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tracking health for multiple units of the same type

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undeliverer
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I am working on a game where there are multiple units of the same type. One player might have 15 units of A and 10 units of B... what is a good way for the player to track the health of said units? The units have anywhere from 4 to 9 health

I have thought of things like damage counters to dice next to units but this seems too clunky ... any help is appreciated

O and the game board is in 1 inch squares

X3M
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Actually, you could go with

Actually, you could go with damage counters any way.
Make these damage counters just as big as the unit card size. This helps in handling them. And simply place them below the unit. Now you have a little stack of at least 2 cards when the unit is damaged. The unit itself and the damage counters.
Also, a colour on the side might give away the amount of damage that this unit has taken. If your units only have 4 to 9 health. Counters of 1 and 5 will do. You could use the colours Red and Black.

If you have multiple units on one square, you still can stack them this way. However, the tower might get to big. For preventing that you could also use miniature "whiteboard" cards. Simply write down the damage. And wipe it out if it has to be changed. The con is that you can't get a fast grasp of the situation of the unit.

Do the units use a facing? Or doesn't it matter where they are looking? In that case. You could simply turn them around. Each side of the card (the 4 sides I mean) Have the counters 0, 1, 2 and 3. Then flip over the card for 4, 5, 6 and 7 damage. With 8, the unit is dead and removed any way.
Although, 9 or higher for health would be impossible with this.

Last, perhaps having round units and the numbers simply displayed on a second round piece. All you need now is to turn the second round piece until you have the desired number of health. You even could use 2 rings for health like this.
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/K2_sy57YqSs/maxresdefault.jpg
Observe this picture closely to what I mean.

I hope this helps.

***

If it is just a hobby game. I advice to put effort into making the pieces. And I would love to hear more about it.

undeliverer
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Thank you so much. I am

Thank you so much. I am liking the idea of using counters like in the smash up game ... the victory point ones. Maybe have different colors for 1 through 9 ... that way the stack does not get huge and you can replace with the color (with number in center) of your health.

As of now I really want either stand up cardboard standup figures or plastic configures. Positioning doesn't matter.

Again thank you!

X3M
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If you are going to use stand

If you are going to use stand up figures. (which I find awesome) Make the counter as big as half the basis.
With that I mean that you simply lay down the counter ON the basis, visible for all to see. If you need a second counter, you can place this one on the other side of your figure.

I advice not to use 9 different colours. Just 2 or 3.
Reason 1: Colour blind people. You can find on the internet which colours do great together for all people.
Reason 2: This might create confusion. Unless you have numbers printed on them.

If you have 9 as a maximum health. You can use the counters 1 and 3.
1, 1+1, 3, 1+3, 1+1+3, 3+3, 1+3+3, 1+1+3+3, and dead.
Instead of halves; quarters will do even better.

***

With this said. Using hiders instead of counters might also work.
The unit already has the numbers printed on the basis. And if the health is reduced, you simply hide the health.
But modding an individual unit will not be possible any more.

undeliverer
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Love your idea ... I also

Love your idea ... I also didn't think about color blind individuals... the 1 & 3 counters on the base is what I'm going for now ... I will research 2 colors and have the number written on the appropriate color counter... thanks again

Tsquared
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Health Counters

May not hurt to do 1, 3, and 5 tokens. This means that you'll never have more than 2 tokens next to a unit unless it has 7 damage (5+1+1 or 3+3+1) which keeps the game less cluttered.

X3M
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Nice suggestion, let me upgrade that :)

If you use 3 tokens (which feels to me as 9 all over again), then you might as well try flipping the tokens.

With 1 and 2. You could make a double sided token. Simply flip it over from 1 to 2.
Have a token with 3 and 4 to replace it.
When reaching 5, you get your second token of 1/2.
Replace this one with a 3/4 token when you reach 7 or 8 damage.
And when reaching 9 damage, the unit will be dead, thus all tokens are removed. Only 2 tokens max.

wombat929
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X3M wrote:If you use 3 tokens

X3M wrote:
If you use 3 tokens (which feels to me as 9 all over again), then you might as well try flipping the tokens.

With 1 and 2. You could make a double sided token. Simply flip it over from 1 to 2.
Have a token with 3 and 4 to replace it.
When reaching 5, you get your second token of 1/2.
Replace this one with a 3/4 token when you reach 7 or 8 damage.
And when reaching 9 damage, the unit will be dead, thus all tokens are removed. Only 2 tokens max.

