What do you use to count losses from combat?


  • So the pictures and video of young grasshoppers custom table got me thinking.  I’m sure most people just use a pen and paper when conducting combat and use tally marks.  But in the video he has a tally counter from what looks like a foosball table.  I don’t know that I would use one myself although I’m sure it would be easy enough.

    Was just wondering what methods people use here?  Are electronic counters a good option?  they are only $5-15 and I could see errors being somewhat easy to make, but if you have 2 ppl using them then I’m sure it could cut down on them.

    I’ve just never liked using paper tallys, and just looking for some other options


  • We have plenty of chips from HBG, so we use the same chips you would normally use under your units: grey = 1, green = 3, red = 5, etc. (we also have blue = 10). On big rounds, like Germany v Russia showdown or Japan v American navy you just toss the appropriate number of chips into a pile on the table somewhere as you rack up hits. At the end of the round just count them up.

    We have orange and purple chips specifically for facility damage, makes the board look awesome and colorful.

    They were having a sale on these, $2.50 for 50 and they’re the exact same shape and size as the Global 2nd Edition chips.

  • '12

    @zanetheinsane:

    We have orange and purple chips specifically for facility damage, makes the board look awesome and colorful.

    I use yellow chips for 1 damage and orange for 3 damage on facilities.  Looks like fire.

    As for hit tallys, I have never used them.  We just do them after each set of dice rolls.  The player reciving the hits can adjust later, if they’d like.

  • Sponsor

    Using the counter on my table is easy, the difficult part was making it (I have published a part 2 video on YouTube explaining how to make one). It’s best if you could find one from a fussball table, because finding the material and a welder to make something like what I have was a pain (but worth it in the end).

  • '12

    Just watched your vids.  What an awesome table!!! Well done sir.

  • Sponsor

    @moralecheck:

    Just watched your vids.  What an awesome table!!! Well done sir.

    Thanks MC,

    As far as counting casualties are concerned, we used to keep track with our fingers, but the common solution is to have a handful of chips ready. I know some hardcore players that don’t even use an income tracking chart, they just count it at the end of every turn.


  • I use national markers to mark 10 units.

    usually I just move the losses back (behind the causality line)

    on complexes I use a regular dmg marker to mark the stack, and the other chips to mark the number of dmg


  • Wow…can’t believe I didn’t even think of using the plastic chips for it haha. � We usually use fingers for small battles or paper and tally marks like I meantioned. � Just kinda wanted to see if investing in a $5-10 dollar electronic one was what some people do. � So that as your opponent rolls their 18ones, 8 twos and 12 threes or whatever you just hit a button for each time. � But I see how the margin of error might be slightly greater. �

    I do like the plastic chip idea. Just added more chips today actually. They were from my 1942 copy, I play at a friends and we can run low sometimes on global when we play defensively.

    Thx for the shoulda been obvious answer lol

    P.S. � It is an awesome table grasshopper, I am going to definitely have to print out some of those NO cards and those individual unit trays would be nice � :)

  • '18 '17 '16 '11 Moderator

    Too much work.  Remove casualties after each throw of the dice but allow the defender to “trade” a hit on one unit for another unit.  No tallying, no wasted paper (you anti green people!  What would those earth luvers think of your wastefullness!) no buying stuff (what would those communists think of you supporting big business!) just simple arithemtic.

    Did I hit everyone?  Should I make an anti communist, pro earth destruction comment, or did you all get that I am speaking tongue-in-cheak? (yes, I recommend just removing the units, it’s not THAT hard.)

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    Math sucks! (that was my anti-education comment).


  • what has math ever done for me?

  • '18 '17 '16 '11 Moderator

    @Kreuzfeld:

    what has math ever done for me?

    Mathematics keeps you fed. :P  Without mathematics, you cannot have agriculture since the farmers won’t know how to count and plant the seeds, you also won’t have economy since no one will know how to count money.

    That’s my pro-mathematics comment of the day!


  • @Cmdr:

    @Kreuzfeld:

    what has math ever done for me?

    Mathematics keeps you fed. :P  Without mathematics, you cannot have agriculture since the farmers won’t know how to count and plant the seeds, you also won’t have economy since no one will know how to count money.

    That’s my pro-mathematics comment of the day!

    I am actually a mathematician :)

    and basically all of modern society is dependent on math to do engineering

  • '18 '17 '16 '11 Moderator

    @Kreuzfeld:

    @Cmdr:

    @Kreuzfeld:

    what has math ever done for me?

    Mathematics keeps you fed. :P  Without mathematics, you cannot have agriculture since the farmers won’t know how to count and plant the seeds, you also won’t have economy since no one will know how to count money.Â

    That’s my pro-mathematics comment of the day!

    I am actually a mathematician :)

    and basically all of modern society is dependent on math to do engineering

    and getting food, and getting water, and making the car go, and making the electricity work, and disposing of the dead bodies, and medicine, and voting, and ….


  • @Cmdr:

    @Kreuzfeld:

    @Cmdr:

    @Kreuzfeld:

    what has math ever done for me?

    Mathematics keeps you fed. :P�� � Without mathematics, you cannot have agriculture since the farmers won’t know how to count and plant the seeds, you also won’t have economy since no one will know how to count money.�� �

    That’s my pro-mathematics comment of the day!

    I am actually a mathematician :)

    and basically all of modern society is dependent on math to do engineering

    and getting food, and getting water, and making the car go, and making the electricity work, and disposing of the dead bodies, and medicine, and voting, and ….

    So you admit its contributing to the future zombie apocalypse?  We must stop math!  1st we need a mathematician to calculate the best possible strategy to dealing with math.

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    To much math in a game = crappy game, for example: Dungeons & Dragons has a lot of math, therefore…. D&D SUCKS!

  • '17 '16 Customizer

    @Cmdr:

    Too much work.  Remove casualties after each throw of the dice but allow the defender to “trade” a hit on one unit for another unit.Â

    Isn’t what most folks do? I’ve always just removed the causulties after each throw. Both attacking and defending. On very rare occasions, when there’s like 20-30 units attacking & defending, we’ll use tally marks on the dry-eraser board.


  • @Maddog77:

    @Cmdr:

    Too much work.�  Remove casualties after each throw of the dice but allow the defender to “trade” a hit on one unit for another unit.�Â

    Isn’t what most folks do? I’ve always just removed the causulties after each throw. Both attacking and defending. On very rare occasions, when there’s like 20-30 units attacking & defending, we’ll use tally marks on the dry-eraser board.

    Yea thats what we do, or a hand count in small battles.  I just created this thread b/c I hate using tally marks.  I don’t know why, don’t understand it myself, but would just rather do something else.

  • Sponsor

    The counter on my customized table is called an “Abacus”. If you use google images for this device you will see how easy it is to create one for your own games. Just make sure that it is small, perhaps portable, and not a burden to have around the table.


  • My brother and I use a lot of dice.

    Roll for 1’s. set aside dice that hit.
    Roll for 2’s. set aside dice that hit.
    Roll for 3’s. etc.
    count all the hits after round of battle.
    remove casualties.

    We find this method much faster.

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