Brilliant Board Game Storage Tips for Every Single Game You Own

Hey there! This website does contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through this page, Cats and Dice may earn a share of sales from the link. Learn more.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t count the number of times I’ve tried rotating my board game boxes this way and that just hoping they might fit. They usually don’t. As my collection has grown, though, I’ve become more efficient and knowledgeable in how I store board games.

Board game storage is no small feat. There are many levels to consider. First, you need good storage inside the box. Then, you need good board games shelves to store the box itself. And sometimes, you need board game storage for travel.

Let’s consider all these levels today. We’ll talk about games big and small, and hopefully, you’ll find some creative solutions you haven’t thought of before.

Where to Start?

If you’re overwhelmed with your board game storage problems, start with whatever you perceive to be the biggest problem. If you have plenty of shelf space but your lids won’t close, start with in-the-box storage. On the other hand, if you have zero shelves, then let us tell you about our favorites.

When it comes to changing up your board game storage, start small in thought, too. Many people (myself included) sit with poor board game storage for years because they view it as an all-or-nothing task. You don’t have to get everything just right! You’ll be glad just to start.

With that, we will be ironic and start big, then go small. Let’s talk shelves for board game storage first, and then open up the box to see what’s inside.

The Best Board Game Shelves for Storage

Now that you have an idea of what kind of board game shelves you might need, let us show you some of our favorites.

Ikea Shelves

At Ikea, there are lots of options. The Kallax is popular for good reason. Not only will your square games fit well there since the shelves are quite deep, but you can also buy bins to put in and add your smaller games.

Kallax shelves also come in a variety of sizes and colors. Some are cubes with four shelves, while others stand four shelves tall. I have a few of the cubes, which I like because I can stack them on top of each other or side-by-side as needed. You can also buy them with doors.

The Hoghem offers a more open-faced solution. I’m considering them for my floorboard heater problem. The lower shelves would fit larger games while the higher shelf would fit smaller ones. I imagine using this for my most often played games.

I also own a few Gersby bookcases. They’re great for my RPG books or for rectangular games but are not great for standard square board games.

Amazon Shelves

The cubed shelving options on Amazon do not run as deep for some reason. My widest board game at the moment is Tokaido at a 12”x12” square. Most of the shelving units on Amazon, however, stop at 11.5” deep.

This shelf from Better Homes and Gardens does the trick, though. It also has a lot more shelves than the Kallax, which makes it a worthwhile competitor. Buy it here.

For a more industrial and minimalist option, chrome shelving units work well. They’re deep, sturdy, and offer a lot of shelf space while taking up very little space themselves.

Specialty Shelves

Big brand names and sellers aside, there are lots of wonderful options out there for board game storage and shelves made by board gamers like you and me.

BoxThrone offers unique and customizable shelves that will fit any size board game you could possibly imagine. Once all the games are on the shelves, they practically look like art. They are certainly a worthwhile investment for serious gamers out there.

You can also DIY it. These homemade board game shelves are genius. I love the roll-out shelves, and the cabinet doors make it look clean. You can also get specialized plans for board game shelves specifically.

Board Game Storage: Inside the Box

Now that you know where you will put all your board games, let’s take a look inside the box. Fortunately, there aren’t quite as many things you need to consider as there were for board game shelves. Yet you may not have thought of some of these solutions.

Many modern board games come with awesome inserts that do most of the storage for you. Sometimes that’s not enough, though. Inserts don’t always account for storing games on their side. Some of them don’t leave room for expansions or other pieces you would like to add. Maybe you want to take the insert out altogether. There are plenty of options for all these situations.

Baggies Galore

There’s nothing quite like having a bunch of perfectly-sized baggies for your small gaming pieces. Tokens, coins, cubes, and other small pieces often need baggies or similar containers. Games like Pandemic include them, but not all games come with them. Fortunately, they’re not hard to find. And you don’t need to settle for sandwich bags from the grocery store.

You can get many baggies at once in a variety of sizes. These are great if you want to have options around rather than buying sets for each individual board game. 3×4 baggies will fit most board game pieces if you’d rather not worry about size, too.

Some gamers like to take it an extra step and protect their tokens, too. Use coin capsules and the container they come in to keep game pieces even more protected and organized.

Containers

Some games provide containers with a beautiful effect. Wingspan, for example, comes with 4 plastic containers that both store and hold the food tokens.

Not all games come with containers, but it’s easy enough to get some for yourself. Here’s a pro tip from veteran board gamers: you can use plastic bead boxes to store your pieces. Buy them online or in a dollar store. Smaller ones will store your tokens well, while larger ones will hold decks of cards. You might prefer round ones with removable lids for some pieces or square ones with attached lids for others.

For a higher class option, you can also check out handmade wood containers. These come with removable lids and can hold pieces as you play or for storage.

