I am not selling an Armada playmat … yet. However, I would like to poll the population here to see how much interest there is in a handmade Armada playmat. Here are the features:

1. 6'x3'

2. Rollable

3. Grippy (think yoga mat)

4. Starfield with possible options for nebula and maybe a planet or two

5. Option for double-sided for ~$10 more onto base price

6. Initial thought on price point, $40 plus S&H.

If you would be interested in purchasing one, hit like (this doesn't obligate you) on this post. If you have feedback or questions, please post below. Again, this is just personal research, not an advertisement.

have you considered vinyl?

If you could make something akin to the BFR gripmat that wasn't plagued by delays/printing errors, I'd personally go up to $100 for such a mat (of course, if you want to sell me one cheaper, I wouldn't mind:)).

Needs to look good and be functional. I imagine the Armada market is kind of ripe for "the ultimate mat".

I would magnetize myself, but it only helps me on my own mat at that point.

I like the sound of it, and the double sided notion is particularly good (I never thought about it before). One starfield, and the other a nebula (or possibility of several 'options', different coloured nebula, maybe a nova or something else cosmic) would be neat. Either way, I like.

I was gonna get one printed up but I'm never sure what would look good for resolution/size but I know I wouldn't remember what the settings/options were, so I never did. It does sound good, my issue has been traditional S&H. Usually it surpasses the items themselves.

Okay if you make it , why not go big or go home A nice 4 x 8 foot size would be just about right for me. You can buy a 4 x 8 1/2" rough sheet of plywood , and there you go a good gaming board. I have to settle for a 4 x 8 roll of fabric, just black but it works. Aka gaming on an extreme budget, not your playing with wooden blocks representing ships but close to it. Could never figure out why anyone would play on a 3 x 3 , or 4 x 4 mat...............makes no sense.

Shane

have you considered vinyl?

I'm working on a prototype.

I was looking at the BFR Gripmat with keen interest but the reports of production delays, quality control issues and, more worryingly, being undersized, has made me come to the conclusion that the best I can hope for is a mouse-mat style.

If you did a grippy mat that met all the criteria I would definitely be interested. A nice Starfield pattern is all I'm after. Too many of the nebula mats look like the ships are having a fun time on great acid.

I'd also be happy to pay more. The Deep Cut studios 6x3s are about £55 +postage. I'd have no problem with that (though it might depend how prohibitive the postage became from the states)

have you considered vinyl?

Too slippery and creasable but lightweight.

I'm working on a prototype.

I have GF9's Frozen System mat made out of vinyl. I wouldn't say it's slippery.

The other option for a product would be a non-slip weight that is perfectly matched to all Armada bases. I would also include a neodymium magnet in the base, for storage. That would be awesome. There are a lot of non-stick surfaces marketed for car cell phone placement use that I think would work great, if I didn't have to hand trip the little doodads to fit my somewhat oversized collection.

I was thinking of doing this to all my ships, but I'm behind on painting as it is: this way, even at a random tourney on ye olde FFG x-wing mats, my ships STICK.

All that being said, I'd take a good mat too

Tis a shame BFR couldn't get their act together: the preview vids for their mats looked like the holy grail I was after...

I consider myself an expert in bad armada mat purchases, having almost 20 unusable mats over the past year and half. Ensure your mat meets all of the following criteria and you'll be fine. I have 1 or more of the following gaming mats and every one fails at least one of the criteria below, rendering them unusable: GripMat (under sized by 1"+, leaves gummy goop on your stuff and hands); ProMatz (under sized by 1"+); various vinyl mats (slippery, super glossy); 3x3 X-Wing mats (difficult to align).

• Size needs to be less than 1/8" off of 6x3, preferably exactly 72"x36"
• Surface shouldn't be slippery for ships & squads
• Surface shouldn't be glossy/reflective
• Rolls up easily and can be stored in tube
• Rolls out flat. Not flat after sitting for 6 hours, flat after unrolling it from the tube
• Shouldn't weigh a mega ton

Personal preference:

• Not a very busy image. I find mats with a billion stars, colored nebula, multiple planets, and cosmic streaks to be very distracting and take away from the beauty of the models.

An upclose image of a prototype. This is the starfield option and the entire mat looks like this. There are 7 colors here but 1 color is going to be cut, and maybe a second. It is what a starfield would be if you were in space and seeing all of God's creation w/o the filter of an atmosphere. Basically, I added stars until I thought it was just a tad past "too many". I'll be testing this in the coming week for durability, playability, transportability. I'm working on nebulae and planets to master techniques and prep to test. Thanks for the feedback y'all!

I'd recognize that as a yoga mat anywhere.

I'd recognize that as a yoga mat anywhere.

Haha, true. While a bit on the heavy side, it's the best material I've found for this. The trick will be adding the art in a reproducible, quality manner. I've thought about screen printing but I'm sure it'll be too expensive. This isn't going to make me rich but if it funds a bit of my "habit" and brings enjoyment to others … win-win. Will it be worth it?

Is there a way to get Yoga grippyness without the square criss cross pattern? That's my only qualm with my yoga mat. That and my wife keeps doing yoga on it...

Is there a way to get Yoga grippyness without the square criss cross pattern? That's my only qualm with my yoga mat. That and my wife keeps doing yoga on it...

