While hunting around for suitable game pieces for prototyping, I came across some things called woodworking biscuits.
These are small (about 1 inch or 2.5 cm long and 0.1 inch 3mm), roundish wood chips (like a stubby surfboard - but can get elongated ones). They are usually used for wood joinery (in what is known as a biscuit joint :roll: ).
They take craft paint, or marker pens quite well. Also (and this is the important thing) they are quite cheap (about $8.00au for around 50 pieces - and you can buy larger containers of them). The biscuits are also quite durable and will take a fair amout of punishment.
Although they won't be good enough for a finished product, they are great for the prototyping stage and have a good feel to them.
