GW Realm of Battle vs. Game Mats

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**Deathwing Terminator**

The Realm of Battle has been a staple of many gamers for a while (at least in my area), but with the advent of much cheaper game mats that is starting to change. Which do you like better, a $300 detailed plastic board or an $85 giant mousepad?

**urbanevil**

I voted game mat, only because i just ordered one lol, though i was deciding between the new urban themed GW board and the mat. The mat won out, hopefully its as good as advertised.

**jreilly89**

Personally, I'd rather try and hand build one then buy it, but if I had to I'd buy the battleboard. It can be rearranged and the terrain actually stands out, versus a flat 2D mat.

**urbanevil**

jreilly89 wrote:
Personally, I'd rather try and hand build one then buy it, but if I had to I'd buy the battleboard. It can be rearranged and the terrain actually stands out, versus a flat 2D mat.

I actually did this first, but being lazy and not putting hinges on it made it uber annoying to lug around lol.

**jonolikespie**

I like game boards, I really do, but I wouldnt pay what GW is asking for one so.. distinctly warhammer in appearance as the RoB board, especially when it has so many issues rolling dice on it.

**Eldarain**

Having owned and played on both options I vastly prefer the Gaming mat.

I thought I'd miss the 3D elements of a board but I find them more annoying than endearing now in retrospect.

I love how I didn't have to paint or flock it and deal with the slow degradation that doing so entails.

Spoiler:

**wufai**

At same cost GW has the better offering, textured tiles that can be arranged in different configurations.

But for practical use the PHAT mats from frontline gaming wins hands down in terms of practical use, transportation, and less time to prep (no painting), plus its a LOT cheaper and doesn't require paint costs.

**jonolikespie**

Just to clarify we're not talking about the *new* GW board right? That thing is just... Bad.

**chromedog**

Mat for me.

I occasionally like playing on a table without hills and GW's plastic skullpit table holds no appeal for me at the best of times.

**VanHallan**

330 for that GW board is so outrageous I can't even believe it exists. I wonder if there's a limited edition version that comes with a red carrying case you can buy for the price of a BMW. What a load of garbage.

**TheKbob**

I don't have space for gaming, but if I did, I'd have a gaming mat. The ones from FLG are pretty awesome as I've used them before. Any that have the "mousepad" feel would be recommended.

I have used the Realm of Battle board quite a bit, too, and dice rolling is too loud. Also, any tall 25mm based model, or metal, will go for a slide down those hills so fast. It's kinda annoying. For a display board, it looks great.

**Makumba**

Cheaper=better. It is also easier to store. Most people here don't have the space to store game tables and terrain at homes. But a game mat could possibly fit. Not being forced to make a trip to a store to play would be a very nice thing.

**Sarigar**

I've played on both and I prefer the PhatMat. I own the city street mat and it is easy to play on, store and it even has clever markings for deployment.

There are a few reasons I'm not fond of the RoB board. Dice rolling is much louder, models don't stay properly on the hill sections unless you've flocked or added something for texture; 6 individual pieces take more work to lay out, are bulkier and heavier to store; cost. It also takes considerable work to have a great looking RoB. I've seen some very nicely painted ones and have seen some less than desirable.

**Massawyrm**

You get what you pay for. The RoB boards are a big outlay, but they're damned near indestructible, store and travel easily, and when you buy additional boards, fit together to make multiple configurations. The only advantage to the mousepads (aside from price) is that older metal minis won't scratch when they fall over. Otherwise they're cheap, more of a pain to store/transport (as they have a minimum of 4' side instead of 2') and won't have a lifespan anywhere near that of the RoB.

**tgjensen**

I'm cheap, so I voted game mat, although I'll say that 85$ is much more than I'd pay, too. Honestly the Citadel Battlemat was in the ~20£ range, wasn't it? That's a price I'd be comfortable with. Right now I'm looking at just getting an MDF or plywood board and paint that up. That'll do just fine for me.

That said, a friend of mine has the RoB board, and it is quite nice. Building the hills into the terrain is always a risky proposition, but they got away with it reasonably well.

