Well it has rounded corners... but is otherwise gorgeous!

What on earth is that whizzing sound and movement down the screen with like 15 secs left? Freaking me out man. You have some kind of tiny buzzsaw wielding rocket ghost in your house.

How defined/sharp are the edges? The ones at nationals were kind of rounded down (maybe from lots of use).

I saw it too. Curious to hear what it was!

Is rounded corners really an issue?

Yeah, sticking with yoga mats here.

"Definitely better than vinyl" isn't good enough.

so its just like the HCD mat what are its measurements? is it a true 3'x3' mat?? wish they would make a 3'x6' for epic..

Did anyone else get really distracted by that Decimator?

Mr. Happy here... and you know what I don't like this. It is GRAY !

Me want space stuff to be BLACK !

Thanks for saving me $40 good Sir Crabbies!

What on earth is that whizzing sound and movement down the screen with like 15 secs left? Freaking me out man. You have some kind of tiny buzzsaw wielding rocket ghost in your house.

How defined/sharp are the edges? The ones at nationals were kind of rounded down (maybe from lots of use).

I have no clue what that sound was actually. I didn't notice it when filming. And right at that time you do see something fly across the screen lol! I'm confused.

Is rounded corners really an issue?

It's more of a surprise than anything else. It could be an issue because it's no longer a 3' x 3' playmat... since that tiny fraction of an inch COULD be the difference between being off the mat and on the mat. Especially during setup. It's not so much of a difference to me that I won't use it... because hey, the money is already spent I mite as well use it.... but it'll be more noticeable when you line two of them up and you have this double indent in the middle of the map.

I saw it too. Curious to hear what it was!

No idea. I first was thinking it might have been the washing machine but it wasn't on.

The ones they had at Nationals were rounded....they were these mats just without the STAR WARS logo on them. If I remember correctly in the games at Nationals you could still set a ship there hanging over the rounded corner just had to make sure it was within what would be a straight corner. The corners being rounded served only that with mouse pad materials you can't cut straight corners or it will peel bad. I personally would never try to call a ship out if I could clearly see if the ship was still within the intersecting sides.

I will gladly buy one or 2 of these as long as I know they measure a true 36x36 and not 35x36 that the HCD ones measure.

To avoid your Bases from Sliding on it just by the material that is on the bottom of the mat and put it on the bottom of your bases, I find it work's really well.

Dude. Rocket ghost.

Looks great to me. I kind of wish it had setup lines like the ones I painted on mine so players can just place ships as they see fit without measuring, but it's still gorgeous.

Thanks for the review. I think it looks good but it would have been a "must have" product if it was double sided with a star field on one side and a death star surface on the other.

Hmm im less enthousiatic than I was before. The rounded corners dont bother me, but the star wars logo does. I already saw that on the images, and it really shouldnt be there. Also I thought neoprene would be a very good material, but maybe it's not. It gets dirty more easy while being harder to clean than vinyl. Also the cloth on the top seems to smooth and will probably peel pretty fast when using the mat and rolling it up all the time. Lastly, I couldnt really make it out in the video, but the image, because of the material the cloth is made from didnt look very crisp. Probably thats worse with the death star. Meh... we'll see. Maybe try one out. It does lay down pretty fast after being rolled up for a while.

Cool review, thanks!

However there is the issue of your poltergeist, and whether or not that cursed soul will, at some point in the middle of the night while you are stumble-bumming to the bathroom, manifest in your hallway while wearing the play mat like a holocaust cloak.

A better design would be 36x42 inches. Have 36x36 area marked off precisely, then have 3 inches on opposite sides (to use for tokens etc.) No need for rounded corners on the official play area.

EDIT: This is basically how I designed my yoga mat playmat. Used a yardstick and a square from the shop to measure off the lines then marked those with a paint pen. The play area is EXACTLY 36 by 36 inches.

EDIT #2: Forgot to mention that I used an extra-long yoga mat, cut in half. I gave both halves the same treatment. So that's *two* playmats at precisely 36x36 that if need be can be put together for epic play

It certainly does have its pro's and cons. The biggest con is the shipping cost, but in this case I'm willing to overlook that because I actually got an FFG product within 7 days of it being announced... and that will likely NEVER happen again. Ever.

From that video, ships seem to slide about as much as the vinyl mat I have right now. I'm sure it's probably less, or I don't bump things as often as I think I do, but have you done a side-by side comparison (assuming you have a vinyl mat of course)?

Was considering getting it for the surface alone, but if it's not as different as I hoped, I think I'll stick with my pretty vinyl mat.
Or I might get the Death Star one at some point, that design's growing on me.

I may do a separate comparison video with a friend's vinyl mat, as I don't own one.

I jus don't understand why they took orders showing people a full 3X3 mat and then rounded the edges? Why not show that in the preview?

the rounded corners seems like a weird gripe to me. You're losing what, about a millimetre in the corner? Have you ever seen a ship landed so perfectly in the corner that it would make a difference?

I agree the rounded corners seem like a non-issue. Rounded edges on the other hand suck. I'm still trying to get an idea from someone if they are as bad as the Nationals mats were, but I fear everyone keeps thinking I am talking about the corners and that is why I can't find an answer.

so its just like the HCD mat what are its measurements? is it a true 3'x3' mat?? wish they would make a 3'x6' for epic..

I've also had experience with these style playmats for X-Wing. I own two (non official mats) and both fall short on the 36"x36". One is 1/2" short and the other is a 1/4" short. Even the ones we played on at Nationals were short by a 1/4 inch. In the making of these mats they cut the size and then press the image into the mat. The heat shrinks the mats a tiny bit the larger the mat the more you'll notice the shrinking. So please if you have purchased an official FFG Star Wars playmat measure it and post your findings here.

I agree the rounded corners seem like a non-issue. Rounded edges on the other hand suck. I'm still trying to get an idea from someone if they are as bad as the Nationals mats were, but I fear everyone keeps thinking I am talking about the corners and that is why I can't find an answer.

Why would the rounded edges matter, it's not like you'd come close to the edge and your ship would get called out and it would cause you a chance to play in the second day, right?