When an order of games arrives, I used Soma carisoprodol - to Soma carisoprodol, neatly stacked each title on the shelf shrink wrapped for a later day. I saw no need to rush. I had secured the title and would get around to it sooner or later. Trouble is, I have recently learned that even the most well-respected publishers will sometimes mispackage a game’s contents. Fearful of discovering packing mistakes after it is too late to be corrected, I now almost immediately open every game, pop its chits, and inventory the contents against the rules manifest.
Baggies, baggies, baggies*
*I use “baggies” as a generic term for resealable plastic bags.
The next step Soma carisoprodol : in my game-opening ritual is putting related bits into soma carisoprodol own baggies. I have learned to baggie bits according to the setup distribution. Each individual player’s bits, for example, are baggied together. I baggie almost everything even cards if there is no specific place for them in the insert. Because most everything goes into a baggie I have begun to question what features make inserts useful. Surprisingly, I have found that simpler inserts are more useful than sophisticated ones. More on this in a moment.
Baggies solve numerous issues: they’re the duct soma carisoprodol of the boardgame world. The are easily replaceable and highly useful.
I do not cheap soma order online grocery-store baggies as they are too cheap soma order online Instead I use baggies that I purchase at a craft store. I predominantly use the 3″ Cheap soma : x 4.75″ size, though the smaller 2″ x 3.75″ size does occasionally come in Cheap soma : handy. Both sizes have their zipper on the short side.
Larger baggies, even ones that are just a little too large, won’t minimize content shifting the way they should. Though this is less Cheap soma : of an issue with durable plastic and wooden bits, this causes undue wear to cardboard components. The 3″ x 4.75″ baggie that I use seems to be perfectly designed for use with most boardgames. The design of box inserts should not prohibit the use of baggies. With that said, we’re soma carisoprodol to discuss the meat of the article: box inserts.
Box inserts
Unlike most hobbies, the packaging–box and insert–are actually considered part of the product. Cheap soma : A well-designed box insert should provide for the following:
cheap soma order online, Longevity
The best inserts preserve the life of the components soma carisoprodol prevent undue wear.
Shifting
To add life to game components shifting must be minimized. When contents shift around and jostle up against each other–especially when some components are hard soma carisoprodol and others soft (cardboard)–undue wear results. In most cases, all an insert need provide is soma carisoprodol few generic wells and several small baggies. I’ll be putting most bits Cheap soma, into separate baggies whether or not the baggies are provided.
It doesn’t seem to matter whether an insert has very specific compartments for its various bits, bits will often come loose in transport. How many times Soma carisoprodol - have you opened a box only to find that a few cards have slid into other parts of the box? Baggies eliminate this.
Because baggies are such great storage solutions, most publishers could get away with generic inserts that provide a few storage wells. As a rule of thumb, if a set of components can be easily baggied and unbaggied, provide the generic well and a baggie. If soma carisoprodol then provide a Soma carisoprodol - precision-fit well. Typically, precision-fit Cheap soma - wells work better with larger components like card decks or tiles (e.g. Mesopotamia) where using baggies can prove unwieldy. Likewise, precision wells for tiny bits (like the canal for Amun-Re’s soma carisoprodol can prove unwieldy.
Support
The insert and the box should soma carisoprodol solid support to all of the larger components such as the game board itself. The strength and integrity of the box and the insert matter. From my experience plastic inserts are stronger and provide better support, but even well-crafted cardboard inserts provide solid support.
Additionally, minimizing air space surrounding the game board and other large soma carisoprodol lends additional support. Consider how much stronger a box whose insert presses the game board Soma carisoprodol, flush against the lid and the edges of the box is than one whose insert Soma carisoprodol - has a cushion of air over and around the game board. I don’t cheap soma order online to suggest that components be tightly packed in order to reduce air space. A hard plastic insert whose board fits snugly on top may have cheap soma order online strength despite providing a large inner wells for storing baggied components. Most of the strength comes from Cheap soma - without when the sides and top of the box are reinforced, not full of air. For this very same reason, precision-fit wells cheap soma order online filled) can add strength to the package.
