"Cigar Box Battle Mat review" Topic

I purchased a battle mat frrom Cigar Box Battles. link

I got the 60" x80" Open Grasland mat. No roads or woods, etc. They do offer them with roads, fields, woods, etc. i wanted maximum flexibilty so i opted for plain.

The fabric is very nice. It feels like the kind of fleece they use for baby blankets. Very soft.

It's also very supple. It works well for draping over styrofoam hills. But it will also conform closely to the shapes, so if your hills have squared off edges it will show.

The ground pattern is printed on one side. The other side is white.

The pattern is various shades of green, some straw color, and superimposed on that are tiny dots of brown in an irregular pattern. It creates a rough looking, irregular and natural looking surface. No pool table baize green.

So, how does it look? It looks great, especially in photos or from a distance. (If i could figure out how to post photos here I'd share some).

Keep in mind that it is a 2D surface and so won't give the same effect as a flocked mat. I made a canvas, caulk and flock mat Myself, but it was a huge mess and even now the flock gets everywhere every time i use the mat.

In conclusion, I'm impressed and would recommend the product to anyone in the market for a terrain mat. My sense is that the technology to print on these large surfaces is becomingmore common, so maybe we'll see more variety in the mats, more vendors, and lower prices.

Thanks, I've been looking into it myself. Do you have any durability issues? Like creases, general artwork toughness (would they rub off under the rigors of gaming)?

Is the mat printed or hand painted?

I just got it so can't speak to durability. However, it doesn't seem like the print will rub or wear off.. It's a machine print, not hand painted.

The mat came in the mail folded up but has no creases at all when unfolded. Don't think creasing will present a problem.

Thanks for the review.
I am tempted by their desert mats.

How thick is the mat, please? And do you think miniature bases will slide down if you drape it over hills?

How thick is the mat, please?

Very thin. Not as thick as a warm, winter weight blanket. Perhaps a bit thicker then a piece of felt. Not sure how else I could quantify it.

And do you think miniature bases will slide down if you drape it over hills?

The mat is made of a smooth cloth with no "teeth". I don't think it will pill the way felt does, so there won't be those little pills to for the miniatures base to catch on to. I think that depending on the weight of your miniatures they very well might slide down a slope.

Never heard of these guys – nice to see some new terrain mat makers! Have been looking for a good ocean mat. . .

Thanks for the link and comments. They are nice looking mats.

Thanks Bede.

Thanks for the review. Looks interesting for me too.

What was the communication like and how long did it take from the time you ordered until you received the mat?

How about some pics?

What was the communication like and how long did it take from the time you ordered until you received the mat?

Communication was excellent.

In fact, they initially only had the large mats with roads and trees printed on them. I just wanted a plain one as I prefer to use 3d terrain for that sort of thing. They kept me informed about when they'd have a plain one for sale.

I think it was about 1 week-10 days from order to delivery.

How about some pics?

I don't have a server to post the photos from. Sorry.

Photobucket is free and you can post links from there.

Looking at the website I like the idea but the size seems rather odd. The full size one is way bigger than a 'normal' 6' by 4' table but not twice as big :(

Looking at the website I like the idea but the size seems rather odd. The full size one is way bigger than a 'normal' 6' by 4' table but not twice as big :(

I asked them if they could do an 8' x 6'. They said the largest size they could do is the 60" x 80".

To cover a larger space you'll need to buy two of the 60 x 80.

By the way, and I should have mentioned this earlier, the mat I got, while sold as 60" x 80" is actually only 56" x 75". Not a big deal to me, but some might object.