Gaming Tools & Aids

[IvenBach]

What are some of the things you either do to speed gameplay up? I'm looking for system agnostic stuff.

Just found out about http://www.gamenightlife.com/ (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gamenightlife/gnl-mats/description) from their kickstarter after I came across https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/804836187/tact-tiles-modular-wet-and-dry-erase-gaming-surfac . Wish I would have known about the magentic tiles when it was going! They look to be a more modern derivative of http://www.chessex.com/mats/Battlemats_&_Megamats.htm. Dry erase and permanent marker options are a big plus.

Like HQ I like to print out things that may be referenced as cards. For D&D I format spells into cards for easy reference. A while back found http://hardcodex.ru/ that makes it very easy.

[knightkrawler]

That's a nice topic to spread and collect some ideas that might inspire people.

Here's my list of gaming aids, physical and logistic.
Some of them do speed things up, some just help keeping the whole shindig tidy, some are just style over substance:

- Each item or effect is represented by a card. You discard a card means you don't have that item / effect any more; 4 players are in the game, one hero cannot use a shield means I'm gonna print three shield cards; and so on. Each player's card deck shows exactly what he owns and what he can do; there is no referencing anything written down
- Body and Mind points for heroes as well as gold coins are represented by blips; I still need to find beautiful gold coin tokens with the right amounts (1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100)
- Body and Mind points for monsters are written down in a list/chart; monsters are given names on the rim of their bases (Ork 1, Ork 2, and so on); this is way more practical than blips under the figure or a die on its base
- each player has their own set of dice: 2 regular ones and 6 combat dice; a dice tower is another stylish thing to have and only one set of dice is needed really
- if a spell has a lasting effect on a room or a figure, the card goes into a card stand in that room or on the character card/in front of my screen for monsters before being discarded
- each player has a little turn marker (green circle on one side, red cross on the other; from Descent) and I have an hourglass that I turn around when I figure that a player takes too long to consider
- food and drinks
- anyone who plays modular boards will agree that that's a gaming aid in and of itself; Goblin-King will not because he's a purist and that's perfectly fine, too. I changed my mind a week ago
- counters to mark rooms as searched go into any free square; that's because I allow two treasure searches per room and one per furniture piece

[cornixt]

Given how much stuff is exchanged or changes during a game, tokens and cards are really the best way to keep stuff organised. Character sheets turn into a horrid mess after only a few quests, especially when used by kids who press far too firmly when writing and make everything hard to erase. Tokens for body points is really the only way to play (Michaels does a set of wooden heart tokens that stack nicely). I'd probably use cards to keep track of coins, just because then everything can be stacked into a single deck for that player, even if it doesn't have the same tactile quality.

The only problem is that if you are limiting equipment availability and someone decides to start a new character without fully retiring their old one. Depends on your group or what you allow.

[Goblin-King]

- anyone who plays modular boards will agree that that's a gaming aid in and of itself; Goblin-King will not because he's a purist and that's perfectly fine, too. I changed my mind a week ago

Damn straight dawg!

Actually I bought Warhammer Quest just for the tiles and minis.
I have nothing against modular boards at all, and quite frankly prefer it.
BUT...! For HQ I prefer the big board any day of the week.
Besides it being tradition and wanting to use original stuff (that's just me...), all the maps use the standard layout anyway, so going modular here would only waste time.

Also, knowing the layout, but not the doors and fallen rocks makes for a different kind of exploration. Neither better nor worse than discovering everything as you move along, just different.

[knightkrawler]

For HQ I prefer the big board any day of the week.
Besides it being tradition and wanting to use original stuff (that's just me...), all the maps use the standard layout anyway, so going modular here would only waste time.

I understand the notion. But... When I go modular and play original quests with tha standard room layout, my players would have to memorize a lot to actually have more than clues, especially with rooms laid out that have an often-used size (4x4). I'm not gonna pick a specific coloration when I have to set up such a room, so the clue comes with more unique rooms and hallway corners. But it's a teensy bit of detective work for the players which is always a nice thing.

[sajungzak]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fa ... =discovery

FantasyCoinsLLC is doing another kickstarter. Having physical coins with HQ appropriate designs really adds a great deal to the experience.

