How to protect and care for your board games so they last

A well-kept board game lasts decades. Badly stored, it loses pieces, warps or fades within a few years. The good news: a few simple habits are enough, and most cost next to nothing.

1. Cards: protect the ones that work hardest

Cards are the components that wear fastest: shuffled, handled, sometimes snacked over. Card sleeves (clear plastic pockets) keep them intact.

• Prioritise cards shuffled every game and cards held in hand for a long time.
• Sizes vary between games: check the exact size before buying.
• Mind the box: sleeved cards take more space and may no longer fit the original insert.

No need to sleeve everything: a light card game played twice a year will be fine without.

2. Components: everything in its place

In a box stored upright or carried around, pieces get mixed, cubes scratch boards and thin tokens bend.

• Zip bags per component type or per player: simple, cheap, and setup gets faster.
• An insert (custom cardboard or wooden organiser) for games you play often.
• Punch-out tokens: pop them out gently, cutting stubborn tabs with a craft knife rather than tearing.

It is also what lets you store boxes upright, like books. We cover it in our method for organising your collection.

3. Environment: light, humidity, heat

• Sunlight fades boxes within months. Avoid shelves facing a window.
• Humidity warps cardboard and cards. Avoid basements, utility rooms or the wall of a poorly insulated room.
• Attic heat can unglue components and warp boards.
• No tall stacks of boxes lying flat: the bottom ones get crushed.

4. After every game: the check

Thirty seconds is enough: count the main pieces, look under the table and between cushions, put everything back in its bag. It is the habit that prevents discovering a missing piece three months later.

5. A missing piece? Do not panic

• The publisher first: many offer a replacement parts service, sometimes free, sometimes for the cost of postage.
• Generic pieces: spare tokens, dice and cubes are easy to find.
• 3D printing, for more specific pieces, if you have access to it.

Keep a small “orphan pieces” box too: the piece found behind the sofa always comes in handy.

6. What about lent games?

A lent game sometimes comes back incomplete, or not at all. Always write down who has it and since when: in MeepleThèque, every lent game shows the borrower's name and how long it has been out, so you remember to get it back in good shape. And if a game is no longer played at all, see how to bring unplayed games back to the table.