Custom Board Game Boxes
Custom board game boxes — a two-piece box with an insert that gives the board, the cards, the tokens and the dice their own place — printed full color and sized to your components from 100. Dieline and price the same working day.
A box that is opened a hundred times and has to close the same way each time
- Board
- Wrapped grayboard 1.5–2 mm two-piece; E flute white-lined two-piece
- Builds
- Two-piece lift-off; tuck box for card games
- Sizes
- Small, medium, standard square, large; custom
Get a price for Board Game Boxes
Send the size and quantity — we reply the same working day with a price, a dieline and a date. Artwork optional at this stage.
- Free dielineThe flat drawing comes with the quote, before you commit.
- Proof before pressNothing is printed until you have seen it laid on the dieline.
- Die kept for reordersTooling is paid once. Every reorder skips straight to press.
- Quoted in four marketsUS, UK, Canada and Australia, in the delivery currency.
Standard game box sizes
Games are sold and shelved by these conventions. A box that matches a standard fits the retailer's shelf and the collector's shelf; a custom size is possible where the components justify it.
| Small card game | About 100 × 70 × 30 mm; a tuck or a two-piece box for a deck |
|---|---|
| Medium | About 200 × 200 × 50 mm; a folded board and a few decks |
| Standard square | About 295 × 295 × 70 mm; the family game box |
| Large | About 370 × 270 × 90 mm and up; a big board and many components |
Rigid two-piece or corrugated
The classic board game box is a rigid two-piece: grayboard base and lid, wrapped in printed paper, with a lid that lifts slowly. E-flute two-piece boxes with a white liner are lighter, ship flat, and suit lighter games and a lower price point. Both take a full-color wrap or print. Our game boxes for cards, puzzles and boards cover the rest of the category.
The insert
- A board or pulp insert with a well for each component: decks, tokens, dice, the folded board on top.
- Wells sized so a deck sits snug and a sleeved deck still fits — say if players sleeve.
- A removable tray so components come out as a set.
- A plain insert or one printed with a component list and the set-up layout.
The folded board
A game board is grayboard wrapped in printed paper, folded in two, four or six panels. It is made to the box: a quad-fold board is the box internal size less 5 mm each way. The board and the box are quoted together, with the board grain and the fold direction set so it lies flat on the table.
The lid fit on a rigid game box is set for a slow lift. Too loose and the lid drops off a shelf; too tight and it is prised off with a knife.
Print, shrink and the shelf
The lid is the cover art, full color, matte laminated so it does not scuff on a shelf; the sides carry the title on every face so the box is found on its edge; the base carries the player count, age, play time, contents and barcode. The box is shrink-wrapped for retail and ships in a case of 6 or 12.
Board Game Boxes — specification
The rows that are specific to this build first, then what applies to every job we run. Anything not listed is a question, not a limit — send the brief.
This build
- Board
- Wrapped grayboard 1.5–2 mm two-piece; E flute white-lined two-piece
- Builds
- Two-piece lift-off; tuck box for card games
- Sizes
- Small, medium, standard square, large; custom
- Insert
- Board or pulp wells; removable tray; sleeved-deck allowance
- Board
- Folded game board to the box, quoted together
- Full color matte laminate; title on every side; base panel; shrink-wrap
- Minimum
- 100 boxes
On every job
- Print process
- The wrap is printed offset as a flat sheet and applied to the board, so the print quality is that of a sheet rather than a box.
- Color
- CMYK on the wrap with spot colors for a brand match. A textured or soft-touch wrap mutes a solid color slightly.
- Tolerance
- Board cut plus or minus 0.5 mm. Lid fit is set on a sample and held on the run, with an allowance for the delivery climate.
- Tooling
- No cutting die on the box itself. The tooling is the wrap print and any foil or emboss die, made once and kept.
- Food contact
- A food-grade liner or an inner tray where a rigid box holds unwrapped food.
- Sustainability
- Board and paper recycle together. Magnets, ribbon and foam come out first, and the spec says which the box has.
- Artwork
- Vector PDF or AI, 3 mm bleed, 4 mm safe area, fonts outlined. We check every file and send a proof before press.
- Dieline
- Supplied free with the quote, before you commit. Yours whether or not you order.
- Sample
- A plain unprinted sample at the finished size on request, for fit and construction.
- Reorders
- Skip the tooling and go straight to press at a lower unit price.
- Lead time
- Quoted with the price against your fill date rather than promised before we have seen the spec.
- Markets
- United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia — priced in the delivery currency, freight included.
Boards and films we build board game boxes on
A rigid box is two materials: the grayboard that holds the shape and the paper wrapped around it. The board decides the feel; the wrap decides everything a customer sees and touches.
Grayboard 1.2–1.5 mm
The light rigid box: jewelry, small cases, card boxes. Heavy in the hand for its size without thick walls on a small cavity.
1.2–1.5 mmGrayboard 2–3 mm
The full rigid box. Resists crushing, bends poorly — thickness is chosen from box size so a wide lid does not sag.
2–3 mmArt paper wrap
Printed coated paper, matte or gloss laminated. Full color, photographs, any design. The most flexible wrap and the least tactile.
128–157gsmSoft-touch wrap
A velvet-feel laminate over printed paper. Reads expensive, shows fingerprints on white, and scuffs at the corners before anywhere else.
128–157gsm laminatedLinen and textured wrap
Texture woven into the paper, so it cannot scuff off. Takes foil and deboss beautifully; breaks up a solid print.
