Grabbed a 3x3 felt piece at Michaels for $3.99...

97 cent white spray paint from Walmart..

$2.50 silver glitter paint from Michaels...

The red spray paint and metallic silver I already had..

Here is my first attempt at a space mat...

Lmk what you guys think. I hope to do the other side with perhaps blue nebula and silver accents, or perhaps a quarter of a planetscape...

Let us know how the felt works out. Have heard they snag pretty easy on it.

Let us know how the felt works out. Have heard they snag pretty easy on it.

The corners do. Last game at my LGS was on a borrowed felt mat. Not bad slippage, just a rare snag. I think I had one snag the whole game and it wasn't even bad / didn't effect anything. My opponent I think snagged but was literally a thread and it didn't pull on the mat, just tore the single string/thread. No negative gameplay effect luckily.

I have used felt and the problem isn't snagging. Infact it is really good at not slipping. The problem is stretching. I a game where just a fraction of an inch can make a huge difference being able to stretch the cloth under the movement template is sort of a problem.

If I can buy a piece of vinyl, that'll be my next experiment..

Unsure where to grab a 3x3 piece of that however

For what it's worth, I think it looks pretty good myself. Not bad at all and gets the job done. Kudos.

Vinyl can easily be found at any place that sells material/upholstery to redo seat covers, chairs, couches, etc! It is in different widths and sold by the linear yard.

I just bought a piece yesterday that is over 6' wide, so I bought a yard, which gives me a piece over 3 x 6 so I can use it for epic games too! It cost me $16, so it's a lot less expensive too!

If you want just 3 x 3 mats, They had some only 54" wide, at $10 a yard, so it can be done even cheaper!

My store was Mac's, you may have to search for something different in your locale.

Btw, I've been using felt at home for a few months and between the stretching and snagging, I had to upgrade!

I've spent a fair pile of cash for the game and ships. I'm not cheaping out on a mat to play them on. I have a Galeforce9 mat. I like it. It scratches a bit easy, but it's durable otherwise and looks great.

I've spent a fair pile of cash for the game and ships. I'm not cheaping out on a mat to play them on. I have a Galeforce9 mat. I like it. It scratches a bit easy, but it's durable otherwise and looks great.

The vinyl isn't "cheaping out" as it's the same material...just plain black with no "background noise."

It looks great, I really wish play in it, enjoy, greettings.