After spending time, effort and money producing a realistic battlefield picture in 3D, I do not want anything to detract from it, like counters or "casualty rings" etc. I also want to be able to tell at a glance what a particular unit is ordered to do and its morale status. The solution was found in borrowing some small coloured stones from the bottom of my aquarium, by the location and direction faced by Leaders in respect of their units, I achieved my objective. The stones are small and do not detract from the overall picture and have many uses i.e. a unit takes 3 moves to reload just place 3 stones (blue?) by the unit and take one offeach turn until they can fire again. Sounds like mountains of stones everywhere but I can assure you that the system both works and looks good.

1. Army Orders. Each Samurai commander has a HQ which is surrounded by a maku screen. Within this enclosure I have four unique figures representing each of the main parts of the army; Left, Centre, Right and Reserve. Having decided on my tactical formation, I then place my "aides" accordingly and thus record what formation the army is to adopt. For example:

2. Acts by Individuals/Leaders

3. Unit/Clan Actions

a. Morale Status

• OK: No marker required
• Retire: 1 White Stone
• Shaken: 1 Red Stone
• Retire and Reform: 2 White and 1 Red Stone

b. Orders