Game Matts

I've been wanting to get a few game matts for a LONG time... I first encountered them at the first 40K tournament I went to... like... SIX years ago... I've kind of wanted to get a few ever since. It was agreed upoon that I should get them after the Game Room was renovated.. It's been renovated for over two years now... It was time... 

HOWEVER... 

WHAT SIZE TO GET!? 

Six years ago I would have said 4'x6' without even thinking about it... (initially I didn't really consider matts... because I had a 5'x8' table and terrain tiles I'd made that could cover it completely!? My table isn't QUITE that big now, though... though I kept the two large chunks of MDF that made up the table to make into a tabletopper of sorts... I doubt I'll ever play a game THAT BIG again... I'm not even sure I have the patience for something that would be played on 4'x6' - Warhammer Games aren't even played on 4x6 anymore, the suggested size is 44"x60"!? But I don't even LOVE playing games that big... Do I get 2'x2' for small skirmishes...? or 3'x3'...? There are games I have that suggest both sizes... or 22"x30" - the size used for Warcry and Kill Team and Age of Sigmar: Spearhead...!?

In the end I settled on 44"x30"... it's the size recommended for 1000-1500 point Warhammer games... any games that are meant to be played on 3'x3' or 2'x2' can easily be played on with with little modification... They should fill a good chunk of the table for fairly large skirmishes or role-playing game encounters, but leave plenty of space for dice trays, character sheets, quick reference charts, books, reinforcements and dead... 

I ended up ordering three from FLG matts... I liked the pattern. I settled on a Grassland, Desert and Cobblestone... I was thinking about getting a Martian and/or Snow matt as well... but thought maybe I should just start with the three and see if I DO use them and maybe order more later... 

The parcel arrived while I was out.. I was a little disapointed to arrive home to see a box that was not nearly as long and skinny as I'd imagined... I had hoped they'd be shipped rolled up properly... 

Not-so-much... they were folded in the packaging they were sold in... and those were folded into a box... 

So...  they're pretty wrinkled... 

This one's called "Prairie"

"Civic Cobblestone"

Honsetly... those cobbles are a LOT larger than I'd imagined... 

I'll get over it... 

maybe... 

eventually... 

"Badlands 2"

I'm sure once they're flat... IF they're ever flat... they'll be really nice! 

I was further soured on the whole experience by the $59CAD I had to pay for taxes, duties, and fees on an order that only cost $210CAD (of which $35CAD was shipping!?). Now I don't mind paying taxes... I like roads... and firefighters... and other public services... but the fucking $45 "brokerage fee" UPS charged seemed like a much. Fuckers... Canada Post charged $9.95 for that service... But no, keep telling me that privatization and "competition" will mean basic services will be cheaper for me... 

So all that along with the wrinkled matts... I think I might look elsewhere for a snow or martian surface matt - or if I decide I need a different size... 

Anyway... 

Luckily I have NO SHORTAGE of heavy books, so hopefully a few days of this might sort out SOME of the wrinkles... If we get sunny days again, I could try leaving them outside for a bit... We are fully into fall it seems, today, and things are very grey indeed... 

Really want these to be flat NOW so I can get on with PLAYING Devilry Afoot or continue on with the Five Men in Normandy campaign...