I’ve resisted buying some a gaming mat/battleboard for a good while. There are very fine specimens available on the market (Pworks and Deepcut spring to mind) but because I am an ‘in-active’ player I couldn’t justify the £30+ price tag on them. Plus, being into both fantasy and sci-fi I know I’d just end up ‘collecting’ a whole bunch. Up until now I’ve trundled along printing out my own boards and tiles and being ‘okay’ with the results. But there is a limit to what you can achieve with an A4 colour inkjet, graphic designer or not.

I’ve been humming and hawing over getting some custom mats printed up for some time. I gathered a few quotes from printers and done a bit of online research. But I faltered. Procrastinated. I simply hadn’t ‘seen’ a finished example so I couldn’t be sure of what I would be getting.

Long story short, I joined Sam and Tim the other week in Falkirk for a rare gaming outing (which was great fun btw chaps). Sam tinkers in similar areas to myself and had had a set of vinyl 2’x2′ mats printed for (Advanced) Song of Blades and Heroes. We played on one and I was suitably impressed by the print quality and material. Sam proffered the printers details (see note 1.) and a printed mat (see below). Back at home  I started digging around for various artwork (see note 2.) that I’d been messing around with previously with a view to getting some mats printed myself previously.

Well here are the results. Two mats printed, one the cobbled texture from Heroic Maps for a fantasy town (see note 2.) and the other for Sci-fi/Post Apocalypse type games based around a modified Mercs map that is available free online.

Unpacking and Initial Inspection and Comparison

Initial impressions were good. Printing quality was high. The material is quite thin but it feels robust. Once laid flat is moulds to the surface quite quickly. A bit of shine from overhead lights but the finish itself is not glossy – more of a satin finish.

Here are the two 3’x3′ next to Sam’s 2’x2′ and some close up shots.

Sci-Fi/Post-Apolocalyptic Mat

As I’d been ‘growing’ a new fantasy town I thought I’d quickly throw together a table with a few shanty houses and the like before I needed the table space back for the fantasy town terrain.

Sam’s Fantasy Village

Similarly, before committing the table to the ‘big brother’ I thought I’d try out Sam’s 2’x2′ with some buildings first. The results.

Fantasy Town

Still a work in progress but this is coming together. I’ve been trying to resist the fiddly clutter I tend to add to make this more ‘practical’. The mat replaces tiles using the same texture and it is a big improvement (should have taken shots of before and after, I know). The use of ‘pavement islands’ seems the best solution I can think of that achieves the desired effect yet remains modular.

Note 1: The printers were;
Pixartprinting SpA, a Cimpress Company
Via 1° Maggio, 8 – 30020 Quarto d’Altino VE – Italia

Spec (same for both mats I sent):

Processing n. 1	PVC Banners
Material	Extreme Classic PVC 500 gsm- 6,40
Orientation	Landscape
Number of copies of the same item	1
Width (cm)	91.5
Height (cm)	91.5
Printing details	Front only
Cutting Method	Squared
Accessories	None
Location of accessories	————–
Number of eyelets	0
Reinforced edges	————–
Pole pocket	None
Net Total	£ 10,24
Item name	Heroic Town
Estimated delivery date	14/03/2016

Using their online upload system was as easy as others I’ve used in my professional life and the service was very quick. Postage was free and there was VAT to add so each mat was £12.29 (still 50% or more cheaper than commercial mats though I suspect the material quality there would be higher). Sam reliably tells me that he purchased his during a sale offering (I think) 50% off. Do the maths.

Needless to say I’m on their mailing list now ready to take advantage of the next sale on vinyl prints!

Note 2: I’d been using some Dave Graffam street tiles. They are great. Indeed it’s his art used on Sam’s mat seen above. However over time I found them too busy and too grey. I then printed out a 2’x3′ Darkburgh from Pworks. Looks great, but again, too busy on the eye in practice.

I’d bought some Heroic Map tile sets and Battle Maps before and started looking at them with a view to a town setup. In principle I had what I wanted (from Modular Town Houses kit) – nice muted tones, nice sandy colouring, not too strong in contrast. However I was missing some of the files from the download. I emailed Joe at Heroic Maps and he was only too happy to help and quickly sent me the need files. Yeah! Needless to say, with the results I’ve got and the quality of maps available from Heroic Maps I’ll be sure to be printing off a few more.