Plastic Overlay for Sails of Glory Game Mats

[mdavis41]

This may be a good question for Keith at the Anchorage Store. However other members may have some suggestions.

My goal is to be able to play 1:1200 "Close Action" games on a 1 1/2 inch hex grid sea mat AND Sails of Glory Games using the same system and mat as an alternative to standard SoG rules.

You can of course buy felt mats with hexes (Monday Night Productions sold by Noble Knight has such a felt mat), and I have. However nothing plays as well or looks so good as the Ares mats designed for SoG.

So my question is, can you buy, or can Keith manufacture, a thin acrylic overlay with either 1 inch or 1 1/2 inch hexes printed on the acrylic (or some other material)? Ideally, this would be sized to the Ares mats, and shaped the same way. This way, the Ares mats can do double duty. I think it should be durable, preferably flexible and as thin as possible. Clear of course. Could be with or without hex numbering.

I thought Litko might have something like this, but all I could find was a small hex stencil.

If it is possible or viable from a business stand point, it might extend the life of the Ares ships as gamers seek out more complex rules, or provide another use for the excellent Ares mats and other scenic accessories with different ship models/scales. The felt mat approach typical of land wargames provide a surface that is less easy to slide ships over with both friction and worse, a catchy surface as the felt breaks down.

If someone has already thought of this or come up with another workaround, I'd be glad to hear of it. I started out with Sails of Glory as my first age of sail miniatures game. I still love it. I don't know how many SoG gamers are moving to 1:1200 or vice versa, but this seems a great way of providing gaming flexibility.

[Andy Blozinski]

If you can get a hex stencil, paint it onto clear mylar film.

[Naharaht]

The following website allows you to print your own graph paper including hexagons. You may be able to create a file to take to your local print shop and get them to produce it for you on a transparent sheet.
http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/