Battle Mats

I got a 6' x 4' mat for Waterloo last year and it made a real difference to the visual experience of the game.
I am looking to get another one for this period.
I have come across Deep Cut Studios and think I will save up and get their grass one made with mouse pad material.
I noticed that they can print what ever you want I the mats. Has anyone done this and if so what did you get?
Or even better what would you have printed on your battlefield mat?
(Keep it clean

look at cigar box battlemaps. Printed on what appears to be a microfiber material. Some maps are plush, they are very nice. Being "blankets" makes hills etc very easy as all you need do is put a rolled up shirt or something under it. IMO, they are the ideal mat.

It was a cigar box Waterloo mat that I got. I needed to bring back some paper mache skills to make the ridge that runs down the middle of the battlefield.

I really dislike preprinted mats asp those with trees etc. They limit your options in my opinion.

I agree fields are fine and roads to a lesser extent but trees and hedges we can do without.

I've revert back to a mat away from an flocked board, the mats these days are so good (compare to the lurid green cloth I had in my youth - a subuteo pitch). They allow really nice natural folds in the ground and hills. Once the terrain starts to be plonked down, you don't see the print underneath so much, it just becomes texture... but too much printed on them does limit their use a bit. More textures and shapes pf green or brown etc,, less actual 'things' .

I like Battle Mats because they are a lot easier to store than gaming boards. I do agree with one of the posters about pre printed trees etc and I prefer adding my own roads,hills,trees etc .

I think they have been a major boost for those into aviation warfare as it gives a more realistic dimension to their gaming . On the whole I can only see positives form the modern gaming mats.

I use Cigar Box matts. And they are superb. Truly amazing.
The appeareance of gaming matts was a real disruptive change in the way of playing wargames.

Powermonger wrote:I use Cigar Box matts. And they are superb. Truly amazing.
The appeareance of gaming matts was a real disruptive change in the way of playing wargames.

I've been meaning to ask - your excellent 1940 battle reports seemed to be fought on a mat. Is that a Cigar Box one, and if so, fleece or plush? The effect is excellent and I wouldn't mind getting one for Crete (using the Scrubland design)...

Yes, all my AAR´s are fought over two "mixed ground" Cigar Box Matts sewn together. they are the "plush" versions.
Only issue I had until now is they decolorate with sunshine. I play with a lot of natural light, and they already took it´s toll.

Best Regards,

I needed a big cloth for a convention game. I got a cotton twill dust sheet (good desert colour, incidently) 12'x9' and as it was Europe bought two pots of olive green dye. First dye pot missed a lot of the sheet, second one filled in the colour with a lighter shade, resulting in a really good mottled effect. Quite thick cloth too so hills would look good too. The texture after tumble drying also roughed it up a bit. It shrinks a bit but still covered 8'x6' easily. Slap down the terrain and the overall result was surprisingly good and a lot cheaper than a mat.

Haze

Personally I much prefer Geo Hex