Those were a joke among tabletop rpg players years back. Which is a bit of a shame, because they’re actually pretty good dice bags, but anytime we saw one get pulled out at a convention or store we rolled our eyes. Better than 90% of the time, the person using it wasn’t old enough to drink, and was *immensely* impressed to be using an alcohol related accessory. Hur hur hur. If you’re actually buying the booze, hey, free dice bag; but if you got your cool brother in college to get you one, please stop.
You need to realize that growing up alot of parents bought 2-3 bottles a year in Canada. By the time alot of us hit legal age we had like 50 of the buggers lying around.
I bought it once just to try it. It's alright, but the reason I had one in the first place is because my dad would buy a bottle once in a while and he used the bags to store larger coins, like half dollars. I didn't even know what Crown Royal was (never bothered looking in my parents' liquor cabinet) until I was in my late teens and just thought they were cool bags.
Here's some more: Lazy Susan so everyone can rotate the cards/board, Plexiglass sheet to put over paper maps, Rotary Cutter for making counters, Corner Cutter for rounding corners, Paper Cutter (slide type and blade type), Giant Ruler and Self Healing Cutting Mat
I played Dominion with a large Lazy Susan once and it was amazing. We had all of the cards in a single row along the edge of the Lazy Susan and just rotated it to whoever's turn it was. Not the most practical for all games but it beats half of the players leaning over the table to read stuff upside down.
Lazy Susan! What a great suggestion. I just thought of this the other day because my grandparents have one, and I forgot about it immediately. I'm going to find one right now! Thanks! The plexiglass is cool too. Good to keep troublesome boards from bending up, etc.
This was a great list and a very fun watch -- Zee was on fire! :D I don't have a lot of spare cash but there's a few "must haves" on my list, too. In no particular order: • custom game inserts (a MUST for "Dead of Winter", instead of baggies - game setup takes a minute instead of 10). Not all game need them but it sure speeds things up. • upgraded components - especially thematic ones to replace cardboard bits (I'm looking at you, Marvel Legendary Infinity Shards) • METAL COINS! I only have them for Scythe so far but I want them for ALL THE GAMES • a large sheet of felt. I found one for free, probably replacement felt for a pool table. Covers my entire dining table. Makes dice rolling quiet, components don't shift/slide, and cards are easier to pick up • A dice tower. I only have one but it's a huge space saver and protects components from getting knocked around • Plano boxes - There are dozens of sizes and styles, many are easily customized, and they're a cheap alternative to custom inserts for game components. • Crown Royal bags. Especially nice for when you need to draw tiles blindly. Different flavors provide different colors if you want to match a game thematically. • Envelopes taped to the inside of the box lid. I store notes, quick reference guides, and high scores from past games in them.
Commercial for the “Stealth Dice Tower”: A pair of assassins break into their targets room and he is asleep. One of them walks over to him with a knife and stops. The other one asks “what’s wrong?” He replies: “I need to roll to see if my attack hits but my dice are too loud!” “Here use my Stealth Tower!” Zee Garcia walks in: “Never worry about waking up your targets again with the Zee Garcia Stealth Tower!”
Personally my favorite is foamcore for making inserts. It's so satisfying when you finish one and have everything in the box nice and neat. And it costs $2-3 at most.
i just made my own boardgame table. Cupholders, removable table top and all. I had as much fun making it as i do using it. Its 10ft by 4 ft and seats 12 people
Zip bags is the most used component for me. Yeah, it's not very convenient, but i get tons of them at work (unpacking computers and stuff). I have also bought some rubber bands, but I have only used them for my home made cards 😊
My must-have are different size zip lock bags for storing cards and accessories (Walmart, craft stores); a ton of little containers from the dollar store to hold the extra components while playing; and draw/dice bags. Dice towers are a nice, as long as they are padded inside to be quiet! Dice trays are good too. Start player app? Just grab a die and everybody rolls for first player. I always keep a couple of larger 20d at the table for just that purpose for games that don't have dice. Great video as always!
Agreed, though sometimes they will force one to chuck an insert if it was a decent one, where cards are held in individual wells or the well is JUST big enough to hold the card with no regard to sleeve excess (especially FFG sleeves with that little flap that they leave behind). Also, sometimes they will necessitate the use of a deck tray if there's so many cards in a stack (Ascension-like deck builders and Ex-Libris come to mind, even after halving the deck into two stacks after dealing out the cards in the latter case).
Definitely! KMC matte sleeves are my favorite! Dragon Shield matte sleeves are also great. I love the feeling of handling well sleeved cards. So much easier to shuffle. Mash shuffling unsleeved cards well is impossible. I sleeve pretty much all my cards. Sleeves keep my cards in near mint condition but also feel great to handle.
Yeah, also are easier to pick up from the table than bare cards for games that require you to lay cards on the table (like 7 Wonders Duel and Las Vegas/Vegas Dice game)
This is my favorite top 10 list! I'm pretty new to board gaming and I've never heard of some of these accessories. I'll probably be getting a bunch of these to enhance my gaming.
You guys are awesome! ALWAYS so much fun to watch! Great info and fun conversations! I really enjoy all your videos but I really loved this one. Stonemeier bits are probably my #1 (sorry Zee!).
