Jon Hodgson Map Tiles: I wish me a Mappy Christmas!

Christmas is coming and I’m not waiting for gifts but for Kickstarters! Today I received the shipment with the object of this review: the Jon Hodgson Map Tiles!

THE AUTHOR

First of all, who is Jon Hodgson?
He is a Scottish professional creative working from 20 years in the field and, talking about rpg world, he can boast collaborations with Paizo, Wizards of the Coast, AEG, Chaosium, Cubicle 7, and more.
You can visit his site and read his bio.
While I was preparing this review I saw his name among the illustrators of the Adventures in Middle-Earth for D&D 5e, just under a milestone of Middle-Earth illustration as John Howe.

THE PROJECT

The Jon Hodgson Map Tiles project has been founded on 9th July by 435 backers who raised £19.247 (about 22.000€). The estimated time of fullfilment was September, but, ehi, we’re talking about kickstarter and, therefore, being the stretch goals more paintings to do, being late was understandable. There was a long list of pledges, from the digital one (£10 / about 11€) to 14 sets of tiles (£142 / about 160€). I chose the 5 set pledge (£62 / about 72€) trying to make the shipping valuable without totally empting my wallet. Every pledge, apart from digital, were shipping cost included, and it is awesome: you already know how much is the full cost without further surprises. I like you, Jon Hodgson!
The sets were 7: forest, cave, highland pass, heathland, dungeon, extra details or linking tile (among sets). Gridded or without grid, backer’s choice.

UNBOXING

A simple envelope, strong enough to protect the precious material, light and compact, and some advertisement about Jon’s Patreon page, a couple of games created by his production house, the Handiwork Games and a thank card with a discount of 10% manually signed. Well done, Jon, very appreciated! 320 signs, maybe a wrist spasm, but a lot of style!

CONTENT

Tiles are a 6×6 square gridded of quality papare. It should resist to beer drops and chips greased hand… maybe not untile the end of times! I already have many map tiles sets (and many euros less in bank), nearly everyone thicker hardback tiles. These have the merit to be lighter and thiner, with theirs pros and cons: easy to carry and put back, little weight, but also ready to fly after the first medium blow and with a high risk of bended angles. But better having angles bended that thicker margins teared from use for my sick mind’s sake! Every set is composed by 30 tiles double sided for 60 faces in total.

CONCLUSIONS

I like them. They’re thin and resistant, beautifully painted and they occupy a very little space. Placing them on the table gives me the effect of watching the intro of an old rpg videogame.

PROS

• Light and thin
• Compact
• Beautifully painted
• Quality materials

CONS

• Light and thin

Merry Crystal