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

I've enjoy Melee Mats for a few years now. This starter kit is just that: enough to get started. The material is fantastic; if you address it quickly, the dry erase method works great. If the marker sits too long, it wet erases very well with isopropanol. The accessories are fitting for the task and useful, and size properly to fit inside the tube with everything in place. Everything rolls up well for ease of transport. It's durable, simple, and effective. The tan color allows for good contrast for normal use. The squares help speed up range effects. However, most DMs will quickly outgrow this set. For not much more, Melee Mats offers double-sided mats as well as multiple mat sets that allow for larger maps and scenes that cost only a little more and include most of the same accessories (the set I had did not have the terrain decals, but these are easily drawn in). I just ordered a mat twice this size (albeit also single-sided) and look forward to using it. So, this is a good set, but I would recommend spending a little more from the same brand and getting something even better.

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.

Works exactly as described, no issues with the construction etc. The only problem I encountered is that unrolling the pad crinkles the plastic coating of the pad permanently. I store it flat to keep from exacerbating this, but the surface isn't flat even after rolling it with a J roller. This isn't a problem for drawing and the plastic is easily cleanable. The problem is a smaller figure can be hard to stand up on it. I have many old lead/tin and pewter metal figures that will take damage if they tumble much and they aren't as stable as they should be. The smallest ones cannot be made to stand without adding a good size base.

Great mat. Love it.

This battle map has been a great addition to my D&D sessions. The grid is easy to see, the surface writes smoothly with dry erase markers, and it wipes clean without leaving stains or ghosting. The material feels durable, and it lays flat after a little use, making it easy to set up encounters quickly. It's much more convenient than drawing maps from scratch every session, and my players have really enjoyed having a visual layout for combat. If you're a DM looking for a reusable battle map that's easy to use and holds up well, I'd definitely recommend this one. It's become one of the most-used tools at my table.

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.

This gaming mat was... ok. There were a couple of things that have kept me from rating it more highly: 1) It came tightly wrapped in a plastic shrink-wrap sort of tube, inside a larger box from Amazon. Even though it was properly packaged from Amazon in a large, long box that gave it plenty of room - the mat was squished on arrival. I can only assume it was squished before it was shipped - possibly Amazon stored it incorrectly, or possibly it's just not packaged great from wherever it's manufactured. I laid it flat for a couple of days before trying to use it, and even stacked heavy books on top of it to flatten it out - but by the time game night rolled around, it still had a lot of bulges where it had been not-quite-creased but still wouldn't lay flat, and so our figures kept wanting to fall over whenever we had to cross any of the raised ridges. The raised bits where it wouldn't lay flat also interfered with our dice rolling. 2) My expectations were not in line with the product that arrived. At this price point, and with a product description that said "Thick" - I was expecting something a little more robust. Instead, it was a very thin, basically laminated paper mat - kind of flimsy. I used to have a really nice laminate surface mat with a cloth backing that I paid around $35 for several years ago, and I was expecting something more like that - maybe of a slightly thinner cloth. This is just a piece of paper that someone has printed and laminated. I guess it does the trick - or it would if it would lay flat on the table - but I could have done this for about $8 at my local print shop. I was a little embarrassed, because I bought this to give as a gift - but it's flimsy and won't lay flat, so I felt kind of bad handing this over to our DM. I'll do some more research and get a better mat in a month or two - probably at a local gaming shop where I can check them out in person and make sure the quality is good. If you want something in a pinch, this is ok. Or if you want a moderately-sized laminated surface, and you're not inclined to make this yourself at a local Kinkos or FedEx Office or whatever they call themselves these days - this listing is certainly convenient. But it's not what I was hoping for, so I'm gonna keep shopping.

As someone who has recently started being a Game Master for my group in DnD, I love this product!! I used this a few nights ago for a session and it was great to have the players visualize the town I drew, as well as combat areas such as, forests, caves or even dungeons. Like the description says, they provide you with dry erase markers that have an eraser tip that activates when dipped in water, but you don't necessarily need the eraser tip if you use a spray bottle for water and a couple of paper towels. (it's an easier way to erase the marks you made on the board than having to use the tiny eraser tip.). My only issue with the product is that they send it to you rolled up rather than folded. Being someone who like space management, I like things that fit into my backpack instead of having to lug around a rolled up game mat. I'm sure some people wouldn't mind carrying it around, but that's just me. When you do roll out the mat for the first time it is a little challenging to make it stay flat, so I recommend putting things that are heavy on each of the corners to make it stay flat. Since I folded it, I don't have this problem, but be in mind that when you do fold it you are going to get creases in the game mat, which won't make it look nice. (Some parts of the game mat will be higher than others, I don't mind this.). All in all this product is perfect if you're on a low budget and need something to help bring your DnD world to life! Pros: - Perfect for a Game Master on a low budget. - Can draw anything on the game mat from towns to dungeons - Can use it for other tabletop games, not just DnD! - Dry erase markers are provided Cons: - Space management is a problem, when on the go. - Erasing with the eraser on the marker is time consuming. - Because it's laminated, when it folds it leaves creases. (not a major problem for me) - needs heavy objects just to keep it from rolling back up and to lay it flat.