Alternative Game Mat

I searched high and low for some official game mats. All sold out, or the asking prices are extreme. There were some print on demand options, but with shipping came out to almost $80 for a 36x36.
After about an hour I come across the Mat for Armada for $50.99. I figured it was a steal for a 120cmx120cm , roughly 47"x47". There are a few in stock at miniature market. This is just a heads up for anyone else looking for a nice looking mat. I am not familiar with Armada by Mantic, but it reminded me a lot of Dreadfleet by GW.

Are there other gaming systems in the age of sail that make nice terrain pieces? neoprene overlays? for use in Sails of Glory.

Hi Norman,
We either use the "official" SoG game mats or the "waterworld" game mat from deep cut studio.

https://www.deepcutstudio.com/produc...at-waterworld/

Deep cut studio also ships to the US, but I haven't checked the prices.

Hello Argo,

If the shipping is reasonable , I will order a mat from them soon. The graphics look really good. I sure appreciate the link

thanks again,

Norm

Hi Norman.
A lot of us prefer the naturalistic mats to the official ones with the lines all over them. They are not really needed for gaming and spoil the look of the whole game.
Rob.

I dont know about mats being the best really. I do appreciate Ares ones for the way it makes movement to be more precise. I also happily play on blue felt or my Caribbean mat from Oak & Iron.

Last your I bought a mat from Tablewar. They are based in the US. I needed a mat for Oak&Iron as well and they have two different Caribbean mats in different sizes. They also have island and hex outline overlays.

https://tablewar.com/collections/fat...x4caribbeansea

$75 for the 6x4 and comes with a carrying case. Every so often they have a sale as well.

Meeplemart up in Canada has been showing the Ares mats in stock for a while and at a good price.
https://www.meeplemart.com/store/p/1...-Game-Mat.aspx
Not sure if their website stock levels are accurate, or their shipping to US but worth a look.
I have a 3x3 cloth Waterworld from Deep Cut and the pattern is very nice. I also have a 6x3 neoprene mat of theirs (winter, for epic Hoth battles) and the quality is good.
For large fleet actions I saved my $ and went for a 5ft by 8ft blue tablecloth!!

You can also have a look directly to ares games, they also have still some ship reduced:
https://ks.aresgames.eu/product/sail...lory-game-mat/

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DeRuyter

Last your I bought a mat from Tablewar. They are based in the US. I needed a mat for Oak&Iron as well and they have two different Caribbean mats in different sizes. They also have island and hex outline overlays.

https://tablewar.com/collections/fat...x4caribbeansea

$75 for the 6x4 and comes with a carrying case. Every so often they have a sale as well.

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Wow , they have some large mats. I have a 4x8 piece of plywood I could put on saw horses out in the garage,. (wife can park her car outside?) I will tell her the admiral said it was ok. haha

I ordered one of the Armada mats until I can find a better looking/realistic mat. I am only starting with the starter set for now, add a few more ships later. Not sure I need anything larger than 120cm x120cm.
I noticed a lot of players using cloth mats. I have seen quite a few realistic sewing material by the yard on amazon for a fair price. Anyone have any experience with those?

I sure appreciate all the suggestions.

My own table is 4 x 5 and large enough for squadron actions, so 4 x 8 would be plenty big enough Norman.
My play mat for shows is larger at 6 x 8 made from a wipe down table covering I bought from Dunelm Mill in a sale at the price of just one of the official mats.
You can see it in action here.

https://sailsofglory.org/attachment....id=57689&stc=1

Rob.

Attachment 57691

My big mat is a piece of vinyl fabric from Joann's Fabric. It is the roll width, which is either 54" or 60" x 3 yards, or 108". I think it ran between $30-40.

60" x 100" tablecloth from Amazon for $30. Abstract wave pattern (Jacquard). Covers two folding tables for a 5ft by 6ft game area with a foot on either end to pull to create more 'ocean' as ships move downwind. Irons easily. Use tablecloth clips to hold down if needed.

