Mastering Your Collection: How to Organize Board Games for Maximum Enjoyment
Board games bring people together, creating memories and sparking friendly competition. However, a growing collection can quickly become a chaotic mess of sprawling boxes, lost pieces, and hard-to-find favorites. Transforming a disorganized pile into a curated, accessible library is essential for maximizing game night enjoyment. Whether you have a small closet dedicated to games or a sprawling collection in a dedicated hobby room, organizing your board games effectively improves gameplay setup times and keeps components in top condition. Sort and Purge Your Collection
Before buying storage solutions, start by taking every game off the shelves and laying them out. This process, often called “de-cluttering,” is crucial. Sort games by genre, player count, or frequency of play. During this process, you must be ruthless: identify games that are rarely played, missing components, or no longer match your group’s taste. Consider donating, trading, or selling these items. A smaller, well-loved collection is always better than a massive, cluttered one. Once sorted, categorize the remaining games by size or type—heavy strategy, quick fillers, or party games—to make finding them later easier. Maximize Shelf Space and Accessibility
The best way to organize board games is to store them vertically, similar to books on a bookshelf. This allows you to pull out a single game without lifting a heavy stack of other games, reducing wear on the boxes. Sturdy shelving units, like the popular IKEA Kallax, are excellent for accommodating standard game box sizes. Make sure your shelves are deep and sturdy enough to handle the weight of larger, heavier games. Organize the games alphabetically for quick retrieval, or group them by publisher if you enjoy having similar art styles together. Conquer the Component Chaos
Inside the boxes, components can turn into a jumbled mess, leading to a frustrating setup experience. The solution is efficient component management, often referred to as “bagging and tagging.” Replace the flimsy, original cardboard inserts with smaller, durable plastic baggies to separate cards, tokens, and player pieces. For games with many small pieces, small plastic tackle boxes or specialized component organizers are lifesavers. Several companies create custom inserts, such as The Broken Token or Laserox, which are designed to hold every piece in place, often allowing for faster setup and teardown times. Vertical Storage Solutions
When storing games vertically, keeping the pieces in place is critical. Many publishers now include plastic lids, but if not, you can use rubber bands (though these can degrade over time), plastic wrap, or specialized card-stock dividers to keep everything secure. Make sure that components do not spill inside the box, which can damage boards or create a mess of tokens. If you have games that simply cannot be stored vertically, consider stacking them, but keep the heaviest, largest boxes on the bottom to prevent warping. Organizing by Frequency and Type
Keep your most-played games in the most accessible spots—at waist or eye level. Less frequent games can go higher up or lower down. If you have a large collection, consider keeping your “evergreen” or staple games, such as Ticket to Ride or Catan, together, while separating specialized or expansive games like Gloomhaven on different shelves. This keeps your main gaming area looking organized, while still allowing access to your specialized titles. Maintain Your Organized Haven
Once you have organized your collection, maintaining it is key. Encourage players to help tidy up after a game, ensuring all pieces are placed back into their bags or containers before closing the box. Make it a habit to check for misplaced pieces whenever a game is put away. This not only keeps the game in good condition but also makes setting it up for the next session much easier. Organize your games in a way that brings joy and ease to your gaming sessions, ensuring that your collection is always ready for action.
An organized board game collection not only looks impressive but also serves as an invitation to play. By taking the time to sort, store, and manage your games, you reduce the barrier to entry for game nights. Proper storage keeps your games in excellent condition, ensuring they last for years to come. Ultimately, a well-organized library makes finding the right game for the right group effortless, letting the focus remain entirely on the fun of playing.
Leave a Reply