According to one of the guys at the Paizo booth at the Origins convention, Tact-Tiles are no longer in production. I didn’t get the Paizo reps name, but he said he was the one that actually sold advertising in Dragon to Tact-Tiles.

That being said, there is no copyright or trademark upon the design (can’t get one, as it falls under the same heading as a chess board for soem reason) and some manufacturers are considering putting forth their own designs.

(Brandon) One way to limit mess with wet erase boards is to buy a little spritzer of the mild cleaning solution.

Now why the hell didn’t I ever think of this? That would have made life so much easier!

- Make your map or get it into image format as a jpg or other image file.
- Go to your local office store with a copy center.
- Print it out on their large format printers (about 2-3 dollars for black and white).
- Get it laminated. (About 3 more dollars)
- Use wet or dry erase depending on the type of lamination.
- They can also laminate on foam board or poster board for sturdiness.

This option is a little more expensive, but it works great for permanent fixtures like world maps and the like. I am currently running a war based campaign and drawing the line of demarcation, or marking noted troop movements is really easy with this.

If you really want hex grids on a dry-erase board, I suggest using a stencil and some latex paint, but preferably the type that’s water-resistant and won’t come off w/ a little acid or alcohol, and then painting on a hex grid, though perhaps not the full grid, so you don’t have problems w/ trying to center the stencil. Basically, point only. If you stencil it right, your main problem is making the stencil, but then you have a stencil and can use it any time you need to make another.

Cleaning was one of the reasons I made the switch to dry-erase, but the other is that I use dry erase on my Combat Pad initiative tracker. There were many close calls when I’d go from writing with the dry-erase pen on it straight to the vinyl battlemat.

http://www.openmindgames.com/omg_products_cp_photo.htm

I actually own two of the Flipmats, the wilderness path and city square. I like them because they have preprinted sides which are very serviceable for encounters and a blank side.

I missed the boat on tact-tiles before they went out of production. It was the cost that kept me from purchasing. However, after seeing them in action at a RPG Con, I was sold, only to learn that they’re no longer currently available. If/when they do go back into production, it will be one of my next buys.

However, with the current price of projectors on ebay, I may go back to Dundjinni, my PC, and digitial projected maps.

I checked again today and they’re still listed as sold out…

Still, I love the set I have

It’s got almost everything you’re looking for… The only category it doesn’t have the best of both worlds in is options since they’re only one size. They do come in a variety of themes, though.

They’re cheap ($10 a piece), portable, available with squares and hexes (on the same mat, opposite sides) and accept both types of erasable markers.

One thing I think you should have mentioned… Availability. I’ve never ever seen a wet erase marker in Staples or Office Max. All they carry are dry erase. In fact, short of ordering them online I don’t know of anywhere where I could get wet erase markers.