Don't Roll a One

As mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been making some flexible rollable gaming battle mats. Here are my own best practices I’ve cobbled together from a variety of tutorials and experiments.

Shout Outs

I wouldn’t have tried any of this without copying YouTubers (like so many gaming projects). Like so many wargaming terrain ideas, the rollable battle mat probably goes back to Mel the Terrain Tutor but has been refined by many others, including but not limited to:

• Geek Gaming Scenics
• Pocket Dimension Studios
• Black Magic Craft

Foundation

AKA “The actual mat part”. I think there are two main approaches here. I’ve tried one of each and there are definitely pros and cons to both.

Foam / rubber

• Easy to cut
• Doesn’t require clamping
• Less caulk needed
• More expensive
• Sourcing the desired size and type can be tricky

Canvas Drop Cloth

• Wrinkles unless clamped
• Edges fray
  • Cut to size and treat edges with more caulk
• Requires a “base layer” of caulk to lock in the shape
  • Extends overall project time
• Way cheaper
  • You can make many mats with one purchase
• Generally rolls tighter and is more flexible

I’m also doing ttrpgs, which generally have encounters well within the 3×3′ area used for most skirmish games. The huge 6×4′ wargaming boards are out of scope for me, but as size increases the mat material and cost difference matters more.

Goop

Like the foundation, you can cover your mat with a variety of techniques and materials. If you’re going to cover your mat with stuff that doesn’t require painting, like static grass and flocking and grout/sand, your initial base should be a flexible glue + paint mix. After that, you just go to town covering your mat, let it dry, shake off/vacuum the excess, and you’re good to go.

I went the other direction, which is where I covered my mats with goop and crud then painted them.

Desert Power

For my first mat, I put down a layer of tan Dynaflex 230. I spread the caulk with a putty knife and then use a small paint roller to lightly apply some texture. I sprinkled on rubble – sand, schist, and small pebbles – to make a wasteland/desert mat. I rollered it again and covered some of the looser bits with matte mod podge. Then I painted it using matte craft paints. I went for base color + drybrush, and friends, let me tell you, drybrushing a 3×3 foot mat sucks.

Forest Power

My second mat was a canvas drop cloth, and I wanted a texture like a forest floor. For this one I clamped the canvas to a plastic-covered card table and spread one layer of Dynaflex 230 like before. When this dried, it would help “lock in” the tension and shape of the canvas and make everything a little thicker.

My first “real” layer was a mixture I’ve been calling “goop”:

• 3 squeezes of craft paint
• 3 squeezes of Dynaflex 230
• Sand/aggregate to taste
• Mix it up!

The goop spreads nicely and has a pleasing texture on its own, so you only need to lightly roller or use a gloved hand to smooth out any putty knife marks. If I was making a desert mat again, I wouldn’t need to mod podge either.

I wasn’t though – I added a lot of leaves I’d baked and run through the food processor mixed with the contents of several cheap tea bags to represent forest clutter. I base coated this whole thing with a dark brown and gave it a wash with darker brown, dabbing with a paper towel to help add variety.

Once that had dried, I sprinkled on more dried tea and green flock. I gave the whole thing a spray with watered-down mod podge.

Save your leftover goop – it makes a nice basing material for your minis too!

Future Power

I can’t deny how cost effective the canvas is, but my preference would be a thin rubber sheet because I’m lazy, using Luke’s method of rolling out paint+glue and basing the mat with material that either has been pre-painted or doesn’t need painting.

I’ve made enough mats though – time to make some terrain to go on them and play some games!