campbell.robin•2mo agoProlific Poster

I dropped $150 on a custom foam insert for my copy of Gloomhaven and I'm not sure it was worth it.

I mean, the setup time is way better, maybe cuts it in half. But idk, it feels like it took some of the fun out of it for me. Part of the ritual was pulling all the pieces out of the baggies and sorting them on the table with my group. Now it's just... open the box, lift the foam, game's ready. It's weirdly sterile. Also, the insert is so tight that getting the map tiles out without bending them is a whole new mini-game. Maybe it's just me, but I kinda miss the chaos of the original box. Has anyone else felt like a big organizational buy actually made the game feel less personal?

3 comments

3 Comments

margaret_flores172mo ago

Honestly, I get that sterile feeling. I did the same thing for my copy and ended up taking half the foam out. Tbh, just use it for the really annoying stuff like all the standees and tokens, but leave the map tiles and maybe even the character boxes loose. You keep some of that setup ritual but skip the worst parts. It stops being a fight to get things out.

rose_young2mo ago

Wait, you took out HALF the foam?

eva_garcia561d agoTop Commenter

Wait, have any of you seen that thread on BGG where someone was talking about how the foam can actually damage the box if it's packed too tight? I read it last week and it made me paranoid. They said the pressure from all that foam pushing outward can warp the cardboard over time, especially if you store the box standing up. I ended up taking out even more foam than you did, Margaret. Now I just use it for the minis and the little fiddly tokens, and everything else goes in baggies or those plastic containers from the dollar store. The box closes flat now and I don't feel like I'm fighting the game every time I open it.