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[Review] Alea Tools

Posted 12th July 2008 at 01:52 AM by Aristotle

So I couldn't resist the urge to get a new toy. I'm a sucker for game aids, custom or purchased, and these color coded counters just seemed too cool to pass up. I probably should have gotten a small assortment and tried them first, but I ended up picking up quite a few. Each of the three GM packs, and then an extra 10-pack of red, medium blue, and white. I also got some peel-n-stick bases to convert my DDM minis.

My first impressions...
Despite the many reviews and posts indicating the issues with attraction/repulsion; I wasn't expecting the magnets to be so strong. I messed around with them a bit and I'm definately thinking that I'll need to adjust how I use them so minimize the effect. I may need to cut back on the number of things I use them to mark.

I'm looking at "magnetic reactive" materials right now. I found some that are wet or dry erase friendly, so I could possibly make a battle mat that the counters would slide each other around on less. Or just lay it under a normal battlemat for similar affect. I'll figure it out one way or another as the benefit these counters provide seems to be worth a little effort to sort out.

Also, I don't need smaller or larger counters for small and large creatures, but I'd sure like the peel-n-stick bases to come in those sizes. Getting my kobolds and goblins ready for my first few adventures left me with lots of sticky overhang. Sure I could cut my own, but there is no chance it would look as good as the precut ones.

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	Ran my first session, using these, and I have to say that in actual play (at least low level play) even in crowded areas the magnets weren't as much of a pain as I first thought they would be. Particularly on medium or larger minis. I really liked what they added to the game. I'll be running more games with them soon.
	Posted 13th July 2008 at 08:40 AM by Aristotle

	My group has been enjoying using the Alea Tools Magnets. The default meanings listed on the website were a bit wonky for us so I made this: http://newhavenbynight.googlepages.c...lorssingle.pdf
	Posted 1st September 2008 at 04:38 PM by xuub

I'm a True Believer in these li'l markers -- even though they're not terribly immersion-enhancing, they are absolutely *game* enhancing. They make status checking instantaneous (which has become important in our 4e games). In fact I've started forwarding a good portion of my paycheck to Alea since GenCon this year. Oh, and I got that "magnetic reactive" game mat from Dark Platypus, too! Match made in <insert higher plane of choice>.

Posted 9th October 2008 at 06:05 PM by CaffeineBoy CaffeineBoy is offline

	Alea tools has updated their markers with new small, high-strength magnets (surrounded by a rubber washer). It took some cash, and some work (I have the 100+ set), but I swapped out all the magnets in mine. These made a significant difference in repulsion between the markers when side-by-side.
	Posted 11th March 2009 at 12:32 AM by tammer13

	I've been at Gen Con for five years, and every single time I pass by the Alea booth, and every single time I think, "What a waste of money." I never realized these things were so popular. What other fun D&D toys do you personally recommend?
	Posted 27th May 2009 at 09:26 AM by blalien

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