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In August I am finally going to be able to realize something I've wanted for a while...a full room dedicated to wargaming!

Obviously the central piece of the room will be the gaming table, which I've already built. However, I am trying to decide which surface to use for it. So far it seems like either the Realm of Battle board (original or imperial sector) or a F.A.T. Mat from Frontline are two of my best choices.

The Realm Of Battle board is substantially less expensive than the F.A.T. Mat, but lets just assume that you can choose either one of them for free. Which would you rather play 40K on?

Even better.

I'd go with the mats, the tiles are harder to store, though you have to find one that you like.

http://www.gamemat.eu/6x4-g-mats.html

The link above have a new 'fallout' mat that I'm really impressed with. The urban and desert mats from Frontline gaming is superb too.

FAT mats. Easy.

The Realm of Battle boards are the worst surface I've ever played a game on. If I was offered one of those for free, without being able to sell it on, I honestly wouldn't even take it.

If you can try to actually play on one of each.

IMO the battle board look great but are a terrible play experience. They are just too uneven and slick for the models. Also moving units is a pain as you cannot slide them and must always place each model.

The FAT mats are a pleasure to play on. The surface is a mouse pad so models and dice move when and where you want them to but no further.

I'll also agree that the Realm of Battle tables are a miserable experience. Cocked dice are a common occurrence, terrain slipping around if it's not based because the actual contact points are few and far between, models falling over on the hill slopes. It's just not enjoyable.

The Realm of battle boards are not that bad once for models once they have been fully flocked + painted.
I'd also recommend getting the extension of the two extra flatish boards, more options for layout and add's to the playability for large games.

As for rolling dice, build a dice box, rolling on the table itself is never a great solution. Even on a flat table you will still hit models / terrain, lose dice, mix dice up with damage dice etc etc etc.

But they are expensive, and those F.A.T matts are nice. Tempted to get one of the large space ones for x-wing etc.

If money wasn't a factor, I would pick up all the Realm of Battle and Zone Mortalis boards from FW, build two large tables, and enjoy the pure awesome, multi-level games that would ensue! Tanks, MCs, and walkers, duking it out topside and those all to messy, close-quarter encounters down in the bunker/catacombs! Plus, it would like straight-up badass when flocked, painted, etc.

FW sells a bundle of the industrial sector:
http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Warhammer_40,000_Terrain/REALM_OF_BATTLE_INDUSTRIAL_SECTOR.html

The mat.
There is no way I will be able to fit all my terrain on the RoB board.
The RoB boards, especially combined with Forgeworld, look awesome though.

 Crabbit wrote:
If money wasn't a factor, I would pick up all the Realm of Battle and Zone Mortalis boards from FW, build two large tables, and enjoy the pure awesome, multi-level games that would ensue! Tanks, MCs, and walkers, duking it out topside and those all to messy, close-quarter encounters down in the bunker/catacombs! Plus, it would like straight-up badass when flocked, painted, etc.

FW sells a bundle of the industrial sector:
http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Warhammer_40,000_Terrain/REALM_OF_BATTLE_INDUSTRIAL_SECTOR.html

This.

FAT mats, 100% better gameplay experience. Use the money you save to invest in better terrain. There's a reason why Wargames use flat buildings and tiered hilltops, miniatures react poorly to the slopes and dips and divets that cover RoB.

Myself I'm getting the Imperial Sector boards and a bunch of Imperial scenery. Then I'm converting it all into an Ork city.

Your better off with a mat. The RoB boards are a pain to play on, models slide, dice all over the place, and you have those stupid hills you can't get rid of if you want a city fight.

The mat, no question. I can put it down on a table and just play, and when I don't need it, I can stick it behind my couch or something. And that's not taking into account that I can bring it with me, whereas I can't bring the Realm of Battle board with me anywhere, and the mat itself is really nice to play on.

The mat, for much the same reasons posted already, plus I'd rather give FLG my dosh than GW so even if they were reasonably close it would still be the mat

FW ZM FTW

The mat. I played on one at the end of April, and instantly walked across the convention and ordered one for myself. The best surface I've gamed on, and exceptionally versatile.

