Battlemat Use

[Arkham]

Cheap 'crayola' washable markers.
A squirt bottle, also keeps cats away from dice and mini's.
And burp-clothes. Got lots of those around anyway. ( Just not the dirty
ones. I don't want baby-puke on my battle map. )

 

[MonkeyDragon]

To get all the marker residue off my mat, I use windex multipurpose cleaner, vinegar formula. Wiping with a wet cloth or paper towell (the markers I use wash out of cloth just fine. Staedtler Lumocolor. Blue, if that makes a difference.) So it wipes off easily, but it does tend to smear all over and leave a film of markery goodness. But a spritz with the windex, and even a mat that looks clean will yield a few paper towells worth of residue. It's my proudest discovery.

 

[Glyfair]

I was thinking baby wipes would work, I've always got them around, but I'm not sure if they will damage the mat.

I've taken my Chessex mats from the '80s and thrown it in the washer a few times with laundrey detergent. It's fine.

 

[Romnipotent]

I use water, cloths, and dryer clothes... occasionally I give it a real scrub down...

as for the feel, yeah its great having it there... forgot it last game, made a huge difference

 

[A'koss]

Another tip for you is to buy a few sheets of mylar (those clear plastic sheets) of a reasonable weight. Just tape the mylar down on your grid. You can happily draw on the sheet and when you get to the edge of the map, just throw a new sheet on and continue. They clean up great afterward.

Cheers!

 

[Telas]

Instead of washcloths, invest in a stack of those red mechanic's rags at AutoZone or Sam's Club. Wash them in warm water to get the excess dye out, and use them. They're cheap, and who cares if they get stained.

Telas

(Windex Vinegar, eh? I'll give it a try.)

 

[kenobi65]

I've learned the hard way that the color red is more likely to stain than darker colors like blue and black.

Avoid red if you can, or wipe it off as soon as possible.

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

 

[Jeff Wilder]

I found some large sheets of 1"-gridded graph paper at Office Depot online. I also bought some cheap generic crayons. Now, in addition to the battlemat, I make "set pieces" for static encounter areas. Not only are they visually appealing, being in color, but they can be saved and reused.

Thanks for the Windex tip, BTW. My venerable battlemat is getting a patina of marker-film; I dunno why it never occured to me to try glass cleaner.

 

[RichGreen]

Hi,

I use wet-erase markers and have learned to erase everything straight after the game!

Cheers


Richard

 

[tetsujin28]

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

True. Avoid green, as well.