Rant: People who treat board game boxes like fragile museum pieces

Last night at a meetup, this guy spent 15 minutes inspecting my copy of Spirit Island for dings before even saying hi, like it's a collectible car instead of a $60 cardboard box we're supposed to actually play with.

2 comments

2 Comments

nelson.nancy6d ago

That guy sounds exhausting. What worked for me was just putting my games in a clear plastic bag before taking them to meetups and making it clear from the start that the box is just a container. I started saying "hey, the box has some wear but the game is complete and ready to play" as soon as someone picks it up. That usually stops the inspection before it even starts. People like that just need a quick reality check that we're here to play games, not appraise them. So far nobody has complained about the bag method either because it actually protects the box better than their careful looking would.

skyler_smith855d ago

Has anyone tried the approach of just being upfront about the box condition before they even get a chance to look at the lid? I started doing something similar with my copy of Terraforming Mars because that box has seen better days. I lay it flat on the table, pop the lid off and put it aside, then hand them the tray of components. That way they see the game itself is fully intact and organized, and the box is just sitting there not really part of the transaction. It sets a tone that we're about playing and not about the condition of the cardboard holding everything. I had one guy who still wanted to check the corners but most people get the hint pretty quick.