Melee Mats DND Map Starter Kit for Dungeons & Dragons Game - 24” x 36", Wet/Dry Erase Battle Terrain Grid - Ultimate Tabletop Gaming Experience with Accessories

It's a very nice and affordable mat. So first, the mat itself - it's a bit different than other maps I have had. The expensive maps tend to be more like a neoprene with a top layer of plastic and cheaper ones are like laminated cardstock. This mat does a great job of splitting the difference. The thickness is a bit like plastic folder material but it is smoother. The top is very much like laminate. It also rolls up very smoothly and the grid print is very nice, clear and all around just what we wanted. It DOES have a tendency to keep the roll on the ends when you lay it out, so if possible, lay it out plat for an hour or so before play. (weight the corners if possible - we use little bags of dice) All around, the mat is exactly what I expected from the description. It wiped clean easily using water and the eraser or a soft cloth. No problems. (We didn't actually test the red, which is notorious for being annoying on dry erase though).Now for the best part of the mat: We had an issue with ours and the customer service was excellent! I bought this mat for my son for his birthday and I purchased it fairly early. With everything that was happening in summer 2020, he didn't really get to use the mat as quickly as possible, so it was several months AFTER my purchase that he laid the map out flat for a couple of weeks (on our gaming table between sessions), when we came back the top layer had wrinkled in several places. It didn't really make the mat entirely unusable, but it would have been annoying to clean, etc. I contacted the company (there is an info sticker on the back of the mat) and they immediately sent a replacement mat and followed up to make sure I received it. The new mat hasn't had the same issue so far and seems fine, but I will update it that changes.

So I have purchased several battle maps over the last few weeks. The Chessex Role Playing mat of the same size, and a much larger map produced by WizDice. I won't go into a full review of those mats but I mention them because this mat has one MAJOR pro over them. it is an actual DRY erase marker map. I was excited to get the Chessex mat but when it came, i did a dry erase test on it with high quality dry erase markers and it stained the map, not bad but you could still see the black shadow despite how much I cleaned it. Wet erase markers worked great on it. The same thing with the WizDice mat, Dry erase gives it problems but the wet erase works great. This Battle Grid map though works perfect with dry and wet erase markers. It has a very thick laminate over the map with a high gloss finish which will allow you to remove dry erase marker just as if you were writing on a white board. It is also a very good looking mat with the compass rose being a nice touch so direction can be added for your players. The only real con with this map is its construction material. What I mean by that is with other mats I have tested, they can all roll very easily, WizDice maps are made from a single vinyl sheet, allowing for easy roll. Chessex is made from vinyl also but a much stiffer construction, still allowing roll. This Battle Grid map CAN roll but it also appears made from a plastic sheeting or something, it can be rolled but it is very stiff and unrolling it you would need to place something heavy over the edges to flatten it out before use. I put heavy books on all 4 corners overnight, and the next morning it was perfectly flat and felt really good. I do not think I will ever roll it again, instead I will store it in a poster frame and hang it on the wall, just removing it for play when needed.Overall I like this mat best over all of the mats I have used. It can take on all markers and cleans the easiest. It is the best looking visually of all the maps and it is a very solid constructed mat that should last a long time. Like I said the only con to this mat is rolling. You can roll it back up for storage but I personally would not.

So I haven’t been able put it to use yet, the session is later today, so I set the mat out last night very flat and neatly placed books atop it to flatten it out so no curls from it being rolled up cause any disturbances during play. Well, one time flattening it out and it has already “creased” or something where the material raised up along the edges like lined pockets of air. I haven’t even used a marker on it yet, so I can’t attest to the quality but plenty of reviews say it works well, and it appears high quality and still very usable, just annoying when wanting a great looking map, which this very much is aside from the immediate faults. Not a huge issue, so giving it 4 stars as it is a good product, just not exactly “prefect”. Hope this helps anyone considering this battle map!