Techno Bowl pixel block player alternative

I am looking forward to getting my copy of Techno Bowl, and I decided I didn't want pixel block players since the players themselves end up on the sides and all you get on the top of the block is a large number.

So I got a bunch of 1" wood discs, and am painting them based on team colors. Here's the first team (The Kittens) completed. This also took way less time than it would to make blocks.

That looks pretty good. Miniatures would also work, or LEGOS even if people were so inclined.

I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do as I really like the Pixel blocks. Too many projects so I'll probably just stick with the counters.

One thing I considered was getting 1" square wood tiles and gluing the counters to them so they would be more substantial and easier to pick up. And if the tiles were painted like above, they would look great and be a good team differentiator. That would be a really easy way to make it easier to play.