Battlemat Use

[carpedavid]

I've got a regular old Chessex battlemat, and I can attest to the effectiveness of windex at removing the wet-erase markers. With one or two paper towels, cleaning is done and we're back to playing.

And yes, the red marker stains. However, I find that, over the course of a few cleanings, you don't really notice it anymore, so I still use it.

I also recommend picking up a 1" grid easel pad and using it for big set peices that you can reveal all at once. I've got a big rainbow pack of sharpies that I use to create those. It saves so much time at the table.

 

[Darth K'Trava]

I've loved battlemats for years, but then Tact-Tiles came along!

They use dry erase markers instead of wet, and easy cleanup is just one of the advantages.


z

Yup. Tact Tiles are the best thing to happen to gaming! We used to use the white dry erase board you buy at walmart until last year.... now all my DMs own Tact Tiles.

 

[Darth K'Trava]

Absolutely agree with both of those pieces of advice. Throw the red marker in your variety pack AWAY!

You don't have to worry about the red marker if you have Tact Tiles! Sure they cost a bit but you won't be disappointed!

 

[Darth K'Trava]

I don't own any tac-tiles, but having looked at and played on Belenumeria's set a couple of Gamedays ago, two things stand out:

--The seemingly large gaps in the jigsaw-connectors between pieces bugged me - don't know why. Maybe I expected them to fit better. Could be I'm picky.

--Dry erase seems to smudge on the board easier than the wet erase I'm used to - but then, It is dry-erase, so that will happen.

Ours fit together well. We've not had any "seemingly large gaps".

They have a much smoother surface which makes the markers go on there nicely. And they clean up with a swipe of a dry paper towel. No scrubbing necessary. You would be best to have a cheap tablecloth under them as the marker residue will creep thru the cracks and make a "nice" jigsaw pattern.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

Just out of curiousity, why is that? I'd be interested to hear any perceived downsides.

I suspect heavy use over the years will cause the "seams" to not fit together so well (or they may even get ripped). I'd rather have one big, smooth surface than one with a bunch of seams. I'm not saying it's a bad product, I'm just saying I prefer one smooth mat that I can roll up into a tube.

 

[JoeGKushner]

You don't have to worry about the red marker if you have Tact Tiles! Sure they cost a bit but you won't be disappointed!

They have a few other benefits too.

Storing them is easier. Eventually I bought a rolled up tube mailing case for my old maps.

Using them is easier if you don't use maps a lot. For example, if you're only going to use a small tomb or crypt, you don't need the whole table taken up with the map, just a few tiles.'

 

[Vanye]

I use baby wipes. The generic ones work just as good as the name brands (and are much cheaper, at the dollar stores ). The mat dries pretty quickly after cleaning, usually, too.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

I bought some Vinegar Windex and used it on my battlemat and, HOLY JIMMINY CRICKETS BATMAN!, it worked amazingly well! All the old blue/black gunk bubbled up and wiped clean away, to the point that the mat practically looks new. Didn't do much for the old red stains, but I didn't expect it would; that problem can only be solved by time, me thinks. But two thumbs up for the vinegar window cleaner!

 

[megamania]

To clean my Chessex mat, I usually just use a wet papertowel, though I often find I need more than 1 wet papertowel to clean it thoroughly. After that 1 or 2 dry ones is usually sufficient to dry it off. I don't find it all that messy, myself, but others might.

From my experience, Vis-a-vis wet erase pens generally don't stain material, so long as you wash it soon enough.

This is exactly what I use. Comes in four colors- Black, Red, Blue and Green. I keep a roll of paper towels around and a drinking bottle of water to clean.