Chessex Role Playing Play Mat: Battlemat Double-Sided Reversible Mat for RPGs and Miniature Figure

Came folded and extremely creased, but several hours under heavy books took care of that. Storing it in the original package tube. Using colored Vis-A-Vis wet erase markers and a water/detergent solution with paper towels to erase. Warm colors like red tend to stain, but the water/detergent handles that well.

I was actually pleasantly surprised by the durability of this mat. I was expecting something maybe a bit more flimsy, but this is made of good quality solid thick vinyl that lies perfectly flat. If you're looking for a mat for playing miniatures I'd probably recommend the larger mat, but for rpg use, this mat will cover pretty much all but the most epic battles while also leaving table space for books. Having it made for wet-erase markers is a great feature as they won't smudge as readily as dry-erase would. Great product.

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Previously in my Role-playing games, we always used Star Wars Miniatures maps no matter what the setting. Unless it was one of those time where I set up terrain and we used inches instead of squares. It was fun, but we had to use the same maps for many different things, and the maps were always exactly the same.

Now, using a set of wet-erase markers, I can just sketch a quick map, add in any important details (Cover, computers, equipment, all that fun stuff) with another color or two, and voila! A different map.

I will point out for other potential buyers the mat came with a "Care & Feeding" sheet (That's right, care and FEEDING. Weird, huh?) that says NOT TO USE DRY ERASE.

DRY ERASE can stain it. Use only water-soluble pens, it says.

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This is the mat that you buy and then take with you to any RPG session you attend, unless someone there already owns one. You draw on it, set tiles on it, play with miniatures or tokens, roll it up and put it away. You practically forget it's an essential part of your DM stuff collection, until the day you've left it at home by mistake. Over a decade later, you realize it has survived more abuse and wear than every piece of furniture in your house. It's easy to forget to write a glowing review of a product that isn't terribly flashy and stays with you forever and ever -if I wasn't about to buy a second one of these to permanently install on a table, I wouldn't have thought to pop in here and 5-star it either.

Granted, it's just a vinyl mat with squares and hex-marks. But this is exactly everything you could possibly want from a vinyl mat with squares and hex-marks. The alternatives for sale (notably including products by the sorta awful "Role 4 Initiative") are just overpriced big sheets of laminated paper, which sound nice at first (you can use Sharpies!) but tend to crinkle when rolled up (and will never ever lay flat again). Rather than buy a $20 gigantic laminate that Kinko's could probably create for a third the cost, buy this mat. And if you remember to, years and years later, come back and write a 5-star review about how durable and useful it was. :)

(Oh, and in the event of stains, just google for how to clean vinyl. We've cleaned a wider variety of gunk off this mat than it would be possible to clean out of carpet. Soda, condiments, dust from bags of chips, blood from a nosebleed, permanent marker, glue, paint used to paint miniatures, paint used to paint walls, coffee, and a million things I'm forgetting. I've heard of people throwing their mats away over accidental Sharpie use -don't! trust the google! it's recoverable!)

Chessex also makes a larger version of this mat, in case you want to have longbow fights. I think a larger mat would just be more cumbersome.

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First off... this is a high-quality gaming mat. I first used one in a game a friend of mine was running and knew immediately that I would be getting one for my own game. Wet erase markers go on boldly and stay on during play. Wipe with a damp cloth and the mat cleans perfectly. Highly recommended.

That said, the mat is packaged in a flattened roll and shrink-wrapped. The seller put that in a nice shipping tube, but the shrink wrap was already a problem. When unrolled the mat had a memory of "rolling folds". It was wavy and would not lay flat. Some recommend putting it outside in the sun for awhile, but it's cold outside where I live, so that wasn't going to help. Instead, I taped it down to a table with painter's tape and piled it high with books. After a week all of the waves were gone... no issues at all.

I don't want to dissuade anybody from purchasing this great product... but get it well in advance of your first gaming session and give it a nice long rest under something heavy!

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