Attachment 57693

Attachment 57694

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wolvehunde

Wow , they have some large mats. I have a 4x8 piece of plywood I could put on saw horses out in the garage,. (wife can park her car outside?) I will tell her the admiral said it was ok. haha

I ordered one of the Armada mats until I can find a better looking/realistic mat. I am only starting with the starter set for now, add a few more ships later. Not sure I need anything larger than 120cm x120cm.
I noticed a lot of players using cloth mats. I have seen quite a few realistic sewing material by the yard on amazon for a fair price. Anyone have any experience with those?

I sure appreciate all the suggestions.

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I have also seen photo printed mats from Walmart. You can grab an aerial photo of the ocean and they will print out a mat for you. I am told it is inexpensive relative to the mouse pad type mats from Deepcut or Tablewar. But no question the absolute cheaper mat is from a fabric store.

Walmart photo mat (vinyl) Pacific islands
Attachment 57696

Same used for Wings WWI

Attachment 57697

Close up of my Tablewar mat - just a bit out of the SoG time line :wink:

Attachment 57698

Nice looking mats Eric. Those ship masts look a bit bare though! :wink:

Rob.

Hi Norman,

I found an Etsy shop that sells "Grip Mats". It will be arriving later tonight so I'll update on my thoughts. The features are thin and light, custom sizing, and grips miniatures unlike neoprene mats. I have a link below so you can see images and demonstrations.

Here's the link to the specific mat I ordered. https://www.etsy.com/listing/8211378...lery-1-5&pro=1

I found "Grip Mats" to be convenient for Sails of glory. These are made of neoprene just like standard neoprene mats, but the surface is designed differently. The surface has a slight suction effect on flat surfaced objects like smooth plastic bases, cards, and card board chits. For Sails of Glory, this makes the terrain elements more stable and not easily bumped, though just a little more pressure can pop them up. Movement cards are also more staple and thanks to the neoprene still easy enough to remove. This isn't essential of course sense standard movement practices hold the card and ship well enough. I would highly recommend these mats though, and they are somewhat customizable and a fair price.

Attachment 58087
Attachment 58088

Well found.

They look ideal for use at shows Jon, where punters often move the terrain whilst moving their ships, or in some caes wit smaller players, just leaning on it.
rob.

I am not sure about these mats. I think maybe the new grippy sticky ones might not fare well in hot climates? Also I think the lines on the official Ares mats make it easier to line up you ships when you move them although they do not look as nice.

With planes, I have been messing around with printing clear hex pages and sticking taping them together as an overlay to my normal mats. Does not look pretty and it would be nice if I could find a place to print a proper 50mm hex pattern clear 6 by 4 mat. I have some 50mm clear hex bases that I use with my planes.

I can let you know in the summer how they behave. Minnesota is capable of high temps and humidity. I wouldn't suspect it would differ as I don't think it's an adhesive material, but more of a design structure that grabs rather than adheres.

For your planes are you playing Axis and Allies Air Force Miniatures game? I have seen a number of costume vinyl and cloth hex maps, your clear hex maps is an interesting idea, But all I can think of to keep the image of the underlay would be a thin acrylic sheet. That's not easy to travel with though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jonbizzle21

I can let you know in the summer how they behave. Minnesota is capable of high temps and humidity. I wouldn't suspect it would differ as I don't think it's an adhesive material, but more of a design structure that grabs rather than adheres.

For your planes are you playing Axis and Allies Air Force Miniatures game? I have seen a number of costume vinyl and cloth hex maps, your clear hex maps is an interesting idea, But all I can think of to keep the image of the underlay would be a thin acrylic sheet. That's not easy to travel with though.

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Thanks Jon I will be interested to see how your mat stacks up in summer. I do not play Axis and Allies but Wings of Glory. A few years ago someone on their forum designed some HEX movement cards to avoid unintentional nudges and other movements. That interested me seeing as my gaming group plays Wings of Glory every week and precision movement is always desirable. So every so often I fiddle with the concept.