Having a beautiful gaming table is the dream of many board gamers. These are beautiful pieces of furniture that make playing games an even better experience. However, you don&#;t have to have thousands of dollars to drop on a game table to enjoy the experience of playing on one! Board game mats are an excellent way to turn your home table into a game table in a snap!
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But not all game mats are created equal! Many come in different colors, shapes, and sizes. And a bad mat can pull your game night down fast! So how do you know which board game mat is the best for your table?
I collected the top rated game mats and put them all to the test!
Wondering why you might like a game mat? Check out this post with 5 reasons why!
The biggest things I was looking for were overall design, durability, ease of play, plushness, and of course how great games looked on them!
My goal is for this to be a helpful resource for you and take the risk out of guessing which mat is best for your needs before buying. If you&#;re ready to upgrade your family game table, I&#;m confident there&#;s a mat for you here!
All mats are shown on a standard card table or our dining table which measures: 44&#; x 72&#;
Here&#;s how they all shook out:
Size: 2&#;x3&#; + 3&#;x4&#;
Price: $34 &#; $50
Features: Carrying bag
Our Mat: 2&#;x3&#;
We purchased this mat thinking that it would be a great fit for smaller card games. Overall we thought the size of the mat worked well for this purpose. Small games fit well on the mat, but the mat itself was too small to accommodate much of anything else.
Despite many attempts, we couldn&#;t get the mat to lose the wave from being rolled. This was quite annoying visually and impacts the games while laying on top.
Due to this and it&#;s small size, we wouldn&#;t recommend this mat.
Size Options: 32.6in x 32.6in
Price: $32
Features: Three colors, carrying bag
The Mahjong mat has a lot going for it from the outside. It comes in a carrying bag so it can be protected during storage. It&#;s a really nice blue color and also comes in both green and black with no branding on the mat itself. It fits well on a card table if this is your primary playing surface. It felt the most like an oversized mouse pad of all the mats we sampled.
Unfortunately it began to show a lot of wave over time due to being rolled for storage. Because of this, we wouldn&#;t recommend this mat.
Size Options: 32.6in x 32.6in
Price: $30
Features: Available also in Blue and Green
Of all the budget options, this one rose to the top! There are no frills here but what it lacks in wow factor it makes up in practicality. The Gameland mat is a square card table size, perfect for most small and medium size footprint games. It feels like a large mouse pad and has not shown signs of waving after repeated rolling for storage. It lays flat and has crisp edges without stitching.
For storage it has two velcro straps to keep it wrapped up and is compact enough to store on the floor or in the over the door vinyl storage turned game mat organizer we recently picked up. (this will only hold mats this size and smaller.)
Size Options: 61&#; x 37&#; (only size option)
Price: $119
Features: 5 Prints
Our Mat: Ashwood
We love the design of this mat. As a photographer I love the cool grey/black tones of the Ashwood print. Games pop off the mat and shine in photos while the wood grain provides some understated interest in the background. For these reasons, I fully expect this mat to hit the table often for photos alone. It is also a nice size for our table and will fit most any game you wish to play.
It&#;s not all rainbows though. This mat came to us in the saddest shipping state of perhaps any product we have ever received. The entire top half of the flimsy shipping box was ripped off with the mat taped and exposed for who knows how long. This, understandably, led to the mat being damaged, though not as bad as you&#;d expect. The entire long edge of the exposed edge is wavy. No amount of being laid flat on the table, or in the sun as was suggested by the manufacturing company changed its condition.
The Game Theory Tables board game mat is also by far the thinnest mat we received. We find that slightly plusher board game mats make for a better play experience. The thinness of the mat is also what we think lends it to waving more easily. I worry that over time this mat would show wear and tear quicker than some of our higher rated options. In fact, ours already has a rip in the bottom. This mat also came with no storage protection options such as a tube to roll it around or store inside, velcro straps, or a zip up case.
At $119, it is our most expensive, single size option mat, compounding the negatives.
Full disclosure: if I would have ordered this mat as our family&#;s sole game mat, I would have returned it.
Size Options: 2 sizes
Price Range: $55 + $95
Features: Storage Tube
Our Mat Size: 36&#; x 48&#;
The most unique mat we tried, the Tabletop Companion board game mat is made of felt with a rubber backing. I did not expect to love this mat as much as I did. The felt makes for an excellent playing surface perfect for anyone who dislikes the mousepad feel.
The red color has a certain luxurious quality about it. The felt texture was different at first, but I now love playing games on this mat. A downside to the felt is that it does collect dust and crumbs. Luckily, a quick lint roll is all it needs to be back in top shape. The rubber backing kept this mat stuck to the table! You can also flip the mat over and play on the rubber backing. While this is a good option for tile games, I found that the rubber provided too much friction and much preferred playing on the felt.
The Tabletop Companion board game mats come in a sturdy tube when shipped to you which also doubles as its storage case.
Size Options: Multiple and custom shape options
Price Range: $59 &#; $157
Features: geometric shape options. 5mm thick neoprene
Our Mat Size: 73.5&#; x 38.5&#; + Custom
We bought a Big Viking Mat for our table years ago and it&#;s still a top choice today! Big Viking Mats are extra thick and very plush. We find them to be incredibly comfortable to play on. You can really notice the difference when it comes to picking components up. Cards and tiles lift off easily without issue.
There is no rubber backing on a Big Viking Mat. This makes the mat lighter, but also opens it up to damage. Ours has sustained a few scrapes and scratches over the years. You need to carefully store these mats. The neoprene can become crimped and pinched if something with a hard edge puts pressure on it for a period of time. A few areas of our mat have crinkling from it being against things over the years. When we leave the mat to lay flat, the majority of all bruises pop out.
