One thing is certain – packing for a move is NOT a game.
Packing one’s belongings for a move is the most complicated and time-consuming task in anyone’s moving calendar. In reality, the packing task starts (or at least it should start) as soon as the house move is confirmed and ends on the morning of Moving day itself when a number of essential items should be packed last of all – bathroom items, for example.
Once you start packing up your things, you’ll soon get to boxing up your prized collection of board games. Interestingly enough, you’re likely to have at least a few board games at the home you’re leaving even if you’re not moving with young children.
But if you do happen to be moving with kids, then you’re likely to have a good number of board games to sort, protect, pack in boxes, and load into the moving vehicle.
What’s the best way to pack board games when moving house? Packing board games for a move looks like the easiest packing task ever… but it can still be somewhat tricky despite the fact that those types of games come in their own cardboard boxes.
Here are the top 10 tips for packing board games for moving:
1. Involve the kids when packing their board games
It’s always a good idea to involve your children when you’re about to pack their board games for a move. That’s especially important during the sorting stage when you’re supposed to divide all games into two distinctive piles: 1) games that you are moving to the new home, and 2) games that you’re NOT taking with you for one reason or another.
Get your kids to help you make the right decisions provided that they are old enough to understand the concept of moving from one home to another. Make sure they realize that they won’t lose any board games that are packed up and sealed inside a moving box – ensure them that they’ll be able to play with their favorite games as soon as they find themselves in the new home.
2. Sort all the board games in your home
Most board games come in fairly big boxes that tend to take up quite a lot of space when arranged together. And it’s not only the space those game boxes will take inside the moving vehicle, but it’s also the storage space they will require in the new place. Therefore, moving all of the board games you have in the home could prove to be problematic, especially if you’re moving into a smaller home.
That’s the main reason why you have to take the time to sort out your and your kids’ board games before you start the packing process. Remember that it’s not worth the time and effort to pack and move a board game that you will never ever play again.
Go through each board game and decide what to do with it based on its current condition and the likelihood to play with it again in the future.
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3. Be sure you know why you’re parting with a board game
There are several major reasons why you may decide NOT to take some of the board games with you to the new place.
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Parting with board games may not always be easy to do.
Lost interest. You may have liked a board game years ago but you don’t now. It happens, so if you don’t really see yourself playing a specific game ever again, there’s really no sense in moving it to the new place.
- Never liked it. A board game may have looked promising in the beginning but ended up being rather disappointing. Or you may have some board games that are gifts from friends and family – games that are just not your cup of tea.
- Missing pieces. A board game with too many missing pieces may have become simply unplayable. So if you do like it, isn’t it high time you bought a brand-new version of the same game after the move?
- Damage. A board game may be too damaged to be played again. As a rule of thumb, you shouldn’t bother packing and moving anything that you won’t use again after the move.
- No storage space. Downsizing to a smaller house with much less storage space may force you to leave behind some of the board games which you would not normally part with.
4. Give away or donate the games you won’t take with you
What should you do with the board games you’re not moving? Do consider gifting some of the games to friends or friends’ children who you know will enjoy playing with them. This is a logical option that’s always a win-win situation for everyone. Besides, board games make the ideal farewell gifts when you’re moving out, and you will be remembered each time that a game you have given away is being played by your pals.
Also, you can always decide to do something good for the community and donate the board games you’ve decided to leave behind. Find charitable organizations that accept board games and call them to arrange the donation. Make sure all games you’re about to donate are in excellent condition, with no visible damage and definitely no missing game components.
It’s a great idea to also get in touch with local schools, kindergartens, childcare centers, nursery homes, etc. and see if they will be interested in accepting the board games you won’t be moving with you.
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5. Prepare the packing supplies in advance
Once you’ve sorted out all the games and made up your mind which ones to take and which ones to give away or donate, it’s time to start thinking about packing your board games for moving.
