I Want My GMTV! (tabletop on a Bigscreen)

***WARNING! The following instructable combines a project board with tabletop gaming, and therefore, may be the geekiest of all time. ***

Hello all. Recently, my kids took an interest in tabletop gaming, and asked me to teach them how to play. Myself, not having played in may years, was without the material resources to play. I was missing dice, books, and an actual decent tabletop on which to play(My kitchen table is very small and the chairs are pretty uncomfortable for long periods of time).

My livingroom, however, is very comfortable and spacious, with recliners, end tables, etc.

I have a riotboard android project board that was collecting dust, so the idea struck me to build a virtual tabletop that could be viewed and controlled by the players, and would display on our wall-mounted tv.

Step 1: Step One: Required Components

I use the term "Required" very loosely here. I personally used a Riotboard for my implementation for this project, but really, any computer with an HDMI output should work.

Whatever you use, your computer should have access to a web-browser, a dice roller, and a paint program. You should also have access to a couple of wireless mice/multimedia remotes so that people at different places in the room can take control of the box when it's their turn. For my implementation, I found that two mice were plenty.

The rest of this instructible will be written with the assumption that you're using an Android set top box.

Like I stated previously, I used a riotboard, because;

1. They're cheap (I got mine for 22ish bucks from an MCM Electronics sale)

2. They're small and don't use much power. I keep mine tucked behind the TV as a permanent gaming fixture.

3. I had one on hand already.

Step 2: Step Two: Download & Install Required Apps

You will need to download and install the following apps;

1. A web browser of your choice. I use Opera.

2. A dice roller of your choice. I use Prime Dice

3. A paint program of your choice. I use Scribble Pad.

4. An app downloader to download all of these apps. I use Aptoide, because riotboards don't have access to Google play services. You can download & install the Aptoide .apk via your web browser. If your box has access to the Google Play Store, you won't need to get Aptoide.

Step 3: Step 3: Have Fun!

So, at this point, you're done. The use of this device is pretty self explanatory.

You've got a big nice on screen dice roller for everyone to use and easily see. (Cheaters won't care for this too much, haha!)

You've got a web browser with which to look up rules, do image searches for visual reference, etc.

And you've got a scribble pad for giving more visual references.

I hope this adds enjoyment to your game!