Rubber Bands

Before the more intense gamers freak out, I’m not talking about rubber bands for cards. Instead, I’m talking about nifty rubber bands like these that hold your box together. I first encountered them when checking out a board game at my local library, and I’m a fan. They’re sturdy without digging into the box.

These bands are specifically designed for board games. Black, sleek, elastic, and stretchy, they are flexible without being too tight or loose. Geek On really knows their stuff when it comes to board game storage.

Rubber bands are particularly nice if you have expansions in your box, or if you turn your boxes on their sides. They also help if you’ve removed the insert. That way, extra components don’t shift and fall inside.

Customized Inserts

Good board game storage is a worthwhile investment. It means less time on organization and cleanliness and more time playing. A customized insert can give you this freedom and peace of mind.

Wayfarer Printing offers effective and elegant board game inserts. They make some components out of wood, but they 3D print most of them. They each have an excellent selection, but if you can’t find what you’re looking for, many Etsy sellers make inserts for particular games.

Traveling With Games

Board game storage at home is one thing. Bringing board games on the road? That’s a new level of storage needs! Fortunately, it’s not as difficult as you might think.

Focusing on board game storage for the inside of your games first will help you when traveling. Baggies, rubber bands, and proper inserts go a long way to keeping things steady in a bumpy car, bus, or plane. Index card boxes, as we mentioned earlier, help when traveling with smaller card games. You can put several games in small boxes, then put those in one larger case. But these are not the only way to travel well with games.

Board Game Backpacks

Board game backpacks are easily the best way to travel with board games. A good board game backpack comes with lots of room for games of all sizes, along with space for a beverage. You can buy one on Amazon, or you could get one here for more color options.

If backpacks aren’t your thing, board game briefcases are an option, too. They also come with room for all kinds of games while allowing you to carry it over-the-shoulder.

Having an option for board game storage while traveling helps in many situations. You might want to take your favorite games on vacation. They also come in handy when heading to conventions. Whatever the case may be, you will want an option beyond a standard duffle bag.

Questions to Ask About Storage

When looking for shelves to store board games, there are a couple things you’ll want to keep in mind. Many people swear by Ikea’s Kallax shelves for board games. They’re great, but not if they don’t meet your needs. How do you know? Consider these factors.

How much space do you have for board game shelves?

This is a big one. No shelf will help you if you don’t have anywhere to put it! Consider the room in your home, and be as creative as possible with it.

By way of example, here are things I think about with my board game shelves. First, my home has floorboard heaters. That means most shelves will not comfortably fit along those walls. Bummer! Fortunately, I have plenty of wall space without the floorboard heaters, but that might not be true for you.

I also used to have much less space than I do now. At that time, storage that could serve multiple purposes was a big deal for me. Even now, I keep my longer, classic games on the shelf below my coffee table.

Where do you play your games?

This is one I’m still working on. Ideally, you will store your games in the same space or close to where you play them. I play the majority of my games in the dining room, but I don’t really like the look of board games sitting around when I have others over for dinner.

That doesn’t mean I can’t store them there, though, or that I even have to play board games there. Here are a couple of solutions I’m currently considering.

• Keep them stored in a cabinet with a door.
• Move a table into a different area to play games there.
• Shelve games in the living room next to the dining room.

Each of these comes with their own pros and cons, but there are options.

What is the average size of your games?

Board games come in wildly different shapes and sizes these days. It seems no two games are alike. Many board games are square, and that’s partly why the Ikea Kallax shelves are so popular among board gamers. But not all games are the same. If yours do not fit the standard mold, then why buy a standard shelf?

I have a ton of board games in many different shapes. Some of them are small enough to store in storage bins. Some are rectangular enough to keep on more standard bookshelves. And some, yes, are big enough and square enough that I do like the square Ikea shelves.

How attached are you to the boxes?

For serious gamers, the thought of getting rid of boxes feels like a stab to the heart. Don’t worry – you don’t need to get rid of your board game boxes if you don’t want to! If you’re not that attached to them, though, you might want to consider alternate storage solutions.

Our Pinterest board shows some great examples. Smaller card games and dice games can go in index card boxes, for example. Heck, some can even fit into ziplock bags! Make sure to follow our Pinterest page to find new solutions for board game storage as soon as we do.

.

The Next Steps

Once you have your board games all nice and neat, tell us about it! Tag us on social media or send us an email. We would love to see your awesome board game storage, especially if it’s something we haven’t mentioned here.

Good board game storage can lead to a happier gaming experience all around. No longer will you dread opening a box just to find all the pieces got mixed up inside. Or worse, you will never again lift a box to have all the pieces fall out. You don’t need to use every suggestion on this list. A few choice ones for your personal board game collection will go a long way towards good board game storage.

.