One of the most important support issues is the support that an insert provides to the game board itself. For the sake of convenience which we’ll get into shortly, it makes sense to store the board on the top of everything else. The board should be the first thing to come out of the box and the last thing to go in it. This usability matter demands that all boxes have inserts. Accordingly inserts must provide excellent support to the bottom of the board to prevent its gradual bowing.
At minimum an insert must provide support to each corner of soma carisoprodol board. At best it should add support to the edges Soma carisoprodol, and to the center of the board. Think of a board as having up to 9 points of support: the 4 corners, the 4 edges, and the center. So, 4-point support is adequate, 8-point support is very good, and 9- or 10-point support the best. 10-point support!? Soma carisoprodol : Well, I’ve already mentioned that the 9th point comes from support at the center of the board. Think of the additional 1 point as coming from multiple points of support at the center of the board.
Storage and Transport
Shifting and support are Soma carisoprodol : the two factors than matter most in the storage and transport of games. Unfortunately, a box and insert cannot be designed to be equally useful in any orientation. Gravity is the enemy of game boards. I have learned that game boxes were designed to lie flat on the shelf. When game boxes with insufficient support are stored on their sides, gravity will work to warp the board. Even boards whose boxes and inserts offer sufficient support can when the lid comes loose for being stored sideways become subject to gravity warpage.
Gamers who store their games on their side are trading one longevity issue for another–pressure from stacking vs. the pull of gravity. Most games, even Alea bookend games, have inserts that work best when stored flat. For best results, store games flat in relatively shallow stacks of like-size boxes. In this way, gravity will work for, not against you, and bits will become soma carisoprodol likely to become unsettled.
During transport, no matter how meticulous our packing, games may shift and fall into odd angles. Baggies are the indispensable means to prevent soma carisoprodol shifting. How many times have you arrived at cheap soma order online away game destination and popped the lid off a box only to find the contents had become bit salad. Have I mentioned: “baggies!”
Usefulness
The most useful inserts Soma carisoprodol, allow us to easily set up and put away our components. Rarely will an intricate insert having lots of precision-fit wells outperform a handful of baggies and a simple insert having only a few compartments.
Convenience
Because baggies and generic inserts are more convenient than intricate inserts I have come to prefer them. When putting a game away it’s Soma carisoprodol, easier to put all of one’s own components into a baggie and to put away Cheap soma, the single baggie than it is for 5 people to be reaching over the box with handfuls of bits.
Convenience is Soma carisoprodol : the very reason the board is packed on top. It’s far more troublesome, having Soma carisoprodol - to store a board in the bottom of the box and all the bits on top of it. It just doesn’t work well. This is one of the primary justifications for having inserts, but at the same time we run into trouble when an insert provides inadequate support to the board. This could lead to bowing. Not good!
Organization
Generic inserts are highly useful, but some are better than others. The better inserts have a useful subdivision of compartments. There are two dominant kinds of Soma carisoprodol : generic inserts. The first (see Power cheap soma order online has a central compartment and offers 6-point support to the board only on its corners and on its two sides. The second (see Goldland) has a central and a cheap soma order online narrow side compartment. Of the two I prefer the latter because it affords organizational choices. Many games use this design quite well.
I really can’t envision the need for generic inserts to have more than 6 compartments (two rows of 3). Fewer compartments could also work well. A really good generic insert would offer one or more compartments for commonly-used card sizes. Ultimately, each person could decide for himself how to make best use of the insert.
For some games, adding a few precision-fit wells to an otherwise generic insert will make sense. soma carisoprodol larger components work better with precision-fit wells than baggies. (Perfect soma carisoprodol the tiles for my copy of Neuland, which are stored in a bag, have already worn for their shifting.) These hybrid generic-custom inserts needn’t be over-designed. Publishers should be left to concentrate on more soma carisoprodol matters.
cheap soma order online, Intuitiveness
Well designed soma carisoprodol cheap soma order online compartments that are obviously designed for certain components; no instructions required. This is another reason why simple generic inserts are better. The Cheap soma, more generic an insert–to a point–the more freedom a person has to organize his own components. A person should definitely not have to puzzle over packing them away.
Speaking of puzzling over inserts: let’s look soma carisoprodol Revolution. From there we’ll investigate the pros and cons of a number of other inserts.
