Board games are omnipresent. Therefore, it’s fairly safe to say that there’s hardly a household without a few board games stacked up somewhere regardless of whether there are any young children in the house or not.
And when you yourself are getting ready to move out, sooner or later you’ll get to your own collection of board games and wonder what you should do to keep those games safe during the chaotic house move.
Sure, board games come in their own boxes so your first thought may be that they’re already protected enough and should just be loaded as they are into the moving vehicle. In reality, though, things are not as simple and straightforward as they seem, so you’ll still need to add some extra protection to keep your board games from getting damaged in the house moving process.
Read on to learn the best way to pack board games for moving. But before that, there are a couple of important tasks you should do before you get to pack your board games for the upcoming move: 1) sorting up all the games you own, and 2) getting rid of the games you’re not moving, if any.
Task 1. Sort out your board games
It’s not a secret that the majority of board games are housed in large boxes and those boxes will take up plenty of space – not only inside the moving vehicle but also in the new home.
That’s why an important task you shouldn’t just skip is to go through your entire collection of board games and see if there are any games at all that will not be worth packing and moving to the new place.
No matter if you have a valuable collection of classic board games such as
- chess
- backgammon
- checkers
- Scrabble
- Monopoly
- Ludo
- Battleships
- Snake and Ladders (Chutes and Ladders)
- Risk
- Trivial Pursuit
- Clue
or an expensive lot of modern board games such as
- Pandemic
- Ticket to Ride
- 7 Wonders
- Catan
- Dixit
- Azul
- Quarto
- Celestia
- Takenoko
- Concept
you’re still strongly advised to go through each one and decide on the spot what you’re going to do with it.
The 3 major reasons why you may choose to leave a board game behind include:
- Lost interest. A board game you liked years ago may not have the same appeal to you now. So, if you’ve lost all interest in a specific game and you can’t really see yourself playing it in the future, then there’s really no point in taking it with you to the new home.
- Damage or missing pieces. Some of your board games may prove to be too damaged to be played again, especially if you’ve had them for many years. Missing pieces is another unfortunate find that may force you to part with a board game you liked in the past.
- Insufficient storage space. Moving to a smaller home (downsizing) may force you to leave behind some of the board games that you would not part with under normal circumstances. When you know you just won’t have enough space in the new place to store all of the board games you own at the moment, then you should get ready to make some tough decisions – decisions you won’t really like.
Read also: How to make a moving inventory
Task 2. Get rid of the games you’re not moving
Hopefully, you’ve handled the task of sorting your board games collection without too much drama. Now, before you can pack the board games you’re taking with you, you’ll need to decide what to do with the ones you’re leaving behind, if any.
- SELL. If a board game is in excellent condition but you just don’t enjoy it anymore or won’t have the space to store it, then you may as well try to sell it. Selling board games online is easy but if you’re organizing a pre-move sale anyway, you can try your luck there.
- GIFT. Gifting unwanted board games to children or even adults you know is a great thing to do. And yes, games are still the perfect farewell gifts you can possibly think of.
- DONATE. Of course, the noblest thing you can do under the circumstances is to donate the board games you’re not moving to local kindergartens, childcare centers, schools, and various charities. As long as the board games are in good overall condition, all of the above-mentioned organizations should take them.
Read also: How to get rid of things when moving house
Task 3. Pack your board games
Having optimized your board games collection and got rid of the games you don’t really need to pack and move, it’s time to learn how to pack board games for moving – the proper packing technique that won’t let your games get damaged during the move.
- Step 1. GET the packing supplies you’ll need for the job
Get your hands on strong cardboard boxes that are big enough to accommodate the largest of your board games, soft packing paper, sheets of bubble wrap, a roll of plastic wrap, rubber bands (optional), packing tape, and a marker pen (sharpie).
- Step 2. SECURE the game components inside the board games
Open each game box to assess how secure the game elements are inside. Some board games (usually the more expensive ones) will have separate compartments for the individual game components. In such cases, just open each game box and make sure everything is where it’s supposed to be. Then, place a couple of sheets of soft packing paper on top for added protection and close back the box.
For board games without separate places for the game elements, place one or two sheets of bubble wrap on top to fill in the empty space and prevent the pieces from moving around the box. Don’t forget to remove those bubble wrap pieces from inside the games after the move.
When packing board games for a move, you shouldn’t underestimate the damage that can be done internally when the game elements are loose and being tossed around freely inside their own box during transport.
For expensive and valuable board games without dedicated compartments for the pieces (for example, a pricey chess set), you should seriously consider wrapping each individual (chess) piece in soft packing paper for extra protection. That’ll take time but ultimately, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Do NOT use packing peanuts to fill in the empty space inside a board game – if you do, you’ll have tiny torn pieces of peanuts covering everything and it’ll take you forever to get rid of them.
Must-read: 10 Items you should pack yourself (without hiring packers)
- Step 3. PREVENT the lids of the game boxes from opening
It’s inevitable – at least one game will open up during transport and its contents will spill up all over the larger moving box. While that alone will not yet be a disaster, possibly losing some game elements because of it will be.
To keep the game boxes securely closed, you have a couple of good options: to wrap each board game box in shrink wrap (recommended) or to put a couple of rubber bands around the game box (less recommended). If you opt for the rubber bands option, then you must remember to remove all those bands after the move is over. Why? Rubber bands tend to decay with time and will get glued to the game boxes, thus possibly staining them forever.
Good to know: How to pack for a move quickly
- Step 4. ARRANGE the game boxes into moving boxes
It’s time to transfer the secured board game boxes into larger moving boxes that will serve as the much-needed external protection for your games.
Make sure the moving boxes you’re going to use are strong enough to withstand the weight of the load. Place a couple of sheets of clean wrapping paper on the bottom of the packing box and start arranging the game boxes, one by one, on their sides – the longer sides, in most cases.
The reason why you should arrange your board game boxes on their sides is that they will impact each other much less that way. If you choose to stack them vertically in the moving box, the boxes on the top will press down on the ones below and might damage them on the road.
The main idea is to fill the moving box with as many games as you can without applying too much force. Ensure that everything is snug and arranged well – you may need to try a few times until you reach the perfect configuration.
Finally, use crushed pieces of packing paper, torn sheets of bubble wrap or pieces of old yet clean clothing to fill in any gaps left between the game boxes inside the moving box. When you shake the packing box lightly, no game inside it should be moving.
Practical tips: How to pack boxes for moving
- Step 5. Close up and label the moving box
The final step is to place two sheets of wrapping paper on the very top of the neatly packed-up and arranged game boxes, then to close the lid of the big moving box and tape it shut.
Use a marker pen to write BOARD GAMES on the moving box or boxes you’ve filled up. If you plan to put any of the boxes in temporary storage after the move, it’s a good idea to write the names of the games you’ve just packed as well, or to create a separate packing inventory list that will contain details about what’s inside those packing boxes.
See also: How to label moving boxes
If you happen to have truly valuable board games and you feel nervous about entrusting them to your professional movers, then you should pack those special games into a separate moving box which you’ll move with you – in your car, for example. Also, consider purchasing adequate moving insurance if you do own a special high-value collection of board games
Now that you know how to pack board games for moving, you can rest assured that those fun games will reach the new home perfectly intact. And when they do, it’s time to unpack them and…
…LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!
This is very helpful. Thank you for being so thorough in your explanation