Meinl standard Cajon bag from Amazon. Similar to the ChromaCast bag that Zee talked about. It is a top-loaded bag and it can carry more games and different sized games. However, there is no convenient shoulder strap. Still, for the fact that I can carry about a half a dozen games from card packs to Lisboa, that is my winner.
I love accessories for any game. I'm the kind of person that has spent more money on custom game pieces than the game itself cost (on multiple occasions). Nice sleeves for any and all cards that have sleeves for their size in production, Ultimate Guard twin cases games like Hero Realms, Dominion, etc. Custom wooden box to fit Carcassonne and all it's expansions, a ton of awesome dice, making plaster molds to cast pewter pieces for Reign of Cthulhu, etc. Us gamers, we have little to complain about in terms of accessories!
Zee you are def not alone on Stonemaier Treasures Chests or Dice Towers. For the rest of the guys, even though I have no need for almost anything mentioned on your lists, this was truly the most entertaining top 10 video I have seen, was litterally laughing out loud throughout the video.
I've never seen it, but I always imagine that Hugo's Amazing Tape is like that stuff they use at the doctor's office when they draw blood and then wrap your arm up.
I personally do my own foamcore inserts and love them. Sometimes the game does come with an insert but when you get an expansion and want to put it in the same box, you have to ditch the insert most of the time.
Probably the ones I've purchased the most of is card sleeves and component trays. For component trays, I usually buy bead storage from a crafts store or other small trays from Daiso. I also like extra dice and dice bags, playmats, card boxes, dice trays (although I only have one), and I buy materials to build my own foamcore game inserts for some of my games. Oh and my gaming dedicated IKEA Kallax shelf. I recently backed the Game Topper as well, so that's a big ticket accessory I went for. I'm not so much into upgrading game components, although I am tempted to replace the paper money in Power Grid with poker chips or something else, because I apparently also hate paper money too. If I ever get into painting miniatures, then that's another world I'd probably end up spending a bit in, but I've resisted the urge so far.
refresh daemon you totally hit my 2 favorites, Michael's and Daiso. Daiso has some little containers that have adjustable walls. Really good to separate 3-4 components. Just hildbthen close with a hair band and all good.
I love my Game Toppers topper and mats. For components, I've found that Hungry Man and Trader Joe TV dinner trays are very cool. So light and they stack very compactly. Also nice are KFC cole slaw/mashed potato containers. Cost for these items is $0.
Acrylic movement templates for X-Wing are a must. Those cardboard movement templates are inconsistent and bend or break easily. Very important for a game where millimeters matter.
I always wanted to get some custom inserts but Sam is right they are expensive. I discovered I can cut foam core with my table saw. With $2 and a hot glue gun I can make my own inserts. I've done approximately 20 of my games and still going.
I like Tin Boxes. They can be used for a lot of different things. You can use them as a Dice Tray, to carry your cards, your dice, pretty much anything. It is also Tin so it can protect your small gaming accessories.
I use two 1x4 Kallax shelves as tables with storage space, for my board games amongst other things. When I need a bigger table than usual (for instance for playing games) I put them together. Works really well.
For those of us not blessed with well-lit gaming cafés who play a lot at meetup groups in dimly lit pubs - portable table lamps. Absolutely essential stuff. Card sleeves are also high up on my list and I'm really surprised they weren't mentioned at all, not even in passing. As for bowls/boxes/dishes... have you ever tried making origami Masu boxes? They work like a charm.
Gentle tape or gentle wrap from CVS is a good, cheap alternative to Amazing Tape for holding decks of cards and boxes together. It’s an awful medical beige colour, but it’s only a few dollars for a roll that covers a good number of decks.
If this is that self-adhesive bandage that only sticks to itself, you can find it in feed stores. It'll be cheaper and they'll usually have it in different colors. It's called vet wrap there.
My top 10 before the video started: 1. A decent table with chairs 2. A storage solution 3. Sleeves 4. Dice (with cloth bags) 5. Playmats (of different sizes) 6. Deck boxes 7. Metal coins 8. Plastic/acrylic tokens 9. Dice trays 10. Component bowls
They all hate card sleeves from what I know as it adds to the price of the game. I for once practically do not play games untill I have my cards sleeved. It's quite easy to have a gaming experience hampered forever once a card gets marked and it's recognisable.
Corey Redmon yes, they do. You can use “ouchless” hair ties. They don’t cut the cards. Also, there are bands specifically designed for cards, in addition to deck boxes or self sealing jewelry bags (which I use).
My rubber band of choice is what comes around asparagus at most grocery stores. It's the perfect amount of tension to hold the cards just right without any unnecessary tightness in most cases. They are also a more broad surface area to help with not denting.
I didn't know specifically about Hugo's Amazing Tape, but it's the same as bondage tape and that you can easily get from Amazon and it's not expensive at all
A year late, but I personally really like deck boxes. They hold a lot of cards, and protect them. They can be used for tokens and such as well. Often times they do fit in boxes, but there are other times where they don't. Standard boxes work well with these, and they are great to make partitions with in the box.
