Battlemat Use

[frankthedm]

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.

Easel Pads are a temptation, My local Office despot has a 50 sheet 24x36" gridded for $16.

My battlemats have ranged from:

contact paper {laminate] on a cardboard cutting board, [grid lines were WAY to heavy]

laminate on drafting vellum 36" x 72" [used too big of a permnent marker to dot the 1" marks]

black dots on a clear vynil 20x 30 and 30x50 [too folded up and wrinked to use.]

Hard laminated car wars map 20"x30"

a tan vynil tablecloth/mat with a huge 1" grid area in the center made by doting with permanent marker through a sheet of peg-board.

The 4'x4' peg board sheet can be laid over peice of fabric store vynil and used to create a battle mat of any size. Just a few permanent marker touches and bing, you got a mat.

 

[Shellman]

Visa-Vis markers (water based) work great. I have been using them for years and have introduced them to many a new DM. They wash off with water and a paper towel or rag very easy.

The only draw back, as with any marker left on the mat for too long. Some colors will bleed and stain the mat slightly, so it is best to erase what you can as soon as your done. Some colors are worse than others.

I would recommend placing a sheet of plexiglass over the top to avoid that issue if your worried about it and if you don't have to break down the gaming area too often.

 

[qstor]

This topic comes up a lot. Some one should archive it

I would stay away from red. If you leave red wet earse markers on overnight it tends to stain. And keep Sharpies away from the mat with your life

Mike

 

[Henry]

I have a Chessex mat and I use vis-a-vis Wet erase markers myself, because it's the main thing I can find in my area. Green doesn't stain it, neither do blue or black, though red does tend to stain my Chessex battlemat.

Wet paper towels and a small cup of water if needed do well for us.

Red markers, paradoxically enough, even though they stain worse, are the least noticeable on pink flesh Learn to live with green or blue stains on your fingers come Monday morning after a gaming weekend.

 

[Rel]

Just a couple tips: If you keep a damp sponge handy, it will usually wipe off the marker and leave the surface relatively dry, avoiding the need for a wet paper towel followed by a dry one. You can probably go a full session without washing the sponge.

Also, instead of the vis-a-vis markers, consider getting some children's markers from a local toy store or Wal-Mart type place. They are usually incredibly cheap, wash off easily and come in a wider variety of colors. I even found that the reds and browns from one of these sets didn't stain my mat nearly as easily as the vis-a-vis markers I've used before.

 

[JoeGKushner]

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

Ditto.

Tact Tiles are the way to go.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

I recommend the Chessex battlemaps. I've used them for years and I just recently bought two more that I got a good deal on. I'd rather use them than the Tact-Tiles. I've also recently switched to the Vis-a-Vis markers and they work great (and they're cheaper than the Staedtler markers to-boot!).

 

[KB9JMQ]

I used to use Windex and paper towels on my battlemat.
But since I got Tact-Tiles this past Gencon I havent touched my battlemat.
My dry erase eraser cleans those up just fine.

 

[Rel]

I'd rather use them than the Tact-Tiles.

Just out of curiousity, why is that? I'm getting along ok with my mats but I'm seriously thinking about trying to get some Tact-Tiles soon. I'd be interested to hear any perceived downsides.

 

[Henry]

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.