Not quite a substitute for figures but more satisfying than small counters! I found this in the loft when I was rummaging about and remembered it was my fast start into the Roman period.
An alternative "quick start" would be: https://wofun-games.com/index.php?route=common/home
As per fellow blogger David Crook's, who recently turned 60 has discovered and started on a new "adventure": http://awargamingodyssey.blogspot.com/2020/10/that-dreadnought-moment.html