Adventure Realm RPG map tiles: Town and Wilderness accessory review

For all the wonder and fun that experiencing a roleplaying game can breed, preparing to embark on an adventure can still be a labourious effort. Perhaps the most tiresome aspect remains preparing a map, with empty but versatile grid sheets lacking atmospheric character and vibrant custom-made environments soaking up time and money, with the potential to only be useful once.

Attempting to walk the line between flexibility and personality are Red Dragon’s series of Adventure Realm tiles, which were Kickstarted last year. The first set focuses on town and wilderness landscapes, with 16 double-sided eight-inch squares showing grey streets and wooden buildings on one side and grassy fields on their reverse, allowing them to be combined into a variety of surroundings.

The tiles themselves are nicely made, with a glossy laminated finish to allow whiteboard pen annotations – and resist the inevitable spilled drink. The thick card lies satisfyingly flat on a table with very little bending or lifting, at least from our experience. The only thing to watch for is the corners and edges, which are quite prone to peeling or becoming squished – something that may become an issue for well-loved tiles in the future.

One-inch squares are marked on each tile, smartly integrated into subtle atmospheric details, such as flagstones and grass shadowing. In fact, the grid is marked so discreetly that it can at points be a little hard to make out exact spaces on top of other environmental factors, but it never bothered us too much.

The tiles strike a good balance between nonspecific backgrounds and more predefined layouts of rooms, with little touches – beds, dining room tables and barrels here, farm animals, wells and a campsite there – gently adding to the charm. The artwork has a light hand-drawn aesthetic and is generally clearly printed, though we did feel the floor of the church-like interior particularly looked blurry compared to the crisp edges of its pews and altar.

Given the low price per tile (just over £1.50 each) and the solid quality of both artwork and materials, these tiles are a fitting way to get an RPG or miniatures game up and running without spending too much money, effort or time.

MATT JARVIS

Manufacturer: Red Dragon Gaming

Price: £25

Website: reddragongaming.co.uk

This review originally appeared in the April/May 2017 issue of Tabletop Gaming. Pick up the latest issue of the UK's fastest-growing gaming magazine in print or digital here – or subscribe to make sure you never miss another issue.