The first step, of course, is to prepare the necessary packing supplies so that your board games can be properly protected on the road. Here’s what packing materials you’ll need to pack up your games:
- Cardboard boxes – medium or large, depending on the sizes of your board game boxes;
- Packing paper – go for the white, soft type of wrapping paper that offers excellent protection;
- Bubble wrap – you should have enough sheets of bubble wrap left from packing all the fragile items in your home – kitchen dishes, drinking glasses, etc.;
- Plastic wrap – it’ll be one of your best choices when protecting board games during a move;
- Packing tape – any tape should do fine;
- A marker pen – you’ll use it to label the cardboard boxes for easier identification after the move is over.
Where to find free packing materials
6. Fix and secure the game components inside their boxes
Make sure you don’t lose any game components during the move.
The most important step when packing board games for a move is to secure the game elements inside the game boxes. Often, damage can result from loose game components that have not been secured prior to the move and have shifted around their own box too much.
Open the games boxes, one by one, to see what’s inside and whether or not you will need to add extra protection for the available game components.
Most modern board games will have pre-determined storage spaces for individual game pieces such as cards, dice, tokens, etc. Ensure that things are as they should be, then position a few clean sheets of packing paper on top for extra protection and close the lid of the game box.
When a board game does not have separate compartments for its elements, then you should use sheets of bubble wrap to fill in the empty gaps inside and stop the game pieces from shifting inside their own box.
When packing expensive board games without pre-determined compartments inside, then wrap each individual piece in soft wrapping paper to protect it during transit. Use a bit of tape to keep those paper bundles from unfolding.
A chess set is a classic example where you’d better wrap each chess piece in packing paper before the move unless the set comes with individual slots for each piece.
7. Secure the lids of the board game boxes
When packing board game for moving, the trickiest part is to secure the game components inside their own original boxes. Once you manage to do just that with the help of packing paper and bubble wrap, your packing task gets really easy – all you need to do is secure the lids of the game boxes and then transfer those boxes into the moving box or boxes that will take the games to their final destination.
To prevent any game boxes from opening and spilling their contents during transport, the next step is to secure their lids, and the best way to do it is to wrap plastic wrap around each board game box. The shrink wrap will keep the boxes snugly closed at all times and will also protect them from possible yet unlikely dust and even moisture.
The usage of elastic rubber bands to keep the lids of the game boxes closed is not recommended due to their tendency to melt in the summer heat or decay with time, which is likely to stain the lids.
8. Transfer the game boxes into moving boxes
Now it’s time to pack the protected game boxes into moving boxes that are large enough to accommodate them.
First, line the bottom of the packing box with a few sheets of clean packing paper. Then, begin to transfer the board games, one by one, and arrange them on their longest sides – or on any side if sides are identical in length. The reason for arranging the game boxes like that is that the impact on each one will be less because they won’t have anything on top to press them down – exactly what would happen if you stacked them vertically (not recommended).
Fill a moving box with as many game boxes as you can but be careful not to create too much pressure onto the walls to prevent damage. Check whether the space inside the packing box has been used optimally – if yes, then fill in any empty gaps with pieces of crushed packing paper or leftovers of bubble wrap until nothing moves inside the cardboard container.
When ready, place a sheet of wrapping paper on the very top, close the lids of the moving box, and seal it shut using packing tape.
9. Label the packing boxes properly
The last step when packing board games for a move is to label the moving boxes that contain the games in question. It’s a pretty straightforward thing to do – you just take the marker pen and write BOARD GAMES on at least two sides of each games-filled box.
If you don’t plan to unpack those moving boxes right after the move or if you intend to place a box or two with board games in storage, then you just have to know what’s inside each container. For the purpose, you can write down the names of the board games directly onto the moving box or you can mark the box as BOARD GAMES #1 and then create a separate inventory list where you’ll list all the games that are packed inside that first box.
Both labeling techniques work fine, it’s up to you to pick the one that suits you the most and stick with the chosen labeling method.
How to label boxes when moving
10. Take super-valuable board games with you
What’s your favorite board game?
It goes without saying that some board games will be more valuable than others from a sentimental point of view. And of course, there will be those board games that will be too expensive to entrust to strangers – the movers you hire.
Therefore, if you do own precious board games that you can’t just hand to anybody, then you’re going to have to move them yourself.
Pack all those rare gems of games in a separate box and take that box with you during the actual relocation, ideally in your own vehicle.
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