Chessex Mats serve a simple but useful function: providing a nice surface for your combat visualization.
Description / Criteria for Review:
I own the smaller of the two mats, which I bought for $12. The mat is thin laminated organic material, a pleasent beige color. On it is a clearly printed grid, 22 by 25 squares.
My group has used it weekly for four months.
To love:
* Conforms to
3e scale, 1" per 5'.
* The mat is easy to transport (rolls up nicely) and doesn't feel flimsy.
* Works -perfectly- with Fiery Dragon's Counter Collections, although we also use coins in a pinch.
* Easy to draw temporary terrain with wet-erase ('overhead projector') markers. Re-use is perfect: I drew a 'scripted' combat location on it five days before the gaming session. After the session, the markers still washed off perfectly.
To dislike:
* 22 x 25 squares is only 110 x 125 feet area in-game, which isn't really enough for some combats. This isn't so much a problem with the mat, more with the problem of how to represent long distances with the 1" = 5' scale. I am considering purchasing the larger mat to solve this problem, although it's likely going to run off the table.
* Requires wet-erase markers and not dry-erase ones, which prevents us from making ultra-temporary marks on the mat (such as a dropped item that will be picked up shortly). This is a minor gripe.
Conclusion:
Since introducing this mat into the game, combat goes much smoother, although we went from all verbal descriptions to this mat and counters. When I asked the other players, they couldn't imagine going back, and really enjoy the mat. It sees weekly use, and has shown no signs of wear. I feel that I am getting a good return on my investment.
In short, I highly recommend it.
Linear Mode
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