Welcome to the main menu of the Simulation table! This screen is where you will make changes to the simulation based on what kind of simulation you want to run. Before beginning a simulation, you will want to modify the sand topography to match that of the mapped area. To do so, make use of the Layers Menu–found in the bottom left corner of the display. To make a selection on the table you can use the laser pointer or the trackpad attached to the keyboard. Using the trackpad, mouse over your selection and left click. To use the laser pointer, aim at what you would like to select and press the small silver button to fire the laser. Select your desired option by firing the laser and letting go of the input button. For more information about the function of each tool and menu, see the individual Tools and Menu Indexes

From the Layers Menu, select the Bing Hybrid map type and the Elevation Shading overlay. This displays the map’s elevation in four colors, each representing ascending elevations.

Blue - Low/sea level elevation areas
Green - Medium elevations
Yellow - Higher elevations
Red - Highest elevation

Based on the elevation shading display, adjust the sand throughout the table to match the corresponding elevation displayed. Once you are satisfied with the sand distribution you can turn off the Elevation Shading overlay and it is time to begin your simulation. See the various demonstrations to learn more about the different types of simulations this table is capable of running.

Any of the simulations can be run simultaneously, but will run separately from one another. For instance, the water and fire simulations can both be present but will not change one another. The only exception to this is the Fuel and Fire simulations–the Fuel simulation drastically changes how the Fire simulation is run.