Board games are omnipresent. Therefore, it\u2019s fairly safe to say that there\u2019s hardly a household without a few board games stacked up somewhere regardless of whether there are any young children in the house or not.<\/p>\n
And when you yourself are getting ready to move out, sooner or later you\u2019ll get to your own collection of board games and wonder what you should do to keep those games safe during the chaotic house move.<\/p>\n
Sure, board games come in their own boxes so your first thought may be that they\u2019re 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\u2019ll still need to add some extra protection to keep your board games from getting damaged in the house moving process.<\/p>\n
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\u2019re not moving, if any.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why an important task you shouldn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
No matter if you have a valuable collection of classic board games<\/strong> such as<\/p>\n or an expensive lot of modern board games<\/strong> such as<\/p>\n you\u2019re still strongly advised to go through each one and decide on the spot what you\u2019re going to do with it.<\/p>\n The 3 major reasons why you may choose to leave a board game behind include:<\/p>\n Read also<\/strong>: How to make a moving inventory<\/a><\/p>\n Hopefully, you\u2019ve handled the task of sorting your board games collection without too much drama. Now, before you can pack the board games you\u2019re taking with you, you\u2019ll need to decide what to do with the ones you\u2019re leaving behind, if any.<\/p>\n Read also<\/strong>: How to get rid of things when moving house<\/a><\/p>\n Having optimized your board games collection and got rid of the games you don\u2019t really need to pack and move, it\u2019s time to learn how to pack board games for moving – the proper packing technique that won\u2019t let your games get damaged during the move.<\/p>\n 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).<\/p>\n 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\u2019s supposed to be. Then, place a couple of sheets of soft packing paper on top for added protection and close back the box.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t forget to remove those bubble wrap pieces from inside the games after the move.<\/p>\n When packing board games for a move, you shouldn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019ll take time but ultimately, it\u2019s better to be safe than sorry.<\/p>\n Do NOT use packing peanuts to fill in the empty space inside a board game – if you do, you\u2019ll have tiny torn pieces of peanuts covering everything and it\u2019ll take you forever to get rid of them.<\/p>\n Must-read<\/strong>: 10 Items\u00a0you should pack yourself (without hiring packers)<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Good to know<\/strong>: How to pack for a move quickly<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s time to transfer the secured board game boxes into larger moving boxes that will serve as the much-needed external protection for your games.<\/p>\n Make sure the moving boxes you\u2019re 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<\/strong> – the longer sides, in most cases.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Practical tips<\/strong>: How to pack boxes for moving<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Use a marker pen to write BOARD GAMES<\/strong> on the moving box or boxes you\u2019ve filled up. If you plan to put any of the boxes in temporary storage after the move, it\u2019s a good idea to write the names of the games you\u2019ve just packed as well, or to create a separate packing inventory list that will contain details about what\u2019s inside those packing boxes.<\/p>\n\n
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Task 2. Get rid of the games you\u2019re not moving<\/h2>\n
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Task 3. Pack your board games<\/h2>\n
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