I like printing custom tuck boxes for games with out them. It's difficult to find for some games, but a lot of people have uploaded files, and if you've got the chops, you can design your own using a template. It beats rubber bands or even tape. It's certainly slightly more expensive (1-2 dollars per deck), and time consuming to get them printed at an office store. But I love them.
Who goes first: last person to sit down at the table goes last, so the person sitting next to them clockwise goes first. That way, you can start the game while one person is still messing around.
Hey! I love my revolving deck holder. For lots of players and large decks the deck holder is a must! No messy, knocked over draw and and discard decks.
I've placed my Arkham Horror LCG chaos tokens in coin capsules. It makes the tactile aspect of drawing the tokens so much better. It clinks and clanks in a very satisfying way. I wouldn't replace that for an app :)
I like box inserts for when I have included multiple expansion packs. I prefer the organza drawstring bags over zipper bags. You can still see through them but opening and closing them is faster. I have also used dollar tree containers for components. The ones I use for Seafall seperate everything nicely and fit perfectly in the plastic molded insert that came with the game.
Older recording, but funny - you guys are a great company. Very interesting topic and relevant examples. Would be great with a complete list and link to vendors in the description field. Thanks again for your continued effort keeping the momentum up in the board game arena :)
Definitely the most useful "accessory" for me is a games collection app that keeps track of every game you own, and can quickly tell you games for x number of players. Also, being able to record when / who you play with and keep track of the scores / wins / losses etc, number of times played etc. Also, a simple game timer / turn app can really help speed up player turns.
Why not dice cups? You can roll them in the cup and plop them out in exactly one spot on the table. Roll for the Galaxy comes with them, but I bought my own felt ones because they're quieter and larger.
I might get beat for this but my favorite game accessory atm is my 3d printer. I use it to print custom game inserts, dice towers, custom game components, storage containers like "bowls". However, a good one costs more than a decent gaming table and has a constant cost of filament.
i will be picking up a ton of those Geekbox trays/containers. Wow awesome stuff. Some of my go to's have to be Sleeves Neoprene Player mat Rubber bands, but only the fatter "flat-style" so it rest nice on the card edges different sized zip lock bags
You need a countdown timer that makes a noise for that mountains of madness boardgame. In the games we've played everybody is to busy going insane and trying to figure out who has what icons to notice the sandtimer ran out 10 seconds ago.
2 Amazing Things We Use- 1. RAINBOW LOOM rubber bands (kids craft item) are AMAZING for games, we use them in almost every game we have. They are better than rubber bands, don't "eat into cards" or dent them. You can get a bag of any color including like 500+ for under $5 on Amazon or at your local craft store. Even better- you only have to wrap them ONE time around. This is probably he biggest kept secret and my #1 recommended game accessory. www.amazon.com/dp/B00713LNVO/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_yEiwCb21RE0RJ 2. Adhesive Tile Sleeves- (maybe already mentioned) We buy them from Swan Panasia and they are heavy duty protective sleeves. We sleeve most of our tile game components if we can find the correct size for the tile.
For start player, me and my husband tend to do odds/evens on a d20. On which note - After extra dice, dice tray, realistic tokens, metal coins, plastic baggies, general score keeper apps for traditional card games and games that don't come with score pads, I'd struggle. If the game setup is particularly long I might upgrade the baggies to an insert (including plano boxes), and some games I wind up using a deck of money rather than metal coins due to impracticalities of a real coins for that game, but it's hard to think of other stuff I tend to use.
The best accessories are dependent on which games your group plays. I couldn't imagine ever playing Twilight Imperium without a dice tower and fleet stands.
I'm gonna support Tom here and say I use rubber bands for my games too. I work at an office supply store and I have access of millions of them. I've used them since I started gaming a few years back and I've never noticed any denting or damage while using them. I just don't put them on super tight. I also use plastic baggies, again I get them for free which is a good thing cause I'm sure if anyone else were to buy the number of baggies I use, they'd think I was a drug dealer.
Meeple Source has some wooden coins that I use to keep track of scores in all of my games that don't already come with a score board. I like the metal coins, but I have a real obsession with wooden components.
I keep two sets of coins (one at work and one at home -- the two places I game most). Viticulture and Scythe sets are beautiful and functional, and work with any of the games I play without diverging to far from the theme already in play.
If you have quite a few small games, I have mostly small card games, and you want to keep the original box ... the no hub VHS case is a must. I used them for storing and organizing small museum artefacts in the late 80's and I began using them for my own collectables later because they were very cheap. Now, I use them to keep my small card games organized. Just copy the art and text from the internet to arrange a cover and binding that you can print out on a regular sheet of paper to slip into the VHS cover and it looks like a custom case you bought in a store. It is important to get the cases without the hub so the inside back is flat, but you can still order them from Amazon. If you buy a case of 100 to split with someone else they cost about 50-cents each after shipping. Shipping is the killer so order in bulk if you can. Rather than storing my small card games in a box or a drawer I have them set neatly on a bookshelf so they are easy to find and nice to look at. I bought mine back when I could buy these cases for 10-cents apiece but at 50-cents apiece when you buy in bulk is still a good deal in my opinion because you will literally use them for decades. Tell Zee to try them out and if he likes them he can do a component review so more people buy them. Now that VHS is a thing of the past it would be bad if they quit making them.
