After setting up a couple of games of Mansions I've realized that there is NO way it's going back in the original box. Has anyone out there figured out a good storage method for the game and it's many components? I've never really used a game this size before so I'm looking for any and all ideas / suggestions. Thanks in advance!
I got it to fit no problem. Had to toss the insert, of course, but the figures and the cards and bagged up bits fit just fine. If I ever get around to painting these things, I'll put the figures in their own padded box, but until then, this box works just fine.
I am seriously considering just throwing the box away and making my own case/box.
Damn shame since there is a fair cost that goes into making them and I hate wasting what I bought, but once the models are glued to the base another carton of some type will be necessary.
Why lug two boxes around when one custom one would suffice?
Three cheers for beautiful yet completely useless packaging?
*crickets chirp*
I keep all of my empty boxes from games that I have repackaged. Bunch of them in the attic. lol. My kids can sell them for more that way. :-p
I am seriously considering just throwing the box away and making my own case/box.
Doesn't seem necessary to me. My figures aren't glued, but I fit them (still assembled) and all the other box contents neatly back inside with no trouble after tossing the insert.
This is slightly off topic, but do gamers tend to repackage their games a lot?
I only ask because I have only done it to two games (one because the box was sold to me ripped and the other because the insert was rubbish). Since I have done it, I am tempted to do it to most of the games where the boxes are completely inadequate for storing the game and its components.
In fact my first thought upon opening the MoM box was "What size box am I going to need to make for this and what dividers am I going to need?". Actually, it's a question I ask myself whenever I open an FFG game.
It's almost like being bitten by a bug since taking those first couple of steps. Or contemplating how deep to fall down a rabbit hole.
I usually only repackage games with multiple expansions that won't fit in the box(es). Descent I have repackaged quite handily. It makes setup and tear down time about 10 minutes each(which is astoundingly short for that game). I have managed to get all of my Dominion cards into just two of the boxes....
So no I don't think its that uncommon for games with out expansions.
I like to keep my games in their original boxes, whenever it's possible to do so. I have gotten into the habit of purchasing the Plano style cases that hopefully will fit (sometimes not) in the original box to hold all the small items.
I love box art design it would crush me to not use some of the boxes from my favorite games. I just try and organize everything as well as possible in it, hence my 'epic fail' comment in my recent thread about bent miniatures when I mentioned the insert in MoM. It does one job well, and that is to protect the contents in transit. Now that job is done it will get archived with the other unusable inserts in my shed.
I keep them in originals too, though I wasn't able to for , just too many expansions. For other games, I end up splitting components into separate expansion boxes. Descent base game has most of the bits, the expansion boxes has all the minis. Arkham Horror base box has everything but cards and monsters, those are tuckboxed into the Dunwich Horror expansion box (and I have all expansions in just the two boxes, and even the insert in the base game still).
I store game figs that I paint seperately in plastic shoe type boxes, since I don't transport it's not a problem.
One thing I loved about Claustrophobia that everything fit back in the box.Obviously MoM will not,so I ditched the insert & just have a box of tiles and a thousand or so plastic baggies for the counters and cards.
I guess I'll give it a shot just cramming it all back in the main box. However, I'd like to find some of those plastic petri dish type things for the counter tokens and such. Can anyone tell me what those are called?
I'm easily able to get everything in the box right now, but I haven't painted the figures yet. Even when I do though, I'm a real stickler for having everything in the original box, so a separate box for figures would just annoy me too much. I've been measuring and I've figured I can fit a foam tray for the figures in the bottom of the box and still be able to put the tiles and my plano organizer with everything else on top and still be able to close the box up without any problems.
I threw away the insert which was a first for me and a real big step as I tend to be quite anal about keeping all the bits including the sheets I punch tokens from. The witches will bend so you have to take them off their stands and the maniacs tend to fall off but I left the zombies and the rest of the beasties on their stands and put the tokens in baggies. It is a very poor insert!
I love box art design it would crush me to not use some of the boxes from my favorite games.
I hear ya. I hate having to use new boxes, but I think sometimes it is unavoidable. I am still on the fence whether or not MoM will be one of them to go. Such pretty box art...
Once the expansions start rolling out it will need a new box.. Dammit I want my vampire minis....
I made some cardboard dividers that are the same height as the original insert. I added a picture, first time so I hope it worked. Small base figures are in 3 rows, 2 of which have shelves just above the minis to store the small cards. Center section of the box is open to store cards, puzzles, and tokens. Map tiles sit on top and are supported by dividers.
Works out nice, best of all its basically free; white glue and card board from all those mail ordered game shipping cartons.
I put a lot of effort into organizing (e.g. plano boxes) in such a way that everything fits back into the original box. It looks much better on the shelf that way. In almost all cases I merge all expansions into the original box as well. There are only a few exceptions for me: Dominion (I'll get the rest of the expansions, so I went ahead and went with a custom storage solution now), Descent (and all expansions) and Memoir '44 (and all expansions).
Everything else (and I have a few hundred) is well organized in the original box.
I kind of wish they would have gone with their larger box for this game. It looks like they'll be plenty of expansions. I'm thinking I could have fit a bunch into a box like Descent and TI. Maybe they could offer a large expansion in a larger box that will fit the original game too?
Am I the only one that kept the insert? I put all my assembled monsters lined up under the raised sides (only 4 had to placed sideways, not that big of a deal as they still fit snug), rubber-banded cards on the ends where the flaps hold them in place, characters and bigger punch-outs loose in the middle, small bits in the bags that initially held the characters and cards, and finally map tiles layered on top complete with booklets. The whole thing seems pretty secure without very much wiggle room.
Not only did I think the insert was useless looking in and of itself (much as several of them seem to be, like Civ) but my insert was banged up and torn, so it really was no good.
Is that bad? I've used rubber bands to group cards together for years. Heck, even my Heroquest cards still look great and that was over a decade ago!
Yes it usually is. It tends to warp the cards, sometimes leaves marks on the sides (depending on how tightly you have it) and over time can degrade and permanently mark up and stain the cards.
Am I the only one that kept the insert? I put all my assembled monsters lined up under the raised sides (only 4 had to placed sideways, not that big of a deal as they still fit snug), rubber-banded cards on the ends where the flaps hold them in place, characters and bigger punch-outs loose in the middle, small bits in the bags that initially held the characters and cards, and finally map tiles layered on top complete with booklets. The whole thing seems pretty secure without very much wiggle room.
I've kept and had good luck with the insert. I flipped it upside down to give me two troughs for the monsters and misc. parts. I bagged each type of component separately, and with the flaps on the middle part of the insert, I just slide the bagged components into (under) it. Then the boards and manuals sit on top. I've had no trouble so far; everything fits well.
After a bit of searching I found some off-the-shelf boxes to fit everything back into the box (in Australia at any rate). Minus the insert (and octopus) of course.
[In Australia you should be able get them from Woolworths and Big W or Howards Storage World]