Overstuffed – Inserts, Punchboard, & Freight
One of my favorite things about growing our company is the incredible people I get to interact with, and the volume and varied nature of knowledge I gain. Yesterday I had a lovely conversation with Matt Healey where I received a crash course in game tray inserts.
Tray inserts for Shiver Me Timbers, designed by Matt Healey
Matt is a retired engineer who spends his free time helping small publishers design their plastic inserts. He has some bigger credits to his name (he’s currently working on Frosthaven), but his focus is on helping new and small publishers make great products – that they otherwise might not be able to afford or source. [note: you can reach out to Matt on discord: mess_axp18#2252, or BGG]
Our conversation ranged from the pros and cons of different types of molds, how to account for card sleeves, and the dead space above plastic trays in boxes.
This is a newly opened box of Furnace. The game has two hefty punchboards that sit on top of the plastic insert, leaving about 7mm of space between the top of the tray and the top of the box. After removing the chits, in order to make the tray flush, we’ll need to store the excess material under the insert.
Occasionally you will happen across games where the game ships with the insert flush with the box, and then punchboard sits on top of the insert, raising the box top - like Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion (technically there is other material that still sits between the insert and box, but you get the idea).
Both choices (lid lifted, or flush lid with excess space) will take up the same amount of room while new, and the same retail space. So, why don’t all games come shipped with the lid lifted?
It all comes down to how they are packaged in freight. Games in a carton are stacked on top of each other. This means that there is a lot of pressure on the bottom games. If the games are packaged with excess space in the box – then the box bears the burden. If they are packed like Gloomhaven JOTL, then the thin plastic insert bears that burden.
In order to accommodate the lifted lid option, you need few (or possibly only one) games per carton, or else risk damaging the inserts. As a corollary, big box games that may already be shipped one game per carton, can better accommodate lifted lids in freight.
As an aside, I think the flush boxes look better on a retail shelf – but that’s a secondary consideration to functionality.
What games have your favorite inserts?