With regard to Hugo's magic tape. There's a much cheaper much more readily available option. It's just not exactly family friendly. Bondage Tape. Bondage Tape is exactly the same thing. It sticks to itself (and not skin or hair or more importantly cards or plastic). It comes in many different colors and if you aren't an adult or are unwilling to enter the sort of shop you'd need to enter to buy it in person. You can buy it online from Amazon and it ships in a relatively family friendly box and packaging. It's usually about an inch wide like Hugo and you can cut it in half to make it more narrow and it's still perfectly fine.
So instead of the rubber bands for the boxes and stuff I hot glue velcro on the boxes, typically bigger games like Dominion w/expansions etc... and it works awesome as long as you don't mind the box augmentation!
One thing none of you mentioned regarding game inserts is how well they can implement the expansions in the base game box. That is one, if not the primary reason, l purchase an insert...
I break my games down to fit in tackle boxes. Especially the ones with trays that can then be carried in a mother ship. They are cheap and can be bought at Wal-Mart. I keep the original boxes and just store them, but keep the tackle boxes out to grab easily.
Rubber bands on boxes FTW! Dropped my copy of Incan Gold in a gravelly parking lot. Still picking out random black rocks out of my obsidian pile to this day.
My favorite game bag that is affordable is the Broken token game bag. They are basically glorified duffel bags but their structure is square, and the bottom is the size of a typical game box. You can get them for $30 or less, and I've got 5. They hold 10-15 games easily (Though they get heavy)
Office Depot, Staples and Walmart has a few sizes of Small Boxes in the Stationary section that are perfect for Different Components and One perfect card size.
I haven't read all the comments, but I am going to suggest card sleeves as an essential accessory, and here's why. I have base Pandemic and the On the Brink expansion. The cards from the expansion are cut slightly wider and the coloring on the card back is a slightly different color. Opaque sleeves are needed to keep the mystery of the next card. Also, and this my opinion only, sleeves help card longevity in deck builders.
When I was a kid, paper money was my favorite component. In Life and Monopoly it made me feel rich and totally added to the theme. You could also hide it under the board to keep your money secret. Maybe it's not the best for gamers, but it still has its purpose.
1: metal coins - bowls - custom components
2: box inserts - metal coins - game bags
3: metal coins - assistant apps - custom playmats
4: vinyl tape - stonemaier treasure chests - dice towers
5: dice tray - rubber bands - paint racks
6: IKEA shelves - more dice - component trays
7: playmats - dice tray - custom box inserts
8: card holders - photo case holders - 3d terrain
9: dice bag - dice tower - memoir '44 campaign bag
10: laminator - start player app - gaming table
Zee Garcia, Voice of the People - "I don't use any of the stuff on my list, I'm just thinking about what everyone else would use." lol!
The best dice bag is actually made by a Canadian whiskey company, called Crown Royal. It's nice because you also get whiskey with your bag.
Dio. Agree. And at Xmas, they have unique designs. I have a purple camo version.
I'm changing my answer to this
Those were a joke among tabletop rpg players years back. Which is a bit of a shame, because they’re actually pretty good dice bags, but anytime we saw one get pulled out at a convention or store we rolled our eyes. Better than 90% of the time, the person using it wasn’t old enough to drink, and was *immensely* impressed to be using an alcohol related accessory. Hur hur hur. If you’re actually buying the booze, hey, free dice bag; but if you got your cool brother in college to get you one, please stop.
You need to realize that growing up alot of parents bought 2-3 bottles a year in Canada. By the time alot of us hit legal age we had like 50 of the buggers lying around.
I bought it once just to try it. It's alright, but the reason I had one in the first place is because my dad would buy a bottle once in a while and he used the bags to store larger coins, like half dollars. I didn't even know what Crown Royal was (never bothered looking in my parents' liquor cabinet) until I was in my late teens and just thought they were cool bags.
Here's some more: Lazy Susan so everyone can rotate the cards/board, Plexiglass sheet to put over paper maps, Rotary Cutter for making counters, Corner Cutter for rounding corners, Paper Cutter (slide type and blade type), Giant Ruler and Self Healing Cutting Mat
I played Dominion with a large Lazy Susan once and it was amazing. We had all of the cards in a single row along the edge of the Lazy Susan and just rotated it to whoever's turn it was. Not the most practical for all games but it beats half of the players leaning over the table to read stuff upside down.
Lazy Susan! What a great suggestion. I just thought of this the other day because my grandparents have one, and I forgot about it immediately. I'm going to find one right now! Thanks! The plexiglass is cool too. Good to keep troublesome boards from bending up, etc.
I did not know what a Lazy Susan was, but now I urgently need one.
I think this may be the funniest list I have seen you guys do.
100% agree with Zee about rolling dice verses dice towers. Rolling all the way for me!
I know, right? It's the difference between me rolling the dice and the tower rolling the dice.
Dice Towers - Solving a problem that wasn't there.
Your interaction keeps on getting better.
I love when you guys enjoy each other. The more you laugh at Zee’s Ike’s the I enjoy watching. Fun video!
Funniest top 10 ever. Zee made it super funny and interesting.
