Quick answer
Buy the Vantage Wooden Skill Tokens if you play Vantage often, host full tables, or dislike handling the small cardboard tokens the game ships with. One pack contains 60 wooden tokens and covers the quantities needed for a complete 6-player game, so a single purchase is enough no matter how many players sit down. If you play Vantage only occasionally or prefer to spend on new games instead of components, the cardboard tokens work fine and you can skip this upgrade.
Vantage
What the upgrade actually changes
Vantage is an open-world, cooperative, roguelike adventure game for 1-6 players designed by Jamey Stegmaier, with an entire planet to explore and players communicating while scattered across the world. It ships with cardboard skill tokens. The Wooden Skill Tokens set replaces those with 60 wooden tokens designed specifically for Vantage, so the shapes and quantities match what the game expects rather than approximating it. Nothing about the rules changes: you are swapping one physical component for another that is easier to pick up, stack, and pass around a table.
That specificity matters more than it sounds. Generic wooden token sets rarely match the exact mix a game needs, which leaves you counting, substituting, or buying two packs. Because this set was built for Vantage and sized for six players, the decision is simpler: one pack or none.
The six-player math is the real selling point
The most common mistake with component upgrades is underbuying. A pack that covers four players quietly becomes a problem the first time six people show up. Because one Vantage pack covers a full 6-player game, your purchase does not depend on your usual group size. If you regularly host game nights where the table fills up, that removes the main reason to hesitate.
If your group usually plays at two or three, you will simply have spare tokens in the box. That is not waste so much as insurance against the night everyone brings a friend.
Where this set fits alongside other Stonemaier upgrades
Stonemaier makes similar upgrade packs for other titles, and they are not interchangeable. The Finspan Upgrade Pack contains 40 wooden young tokens, 20 wooden school tokens, and 50 squishy egg tokens, and it covers a full 5-player game of Finspan rather than Vantage. The Wooden Map Tokens for expeditions-gears-of-corruption-f7baf1d9d68b15027ca9011d-898284">Expeditions: Gears of Corruption are 16 custom printed wooden tokens that replace that expansion's cardboard map tokens and are mechanically identical to them.
The pattern is consistent: each pack is scoped to one game, and each one replaces cardboard with something more tactile without altering how the game plays. If you own several Stonemaier titles, budget for the packs that match the games you actually get to the table, not the ones that look nicest on a shelf.
How to judge any wooden token upgrade before you buy
Three questions separate a worthwhile upgrade from an impulse purchase. First, does the pack state the player count it covers? A pack sized for the maximum player count of the game is the only version that never leaves you short. Second, does it say it was designed for that specific game, or is it a generic set? Game-specific sets match quantities and often token types; generic sets do not. Third, does it change the rules? A good upgrade is mechanically identical to what it replaces, so you are only changing how the game feels in your hands.
The Vantage set answers all three: 60 tokens, designed for Vantage, full 6-player coverage, and no rules changes. That is the profile you want when comparing any wooden board game tokens against the cardboard they replace.
What you give up
Wooden tokens cost more than the cardboard already in the box, and they add weight and bulk to your game bag. They also do not fix anything that is broken. If your complaint about Vantage is table space, teach time, or storage, new tokens will not solve it. And if you have not yet played enough Vantage to know whether it stays in your rotation, the cardboard is a perfectly good reason to wait. This is a comfort and longevity purchase, not a gameplay one.
Decision rules for buying Vantage wooden skill tokens
- If you play Vantage at 5-6 players: Buy one pack. It covers the quantities needed for a full 6-player game, so you will not run short at a full table. One pack is the correct quantity.
- If you play Vantage solo or at 2-3 players: The pack still works and leaves spares, but the value is lower because you are paying for coverage you rarely use. Buy only if you dislike the cardboard feel.
- If you are considering a different Stonemaier upgrade: Match the pack to the game: Finspan tokens fit Finspan, and Gears of Corruption map tokens fit that expansion. They are not interchangeable. Never buy an upgrade pack for a game you do not own.
- If you have not played Vantage yet: Play the base game first. The cardboard tokens are functional, and the upgrade is about feel rather than rules. Wait until Vantage earns a permanent spot in your rotation.
Product facts
- Vantage Wooden Skill Tokens: These 60 wooden skill tokens were designed specifically for Vantage, which includes cardboard tokens, and one pack covers the quantities needed for a full 6-player game. You only need to buy once regardless of group size, and the token mix matches what Vantage actually uses instead of being a generic substitute.
- Finspan Upgrade Pack (Wooden Tokens & Squishy Eggs): The Finspan Upgrade Pack contains 40 wooden young tokens, 20 wooden school tokens, and 50 squishy egg tokens, designed specifically for Finspan, and one pack covers a full 5-player game. It shows the upgrade pattern is game-specific, so Vantage tokens will not substitute for Finspan tokens and vice versa.
- Wooden Map Tokens for Expeditions: Gears of Corruption: These 16 custom printed wooden tokens replace the cardboard map tokens in Expeditions: Gears of Corruption and are mechanically identical to them. A useful comparison point: a good upgrade changes the feel of the components without changing how the game plays.
Who should buy this
Best for
- Groups that regularly play Vantage at 4-6 players
- Players who dislike handling small cardboard tokens
- Owners who want one purchase that covers every player count
Not for
- Players who have not yet decided whether Vantage stays in their collection
- Anyone looking for a rules change or new content rather than a component swap
- Buyers who need tokens for a different Stonemaier game, since these are sized for Vantage
