Battle Mapping Systems
by Kalvin Lyle
RPG battles wouldn’t be the same without miniatures. There are a lot of options for handling grid based miniature battles. This is an overview of the various methods and their related products.
1. Grid Paper
A lot of people swear by Gaming Paper, but I’m not convinced. I prefer the big tear off grid sheets you can get at Staples. They’re not very pretty but it gets the job done.
Rating: 2.2
2. Wet/Dry Erase Grid
These are probably the most common mapping system in use. The chessex reversible battlemats are probably the most commonly used. Some gamers prefer wet erase mats because they are more durable during play. Personally I can’t stand the marker smell or the inevitable dust buildup on my hands.
Rating: 2.6
3. Battlegraph Dry Erase Boards
A clear innovation on the Dry Erase boards, Battlegraph Dry Erase Boards add a level of mobility to the large boards that means sliding your map to add new rooms rather than erasing everything and redrawing every time your players reach the edge of the table. At just $7 per board (plus shipping) they are very affordable as well.
Rating: 3.1
4. Magnetic Dry Erase Grid
For about a year I used the wall mounted magnetic white boards at work to track our encounters and they work wonderfully. Mostly because you don’t have to worry about table space. If you have the cash and wall space they work very well.
Rating: 2.7
5. Digital Mapping
For the chiche geek digital is the way to go. Digital mapping with tools like Map Tools allows players to participate remotely, but creating maps with the tools can be very time consuming. Plus there is the problem of display. Not everyone has time or money to build a portable projector table. Consider using a computer monitor hooked up to a laptop or hijacking the HD TV for the evening.
Rating: 2.7
6. Printed Maps
A lot of adventures come with foldable paper maps that you can re-use. If you can find a print shop that does large scale laminating these maps can be rolled and stored. I still have a bunch of the poster sized Earthdawn maps from back in 1992.
Rating: 2.3
7. Printed Tiles
Wizards produces a series of printed tiles called Dungeon Tiles. Paizo press has a series of Flip Mats ranging in size from sheets of paper to poster size. Both of these products are staples of the DM mapping repertoire.
Rating: 2.9
8. Plastic Walls
While I’m not a fan of Bendy Dungeon Walls I was curious enough to buy some. Neat, but far too prone to instability during the chaos of play to be useable. I see from their website that they are selling a set of magnets and magnetic mats, which might be a big enough improvement to make them worth a second look. Let me know if you try them.
Rating: 2.7
9. Paper Tiles
I love the look of the World Works Paper Tiles. I don’t own a printer. I don’t have the patience to cut and glue paper for hours just to have it all fall apart in a week. I’ve heard from some of my friends that it’s well worth the set-up. To each his own.
Rating: 2.6
10. Plaster Tiles
I used to own about 7-8 sets of Dwarven Forge tiles and during the time that I ran game sessions I never used it once. Mostly this was because I ran my game sessions after hours at work, so it was impractical to lug it all there once a week and spend an hour setting it all up before we started play. I just never seemed to have enough of it to make unpacking it all worth while. Maybe if I’d supplemented it with some Castle Molds or something else I could have built sprawling dungeons across the board room table. Very beautiful though.
Rating: 2.7
Ratings Breakdown
I found the printed tiles to be the most cost effective and visual of all the options, but decide for yourself. Here are the numbers I used to get to my end ratings. All systems were rated according to the following criteria (0 is Bad, 5 is Best):
- Cost: Each of the systems requires an amount of cash, ranging from $5 to $1000.
- Durability: Some systems will hold up better to pizza stains and spilt Dr.Pepper.
- Portability/Storage: Travel and storage space can be a concern for the DM drifter.
- Construction: How much time will you have to spend setting up the system the first time you use it.
- Set-up Time: Encounter set-up time.
- Flexibility: What can you make with the system.
- Immersion: How cool does it look set up on your table.
- Stability: When Fatty McGee drop kicks the table getting up for soda how much damage will he do?
- Mobility: Dungeons are huge and tearing down each room can be a pain.
| ID | Map Type | Cost | Wear | Store | Const. | Setup | Flex. | Immer. | Stable | Mobile | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grid Paper | 3 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 |
| 2 | Wet/Dry Erase Grid | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.6 |
| 3 | Battlegraph Boards | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3.1 |
| 4 | Magnetic Dry/Erase Grid | 1 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2.7 |
| 5 | Digital Mapping | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 2.7 |
| 6 | Printed Maps | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 |
| 7 | Printed Tiles | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2.9 |
| 8 | Plastic Walls | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2.7 |
| 9 | Paper Tiles | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2.6 |
| 10 | Plaster Tiles | 1 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2.9 |
Published March 19, 2010 at 10:44 am
I’ve used paper tiles and to be honest, the crafting time to get ready for a few encounters is waaay more than is required to just get the adventure ready. but once you have the tiles, you pretty much have them for life.
They’re worth the effort if you buy the right kind. I bought World Works outdoor set, and stone edges Watchtower and Dungeon volume 1. All three look *wicked* when assembled, but do require some upfront investment of time to get them properly sorted. If stored with care, they last forever, and are much quicker and easier to set-up than resin dungeons while looking just as good.
I have also used printed maps to good effect. Using photoshop or GIMP to scale maps posted online, and convert them int a printable format at 1 inch scale. Takes some trial and error work, but it’s actually almost just as good an effect as the paper tiles. With the right printer I would say they can be on par with the custom battlemats produced by Paizo.
If you’re willing to put in a little work, you can make a great dry erase battle map for pretty cheap. I made my own 4 ft x 7 ft map for about $11 with tileboard.
http://thedungeoneeringdad.blogspot.com/2009/05/upgraded-battle-map-1.html
Update: I’ve added the Battlegraph Dry Erase Boards to the review and scored them appropriately. I think they might be the best option overall (depending on what you care most about).