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Hi guys osjclatchford here.

I'm after a good quality space gaming mat. (Without grids and lines) 4' x 4' ideal but 3' x 3' would do.

I live in the UK and don't want my pants pulled down over the price, so I'm or eu would be best. If I'm honest I'd prefer mousepad material as it doesn't come, or get, creased.

Advice please?

Deep cut would be my recommendation (or FFG if you can find them though they do have cut corners and are 3*3). Plenty of stores stock them so they are readily available.

Playmats.eu have a selection of space mats too, I have the red nebula

Dear god they're expensive...

Neoprene mats are expensive...

Yeah, decent gaming mats are not cheap. They will last for a very long time and the cheap, non-neoprene ones are some of the worst surfaces you could possibly play on. A good game mat is a worthwhile investment, IMO.

I've got an FFG game mat that I've been using for about 8 years at this point and it's still in great condition. I also got a Gamemat.eu 40k mat and it's a much nicer experience playing on the soft surface versus a hard wooden board.

https://www.manticgames.com/terrain-crate/neoprene-game-mats/

I have a couple of these, they come with a bag for storage. They're decent.

Slipspace wrote:
Yeah, decent gaming mats are not cheap. They will last for a very long time and the cheap, non-neoprene ones are some of the worst surfaces you could possibly play on. A good game mat is a worthwhile investment, IMO.

I've got an FFG game mat that I've been using for about 8 years at this point and it's still in great condition. I also got a Gamemat.eu 40k mat and it's a much nicer experience playing on the soft surface versus a hard wooden board.

Thanks guys, give me a lot to think on...

Mostly you all seem set that neoprene is best.

Neoprene being the mousepad style stuff, right?
Thin Nylon weave printed stuck to a rubberised foam..?

That's the ideal afaict. Its heavy but flat. Soft and springy enough to lean on and have it recover. If a mini tumbles, it's a soft surface to topple on and you can flex it up and over things to get nice photography backgrounds for your minis...

I had absolutely no idea as to prices and best places to go...

I may yet end up going with deep cut eventually. but I've also my own design which I can see about getting custom printed by them... It's a complete blank slate for me...

Neoprene is the mousemat stuff, yes. Whatever you do, avoid vinyl. It never rolls out flat, it's slippy and shiny and not very durable.

Also note that Deep Cut tends to have decent black friday discounts if you can hold off until then.

Well. Embarrassingly, I've a real cheapo alternative en-route as we speak.
Less than £8 with postage!!
I'll let you know how much of a monumental mistake I've made whensoever it arrives

I can definitely wait. Though it's true the clock's ticking, and bfg is only getting older... lol

IF that's second hand that's potentially a really good deal. If it's new I dread to think how awful it will be.

Oh, the cheapening!


It's new...

It's not even neoprene or anything fancy...
It's not designed to be a gaming mat. But I'm going to misuse it thus...
I saw that price and went "I'm having that..."

You wait... I bet it's hideous!

Is it a kid's space bedsheet?

The geek villain fleece mats are great too , this one is 6x4 for £65

https://geekvillain.co.uk/collections/fleece-battlemats-6ft-x-4ft/products/wargaming-battle-mat-6x4-dark-space

Syrup_of_Fig wrote:
The geek villain fleece mats are great too , this one is 6x4 for £65

https://geekvillain.co.uk/collections/fleece-battlemats-6ft-x-4ft/products/wargaming-battle-mat-6x4-dark-space

That's the same cost as neoprene, and there's not a single picture of actual product on that website.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Is it a kid's space bedsheet?

Lols no... I did consider that though tbh... But discarded it due to it's absurd costs...

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Is it a kid's space bedsheet?

We do not bring up the 2nd wedding anniversary gift of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back king-sized bed sheets incident of 2016...

 kronk wrote:

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Is it a kid's space bedsheet?

We do not bring up the 2nd wedding anniversary gift of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back king-sized bed sheets incident of 2016...