Hi

Recently got Runebound and my friends and I really love this game. I want to protect my cards with sleeves, and noticed FFG have a shop which sells these. However there are, as far as I can tell, 5 variant of the clear sleeves I can buy.

1) Clear Sleeves: Standard Card Game Pack

2) Clear Sleeves: Standard European Board Game Pack

3) Clear Sleeves: Mini American Board Game Pack

4) Clear Sleeves: Mini European Board Game Pack

5) Clear Sleeves: Standard American Board Game Pack

So which of the above packs fits with the Runebound cards??

Thanks for your help.

FFG has a "sleeving guide" pdf that specifies how many of each type of sleeve pack you need to completely cover a particular game or expansion. It can be found here . Admittedly it's a bit tricky to find on the website if you don't know your way around here yet. =)

Edit: Looks like the sleeving guide was recently updated and in the process they accidentally put page 1 after page 2. Whoops! Well, you can still find what you need anyway. =)

Ooo... another hidden resource. That's handy.

I currently use THESE SLEEVES for my all my Runebound stuff. The MayDay sleeves are lighter and thinner than the FFG ones, in general. Upside, they don't bulk the decks as much. Downside, they might be less durable (but I've had no problems in this area). Buy what best suits your concern/preference/need.

Wow! These sleeves seem reasonable per pack but if you start adding it all up it can become very expensive very quickly!!
Runebound with all expansions is 28 packs at $3 each = $84
Descent with all expansions is 19 of the same type at $3 = $57

So to do just two of my board game would cost me $141.

Honestly I'd rather buy a new game instead.

Does anyone find that their cards are getting wrecked? I'm sure a little wear and tear will happen but for me it seems to be an extremely slow process. I can't think of any of my game cards that don't look mint.

Yes, you are looking at quite an investment if you already have that much stuff... but if you added up the cost of sleeves against replacements (particularly for stuff out of print), guess which one would be cheaper in the long run? Of course it depends on the number of cards in any base or expansion of a game, I guess. But can you count on reprints of all those expansions you own into the future... for the same edition that you need?

I haven't had my RB stuff long enough to notice wear, but I do own games with better coating on cards that have been around a while. Everything begins to wear sooner or later. Maybe just start with the components you use most often? Or is that really not an option with extensively expanded core decks? Anyway, it's all just a matter of preference. If your cards remain just fine after a few years of use, it's probably not worth your while.

And why are you looking at $3 a pack on sleeves? (and for how many per pack?) There are some savings to be found at some sites for buying in bulk. By your estimate for Runebound expansions, you'd pay about $63 at MayDay without a bulk discount. Still an "ouch" for the money, but a little bit better.

I do buy hard plastic deck cases for storing the card in the game boxes when their not in use. This way they don't get tossed around or crushed by other items in the box. These are something like $1.50 each and I only need a few per game since they hold about 60 cards each.

Aside from that we play with the cards oh-nartural. And so far everything is in great shape. You're right, eventually I'll see some wear but I think it's a long long way off.

Part of my concern is also the added space the cards would take up! It's a real struggle to get everything to fit in their boxes! In part because I do add these hard plastic deck cases and tupperware for the tokens and other bits. I usually have many small tupperware containers with the tokens/pieces sorted such that I can use the containers during the game instead of dumping piles of tokens here and there.
All this does take up space and actually adds a fair bit of weight but it does help protect the game and keeps it really well organized.

Hein99 said:

AH, I see...

Hein99 said:

Yeah, that can be a pain, but its not as much as a lot of people think. Using 40 micron thickness (FFG's are about 100mn), I find it's about a 20-25 increase at the max if inside a container that diminishes air-puff-up.

Hein99 said:

Likewise, but with homemade or craft-store paper boxes. And I home make my cardboxes as well. And the storage space needed does really add up!

These boxes you mention sound smaller and lighter. I like what you have to say JCHendee!

Your post was the seed for a new topic I just posted about how people pack-up and store their games. I'd love to see what you've done.

New post on storing games