I know what you mean about the bumps. I'm not optimistic as the non-slip shelf liner I got to test painting techniques is the same basic pattern just not built up as much. That is one of my research objectives. Does someone make a smooth sided PVC foam mat in black?

An upclose image of a prototype. This is the starfield option and the entire mat looks like this. There are 7 colors here but 1 color is going to be cut, and maybe a second. It is what a starfield would be if you were in space and seeing all of God's creation w/o the filter of an atmosphere. Basically, I added stars until I thought it was just a tad past "too many". I'll be testing this in the coming week for durability, playability, transportability. I'm working on nebulae and planets to master techniques and prep to test. Thanks for the feedback y'all!

So, if this is what the final product is going to look like, my marketing feedback is "no thanks"

An upclose image of a prototype. This is the starfield option and the entire mat looks like this. There are 7 colors here but 1 color is going to be cut, and maybe a second. It is what a starfield would be if you were in space and seeing all of God's creation w/o the filter of an atmosphere. Basically, I added stars until I thought it was just a tad past "too many". I'll be testing this in the coming week for durability, playability, transportability. I'm working on nebulae and planets to master techniques and prep to test. Thanks for the feedback y'all!

So, if this is what the final product is going to look like, my marketing feedback is "no thanks"

I can't say this is exactly what it'll look like. I received feedback from fellow players tonight. Good response especially with regards to colors to use/not use. This is pretty close and this weekend (maybe) I'll do the other side with a nebula. So far, it is holding up very well in all other regards. I greatly appreciate feedback from everyone; positive and negative.

I was, after a mountain of research, able to find a yoga mat in a "non grippy pattern" style, such as this http://jadeyoga.com/collections/yoga-mats/products/harmony-mat-xw but not in the size armada needs, only in the more standard ~2'x5' yoga mat size.

Ultimately I ended up purchasing the exact mat you have pictured and not customizing a star field (as I initially planned) simply because the pattern already is busy, and adding more to it I felt would be more of a detraction than a benefit.

Edit to add:

I also looked into buying bolts wetsuit neoprene "cloth", as it is grippy, flat black, about 1/4" thick and completely smooth. I could find it in the right width dimensions, but had to buy by the complete yard which made it cost prohibitive for a single mat. However, if you were buying a large qty to do multiple mats the price would go down significantly. I live close enough to the garment district in LA i was able to go in person to a wholesaler and feel it and can attest it would have been an awesome material to make a mat out of. I was a moment away from springing for it, but my pocketbook won out at at the moment of truth. (I think the material for a single mat would have run around $150, but I was wasting ~2ft)

To WGNF911, my feedback is kind of similar: I wouldn't have much motivation to buy a printed mat if I have to deal with that criss/cross pattern.

Also, grippiness for me is the most important variable- it just makes the game experience soooo much better if stuff isn't sliding around.

Thanks Broba, I hadn't thought of neoprene. I think I found a cheap source for some testing. I did see some other yoga mat material but because it's "green" it's expensive. Outside the price point I'm hoping to achieve.

DUR, I know exactly what you're talking about. That mat that I have is wonderful because nothing slips. I've played tournaments on the FFG mats and it's frustrating when the slightest bump spins a model several degrees or slides it several mm of not cm haha. The little squares are less than ideal but they don't take away from the experience for me. But then that's the key, for others it is a big turn off. Yoga mat is the best as far as price/durability/gripiness/transportability that I've found but now to look into rubberized sided neoprene.

Thanks y'all for the inputs!

Go to your local sewing shop and buy an 8 foot by 4 four section of black cloth, take it home and with a toothbrush flick paint onto it and waahlaahhh instant star map, for the cost of around 8-10 dollars, no shipping etc. That is what I have and it works great, no slipping, ships stay put , and if it gets dirty just wash it. No muss no fuss. Why pay 80 -100 dollars on the map , then pay 30 on shipping etc, for a map that is only usable for Starwars. I make mine usable for many of the sc-fi games I play. And if you ae into the

dark thing, great for séances etc

Shane

I'm a fan of plain star fields, graphics only clutter the game.

A large mat would be nice, if it was on par with the FFG ones. Vinyl is rubbish (imo), where the FFG is nice is the squishy neoprene allows you to push into the mat a bit, improved traction during adjustments. It could be a bit grippier though.

A shot of the nebula side. A bit of glare.

Thanks Broba, I hadn't thought of neoprene. I think I found a cheap source for some testing. I did see some other yoga mat material but because it's "green" it's expensive. Outside the price point I'm hoping to achieve.

DUR, I know exactly what you're talking about. That mat that I have is wonderful because nothing slips. I've played tournaments on the FFG mats and it's frustrating when the slightest bump spins a model several degrees or slides it several mm of not cm haha. The little squares are less than ideal but they don't take away from the experience for me. But then that's the key, for others it is a big turn off. Yoga mat is the best as far as price/durability/gripiness/transportability that I've found but now to look into rubberized sided neoprene.

Thanks y'all for the inputs!

FFG mats aren't bad for slippiness, much better than table tops by far. Leagues less slip than vinyl mats, which a lot of stores use (and they are awful to play on). I swear I could blow heavily and displace ships on vinyl mats.

felt works and its cost is very low. this is a painted 8x6 felt mat, cost all of $10.