Paper mat tips

This isn’t a full-fledged tutorial on making paper mats for your games – I’m not that organized. This is about making and correcting a mat for the Bloody Big Battles scenario of the Dego campaign in 1796. The measurements of the printed map are specific to these scenarios, but the other tips are rules and game agnostic.

I have been making game mats using both canvas (more work, much prettier) and paper. First thing is to print the scenario map. I just discovered that my printer makes the squares on the map 30mm per side. Since the squares represent 12” on the table, 2.5mm = 1 inch, 5 = 2 inches, 7.5 = 3 inches, 10 = 4 inches, 12.5 = 5 inches and 15mm = 6 inches. Any feature touching the side of a 12” grid square can’t be more than 6 “ from at least one corner, making your life easier. Put small dots at the grid points on your mat. I use small green dots on the 4 foot wide green paper my wife gave me for this purpose. Measuring where streams, roads, etc. touch a map square will give a fair copy of the printed map on your mat. I tape the paper with masking tape to my table so it doesn’t slide around. Armed with the printed map, a ruler, colored markers and a glue stick, the mat making begins.

I carefully measure were a river enters a grid square and draw it on the paper, only to realize that it’s in the wrong square, too close to the top mat edge.

I used to use white-out but that leaves a really obvious mark and doesn’t take markers or paint well. Cut out scrap paper to fit the mistake. Using extra white paper to catch the overflow of glue, hit the underside of the scrap with the glue stick and press the glued paper over the mistake. Make sure the edges are pressed down firmly. The cap of the glue stick will work well for this, even better if you have a rubber roller. If you look real hard you can see the paper. You can feel it if you run your hand over it. Put some figures down, roll some dice and nobody will be the wiser.

I went back and drew the river in the right grid square.

And then went on to complete the mat.

It will be rolled up and stuck it in the closet, because the next game up is a rematch of Chickamauga on the paper mat for that. I do have Essex bicorn French command on the way for my venerable bicorn French infantry, just for the Dego campaign, and Maverick paper flags of the 1794 pattern. Close enough is good enough.