One of my wargaming pet peeves is to see an otherwise finely turned out game diminished by the presence of ugly markers. Everyone has seen the ones I'm talking about - the kill rings, the rubber shrouds, the pipe cleaners, order markers, status chips, etc....UGLY! Piquet is a great set of rules - why not take a litde time to add to the visual impact of your games. There are some very easy ways to mark unit status without ruining the look of your game.

The easiest markers are, you guessed it, no markers! We don't use markers to indicate Disordered and Routed units. We simply arrange Disordered units in an irregular, ragged variation of their formation. Routed units are obviously even more "messy" and f acing away from the enemy.

Out of command units can be easily marked by using something simple like a penny with one side textured with sand, flocked, etc. Simply plop an Out of Command marker (terrained penny) next to the unit and you're in business.

Units armed with black powder firearms (artillery, muskets, rifles, etc.) need a mechanism to indicate when they are unloaded. I've made markers which simulate billowing clouds of smoke emanating from the weapons. I purchased 1" white pom- poms at a craft store, and then glued 3 together in a line so that the marker was a total of 3" long. I then put some light gray paint on a piece of paper and rolled the glued pompoms (after the glue has dried) back and forth lightly through the paint. The result is a nice "smoky" effect. Smaller pom-poms can be used for 15mm figures.

Units which are armed with bows can use markers made from by using a small stand and placing a bow, a quiver, or "blob" of arrows on it. When placed next to the unit, it is marked as being unloaded. Manufacturers such as Wargames Foundry are a good source of supplemental weapons that can be used to make the stands. If you're feeling creative, small diameter brass wire can be used to make arrows, larger diameter copper wire can be used to form bows.

For Point of Attack games, units which have lost target acquisition are marked by placing a small pebble by the unit. The effect is unobtrusive, and easy to use.

We've grown to like the effect of noting stands when the units take losses We simply mark the unit in a non-obtrusive manner. All of my forces are based on metal stands. As such, I've made small 1" long stands that have a small part of their length placed under the stand, attaching magnetically. The remaining portion of the stand is exposed. This is the part of the stand that I've textured with sand, rocks, etc. Simply place a marker on each stand lost. Another variant is to simply move a single marker in a clockwise manner around the command stand to indicate the loss of 3 or more stands.

Another easy method to mark losses is to use muskets, swords, or spears. Place a weapon on each stand that has taken a loss. Again, manufacturers such as Wargames Foundry are good sources for weapons.

To keep track of the number of hits a command group has taken (for the risk to the officer on an Officer Check card), I simply place a prone casualty figure near the officer for each unit when it takes a qualified hit. When the check is required, we simply add up the "dead" figures and compare against the total with a D20. After the check, the casualty figures are removed, and the process starts again.

Prone units are marked by simply placing a prone, non casualty figure next to the unit. Most manufactureres provide prone figures for periods where appropriate.

Any other ideas? I'd be interested to hear any other methods being used - send them in.