Homemade TacWWII markers

The TacWWII rules originally came with an A4 sheet of tiny (7mm x 4mm) counters for you to cut out and use with the game. They were printed on bright green thin card and although there were more than you'd ever need of each type, they were fiddly to use and surprisingly visually intrusive in game photos.

I'd always thought these counters could be replaced with something more visually attractive. My return to the rules came at a time when I had a 3D printer. Creating counters was a first chance to learn some basic 3D design skills with Tinkercad. The result was a comprehensive set of markers for the game.

Mode Counters

In TacWWII each company is in a "Mode" that reflects the tactical stance of the company and its component platoons. For example, we can imagine that a platoon within a company in Bold Attack Mode probably has two of its sections advancing while the third is giving covering fire or watching for enemy  reactions.

My Mode counters are in different shapes to help with recognition from a distance. The March Mode marker is column shaped with a puff of cotton wool to represent dust kicked up by the fast-moving units.

The Prepared Defence markers are prism-shaped and painted in brick red. I like to think of them being used by units hunkered down behind the rubble of part-demolished buildings.

Tinkercad doesn't support to use of textures so my markers were painted with Modpodge and sprinkled with sand before being painted and dry-brushed. A little flock helps them blend in with the terrain.

This late war German Pankzerkompanie is advancing in Bold Attack Mode.

My own additions to the rules include some additional functions for recce units. This Soviet tank HQ gets plus one on its Tac rolls this turn as a result of information provided by an armoured car patrol. The singly-based figure reminds us of this.

Marking Casualties

In general with a 6mm scale game where a single unit represents a platoon spread over hundreds of square metres, there's no need to keep knocked-out units on the table. However, in TacWWII it's useful to have a reminder, at the end of the turn, which units' loss triggers a morale check. In addition, units can be Neutralised - they don't fight but can test at the end of the turn to recover. I show these with markers made from paint-dyed cotton wool on small card bases.

The same Panzer IV company is now in Deliberate Attack Mode. They have had one platoon KO'd (marked with fire and smoke) and one Neutralised (marked with kicked-up dust). They will test at -6 (for two-thirds casualties) at the end of the turn at which point the destroyed platoon and its marker will be removed.

Morale Status Markers

This British tank squadron from 11th Armoured Division has lost one of its three Comet troops and had another Neutralised. The resulting morale test has seen them receive a "Halt" result.

Later in the battle (the destroyed troops having been removed) they suffer a "Retire" result. Note that one troop is still Neutralised. In my interpretation of the rules they do withdraw despite the usual prohibition on Neutralised units moving.

Locating the Enemy

Spotting in TacWWII is subject to a Tac roll. Better-trained troops have a better chance of spotting enemy units at distance. Experience shows that it's really helpful to track which units have passed their spotting Tac roll. The "Loc" marker shows that this Panzer IV company is fully alert. Being in Defence Mode they've also been successful in adopting hull-down positions along the ridge line.

Artillery Fire

I've printed out and laminated some markers in the correct size for one, two or three batteries firing. The explosion marker was made years ago from some kind of modelling clay and hamster bedding!

Digging In

Speaking of defensive positions, I've recently (inspired by Andy Taylor) created some markers for dug-in infantry. 

I printed some parapet shapes (30mm wide to match the frontage of my infantry platoons) and stuck them to thin card (cut from old business cards) before adding sand for texture and painting. This way I don't need dug-in duplicates of each unit type.

During the Approach March

We'll sometimes want to move companies with a single marker before battle is joined. This can speed up the early stages of the game but can also add some useful fog of war. These 3D printed "company blinds" are marked on the rear with a letter that can be keyed to the player's Order of Battle sheet. Here we a see an undetected company approaching some peat cuttings.

Finally, it can also be useful to know which tank platoons are carrying infantry on their rear decks. My "tank rider" markers use the same thin card I used in the "dug-in" markers, suitable figures and the gauge of card I use for unit bases to make a channel into which the tank unit base can sit.

When battle is joined the tank rider markers will be replaced by conventional infantry bases.