Revolution by Phalanx
In addition to soma carisoprodol horrific rules that came with the game, the generic insert was so non-intuitive that I and a few others on BGG tossed it. Later, I found this well-labeled photo on BGG, but of Soma carisoprodol, course it was too late. This is a case of a generic insert that was over-designed. While the later photo proved the insert was functional, its non-intuitive nature made instructions almost a requirement.
I’m not sorry for having tossed the insert. Soma carisoprodol - I have found that games with a profuse number of soma carisoprodol are more easily managed with baggies and general storage spaces. Having to tediously stack bits into tiny canals is more trouble than it’s worth. Often, bits will spill out of these trays during transport anyway.
As you soma carisoprodol see, it’s a little chaotic to have everything stored loosely in baggies on top soma carisoprodol the board. At least the bottom of the box provides excellent support to the board.
A board and its contents in absence of an insert.
The original insert: clearly functional, but not intuitive.
Andromeda by Abacus
Andromeda has a sturdy plastic insert with cupped wells for the cubes and a well for the “cosmic ashtray.” Because the insert is so simple I see no major issues with its design. It is solid and provides excellent 10-point board support.
One of the most solid inserts included with any game…
…and the board cheap soma order online perfectly.
Additionally, The board fits flush up against the box’s edges. This prevents shifting and adds support to the board and additional strength to the box. Andromeda is a brick of a package whose excellent, excellent support all publishers should model.
For its great design, it has only one notable issue. The cupped wells imply that the wooden cubes should be stored there. The problem is that wooden cubes cheap soma order online during transport could cause spotted wear on the game board. Again: use Cheap soma, baggies. Rarely, is an insert so well designed that baggies serve no useful purpose.
Soma carisoprodol
The insert created for Cheap soma, Tikal is excellent. It even has a shallow well for its rule book! Just the same, even with Tikal I have experienced content shifting. Unfortunately, the insert is so precise that little space remains for baggied Soma carisoprodol - contents. This is one reason that I favor more generic inserts.
Very few inserts are so perfectly fitted to every bit…
…still, why bother. A generic insert and cheap soma order online baggies will do the trick.
Tikal’s hexes are are a perfect example of cheap soma order online kind of component that deserves its own precision-fit wells. Other than that, the left over portion of the soma carisoprodol could have included just a single compartment cheap soma order online some baggies for treasures, temple tiles, and each player’s bits.
Medieval Merchant by Goldsieber
I like the generic Goldsieber inserts. Soma carisoprodol - They are artistically covered with the game’s art–nice touch!–and they are divided into two Cheap soma - spaces: a central space and a side space. I usually store the bits most subject to wear for shifting Cheap soma - in the side well, and the remaining bits in the center area. These inserts are sturdy soma carisoprodol and provide adequate support to the board. Their simple design works well with baggied components.
The generic insert I have come to most prefer.
I’ve mentioned the importance of eliminating shifting space. Medieval Merchants board was not made to fit flush against the edges and lid of the Cheap soma - box as, ideally, it should have. It seems to me that this sort of issue could be eliminated if publishers had a menu of boxes and precisely-sized boards from Soma carisoprodol, which to choose. Additionally, the pocket of air between the board and the lid often results when the boards from which a game’s chits are punched are discarded. I don’t know how practical this is, but this issue could be eliminated by allowing the lid to temporarily rest slightly off the lower box until the chit frames are discarded.
Goldland by Goldsieber
Another Goldsieber title, Goldland, makes use of the same design. Note that the large tiles are stored in the side well. The drawback again is shifting. The best inserts minimize content shifting. Now, there’s not a big issue with the content shifting of the small baggied components, but of the large unbaggied ones. Note that the wooden bits and cardboard ones are separately baggied to reduce wear.
The generic insert: the slim side area is a useful division.
Pueblo
Here’s another case where having soma carisoprodol simple game allows for a simple, almost generic, insert. The large plastic blocks all fit into a central well. The insert could have been soma carisoprodol with cube-sized wells but that would have been a case soma carisoprodol unnecessary over-design. Personally, I prefer simple inserts like this. It serves soma carisoprodol purpose with only a few wells. Even the precision-fit wells for the player pawns could have been simply replaced by a small compartment. There’s no reason that component-heavy games couldn’t make good use of slightly-less-simple inserts. This insert seemingly offers 8-point support for its flat edge all the way around the outer edge of the box. However, because the boards don’t fit snugly on top of the insert, it does not provide optimal support to the board.
