It started with one box. Then came the first expansion, which went on the shelf next to it. Then a second one, whose components ended up in zip bags stuffed into the base box, with a lid that now only half closes. Today your favourite game takes up three boxes, and every game night opens with a hunt for tokens.
Bringing a game and its expansions back into a single box is often possible, as long as you tackle it in the right order. Here is the method we recommend, from the inventory to ordering the insert.
Why the base box overflows
A game ships with a vacuum-formed tray: the moulded plastic shell that gives each component of the original box its own slot. It is designed for the base game, and for the base game only. When the expansion arrives with its new cards, tiles and pieces, the tray simply was never meant to take them.
The irony is that this tray takes up a lot of room for what it holds. Its shapes follow the mould rather than your components, and it leaves dead space under every cavity. An insert, meaning a set of compartments sized to the components themselves, wins back much of that volume. That is where the missing space is hiding.
For the most popular games, you can sometimes buy a ready-made insert. For everything else, and even more so for one specific mix of base game and expansions, there is nothing off the shelf. Which is exactly where custom comes in.
Step 1: take a full inventory
Empty every box onto the table: base game and expansions, no exceptions. Then sort the components into three groups.
Shared components, used in every game whatever the setup: the board, the main draw deck, shared resources.
Per-player components: pawns, meeples (the small wooden or plastic figures that represent each player), coloured tokens, player boards. They are worth grouping by colour, so each player grabs their own compartment at the start.
Expansion-specific components, which you may not play every time. This is the group that matters most for what comes next: mix it in with the rest and you will spend your evenings picking it back out.
While you are at it, set aside what you no longer need: the original trays and cardboard spacers. The empty expansion boxes can be kept flat if you are attached to their artwork.
Step 2: check that it can all fit
Before drawing a single compartment, ask yourself one simple question: can these components physically go into the base box?
Measure the inside of the box: length, width and, above all, usable height. That height is measured under the lip of the lid, not down to the bottom of the box: many lids sit partly inside the box, and what counts is the space actually available. Then subtract the thickness of everything that lies flat on top of the insert: the folded board, rulebooks, player boards.
Next, roughly stack your sorted components next to the box. If the stacks clearly fit within the footprint you measured, with a little room left for the walls, you are in business. If they clearly do not, skip straight to "When it just won't fit" below: better to know now.
Step 3: lay out the compartments
In our insert configurator, you place compartments on a plan of your box, either dragging them with the mouse or typing their dimensions to the millimetre. A few principles make an expansion box pleasant to use.
One block per expansion
Keep each expansion's components together in one area of the insert. On nights when you play without it, that block simply stays closed, no sorting required.
Setup order
Whatever goes on the table first should be the easiest to reach. Shared components in the middle, per-player compartments along the edges, ready to hand out.
Wall thickness
Wall thickness can be set from 2 to 8 mm. A thin wall leaves more room for the components, which matters when the box is full. A thicker wall makes the whole insert stiffer. In an expansion box where every millimetre counts, it is a trade-off to weigh compartment by compartment.
Room for what comes next
A new expansion has been announced? Leave one compartment a little roomier than needed, or keep a gap free. An insert cut to the exact size of today's collection can become a problem at the next purchase.
When it just won't fit
Sometimes the base box is too small, full stop. Two options remain.
Use the biggest box as the host. Some expansions come in a larger box than the base game. Nothing forces you to store everything in the original box: measure each one and pick the roomiest.
Accept two boxes, but well organised ones. One box for the base game, one for all the expansions, each with its own insert. You go from three or four messy boxes to two where every piece has its place.
When choosing your host box, keep one figure in mind: an insert is printed up to 310 × 310 mm in a single piece.
Frequently asked questions
Should I keep the original tray?
No, the insert replaces it. You can store it separately if you ever want to return the game to its original state.
How much does an insert for an expansion box cost?
The price is calculated directly by the configurator, once your compartments are placed on the plan of your box.
My game already has a commercial insert. Is custom still worth it?
Yes, as soon as your mix of base game and expansions goes beyond what the commercial insert was designed for. A custom insert starts from the components you actually own, not from a standard setup.
I know nothing about 3D. Is that a problem?
Not at all. You enter your measurements and place your compartments in the configurator, and we 3D print the insert in France, in the material and colour of your choice.
Bring your game back into one box
Inventory done and measurements taken? Head over to the storage insert configurator to lay out your compartments and get your price.
To see how the configurator works step by step, our introduction to the custom storage insert walks through the principle. And if your storage project goes beyond a game box, our on-demand 3D printing service makes your parts from your own file.