How Important is a Good Board Game Box Insert? – IV Studio Does it Right

Just over a week ago, a large box of games arrived from IV Studio. They were kind enough to send over Moonrackers and three expansion, Mythic Mischief with 3 additional ‘factions” to play as, and of course one of the newer games coming back to Kickstarter on April 30  Fractured Sky. Besides excellent production, the one thing all of these games have in common is the use of fantastic inserts! How important is an insert, and how much would I pay for one? Let’s take a look.

Honestly, there is nothing worse than punching a game, loading pieces into little plastic baggies, and then just dumping them into a box and popping on the lid. Sure, it works alright, but it doesn’t feel like the way you should pack up a potentially expensive game you spent good money on.

We recently have been playing Books of Time  and while the production value is very good, the lack of an insert makes putting the game away a pretty big chore. I’ve always said, and had many agree, that I would pay 10 – 15 dollars more for a game just to have a great insert included in the box. And with that in mind, I now see why good games with good inserts come at a premium!

Back to IV Studio, because it is their games I’ve been playing lately. All three that arrived – Moonrakers, Fractured Sky, and Mythic Mischief – have great inserts. What makes a great insert, you might ask? It’s a plastic or wood insert inside the box that has specific locations for all of the cames components. Let’s take Moonrakers for example.

The company could have easily got away with a few deck holders and some plastic bags to hold all the pieces and boards. Instead, we got individual slots for all of the games different kind of cards – thrusters, shields, contracts, ship parts, objectives, etc. – all of which were clearly labeled with what items should go into which slots.

The insert also included notched slots for the games 4 hazard dice, and separate slots for the 3 value credit coins and the 1 value credit coins. The top of the plastic insert has specific notches to nicely hold the player boards in place, which means they won’t shift back and forth in the box, potentially damaging board lips and corners. And finally, the main boards nicely stack on top, alon with the rulebooks, prior to putting on the lid.

The expansion boxes are equally as impressive, with sports to put all the cards, little notched containers for faction pieces, and even a plastic cover to hold everything in place. It’s a fantastic insert, and not only makes me feel good about how my game is packed up, but makes getting it to the table more efficient as well.

I could go into length about Mythic Mischief and Fractured Sky as well, but they both have the same value in their inserts – specific places to put all the games many pieces. No need for loose baggies or player boards – everything has a slot.

I get that including an insert in your box doesn’t come cheap, but for me there seems to be a threshold where I sort of expect it to be included. If I’m spending less than 50 dollars on a game, I can either take or leave a solid insert. It’s preferable, of course, but since the game is on the “less expensive” side, I can deal with it not going away in nice slots and pockets. Once you spend more than 50 dollars, and even 100, 150, etc.

I think having solid inserts is a must. In fact, knowing an expensive game doesn’t have an insert instantly makes me less inclined to purchase the game, even if the mechanics are good. That might seem really shallow, but I like to know the games I’ve spent a lot of money on are protected properly. And a good insert does that.

Hats off to IV Studio who seems to make solid inserts a staple across all their releases. Yes, their games do come with a premium, but that premium in my opinion is most definitely worth it!