Appreciation post: my $30 board game insert for Gloomhaven

I finally caved and bought a custom wooden insert for my copy of Gloomhaven. It was about thirty bucks from a guy on Etsy. I was worried it would be a waste, but after setting it up last weekend, I can't believe I waited so long. It took me maybe an hour to put together, and now everything has a specific slot. The map tiles are sorted, the monster standees are in trays, and all the little cards are divided. Setup time for our first scenario after that was cut in half, easy. No more dumping a million pieces on the table and digging. Has anyone else found a specific organizer that saved their game night sanity?

3 comments

3 Comments

charles_kelly4329d ago

Doesn't it feel like the right tool for the job always makes a huge difference? I see this with my own hobbies, where a simple rack for my tools or a specific box for screws saves so much time and frustration. Your game insert story is a perfect small example of that bigger idea. We put up with the mess and the hassle for way too long, thinking the solution has to be expensive or hard. Then you find that one simple thing that just works, and it changes everything. It makes the actual fun part, playing the game, so much easier to get to.

the_luna28d ago

Totally get it, that setup time is a killer. @charles_kelly43 is right, the right little box just makes you wonder why you ever put up with the mess. Was the Etsy insert easy to put together, or did you need glue?

harper_cooper2128d ago

Yeah, the part about putting up with the mess for too long is so true. I used to just deal with the chaos in the box until a friend showed me his foam core insert. I ended up making my own with some cheap foam board and a hobby knife. It was a bit of a project, but it cost maybe five bucks total. It doesn't look as nice as wood, but it works just as well for keeping things sorted.