My partner is a board game collector, and one of his favorite games is called “Villanous.” Each player is given a board, a token, two decks of cards, a guide, a summary card, and any extra items necessary for their game. Every time we play, we find it inconvenient to hunt for all the pieces needed to play as a certain character. He proposed a solution in which each character’s pieces come in a nice box. Ultimately, we want one box for each character and a really nice way to showcase all the boxes together.
Here is a cardboard prototype to illustrate what kind of solution we’re thinking (note: this is not the final design by any means, I’m already thinking about re-arranging things for the next prototype):
I’ve been thinking a lot about material selection for this kind of box. I want them to look very nice, so I’m thinking about making the outside of the box out of wood and putting some kind of paint/finish on it, but I’m not quite sure how to go about doing that. Do you have any suggestions on materials/processes/tools I should learn how to use?
I recommend checking out this video from Steve Ramsey on “How to make a basic box”. There’s a bunch of ways to make a box and all depends on how detailed, intricate, and “fine furniture” style you want to get. It could be as simple as glue-and-screw butt joints up to box-joints or something more intricate.
It’s worth a listen to his video anyways, as there’s a number of points he makes which may help you decide which way to go.
If you’re going to paint it, get cheap wood or simple plywood / MDF and don’t worry about hardwood or anything like that. Unless you really want to say “This blue box is made from hardwood cherry”.
If you want that hardwood look, go for it! The techniques are very much the same, just gotta be a bit more thoughtful working with hardwoods.
In either case you can attach any kind of hardware that you might be able to find at Lowes, HD, or Woodcraft and Rockler (or anywhere on the internet).
And lastly, no matter if you paint, stain, or use bare wood, you can add a nice finish with shellac. It’s incredibly easy and not nearly as toxic as lacquer or polyuerethane, although both of those are great options as well. Just be sure to use a respirator.
There’s so much to the subject and I’m happy to help you brainstorm in the shop any time!
I’ll recommend the lasers, especially for how many characters there are in Villainous. You can mock up a single box and knock them out in batches. Plus, you can customize them with the character/card designs.
I primarily make board game organizers using Baltic birch ply and boxes.py, and then a gel stain to make them look less like Baltic birch. Here’s one for Scythe!
My printer is fully occupied at the moment printing player boxes for Brass: Birmingham, and an insert for Forest Shuffle. So obviously I will recommend 3D printing! (And then, I’ll recommend a combination!)
Here is a set of models already made for this game:
Now, you could pick applicable colors and go for it! You’ll get a nice result with sub-millimeter precision to hold all the components -but it will still be plastic. So here’s where a combo project could shine!
Print the box inserts in a reasonable contrast color for the components.
Create and nicely finish a wood box exterior around the printed insert. Using 1/4" veneered plywood can go far and be inexpensive. You can glue it right to the insert too.
Optionally, add felt lining. Optionally, laser engrave the wood lid. Optionally, sublimation print on the wood instead. Or vinyl silhouettes. Or CNC engraved tops. Or leather! … Or any skill you want to use on it!
Here is an example I made a while back, using a goodwill jewelry box. This was for a tabletop RPG that had no previous models, so sizing my print to the box was easier than sizing my box to the print. I don’t really recommend custom felt lining every compartment, it was a real time sink. But that’s what I chose to do!
Wow, that looks incredible! And thank you for pointing out that replicability is a factor here, I did not consider that… That’s certainly something to keep in mind, and I can see it influencing the production process.
Thanks for the feedback! What you’re suggesting is very close to what I was envisioning. It crossed my mind to create the inner shelving with 3d printing, mainly to fit the shelf specifically to the token model (possibly a really cool use for the 3d scanner, too!). I was thinking about covering the plastic with craft velvet for a “luxury” sort of feel
I’ll take a look at the printables links and see what kind of ideas they spur up. And that dice box looks amazing!
I love this thread (and knowing who the other board game loving organized people are in the community ). Here’s the link to the boxes.py resource Logan mentioned. Really cool project that helps you easily make a really wide variety of custom sized boxes.
Oh WOW. That’s so cool! I wasn’t quite sure what he was referring to, thanks for the link!
My main concern with doing laser cut is that I would still want to finish it. I made a laser cut box in high school out of MDF, and while it worked well, I remember there being a little bit of tolerance in the panel notches. How would I address this if I wanted to paint over it? Would it even be an issue?
Sorry, I should have linked boxes.py because it is such an awesome resource, I expect everyone to already know about it! The website does have an option to modify the kerf (I think they call the setting burn) if you want the panels to stick together with just friction. You can also add an offset in Lightburn (the software that Dorian and Tarkin use) if you really want to tweak it.
Personally, I don’t really mess with it because I know I’m going to end up gluing the boxes together anyways. With a good glueup, the joints end up as tight as anything I’ve made with traditional woodworking and depending on your materials, you can always fill any cracks and sand like normal before you paint.
I’m also happy to schedule some time with you if you want to group up to discuss or need a quick tutorial on Boxes.py!
Also, sounds like we need an Asmbly board game night at some point!
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