...do any of you use them?
Protective card sleeves...
I've never sleeved a card in my life, though I don't doubt some games might benefit from them
Note really a fan of card sleeves, the cards are small and hard to handle already with sleeves they litterly get 3 times as think and become near impossible to shuffled. I spent about 200 dollars on my game and all expansions put together and have gotten about 7 years of enjoyment out of it, so if I have to replace it, it will be money well spent because I can't think of much else that gives you 7 years of entertainment for 200 bucks. Hell I spend that much on a night out at the movies with the wife and kids.
Rule 1 for me. Never feel bad about a game that looks used and worn out, thats the mark of a great game. Worry about the ones that are 10 years old and look brand new, thats a bad omen.
BigKahuna said:
Note really a fan of card sleeves, the cards are small and hard to handle already with sleeves they litterly get 3 times as think and become near impossible to shuffled. I spent about 200 dollars on my game and all expansions put together and have gotten about 7 years of enjoyment out of it, so if I have to replace it, it will be money well spent because I can't think of much else that gives you 7 years of entertainment for 200 bucks. Hell I spend that much on a night out at the movies with the wife and kids.
Rule 1 for me. Never feel bad about a game that looks used and worn out, thats the mark of a great game. Worry about the ones that are 10 years old and look brand new, thats a bad omen.
I wasn't worried about the look of the game, just protecting the investment. How often do you play the game? I have a very limited budget, I survive off of $700 a month.
I have played it pretty consistantly 2-3 times a month for the past 7 years with a few breaks here and there that last maybe a month or two when we get on some new temporary bandwagon.
My game definitly looks used, but the components are very good quality, they have lasted very well given their treatment. The only thing really showing age are the action cards, they get man handled probobly more than anything else.
BigKahuna said:
I have played it pretty consistantly 2-3 times a month for the past 7 years with a few breaks here and there that last maybe a month or two when we get on some new temporary bandwagon.
My game definitly looks used, but the components are very good quality, they have lasted very well given their treatment. The only thing really showing age are the action cards, they get man handled probobly more than anything else.
Okay
BigKahuna said:
Rule 1 for me. Never feel bad about a game that looks used and worn out, thats the mark of a great game. Worry about the ones that are 10 years old and look brand new, thats a bad omen.
I have both the original version of Dungeon Quest from the 1980s and a copy of Circus Imperium also from the 1980s. They've both been played a lot over the years and are definitely well used. Both show a few signs of wear but are both still in good shape. I figure if games I have from this long ago that have been played as many times as they have don't need protecting, then most games don't - especially given the high quality components that many games these days come with.
I think sleeving cards may have begun in ernest with the collectable card games and has more recently come over to the board games that have lots of cards.
I just ordered 800 sleeves! Feels crazy and I had to double check my numbers concerning the amount of cards the base game, plus the two expansions, contain. It amounted some around 720! I figured that some cards need protecting more than others, like the action, political and planet cards. I still decided to just sleeve the lot. But paying 14 squid for 800 sleeves and shipping was ok. I plan to play TI a damned lot during the coming years and I easily fuss over small things like bent or even slightly torn cards. Now I just need to make high quality scans of ALL the different cards in case someone looses one of them during our game sessions
I have sleeved my entire game. I want to protect the investment nd it helps in the rare cases where someone has a drink with them and possibly has a mishap.
I also use some variant cards and the sleeves make it so you cannot tell the difference and makes it easy to shuffle.
All my TI cards are sleeved.
Sleeved cards can get stuck together, but will certainly help protect from accidents. I kind of prefer the character that comes with a well-used set: for example, my Advanced Civilization game board has a couple of red wine stains that always bring a smile.
Growing up I never used sleeves for my card games but once I got older I realized that protecting them was a good idea. My group is pretty careful though accidents like the Trade Strategy Card going in the nacho cheese do happen. It's a testament to FFG craftsmanship that there isn't a mark on the card.
Short answer: my cards are getting sleeves.
I'm curious how much taller a complete stack of sleeved action cards will be
Treguard said:
I'm curious how much taller a complete stack of sleeved action cards will be
My sleeved cards are kept in the Action Card box they came in as it is to tall to stand on its own.
My guess would be that it builds two inches or so on the AC deck.
I've lseeved all my cards. The sleeves add some height to the card piles but since you can't stack more than roughly 40 cards on top of each other, lest they all just slide into a complete disarray at the sligthest nudge. I just keep them in the tray, just like I (have to) do with the political cards. But it's easier to mix the cards now and I don't have to feel nervous as soon as someone is touching a card with even slightly grubby fingers.
Funny story, well not for a certain someone.
Truth is, I don't actually own the game but our group played religiously back in university, going on from there. The actual owner of the game, well he was getting in good with his female housemate, a cute girl from the US (we're all from England), so much so that her dad, who had flown over to visit his daughter, was invited to a game upon expressing his interest.
The ensuing game was interesting, suffice to say.. From my perspective I could tell it would be one of "those" games, when the guy, who I believe had played an earlier edition of TI and had been prepped by my friend beforehand, proceeded to play Mentak as slow as humanly possible and then complain about he gipped he was with the race. Now this would've been fine if he hadn't been complaining and complaining all the way through, about the poor Mentak, their piracy ability, some rule misinterpetation and so on. He was losing and not taking it well.
Now my friend isn't the most patient of people, but he knows how to hold his tongue, especially given the odd circumstance of playing with your girlfriend's dad. To his credit, he took the rule disputes well and discussions in his stride- it probably comes from having to teach the game over and over I guess.
This was tested to the limit when Dr. Pepper got involved. As I'm sure you all know TI creates a veritable tablecloth of cards and tiles, so when the old guy accidentally knocked his bottle of Dr. Pepper onto the table, directly over the unsleeved action and political cards, we were all stunned momentarily. Never have I seen my friend look so conflicted. You could see the emotions of rage and frustration blending with his calm, patient facade.
The bastard didn't even apologise- he just stood back with a dumb "whoops, how'd that happen?" expression whilst we all scrambled to rescue cards and grab paper towels. Maybe further words were spoken after the game, but I remember it getting decidedly chillier from my mate's corner of the table.
Miraculously no major damage occurred to the game, although this wasn't the first time those cards had taken a battering (another story). We laugh about it now, but it does explain his obsession with using coasters, as well as his policy for keeping drinks off the table
Thought about it, decided not to. Why? If they ever wear out I will buy another copy of the game.
Will that happen? Probably not, as my core set is almost 6 years old and going strong.
Treguard said:
I can well imagine that the story is funny now, several years after the debacle. But man…had someone messed up my set with a drink and not even apologized I would have become _very_ angry. Accidents do happen but then it's just common sense to apologize. And as to the quote above…I live by that rule. Drinks are fine, but not anywhere close to any of the game pieces. Oh, and no greasy foodstuff at all…no greasy finger is ever going to touch anything belonging to TI.
One day my friend dropped down a cup of tea and my TI3 with catastrophic speed was turned into a wet pieces of a paper.
Since then I hold all game cards in a protect sleeves and use laminating to protect race sheets. And we never eat or drink when playing a TI3. If we are hungry, we make a pause and go to the kitchen.
I try to maintain a strict policy of zero open beverage containers on the same table as any of my games.
PET bottles with the cap on is fine but as soon as the cap comes off it had better be in your hand or on another table.
I also try to never have open beverage containers on the table with other people's games out of courtesy.
From the moment of that accident, we do the same. It's really right decision.