120–140gsmLeather-grain and specialty
Embossed grain papers, metallics and colored stocks. One color and a foil mark, not a photograph.
120–160gsmFlocked and velvet liners
A short-fiber or woven pile for the interior and the insert. Holds a product without marking it and sets the color the piece is seen against.
Applied to board or foamMagnets and hardware
Neodymium magnets under the wrap, ribbon pulls, and hinges built from the wrap itself. Each is a line on the quote.
Per closureNot sure which? Say what goes in it and where it is sold — the material follows from that. Our notes on recycled, recyclable and compostable cover which claims each stock can honestly carry.
- 01
Send what you have
A dimension, a photograph beside a ruler, or the product itself. No technical drawing needed — that part is ours.
- 02
We quote and draw
A price, a dieline and a date come back together. If a different build would suit the product better, that is in the reply too.
- 03
Approve the dieline
The flat drawing is yours to check: which panel is the front, where the folds fall, how deep the cavity really is.
- 04
Artwork on the dieline
You place your design on the flat we sent, or we place it for you, and you see a proof before anything goes to press.
- 05
A sample if you want one
A plain unprinted sample at the finished size shows fit and construction — the things a drawing cannot.
- 06
Cut, printed, shipped
The die is cut once and kept, so every reorder skips the tooling and goes straight to press at a lower unit price.
Format
Vector PDF or AI where possible. Raster artwork at 300dpi at final size, in CMYK.
Bleed
3 mm past every trim line, so a fraction of drift on the cutter never leaves a white edge.
Safe area
Keep type and anything important 4 mm inside the cut and away from every fold.
Color
Convert to CMYK before sending. Uncoated stock prints lighter; a spot color is the only exact match.
Fonts
Outline them or supply the files. A missing font substitutes silently and the proof will not match.
Barcodes
On a light, matte, unvarnished patch with the quiet zone clear — a code on gloss fails the scanner.
Not set up that way? Send it anyway — fixing a file is a short conversation, and we check every one before press. Our guide to preparing print files covers each point.
On a rigid box the wrap is the finish, and the corners are where it is judged.
Soft-touch wrap
Velvet in the hand. The category default, and it scuffs at the corners first.
Linen and laid
Texture woven into the paper; hides marks and cannot rub off.
Hot foil
Stamped into the wrap. Small block, cheap die, large effect on a lid.
Blind deboss
Shape with no ink. On a textured wrap it is the quietest premium mark there is.
Spot UV on matte
A gloss shape on a matte field; a pattern that only shows at an angle.
Colored liner
A wrap on the inside face, seen for a second as the lid lifts. The cheapest thing that changes an opening.
Leather-grain
Embossed grain paper. One color and a foil mark, never a photograph.
Ribbon and hardware
A pull under the product, magnets under the wrap, a hinge built from the paper.
Not sure which suits the shelf it sells from? Say where the product is sold and we suggest one — our notes on specialty finishes show them on real boxes.
Sizing a rigid box, where the wrap is part of the wall: board game boxes
A rigid box is built up rather than folded, so the internal size is set first and the board and wrap are added outside it. The lid is then made to fit the base, and that fit is the thing people judge.
- Internal dimensions
- The product plus its insert, at the widest point. Everything else is built outward from this number.
- Wall build-up
- Each wall is the grayboard plus the wrap on both faces — roughly 2.5 mm on a 2 mm board. A small box gains noticeably in outside size.
- Lid clearance
- A few tenths of a millimeter. Set on a plain sample: a slow, air-cushioned lift, not a lid that drops off or has to be prised.
- Insert depth
- The tallest item plus 2 mm. On a two-layer box, this sets the total height and the ribbon lift.
- Humidity
- Board takes up moisture and a lid set snug in a dry factory can bind in a damp shop. We allow for the delivery market.
- Tolerance
- Plus or minus 0.5 mm on a rigid box, tighter than folding board because nothing springs back.
Not sure your numbers are right? Send the product dimensions rather than the box dimensions and we work the box out — the full method is in our guide to measuring for a box.
Interactive · five steps · no sign-up
Build your Board Game Boxes in 3D
Pick a shape, type a size, choose a board and a finish. The preview on the left redraws as you go, and the spec lands with us exactly as you set it.
Frequently asked questions
Got a question about board game boxes? The answers below cover what we get asked most. If yours is not here, send it with a brief, message us on WhatsApp, or call +1 503-461-4788 — we reply the same working day.
What size should a board game box be?
Usually a standard — small card game, medium, standard square or large — so it fits retail and collector shelves. Custom sizes where the components need it.
Rigid or corrugated?
Rigid two-piece for the classic feel and a slow lid; E flute two-piece for a lighter game that ships flat.
Can the insert hold every component?
Yes, a well per deck, token type and dice, with the folded board on top. Say if players sleeve cards so the wells allow for it.
Do you make the game board too?
Yes, a folded wrapped board sized to the box, quoted together.
Will the lid fit properly?
Yes, set for a slow lift on a sample — not so loose it drops, not so tight it needs a knife.
What is the minimum order?
100 boxes.
Is the box shrink-wrapped?
Yes, for retail, and packed in a case of 6 or 12.
Does it ship flat?
The E-flute version does. Rigid boxes ship assembled.
Can the insert be printed?
Yes, with a component list and the set-up layout.
Where does the player count and age go?
On the base panel with the play time, contents and barcode.
Can I have the title on the sides?
Yes, on every side, so the box is found on a shelf edge-on.
Do you ship outside the US?
Yes, to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, quoted in the delivery currency.
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