Melee Mats Battle Mat Review

A big, durable vinyl mat made for 4' x 6' wargames. I cut mine into four 2' x 3' pieces to fit a normal gaming table, which makes it great value. Just watch the glare, and be careful how you store it.

What I reviewed

One 48" x 72" Melee Mats battle mat in vinyl, in the moss print. I bought it on Amazon for $44.99.

I usually just use battle mats, but Daggerheart doesn't use a grid for movement, so I tried a terrain build instead. I laid the moss mat down as a forest floor, built the scene on top of it, and it worked great for what I was going for. I've used it once so far, for one Daggerheart game.

Quality12/20

The vinyl seems durable, but it takes impressions easily. I had a rubber band, not even a strong one, wrapped quickly around one end of a rolled piece, and it left a divot in the mat. I could also see it holding creases if it isn't rolled up well. Roll it loosely and skip the rubber bands.

Usability14/20

At 4' x 6', it's made for wargame tables, so it's too big for most RPG tables. I cut it into four 2' x 3' pieces. The cut edges stayed clean, and I haven't had any fraying or other issues.

One thing to know, and it's true of physical maps in general: a terrain build works best when the session stays in one environment, or when you can build on the same base, like adding a town to the forest. If you have to switch scenes mid-session, you're tearing everything down and building the next one.

Look10/20

The moss print looks great as a forest floor. The problem is glare. The vinyl is shiny, and with my room's overhead light on, the glare was so bad you couldn't even see the mini in my photos. Even soft, indirect window light left white patches across the print, and you can see them in the pictures above. If you play under bright overhead lights, or you film or stream your games, plan your lighting around it.

Value16/20

$44.99 for what became four table-sized mats is about $11 a mat. Hard to beat. I liked the pieces enough that I gave one to Joe.

Who it's for

GMs who want a nice-looking base for terrain or gridless games like Daggerheart, and anyone willing to cut it down to size.

The verdict

A 13 out of 20, a Graze. Cut down, it's a great-value forest floor. The glare and the dents keep it from scoring higher.