monstrous Encounters)
Dragon’s Rest by, well… Dragon’s Rest (aka Ian)
Honorable Mention: Dungeon Lab by MGpix (aka Marcello)

A word about scale

2×2 OpenForge, DragonLock, and InfinityLock tiles are all 50.80mm squared, making them largely inter-compatible.

A Dragon’s Rest 2×2 is a whopping 76.20mm squared! The perfect choice if you like big boards with lots of elbow room.

MGpix’s Dungeon Lab 2×2 tiles are 66.00mm. That causes some scaling issues, they’re beautiful and imaginative though.

What I use, and my thoughts

OpenForge laid the groundwork for pretty much all the 3D printable modular dungeon tables on the market today. They really were groundbreaking and Devon is still actively making content, he’s prolific. I printed a handful of his tiles to try them out. The ecosystem is huge, there’s so much available in this system for 100% no cost.

I also tried the sample set from DragonLock. I prefer DragonLock over OpenLock. DragonLock tiles print in a single piece and don’t require assembly or glue. The clips have a more positive grip and don’t wear out as fast as OpenLock clips. I also prefer the sculpts, that is completely subjective. I just like how they feel and look. This is also now a very large and robust system. I printed some of these with no real plan, just to see how they work together.

At this point I had a small amount of two different types of tiles that both worked together. So of course I jumped into an incompatible system! Dragon’s Rest. These are soooo nice. In my personal opinion, Ian at Dragon’s Rest is the best 3D artist of the bunch. His designs translate to prints so well. But, the space size is gigantic. I went with this set for my 3D HeroQest board. Highly recommend. I worked through a number of design challenges on my own that have since been addressed by DR and the DR community.

So I still had a smattering of unused tiles hanging around. So, despite saying I wouldn’t, I made 3D Warhammer Quest tiles. That lead me to Dungeon Works. I was a member of the Monstrous Encounter’s Tribe on My Mini Factory, and received a few that way, and I may have bought a couple more. These have been great! While not quite as dynamic as other tiles, they have EXCELLENT printability and dimensional diversity. What I mean is, you can recreate classic game boards (Warhammer Quest) with tile-for-tile accuracy. No goofy walls or corners, they work great. I’m especially a fan of the 1/2 tile sizes, they really work out great. I leave a 1/2 tile allowance around the outside of rooms between a square and the walls. That way there’s space for miniature arms and battleaxes. There’s a great variety of free sample tiles on Thingiverse.

Whew, that’s a lot of of talking. How about those clips!?!?