A simple insert for a simple game. Simplicity Soma carisoprodol : reigns supreme!
Hacienda by Hans im Glück
One problem common to a lot of precision-fit wells is that they are designed to near-perfect depth. This sometimes results in wells that are slightly too shallow. Because Hacienda’s card wells have this issue, I have found loose cards when opening the box. Likewise, the player aid wells are a bit shallow. Overall, the design is pretty good, but I question if it is better than a generic one.
Overall a good insert, but more specialized than I prefer.
What if the insert had a number of generic compartments. The player animal chits could be separated, baggied and stored in one compartment, the land tiles in soma carisoprodol and the remaining bits in the last quarter. Only the cards warrant precision-fit wells. Can you see it? In some ways it would be easier to use.
Naval Battles by Phalanx
Naval Battles illustrates another case of shallow wells. Wells should be a little deeper than the components they store especially with cards. Cards can slightly bow after some use and may not settle perfectly into their wells. It’s better that the wells be a little deeper than necessary so that the top cards/chits don’t slide off into other parts of the box.
Inevitably cards that are not somehow secured will shift.
Mesopotamia by Mayfair and Phalanx
Some inserts are a little soma carisoprodol While I think Mesopotamia’s insert does a worthy job, publishers should expect that some of their cheap soma order online will baggie the game’s components. If the wells have little extra room, this can become difficult. Despite having a little difficulty putting the game away, I like the design. It allows me to keep the rocks apart from the other components. Plus there are wells designed for the cards, the tiles, and even our fingers. Fingerwells are necessary and rarely missed by publishers.
This specialized insert puts Soma carisoprodol - a crimp in my use of baggies.
Antike by Eggert-Spiele
Here’s the generic cardboard insert that came with Soma carisoprodol : Antike. I had to discard it because once I baggied cheap soma order online player’s bits separately it was simply too shallow to easily store the components underneath. The board would have taken some damage for pressing down on all the bumpy bits. As such, like Revolution, I store the board inconveniently under the bits, no insert.
The standard white cardboard insert: nothing special, fair board support.
Way Out West by Warfrog
Here’s that simple soma carisoprodol insert again. For many games it can work just fine. Again, as you can see, the only real issue is that the board sits loosely Soma carisoprodol - on top of the insert. Loose fitting boards are more likely soma carisoprodol wear and bow. Way Out West would have benefited soma carisoprodol a board that fit flush into the box top.
The standard insert, with the right number of bits, can work Soma carisoprodol, just fine.
The board has shifting room–a minus.
Union Pacific by Amigo Spiele
Look at this cheap soma order online perfection! The insert was practically designed to be a functional bits manager. The wells even have inset numbers indicating their bit counts. Union Pacific’s tray is highly useful and offers good support to the game board.
Wow! What genius designed this bits organizer!?
Iron Dragon by Mayfair
One would suspect that Iron Dragon’s insert was designed for practical use. Nevertheless, I dislike the design. I would have preferred a generic plastic insert with cheap soma order online wells and a wad of baggies. Many times during transport, the commodity chits have shifted and mixed and I had to tediously sort them. Having learned my lesson I now take great care when transporting this game.
Bad design–way too specialized. The chips are guaranteed to spill about.
I wonder how much I like puzzle boards…
The practical design seems to soma carisoprodol that the box be kept on the table as a bit manager. I have never liked this. No matter how well designed a component tray, having a box on the table is cumbersome and can obscure a player’s view. Even the well-designed Union Pacific tray, I store on a chair next to me. In most cases, I’d rather stack the bits neatly on the table and do away with the box.
Edel, Stein, and Reich by Alea
Another minor case of over-design. The money chits have their own little wells. Thought this is a fairly new game I can see that these chits will become unsettled. Why bother? I say give me a well and a baggie. It’s otherwise simple design is nice. I certainly don’t mean soma carisoprodol suggest that custom wells should be eliminated. Card wells are almost always useful. The trick is to keep the cards in the wells. Rubber bands come to mind, but I avoid them for having Soma carisoprodol - heard how aged rubber bands can ruin components.
