Feldherr are another good option for lightweight, reasonably priced custom foam trays, though their selection is more focused on miniatures games. On the cheaper end, Folded Space make foam board inserts that won’t add too much weight to the box - a real consideration if you have to lug them to and from meet ups. If you’re in a spending mood or there’s a game that’s got a special place in your heart then buying a custom insert, specially designed for the game you have in mind is the way to go. “Stuff the budget, I’m feeling fancy” (£20+) For a bonus crafty tip, the ramekins that come with Gü puddings make great token organisers while you play. If you’re really short on space and feeling ambitious, you can even shrink the box itself town to make it more space efficient. You can cut your insert into parts, saving the most useful sections and replacing the rest with some of the hacks previously mentioned. Some sections will hold things really well while others spill their contents no matter how carefully you handle the box. When you find that your game came with an insert, don’t be afraid to cut it up and just use the parts that actually work.
This not only symbolises the cutting of ties with your disorganised past and the banishing memories of hour-long token-sorting sessions, but it’s also the next handy tip in this guide. Get out your knife and plunge it into the dodgy plastic insert that came with your latest purchase. For your big luxury board games like Twilight Imperium, Gloomhaven or Kingdom Death: Monster 1.5, investing in some pots to organise all those expansions and Kickstarter stretch goals reduces those extensive setup times and just makes for a more pleasant user experience. They’ll cost a little bit more but they’re still cheaper than buying a dedicated premium insert. Desk organisers and and small stationary boxes offer sturdier solution than baggies and bead boxes. Pill organisers and stackable screw-top cream pots make excellent token organisers for hobby games like X-Wing: The Miniatures Game or Warhammer Underworlds. If you pop into your local Superdrug or Rymans, you’ll find a goldmine of bits and bobs to organise your games.
Some small games will even fit entirely within a single deck box!Ĭlean up your chit: stationery supplies and cosmetics containers (£2-£10) These chunky cuboids will slot nicely into game boxes and their sturdiness helps brace everything else, preventing your bag from becoming a giant maraca. Simple deck boxes can be picked up from your friendly local game store for about a pound - we’re not looking for some gilded, hand-carved, rose quartz deck box on Etsy here. Bigger baggies will do this fine but if you want something a little more premium, deck boxes are the way to go. Now to activate your trap card: deck boxes (£2+)Īs good a pal as bead boxes are, they’re usually not big enough to hold a deck of cards. Not only will they organise your box, but you can take them out, chuck them on the table and they’ll keep everything organised while you play. They’re a little more expensive but you can find bulk packs on Amazon or at your local craft store for a fairly reasonable price. Baggies are useful for organising, but when it comes time to play the game you generally need to dump everything out of them - leaving you with a pile of plastic that the first gust of air will scatter across the room.
Not to cast aspersions on the baggie - they’ve saved players from opening their boxes to find a chit salad the world over - but if you want to up your organisational game, bead boxes are the way to go. This makes starting the game super quick and, as long as you remember when you pack it away, you'll save lots of time.Ī more crafty solution: bead boxes (~50p each) When you're organising components up into baggies, it can be useful to make bags of the starting components for each player.
Some publishers are even starting to include a wad of baggies in place of a box insert. Pop down to your local supermarket and for a few quid you’ll have enough resealable sandwich bags to organise a decently sized collection. The humble baggy is the simplest way to organised games. Banish those bad memories of introducing friends to Gloomhaven or the Game of Thrones board game, only for unpacking everything and arranging it on the table to take an hour, and make setting up your favourite board game quick and easy with these simple hacks to organise your game components.Ī simple place to start: sandwich bags (~8p each) This goes double for young children and the friends you've finally convinced to play a board game for the first time.Įven some of the best board games out there can have a nightmarish amount of card, plastic and wood packed into their unassuming cardboard boxes.