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There are a lot of companies on the verge of putting out fully plastic battlefields that just need a coat of paint and a few touchups with scenic products. I've often been curious as to the optimal price point where it makes sense for people to buy a lovely looking terrain board vs making their own. As always, it is not really an apples-apples comparison, so just imagine a realm of battle style board as the 'default'.

100$ are better DOY- fields (the point where you start adding some terain features), and plates like the ones from forgeworld or GW offer quite a bit of detail (more than is apparent on the site pics) which I think very much justify paying a bit more for it.

Depending on the level of detail I'd say between 150 and 200$.

I've only heard of the GW battleboard, what others are you talking about? I do love me a good looking battlefield. ''

DIY is almost always going to be better and more suited to the users tastes, I wouldnt pay much for other options unless they were modular and awesome.

Halfricanking wrote:
I've only heard of the GW battleboard, what others are you talking about? I do love me a good looking battlefield. ''

secret weapon and FW for exemple

Halfricanking wrote:
I've only heard of the GW battleboard, what others are you talking about? I do love me a good looking battlefield. ''

The two bug recent releases were Tablescapes by Secret Weapon Miniatures and Battleboards by Games & Gears - both similar in concept to the ROBB

Halfricanking wrote:
I've only heard of the GW battleboard, what others are you talking about? I do love me a good looking battlefield. ''

How about ziterdes ?
http://www.ziterdes.de/ziterdes/en/produkte/article_detail.php?we_objectID=900734&catID=69&subcatID=99

Halfricanking wrote:
I've only heard of the GW battleboard, what others are you talking about? I do love me a good looking battlefield. ''

Games and Gears are doing 6x4 plastic boards of various styles.

http://www.gamesandgears.co.uk/

I wopuld be interested to know of other sources, can we have a list please from one of those who know of 'several' new battleboards. I only know of this one GW and the lacklustre Ex Illis boards which are rather small and bland.

I made my own 6x4 table with MDF and foam insulation it cost about £60 before I painted it and it was a fair amount of work so if they could be bought for a 100 id jump at it.... Depending on quality of course!

Actually, it's a mute point for me as I don't have the space available for a 6x4 battlefield.

I'm making my own, and it costed no more than $50. And it works and looks cool.

Exalbaru wrote:
DIY is almost always going to be better and more suited to the users tastes, I wouldnt pay much for other options unless they were modular and awesome.

Agreed -"Modular" and variety is the key to scenery. Who wants to fight to capture the exact same hill dozens of times? or maneuvre units through the exact same foresttime after time? On that note I'm modelling my hills to stack in various ways, might even use magnets for removable trees, boulders, etc.

I believe GW are selling a board for €220 at the moment. It looks nice, but I wouldn't even pay half that tbh.

Three plain boards of MDF, £20 (roughly $32) spray painted one side ash wastes, and the other a grey city scape. Job done. It offers variety in each of your games; you don't have to set up scenery according to the board, and its easier to place models on. I like the RBB but I think, for what it is in effect, it is a little over priced. Plus the hills often get in the way.

Once again the $100 price point seems magic to people . I think the range between $100 and $150 really depends on the quality.

Talk about confirmation bias. I think it's clear from the poll that $80-$100 is the "correct" answer. Everything below is listed as being cheap and everything above as expensive in some way...

 Steve steveson wrote:
Talk about confirmation bias. I think it's clear from the poll that $80-$100 is the "correct" answer. Everything below is listed as being cheap and everything above as expensive in some way...

Was thinking the same thing while looking at the choices, even though I believe 80$US for 4x6 board is ridiculously low priced for a plastic board with basic details.

I think at this point I better mention the TerraTiles terrain KS.

While $100+ is a well-deserved price for a battlefield, I'm sure it's outside many a gamer's budget -- and storage space.

TT's not plastic, but for $60, you get 4' x 6' of tiles with easy storage. And the tiles come in full color!

Prandtl wrote:

 Steve steveson wrote:
Talk about confirmation bias. I think it's clear from the poll that $80-$100 is the "correct" answer. Everything below is listed as being cheap and everything above as expensive in some way...

Was thinking the same thing while looking at the choices, even though I believe 80$US for 4x6 board is ridiculously low priced for a plastic board with basic details.

Yes, I think this is totally unrealistic. I do not believe that there are ANY 6x4 boards in plastic that are $80-100USD.

Good 6x4 battle mats cost upwards of this, and they're vinyl.

The last option is also silly: $200+ and "I don't care about the price" are not the same thing. For 24 Sq Ft of plastic gaming battle board, I would pay up to $500 for the boards (they'd have to be awesome - some of the 95 GBP FW boards really rock). $300 would be a good price point fort 'great', and at $200, I'd buy one that was just decent, if painting it is no bog deal.

Keep in mind, there's still terrain to go on top of that (buildings, trees, fortifications, etc).

I think it is too expensive to pay anything over 100$

On top of that comes prices of terrain as well as buildings and models to play.

It depends on the overall quality; I bought GW's Realm of Battle for £155 and I'm still fine with that as the boards are nice and sturdy; the clips for connecting them are a bit meh, but mine sit flat enough that it's not usually a big deal; I'd prefer some kind of four-way clips for joining four boards at one corner, as putting four clips on is a nightmare. Of course if I had the space I'd just leave it set-up somewhere, since there are enough ways to randomise the direction of play and starting sides to keep it varied even if the layout never changes.

I'd love to have a Sector Imperialis for 40k, as I prefer an all-flat surface with plenty of buildings, but at £220 it's not reasonable; £155 was my limit for what I consider a premium price, especially given that you still have to paint the thing.

So in USD I'd say $200 top, but I'd prefer less if the quality is still decent. What matters most is that it doesn't interfere with scenery placement or model movement too much.

I used to think making your own gaming board and scenery was a right of passage.
Nowadays there are loads of companies producing scenery miles better than the average person could make. But it has to be priced right or I'd sooner spend my money on models and carry on using my not so good home made boards/scener.
I voted on the $81 to $100 range

There comes a time in every hobbyist's life where time becomes the most precious of commodities. It's not just about sticker price.
I've built pretty sweet tables for less than $150., but I've also bought some of the Forge World tiles that are worth every penny.

"N/A - I dont' play games that need a battlefield. In fact I'm not really sure how I found my way here... What's with all these crazy toy soldiers?".

How much does a sheet of plastic cost? If it's pre-painted, I could see trying to get $100. Past that, it really shouldn't cost that much.

I vote 1-40$, but then again I try to build everything if I can save a few bucks. I can get plywood sheeting for free-ish, and work from there with what I can scrounge up.

Where's the option for "I play games that require battlefields, but don't like/don't want a plastic table top battlefield"?

I'm just waiting for someone to make a good alternative to the OOP Citadel battlemat.

There's nothing other than terrible model railway flypaper mats.

This poll is getting quite old... it would be interesting to see if mousepad mat revolution has changed things.

The FW boards have been on my wishlist for several years now. I doubt I'll ever be able to afford them though.

I live in the UK but got the same for about £80 so that seems about right.


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I live in the UK but got the same for about £80 so that seems about right.