A board game mat is one of those hobby purchases that might seem a little unnecessary. After all, what’s so bad about playing on the table top? Why would you want to spend money on a mat when you could just use that to buy a new game? 

This is what I thought for the longest time. For years we played games on our table and didn’t think much about a mat at all. We always liked the look of a mat, but it just seemed like a luxury we didn’t want to spend money on one. That is until we got a new table.