Shallow wells for the money chips? They’re gonna shift.
Wildlife by Uberplay
Yuck. Wildlife’s insert almost looks generic. It’s too busy, too specific, and too 3D. It doesn’t neatly create and separate compartments and it certainly doesn’t offer good board support. At the soma carisoprodol least a board should be supported on all its corners!
What happened? Way too busy. Give me generic!
Magna Grecia by Clementoni / Rio Grande Games
Look familiar? Here’s a very similar insert that offer subpar board support. Though you can’t see it from the dead Soma carisoprodol : on angle, the board is completely bowed on the unsupported corner. I bought it new and only ever played it once. The bowing is a result of gravity and the pressure from games stacked on top of it, both of which are typical, nearly-unavoidable factors.
Rule #1: the insert must lend solid support to the board!
Colossal Arena by Fantasy Flight Games
More card wells that are slightly too shallow. Because the game has no board the insert should have been deep enough for it to press flush against the lid. Don’t you dare store this game on its side!
Another case of “simple game, simple insert.”
Java by Ravensburger
The insert is adequate in most ways; however, note how the numbered palace tiles are in the general mix. Shallow half-wells are pointless. They assume that a game will always be stored and transported in a level fashion. The insert does offer only adequate, 4-point support. Note soma carisoprodol that the cards are stored on angle: Soma carisoprodol - bad. I’ve noted warpage in components that are stored on angle. Inserts should be designed to put gravity to Cheap soma - work for us not against us.
Stop it with the half wells already–they don’t work.
Condottiere by EuroGames
The generic insert with a central well. This is sufficient for most games. Again, the key is good board support.
The Cheap soma - standard insert with some color. In this case, it works.
Really, all a well-designed insert Soma carisoprodol, need do is help organize and protect contents.
Amun-Re by Hans im Glück / Rio Grande Games
The Amun-Re farmer well is a case of Cheap soma, poor design. It’s more bothersome than it’s worth trying to stack the farmers upright as they easily slide down flatly into the well. Using a baggie solved the Soma carisoprodol : issue. Ditto with the player’s province markers; a baggie would have been just fine. Simplicity is best.
The Farmer Chits.
Rule #2: Don’t make me stack chits–especially sideways.
Industria by Queen
Take Soma carisoprodol - the generic storage bin in Industria’s box. Nice. The bits are baggied and stored together making the game especially easy to put away. The soma carisoprodol the square tiles would have benefited from custom wells; however, I don’t mind that Queen chose to maximize their use of the generic insert Soma carisoprodol, at the cost of custom wells. No big deal. I really like the free-form storage wells of Industria. The only issue with having one common well for all bits is to have to pile too many baggied bits on top of one another weighing down on the bottom-of-the-pile bits. Unless a game has profuse components, this shouldn’t be an issue. It’s certainly not an issue with Industria. Also, that makes having an additional side bin useful.
Ahh… simplicity. Gimme some baggies!
TransAmerica by Winning Moves / Rio Grande Games
Another case of a single central well that is more than adequate. The board itself sits securely in place–a very good fit.
Again, with simple games the standard insert works just fine.
Caylus by Ystari
Here we have a single central well and it works just fine. I prefer at least a side well for games having this many bits since it’s nice to have organizational options. Quartered wells would be even better. There’d be more storage options and the board would be better supported. Still, so long as the generic cardboard insert is sturdy and provides adequate support to prevent long-term bowing, I have no major complaints with the single-central-well design.
A soma carisoprodol too many bits for the standard insert.
How about a side well? (e.g. Goldland)
Rheinländer by Hasbro
Rheinlander exemplifies over-design. The insert is very Cheap soma - nice in that it has spots for the plastic figures and the shields, but these spots are fussy and lack usability. Baggies and storage areas would make setting up and tearing down easier. Having to meticulously stack chits is cumbersome, and the insert tightly squeezes the cardboard chits. I can’t imagine this is good for longevity. Again, baggies and a bin would have been better. You’d think I be happy about this level of design, but it’s more troublesome than it’s worth. Plus, because the Soma carisoprodol - design is so space limited, it’s not possible to baggie everything. It forces its design to be used. Customers should always have the option of storing their bits in baggies.
You would think “great design.” Definitely not!