Theirs are excellent quality and there are many designs to choose from. I like the fire, dwarf, and orc sets the best.

Don't miss out on this one. It ends inn about a month I think.

[clmckay]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fantasycoinhq/fantasy-coin-legacy-gaming-coins?ref=discovery

FantasyCoinsLLC is doing another kickstarter. Having physical coins with HQ appropriate designs really adds a great deal to the experience.

Theirs are excellent quality and there are many designs to choose from. I like the fire, dwarf, and orc sets the best.

Don't miss out on this one. It ends inn about a month I think.

I've backed their last two KS, the first was great. The second had a great end product. Their communication however has been utter crap. No response to emails, just plain ignoring them. I had questions on the second KS and an order placed on their web store, no response at all. Got jipped on part of the web store order because they wouldn't respond.

I'd sooner eat my own hand than back that company again.

[IvenBach]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fantasycoinhq/fantasy-coin-legacy-gaming-coins?ref=discovery

FantasyCoinsLLC is doing another kickstarter. Having physical coins with HQ appropriate designs really adds a great deal to the experience.

Theirs are excellent quality and there are many designs to choose from. I like the fire, dwarf, and orc sets the best.

Don't miss out on this one. It ends inn about a month I think.

I've backed their last two KS, the first was great. The second had a great end product. Their communication however has been utter crap. No response to emails, just plain ignoring them. I had questions on the second KS and an order placed on their web store, no response at all. Got jipped on part of the web store order because they wouldn't respond.

I'd sooner eat my own hand than back that company again.

That's a shame. The more I see from their stuff the more I wish I had tons of money to burn. It's not for everyone but Wylock sold me on coins... Pun intended.

[sajungzak]

I've backed their last two KS, the first was great. The second had a great end product. Their communication however has been utter crap. No response to emails, just plain ignoring them. I had questions on the second KS and an order placed on their web store, no response at all. Got jipped on part of the web store order because they wouldn't respond.

I'd sooner eat my own hand than back that company again.

That's too bad. I ordered from their website no problem. There seems to be a lot of back and forth on the comments this time. Hopefully they will have better communication than their reputation suggests because the product is great and I've already pledged. Perhaps they were overwhelmed? They claim to be prepared this time with more machines to produce their product faster.

[clmckay]

I've backed their last two KS, the first was great. The second had a great end product. Their communication however has been utter crap. No response to emails, just plain ignoring them. I had questions on the second KS and an order placed on their web store, no response at all. Got jipped on part of the web store order because they wouldn't respond.

I'd sooner eat my own hand than back that company again.

That's too bad. I ordered from their website no problem. There seems to be a lot of back and forth on the comments this time. Hopefully they will have better communication than their reputation suggests because the product is great and I've already pledged. Perhaps they were overwhelmed? They claim to be prepared this time with more machines to produce their product faster.

Yeah.....it wasn't the speed, the sluggishness or updates or even the repeated contradictory information they put out that got me. I can just sail through all that. What got me was the outright lies. In one email exchange I asked about some stuff missing and was told by that Aaron fellow that he had "just dropped it off at the post office". No tracking number came, but I didn't worry about it. After a week I e-mailed him with no response, then Tim later, with no response. Rinse and repeat that several times over a three week period. I can't remember exactly what I finally said, but I finally got a response from Tim that he'd look into it. About.....three or so days later I get a shipping e-mail with tracking number. Aaron had never made a label, let alone ship it. It sat at "Shipping label created" for another 5 days ( and 1e-mail to each) before it finally shipped. Lol...that was just 1 of 3 problems with them! I'm still waiting for info on five missing SKUs and have sent them both endless e-mails. Nope, never again. If I get these last items I'm washing my hands, my address book and my browser history of all traces of them.

Good Luck!

However, on topic. I use coins for my HQ games and I can't imagine it any other way. Adds sooooooooo much to the game. Really feels like you're getting something when you find that chest of gold. I've grown fond of campaign coins, since they're denominated its a lot easier to decide how much each coin is worth. That and they're competent and honest. That's. nice bonus.