This was a great list and a very fun watch -- Zee was on fire! :D
I don't have a lot of spare cash but there's a few "must haves" on my list, too. In no particular order:
• custom game inserts (a MUST for "Dead of Winter", instead of baggies - game setup takes a minute instead of 10). Not all game need them but it sure speeds things up.
• upgraded components - especially thematic ones to replace cardboard bits (I'm looking at you, Marvel Legendary Infinity Shards)
• METAL COINS! I only have them for Scythe so far but I want them for ALL THE GAMES
• a large sheet of felt. I found one for free, probably replacement felt for a pool table. Covers my entire dining table. Makes dice rolling quiet, components don't shift/slide, and cards are easier to pick up
• A dice tower. I only have one but it's a huge space saver and protects components from getting knocked around
• Plano boxes - There are dozens of sizes and styles, many are easily customized, and they're a cheap alternative to custom inserts for game components.
• Crown Royal bags. Especially nice for when you need to draw tiles blindly. Different flavors provide different colors if you want to match a game thematically.
• Envelopes taped to the inside of the box lid. I store notes, quick reference guides, and high scores from past games in them.
Commercial for the “Stealth Dice Tower”: A pair of assassins break into their targets room and he is asleep. One of them walks over to him with a knife and stops. The other one asks “what’s wrong?” He replies: “I need to roll to see if my attack hits but my dice are too loud!” “Here use my Stealth Tower!” Zee Garcia walks in: “Never worry about waking up your targets again with the Zee Garcia Stealth Tower!”
Zee is on fire!
He's hilarious when he's in a mood!
I was thinking the same thing with this episode. Zee was hilarious!
I want a gaming bib now. I don't even know what that would be, but Zee's enthusiasm sold me on it.
I love laminating score sheets then use a dry erase marker on it. That's how I keep track of production (not ressources) in Terraforming Mars
Personally my favorite is foamcore for making inserts. It's so satisfying when you finish one and have everything in the box nice and neat. And it costs $2-3 at most.
boohiss83 huh, didn’t know that. I’ll have to get some
That was absolutely hilarious!! :D Fantastic video!
i just made my own boardgame table. Cupholders, removable table top and all. I had as much fun making it as i do using it. Its 10ft by 4 ft and seats 12 people
Probably the funniest and most entertaining dice tower episode I have seen so far... Hilarious 😁
Zip bags is the most used component for me. Yeah, it's not very convenient, but i get tons of them at work (unpacking computers and stuff). I have also bought some rubber bands, but I have only used them for my home made cards 😊
Yeah, Ziploc bags should have made the list. While not my favorite, they are *easily* my most used game accessory.
I prefer 4mil baggies. Hold up better over time.
I was rather happy when I opened my copy of Scythe and found they had included quite a few extra bags of various sizes for me to put everything in.
I think we need a weekly topical rant segment from Zee. Dude is setting everything on fire in this video!!
My must-have are different size zip lock bags for storing cards and accessories (Walmart, craft stores); a ton of little containers from the dollar store to hold the extra components while playing; and draw/dice bags. Dice towers are a nice, as long as they are padded inside to be quiet! Dice trays are good too. Start player app? Just grab a die and everybody rolls for first player. I always keep a couple of larger 20d at the table for just that purpose for games that don't have dice. Great video as always!
The DollarTree!
You can buy different laminate types like a luster matte finish that don't have as much glare as the regular glossy type. :)
Card sleeves.
I was surprised this wasnt on the list. My most used one and I love it
The Dice Tower has commented many times they don’t sleeve their cards
Agreed, though sometimes they will force one to chuck an insert if it was a decent one, where cards are held in individual wells or the well is JUST big enough to hold the card with no regard to sleeve excess (especially FFG sleeves with that little flap that they leave behind). Also, sometimes they will necessitate the use of a deck tray if there's so many cards in a stack (Ascension-like deck builders and Ex-Libris come to mind, even after halving the deck into two stacks after dealing out the cards in the latter case).
Definitely! KMC matte sleeves are my favorite! Dragon Shield matte sleeves are also great. I love the feeling of handling well sleeved cards. So much easier to shuffle. Mash shuffling unsleeved cards well is impossible. I sleeve pretty much all my cards. Sleeves keep my cards in near mint condition but also feel great to handle.
Yeah, also are easier to pick up from the table than bare cards for games that require you to lay cards on the table (like 7 Wonders Duel and Las Vegas/Vegas Dice game)
This is my favorite top 10 list! I'm pretty new to board gaming and I've never heard of some of these accessories. I'll probably be getting a bunch of these to enhance my gaming.
Top 10 list are better than any HBO show out there...1hr of goodness thanx, always entertaining 👍🏽
His Dark Materials
Westworld
Impractical Jokers
Titans
Primal
Young Justice
Game of Thrones? (Not the last season)
The money in Heaven and Ale is great quality. Watched the whole video, normally i scroll through videos, but i love this setup with all you guys.
You guys are awesome! ALWAYS so much fun to watch! Great info and fun conversations! I really enjoy all your videos but I really loved this one. Stonemeier bits are probably my #1 (sorry Zee!).
Unexpected top ten, made my sunday better. Hugs from Brazil!
