• http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/1669/unitsvf1.gif

    This is just an idea I’m toying with - I was inspired by a 1970s board game called ‘Rommel’s War’, which was a hex based game where all the units were represented as small squares stacked on top of eachother. This stops the board from becoming too overcrowded, allows for greater ease with regards to moving units and is a good solution for players who havn’t the space for a large custom board.

    The above image is just a demonstration of what the units may look like (they are only a prototype). I’m currently looking at making a set that uses Tactical/NATO symbols to make my A&A game look more ‘authentic’, lol.

    Another major benefit of paper units is that they are VERY cheap to make, and there is no limit to the amount you can print off!


  • Chips work too, and they are easier to count than stacked paper.

    You can also use the old “coin” technique using pennies as 1X, nickels as 5X, etc for the number of units, with a “+1” for the actual unit sitting as a “cap” of the stack.

    So a stack of 17 INF could be:
    5 red chips, 1 white chip, 1 INF figure
    or
    1 nickel, 1 dime, 1 penny, 1 INF figure

    Would use about the same amount of space on the board as paper, but still be easier to “see”


  • @ncscswitch:

    Chips work too, and they are easier to count than stacked paper.

    Not really.

    You can also use the old “coin” technique using pennies as 1X, nickels as 5X, etc for the number of units, with a “+1” for the actual unit sitting as a “cap” of the stack.

    So a stack of 17 INF could be:
    5 red chips, 1 white chip, 1 INF figure
    or
    1 nickel, 1 dime, 1 penny, 1 INF figure

    Would use about the same amount of space on the board as paper, but still be easier to “see”

    Still too much crowding with those fiddley units that can never fit on the board fully.


  • My biggest problems are Navy (which I HATE using chips with) and Air Force (which I also do not chip)

    Otherwise, the Board does pretty well, if a bit crowded with multinational forces in Norway and Karelia (but I try to kill those before hey become an issue as Germany  :evil: )


  • @ncscswitch:

    My biggest problems are Navy (which I HATE using chips with) and Air Force (which I also do not chip)

    Otherwise, the Board does pretty well, if a bit crowded with multinational forces in Norway and Karelia (but I try to kill those before hey become an issue as Germany  :evil: )

    I’m not at all advocating that everything should be a paper unit - I think factories should remain as a plastic unit, as well as AA. As for everything else, the game simply flows much better when the units are made of paper. The whole plastic unit thing is only a luxury worth having on a big board - stacks of card are easy to glance over and judge the number of units. (Though I said paper, in actual fact you should print them out on card).

    I know it sounds like a massive depature, and that many love their plastic minatures because they look ‘cool’, but for those impatient players who like to go through turns quickly (and not use a computer) paper units really do help. They’re so easy to move around the board, they fit neatly into each territory and no one has complained thus far that they can’t easily count the number of units.


  • I guess I am rather spoiled…  I have a study that is pet and kid free, have a table reserved for my board next to my desk, as well as sorting bins for my triplicate set of plastic pieces and chips.  I also play only online (no live players close enough to make it convenient to play except one that has a schedule nearly opposite mine) so i ahve plenty of time to stack chips, move pieces, and “tweek” to make room on the board for what is needed.

    I WILL say that in a full scale KGF with an Allied Norway/Karelia insertion that the area around SZ5 gets a bit chaotic though :-)


  • @ncscswitch:

    I guess I am rather spoiled…  I have a study that is pet and kid free, have a table reserved for my board next to my desk, as well as sorting bins for my triplicate set of plastic pieces and chips.  I also play only online (no live players close enough to make it convenient to play except one that has a schedule nearly opposite mine) so i ahve plenty of time to stack chips, move pieces, and “tweek” to make room on the board for what is needed.

    I WILL say that in a full scale KGF with an Allied Norway/Karelia insertion that the area around SZ5 gets a bit chaotic though :-)

    The same problem… no one is interested, until recently; but they complained so much about the fiddliness of the units (they don’t have the same sentimentality for them as we do) that i’ve been forced to find solutions to this ‘crisis’.


  • Then let me make a few recommendations…

    Drawing from the early days of AD&D when polyhedra dice were NOT commonly available…
    LAMINATE your units so they hold up over time.

    To make it as easy as possible to read…
    Add a NUMBER to the corner of the unit (1 through 10 at least) so that you ONLY have to stack chits for stacks of 11 or more.

    And to make the chits manageable…
    Get one of those 90 or more drawer organizers at Lowe’s or Home Depot (the kind for small screws, etc.) with sub-dividable drawers to keep the shits in, as well as any plastic units (such as Navy) that you will continue to use.


  • Uhhh….Switch, was that last ‘chits’ a typo or a Freudian slip? :-D


  • @ncscswitch:

    have a table reserved for my board next to my desk, as well as sorting bins for my triplicate set of plastic pieces and chips

    I tried and got burnt.
    1st and 2nd game set had different dye colours.

    UK was worst. Light green vs. Pink !!!   :? :cry:

    A store has Revised on special. (AU$50). But I hesitate buying.
    Who knows…UK might be white or something this time.


  • @SSG:

    Uhhh….Switch, was that last ‘chits’ a typo or a Freudian slip? :-D

    Um, BOTH.  Because keeping up with this little laminated squares is a pain :-)

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