Open the box of a board game with a few plays behind it and you know the scene: zip bags wandering about, tokens loose under the board, the original vacuum-formed tray — that molded plastic shell the game shipped with — storing about half the components. The result is that every game starts with ten minutes of sorting and ends with an approximate game of Tetris to get the lid back on. That's exactly the problem our new storage insert configurator solves: you build the interior of your box yourself, to your exact dimensions, and we 3D print it in our workshop in France.
What exactly is an insert?
An insert is an interior fitting that sits inside a game box: a set of compartments giving every element a place — tokens, pawns, cards, resources, player boards. Well designed, it transforms setup. You put the box on the table, each player grabs their compartment, and the game starts. Packing up follows the same logic in reverse: everything returns to its place and the lid closes flat.
The catch is that off-the-shelf inserts are designed for an average box and an average way of storing. Your copy, with its expansion stored in the base box, its tokens sorted per player, or your own particular way of organizing components, never quite fits that mold. That's where custom work changes things.
The principle: your dimensions, your compartments
The configurator rests on a simple idea: every dimension you enter is the one we print. No approximate standard format, no adapting to a typical box. The process comes in three steps.
1. Measure your box
Grab a ruler and take three measurements inside the box: length, width and usable height, meaning the height genuinely available once the lid is closed. That last point deserves attention: many lids descend slightly into the box, and a board or a rulebook resting on top of the insert also takes up space. Measure the space the insert really has, not the total depth of the box.
2. Lay out your compartments
On the plan of your box, you add compartments, move them and resize them by hand. In the editor, compartments snap to each other to align cleanly, and the gap between them is adjustable from 2 to 8 mm depending on the rigidity and separation you want. A large tray for the meeples — those little wooden or plastic figure-shaped pawns — two narrow compartments for card stacks, one slot per player: the layout is yours to decide, based on your game and how you play it.
3. Receive your insert ready to drop in
Once the composition is confirmed, we 3D print your insert in the material and color of your choice, and you receive it ready to slide into the box. An insert can be made up to 310 × 310 mm as a single piece, which covers the vast majority of boxes, including the large square formats of heavier games.
Why custom changes everything
A generic insert imposes its logic; a custom insert follows yours. Concretely, here's what the configurator allows that no standard product can offer.
First, the fit to the box. An insert cut to the millimeter doesn't float inside: nothing slides during transport, and the game can even be stored vertically on a shelf without everything mixing, provided your compartments are sized closely around the components.
Second, the fit to the contents. Added an expansion? Sorted resources by type rather than color? The ideal storage for your copy exists in no catalog, but it does exist in your head. The configurator is there precisely to get it out.
Third, local manufacturing. Your insert is 3D printed in France, in our workshop in Vatimont, Moselle. It's the same workshop that makes and hand-paints the objects in our store, and the same demand for precision applies to every compartment.
Our advice before you start
Before diving in, take all the game's components out and group them the way you'd like to find them at the start of a session. That's the best way to know how many compartments you need and which ones have to be large or deep.
Think about the order of setup too: what comes out first is better placed on top. And if your components are going to change — cards added, an expansion on the way — plan a slightly generous compartment rather than one cut to the bone.
Last piece of advice, and the most important: take your time over the measurements. A rigid ruler, two readings to check, and you're safe. Your dimensions are the one thing the configurator can't guess for you.
FAQ
Do I need to know how to model in 3D?
No, and that's the whole point. There's no software to install and no file to prepare: everything happens in the configurator, directly on the page. You enter your dimensions, you place your compartments, we handle the rest. If, on the contrary, you have a project already modeled, our on-demand 3D printing service accepts your files.
What's the maximum size of an insert?
An insert prints up to 310 × 310 mm as a single piece. Measure the inside of your box: most formats on the market, from small square boxes to large heavy-game boxes, fit without difficulty.
Can I choose the material and color?
Yes, material and color are chosen when you order. Enough to match the insert to the game's world, or simply to contrast with the inside of the box so each compartment stands out.
Build your first insert
Your worst-organized box is waiting for this: head to the insert configurator, enter your three measurements and lay out your first compartments. For a storage project that goes beyond a game box, our on-demand 3D printing service takes over from your file. And to see how your pieces are made here, our article on behind the scenes at the workshop shows the full journey, from file to parcel.