Smallest Board Fold?

I dont see any reason that you cannot make a board that small. Here are a few how-to links for making single and quad boards. As long as you follow the process of making a board, 4.5 inches does not seem unreasonable. Though a professional print of the gameboard might cost a little more since I dont recall ever seening a gameboard that small, so it might be custom job for most game printers.

The links for the how-to info:

Single board info, some other useulf tips also.
http://bgdf.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=17187&highlight=#17187

And for a little more info specifically for quad-boards check out:

http://degroof.home.mindspring.com/boardgame/boardgame.html

In addition, perceived value is a big issue. If someone is going to pay, say, $30, most people would rather pay for a 10" x 10" x 3" box than they would a 5" x 5" x 2" box, no matter what's actually inside.

-- Matthew

Yeah, I was not thinking about that when I posted. I cant tell you hoooow right Matthew is on this issue. I can tell you that many people buy based on perceived value (or eye candy) vs the actual contents of the box. And I have seen it happen all the time at GenCON.

I just switched over to packaging my first self-sold game in a plastic VHS case. My game's board is 9-inches by 7-inches ... I make it as a single board, then slice it into 3 pieces (each 3x7) in order for it to fit nicely in the case.

My next game will have a similar board in similar packaging.

Not sure if that helps you out at all ... just figured I'd tell you that I'd worked through that same issue myself.

-Bryk

I disagree. Most of us don't have fairly large game collections. A small minority of the people who will buy a given game, even a hobby game, have large game collections, I'd bet.

I certainly wouldn't argue that "a huge box" is a good idea, but if your game is sitting next to a bunch of other 12" x 9" x 2" games, and it's half the size, it will get lost.

True, but this wasn't driven by consumers: it was driven by retailers. Several of the large ones, including Best Buy and WalMart, IIRC, said that they simply would no longer carry games over x by y by z dimenions, period. Manufacturers took heed.

Right, but only because it's the size the retailers specified.

Mind you, the computer industry made like it was their clever idea once they were forced into it, but the underlying facts were that the retailers drove it. Consumers, I would argue, didn't care all the much. Yeah, it was a bit of a hassle, but nothing like it was for retailers.

Sure, because all you're buying is electrons. When you buy a board game, you're buying protons. You're touching them, moving them, playing with them. It's an extremely tactile pastime, and the protons matter.

If you're just going to look at dedicated hobby gamers, you still have a big perception problem. Alea went with a cheaper, smaller production method for Louis XIV and all I heard at the Gathering about it was complaint after complaint after complaint. "The cardboard is too thin. The die cutting is horrible." Compare that to a Days of Wonder game.

The compact ones sold better because the big mass-market retailers wouldn't carry the larger ones.

My argument is that people are buying the intellectual concept and the protons -- even the perception of photons -- when they buy a boardgame.

And the shelf space argument still stands on its own. If you have the little box on the shelf, fewer people will see you, simple as that.

IMO.

-- Matthew

It's not just you. I love small boxes too, and I think lots of people like small games and small pieces in general, as long as they're well crafted and not too small to be usable.

ThinkFun is one game company which produces several reduced size games. Some are just reduced versions of bigger games, some are simply games in a small package.

As with chess, backgammon, etc., sometimes small size is a desireable feature. It might affect the price of the game, though, so I'm not sure how much benefit you might get from the production and shipping savings.

Seo

-- Matthew

What would you consider a fairly large collection? I don't think I have that many games (I have less than 50) but I know even I have a problem storing them all. Most of my friends in my game club have considerably more than I (over 75). It seems like most people who are game afficionados have a lot of games.

-Darke

The smallest folds I've seen just brought the game down to a 10x10 or so. Doesn't mean it can't be done.

The game Oltremare used a puzzle-piece system, so that the four pieces (all using the same die, I think) stack in their very small box. Might be cheaper than a mini-fold board, and afaic it works great.

For pricing, I think you'll just need to request quotes. It doesn't take that long and most production companies are happy to offer them.

-- Matthew