Hello, so some of you have played with FFG mats already?

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/x-wing/products/x-wing-tm-starfield-playmat/

How do you like them?

Are they playable or too slippery for the bases to play with?

Greets

I have both of them. There are reviews on my channel. In short, they are slippery as far as mats go, but they are also gorgeous. Not sure if they are worth 35 bucks or not, but if you find one on sale I could recommend it possibly. The Death Star one is my favorite.

If it was the second Deathstar I'd already have them but they're slippery?

The silk screen that is the actual play surface doesn't provide overly much traction. It DOES provide a bit MORE then the PVC mats that are usually retailed for very similar prices. But for it's purpose it's more than adequate. Just be a tad bit careful and you should have an enjoyable time sliding the models around. Cloth surface means no heavy glare which is nice. Neoprene material with texture takes some doing to budge on the table, so that's good, not moving the whole board and all. Holds up better in some ways as well. Though over time the edges will very mildly fray a bit. Nothing too serious though, hardly noticeable really. The big advantages are long term usability, comfort when leaning on, satisfying surface to roll dice on, and it's easier to manipulate cards on. Ask your FLGS if they will let you pull one out and set some models on it for a bit. For the price I think you'll find it more than reasonable

Also I use it as the play surface for Imperial Assault, the Star Wars living card game, and many other board games like Catan or card games like Ascension. And will use it for Armada .... just as soon as it comes out

I have a GF9 mat that's kinda slippery but I'll wait till they make one of Endor.

how does it compare to other neoprene mats?? like the HCD ones???

Identical in performance to the HCD mats better quality backing in my opinion though. I feel the Starfield looks better than the HCD equivalent but that is because it's white and not Perma blue tint like the HCD mats I have played on

And the FFG ones have the Star Wars logo in the corner

I actually wish they didn't have that darn logo. Or at least didn't have it right in the play area. Make it bigger and put it on the card rail would've been nice.

Flip it over and you have a great mat!

They are gorgeous. Unfortunately, they are quite smooth. Truly, the game play is better if you use the back side.

They are considerably thinner than other mousepad-style mats, but basically they offer the same amount of grip (not much).

I prefer yoga mats, even with their drawbacks.

Mine looks and feels great. Ship movement on the mat surface is a breeze. Can't recommend it highly enough.

Like others have said, they play just like the HCD mats, but not quite as thick. I have noticed that some of the mats have slightly different coloring (almost like a dull yellowish wash/fading to it). The FLGS I play at had a couple of the Deathstar mats out side by side and the difference between the mats was very noticeable. The difference is less noticeable on the starfield mat, but it's still visible. I like the mats when the image is crisp, but the faded ones just don't do it for me, though I've played with a few people who preferred the faded ones. Just seems like a lot of money to throw down on a mat with a fair bit of unpredictability in the image quality.

glad to know as i have two HCD mats and one front line gaming 4'x4' mat.. all are neoprene mouse pad types. the frontline gaming one has better quality all around but it is also more expensive and bigger (Size is both a plus and a minus.) I don't find any of them too slippery matter of fact they are about the perfect blend of slipperiness/vs non slipperiness. now vinyl mats they are slippery AND tend to roll up unless affixed to something.. now the FFG mats not being as thick makes me wonder how they will last? but i still plan on getting one. now if they would make a 3x6 mat AND one with a death star trench scene.and Or better yet a double sided mat.. THAT would be cool...

Hmmm thinking that i shall stick to my hotzmat

I really love the painted star field and nebula on felt look.

I feel felt is the best material to play on.

how do you keep felt mats from bunching up/moving around?? I have one of the felt mats and its basically a felt blanket consistency wise? I never use it as the mouse pad type mats made it obsolete IMHO.. i also have tried straight neoprene and rubber mats.. neoprene is ok but its grey... the rubber mat was textured.. a good cheap mat is the 3'x4' trifold black card board art poster.. I think crayola makes it.. but it doesn't roll up. but it is good for stores that cater to magic and use magic sized tables.. not very durable but it is cheap..

