Gaming Aids/Tokens

Gale Force 9 Tokens

Looking at tokens for wargaming...

As gamers we during a single game there can be a lot of effects to keep track of.  These range from psychological to spell effects.  With so much happening during a game it can be hard to keep track of these events, the usual method most gamers go with is to use a dice to mark them.  But as we all know these dice get lost in the mix, or picked up by accident.


One option gamers have open to them are counters or tokens.  These things can come in a variety of ways; some plastic - like the Gale Force 9 tokens -, others might be wooden chits with printed images glued to them, while others go a little extra and make little miniature versions of the effects.  However these counters appear, they all have the same use; a reminder.  A reminder of what?  The effects of spells, psychological effects and the like.  A variety of companies make these things, if a plastic version is what you are after - the major one of course being Gale Force 9.  As you can see by the images above and to the right, these counters have multiple purposes and are quite effective.

Gale Force 9 Counters

What effects am I actually referring too?  I don't think I need to go through all of the list you can use, but a few that are perhaps "popular".  Spells - and in this I include knowing your own spells, using the GW decks are great for this.  This allows you to lay important cards - such as remain in play - next to units to act as a reminder that this unit is under X, Y or Z effect.  Aside from these cards some people make miniature based markers, this is perhaps quite common with Ogre Kingdom players and their gut magic.  Then there are psychological effects, units suffering from frenzy or stupidity are often things that can be forgotten in the maelstrom of battle. 

puggimer's Gut Magic Counters, from the Ogre Stronghold

On top of these you can add wound markers, another thing that is quite hard to keep track of during the game.  Some people use smaller dice, or glass/plastic gems, but when you have multiple characters this sort of thing can become hard to track if you use the same coloured markers.  Some people use rings, spare bases with skulls or small magnets.  In all, these are just down right useful.  Captured standards are the final real use for these markers I can see. 

Games Workshop Magic Cards

Why use them?  Personally it is a remembering problem.  Some units have special rules or effects on them that I might not always be able to keep track of, so placing an obvious marker next to them helps me to identify what buffs or even debuffs that unit has gained/suffered. Counters allow a player to glance up at the table and instantly see what is going on, or to make a note of something (such as animosity) to come back to.  This quick checking should in effect mean that the game would be a lot quicker (no need to see who is wounded, fleeing or what war machines cannot fire this turn), and it minimises any arguments as to numbers of wounds suffered, who has captured banners and all these other bits and pieces.

Eric Mason's Mysterious Forest Tokens, from Bugman's Brewery

Of course, it is not only game effects that counters can be useful for.  With the new terrain rules for 8th edition it has become important to make a note of what kind of terrain each piece is.  And so, some tokens I have seen - DIY and some made by Gale Force 9 - are used to denote what the individual special types of terrain are.  Useful for games where there are a lot of pieces of terrain to keep a track of.

In conclusion, I would just like to say that tokens have their uses during games.  They have the ability to speed the game up a bit and help with the management of all the effects of the game that you might come across.  And it is always fun to make your own as something extra.  Go, try it.

* All images have been used without the permission of the owner/author and shall be removed upon request