Back in April, I reviewed Dogmight’s Valhalla GM Screen. The Valhalla Screens are gorgeous, and are available with both two-dimensional and three-dimensional engraving. However, your options are somewhat limited to the current designs they have on hand, unless you happen to be a graphic designer (or have access to one) to custom-design the artwork.
For Game Masters looking to have more hands-on control over the appearance of their GM screen, Dog Might developed the Infinity Screen. Using the Infinity Screen Visualizer, you can choose amongst dozens of pieces of artwork, fine-tuning the colors for each element.
What Is The Infinity Screen?
The Infinity Screen is a 3-panel, magnetically connected screen crafted from hardwood. In contrast to the Valhalla GM Screen, which consists of between three and four identically-sized panels, the Infinity Screen has two 11.75″ X 9″ side panels, with one central 20″ X 9″ panel. Like the Valhalla, the Infinity Screen has a magnetic system compatible with all of the same accessories. Prices for The Infinity Screen start at $595.
The Visualizer
The first step in designing your Infinity Screen is to launch The Visualizer, which is a web-based design app. In the app, you’ll be able to choose background, foreground, and framing elements. You’ll also have 100 colors to choose from for those elements. A bit of a warning: even if you’ve already got a very clear concept for a screen in your mind, you’ll still find yourself spending a lot of time in The Visualizer, swapping out different pictures and agonizing over the exact shade of blue you want for that dragon’s scale.
One of the first designs that I tried out was for a Curse of Strahd campaign. The central design element for the Infinity Screen is the BBEG, or “Big Bad Evil Guy.” There are currently 12 different BBEGs to choose from.
With the impending release of the D&D campaign box set Spelljammer: Adventures in Space, I decided to make something more fitting to that campaign setting. One of the iconic villains for Spelljammer is the Illithid, aka the mind flayer. And one of those 12 BBEGs just happens to be one! As you can see, I went through a few different concepts for that particular screen:
Finally, I settled on a design and colors that I was happy with. I chose to forego the sigils on the side screens; even though they did tell a conceptual story of the mind flayer controlling minions, for me it made the screen a bit too busy. I then submitted the design to Dogmight to be crafted.
I was, however, left with one final decision: Whether to have the color stains in “Comic Style,” which most closely reproduces what appears in The Visualizer, or “Artistic Blending,” which gives the craftsmen artistic liberty to create gradients. Having already seen how nice of an effect the Artistic Blending is with my Valhalla GM Screen, I took that option. However, be aware that when purchasing the Infinity Screen, the Artistic Blending option will bump up the cost of the screen by $100.
The SCRY System
SCRY stands for “See Crafting Results Yourself.” It is an automated system by which Dog Might Games keeps customers abreast of every phase of the crafting of their screens and accessories.
I’ve already detailed that system in my Valhalla GM Screen review, so you can refer to that for more details. In short, you will receive regular, detailed email updates as your screen goes through each step of production, from the cutting of the wood to when the screen ships out to you.
The Infinity Screen
Like with any product from Dogmight Games, my Infinity Screen came in a fairly large box, as every piece was extremely well-protected with bubble wrap. Here’s a closer look at what I got:
First up is the central panel. You can see all of the nice gradations in the staining that really help the images pop.
The back of all the panels have been given a “galaxy” coloring. They all have embedded magnets as well, to attach the various accessories which both come with the screen and can be purchased separately. Here are the other two panels:
Like with the Valhalla Screen, the Infinity Screen panels connect using magnets and metal rods, so that you can adjust the angles of the side screens.
One of the nice touches that Dogmight added was the GeekDad logo in the corner of one of the side panels. They can do custom engraving on the back panels of any screen for an extra cost.
The Infinity Screen comes with 1 large and 2 small plexiglass panels with embedded magnets, and plexiglass initiative trackers which insert securely in a groove at the top of the screen. The panels allow you to use dry-erase markers to make notations on top of maps or other sheets. There are also several ball bearings to pin items magnetically to the back of the screen.
Dogmight also included a couple of fun surprises with my screen. One of them was a small plexiglass cutout of my BBEG, the mind flayer.
The other was a dice tower matching the mind flayer from my design! This was an especially nice bonus, as I can still appreciate my design from the GM seat while my players look at the BBEG from the front.
And here is everything put together. As I’d noted previously, all of the accessories that work with the Vanguard GM Screen work with the Infinity Screen, so you can mix and match as your needs dictate.
To Infinity…and Beyond!
When I review TTRPG products like the Infinity Screen, the part of the review which often causes a lump in readers’ throats is the price. But there are two important factors to remember in regards to that.
First, with the Infinity Screen, you’re talking a bespoke item that is meticulously crafted. And each screen Dogmight Games makes will be a unique piece. Even if you somehow managed to choose the exact same artwork and colors as someone else, the fact that the screens are hand-stained will give you a finished product that no one else will have.
The second point is more for those readers that don’t play tabletop roleplaying games. For many, Dungeons & Dragons, or some other TTRPG of choice, is a lifestyle game. Thanks in no small part to the pandemic, I’ve been playing D&D at least once a week. Suddenly, the investment in an item like the Infinity Screen doesn’t seem quite so high, when put into that context.
If you play a roleplaying campaign from start to finish, you’re talking about not just months but often years to complete the campaign. With the Infinity Screen, you will have a screen that is tailor-made to the campaign you’re planning on guiding the adventuring party through during that span of time. I’m personally looking forward to getting my copy of Spelljammer: Adventures in Space soon, so that I can use my Infinity Screen while running the included adventure module.
The Infinity Screen has all of the features of the Valhalla GM Screen, but that oversized central panel provides a lot of welcome real estate to have your most important GM notes and materials directly in front of you. Plus, the BBEG will be staring at your players every session, reminding them of the ultimate stakes in your campaign. The magnetic system works great, allowing you to add accessories and quickly swap out maps, tables, and stat blocks on your screen.
Dogmight Games has created another fantastic screen for Game Masters. All of their craftsmanship and attention to detail are on full display with the Infinity Screen, but this time they’re letting the GM’s get into the driver’s seat and customize almost every detail of the screen. It’s a great addition to their collection of finely-crafted wooden gaming accessories, and one that I’m sure will make many a GM happy.
For more information or to make a purchase, visit the Dogmight Games Infinity Screen page!
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Disclosure: GeekDad received an Infinity Screen for review purposes.
