"Help me with a ground mat/cloth for Western games." Topic

Okay so I am needing to update my current ground cloth which I am using, (it really isn't cutting it), and am looking at one of the quality based mats.

Here's what I am looking for:

1: Size: 6' x 4'

2: Material: Cloth preferably.

3: Type: Plain desert (US SW style). No imprinted rocks, road, gullies, RR tracks etc.

Wanting to use this as the ground cloth for my Western Games. So basic ground color, etc. Nothing restrictive, etc.

Now I've looked at a variety of sources.

1: Cigar Box.
2: Monday Knight.
3: FLG
4: TinyWargames.

I know that TinyWargames has a very bad hit or miss reputation, (more miss it seems than hit), and while they have nice looking products, I don't want to end up losing money on something that never is delivered, (Kind of like Hotz Mats were, and BTD miniatures)…

So can I get some opinions from those that have mats and suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Murphy

I've found Cigar Box, Mats by Mars and Geek Villain all to be good quality and reliable providers. Since I have received neither mat nor refund from Tiny Wargames on a March 2022 order despite exhaustive email promises, my personal opinion cannot possibly be expressed without exhausting my fairly extensive grasp of profanity.

I found a couple of royalty free background images on the internet and sent them to a banner company, Banners on the Cheap, to have them printed on a 4x6 sheet of vinyl. I have also sent one in to a custom fleece blanket company but I have not recieved it yet so I can't vouch for the quality.

I would look at Table Wars F.A.T. mats as an option as well. They have a good selection and if I didn't have a Cigar Box desert mat already I would get the one from Table Wars as I prefer their products.

Cigar Box mats are practically next door to you and are machine washable if there is ever a *spill* heaven forfend. I have always gotten their products in a timely fashion and the quality is absolutely terrific.

I love my desert mat from Cigar Box. I use it for Old West, WWII, and scifi. It is so soft and easy to fold and it doesn't seem to hold a crease.

Another plug for Cigar Box Battle mats…I bought the "Rattle Snake Ranch" for all my desert/western gaming.

link

P.

Deep yellow felt, liberally sprayed over with tan.

I am probably just going to go to a fabric store and find a suitable piece of felt. As Nick said, I may spruce it up a little with some paint, or I might not.

If you're going to paint felt, you might consider buying primed or unprimed artists canvas instead. You can get it up to 72inc wide and as long as you need. It rolls up easily for storage. If you water down acrylic paints to water color consistency, using tans, browns, drab greens and other desert colors, you can stain the canvas using a regular painters brush to dab and brush on paint. A Google search will lead you to several videos featuring how tos for creating canvas battle mats. Figures slide easier across a canvas mat, but can catch on a felt map. Felt or fleece maps drape better if you want to lay the cloth over hills. I've got canvas mats, Cigar box mats and felt maps in my collection, but do most of my gaming on canvas.

Another possibility would be to go to Joanna's or your local fabric store that sells material for upholstering couches and chairs and for table coverings. You'll find both vinyl and heavy cloth offerings in a variety of colors that might do the trick. The rolls are plenty wide and you can buy it by the yard. Not as cheap as felt and not as drapable, but very durable and easy to store.

Go to an army surplus store and buy an old wool Navy blanket--ideally with a few coffee stains.

Really wish I'd have known about Tiny Wargames issues. I just placed an order through Etsy about 2 weeks ago…

I have Cigar Box mats and thoroughly love them. Never had an issue. And I don't mind the split coffee, if that was to ever happen. Now we have split beer but that is another faux pas in itself. :)

Even though I print my own Civil War game mats using Spoonflower, I use Cigar Box for my Old West desert. Excellent quality.

Also consider Deep Cut Studio. They're in Lithuania, but for some reason shipping is reasonably fast and not outrageously expensive. The mats are phenomenal to look at; the photo images they print come out really well and look amazing in photos. The cloth they use is unbelievably tough and colorfast, with the caveat that it doesn't drape well (e.g. over hills and gullies and stuff). They also offer mousepad (cloth adhered to neoprene) and PVC, if you prefer.

I've found them to be very responsive, with good turnaround times, and phenomenally easy to work with on custom orders. I've bought more than a half dozen custom mats from them with hex grids and backgrounds sized/placed/altered to my specifications. Best dogfight gaming investments I ever made.

I also have a set of Cigar Box mats, and have very mixed feelings about them. I'm not wild about their selection of background images, I find the actual prints to be a bit blurry, and the best images they produce are on the cartoonish side (hand-drawn illustrations rather than photos); on the bright side, fleece is an awesome ground cover material that drapes very well, the mats are extremely high quality and colorfast, and Cigar Box Battle Mats have done more than most to raise the bar in miniature gaming AAR photography.

- Ix

Joe, I've found a spray color called Nutmeg works great over a deep yellow bases.

Check out warsigil.com. He makes custom mats to your specs, colors, etc. He made a winter mat for me that is spectacular.

Murphy, Cigar box best mats I've had and great for adding hills underneath to change heights. They've also occasionally been at Little Wars convention or had someone representing them there in the past.

I will second what ScoutJock said – warsigil.com does great work. I have two of his snowy mats and they are beautiful.

Murphy,
Not to draw fanfare away from the fine products listed by the contributors of the TMP but I picked up a very generic product @ JoAnn's fabrics.
Item;
Blizzard Fleece fabric tie dye.
Khaki #9439183
It's on their website. Avoid the green, it's more acid green, the yellow is a bit bright for prairie/desert.
It also works well for Arrakis, and eastern front games.
Wingnut

+1 Cigar Box for me. They seem to have fixed their website to allow you to order customized mats. I go for mousepad rather than cloth. But I'd use cloth to place terrain like hills *under* the mat.

I've gotten some mats from Hobby Lobby & Michaels. They come from large roles of cloth or vinyl with a choice of colors & are 2 yards wide & you buy the length by the foot. I've got grass green, sandy tan, rusty red (for Barsoom) & ocean blue. They're cheap, durable & light weight, easy to fold up & carry around. I've also got a vinyl felt backed picnic tablecloth that has a green grass pattern which I use for Tarzan jungle games; I got it from the local hobby & crafts shop. I've got a black felt cloth with hexes & stars & planets on it for spaceship battles & 1 Gamescape mat with a green grass texture which is very nice that I use for conventions; I think that I ordered it from Foundry in England & it was pretty pricey plus the overseas shipping charge.

Take a look at Mats By Mars. Use their desert mat for my Star Wars gaming.