Last time we looked at a few of my personal Cigar Box Battle game mats. This time we will look at the rest of my current collection with the exception of the little 3x3 poly mat.
No excuses for the images, still suffering the same issues as yesterday, but I will update them as I can.
First, lets look at “The Valley” mat, which was an impulse buy when I ordered the “Frontier Town” along with the little X Wing 3x3 (review later). I knew about the western themed ones for a month or more and was waiting in anticipation for them to arrive in Australia. With the late December release looming, but still no sign, I went ahead and ordered it direct instead, using three mats to equalise the freight (which is quite high for one mat). Way to economise!
This is probably my favourite mat.
A few wrinkles, but a new mat, expected and not nearly as bad in situ.
Lovely details, great colours and a very useful river running right through the middle. Printed rivers, like roads can be either treated as major or minor features or simply ignored, so I am grateful there is a decent sized one available on a nice general purpose mat.
The details on this mat are gorgeous and timeless.
A little scale specific, but yummy.
First figures I grabbed, Arthurian later Roman. This thing is “lush”.
A well scaled environment for this little M5, if not a healthy one.
I think that this mat is going to be a favourite for Dark Age through to WW2 in 28-20mm games. My various basing techniques “through the ages” also blend perfectly with this one.
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The next mat is a good example of the “out side of the box” versatility of these mats, as it is not used for the designed purpose.
The “Redwood Fight” mat is meant to represent the deep dark temperate rain forests of Canada and it does that beautifully, but I have other plans for it.
I do not have any 7YW or later woodland Indians, and probably won’t (Indians vs Vikings?), but I do have several figure collections in need of Jungle terrain.
Another “cracking” image ;). What drew me to this one was the brilliance of the greens, which matches my re-purposed aquarium and fake indoor plant jungle and the red of the soil, is very in keeping with rich Pacific Island, volcanic soil.
A long weekend of repainting the edges of my scenery and figure bases and adding some bright green static grass and I am happy with the new look jungle.
20mm Marines cautiously move over open ground.
A hapless African militiaman stumbles over something from the “Lost Valley”, but on the bright side, he now knows where his friends went. This poor chap probably won’t survive to get re-based, so he will go to his doom unmatched to the terrain.
The Avengers on the hunt for something the Black Panther lost (his wallet?). Re-purposed Heroclix on useful clear bases. These clear bases do not like abrasive terrain, so the mats are a real boon.
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The next mat is part of a huge project that has far out stripped it’s immediate need, but I hope to flesh it out with more options.
The “Roaring 20’s” mat was the culmination of a long search for a decent generic modern city mat for my huge Heroclix supers/super natural/horror/sci fi collection. The Cigar box trick of underlaying terrain is wasted on this one, as it is used flat, but even then, I found it was the best bet from a long list of contenders**.
A bland, but versatile colour palette. The one thing I under estimated was the building density needed to populate it. I ran out of steam after the first 15 or so buildings, with a half dozen left to go, but the beauty of these mats is I can literally fold it and play smaller as needed. This and the Redwood mat are slightly smaller than my others, only just covering the 7x5 table top.
Guardians of the Galaxy facing down an alien robot menace. The slightly cold blue-grey is fairly accurate, making most of my dirty grey paints look at odds with it, but that is my fault, not the mats. The light used is also daylight balanced flash, so you have to imagine the mat under normal tungsten lighting which is warmer.
My only real issue is the relatively limited range of games for the mat/city investment. My Heroclix collection is vast (a wonderful range of cheap second hand figures, some even decently painted), but all comes down to basically similar themes, so I will possibly add some gangsters or zombie apocalypse later.
The last mat for this review series is the “Crossroads” mat with 2” Roads.
I ordered this on impulse a year or so ago, as an option to the “European Fields” and “La Haye Sainte” mats and because I liked it.
At least I am consistent! The obvious grid lines are because I have not used this one yet. Notice though how the grid lines are invisible on the detail shots below.
This one is greener and lighter than the La Haye mat, with smoother looking grassland than the Europe one. I would not buy it now in hindsight as I have other options, but at the time, it added a different grass look and a scenario driving mid-point. This mat, like the La Haye, needs hills to break it up.
The grass colour is better here. I went for the 2” roads again as a good scale compromise. At a pinch I can also line up the roads with the Europe mat for an unlikely huge game.
18mm figs again, looking fine for larger scale games. 20mm WW2 are great as are smaller 15mm’s.
If I could change anything, it would be the perfect straightness of the roads. They don’t allow for things lurking around corners, which in WW2 games especially is a standard tactical consideration and also preclude ideal lining up of two mats the same (a single dog-leg would fit my needs perfectly).
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The take-aways from this little preview are;
The mats do topography in the only flexible way, that looks natural.
They have a natural dullness that generally suits war gaming, except the plush that have a slight sheen. A friend bought a newer plush one and disliked the shiny finish.
They can be washed if needed.
They protect against handling mistakes and wear.
They are bigger than 6x4’, which is better for big games, but don’t have to be.
Their size adds overall capacity or segmented versatility. I have used the same mat in smaller parts for quite a different feel.
They can be used in small spaces (just fold them).
You get what you expect, based on their own images and most other online sources (not always the case with mat purchases*).
They have obvious handling, storage and travelling benefits.
They can post cheap because of the weight and foldability, but don’t always, so watch that.
The range is huge and always growing/improving.
There have different looks for different modelling and simulation tastes.
Like everything, you get back what you put in.
The felt-like fabric is not the most ideal option for “push and slide” movement games like Sails of Glory or X Wing, but will work (heavier neoprene is best here, but they do offer slippery poly in some mats to help with this). My extra layer of under-plushness is not used with this type of game to make for a firmer base.
*I will do a Deep Cut mat review next which will touch on this.
** If I need a modern, moody concrete or bitumen plain mat, I have a $50au “Kate” grey mottle backdrop, that looks very similar to the concrete or Gotham offerings from Deep Cut or CB.