Over the years I have purchased board games that come in a variety of boxes. Some have worked out well and some are a disaster.
Older board games came in long rectangular boxes. These tended to pop open when you lifted them due to their long width. That was the standard at that time and they fit well on closet shelves.
New Era of Board Games
Thankfully, new board games come in boxes that are less wide and are usually pretty standard. They are made of much higher quality cardboard and stack well on shelving units.
However, some boxes are “almost square”. It is a big no-no to ever sell anything in a box that is not either square or obviously not square.
I am reminded of a story told by one of my engineering professors in college. He had recently immigrated from Russia and had worked in construction. He said whenever you design a support column, it needs to be square or obviously not square in shape. Workers must easily tell which side is which. If it is “almost” square, they will try to force it and damage it.
The same rule applies to board game boxes. They should be square or obviously not so. You are putting many of the games away when the party is over late at night, when you aren’t at your sharpest.
Also, board game boxes should follow the Goldilocks principle. They lids should be just tight enough. Not so tight that you can’t open it and not so loose that the lid falls off. Make it just right!
Novelty Boxes
Some board games try to be fancy and come in tins. They look great but have a host of problems.
Forbidden Island and Forbidden Desert are fantastic cooperative board games, but the tin boxes are a nightmare for transport.
I ordered Forbidden Desert as a gift for Baba the Barbarian multiple times. I kept hoping to get one that arrived without being dented up in transit. After several attempts, I gave up and bought it at a local game shop.
In order to get the fancy imprints on the box, the tin had to be thin. But that means the boxes dent easily. In addition, the lids pop open constantly resulting in component drop in your game travel bag. Please no tins.
Even more annoying than tins are tubes. Who thought this would be a good idea? They roll off the table if you rest them on their side. Tubes don’t fit on shelves if upright but crush easily if stored on their side.
If you have a neat roll-up mat, take a cue from aluminum foil manufacturers and stick it on a tube but then in a box.
Card Games
Small card games usually come in either mid-sized boxes or small boxes. My pet peeve is small card games that come in mid-sized boxes, but only have cards. No mini-boards or tokens. How pretentious is that?!
Embrace your card game identity! Live in a little box. Little boxes are great! They can be packed up in travel bags and stored in drawers.
Small games like Bananagrams or Loveletter that come in novelty fabric pouches are nice too. They can be popped into a pocket for easy transport.
Other small boxes have one piece boxes with a flip up side. They sound good in theory because you can’t lose the lid. And look at all the Apple products that are sold in these boxes!
But they work well until you try to take them anywhere. Then they decide to flip open in your game bag leaving a mess!
Function over Form
So please board game manufacturers, pay attention to your box choices. If you have a big box, stick to a standard-sized, good quality cardboard box. Little games should be proud of their small size and flaunt it – not pretend to be big games.
Cute boxes are adorable for little games. But once a game grows up and is big, it’s time to wear a big boy box.
Bitzy the Bard
“Life is an adventure story and you are the star. Choose to play a hero!”
Tell me about your box pet peeves in the comments field below.
