Research - play mats

I have looked at some existing play mats to see what design they use and how the road layout is. Most of them are from birds eye view, as a child playing with small cars would see it from their view (as to scale, they would be giants).
I fondly remember playing with mine, and all the cars racing round it pretending to crash and whizz off to hospital all while the train comes hurtling in and mayhem everywhere.
I feel as though there could be a bit more of a wider freedom with mats visually.

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/20101871/
An IKEA play mat with town and road.
It has a latex backing to prevent slipping.

Ikea, £14

showing the back with latex coating to prevent slipping.

This is one of more funky designs, but even for IKEA, i feel that usually their fun and graphic approach has fallen low here. There’s so many possibilities! The houses are wobbly and not straight, there are mountains and a desert... so compared to most town play mats it does have more exciting elements to it. I feel the colours are lacking the usual punch. Although there is an exploding volcano which might make things interesting for the future towns people...

IKEA £10

Another Ikea mat, with a small road section and racecourse. The vegetation has been reduced to green splodges and simple road signs aid children as to what could happen. Very basic in design and no buildings. Where will the people live? In the green bushes??


http://www.gltc.co.uk/role-play/town-play-mat/gltc/fcp-product/10003133

Great Little Trading co,  £26

Look at the detail! It even has its own scrap yard, and a race course!

You pay an extra £10 and look what you can get! wow this has everything you need, even a metro station. The roads themselves are still simple, but the buildings have far more attention to detail in them, and there are traffic lights every 5 meters, just like real life. The slight twist on perspective makes it interesting, as well as enabling your cars to park up and visually fit. I feel this mat has more in theme with what I’d like to do, with lots of variating buildings and detail.

I would however like mine to be more graphic, like a screen print or using limited colour pallet.