**Blacksails**

I'm waiting out for Secret Weapon's boards after their KS sorts itself out and they go retail.

Much cheaper, more variation, and more themes makes them a much easier sell than GW RoB.

Other than that, I'll probably pick up some mats. It helps being a spaceship gaming guy, as mats as pretty much the best thing for space themes.

**Brother Michael**

Purely in function? Definitely the RoB board. Also taking price into account? Definitely the game mat.

**Kilkrazy**

Game mat.

Much cheaper and easier to carry around and store.

**clively**

I have zero interest in my table being covered entirely in plastic (or resin). Having played on a realm of battle board I really don't understand why anyone would want to buy one of those things. The game board just feels like cheap plastic. In order to keep your miniatures and dice from sliding all over the place you need to cover the whole thing with flock.

The amount of work you have to put into making a Realm of Battle board playable is, imho, more than the amount of work required to just make your own table and certainly costs far more.

My table is covered with a standard grass mat ( $15 ). I have enough hills and line of site blocking terrain to cover three entire tables ($50 worth of materials and a couple hours of time). Which means I can set up any configuration without being locked in to a giant plastic pos.

**agnosto**

Massawyrm wrote:
You get what you pay for. The RoB boards are a big outlay, but they're damned near indestructible, store and travel easily, and when you buy additional boards, fit together to make multiple configurations. The only advantage to the mousepads (aside from price) is that older metal minis won't scratch when they fall over. Otherwise they're cheap, more of a pain to store/transport (as they have a minimum of 4' side instead of 2') and won't have a lifespan anywhere near that of the RoB.

Eh?

I have a 10+ year old mousepad that is used everyday, with a mouse sliding across it nearly constantly while in use, and hasn't discolored, scarred or degraded in any way. I fail to see how a pad is more of a pain to store or transport because you can fold them, they're soft and you can buy them in multiple sizes and configurations but I guess YMMV.

**Igenstilch**

We have several Frontline Gaming game mats where my friends and I play. The mats have been fantastic. Dice roll flat. Not worried about a mini tipping over on it. Look great. Easy to store.

I wouldn't buy a GW board. To pricy, I would just make my own for the same price if not cheaper. Then it will match your army or theme it how ever you want.

**Jaceevoke**

Anyone know where to buy a city type map for around 20 USD? And yes I understand the quality will be gak compared to something from say frontline or gamemat, thanks.

**DanielBeaver**

The GW board can look nicer than game mats if they are painted up really well. But usually they aren't, so for the most part game mats look better.

**Ailaros**

I'm surprised the realms of battle board has even 25% the votes of the gaming mat.

I guess some people really like their terrain not to fit on the table, and for everything to slide around a bunch on something that's really expensive.

**Brother SRM**

I love my Realm of Battle board. The gaming surface in my apartment is actually a little under 6x4, so unless I had some slats of wood lying around, I wouldn't be able to fit a mat on said surface. The Frontline mats in particular look really nice, and if I had space for multiple tables I would definitely have one just for a change of scenery. I prefer modeled terrain over mats, but mats can be really neat.

**Sigvatr**

Where's the "Custom made gaming table" option?

**SilverMK2**

I'm not a huge fan of having hills in the same place every time. I am waiting on a quite cheap plastic gaming table with engraved detailing and surface textures to appear in my post in the next few months. Gives the table some depth and texture, but allows you to add in hills anywhere. Failing that though, game mat.

May eventually build a couple of additional sections complete with trenches at some point though as there is not enough terrain that is sub-surface

**Thud**

The Realm of Battle boards look nicer (but with new stuff coming out, only marginally so), but it's such a massive PITA to play on.

I already have the Design Studio trying their best to make games less fun, I don't need my terrain doing that too.

**Banzaimash**

A 4'x4' piece of MDF

**Ralis**

I voted for game mat. Just because I dislike using the RoB Board, unless you texture it yourself, your mini's slide around. and they just seem way more static then you can get with a game mat and your own terrain pieces.