All Big Viking Mats come with a D-ring strap to keep it rolled when not in use. However, you need to be careful. If it is too tight around the mat, it will leave indentations. The straps are great for traveling short distance, but not for extended storage between games. We leave ours off the mat and store it rolled on the floor.
Silipi Technology supply professional and honest service.
The best part about Big Viking Mats is the ability to have them custom cut to fit your table. If custom board game mats are what you&#;re looking for, Big Viking Mats is our top choice! We had the green mat custom cut to fit our table! When sending in our measurements, we left the mat short in length by a few inches so that we would have a section of table to sit our water tumblers on when playing! We couldn&#;t be happier with the results.
If you have a circle or other geometric shaped table, Big Viking Mats is the only game mat provider we reviewed able to create a mat for your table.
Size Options: Multiple size options
Price Range: $89 &#; $189
Features: multiple colors + designs. premium storage case included.
Our Mat Size: both are 36&#; x 48&#; (Adler size)
If you&#;re looking for a mat with personality, the board game mats from Game Toppers are our top choice! We sampled the Pirate mat and the gorgeous Ryan Laukat mat. The thematic backgrounds were so fun and made the games look great!
The mats are 3.6mm thick with non-skid neoprene. Though barely thicker than the budget mat options, the thickness was discernible by everyone we asked and the mat felt much smoother to the touch. The Game Topper game mats have edge stitching and roll incredibly easy.
We LOVED the zip up case they come with. Each mat gets its own storage and travel case with a little window so you can see which mat design you&#;re grabbing. The combination of their more compact size, excellent storage case, and plethora of design styles puts this mat comfortably in the number two slot.
Of the two mat designs we played, I would recommend the Ryan Laukat mat first. Nearly every game looks amazing on this mat. The pirate mat is great for ocean themed games, but we find that some games clash with the ocean design making it not a great choice for general use unless you&#;re really into pirates. (see image of Cascadia below) Game Toppers also has multiple solid design options as well.
Size Options: Three size options
Price Range: $59 &#; $79*
Features: 5mm thick neoprene, 5 color options, carrying bag included
Our Mat Size: 3.5&#; x 5.5&#;
The Board Game Tables game mat combines the best of all game mat features making it our TOP overall board game mat choice.
We love the 5mm thick neoprene playing surface combined with the stitched edging that provides extra protection and a nice finished look. With a rubber backing to eliminate slips, this mat is a beast! It is large and heavy. Considerably bigger than other mats of the same size.
This mat has so far proven durable and sturdy, showing no wear from being stored either on the floor or standing up. These mats come 5 different solid colors which make it a great option for your all around mat.
It was shipped the most securely out of all the mats we received. The mat itself was sealed in plastic, rolled into its storage bag that comes included, and then shipped in a sturdy cardboard box.
We have no complaints of this product. It is exceptional. The color and size options, thick neoprene surface, rubber backing, edge stitching, and storage bag combined with it&#;s insanely low price of $79 for a large mat pushed the Board Game Tables game mat into our number one spot!
*Price on Amazon is $97 for a large mat to include taxes and shipping. All sizes and colors currently available as of posting.
When it comes to color and design, personal preference plays the biggest role in what you should choose.
That said, we intentionally ordered all different colors and designs to see which worked best visually with the most games.
Solid colors by far were the best overall in showcasing the game. Specifically the blue color which most games looked excellent on. Black was my least favorite option. Though not horrible, it shows the most dust of all the solids.
Mats with busy art on them can make it more difficult to see the components of your game. When choosing a mat with art for general use, we recommend that you select one with a relatively neutral scene that can go with most any themed game. The Ryan Laukat mat from Game Toppers is a great example of this.
a too small or too busy mat can negatively impact play compared to a neutral, well sized mat.Three Things are going to be the main factors in finding the right game mat size:
In my opinion, if you are looking between two sizes, wondering if you should get a smaller or larger mat, I think a bigger mat is better over a smaller mat. A bigger, rectangular mat that is at least 3&#;x5&#; has been our favorite to play on.
If however you rarely or never play large games that take up your entire table, opting for more medium or small box games, a smaller game mat would be a great fit!
It&#;s not an either or thing between a small or large mat. You can take board game mats with no edge stitching like the budget friendly Gameland mat or the plush Big Viking Mat, purchase two smaller sizes, use one mat when playing a small game and lay them both side by side for larger games.
This gives you the benefits of both small and large board game mats!
A special thank you to the teams at Board Game Tables, Game Toppers, Big Viking Mats, Tabletop Companion, and Game Theory Tables for providing mat samples for review and making this guide possible. As always, our thoughts and opinions are our own.
When deciding to order a Wooden Castle game table you will be faced with a choice of game mat. You can opt for a rubber mat, which is standard, or for a small extra charge you can choose a velour mat (in either option you can choose a color from the available color palette). Choosing the best board game table mat for you depends mainly on your preferences and expectations during the game.
Below, we will briefly outline the pros and cons of each of these solutions.
Surface: Rubber mats have a different surface smoothness than velour mats, some people may not like the feel of this, or when moving cards around.
Appearance: Some people feel that rubber mats do not look as good as velour mats.
Look and feel: velour mats look extremely elegant and aesthetically pleasing, which is appreciated by many players
Smooth surface: The surface is nice to the touch and very smooth, making it easy to move cards or board pieces around.
Susceptibility to damage: Velour mats, compared to rubber mats, can be slightly more prone to abrasion
As you can see, there is no definite answer to which game mat is better &#; it all depends on your expectations and preferences.
Want to learn more about our tables? Have questions about specific models or accessories? Get in touch with us! We will be happy to answer your questions.
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