Meinl standard Cajon bag from Amazon. Similar to the ChromaCast bag that Zee talked about. It is a top-loaded bag and it can carry more games and different sized games. However, there is no convenient shoulder strap. Still, for the fact that I can carry about a half a dozen games from card packs to Lisboa, that is my winner.
I love accessories for any game.
I'm the kind of person that has spent more money on custom game pieces than the game itself cost (on multiple occasions).
Nice sleeves for any and all cards that have sleeves for their size in production, Ultimate Guard twin cases games like Hero Realms, Dominion, etc. Custom wooden box to fit Carcassonne and all it's expansions, a ton of awesome dice, making plaster molds to cast pewter pieces for Reign of Cthulhu, etc.
Us gamers, we have little to complain about in terms of accessories!
Zee you are def not alone on Stonemaier Treasures Chests or Dice Towers. For the rest of the guys, even though I have no need for almost anything mentioned on your lists, this was truly the most entertaining top 10 video I have seen, was litterally laughing out loud throughout the video.
3D terrain “Is it inflatable? (Zee)” Such a meta joke from another top ten
Ulaan1789 What was that top ten? I can't remember it for the life of me.
I've never seen it, but I always imagine that Hugo's Amazing Tape is like that stuff they use at the doctor's office when they draw blood and then wrap your arm up.
I personally do my own foamcore inserts and love them. Sometimes the game does come with an insert but when you get an expansion and want to put it in the same box, you have to ditch the insert most of the time.
Probably the ones I've purchased the most of is card sleeves and component trays. For component trays, I usually buy bead storage from a crafts store or other small trays from Daiso.
I also like extra dice and dice bags, playmats, card boxes, dice trays (although I only have one), and I buy materials to build my own foamcore game inserts for some of my games. Oh and my gaming dedicated IKEA Kallax shelf. I recently backed the Game Topper as well, so that's a big ticket accessory I went for.
I'm not so much into upgrading game components, although I am tempted to replace the paper money in Power Grid with poker chips or something else, because I apparently also hate paper money too.
If I ever get into painting miniatures, then that's another world I'd probably end up spending a bit in, but I've resisted the urge so far.
refresh daemon you totally hit my 2 favorites, Michael's and Daiso. Daiso has some little containers that have adjustable walls. Really good to separate 3-4 components. Just hildbthen close with a hair band and all good.
I love my Game Toppers topper and mats.
For components, I've found that Hungry Man and Trader Joe TV dinner trays are very cool. So light and they stack very compactly. Also nice are KFC cole slaw/mashed potato containers. Cost for these items is $0.
Acrylic movement templates for X-Wing are a must. Those cardboard movement templates are inconsistent and bend or break easily. Very important for a game where millimeters matter.
3. Card sleeves
2. component containers that fit in the box
1. A big table (cant afford custom ones)
I always wanted to get some custom inserts but Sam is right they are expensive. I discovered I can cut foam core with my table saw. With $2 and a hot glue gun I can make my own inserts. I've done approximately 20 of my games and still going.
Roger Savoy what do you mean by inserts
@@Sehon13Ultd The tray inside the game box that the components fit in.
I like Tin Boxes. They can be used for a lot of different things. You can use them as a Dice Tray, to carry your cards, your dice, pretty much anything. It is also Tin so it can protect your small gaming accessories.
My favorite component tray, no joke, a muffin tray
This was a particularly hilarious list. Loved it.
I use two 1x4 Kallax shelves as tables with storage space, for my board games amongst other things. When I need a bigger table than usual (for instance for playing games) I put them together. Works really well.
Zee was on fire for this episode.. lol... 'Like inflatable?' bwhahahaha.... I am still giggling about this one.
Tackle box for games with lots of pieces like Wrath of Ashardalon, Castle Ravenloft, and Legend of Drizzt.
For those of us not blessed with well-lit gaming cafés who play a lot at meetup groups in dimly lit pubs - portable table lamps. Absolutely essential stuff. Card sleeves are also high up on my list and I'm really surprised they weren't mentioned at all, not even in passing. As for bowls/boxes/dishes... have you ever tried making origami Masu boxes? They work like a charm.
Gentle tape or gentle wrap from CVS is a good, cheap alternative to Amazing Tape for holding decks of cards and boxes together. It’s an awful medical beige colour, but it’s only a few dollars for a roll that covers a good number of decks.
If this is that self-adhesive bandage that only sticks to itself, you can find it in feed stores. It'll be cheaper and they'll usually have it in different colors. It's called vet wrap there.
My top 10 before the video started:
1. A decent table with chairs
2. A storage solution
3. Sleeves
4. Dice (with cloth bags)
5. Playmats (of different sizes)
6. Deck boxes
7. Metal coins
8. Plastic/acrylic tokens
9. Dice trays
10. Component bowls
Oh my gosh - You guys are so funny... and that Zee - hee-larious.
I'm astonished that none of them mentioned card sleeves.
They all hate card sleeves from what I know as it adds to the price of the game. I for once practically do not play games untill I have my cards sleeved. It's quite easy to have a gaming experience hampered forever once a card gets marked and it's recognisable.
I love using the Plano and Stanley organizer boxes for X-Wing; they're relatively inexpensive and make storage so much easier.
