Quick answer
Buy the Broken Ground Bundle if you want a ready-to-play, multi-piece difficult-ground area with rocks, fallen trunks, a stump, and two double-sided area mats. Buy Monster Scenery: Unpainted Small Hills (x2) only if you specifically need two tiny bare hills and are happy to paint them yourself. For most tables, the Broken Ground Bundle does more work straight out of the box.
Broken Ground
What each set actually gives you
The Broken Ground Bundle is a complete difficult-terrain area: five different-sized rocks, two fallen tree trunks, one stump, and two area mats. You can place the pieces on the mats to mark a rocky, uneven zone that is hard to cross, or scatter them separately as cover and hiding places. The mats are double-sided with a patch, so the same bundle can present two different ground looks.
Monster Scenery: Unpainted Small Hills (x2) is much narrower. You get two unpainted hills, each about 2 inches by 1 inch. They are versatile terrain pieces for fantasy or sci-fi wargames and RPGs, and the unpainted surface is meant for custom painting. There are no mats, no rocks, no trunks, and no stump in this set.
unpainted hills
Prep time and tabletop role
The biggest practical split is prep. The Broken Ground Bundle arrives as a set of themed pieces you can put down and play with. The unpainted hills require you to supply primer, paint, and drying time before they match a finished table. If your hobby time is already short, that gap matters more than the price difference.
On the table, the two sets do different jobs. The Broken Ground Bundle creates a defined difficult area or a cluster of cover. The small hills create minor elevation and line-of-sight breaks. Neither is a substitute for the other, so the real question is which gap your current board has.
Cost per usable piece
At catalog prices, the Broken Ground Bundle is USD 67.50 against a comparison price of USD 90.00, and the unpainted hills are USD 0.74 against a comparison price of USD 1.00. The hills look dramatically cheaper, but that price buys two very small pieces and no paint. The bundle costs more because it contains ten physical components plus two mats, and it is usable immediately.
If you only need a couple of small elevation bumps and already own painting supplies, the hills are the efficient buy. If you need a full difficult-ground zone with cover, the bundle is the better value per table-ready piece.
Small add-ons that change the comparison
Two low-cost extras are worth knowing about because they can tilt the decision. Metro City Trash adds 1x closed trash can, 1x open trash can, and more urban grit for alleys, sidewalks, and shady corners, and it works as line-of-sight blocking terrain or thematic objective markers in modern or cyberpunk battles. If your board is urban rather than wilderness, that set may serve you better than either hills or rocky ground.
The Chest & Keys: Bridges & Barricades Kickstarter Accessory is a pre-painted resin ornamented chest with a ring of keys. It is a Kickstarter exclusive sold without retail packaging, so availability is limited. It is an objective marker, not area terrain, so treat it as a finishing touch rather than a replacement for either main option.
Trade-offs at a glance
- Ready to play vs. paint it yourself: The Broken Ground Bundle is usable immediately as a difficult-ground area. The unpainted hills need primer and paint before they blend with a finished table. Choose the bundle if hobby time is short; choose the hills if painting is part of the fun.
- Full area vs. two small pieces: The bundle gives you rocks, trunks, a stump, and two double-sided mats for a defined zone. The hills give you two pieces about 2 inches by 1 inch for minor elevation. Match the set to the gap on your board, not to the lower sticker price.
- Wilderness vs. urban setting: Broken Ground and the hills read as natural terrain. Metro City Trash reads as modern or cyberpunk street clutter and can block line of sight or mark objectives. Pick the set that matches your setting before adding either one.
Product facts
- Broken Ground Bundle: A Broken Ground set contains five different-sized rocks, two fallen tree trunks, one stump, and two area mats. The pieces can be used on the area mats to represent rocky and uneven ground that is difficult to cross, or scattered separately for cover and hiding places. The area mats are double-sided. This is a complete, playable difficult-terrain area with two ground looks, so it needs no painting before its first game.
- Monster Scenery: Unpainted Small Hills (x2): Includes two unpainted small hills, each about 2 inches by 1 inch. They are versatile terrain pieces for fantasy or sci-fi wargames and RPGs, and the unpainted surface allows for custom painting. You get very small elevation pieces and full control over color, but you must supply paint and time before they match a finished table.
- Metro City Trash: Metro City Trash adds realism and character to alleys, sidewalks, and shady corners of your cityscape, and is perfect for building line-of-sight blocking terrain or thematic objective markers in modern or cyberpunk battles. Includes 1x closed trash can, 1x open trash can, and more. A cheap way to add urban cover and objectives when your setting is modern or cyberpunk rather than wilderness.
- Chest & Keys: Bridges & Barricades Kickstarter Accessory: A Bridges & Barricades Kickstarter Exclusive: a pre-painted resin ornamented chest with a ring of keys, sold without retail packaging and with limited availability. Useful as a pre-painted objective marker, but limited availability means you should not plan a board around it.
Which should you buy?
Best for
- Players who need a ready-to-play difficult-ground zone with cover and hiding places
- Gamers who want two ground looks from one purchase via the double-sided mats
- Fantasy or sci-fi tables that need rocky, uneven terrain without a painting project
Not for
- Shoppers who only need two tiny elevation bumps and already own painting supplies
- Modern or cyberpunk boards that need street clutter instead of natural terrain
- Buyers looking for a single objective marker rather than an area terrain set
