How do you take care of your board games? I have a general rule that “no good card game should ever be played without sleeves”. The proviso there is that it has to be a good enough game to merit the extra cost.
Board Game Components
Cards – If it’s a card, there is most likely some company out there that makes a sleeve for it. A sleeve protects the card’s integrity and prevents it from accumulating smudges. The company Swan Sleeves produces over 50 types of sleeves! From the US standard sizes of 3.5 by 2.5 to Euro Sizes, and even some really obscure ones. My geek self finds it relaxing to spend time sleeving a freshly opened deck building game.
Tokens – These are the cardboard bits you punch out. One must be cautious in freeing these as they have the tendency to rip off from the print. If you have the slightest bit of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) this will make you wince. I know of people who use cutters to ensure that the token is unbound safely.
Tiles – These are like the tokens made out of thick cardboard but bigger. As you move these tiles around they get banged up and faded. It is rare to find a sleeve that matches the size of these tiles. One thing I discovered though, for the game Tsuro of the Seas, is that tiles fit the bottom part of a US standard sleeve. I individually sliced a pack of sleeves down to match the square tiles and was impressed with how it came out. I don’t look forward to doing that again soon, as it seized a good chunk of one evening.
Meeples, Cubes and Disks – These are the most sturdy components in board games. Often resilient to the normal playtime wear and tear, the concern is more on their completeness when packing a game away. I am always on the lookout for possible storage solutions whenever I’m at a home depot or hardware store. Plastic pill containers, zip locks, mint canisters etc. might just be the right size for a game’s box and components.
Paper Money – I frankly dislike games that use Paper Money. I sleeved all of my Power Grid money, while it protected the paper from sweaty hands, it still did not work for me.
Box and Insert – When it’s a good game, I will try to save the shrink wrap the game came in by cutting around the bottom of the box. I’ll then tape the bottom together, making a temporary seal of the top cover of the game. It helps protect the game from dust and grime.
The insert is the cardboard or plastic shelving placed in the board game for arranging the components of the game during storage. The problem with many inserts is that they do not have room for the sleeves. Sorry Tom Vasel, but I disagree with your opinion about sleeves. That one time I had to wipe the beer off my copy of Splendor was so worth the time I spent sleeving it.
To all board game publishers, please put space for sleeves!
Dice – Some dice are just better made than others. There are higher quality ones that have deep pips while the others have symbols printed on the face of the die or worse stickers. As one chucks and rolls these dice, you can’t avoid the wear and tear over time. Take care not to roll dice off the table, make use of a dice tower or box when available. When we play King of Tokyo, we use the box itself to contain the dice being rolled.
Miniatures – Board games that have miniatures often have good inserts to store them. The problem arises when you start getting expansions. I have the base game plus a few expansions of Krosmaster Arena. The miniatures are just awesome, but I find it that they can sometimes break easily when being moved around. There are already commercially available foam storage solutions for this, but it can get pricey with the variety of your miniature sizes and scale.
While board games are not necessarily collectible and hence of little monetary value, they are meant to be played and not stored, it’s useful to keep in mind some safe keeping tips for one’s game to prolong lifespan.
Written by: Ronald Villaver
Edited by: Reg Tolentino