I really like the map. It adheres the table top very well so the mat isn't sliding all over the table. The ships slip around a little bit on the actual playing surface, but not any worse than the vinyl mats, so that really isn't a plus or minus.

They are also GORGEOUS. The Death Star mat looks really great in person. i think it is worth the money.

They're awesome. We used one last night for a 6 player team game. Was great and looked really nice.

glad to know as i have two HCD mats and one front line gaming 4'x4' mat.. all are neoprene mouse pad types. the frontline gaming one has better quality all around but it is also more expensive and bigger (Size is both a plus and a minus.) I don't find any of them too slippery matter of fact they are about the perfect blend of slipperiness/vs non slipperiness. now vinyl mats they are slippery AND tend to roll up unless affixed to something.. now the FFG mats not being as thick makes me wonder how they will last? but i still plan on getting one. now if they would make a 3x6 mat AND one with a death star trench scene.and Or better yet a double sided mat.. THAT would be cool...

I noticed that the HCD mats are a bit smaller and not quite the 3x3. Have you found this to be an issue?

I'm currently looking into either the FFG or HCD mats.

So this may be a weird question, because normally I would never think of doing this to a playmat, but has anyone actually folded one of these things? Do they hold a crease? The reason I ask is because I am thinking of buying one abroad and sticking it into my suitcase. :-)

Now don't go folding and creasing your expensive mat on my account, but maybe you guys can do a litte assessment for me.

yes i fold my HCD one all the time but i don't "hard" fold it... i fold it to fit into the bottom of my PACK 216 bag. that way i can carry everything i need for a game in one small bag.. The FFG mats are even thinner and would fold even better. however I found a plastic "art supply" tube. that i use to store that one. It has a sling attached to it.. I just think it looks cool..lol My huge 4x4 "fat" mat is a pita to store in anything.. but it is my favorite mat quality and design wise..

My friend bought the GF9 one and it's alright. My minis slide on that about as much as a table top.

He also bought the new FFG Death Star mat. Everyone says it's a little slicker than other options, but it does look really good.

I have just recently read other people putting cabinet door bumpers under their bases. You know those little rubber nubs that prevent your kitchen cabinet doors from slamming? Well, you can buy them online. They come ready to peel off a page and stick under your bases. I looked on Amazon and found some on sale for $5. I was told that 2.5mm was the best size and I agree. They fit perfectly. Here is the ones I bought (notice they aren't on sale anymore):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008DVN5PK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

With these under my bases, nothing is slippery anymore. I can play on a glass table and it's fine. I bought the FFG mat off my friend as he already had his GF9 and I wanted one. I love the FFG mat.

To me, why not spend the small amount of $$$ on making your ship bases playable on any surface as opposed to spending lots of cash on special mats? Buy these little nubs and you can spend $15 on those cheapbanners.com site with free Hubble Telescope images. That's what I was going to do, but I love that FFG mat.

I looked on Amazon and found some on sale for $5. I was told that 2.5mm was the best size and I agree. They fit perfectly. Here is the ones I bought (notice they aren't on sale anymore):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008DVN5PK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Those are listed as 3.2mm high - is that the right link? The only 2.5mm ones I can find come in packs of nearly 500, which might be a little excessive.

Hmmm.....the page could have changed. I've seen that company sell a bunch of different sized ones. Also, the price is different. It's the link from my purchase history on Amazon. OK...I looked up the confirmation email and it says it's that sized one. 3.2mm Huh....I thought I had gotten 2.5mm. Oh, well. Sorry!

Oh, look for anything on sale or cheaper than that brand.

No worries, thanks for checking. I managed to track down a set of 120 2.5mm bumpers for £7.50, which is cheap enough that I'm happy to take a flier and see how they work. If nothing else, I'm sure there's plenty of things around the house that'll be better with little rubber feet.