# What are the dimensions of a poker chip?



## reveal (Dec 7, 2004)

Silly question but I'm actually serious. 

I found a pretty cool gaming supplement from Alea Tools.

http://www.aleatools.com/Product.aspx?sm=pds

Basically, they're magnetic bases you can put on the bottom of your minis to designate how hurt the character is, what spell they have cast on them, etc.

Pretty neat idea but kinda pricey ($20+S&H for 27 bases; not _that_ bad a deal). So I was thinking of using something else, like poker chips for example. But are they too big? We use mats with 1" squares. Is there anything else that can be substituted for something like this?


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## Arcane Runes Press (Dec 7, 2004)

Depends on the poker chip. 

This is pretty close to a standard one:


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## DanMcS (Dec 7, 2004)

Yeah, they're more than 1" diameter, because we use them to mark area-effect spells and one chip usually covers 4 squares pretty well when we place it on the line intersection.  They're probably 1.25" to 1.5" diameter.


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## reveal (Dec 7, 2004)

Hmmmm... Well there goes that idea. 

Any suggestions on what to use to mark something like this? Or does someone already use something for this very purpose?


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## DanMcS (Dec 7, 2004)

Depends on how elaborate you want to get, I guess.  It seems like you could cut up construction paper to get the same effect if you wanted to.


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## reveal (Dec 7, 2004)

DanMcS said:
			
		

> Depends on how elaborate you want to get, I guess.  It seems like you could cut up construction paper to get the same effect if you wanted to.




*sigh* Why is it the simplest things always seem to escape me? 

Great idea!


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## Bleys (Dec 7, 2004)

You could head to your local craft supply store and get sheets of foam or plasticard, and then cut your own out of it.

Granted, the plasticard will probably be a bit of a pain, but you might be able to use something along the lines of a cookie cutter for the foam, especially if you can find the foam in different colors.


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## Mystery Man (Dec 7, 2004)

> Any suggestions on what to use to mark something like this?



At Dragons Lair on the back wall with all of their Warhammer stuff they should have a bag of mini bases that are blank. You could paint those different colors for different effects. At least they were there the last time I looked. Good luck.


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## frankthedm (Dec 8, 2004)

Metal washers can usually be bought cheaply in sizes from 1/2 an inch to 2 inches, just bring a ruler with.

Next, spray paint the washers.


Poker chips make nice bases for ogres and such.


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## Andre (Dec 8, 2004)

I use the chips included with Axis and Allies. They're the perfect size to place under a miniature. Red is used for a negative effect (blinded, fatigued, held, etc.) and white for something positive (invisible, hasted, etc). Works very well, though I wish I could find chips in this size in more colors.

BTW - using chips like this is an excellent way to remind players who use _bless, prayer_ and other such spells, but constantly forget to count the bonuses, or forget who was in the area effect when it was cast.


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## Andre (Dec 8, 2004)

frankthedm said:
			
		

> Metal washers can usually be bought cheaply in sizes from 1/2 an inch to 2 inches, just bring a ruler with.
> 
> Next, spray paint the washers.





I really like this idea, especially since I have ton of different colors for painting miniatures (not spray paints, but it'll work). Thanks!


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## IamTheTest (Dec 8, 2004)

You could try to flatten out bottle caps with a hammer.  That could work.  Or remake your battle map.


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## D+1 (Dec 8, 2004)

reveal said:
			
		

> Silly question but I'm actually serious.
> 
> I found a pretty cool gaming supplement from Alea Tools.
> 
> ...



A few minutes of looking at poker chip sales sites on the net shows that "casino quality" poker chips are about 1.5" or so (39mm), and are sold by gram weight - starting at about 4g for chips that are at least a step better than dime store interlocking chips and selling for about US$.07 each.  10.5g and 11.5g seem to be the typical standard weights and are significantly more expensive.  But they would be at least proper dimensions for what would be expected in a casino.  CLAY chips also seem to be the standard rather than plastic, though plastic is available too.

Casino chips don't seem terribly useful for gaming purposes to me, being over 1.5" in diameter.  A 1" square is standard for movement and miniatures so something that overlaps a 1" square by that much would be... obnoxious.  The one advantage they'd have is being cheaper than what you've found.  I'd recommend looking for really cheap dime store type interlocking chips and using those instead.  The magnets aren't going to adhere to non-ferrous miniatures anyway - only to each other.


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