My wife makes chainmail and she made me a chainmail dicebag that I use quite regularly.
I just don't like rubber bands because I feel like they dent my cards on the side.
Corey Redmon yes, they do. You can use “ouchless” hair ties. They don’t cut the cards. Also, there are bands specifically designed for cards, in addition to deck boxes or self sealing jewelry bags (which I use).
I agree, Tom may have been telling my story of how cards were destroyed I shared before.
My rubber band of choice is what comes around asparagus at most grocery stores. It's the perfect amount of tension to hold the cards just right without any unnecessary tightness in most cases. They are also a more broad surface area to help with not denting.
you feel like that because they look like that
I prefer putting sleeved or unsleeved decks of cards in zip-lock bags.
I didn't know specifically about Hugo's Amazing Tape, but it's the same as bondage tape and that you can easily get from Amazon and it's not expensive at all
I enjoyed you guys today very much - seems to me you are in the DT Cruise mood
A year late, but I personally really like deck boxes. They hold a lot of cards, and protect them. They can be used for tokens and such as well. Often times they do fit in boxes, but there are other times where they don't. Standard boxes work well with these, and they are great to make partitions with in the box.
Finally a new Top 10!
I like printing custom tuck boxes for games with out them. It's difficult to find for some games, but a lot of people have uploaded files, and if you've got the chops, you can design your own using a template. It beats rubber bands or even tape. It's certainly slightly more expensive (1-2 dollars per deck), and time consuming to get them printed at an office store. But I love them.
Geekbits from the bggstore. So great!
Hey guy I have some ideas for future top ten videos.
- top ten games that play awful with 2 players
-top ten themes you want to see in a game
Definitely all in about the top ten themes list, good choice.
My favorite gaming accessory is a chess clock. I also use poker chips indeed, and use elastic bands for clothes instead of rubber bands.
I love poker chips. I wonder if there are smaller clay poker chips?
Who goes first: last person to sit down at the table goes last, so the person sitting next to them clockwise goes first. That way, you can start the game while one person is still messing around.
Hey! I love my revolving deck holder. For lots of players and large decks the deck holder is a must! No messy, knocked over draw and and discard decks.
I've placed my Arkham Horror LCG chaos tokens in coin capsules. It makes the tactile aspect of drawing the tokens so much better. It clinks and clanks in a very satisfying way. I wouldn't replace that for an app :)
YES! NEW TOP TEN BABYYYYY!
Tom you are not alone :)
I almost always do the throw players pieces and determine order on how they fall :)
I like box inserts for when I have included multiple expansion packs. I prefer the organza drawstring bags over zipper bags. You can still see through them but opening and closing them is faster. I have also used dollar tree containers for components. The ones I use for Seafall seperate everything nicely and fit perfectly in the plastic molded insert that came with the game.
Zee, "I don't hate it. I just despise it." LOL!!!
Older recording, but funny - you guys are a great company. Very interesting topic and relevant examples.
Would be great with a complete list and link to vendors in the description field.
Thanks again for your continued effort keeping the momentum up in the board game arena :)
Definitely the most useful "accessory" for me is a games collection app that keeps track of every game you own, and can quickly tell you games for x number of players. Also, being able to record when / who you play with and keep track of the scores / wins / losses etc, number of times played etc. Also, a simple game timer / turn app can really help speed up player turns.
Jonathan Hui Which one do you use?
Martin Ba Boardgamegeek and ScorePal
Dude! Using a Cajon (drum) bag for transporting games is brilliant!
Zee on a whole 'nother level in this one! Love it!
Why not dice cups? You can roll them in the cup and plop them out in exactly one spot on the table.
Roll for the Galaxy comes with them, but I bought my own felt ones because they're quieter and larger.
I might get beat for this but my favorite game accessory atm is my 3d printer. I use it to print custom game inserts, dice towers, custom game components, storage containers like "bowls". However, a good one costs more than a decent gaming table and has a constant cost of filament.
i will be picking up a ton of those Geekbox trays/containers. Wow awesome stuff. Some of my go to's have to be
Sleeves
Neoprene Player mat
Rubber bands, but only the fatter "flat-style" so it rest nice on the card edges
different sized zip lock bags
Get containers from the DollarTree instead!
You need a countdown timer that makes a noise for that mountains of madness boardgame. In the games we've played everybody is to busy going insane and trying to figure out who has what icons to notice the sandtimer ran out 10 seconds ago.
2 Amazing Things We Use-
1. RAINBOW LOOM rubber bands (kids craft item) are AMAZING for games, we use them in almost every game we have. They are better than rubber bands, don't "eat into cards" or dent them. You can get a bag of any color including like 500+ for under $5 on Amazon or at your local craft store. Even better- you only have to wrap them ONE time around. This is probably he biggest kept secret and my #1 recommended game accessory.
www.amazon.com/dp/B00713LNVO/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_yEiwCb21RE0RJ
2. Adhesive Tile Sleeves- (maybe already mentioned) We buy them from Swan Panasia and they are heavy duty protective sleeves. We sleeve most of our tile game components if we can find the correct size for the tile.
Wow, that was really funny. You guys are still somehow funny.
For start player, me and my husband tend to do odds/evens on a d20.