This is elegant, but would probably require a section in the rulebook to explain for players who don't intuit it quickly. :D

Zag24
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Sorry, but I've been watching

Sorry, but I've been watching this thread and I think you people are all solving the wrong problem.

OP, you say that you can have as many as 25 units that you are individually tracking health for? And you want to use counters where there are 2 or even three tokens for each unit? Gaaah! Cards and 50-ish tokens to get scattered about? This sounds like a nightmare.

I'm assuming that this is a tactics-heavy wargame, or the whole premise falls apart. (That is, the premise that there are up to 25 units that need to be individually tracked.) If this is not the focus of the game, then that's just too much bookkeeping for something that is only a side-aspect of the game.

Assuming that this is a justifiable concept, then you still need to manage it without 50-odd counters that have to be correctly placed, where an accidental sweep of the sleeve is not going to ruin the whole game. I suggest good old paper and pencil.

If the list of units is chosen up front, as in, say Warhammer 40K, then the best approach is a web site or app that people use to select their army and print out a single sheet that has unit stats and a line of hit-point boxes for each unit. People can print this out before starting the tactical part of the game.

If the list of units is dynamic (i.e. you accumulate more during play, so the list can't be predicted in advance), then I suggest just a freely-copyable hit point sheet that a player uses to track hit points for his units. For each new unit, you pencil in the type, and leave room if someone wants to put the significant 2 or 3 stats, and then there's the row of hit-point boxes, where the player starts off by X-ing down to the right number of hit points for this type of unit.

X3M
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Well, you got a point Zag.

Well, you got a point Zag. But I think that he is getting rid of every damaged unit in the game. I mean, that there are 25 units. But only 2 to 3 will be having the damage. Players tend to finish the injured since this is in most cases the best tactical approach.

Perhaps we should await his answer. And maybe you can tell us more.

undeliverer
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The coop units will have at

The coop units will have at most 22 units between 3 players
the "bad" guy has a chance of getting everything from 9 units to 2 units every turn for 5 turns ... these units are stronger for the most part than the coop units ... i have to playtest to see how this works out but i dont want to make it easy on the coop players .. they need strategy and brute force lol

Below is from my post in the combat system ... to help explain game a litte bit better

I guess I should explain my game a little more ... The basis is that 3 players place units (meeples) to gain one of 9 different sets of cards ... these range from a stack of buildings, to defense, to arms and armor, or even more units.

If they drew a type of structure they place it on the gameboard ... if they drew something that helps their "hero" they may place it on that unit or give it to one of their meeple units ... every player has 1 hero and 3 meeples to start with

they do this for 5 turns and then a situation happens ... a 4th player flips over this card and gets the deck that goes with it

every turn for 5 more turns the "bad" guy player flips a card and it tells him what he/she is playing .... this can be up to 9 "bad" units that the player controls, something bad that happens, or a boss

the 3 coop players move all their people around the game board as they see fit, then the "bad" guy moves his

combat happens when a player is within range of an enemy unit on their turn

there are a few more aspects of the game in which the coop players can lose, but the only way to win is to survive

Sidenote ... while testing i found rolling a 6 to be way to hard so I'm thinking of changing this to a 4 and 5 is 1 damage, and a 6 is 2 damage

coop units have 1 to 4 attack base stats and 0 to 2 defense stats
"bad" units have 4 to 9 attack stats and 0 to 4 defense stats

a coop unit may be in a building square that gives them an attack or defense boost, or they might have gear or training that gives them a boost

no coop units will have more than 11 dice and 5 defense as this is the maximum they can have with the cards that they can draw ... and the only chance of getting the max is very very slim ... since the situation has to be just right for all of that to occur

undeliverer
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also from the combat post

also from the combat post -----

O and the units are on an individual basis ... what i mean is that there is no group of bad "enemies" ... each enemy is an individual unit what has a atk, def, movement, health, and range

So defense doesn't add up for "bad" or enemy units ... the hero and coop meeples may add up defense based on their base stats, a building they are in, or if they have a armor or training card that boosts their defense

battle will only be on an individual scale ... but multiple units might focus down a strong unit to win a fight

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