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I am considering purchasing a gaming mat and was wondering if any Dakkites had experience with them. I was considering the following:

Terra Flex system by Zuzzy
http://www.zuzzy.com/vf-ml-001_terra_flex_gaming_mat.html

The GW battle Mat
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/armySubUnitCats.jsp?catId=cat1030019&rootCatGameStyle=&_requestid=2053685

The Sabol Combat Mat
http://www.saboldesigns.net/combatmat.html

I was curious as to what anyone had to say as to the durability, look, quality of these products etc. Also, if anyone knew of any others that might be worth checking out, I would really appreciate the input. Thanks a lot.

Out of that list, I only own the GW one. As a battle mat, it’s functional, but it has some design flaws. First, the backing is a smooth silky type material, which makes is easily slide over smooth surfaces, like a table or a piece of wood. This gets annoying as your "board" begins to shift throughout the game if you haven't weighted it with enough terrain. Second, it comes folded in a box, which leaves it with near permanent creases, which I have yet to be able to smooth out. As far as durability, this thing is solid and definitely is a big 6x4 sheet of static grass, but the grass doesn't rub off. At least not through standard use. I wouldn’t go trying to throw it in the wash.

It's also worth noting an alternative to your list, which is made by Woodland Scenics.
http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/items.cfm/ReadyGrass
While I've never tried it, the concept is very neat. It’s moldable, so you can use it to make hills and the like, or even apply it to a lightly terrain'ed board by applying heat and work it over the surface of the table.

Hey thanks for the reply, I appreciate it. Sounds like the GW mat is not what I am looking for then.

I looked at that woodlandscenics mat. I love their products but I think that this one may not be what i am looking for either. I primarily want something easy to store and durable. If you heat treat this one for the hills it is no longer easily stored or trasported, plus it looks like the grass comes off fairly easily.

Thanks for the input.

I am thinking it will be either Sabol or Zuzzy unless anyone else has some experience with these that they would like to post.

You do realise that the GW one is no longer available, at least online it is. If I am wrong on this then please correct me as I'm also looking for a battlemat.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/214005.page#323270

Remember, the Zuzzy mat still has to be painted.

Keep in mind also that a couple yards of cloth from the local fabric store costs less than $10.

The GW one is a godsend.

If you can find one, get it now!

My friend and I have been using them for over a year now and love them. Their quality is great and the so called folds someone talked about go away almost immediately if you play a couple games on it, and don't fold it back into the box, just roll it up and put it in the closet.

I can't stress the quality of the GW one enough, it looks great and lasts through quite a bit of gaming

really? hmm. I will have to check that out. It is the cheapest too.

I dont mind painting the zuzzy, an ink wash and a few layers of dry brush and you are good to go, that doesnt take long. I have made wood game tables before and those are fantastic but storage and transport are a bear, even whe you cut them into 2'x3' sections.

I dont mind paying for quality, and i want something that looks nice.

Also, the GW mat is still on the website, look under the section games workshop scenery, below LoTR scenery.

Thanks for the input guys, i really appreciate it.

Trying pming Hellfury. Or let me know and I'll forward a message. I know he
got a Zuzzy, he just doesn't visit dakka these days.

The big bugbear I have about battlemats is that they
are always green!40k aside, what are the chances of
grass existing anywhere else in the universe?
Thats what I hate about 40k battle reports in WD,the
battlefields are always green!Would it kill them to
do a Martian red?
Anyway,battlemats.A company called K+M Scenics do(or did)
really good cloth mats in a number of colours.
But a final plea to all 40k players everywhere,I'm
decrying green battlemats as heretic!You have been
warned!

To a point, green may be common because it's a memory color. It's somewhat cultural that "green=grass" (Note that this wouldn't for someone raised in an area where green grass was a rarity, of course.)

As such green mats convey the concept of grass very quickly and easily.
Of course, when I bought some cloth I bought something similar to bleached bone but with lots of intention stuff int he fabric... Then again, I needed it for desert gaming for Heavy Gear.

I knew a guy named mat once... I think I broke his shoulder.
that being said my 2 cents are, make sure the mat you choose, is durable and the like. I used to play with a group that made some from just store bought fabrics and it was SOOO annoying playing games on those. they slipped all the time, and once someone spilled a pop it was stained forever. so make sure your mat is a good one. ALSO always roll them puppies up. folding is just going to ruin it

Joyous_Oblivion wrote:The GW one is a godsend.

