Gaming Mats...How Busy Do You Like the Printed Features?

[SteveBurt]

I have a Deepcut ‘Steppe’ mat with squares, which is great (used for To the Strongest, For King and Parliament, and Rommel). I also have a Cigar Box mat with fields (but no roads). This is great for WW2 Normandy games, or indeed Napoleonic games. I also have home made mats for Darkest Africa, Wild West, WW2 air games, and a generic one for Saga, plus a plain blue hex mat from Hotz for sea games or Bag the Hun

[Panzer21]

As most of the mats I've bought recently have hexes or grids it helps if the printing of other colours / features is not too strong; most have not been (I'm aware people are not always fans of hexes and grids), that said some of the cross grids can get a bit lost (which is the idea to some extent).
As long as the pattern is not too busy works for me; some I simply wouldn't buy.

What I have found is that pictures are often more flattering than the actual product, especially with the "cloth" mats. For preference, I'd go for fleece or the mousemat / rubber mats. These two exhibit less creasing as well.

Neil

[FifteensAway]

Worth noting that hexes are optional with Cigar Box Battle Maps - but check the website for details since I don't like using hexes so mine don't have any.