kristof65 Posted July 15, 2021 Share Posted July 15, 2021 So I'm looking to add a couple more useful battlemats to my collection for my minis gaming. I already have a couple of Geo-hex Battlescape mats in grass and desert and a homemade space one, but am looking to add a couple that would be more useful for sci-fi and city gaming. So what's out there in 4x6 format that you guys have found most useful, affordable and durable? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mckenna35 Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 I've been really happy with the ones I've gotten from Cigar Box. Can't remember if posting links is a no-no. Google "Cigar Box Battle Store" and that should get you there. They're heavy duty cloth (and make really comfy blankets in an emergency). I've also picked up some neoprene ones from Deep-Cut Studio, but with shipping and the current exchange rate, they're kinda spendy. I got a cheap vinyl one from "Mats by Mars" in the US, but I wasn't overly impressed. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristof65 Posted July 16, 2021 Author Share Posted July 16, 2021 @Mckenna35 Yeah, links are against the rules - the google info was enough to find them, though. Thanks. I've bookmarked them for later, as they have a few that intrigue me. There are definitely some gorgeous mats out there, but I find many have one or more of these three issues: - they're not big enough for my 4x6 game table. - they're shipping from outside the US, which drives the price to unreasonable levels these days. - they're too detailed, limiting their use across genres and even scenarios. An extreme example of this is the beautiful Stalingrad mat from Cigar Box - it's great for a 6mm game in Stalingrad, but pretty useless for a 28mm skirmish game of any genre. What I'm looking to make my next purchase is a mat for putting modern and sci-fi buildings on for city fight scenarios. There are a bunch out there, but I find myself turned off by the ones that have pre-drawn city streets, because they'll constrict the layout of buildings to specific formations. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mckenna35 Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 (edited) 56 minutes ago, kristof65 said: What I'm looking to make my next purchase is a mat for putting modern and sci-fi buildings on for city fight scenarios. There are a bunch out there, but I find myself turned off by the ones that have pre-drawn city streets, because they'll constrict the layout of buildings to specific formations. Okay... Given those stipulations I'd think that buying 3 yards of 60" grey fabric would be the best solution. Then you can lay out your buildings/features in any configuration you want and it will read as concrete/roads underneath. Any matt I've seen that would read as "sci-fi" either has streets or lava and such. Cigar Box's "Mars" might work for what you want, otherwise you're looking at generic fields with no pre-located trees/shrubs/roads that could be anywhere on earth. There's some "lunar"' ones out there, but then you have 'fixed' craters you have to cover or work around. Anyway, good luck. I'll be curious to see what you find. Edited July 16, 2021 by Mckenna35 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 I think that @Mckenna35 is on the right path. There are a lot of useful fabric patterns out there that might meet your needs. I use a couple for Wings of Glory and Battletech that have mild camo style patterns. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 There's a place called fabricdotcom that has a 1" square pattern called Majestic Wolves Squares that has some possibilities. Looking at it myself for Starfinder. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Dean Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 (edited) I’ve got both Cigar Box Battles fleeces, and some neoprene mats in various sizes from Frontline Games. If you do your own cloth, it can be reasonably effective: That’s all quilting fabric of various patterns. (The ground, the hills, the stream, and the forest base…) Edited July 17, 2021 by Rob Dean 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ced1106 Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 (edited) I'm looking into vinyl floor tiles. 😄 Search on "brown marble vinyl floor tile" at a big box online site. You can find them for $15-$20 for 20-some one-square foot tiles. They're obviously 2D and have seams, but I figure I can use the seams for measurement for wargames (eg. "place figures one foot away from the edge"). One of those anti-slip mats can keep them from slipping around. Or try sticky tack. Unfortunately, at 4x6 you're looking at two packs of 20, which is a pain, unless you want to giveaway a 3x3 gaming table to a friend... Edited July 17, 2021 by ced1106 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strawhat Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 8 hours ago, ced1106 said: Unfortunately, at 4x6 you're looking at two packs of 20, which is a pain, unless you want to giveaway a 3x3 gaming table to a friend.. Is the vinyl easy to cut? You could top some hill toppers to match them with the "base" table level--if you've got homemade hills. Or cut some edges for river banks. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ced1106 Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 9 hours ago, strawhat said: Is the vinyl easy to cut? WikiHow says you can use a utility knife but I'm still too lazy... 🔪 I just ordered 20 brown marble vinyl tiles from Walmart, and have a 2x2 square feet Loke Battlemats Battle Board. The BB and vinyl tiles will make a 4x6 board. The BB, however, is dungeon on one side, and grasslands on another, so is obviously not seamless with the brown vinyl tiles. OTOH, the BB's dungeon side could be used as a floor for some ruins. The BB costs $20, which is more than an additional set of vinyl tiles, so I'd only recommend it if you'll use the BB itself for RPG's and 2x2 miniature games. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MediocrePainter Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 Check out pworkwargames. I bought my frostgrave playing mat from them. They have a lot of good stuff for every type of game for normal prices. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 I was in Hobby Lobby today and they have some very nice vinyl in gray and brown that looks really interesting. I also found some fabric I will probably pick up that has 1" squares on it. It is called window pane plaid and what they had in the sore was white, but I might get some and dye it different colors for Starfinder. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loth Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 I buy vinyl maps from Mats by Mars. You can get them in most custom sizes. A 2x2’ mat is like $17 and they work great. I use them for D&D, infinity and Kings of war Loth 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kangaroorex Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 my battlemat workhorses are a set of 4 tablecloth battlemats from Smirking dragon. I have a plains, ocean, space, and town battlemats. you can mark them up with tailors chalk and they are completely washing machine safe. they can handle a 6x8 table or anything smaller and they look pretty good as a table cloth if you need to quickly go from battle to dinner 🙂 i also have some neoprene battlemats at the 4x3 size from monster fight club that were not too badly priced, an ancient chessex battlemat that has lasted forever but other than the grid looks very plain, and finally a 4x6 laminated mat from amazon that is absolutely the worst. it has ripples and ridges and i pretty much never use it. But if you can get the smirking dragon products, i recommned them. They are great and really easy to take care of and store! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arc 724 Posted December 13, 2021 Share Posted December 13, 2021 Esty is a good generic location to search for battle mats. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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