If you can find one, get it now!

My friend and I have been using them for over a year now and love them. Their quality is great and the so called folds someone talked about go away almost immediately if you play a couple games on it, and don't fold it back into the box, just roll it up and put it in the closet.

I can't stress the quality of the GW one enough, it looks great and lasts through quite a bit of gaming

I have the first game mat GW came out with back in the day. That thing has been through hell and back and looks as good as the day it was purchased.

These guys also have a wide array of textured mats.

http://terrainmat.com

Thanks for the link, I was reading about those and I have heard mixed reviews on them. A lot of people said they come permenantly creased if shipped oversees (they are based in the UK, I am in the USA). I also read several reviews stating that the paint comes off of the cloth. Howver, they do look nice.

As for the green mats, actually Zuzzy makes a sweet ash waste mat and the sabol mats are both brown. I was thinking I would get one grassy colored and the other desert for some variety. Monday Knight Games also makes martian red, water, desert, grass and space cloth mats.

I can't stand playing with a piece of felt or on a table with crap terrain. I love having a really nice table, it just makes the game so much more engaging. When there are stacks of books under an old sheet with a hodge podge of random terrain, I just do not enjoy the game nearly as much.

@Reecius

Yeah I know the GW mat is still on the site but when you check availability and it says "no longer available" but this might just be because I live in the UK.

Oh ok, I did not see that. Thanks for pointing that out. Several other cmopanies make similar mats, so maybe I can look elsewhere. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

Le Grognard wrote:

Joyous_Oblivion wrote:The GW one is a godsend.

If you can find one, get it now!

My friend and I have been using them for over a year now and love them. Their quality is great and the so called folds someone talked about go away almost immediately if you play a couple games on it, and don't fold it back into the box, just roll it up and put it in the closet.

I can't stress the quality of the GW one enough, it looks great and lasts through quite a bit of gaming

I have the first game mat GW came out with back in the day. That thing has been through hell and back and looks as good as the day it was purchased.

I also have 2 of the original GW mats, they are phenomenal. I have one attached to a table, and it has seen 7-8 years of gaming with no noticeable effects.

That said I do like the newer GW one, if not as much as the original.

Check your PM Reecius, I sent you some info.

I've tried the Zuzzy mat (have one sitting behind me actually) and generally wasn't real happy with it. A few reasons:

- gotta keep it rolled up on the cardboard tube, which makes it a bit of a pain to cart around. I left mine in a "loose pile" and it developed permanent "folds" in it. I didnt think that was going to happen.
- kinda smells
- sorta heavy compared to alternatives
- pain to paint. I thought it would be easy but it was a bit of a hassle.

I use a felt mat from Hotzmats

http://www.hotzmats.com/felt_purchase_mat.html

Very pleased with it. I tend to roll it AND fold it, and it doesnt really keep a crease and still lies nicely. It's soft, nice to roll dice on but still firm enough for terrain and models to sit nicely. The European fields one I use has nice variations in color all over it rather than one flat color. I got mine without grids. Used it many, many times.

That said, I am looking right now at the Sabol mats (that's how I found this thead actually). I was drooling over the GW Realm of Battle Board, but when I saw a game in action and heard the really loud dice rolling and stuff, it turned me off a bit. I like the nice quiet rolls on the felt mat I guess

Jarrett

I love the look of the sabol mats they are hyper reaistic, but they are $64.00. Which is rediculous, for that price I could build a folding game table that would fit easily in the trunk of my mustang. That being said, just buy a piece of plywood and paint it with a mix of sand/wattered down white glue add spray paint and your G2G. But if you want a matt just buy some felt at a fabric store and put some of that "stay put" tape that you put under rugs to keep them from sliding around.

thanks for the link Orangecoke. Thos look nice.

I saw a monday knights game matt and it was ok, the flocking was falling off wholesale and it had creases in it but it was much better than playing on a white table.

As for the sabol mat, Gorilla Tactics told me they could get those at a 30% discount. Those things look really nice, I am leaning in that direction. If I pick one up, I will post a review as it sounds like a lot of people are interested.