Alternatives to Chaos Tokens?

[shosuko 2,174]

I feel the Tokens are very frustrating.  They are hard to actually shuffle about, and I find I continuously draw the same tokens repeatedly.  16 is an odd number, but I considered maybe using a 20 sided dice and just re-rolling on certain outcomes (17-20) or possibly acquiring a 16 sided die.

 

I just played a game where out of the first 8 draws I had the evil sign, skull, and tablet appear 2 times each...  Very frustrating system to deal with imo

Have others had issues with the chaos tokens?  How do you manage them during game play to generate random results?

Edited November 21, 2016 by shosuko

[Khudzlin 734]

You just need an opaque bag big enough to be able to really move the tokens around in. Btw, there are 17 tokens in the bag in hard mode and 18 in expert mode.

[Hawkstrike 5,410]

There's an app on iOS now too.

 

I tried a dice bag, but switched to a dice cup.  It's OK ... I'd prefer dice, if I'm honest -- but you'd need one for each difficulty and maybe one for each adventure series, so I can see where that wouldn't be practical. The token approach is pretty flexible.

 

I've thought about making custom tokens from glass beads just for better hand feel than cardboard (I already use glass bead counters instead of the other tokens).  We'll see.

[Network57 561]

Team Covenant makes custom tokens for FFG games. Dunno if they have Arkham ones yet, but I'd spring for those once they do. I like tokens. There's something more satisfying about pulling out that sky blue Elder Sign than a dice roll would be, or some pixels on my iPhone.

[shosuko 2,174]

Yeah I think glass beads would be better.  I'd much prefer glass beads with markings on them.

[varilux 0]

This one works for me

http://lotr-lcg-quest-companion.com/all_chaosbags.php?idselected=AHCS_tg

[GamingCthulhu 0]

Create custom designed cards or just write on some old playing cards and make a Chaos Deck. Shuffle it before each draw and go to town.

[Guitarquero 186]

I prefer the tokens over dice. There's something thematic about pulling tokens from a bag in Arkham Horror. Makes it feel like your the cause of your own peril instead of rolling a die and getting a bad result. My only suggestion is to find a bag enough big to fit your hand in to get a good shuffle.

[shosuko 2,174]

I thought about the custom cards thing, but small decks can have similar issues where it is difficult to actually get a "random" card.  When I play games and they say "discard a random card" I typically roll a die with 1 being the card closest to me.

 

 

This one works for me

http://lotr-lcg-quest-companion.com/all_chaosbags.php?idselected=AHCS_tg

Thank you - this looks like a good enough solution for now. 

[Xenu's Paradox 40]

You just need an opaque bag big enough to be able to really move the tokens around in. Btw, there are 17 tokens in the bag in hard mode and 18 in expert mode.

When in doubt, use the good old Crown Royal bag.

There's an app on iOS now too.

What, no love for us Android users?

 

I've thought about making custom tokens from glass beads just for better hand feel than cardboard (I already use glass bead counters instead of the other tokens). We'll see.

 

Wood is where it's at.

I thought about the custom cards thing, but small decks can have similar issues where it is difficult to actually get a "random" card.  When I play games and they say "discard a random card" I typically roll a die with 1 being the card closest to me.

You can always just double everything up.

[Ghost Dancer 401]

I like the bag and tokens, not just for the flexibility they provide but as others have said it feels thematic. I often give the bag a little shake to randomise, or just swish the tokens about before I grab one.

 

I think you do need a decent sized bag for it to work well though (i.e. one you can easily get your hand into). I'm using the '7 Sins' dice bag that came with my copy of The Others (both games arrived on the same day) - perfect size and reasonably thematic.

[evilidler 145]

Huge bags here: http://boardgameextras.co.uk/item.php?id=26551&name=Blue+Large+cotton+bag+ideal+for+Carcassonne+tiles&cat=279&sub_cat=293

 

I ordered a few of these, and I've found them excellent for Carcassonne/Dice Masters-style games. They're not the tiny money pouches you get from FFG - you can easily fit two fists into them

[Sid Pikes 12]

 

You just need an opaque bag big enough to be able to really move the tokens around in. Btw, there are 17 tokens in the bag in hard mode and 18 in expert mode.

When in doubt, use the good old Crown Royal bag.

 

 

Now with the different flavors of Crown Royal out there you can get a bag of the color you want. Apple comes with a green bag for example.

Crown royal has been my go to Monster cup for Arkham Horror, Elder Sign, and Eldritch Horror.

Hard to argue a dice bag that comes with free whiskey

[Bronze 28]

I also felt this way about the poor shuffling of flat tokens.  I went with a solution for less than $10 that resulted in me purchasing wooden beads at a craft store and drawing symbols on them with a precision sharpy.  I even spent $3.99 on a wooden worn little chest with a latch that seemed themed in order to shake it up in.