Variant: Obsessive Component Disorder?
I love new board games. I love the thrill of punching out all of the chits and tokens, of rounding up all of the cubes and pawns. I especially like seeing where everything fits. And once I’ve selected a storing method for that particular game, then I’m set. I do not like to deviate and I’ll meticulously put everything back in just the same way. This is in direct contrast to others in my gaming group who tend to throw it all in the box and move along. And even different games take different approaches.
Small World, for example, has a box with several inserts. Each race has their own little cubby within the box. And there are spots for all of the various tokens. In fact, the rule book includes a map, like you sometimes see on the inside of See’s Candies, that shows exactly where each race, token, and victory coin should be placed. In a game like that, I tend to make sure everything goes back in the exact position that the rulebook directs.
Hansa Teutonica, on the other hand, takes a different approach. Though the box is the standard size you see in many euro games, it doesn’t really need to be. The board folds relatively thinly, there is a small rulebook, and then it comes with a single large back which holds the tokens for every single player. That simply wouldn’t do. So I grabbed extra baggies and put each color in its own bag. I hate having all the pieces in a communal bag rather than separated out by player.
What about you? Are you a “throw it all in” type, or a “everything has a place” type? And does it make a difference in your approach if the game comes with its own organizing tray?
MUST… GET… MORE… BITS…
I’m definitely an “everything has a place” type, though I’ll start with what’s provided. If the tray works, great, although in many cases it doesn’t. Small World is a great exception, although there’s just a few too many of the other bits (like the Troll Lairs) to fit in the remaining tray slots, which REALLY bugs me.
My pet peeve, though, is the huge box for a small game. I end up making my own.
I must be like you since I spend a couple dollars buying plastic boxes to overcome the lack of inserts in Z-Man games (Agricola?) and I’m happy with Days of Wonder games because of the perfect inserts!
Of course, I also store my games on their side and hate resorting pieces… so that’s part of it.
I sort within reason, a few noteworthy ones:
Stone Age – Came with a dozen or so small bags to sort your own stuff. Thanks, I think!
Last Night On Earth – Just a bit too small to fit everything, my box bulges out a bunch. I have a similar problem with Chaos in the Old World
Galaxy Trucker – Too….many….pieces…..
Pandemic – I did some ninja stuff to get the game + expansion to fit in the original box. It involved cutting up the box insert, but it worked!
I usually don’t mind, unless it gets so jumbled that it interferes with set up the next time I want to play.
The exception is my Cataan box. I have 2-3 expansions and they don’t come with their own sorting mechanisms. I find myself fruitlessly reorganizing the box at least once a month.