Of the various sorts of battlemats employed in recent editions of
Dungeons & Dragons and similar miniatures-based games,
Tact-Tiles may have been the most popular and well respected. Indeed,
my 3e D&D game’s dungeon master swore by them! Manufactured by BC Products, these modular, hard plastic, dry-erase tiles are loved by players and referees alike. They’re resilient, portable, easy to reconfigure during play, and clean off nicely after the game. However, their high quality came with a high price tag—more than $40 for a set—and the price has risen considerably on the secondhand market ever since the product was discontinued in 2007.
Now, role-playing game publisher Void Star Studios—developers of Strands of Fate, Strands of Power, and Nova Praxis—
have announced their purchase of the rights to Tact-Tiles and their intention to launch a Kickstarter to fund a new production run.
From their website:
“Void Star Studios, Inc. has acquired the rights, processes, vendors and original mold for Tact-Tiles! And the original creators of the Tact-Tiles are working with us as advisors.
“These aren't some cheap knock-offs. These are the real deal, tweaked to improve the manufacturing process to insure we can bring them to you at an affordable price.
“Our intent is to make this new run of Tact-Tiles 100% compatible with the original Tact-Tiles from BC Products, and to insure these are of even better quality.
“Tact-Tiles are highly portable, rigid, thick plastic, dry-erase, gaming tiles. No more erasing the mat and starting over when the PCs run off the edge! And no more fussing with a rolled up mat!”
This is great news to anyone running
Pathfinder, a miniatures-oriented
D&D game, or any other game where a battlemat comes in handy. If you missed out on Tact-Tiles seven years ago—or if your set is worn out, misplaced, eaten by grues, etc.—now’s your chance to pick some up at a reasonable price, rather than the extortionate cost of an original set on eBay. I’m going to keep an eye out for the Kickstarter myself, and maybe pick up a copy for my own
Basic/Expert D&D campaign.
If you use a battlemat, or another grid or terrain system such as Dwarven Forge, please share your experiences with it in the comments below!
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