For the record, until this KS, I have never seen or bought any products from Forge Prints - I am a newb to their product line. Also, I have no idea of the manufacture process so my "Ideas" may not be possible due to how they are made. I will be putting this review and the photos on the Forge Prints Forum. I intend to test these pieces to destruction. I will initially paint the piece and then begin to do the "mods" to it that I feel would be of help to me as a DM and support the KS Docks. I will match the Adventurescapes (A) tile to Dwarven Forge (DF), Stones (S) and Dungeon Worlds (DW) products that I currently own at times.
The tile appears and feels to be different than the terrain I recently bought from their store. The color is a darker and more appealing shade of gray. It feels slightly "rubbery", has a nice heft and after tossing it around and putting it in my pocket - no bending, dings, rips, etc. (I felt and I am going to be spending at least $200 on this KS and wanted an idea of their quality before "putting on the ring" and upping my pledge.)
Since I was only given a single tile of each type - how they mate to each other could not be determined. However, the tile appears to be perfectly square and shouldn't have issues with mating evenly with others of its ilk. Without using a micrometer, the tile appears to be (50mm) equal in size to DF (height and width); S matches in width but is not as tall; DW matches S in height (so like S is "shorter" then A and DF) - DW tiles are 2" and so are wider than the other three.
Examined from the sides - the tile is not a consistent thickness on all sides. One corner is notably "thinner" than the other three but the tile lies flat and if butted against others - shouldn't be a issue at all. Other than a very thin side profile (top of the tile and equal to the depth of the cut dividing the tile into four squares) the sides are featureless (some molding marks?) and without intent to be exposed for use. IDEA: I would recommend to add features to at least two adjacent sides - for those that just use floor tiles and no walls. Than they can be used for corners and border tiles.
Bottom is featureless but stamped with "http://www.forgeprints.com". IDEA: Place the logo on one (or both of the sides that you do not detail (see above) - S does this. Then leave the bottom featureless (could then be painted to look like water, ice, flocked with grass, etc) OR add a second terrain detail to the bottom - like S does (wood, slate, different tile pattern). Consumers ALWAYS want the most bang for the buck. DF has both a ridge and a imprint making their bottoms useless. DW is featureless and tiles have no logos.
Surface detail is unique and does not match any other product. Though, you could use them together to create complicated displays - use A to border a center consisting of DF tiles for example. While I like a large number of bricks on walls - having a lot of bricks on the floor will be a painting challenge. For example, I wouldn't want to paint the floor the same way I paint the walls - as everything would "blur" together visually. My general rule is I want the floor to be boring; the walls to provide a backdrop and the minis to shine... So, I can't use the same palette I use for the DF walls (as I don't have A walls to provide contrast to the A floor tiles). Gotta think on this...
Currently, cleaning the tiles and will prime them. Intention: paint all using same color palette. Then I intend to cut the A tile in half and one of the halves into quarters. I will then mod the pieces to see how they adhere (glue test), take to be disfigured (e.g. modeled) and appear post modification.
Pieces took primer without issue - and with some of the pieces I have bought - this is a HUGE plus! Did a quick paint job to see effects and try to see if the paint holds due to wear as well. As mentioned, with only a single tile of each type - extensive repainting pretty tough. The smaller squares caused my aged eyes some issues - definitely a personal preference to larger squares. The S piece with multi colors is me "double tasking" - I am playing with stucco and trying to decide colors for external walls - and might as well play with Adventurescapes against the various color options.
Cutting the tiles for mods is easy - though thicker tiles are notorious for making straight cuts harder - the tile cut with hand held knife as well as with a hand saw. Irregular sizes are based on technique and speed - not material. If the tiles become two sided, having guidelines on the reverse will be helpful as well.
Drilling through the piece was easy and left minimal amount of material requiring trimming.
Like user patransom - a good dry brush makes the piece "pop" and shows a large amount of surface detail (not to mention hides my poor technique!).
So, for me, the tiles have many useful features and some issues for us oldsters with poor painting techniques and eyesight. Love the material, not brittle, soft, nice heft - so, in conclusion, I like these tiles!!! I would grade them a B (the same grade I give DF tiles by the by) and would surely find a place for them on my gaming table.