Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Battle Mat idea

Okay so I have been thinking that part of my inertia to gaming is not having a proper gaming surface. Long gone is my full 8' x 4' sheet of plywood gaming table (I think it was last seeing duty as a feed stand for goats) and my wife would probably balk at such a monstrosity in the house.

I asked Prufrock about his hex mat on Here's no great matter and he devoted an entire post tutorial on how he made his from carpet and spray paint here. He concluded by saying that it would probably have been easier to just buy a felt one from Hotz mats. The Hotz mats look very nice and can be printed with hex or square grids. I did admit to him that I do like building things myself, in theory. I also thought about buying a Zuzzy mat.

So we now have this to think about Prufrock's carpet mat ~$100, Hotz mat ~$40, Zuzzy mat~$40. Those prices include shipping. The Zuzzy I would still have to paint myself. I can get spray paint at the local DIY for about $3.50 per can. So if I'm using roughly 6 cans thats another $21 for paint.

While I was at the local DIY Store (Home Depot) I cam across some rubberized and carpeted interlocking mats similar to these.


The ones at the store are only 17.75" per tile but one box supposedly covers 37" x 54" and comes in either charcoal or nutmeg (brownish) for ~$35 for one box. Hmm. So if I made this one it might be $56 to make. Ah decision,s decisions. I think home made has one advantage. I don't have to wait for it to get here, I just have to wait for it to dry.

Feel free to give me a nudge either way.

4 comments:

  1. I think I'd go for the Home Depot mat. I like the charcoal grey. That would make a great base color for a city board or wasteland. What color is the backside of the mat? Be nice if it was green.

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    1. Actually I think the one I called charcoal was more black. I could not find a picture of the actual product. The bottom sides of these mats are black rubber, could give a black top feel, but I'm not sure.

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  2. I got a great mat from The Terrain Guy for Christmas last two years ago. I really like it but don't have a place to leave it up at.

    http://theterrainguy.com/gamemats.html

    Home made is always good, just before doing anything make sure you have figured out a way to store it so it does not get bent or creased.

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    1. I totally forgot about the terrain guy, thanks Dan. Yeah storage is an issue, especially for my wife.

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