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Review of Cthulhu and the Ninth Wave
Blurb from the publisher: 'Kraken play mats were built as real plates and were photographed and digitally reworked. As a result, they achieve a much higher level of detail than any computer-generated graphics. This technique allows the sharpest details to be displayed with minimal repetition of textures. The mats are 2 mm thick and have an anti-slip coating on the back. The storage is simple, the mats can be rolled easily without altering their shape. They roll without problems and stay flat effortlessly every single time. The Lotus effect protects against moisture, spilled drinks and other dirt. The mats are scratch resistant, and are printed in a staggering print quality of 720 dpi. The dice rolling is dampened by the material, while cards can be easily collected from the play mat.'
What you get: Your EUR 74,95 or equivalent will buy you Cthulhu and the Ninth Wave, a 6 x 4 feet (182,88 x 121,92 cm) gaming mat for tabletop gaming.
The mat is also available in smaller sizes, namely 6 x 3 (182,88 x 91,4 cm), 4 x 4 (121,9 x 121,9 cm), 3 x 3 feet (91,4 x 91,4 cm), as well as the brand new BG (board game) size of 160 x 85 cm. The mat is of mouse pad quality, with a thickness of 2 mm. Its edges are rounded. It is sold within a soft plastic case with a zipper.
The mat is a reproduction of Ivan Aivazovsky's Девятый вал (The Ninth Wave), a romantic oil-on-canvas painting from 1850 (you read that right, eighteen fifty), which is currently hosted the in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. The original painting is mostly empty, devoid of any action by contemporary standards. The sky dominates at a 3 to 1 ratio over the sea, the latter depicting big waves in the middle of the ocean. No land is in sight. At the center bottom left of the image a small number of survivors cling on to what used to be a ship's mast. The sun almost pierces the clouds, exuding an aura of optimism, no matter the waves breaking down under their own weight.
The enormous painting (the original is 221 cm long and 332 cm tall) is considered to be the marine painter's best known oeuvre. It toys with the concept of the ninth wave (allegedly the largest and deadliest in the series of waves), as well a less explicit Christian message (the Russian cross-like shape of the makeshift raft the survivors cling on to).
So how is this related to gaming in any way?
In the middle of the Kraken Wargames version, totally dominating the painting, painted on the exact same romantic style as the rest of the painting, rises the last thing any human would want to ever see:
Cthulhu.
The strong points: A world-renowned painting mashed with a cult entity from a writer who died in poverty and obscurity, and whose works came into prominence only after his death. Conceptually this gives me the shivers. I don't know who thought of this concept, but it kicks ass on a dozen levels, irrespective of whether you like either The Ninth Wave as a painting (it doesn't speak to me as such, I must admit) or Cthulhu. The melange however is as unholy as it is powerful. Clearly, the artist that Kraken Wargames hired in order to work on Cthulhu understands a thing (or a hundred) about how to paint in that particular style; he totally owns the piece. If nobody told me that this is an original drawing without any relation to existing works of art I would have believed it. Cthulhu does not use the same colours as the rest of the painting, and rightfully so. He is viler, more disturbing, more menacing. That puts the Russian cross-like shape of what used to be a mast in a new, totally cynical perspective. Whatever these castaways cling onto, it will not save them.
The hues of the painting are faithfully reproduced. Owning and playing on this mat means playing on an altered work of art. I did not face any issues with any of my gaming materials, be them card, dice, or other components; they were all visible and could be easily located on the mat. The more colourful and basic they are, the easier you can see them on this beauty.
The mat's wow factor is out of the scale. I don't need to repeat again that mat's size, nor do I need to remind everybody of the mat's sheer size. If this doesn't impress your players, very few things will.
The mat can obviously accompany any game, it will however thrive on anything that is Cthulhu-related. This includes the Call of Cthulhu game line, the Eldritch Horror game line (or do you prefer some Arkham Horror instead?), the Mansions of Madness game line and many more. When it comes to usability it works like any other mat you ever had. Place it on your table when gaming, and store it in order to protect it later on. While in use things stay where you put them; the mat stays firm on the gaming surface. Even though the mat is rolled for storage, it doesn't lose its flatness. It is flexible, and makes me believe that it will neither become flakey nor will it start breaking up after repeated use. The rounded corners help the map show young no matter how many times it is used.
The dpi analysis deserves a special mention. Kraken Wargames is the only publisher I know of that currently prints at 720 dpi. This justifies its pricing scheme (usually between EUR 10 to EUR 5 more expensive than other publishers for similar sizes) very well. I won't lie: even some 200 dpi mats out there look nice. In all honesty however, 720 dpi on a mat, and even more so, on a 6 x 4 mat, is just phenomenal. The fact that this particular mat reproduces an existing work of art is the icing on the cake. You are gaming on a romantic painting with a gargantuan serving of Cthulhu, and it looks the way the painting looks on the wall of the State Russian Museum. What more can you do to make your game visually appealing?
Having the mat available in five different sizes is a big plus for those with smaller tables. Seeing how the ratio changes, the image needs to be manipulated in order fit. On square shapes some parts of the painting are lost. That is to be expected.
The weak points: This mat is by no means essential. It is a gaming accessory in order to impress your friends. Its best usage is to keep it covered for a large part of the session before you dramatically unveil it to everybody, and this is a trick that you can only use once. It is not a mat and map in one, doesn't accommodate miniature play on it, and does not serve any other practical purpose than to preserve your table and add thematic colour to your game. Some might find the price to pay for such a luxury rather high. I can't blame them. If for you this all sounds like a glorified table cloth, then the mat is clearly not for you. For those of us who can splash however, what a treat!
As I stated, I had no issues with any of my gaming materials being lost in the thousands of colours of The Ninth Wave. On the other hand, it is rather obvious that any game's components will be substantially more visible in a single coloured mat that does not distract nor confuses the eyes. These old poker players were not idiots to play exclusively on green felt.
Like all mats, this one needs some love and care. You wouldn't want to start eating on it, let it become a nesting area for your pets, or expose it to high temperatures. It will get needlessly damaged or discoloured.
Conclusion: From concept to final product, everything about Cthulhu and the Ninth Wave is about fine taste, meticulous execution, attention to detail and the highest visual quality that can be currently achieved. The mat is all about form over substance, and acknowledges that this is not for everybody. Those who have it and use it however will do so in the knowledge that they possess something unique.
To find out more about Kraken Wargames and their collection of mats and scenery, take a look at https://krakenwargames.com.
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