Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Bigger Basic

I make a lot of use of the flipmat products for conventions. They fold up nicely for packing and are very convenient in play. I only use wet erase markers on the maps because I have other things at the table requiring wet erase. I do not want to damage a marker board or other map because I accidently drew on them with the wrong marker.

I have purchased two of these flipmats to handle all the cases where there are custom maps or extended skill challenges.

My problem is it is hard to make a drawing show up on the darker brown side. It is clear on the tan side, but on the brown side there is less contrast between the background and my drawings. I really wish they had gone with a very light background allowing yellow and other light colors to show up when used in a drawing.

Bigger Basic is one of those flip-mats that sounds (and is) incredibly boring but is almost indispensable. I've made do for years with homemade grids (permanent marker squares on large whiteboards), but since I've picked up a couple of copies of Bigger Basic, I rarely need to use the old ones. The mats are rectangles 39 squares long and 27 squares wide, so a couple of them side by side cover my entire gaming table. As usual with Paizo flip-mats, they accept wet, dry, or even permanent marker, and I've put them through their paces over the past several months and have never had any problems. One side is "smooth stone" and the other side is "fine dirt", but honestly the light tan or light brown (or whatever--don't ask me about color) fades nicely into the background of whatever is being drawn on it. They also fold up nicely into a book-sized package for easy transport and display (and finding) on a shelf. All in all, sometimes boring is good when it's done well like this.

Long has the world needed a larger flip-mat. Too many maps flaunted their 31" dimensions in defiance. Finally, Paizo heard the cries of the people and created Bigger Basic. And it was good. The people rejoiced.

Why, then, is this not a five-star product? The folds. Not sticking to whole-number multiples of 8" or 10" length and width means there are fold lines quite close (3") from the edge of the unfolded map. These folds are more difficult than normal to keep flat when the map is in use. Further, when the map is folded, there is a "flap" along one side which is surprisingly effective at catching on other flip-mats/objects.

I would have much preferred a size of, say, 32" x 30". Yes, that would have meant the maximum dimension of the map increased by only two inches; however, from a PFS point-of-view, at least half the time when a flip-mat is too small, it is two small by two or fewer squares. 32" x 30" would have, for instance, accommodated the original Blakros Museum while still folding into uniform 8" x 10" panels.

This product was sorely needed, and I really appreciate Paizo recognizing and meeting the need. Buy it. Just be aware that it is stopped (frustratingly) short of a home run by a questionable design choice.

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