Ever seen someone unbox a board game or talk about it and wonder why they like it so much? Today, I’m going to answer that question. In particular, I’m going to answer why unboxing a board game is so enjoyable.
Unboxing a board game is enjoyable because it’s calming, fun, and like getting to open and sort out a brand new present.
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What Does Unboxing A Board Game Mean?
Unboxing a board game is what you do when you open a board game for the first time. You take off the plastic wrap, pull off the box lid, and begin punching out and sorting the components. It’s a really fun time!
So, Why Is Unboxing A Board Game Enjoyable?
There are several reasons why unboxing a board game is enjoyable. For each person, those reasons may be a little different.
For me, there are three: it’s calming, fun, and like getting to open a present.
Unboxing Board Games Is Calming
Not everyone will feel the same way, but for me, punching out components, checking them against the component list, and organizing them, is a really calming experience. There’s something about making sure everything’s there and finding the right place for it that really brings me a sense of peace.
Unboxing A Board Game Is Fun
Although solo games exist, you typically get a board game to play with other people. Getting to see and hold all those components for the first time, imagining all the ways you and your friends and family will get to enjoy them, it’s a really fun time!
Unboxing A Board Game Is Like Getting To Open A Present
Taking the lid off a game for the first time is like getting to open a present. It’s similar to the feeling a person gets just before opening a book or loading up a video game for the first time (two things which I do often). Getting to see your expectations from the box cover, book cover, or video game cover met or exceeded is an incredibly awesome feeling.
Board games give this feeling to you in a hands-on way that video games and books can’t. They have some really cool art, tokens, miniatures, 3D pieces, plastic pieces, metal pieces, wood pieces, and more.
Don’t believe me?
Let’s look at some highlights:
- Infamy has a start player token that’s a nearly life-sized cardboard gun
- Return To Dark Tower has a working mechanical tower
- Colt Express has a 3D cardboard train
- Ca$h ‘n Guns has foam guns
- Escape: The Curse Of The Temple has a soundtrack
- Fireball Island: The Curse Of Vul-Kar has painted 3D terrain and marbles
- Potion Explosion and Gizmos have marbles too
- Heroscape has painted 3D terrain and miniatures (really hoping this is updated and brought back into print one day)
- Forbidden Bridge has a working wobbly bridge (this is a great game and you should check it out)
- Hibachi, Splendor, and Marvel Splendor have poker chips
- Mysterium has translucent crystal balls for the player markers
- All of CMON‘s games have incredible miniatures
- Photosynthesis has beautiful, colorful 3D cardboard trees
- Junk Art has beautiful wooden 3D pieces
- Flick ‘Em Up has enough wooden components and painted buildings to create a whole Western town!
There are many more than this, but this is a good idea of the many cool things that can await in a board game unboxing. Even for the games that don’t have that one killer component or a few killer components like these, many have great art and other cool things that make them just as worth opening.
Is Unboxing A Board Game Ever A Pain?
Oh yes, of course. This can happen if you have lots of board games to unbox from a big order. That is a first-world problem and I accept that. It can also happen if you’re tired, in a bad mood, or in pain, but you don’t want to leave the board games sitting there in plastic wrap or unboxed and their components unorganized.
This can also happen if the component list isn’t done well, is incomplete, or doesn’t have good visuals or visuals at all.
A quick note to any publisher reading this, by the way: please use as many visuals in your rulebook as possible! I know time is precious, but visuals help so much, especially when it comes to board games. Not everyone’s a great reader, and it can be really confusing to know what to do without them!
Tips For Unboxing A Board Game
Here are my tips for unboxing a board game. I know these won’t work for everyone, but hopefully you’ll get some value out of this list.
Draw The Unboxing Out As Long As You Can
This can be hard to do, especially when you have multiple board games to unbox and you just want to get them all unboxed, sorted, and put on the shelves or played. But it is worth it to take your time.
Notice the detail that went into the art, the miniatures, the board, and the unique design choices there and in the rulebook.
It reminds me of something a friend of mine once said. He was talking about a video game, Red Dead Redemption I think, and he said all this work went into building these environments, these bushes and trees, and people would hardly notice them. I used to live by the motto that that was better than them noticing them when they were messed up, but now I feel differently.
Aside from video game work culture, which is, to put it mildly, not great, someone spent a part of their life making the product you’re now enjoying. It might’ve been a small part, but it was a part nonetheless. So, why not savor them and make their work worth it at the same time?
Also, you only get to unbox a board game once. You can never open a lid for the first time again. You can’t punch out the components a second time. The smell after the first unboxing is different, gone forever.
So, enjoy it!
Do The Unboxing Somewhere Practical And Comfortable
So, full disclosure, many times when I unbox board games I do it on the couch. I stack them up next to me on one side of the couch, then I pick up the one on the top and get to it. I stuff any plastics and punchboards into a bag to be recycled later, but let me tell you something: unboxing board games on the couch is a bad idea.
It would actually be better to do it on the floor! While a couch is comfortable, the problem is that it isn’t practical. There’s not enough room, it’s not stable, and things can get messy very quickly. Also, components can get lost!
The best places to do an unboxing are the floor or a table. Take my word for it. Do it on some carpet or in a comfortable dining chair.
Check The Components Against The Component List
Check all the components against the component list either on the back of the box or in the rulebook. If they’re not listed there, you can check the publisher’s website, but they should be there. If they’re not, that’s a misstep and hopefully it’s not one they make often.
(Each time you refresh the page you will get a new “Did You Know” fact!)
Did you know that the biggest board game convention in the world is in Germany? It’s called Internationale Spieltage SPIEL but is usually called Essen Game Fair. It takes place in Essen, Germany, and features over 1,000 exhibitors from lots of countries. It has also regularly had over 100,000, or sometimes over 200,000 people attend.
By comparison, Gen Con, which takes place in Indianapolis, Indiana has only recently climbed over 60,000 and has only neared the 70,000 mark once so far.
Conclusion: Why Unboxing A Board Game Is So Enjoyable
There are several reasons why unboxing a board game is so enjoyable. Whether my reasons are the same as yours, hopefully you’re able to start enjoying unboxing board games if you haven’t already.
So, what do you think? What board game would you like to unbox first and why? Let us know in the comments below!
And, as always, keep on gaming, you maniacs.
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