Would you buy...

[nedjer]

What I'd like (and what we're working on) is to have the our counters available in three formatsL

3) Plastic Medallions - these are something we're working on for the near future. They are light plastic discs with counter images. They can be written on with dry/erase markers (we use a red marker to mark bloodied monsters). The thing we're trying to figure out now is the configuration and price. They're more expensive than the Counter Collections, but far cheaper than miniatures, and unlike the cardstock versions, you can't have 800 in a set (more like 75-100). Work in progress...

These now thanks very much Most everybody wants a figure for their PC, but doesn't have the time/ interest to go on and paint a load of quality figures. Plastic counters that take markers, some larger than others and with clear symbols, (dragon's head, skull, poison, cross), are my 'go to' way of giving new players a lot of the look of a figure-based game and offering a lot of visual cues on the table/ map, e.g. can always see where poisons, heals, traps, fires and bodies are lying around as a layer of metrics and interactive opportunities rather than trying to layer everything (or nothing) on to the map.

Out of curiosity, why do you use raster over vector, or is that just how it looks at the output stage?

 

[kitsune9]

I actually know how to make my own tokens with simple tools such as Microsoft Picture Viewer and Publisher, so I don't need to buy tokens per se. However, I would open if I saw a product that would be fairly durable.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

3) Plastic Medallions - these are something we're working on for the near future. They are light plastic discs with counter images. They can be written on with dry/erase markers (we use a red marker to mark bloodied monsters). The thing we're trying to figure out now is the configuration and price. They're more expensive than the Counter Collections, but far cheaper than miniatures, and unlike the cardstock versions, you can't have 800 in a set (more like 75-100). Work in progress...

Sounds good! Our 4Ed DM is using something like a backgammon piece (when I don't have a mini for him to use, that is) and the plaque Thayer made if takes dry erase just fine. They are, however, many times the thickness of the Pirates/Rocketmen plastic.

To DannyA, they really are quite stout, and with proper storage should last quite some time. I bought coin collecting tubes for about a quarter a piece to organize and store the MV style tokens. I think they are not very likely to get damaged.

I know how tough paper/cardboard tokens can be- I have most of mine eating back to the late 1970s, from games like Melee, Wizard, Hotspot, Raid on Antares, Submarine, Helltank, Car Wars and OGRE/G.E.V., etc.

But I've also lost a few from those games (and others) due to damage hardier materials would have survived. And then there is the size/shape issue: do you know how tough it is to find a way to store a Melee/Wizard 7-Hex Dragon made of cardboard safely for 30 years?

Metal or plastic would have made the job a LOT easier.

 

[tuxgeo]

What I'd like (and what we're working on) is to have the our counters available in three formats:

. . .

3) Plastic Medallions - these are something we're working on for the near future. They are light plastic discs with counter images. They can be written on with dry/erase markers (we use a red marker to mark bloodied monsters). The thing we're trying to figure out now is the configuration and price. They're more expensive than the Counter Collections, but far cheaper than miniatures, and unlike the cardstock versions, you can't have 800 in a set (more like 75-100). Work in progress...
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[Emphasis mine, above.] If the configuration is not already set in stone, how about making the counters "stand up" by selling paired products: (1) those same images, but instead of being printed on circular shapes, make them "cutout" style instead, having a "bottom edge" that is wide enough to snap securely into the companion product, which is (2) plastic bases (in Small, Medium, Large, Huge, etc. sizes).

Then, in each SKU of counters, include enough bases to set up more than one encounter; and when the customers want to run encounters using different counters, they simply remove counters that are currently in the bases, and snap the different counters into the bases.

That way, you're printing a flat (2-D) product, but your customer is using what you sell to play with an upright (3-D) product.

(I don't actually know if this would be commercially feasible, but I thought I should mention it. It might easily improve the view of the playing surface when seated at a table.)

 

[havard]

I dont see any reason to by tokens. If I need something like that I am happy to use miniatures. The fact that WotC won't be selling them anymore isn't much of a problem really.

-Havard

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

[Emphasis mine, above.] If the configuration is not already set in stone, how about making the counters "stand up" by selling paired products: (1) those same images, but instead of being printed on circular shapes, make them "cutout" style instead, having a "bottom edge" that is wide enough to snap securely into the companion product, which is (2) plastic bases (in Small, Medium, Large, Huge, etc. sizes).

I was thinking about that as well- if done the right size, they could snap into bases that are already on the market.

I dont see any reason to by tokens. If I need something like that I am happy to use miniatures. The fact that WotC won't be selling them anymore isn't much of a problem really.

-Havard

I'm a minis guy myself- started buying back in 1977-78 and haven't stopped yet. I don't know how many thousand metal & plastic minis I have.

However, that doesn't mean I don't see value in other forms of representing characters for RPGs. For instance, when I host game night, all those thousands of minis are available for use. When I'm not, however, I have to make choices about what to take...and if I'm not the DM, that means I'm probably not going to have something the DM asks for.

With tokens, I could probably tote 5-10x the number of minis to an away game in token form.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I own a whole heap of plastic tokens that I use for my D&D game. Even better than regular tokens, they are 3d and come pre-painted. Unfortunately WotC recently decided to stop making them.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Treebore]

Yeah, I prefer the tokens because of cost and how significantly less space they require for storage. I have thousands of tokens in just a few gallon size zip lock bags. I only have a couple of hundred mini's. Mostly metal, and they are much more of a pain to store.

So over all I prefer 2D due to storage issues. 3D just becomes more of a hassle, one that in the long run I am not willing to deal with.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Yeah, I prefer the tokens because of cost and how significantly less space they require for storage. I have thousands of tokens in just a few gallon size zip lock bags. I only have a couple of hundred mini's. Mostly metal, and they are much more of a pain to store.

So over all I prefer 2D due to storage issues. 3D just becomes more of a hassle, one that in the long run I am not willing to deal with.

For me, the "coolness" factor of minis outweighs the cost and storage issues. I started out using tokens (CC Digital to be precise) but found that the 3d element of the minis was just too cool to pass up.

As for storage, I have a couple of thousand pre-painted DDM's. They all fit in a couple of plastic tubs. As my collection has grown I have found that I need to sort them into more and more specific snap-lock bags (for example, my Undead bag was split into a Zombie, Skeleton, Ghoul and other Undead bags). However, because I have sorted them so specifically, I can still generally find the mini that I need in about a minute or so.

On the other hand, metal minis (or even non pre-painted plastic minis) are much more difficult to keep and transport. You need to store them in something like a mini case so the paintwork doesn't get all scratched up. If they are dropped off the table it can mean anything from chipped paintwork to a destroyed mini.

So I can definitely understand the metal mini issues.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

... how about making the counters "stand up" by selling paired products: (1) those same images, but instead of being printed on circular shapes, make them "cutout" style instead, having a "bottom edge" that is wide enough to snap securely into the companion product, which is (2) plastic bases (in Small, Medium, Large, Huge, etc. sizes).

Agreed, I recently purchased a set of plastic stands that a printed pciture could be slid into, making a cheap replacement mini. Regretfully, the stands came as 'assembly required' and the slot into which the picture slids is not very well configured after my mumbly-fingered attempts to put them together.

I would definately go for a product with plastic counters that stood on edge within a proper sized stand. That would look better on the board, easier to categorize and travel with, and less expensive than a real mini.