Sunday, September 13, 2009

Magic Realm: Game Chits

As was mentioned earlier, Magic Realm is a hybrid board game / role-playing game.

Magic Realm also has clear wargaming roots, revealed in many of the game mechanics. One of those game mechanics is the use of "chits". Chits are cardboard pieces which (in wargames) are used to represent military units (such as platoons, companies, and divisions). Those cardboard chits normally have a symbol representing the type of military unit printed on the counter, along with the most salient tactical abilities of that unit.

Magic Realm also uses chits, although in that game the chits represent elements in the game, such as monsters, equipment, character abilities, characters, and treasures. I do not know exactly how many chits are included in the game, though I opined earlier that it may well be over 500.

The sheet of chits shown above is from Magic Realm. The top row of chits represent some of the equipment and treasures found in the game. The first four chits of those are the magic swords, followed by three special armor chits, which are found in one of the treasure hoards. The other four chits are (non-magical) staves and breastplates. The next two rows of chits on this sheet are the tremendous -- and most dangerous -- monsters in the game, along with the dwellings where the inhabitants of the Magic Realm can be found. The remaining three rows of chits on this sheet are the horses that are owned by some of the inhabitants of the Magic Realm, and some of the less dangerous (but still deadly) monsters.

4 comments:

Timeshadows said...

The loveliest chits I have yet seen are in A4's Panzer Grenadier. They are top-down with drop-shadow of troops and field guns, etc.
Gorgeous, and 'oversized'.

Now, if only I could find the 8-page rules booklet. :(

Timeshadows said...

Sorry: Avalanche Press

http://www.avalanchepress.com/pdf/PGSampleCtrsF.pdf

Aaron E. Steele said...

That sounds really neat!

I can just imagine someone trying to arrange the chits, so that all the shadows are lined up to correspond with the location of the imaginary light-source ...

I gather that, like Magic Realm, the rules are similarly confusing?

Timeshadows said...

I downloaded the 16-page rules of 3erd edition, and also found a 1-page Quick Start, so it can't be that difficult.
--But, it is a platoon-level wargame, so it isn't a snakes and ladders, either. :)