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Chessex Battle Mat Review

by Mike on 30 June 2025

If you already have a Chessex Battle Mat; or you're willing to compromise on portability, durability, and cost for a beautiful and smooth play surface that feels great; the Chessex Battle Mat is a fantastic product.

Otherwise, the Pathfinder Basic Flip Mat remains what I consider the best value play surface for your in-person tabletop RPGs.

Several months ago, when I asked GMs for their favorite tools when running RPGs, many GMs brought up Chessex Battle Mats – often describing how many decades they've used them. I was familiar with the venerable Chessex mat but I hadn't used one myself in a while – preferring my beloved Pathfinder Basic Flip Mat.

In the name of science, I decided to give the Chessex mats another try. I bought two of them – the more portable 24" by 26" mat and the larger 34" by 48" megamat. I took the smaller mat to my friend's house where we play RPGs on Sundays and the larger mat I used at my own table for my home games.

I've now used these Chessex mats for several months and am ready to give my informed and battle-tested opinions.

Smooth and Flat

First, Chessex battle mats feel great. The surface feels nice and, after reverse-rolling it once it's out of a tube, it lays perfectly flat – much flatter than a Pathfinder Flip Mat which has creases where it folds.

The Chessex mat is also a joy to draw on with wet-erase markers. I picked up a bunch of Staedtler 315-9 medium-point black wet-erase markers and they quickly became my favorite markers. They last way longer than dry-erase markers and draw really well – I've been using the same one for almost six months now. While it's a toss-up on which mat wins out for me, the Staedtler markers are the big winner for me from now on.

At my home table, I used to have a big 36" by 48" sheet of acrylic I would put over a Pathfinder Bigger Basic Flip Mat. But the larger Chessex mat feels so good, I don't need the acrylic sheet anymore.

The Chessex mat feels great and lays flat in a way the Pathfinder Flip Mat does not – but the Pathfinder Flip Mat still beats it in a few areas. Let's take a look.

Portability

Chessex mats need to be rolled up. If you fold them, the folds can be permanent and ruin that great smooth feel. It's not impossible to carry a short poster tube but it's definitely not as easy as carrying the folded up Pathfinder Basic Flip Mat. The flip mat folds up like a file folder and fits in along all your other books and papers.

Durability

I read a lot of fun reports on how to care for your Chessex mat. I saw discussion groups about what types of chemicals one might use should you accidentally leave a map drawn onto it for too long. The wrong chemical screws up the laminant and takes off the grid lines if you're not careful. I have a friend who literally talked about showering with his Chessex mat so the humidity would suck all the ink off of it. There are a lot of Chessex mat rituals going on out there.

Not so with the Pathfinder Flip Mat Basic. It's super durable and easy to clean. You can leave a map on it for a year and wipe it off with some water.

So far my Chessex mats are as nice as they were the day I bought them but only because I draw on them right before a game and erase right after the game using only black ink. Red or green ink can apparently stain them more easily.

Cost

The smaller Chessex Battle Mat runs about $30 and the larger megamat runs $50. You can often pick them up at local game shops or order directly from Chessex. They have a lot of different styles so make sure you get the one with 1" squares.

The Pathfinder Flip Mat costs $17 from Paizo – definitely cheaper and also often available at local game shops.

Where Does That Leave Us?

If you're shopping for a battle mat and don't yet have one, it's hard to beat the value, durability, and flexibility of the Pathfinder Flip Mat Basic. If you already have a Chessex mat, you certainly don't need anything else. People love their Chessex mats – I love mine! Now that I already purchased them, I use my Chessex mats all the time, but I still recognize the better value of the Pathfinder Flip Mat Basic.

If you're willing to spend the extra money, sacrifice portability, and accept the need to engage in some fun shower-focused rituals to keep it clean, the Chessex Battle Mat really does feel great.

Otherwise, if you want the best bang for the buck – get a Pathfinder Flip Mat.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy RPG Talk Show (also available as a podcast) in which I talk about all things in tabletop RPGs.

Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Here are last week's topics with time stamped links to the YouTube video.

Patreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer questions from Sly Flourish Patrons. Here are last week's questions and answers.

Talk Show Links

Here are links to the sites I referenced during the talk show.

Last week I also posted a couple of YouTube videos on The Retreat Action – Lazy DM Tip and Return to the Four of Forty Fingers – Dragon Empire Prep Session 27.

RPG Tips

Each week I think about what I learned in my last RPG session and write them up as RPG tips. Here are this week's tips:

Beyond the typical encounter calculations, consider the action economy of foes to characters in challenging battles. Significantly more or fewer foes change the balance of power.
Add interesting and usable terrain features for bigger combat encounters.
Share in-world secrets and lore during combat. What do the characters learn as they battle their foes?
Think about the motivations of defeated foes. What do they want and what will they give up to get it?
Learn prep tips from others, prep your games, run your games, and evaluate the results.
Offer opportunities for roleplaying even in the darkest dungeon.
Be the characters’ biggest fan.

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