STALKER7

At this stage in my life, I’m fortunate to be able to game with some great guys. We enjoy different games, campaigns, different genres as well as each others’ company. It may sound weird, but it’s a genuine blessing.

Because we play a lot of Post-Apoc and SF skirmish games, I took the plunge and ordered a high quality 4′ x 3′ mouse pad War Zone theme ProMatz from GameMatz.com. Not cheap but between the gushing reviews and the hankering for fun, great looking games, I figured it was worth a shot.

See below. Looks cool, eh?

Well…

Shipping was fairly quick and the mat arrived two days ago, rolled up in a clear plastic bag. I unwrapped it right away and set it on my table. As advertised, it is solidly built – it’s so sturdy in fact, it still hasn’t quite laid flat on the gaming table yet.

Ruggedness aside, I have two reservations: 1. the mat is MUCH  darker than pictured. 2. the image is FAR MORE more grainy that anticipated. Now I hate to be ‘that guy’. I love supporting small businesses and so appreciate the global war gaming community made possible by the internet. I understand fabric might not accept the image transfer process the same as vinyl, but honestly… the mat I received is very dark and the details are not crisp. In fact, it kinda looks like someone used up all the black ink printing this one at a low resolution.

Will we use it? Sure. It’ll work just fine once I plunk down terrain and deploy some troops.  GameMatz offers variety of sizes, this one certainly fits our needs for skirmish games, and like I said, it is solid. But would I recommend it or buy again from GameMatz? Ahhh….

*sense that hesitation?*

Now YMMV – Their other mats/styles might suit your needs perfectly. But I confess, given the reviews and the price, I expected higher quality.

It gets THREE STARS. (not bad but not great)