Have you ever stripped a game’s components down to the bare minimum space required to store everything? If you haven’t, you may be amazed. Splendor is a great example. Go ahead, take everything out of the box and stack it up. You could easily fit the entire game into a sandwich bag, yet the box is ten times the size it needs to be. That’s good news if you’re traveling by plane.
If you’re a board gamer who needs a continuous drip of gaming while on vacation (I do), you see the problem immediately — balancing space with variety. The added problem for me is that I don’t want to check my bags. I need variety and compactness.
So here’s the challenge: How many games can you fit inside a 7 3/4″ x 5 3/4″ box? (It’s the box for Resistance Avalon, sans Resistance Avalon.) It’s vacation time, and I want to bring lots of games, but in a minimum amount of space. Plus, this has to fit in my carry-on bag.
How many games was I able to fit into the box?
Eight Games!
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Hi, we’re adorable!
Love Letter — Perfect for playing at restaurants, especially if you’re sporting card protectors.
- Bullfrogs — I haven’t played this one yet, so I’m packing it along with the rules.
- Friday — Friday is ideal for when my wife and daughter are “gamed out” or reading, or for when I want to escape for a bit. It’s the perfect solitaire game for these occasions. It’s challenging to boot!
- Zombie Dice — Always a good standby. It’s simple enough to play while watching television, and a satisfying filler game anytime.
- Smoke & Mirrors — A light game I backed on Kickstarter that I want to play with a larger group. I’m intrigued. I think three players wasn’t enough to get the full experience. Perhaps our friends Erik and Alicia will indulge us?
- Emu Ranchers — Another Kickstarter I backed and an exceptional two-player game. It’s Lost Cities with some twists.
- Dead Drop — A fun little memory, guessing game I picked up at Gen Con this year.
- Sushi Go — You’re seriously not playing this game? This card game has it all, including sweet little anthropomorphic sushi.
I bet I could have squeezed in a Lost Legacy game or two in there as well, and maybe Cthulhu Dice. Hmm…
Categories: Odds & Ends
The Board Game Show 
If you know you will only be playing with 2 players, you can leave the pieces for players 3+ at home to fit more stuff!
Good idea, though we hope to drag some friends into the pond with us!
I kind of want to try packing games in small boxes as a game in itself! And Love Letter is one of my favorite games, one reason being how compact it is.
Love Letter always delivers, yes! And packing games into a tiny box is like Tetris. I fear I will never get them back in the same way again. 🙂