Reddit mentions of Yoga Direct Extra Wide Yoga Mat, Black

Do what I did, buy this.

No idea why star mats are expensive, but this is a great alternative, and it isn't so slick that your ships just slide around.

I just ordered THIS mat and it will arrive next week.

3' x 6' whose length I will trim to fit my table.

I'll let you know how it works out.

A good way to start out would be with 200-300 point matches. Still manageable to play on a 3x3, and can be a quick way to learn the ropes and see some combos working out. Time could definitely be an issue, as a full game with teaching would be well over 2 hours long. Along those lines, this is a super cheap way to get a full sized play area for much cheaper than the FFG mats. Plus, if you're playing at 200-300 points, you can have two games going, each on a 3x3. You can definitely mark up one side to have a middle line, deployment zone, etc...

There's the other ones that people recommend for people starting out:

Limit upgrades on ships

Limit # of squadrons/no squads to start (It can be nice not worrying about a whole command)

No objectives(passing initiative may help or custom starter objectives. Contested outpost is always an easy one)

Etc, etc...

There's a lot to this game. Keeping it simple to start is recommended. Love the idea!

Yoga mat would work. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007MTWI48/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1346YB5THR6F4&coliid=I2KBG6KXFX4S6Q

Cut it in half and you have two 3x3 mats. Lot of people use mats.

Here you go.

Yoga Direct Extra Wide Yoga Mat, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007MTWI48/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_9JtHub0323YV1

Amazon sells a relatively inexpensive 6x3 black yoga mat. I use it for Star Wars: Armada and epic-scale X-Wing games and it works great.

I bought this one. Works well.

Yoga Direct Extra Wide Yoga Mat, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007MTWI48/

Get this ships and space rocks don't really move around from bumping at all and it's super cheap and exactly the right size. This is on my game table at home and I have x-wing mats since most official tournaments require those.

Another alternative is check out yoga mats. I bought this one from Amazon : http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B007MTWI48?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

It's really durable and a nice material to play off of.

I ordered a yoga mat and cut it in half, to make two 36"x36" mats that work pretty well

Nice work!

Just throwing in another option for anyone reading this thread: An extra wide yoga mat can work too.

Pros: Can get an epic size mat w/o a seam (or 2 3x3 mats out of it). It has a better grip than the offical mats. Pretty cheap if you find a buddy to split one with you.

Cons: Kind of bulky to haul around with you. It's a bit soft, spongy, and bumpy. Not sure how well stars painted on it will stick.

This is the mat I use. Works great:
http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B007MTWI48

The Yoga Mat on Amazon is a great cheap alternative for $30. It's EXACTLY 3x6 and what's great is the material is super non-slip. So nudging is limited.

Hope this helps!!

Most 24x72 (2ftx6ft) yoga mats are about 15 dollars on amazon.
The 36x72 (2ftx6ft) yoga mats are about 25 dollars.
36x72x.2 Inche yoga mat

Yoga Direct Extra Wide Yoga Mat, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007MTWI48/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_f9u1AbEMSFF77

I'm not the OP, but this is the one I have https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007MTWI48/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007MTWI48/

Best surface, no-slip. Cut it in half for 2 or keep it big for epic.

The bespin one from FFG is the best but its always out of stock.

If you get ffg mats be careful to not store them up and down but side to side or else you get this weird egg crate texture.

If you're not going the two 3x3 mats from ffg style, which should cost you ~$40 each, I suggest the yoga mat style. Remember you'll actually need it to be slightly larger than 6'x3'... ideally you get one that's more like 6'x4' so you can fit cards and such on the edges, but those can get costly and it's not totally needed. The deal to beat is this 6'x3' yoga mat for ~$25 shipping included. You can get slightly cheaper on amazon for the same looking thing but not black.

I've considered buying a yoga mat from a thrift store, sanitizing it, then cutting it to size. It might take two strips to cover the table, but one seam isn't bad, and the whole thing would only cost like $5-$10.

Here's something along the lines of what I'm talking about, but this one is 36" wide, which is nice. https://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Direct-Extra-Wide-Black/dp/B007MTWI48

Maybe there's something similar available in your country.