On which note - After extra dice, dice tray, realistic tokens, metal coins, plastic baggies, general score keeper apps for traditional card games and games that don't come with score pads, I'd struggle. If the game setup is particularly long I might upgrade the baggies to an insert (including plano boxes), and some games I wind up using a deck of money rather than metal coins due to impracticalities of a real coins for that game, but it's hard to think of other stuff I tend to use.
I always use the clear perspex nail varsnish racks for storing my model paints. Alot cheaper and you can store more on them! :)
The best accessories are dependent on which games your group plays. I couldn't imagine ever playing Twilight Imperium without a dice tower and fleet stands.
Zee you make me smile, 3 and 7 haha
I'm gonna support Tom here and say I use rubber bands for my games too. I work at an office supply store and I have access of millions of them. I've used them since I started gaming a few years back and I've never noticed any denting or damage while using them. I just don't put them on super tight. I also use plastic baggies, again I get them for free which is a good thing cause I'm sure if anyone else were to buy the number of baggies I use, they'd think I was a drug dealer.
Meeple Source has some wooden coins that I use to keep track of scores in all of my games that don't already come with a score board. I like the metal coins, but I have a real obsession with wooden components.
Long strips of velcro can be purchased at home improvement stores that can wrap all the way around a board game box
I keep two sets of coins (one at work and one at home -- the two places I game most). Viticulture and Scythe sets are beautiful and functional, and work with any of the games I play without diverging to far from the theme already in play.
I use the scythe coins and don't even own the game. They are cheap and work thematically with many games. (except the pennies are strange)
If you have quite a few small games, I have mostly small card games, and you want to keep the original box ... the no hub VHS case is a must. I used them for storing and organizing small museum artefacts in the late 80's and I began using them for my own collectables later because they were very cheap. Now, I use them to keep my small card games organized. Just copy the art and text from the internet to arrange a cover and binding that you can print out on a regular sheet of paper to slip into the VHS cover and it looks like a custom case you bought in a store. It is important to get the cases without the hub so the inside back is flat, but you can still order them from Amazon. If you buy a case of 100 to split with someone else they cost about 50-cents each after shipping. Shipping is the killer so order in bulk if you can. Rather than storing my small card games in a box or a drawer I have them set neatly on a bookshelf so they are easy to find and nice to look at. I bought mine back when I could buy these cases for 10-cents apiece but at 50-cents apiece when you buy in bulk is still a good deal in my opinion because you will literally use them for decades. Tell Zee to try them out and if he likes them he can do a component review so more people buy them. Now that VHS is a thing of the past it would be bad if they quit making them.
Clif B. Look for stamp holders. Stamping up sells the vhs and CD sizes
With regard to Hugo's magic tape. There's a much cheaper much more readily available option. It's just not exactly family friendly. Bondage Tape. Bondage Tape is exactly the same thing. It sticks to itself (and not skin or hair or more importantly cards or plastic). It comes in many different colors and if you aren't an adult or are unwilling to enter the sort of shop you'd need to enter to buy it in person. You can buy it online from Amazon and it ships in a relatively family friendly box and packaging. It's usually about an inch wide like Hugo and you can cut it in half to make it more narrow and it's still perfectly fine.
So instead of the rubber bands for the boxes and stuff I hot glue velcro on the boxes, typically bigger games like Dominion w/expansions etc... and it works awesome as long as you don't mind the box augmentation!
We need an updated version for 2022 Christmas!
One thing none of you mentioned regarding game inserts is how well they can implement the expansions in the base game box. That is one, if not the primary reason, l purchase an insert...
I break my games down to fit in tackle boxes. Especially the ones with trays that can then be carried in a mother ship. They are cheap and can be bought at Wal-Mart. I keep the original boxes and just store them, but keep the tackle boxes out to grab easily.
Rubber bands on boxes FTW! Dropped my copy of Incan Gold in a gravelly parking lot. Still picking out random black rocks out of my obsidian pile to this day.
My favorite game bag that is affordable is the Broken token game bag. They are basically glorified duffel bags but their structure is square, and the bottom is the size of a typical game box. You can get them for $30 or less, and I've got 5. They hold 10-15 games easily (Though they get heavy)
I would love to see top 10 for games with replayability
See is KILLING IT with the jokes!!! 🤣
Fun list! I use match boxes to hold small decks of cards.
Yay warhammer got a mention... didn't know tom played, males me very happy
Office Depot, Staples and Walmart has a few sizes of Small Boxes in the Stationary section that are perfect for Different Components and One perfect card size.
as for bowls - IKEA has plenty of small wooden bowls. same size as that recent Kickstarter, but readily available and cheaper.
I haven't read all the comments, but I am going to suggest card sleeves as an essential accessory, and here's why. I have base Pandemic and the On the Brink expansion. The cards from the expansion are cut slightly wider and the coloring on the card back is a slightly different color. Opaque sleeves are needed to keep the mystery of the next card. Also, and this my opinion only, sleeves help card longevity in deck builders.
When I was a kid, paper money was my favorite component. In Life and Monopoly it made me feel rich and totally added to the theme. You could also hide it under the board to keep your money secret. Maybe it's not the best for gamers, but it still has its purpose.