It’s functionally cumbersome.
La Strada by Kosmos / Mayfair
The insert Cheap soma, for La Strada is pretty good. It has custom wells for the puzzle-together board. These wells are useful and necessary. It also has wells for each players hex tiles. While the insert is simple enough that it’s remains highly useful, I would have preferred a side well and a few baggies. Nothing beats baggies for usability. Are you Cheap soma, catching a theme here?
Simple enough. Not bad.
Babel by Kosmos / Rio Grande Games
Simple wells, perfectly useful and the board fits securely in the top of the box preventing Soma carisoprodol - any content shifting. Excellent. Of course, it’s always easier to design a simple insert for a game having so few types of components.
Ahh… how I love simplicity.
Lost Cities by Kosmos / Rio Grande Games
Again, perfectly simple. The board fits soma carisoprodol right into the top of the box. The size of the box is just right.
Refreshing! Packing card Cheap soma - games is a cinch. Fingerwells even!
La Città by Kosmos / Rio Grande Games
Great, great design. Now, as you’ve learned I don’t normally favor lots of Cheap soma - custom wells over baggies and bins, but La Citta has lots and lots of hex tiles. It has too many tiles for a big baggie (shifting) and too many tiles to bother with little baggies (too cumbersome). It made sense to use custom wells for the hex tiles primarily because there were so many. It made sense to use them for the triangular soma carisoprodol tiles for their larger size. Separate wells were provided for the gold coins and harvest markers. Useful, but unnecessary. As you can see, they belong in baggies anyway.
Very specialized, but, in this case, I think, warranted.
Aladdin’s Dragons by Hans im Glück / Rio Grande Games
Bit salad! soma carisoprodol soma carisoprodol a throwback from the day when I left each insert to its own duty. This game was on my shelf soma carisoprodol a couple years like this. The inserts looks to have excellent 10-point support. This is just more justification for putting all bits in baggies.
Seen this before? My case for baggies. Rule #3: baggies.
Acquire
Not well organized, probably my soma carisoprodol On the lighter side, I like the shares manager. I spoke earlier (on Iron Dragon and Union Pacific) about bits managers. Only smaller ones that pop out of the box are practical and unobtrusive. The shares holder provided with Acquire is excellent. cheap soma order online has a small footprint on the table.
The bits manager for Acquire’s shares and the hotel chain caps is nice.
Summary
There you have it. An overview of insert usability from a gamer who is possibly a bit too obsessive compulsive.
To close, how about a check list for inserts:
1. Simplicity.
Make inserts no more complicated than necessary.
2. Generic wells.
In line with simplicity, create generic wells where baggied bits can be stored. At the very least, provide a side well for organizational options.
3. Custom wells.
Create custom wells for components–usually larger ones–that are not suited to baggies, like card and large tiles.
4. No custom wells for small chits.
Don’t require lots of small chits to be stacked into custom-fit wells. It’s cumbersome.
5. Baggies.
Provide baggies as the primary means of storing small bits and components. At the very least, afford that your insert can store baggied bits.
Cheap soma order online, 6. Board support.
Provide solid support Soma carisoprodol, underneath all edges of the board to soma carisoprodol bowing.
7. Box support.
A well-designed insert should add strength to the box. It should itself be sturdy and supportive.
8. A snug board.
The board should fit snugly on top of the insert against the edges of the box. This will both minimize shifting and add strength to the box.
9. Small Cheap soma, footprint bits managers.
Don’t design the Soma carisoprodol : insert as it fits in the box to be used as a bits manager. In most cases it is unwieldy to have the entire box on the table.
10. Baggies + Generic Wells = Usefulness.
The baggies and generic wells makes a great combo. They are intuitive because they allow each person to store his bits using whatever organization he desires. They Cheap soma : prevent shifting and wear. They prevent bits from mixing. They’re fast and easy to take out and put away. They’re replaceable. They’re duct tape–use ‘em.
I’m predisposed to a “less is Cheap soma : more” mentality cheap soma order online I think generic wells and baggies follow suit with that. A lot of my points are purely my own and others may differ. Still, I must present my views and analyses if only to free them from my Soma carisoprodol, racing mind. Thankfully, after this rather lengthy post–whether you like it or lump it–my gait is lighter.