I own the original Realm of Battle board and a urban fat mat. While I like both, the FAT mat has more utility and is a better surface to game on. The RoB board looks nice but I find myself wishing that I could (re)move the hills 75% of the time and You probably will too.

Get a FAT mat, use leftover cash to buy hills, enjoy better gaming surface. Really no reason to buy the RoB unless you value texture over the flat mat surface.

 Crabbit wrote:
If money wasn't a factor, I would pick up all the Realm of Battle and Zone Mortalis boards from FW, build two large tables, and enjoy the pure awesome, multi-level games that would ensue! Tanks, MCs, and walkers, duking it out topside and those all to messy, close-quarter encounters down in the bunker/catacombs! Plus, it would like straight-up badass when flocked, painted, etc.

FW sells a bundle of the industrial sector:
http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Warhammer_40,000_Terrain/REALM_OF_BATTLE_INDUSTRIAL_SECTOR.html

Yes yes yes. I have a smallish zone mortalis and it's absolutely totally brilliant. Would love a few more.

FW realm of battle boards look great.

I would like a FAT mats for x wing etc but havnt got one yet but definitely will at some stage. I like playing on something more 3 dimensional for ground based games

 Crabbit wrote:
If money wasn't a factor, I would pick up all the Realm of Battle and Zone Mortalis boards from FW, build two large tables, and enjoy the pure awesome, multi-level games that would ensue! Tanks, MCs, and walkers, duking it out topside and those all to messy, close-quarter encounters down in the bunker/catacombs! Plus, it would like straight-up badass when flocked, painted, etc.

FW sells a bundle of the industrial sector:
http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/Warhammer_40,000_Terrain/REALM_OF_BATTLE_INDUSTRIAL_SECTOR.html

Yeah. If money is no concern FW wins for sure.

No love for the SecretWeaponMinitures boards? They look to be ace, and I was going to pledge for them during their kickstarter except I was inbetween countries at the time (and thus didn't know where I was going to be residing).

The FAT mat any day. Easier to transport, they look great and they are excellent for game play purposes.

The secret weapon tables price wise beat GW's boards easily.

Also in terms of play, there are some fairly flat style boards, or more organic boards. Nothing I've seen looks like it has the weird hill gradient gw did.

I have the scrapyard one, and my brother has the city scape. If you want a totally even surface the cityscape one is basically your go to, for flat surfaces broken up with a few spots.

They definitely look cool on the table, without gutting your wallet.

You get like a 6x4 for close to the price of what I paid for an 8x4 at the kickstarter, but I think 6x4 is a pretty standard size for gaming.

Can't tell you how they play just yet in terms of slip/slide, because my airbrush isn't in yet and I'm still in the process of planning...now that they're actually at hand.

like $250 for a 4x6.

I'd love to get a F.A.T. Mat myself, but the urban 6x4 is never in stock :(

It really depends on more than just money.... storage space, additional features, etc.

I personally own the following:

2 Realm of Battle Boards (Plus the crashed thunderhawk and imperial emplacement sections, and two additional flat sections)
4x10 of the Forge World Cityscape Terrrain
4-6 set of Zone Mortalis Tiles
2 FAT Mats (one space setting and one of the snowscape ones)

Most of my game I play on the Realm of Battle Board. Once painted and flocked, I prefer games on it. They look better and models don't have a problem with sliding on surfaces that are flocked.

I do like how the dice roll on the FAT Mats. The Zone Mortalis table is great.. for Zone Mortalis games, but outside of that... no.

I hate GW and so I woudnt want to support them in getting a product of theirs. If it was created through a knockoff retailer though....
Id still take the matt. Looks great, easy to store, and great surface for models.

Zomnivore wrote:
The secret weapon tables price wise beat GW's boards easily.

Not quite. Sector Imperialis is $330, but most people can get 25% for a purchase that large, which drops it down to $250.
Tablescapes are $250, but most people can get 10% from SWM, which drops it to $225.

