Many games use counters. Sometimes these are actually provided with the game, but often not. You may be able to print out the counters, maybe glue them on an old cereal box to make them a little bit more durable and have the first sneeze blow them all to the sea...
...or you could buy laser-cut MDF counters from Warbases (http://www.warbases.co.uk/ ) The nifty thing with these lasers is that in addition to cutting things, they can be used to engrave things. That's what you get here, laser-cut MDF counters with laser-engraved text and/or pictures.
Warbases offers 21mm round counters with a wide selection of designs and they're pretty inexpensive.
Initial Impressions
The counters are nice neat round and... well, brown. They are perfectly usable as is, but in the natural MDF color they may appear a bit bland. While not exactly heavy, they are more substantial than plain paper or thin cardboard counters. They should stay put in a light breeze just fine.
In Use
But the counters are actually pretty easy to paint. To liven them up with a single color, just load your brush lightly (think "wetbrushing"). You want the brush to be wet but not dripping. Then lightly paint the counters following the surface and not pressing down. The paint will stay out of the engraving leaving it nicely black.
You can also color sections of the counter using the engravings as "paint by numbers" guide. I absolutely suck at freehand and I could do these.
Finish off with a whiff of varnish and you're done.
I haven't tried spray painting the counters, that might also work if you keep the spray light.
Verdict
These counters are really good and excellent value. In addition Warbases has excellent customer service and they're very open to suggestions of new counter designs. If they don't have the design you need, just give them a call.
Warbases also offers laser-engraved acrylic counters, which I haven't tried yet. They are a bit more expensive but come in a variety of colors saving you the trouble of painting them.
Ofcourse, you could just order round or rectangular bases and glue your printed counters on them if you prefer.
maxxon
Sucks!
