Axis & Allies Naval Miniatures War At Sea Token Set Comparison

For those who aren't familiar with this game system, Axis & Allies Naval Miniatures: War At Sea is strategy game that uses collectible naval miniatures. The original starter pack comes with everything you need to play a game. One of the components of the game is a set of tokens. The tokens are used keep track of the status of units in the game. Unfortunately, these are made of thin cardboard and can very frustrating to pick up. Most players I've played against don't even bother using the tokens because of this.

The lack of better quality tokens in the starter set presented a good business opportunity for plastic manufacturer called Litko. They make custom tokens for anybody who can place enough orders to meet their minimum for production. Soon after War at Sea hit the market, a player contacted them and soon production started. Fast forward a few years and they are available online and at some local gaming stores.

The tokens are made of transparent, colored plastic with the wording etched on one side. I didn't have any problems reading them, but the manufacturer suggests coloring the etching in with a white crayon if that's a problem. The tokens are thick so they are very easy to pick up even for big fingers. They are the same color and shape as the original cardboard tokens, so you can switch to them without having to get used to them. The set is quite large in number, so you rarely run out of tokens.

The downside to this set is the cost. The set's suggested retail price is $19.99 which is pretty steep for plastic tokens despite their high quality. If you search around, I've seen them online for the $15-16 range which is more reasonable. My other big complaint is that there is no smoke tokens. However, this really isn't a fair complaint because cardboard tokens that come in the starter set doesn't have them either. This would have been a nice addition since the game really needs this piece for ease of play.

The Gale Force 9 War at Sea tokens are the 'official' tokens for the game. These came out recently. They vary quite a bit from the cardboard tokens. They have a stylized, 'comic book' look to them. They remind me of the old batman TV show with Adam West where each punch caused a 'SMACK!' or 'WHAM!' to flash up on the screen. I'm not real fond of this look, but that's not a good reason to hate them. I find that the different shapes to be annoying. The original cardboard tokens had a standard shape for each type of token which was completely abandoned. This will take some getting used to for some players. The tokens also seem bigger than they need to be. My final issue with them is there is less of each type than the Litko set.

Probably the big advantage for this set is the inclusion of smoke tokens. The price tag is a little cheaper than the Litko set. The recommended price is $14.99, but again you can find it for cheaper if you shop around. The price per token is about the same due to the smaller quantity of each type. They are a little prettier since they are printed in color. Overall, I think they both are pretty even. I prefer the Litko set since they look like the original cardboard set. However, I could get used to either one and be just fine with them. My suggestion is to check them in person and build your opinion from seeing them in person.