At the more extreme end, you can get RoB for around $230 (30% discount) and SWM for $200 (20% discount during a sale event). SWM ships free for $200+; your friendly local store/discoutner is going to bring in the RoB (and GW doesn't charge them). RoB comes with a nice bag, SWM does not. So price-wise, they are actually so close that it hardly matters.

First of all, I love terrain-heavy, urban boards. I have the broken up roads from SWM and the Sector Imperialis from GW. Here are my thoughts:

- The GW board fits GW buildings **perfectly**, which is just awesome. It's also compatible with FW tiles, if you are so inclined.
- The GW boards are 2x2, which are much harder to paint, but are really nice to play on because they don't move.
- The GW boards give you 3 pieces of 2 patterns, which is sad panda.
- The GW boards are super-duper Imperium themed, which is awesome if you want that, and horrible if you don't.
- The GW boards are NOT very flat, which makes it look awesome, and is just fine with bigger models, but less fine with infantry.

- The Tablescapes boards are 1x1 which are much easier to paint on, but move around on a table if you have a shiny surface table (like a folding one). They are ok on felt, though.
- The Tablescapes boards are not 40k themed. Does that matter? Makes it better for other games, worse for 40k.
- The Tablescapes boards have lots of patterns -- like, the damaged urban streets have 8 patterns. AWESOME!
- The Tablescapes boards are very, very plain compared to the Sector Imperialis. Is that good? I'd say, preference.
- The Tablescapes boards are a billion times easier to paint. On the other hand, they have virtually nothing on them in comparison to the 40k boards, which is like painting models.

So, which one is better? Honestly, you get bored of 'em. So buy both

The mats that I like are 6x4 vinyl with relief and just a plain desert or burnt grass pattern. Then I set up like, $2000 of terrain on them


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Guardsmanwaffle wrote:
I own the original Realm of Battle board and a urban fat mat. While I like both, the FAT mat has more utility and is a better surface to game on. The RoB board looks nice but I find myself wishing that I could (re)move the hills 75% of the time and You probably will too.

Get a FAT mat, use leftover cash to buy hills, enjoy better gaming surface. Really no reason to buy the RoB unless you value texture over the flat mat surface.

The original RoB board is horrible. A friend has one, and the hills are in ridiculous places (and way too big). The Sector Imperialis, however, is awesome. I despise playing on a flat, textureless surface now... I played on felt for way, way, way too long lol lol. Once you play on nice tables, it's so hard to go back.

I picked up F.A.T. Mat a while back and I would easily pick up another one. While I absolutely love the FW Realm of Battle boards I don't think I'd be able to store all the variations that I'd pick up. It's great being able to roll up the mat and store it in the closet.

Also, it's relatively easy to place terrain where you want on the mat and not be limited with your layouts. Although, this would not be as big an issue with the smaller tiles in the SWM tablescapes.

Add another vote for 'RoB looks pretty, but sucks to actually play on, so go for the mat'...

I think the gw boards are a bit tacky, but you're right there's a lot going on in them.

I just don't think they're well done.

They've got flat archs lying on the ground, metal vented paneling that breaks in spots and shows its venting dirt.

Dumb slapped together details like that, make me not like them. I like that theres a lot going on, but they rushed it. The end results a board that doesn't make sense when you look at it, and paying 250+ for a product you're not completely happy with, to a company you're not completely happy with...bad deal.

Thats my take on them. I dunno if the extra detail also causes standing problems or w/e they play like. Just my taste.

The SWM boards can look like there's not much going on I guess, but thats kind of not really a huge critic, if you're using it for more then one game system, thats a serious benefit...and at worse you glue a couple pieces on and spruce it up with spare bits or plasticard, for minimal additional work. Leaves a lot of room for placing terrain in various positions. So to me its not a huge deal. I like Terrain pieces, they're cool.

In terms of pricing I guess I don't know where all the deals are, without the deals SWM beats GW pretty handily. I guess I just haven't bothered to search as much for terrain.

I got in on the kickstarter so I saw greater savings, then retail.